Developing and Harnessing Climate-Smart Commodities from Hardwood Restoration for Small and Underserved Landowners in the Southern Bottomland Region

The Restoring Bottomland Hardwood Forests Project helps small and underserved landowners in Arkansas plant bottomland hardwood forests on their working land. It is led by the Arkansas Forest Resources Center at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and funded by a $3.71 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Climate-Smart Commodities program. Mixed hardwood-oak plantations are planted in blocks of 20 to 80 acres in the Red River Valley of southwest Arkansas, the Ouachita River Valley of southcentral Arkansas and the Bayou Meto Watershed in eastern Arkansas. The project aims to help small, underserved landowners benefit from timber and carbon markets.

• Have a clear title to the land

• Own 20 to 80 acres

• Be willing to allow the research team access for planting and monitoring for seven years

• Small and underserved landowners in the Red River Valley, Ouachita River Valley or Bayou Meto Watershed of Arkansas are the focus

The grant will cover all planting costs, including labor, seedlings, and maintenance. Services at no cost to landowners include forest management workshops, site visits by professionals, financial assistance with seedlings and other materials for plantation establishment and management, a forest management plan based on your objectives, and help with property management issues. Participating landowners will have a restored forest "free and clear" once the project is complete.

Recruited landowners should allow access to the planting sites for:

• University research team including graduate students, technicians, and postdocs

• Contractors and the necessary equipment for site preparation and planting

• Sample collection such as soil samples for site evaluation and carbon measurements

• Demonstration events and outreach activities including workshops and field trips open to other landowners in the project watersheds

Contact the project team to enroll. The project director is Dr. Nana Tian at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, (870) 460-1894, tian@uamont.edu. Underserved landowners are recruited through a partnership with the Keeping It in The Family Small Farm Program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.