Climate-Smart Forest Stewardship Grant Program
Overview
CLCC’s Climate-Smart Forest Stewardship Grant Program is a new initiative that enables land trusts to take care of their forests.
Connecticut’s forests are a vital natural climate solution. They store carbon, support biodiversity, and buffer our communities against extreme weather. They are facing a new reality, from drought to the steady creep of invasive plants, pests, and pathogens, to development pressure that calls for a shift from passive conservation to active, climate-smart stewardship.
To help land trusts face these challenges, CLCC will provide funding for land trusts that integrate climate mitigation, resilience, and adaptation strategies into their long-term forest stewardship. CLCC prioritizes proposals for climate-smart forestry implementation projects that:
- Are shovel-ready and guided by an existing Forest Management Plan
- Employ climate-smart practices as identified by the CT NRCS
- Demonstrate strong capacity of staff and partners
Funding for this grant program is provided by the U.S. Forest Service through its Forest Stewardship Program, under the Inflation Reduction Act, as administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP).
The initiative builds upon CLCC’s successful track record of supporting conservation and stewardship efforts through its recent Climate-Smart Land Stewardship Program, administered by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.
Download the Request for Proposals & Guidance (PDF) >>
Have Questions? Want to Apply?
Interested applicants must have an initial conversation with CLCC to discuss project eligibility. Site visits are strongly encouraged prior to submitting an application.
Contact: To discuss your project or schedule a site visit, please contact:
Ricky Bentley, Program Manager
rbentley@ctconservation.org
(860) 852-5512
Eligibility
Applications are accepted by invitation only. Email Ricky to discuss your project(s) and eligibility for funding.
APPLICANTS
- Must be submitted by a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission dedicated to land conservation in CT.
- Applicant is a current member of CLCC.
- Applicants should have an existing forest management plan and be ready to implement its recommendations. Applicants can consult with Ricky Bentley to arrange for a CT DEEP Service Forester to generate a practice plan, exclusive to the acres of interest and permissible implementation practices.
- Project is located within the state of Connecticut on land owned in fee by the land trust applicant. Any proposed activities must be consistent with any restrictions on the land.
- Projects must be located in a U.S. Forest Service-designated rural municipality, as defined by a population of fewer than 50,000. Projects located in the following municipalities are ineligible: Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, East Hartford, Fairfield, Greenwich, Hamden, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, Milford, New Britain, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Waterbury, West Hartford, West Haven. If you have a project in one of these municipalities, contact us to discuss other potential funding sources.
USE OF FUNDS
- Funding supports climate-smart practices identified by the CT NRCS.
- Expenses that can be funded, provided that they directly relate to the climate-smart project for which funding is awarded:
- Consultant or contractor costs for implementation
- Materials(ie, tree tubes, saplings, handtools)
- Permit fees
- Other project-related costs such as staff costs, administrative costs, overhead, printing/mailing and training/conference fees are not eligible to be covered by grant funds but may be used as a match.
GRANT AWARDS
This program will award a total of $500,000 to support the implementation of climate-smart forestry practices.
- Minimum: N/A
- Maximum: $100,000
TIMELINE
| January 31, 2026 | February, 2026 | March, 2026 | December 31, 2028 |
| April 30, 2026 | May, 2026 | June, 2026 | December 31, 2028 |
- Subsequent deadlines may be announced depending on availability of funds.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Primary Criteria
- Contribute to climate mitigation, resilience, and/or adaptation.
- Advance a current Forest Management Plan and/or practice plan.
- Implement NRCS-defined Climate-Smart Forestry Practices.
- Takes place in in a USFS-defined rural area.
- Projects located in these municipalities are ineligible: Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, East Hartford, Fairfield, Greenwich, Hamden, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, Milford, New Britain, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Waterbury, West Hartford, West Haven. If you have a project in these municipalities, contact us to discuss other potential funding sources.
- Deliverables, budget, and timeline are realistic.
- Organization and proposed project team have the capacity to execute the project.
Bonus Criteria
- Includes partnerships and/or evidence of landscape-level planning.
- Demonstrates a high degree of innovation and/or creativity.
- Includes matching funds.
