USFS Awards NHLA $1 Million in Grants
By Michael Connolly
The National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) was awarded $1 million in funding by the US Forest Service’s (USFS) annual grant program. The NHLA will use the funding for two primary purposes: furthering the efforts of the Real American Hardwood Coalition (RAHC) program and developing the use of AI for hardwood lumber grading.
A portion of the funds will be used to hire two new regional directors, one in the Northeast and another in the Midwest. These directors will focus on the RAHC goal of promoting the use of hardwood by marketing directly to design professionals. In the first year, each director will be tasked with finding 70 new building projects and then influencing 25 of them to utilize hardwoods in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
The NHLA will use part of the funds to develop content for the RAHC website, including case studies, videos about the benefits of hardwoods, and a “hardwood product finder” tool. It also plans to produce and print 5,000 species and stain guides, as well as two Hardwood & Design publications. Additionally, some of the funds will be used to set up RAHC exhibit booths at up to five industry trade shows.
The NHLA also intends to expand its existing staff of five national grading inspectors by adding three more—one in the Northeast, one in the Midwest, and one at NHLA headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. The inspector hired in Memphis will also act as an AI supervisor, making sure that the other inspectors are up to speed on all AI-related training.
Both the new and current inspectors will devote a portion of their time—one day per week on average—to auditing and annotating AI-generated images of hardwood lumber for defects, a process that will help train AI graders. There are currently six companies in the US developing AI hardwood grading technology, and the NHLA is working directly with them in their efforts.
In total, the USFS awarded $105.5 million in grants to 177 projects across 44 states and Washington, DC. The grants include $31 million for 113 “wood innovation” projects, $17 million for 23 “community wood” projects, and $57 million for 41 “infrastructure assistance” projects. The USFS has given these grants each year since 2023.
“There are significant gaps where low-value wood, small diameter trees, and restoration byproducts lack viable buyers,” USFS Chief Tom Schultz said in a press release. “To close these gaps, we are investing in companies and organizations that are developing technologies, products, business models, and training to expand and strengthen markets directly connected to forest restoration.”