McIntosh Sustainable Environment and Economic Development, based in Darien, has received a grant from the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities to implement the Sustainable Forestry and African-American Land Retention program.  

This program is an effort to promote forest health and productivity and to help stem the loss of African-American-owned rural land.

McSEED is one of only two recipients in a competitive grant process with organizations in eight states: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

The U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resource Conservation Service are partnering with the U.S. Endowment on the forest management program.

The four-year SFLR program will invest in McIntosh SEED and a community-based network in Arkansas to help restore and secure ownership of threatened African-American-owned forest land and improve the value and productivity of this land through sustainable forestry practices.

The program will introduce new forestry technologies, create trusted systems of landowner outreach and support, and develop income streams by connecting African-American forest owners to both traditional and emerging forest product markets.

Other organizations partnering with McSEED include the Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Heirs Property Law Center, The Conservation Fund, Farm Services Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Wildlife Federation. McSEED’s SFLR work will focus on four Georgia counties: McIntosh, Liberty, Ben Hill and Wayne.

McIntosh SEED is a regional nonprofit organization working in coastal Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi to strengthen low-income families and improve underserved rural communities through programs that focus on economic development, education, environmental preservation and land-based opportunities.

For more information, call John Littles or Cheryl Peterson at 912-437-7821.