August 4 SWC Webinar on Forest Service Landscape Scale Restoration Grants Program

Please join the Source Water Collaborative for a webinar about the Forest Service Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) Grants Program on Thursday, August 4, 2022, from 1:00 – 2:30 pm (eastern time).

The USDA Forest Service estimates 180 million people in over 68,000 communities in the United States rely on forested lands to capture and filter their drinking water. Municipal water utilities and their associated watershed partners have a terrific opportunity to merge Forest conservation, best management practices, and wildfire mitigation to improve ecosystem health and reduce water quality and quantity impacts, public health risks, and drinking water treatment costs.

The USDA Forest Service LSR Program grants fund collaborative, science-based restoration of priority rural forest landscapes, leverages public and private resources, and supports State Forest Action Plans. These Action Plans define (and strengthen!) the connection between forests and drinking water. In each state there are source water protection programs, water utilities, and other watershed organizations interested in working to do just that.

In this webinar you will learn how the FY 2023 LSR Grants Program funding (expected to be announced later in August) can help water utilities and their watershed partners reach their source water and land protection goals. A case study from an ongoing LSR grant will also help illustrate successes and lessons learned.

 Agenda

• Karl Honkonen, US Forest Service, Moderator
• Speakers:
  • Sherri Wormstead, US Forest Service: Overview of LSR
  • Whitney-Forman Cook, National Association of State Foresters: Overview of the relevant drinking water connections in State Forest Action Plans
  • Tyson Morrill, Merrimack River Watershed Council: Case study example
• Questions and Discussion

 Please register in advance for the webinar here. After registering, you will receive a Teams meeting link to join at the time of the webinar.