The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund is seeking applications for its Matching Fund Grants to protect environmentally sensitive bottomland/wetland forests. These forests offer a wide range of economic and environmental benefits, but they face a number of potential threats.

The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund targets sensitive forest areas that have been identified by the Endowment in consultation with other respected organizations. The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund will consider a variety of protection strategies, including purchasing land via fee or conservation easement. The importance of active forest management is recognized.

Priority Conservation Forest Types

The Endowment has identified four distinct forest ecosystems that are especially worthy of protection and that Enviva has agreed to conserve in collaboration with forest owners. These types are only suggestive of what the Fund seeks to conserve:

• Cypress-tupelo swamps: Characterized by saturated soils during the growing season and standing water during certain times of the year, these include various species of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatic).
• Atlantic white cedar stands: This species (Chamaecyparis thyoides) grows on wet sites at altitudes up to 50 meters above sea level.
• Pocosins: One of the South’s rarest wetlands, low Pocosins are dominated by small trees and shrubs and have a high water table. The word “pocosin” is from the Algonquin Native American word for “swamp on a hill.”
• Carolina bays: Called “bays,” they are not ocean inlets but are geologic depressions usually surrounded by a variety of bay trees, including red and sweet bays.

Geography

Proposals will be accepted for bottomland/wetland forest conservation projects in the following counties:

• Virginia: Brunswick, Chesapeake, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Isle of Wright, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Prince George, Southampton, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Virginia Beach.
• North Carolina: Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Hertford, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pasquotank, Pender, Pitt, Perquimans, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Stanley, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wilson.
• Note: As of 2020, projects that are partly in the eligible counties and partly in adjoining counties, may be considered for funding if they address the Fund’s priorities.

Program Criteria

Ten primary criteria are considered in evaluating applications. Please address the following in application:

• Ecological quality of tract and associated conservation values (quantified, if possible), such as benefits for cypress-tupelo, Atlantic white cedar, pocosins, and/or Carolina Bays
• Identification of at risk species (plants and animals)
• Immediacy of threat to the site
• Link(s) to other protected areas or inclusion within established conservation plans
• Financial leverage and cost-effectiveness of proposal
• Scale of forests protected (acres, miles of streamside zones)
• Adequacy of active forest management plans (if applicable)
• Partner history of accomplishment in the area
• Benefits to family forest owners, if any
• Likelihood of successful project completion

Eligibility Criteria

• Matching Fund Requirements:
  • Applicants should provide at least 50% of the total project cost. This may include cash donations or in-kind contributions from third-parties. Federal and non-federal funds may be considered as match.
• Leverage:
  • Applicants that leverage other financial resources for larger-scale outcomes are highly desirable. For example, proposals that tap into other sources of private or public funds to maximize acres protected will receive priority consideration.
• Eligible Applicants
  • Not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations, tribes, and federal, state, and local government agencies are eligible for funding. Unincorporated individuals are not eligible. Public/private partnerships are particularly desirable.

For more information, visit Matching Fund Grants.