The Bureau of Indian Affairs just announced the availability of FY21 resilience funding through its Tribal Resilience Program. Funding applications are being accepted from federally recognized tribes (as listed in the current Federal Register, Notice of Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs), and tribal organizations (as defined at 25 U.S.C. section 5304(1)). The Program will provide funding for tribal activities that support tribal adaptation and resilience planning, ocean and coastal management planning, and relocation, managed retreat, or protect-in-place planning and design activities for coastal and riverine communities. The program aims to support Tribal Nations working toward climate adaptation planning and information needs for management decisions affecting tribal treaty and trust resources, economies, infrastructure, and human health and welfare. A webinar about this program will be held on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 from 1:00-2:30pm (Mountain Standard Time). It will be hosted by the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP). To learn more, click here.

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks applications to support business development and create jobs in rural America, through its Rural Business Development Grant program.  Eligible applicants may include mechanisms to support business opportunity and enterprise projects in rural communities. Eligible entities are rural towns, communities, state agencies, authorities, nonprofits, federally-recognized tribes, institutes of higher education and cooperatives. The funding may be used to establish business support centers or to finance job training and leadership development in rural areas. Projects must be consistent with any local and area-wide community and economic development strategic plans, support other economic development activities in the project area, and be consistent with any Rural Development state strategic plan. Funding for enterprise projects must be used to finance or develop small and emerging businesses in rural areas. Eligible applicants for the set-aside funds must demonstrate that at least 75 percent of the benefits of an approved grant will assist beneficiaries in the designated areas.

Applications must be submitted to the nearest USDA office by 4:30 p.m. local time on March 31, 2021. To learn more, click here.

The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a coalition of federal agencies, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations that works to advance mutually beneficial land-use goals in project areas known as sentinel landscapes. A typical sentinel landscape is anchored by at least one military installation; encompasses agricultural and forestry lands; and would significantly benefit from natural resource restoration projects such as water quality and quantity improvement, disaster risk reduction, or wildlife habitat enhancement. Sentinel landscape designations lead to a myriad of benefits for local partnerships, including funding to hire a partnership coordinator and priority consideration for certain federal funding opportunities. All parties interested in applying for a sentinel landscape designation must complete a pre-proposal form and submit the document by 8:00 PM ET on March 29, 2021. All applicants will be notified regarding the status of their pre-proposal within 60 business days of submission. Those applicants that submit the most promising pre-proposals will be invited to complete a full proposal. Applicants will then have at least 60 business days to write their full proposals. The partnership will announce final designations by December 2021. To learn more, click here.

The Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation (FEC), at Clemson University is seeking to fill a tenure-track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level with a specialization in Forest Biometrics. The position is a 12-month appointment with responsibilities in teaching (75%) and extension (25%). The successful candidate is expected to develop a collaborative extension program in the field of forest measurements, commensurate with the appointment, especially as it applies to forest management, growth and yield, forest inventory, and big data in forestry and natural resources. The position will remain open until filled. To learn more about this position, visit here. 

This position carries both extension (80%) and research (20%) responsibilities.  Extension duties include the development and implementation of a statewide education program in forest economics and management targeted at landowners and professional foresters, with potential emphasis in the areas of financial management of timber resources, understanding timber markets, and price trends.  Opportunities exist to create extension programming that is unique and relevant to the diverse mix of Louisiana timber owners.  Research duties may include, but are not limited to, the areas of appraisal, tax planning, impact analysis of local and state regulations, and market/nonmarket valuation of timberland resources.  Opportunities exist to work with graduate students and leverage extension and research activities through the Center for Natural Resource Economics & Policy (CNREP) as well as with other departments in units within the LSU AgCenter. Publishing in disciplinary and interdisciplinary peer-reviewed periodicals, as well as non-peer reviewed outlets tailored to policy and practitioner audiences, is expected, as is the ability to seek extramural funds to help support extension and research programs.  The successful candidate will also be expected to coordinate their extension and research activities with other extension and research personnel within the LSU AgCenter and with forestry industry associations. To learn more about this position, click here.

The Tennessee Forestry Association is looking for a motivated and creative self-starter who will thrive at building a program on the foundation established by TFA’s Workforce Development Committee. Basic knowledge about wood products or natural resources is preferred but not required. Statewide travel while adhering to COVID 19 safety protocols will be expected. TFA’s Workforce Development program is one of Governor Bill Lee’s rural economic priorities. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to build solutions that will address the need to bolster the rural workforce and effect real change for generations to come. To learn more about the job description and expectations, click here. To read the job announcement, click here.