How the Forest Legacy Program Works
Conserving Forests through Partnership
The purpose of the Forest Legacy Program is to identify and conserve environmentally important forest areas that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. Providing economic incentives to landowners to keep their forest as forests encourages sustainable forest management and supports strong markets for forest products.
Landowners may participate in the Forest Legacy Program by either selling their property outright or by retaining ownership and selling only a portion of the property’s development rights; both are held by state agencies or another unit of government. The use of a conservation easement, a legal agreement between a landowner and a non-profit land trust or governmental agency, allows the land to remain in private ownership while ensuring that its environmental values are retained.
Funding
There are currently two funding sources for the Forest Legacy Program; the annual funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) allocated by Congress and funding that has been made available through the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As a result, there are now two separate annual application cycles for LWCF and IRA funding.
Funded Projects
FY22 Funded Projects (PDF, 210 KB)
FY21 Funded Projects (PDF, 155 KB)
FY20 Funded Projects (PDF, 163 KB)
FY19 Funded Projects (PDF, 163 KB)
FY18 Funded Projects (PDF, 150 KB)
Annual Request for Projects
LWCF
FY26 Call Letter for Projects (PDF, 304 KB)
FY26 Project Scoring Guidance (PDF, 239 KB)
IRA
FY24 Call Letter for Projects (PDF, 583 KB)
FY24 Project Scoring Guidance (PDF, 327 KB)
Program Guidelines and Performance
Resources for Practitioners
Contact the Forest Legacy Program national team at sm.fs.flp@usda.gov