WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has unveiled a new program to support American wood processing facilities.

USDA Rural Development is partnering with USDA Forest Service to provide funding through the new Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program, or TPEP. The program will support the processing and utilization of wood products from National Forest System lands to improve forest health and reduce the risk posed by wildfires, insects, and disease and the detrimental impacts they have on communities and critical infrastructure.

This program is funded through President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It also reflects the goals of the president’s Investing in America agenda to rebuild the economy from the bottom up and middle out and to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure, the USDA stated in a news release.

“Rural America is the backbone of our country, providing the everyday essentials we all depend on,” Vilsack said. “Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA Rural Development is partnering with the Forest Service to support timber industry innovations that improve forest health and reduce wildfire threats while creating good-paying jobs for people in rural, forest-dependent communities.”

Through TPEP, USDA Rural Development and the Forest Service will make $220 million available in loan guarantees for borrowers to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand or improve wood processing facilities, sawmills and paper mills that use trees harvested from federal or tribal lands. The program is designed to manage up to 20 million acres of national forests overseen by USDA Forest Service and complement the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy.

USDA Rural Development began accepting TPEP applications Dec. 26, with a maximum loan amount of $25 million. USDA encourages applicants to use the TPEP Dashboard to find areas the Forest Service has identified as high or very high priority areas to address the risk of wildfires and insect infestations or disease, which have caused or have the potential to cause significant damage.

Applicants can learn more through the upcoming TPEP webinar set for 1 p.m. Eastern time Monday.

USDA encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance these key priorities —

— Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities;

— Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to USDA Rural Development programs and benefits from Rural Development-funded projects; and

— Assisting rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure.

Applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov and will be accepted until funds are expended.

Additional information is available in the Dec. 26 Federal Register.

To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, go to www.rd.usda.gov or contact the nearest USDA Rural Development state office.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas.