Nonprofit Facilitates Public–Private Partnerships to Secure Firewood for Communities

 (February 2, 2026) — The Alliance for Green Heat (AGH), a nonprofit organization promoting cleaner and more equitable wood heating solutions, announced today that firewood banks working with national forests sourced around 9,700 cords of firewood from federally managed lands during the 2025–2026 season—an increase of 35 percent over last year.

The increase is driven in part by a new wood-sourcing initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The initiative helps firewood banks connect with loggers, tribal forestry programs, and federal land managers to obtain log-length wood from forest management projects, which participating organizations then process into firewood for households in need.

“Firewood banks are uniquely positioned to turn forest management by-products into a vital source of affordable home heating,” said John Ackerly, president of the Alliance for Green Heat. “This initiative shows how public–private partnerships can improve forest health while ensuring that low-income and rural families have access to reliable heat.”

In addition to increasing supply, the initiative serves as a roadmap for navigating the various mechanisms through which firewood can be sourced from federal lands. Among participating grantees, the amount of wood anticipated from federally managed lands varies widely, from dozens of cords for small, volunteer-run rural firewood banks to hundreds or even thousands of cords for larger tribal programs with established forestry infrastructure.

Logs are sourced from a diverse range of federal lands, including National Forests across the West, Alaska, the Intermountain region, and the Northern Plains, as well as tribally managed forests operating under federal agreements. Forest management activities cited by grantees include fuels reduction and wildfire mitigation, forest health thinning, hazard tree removal, and ecological restoration projects, with firewood harvesting often integrated into broader land-management objectives.

Grantees report sourcing wood from a mix of federally managed forests and tribal trust lands, depending on availability and local conditions. Firewood banks obtain wood from federal lands through several mechanisms, including:

• Partnering with  USFS and managing forestry or stewardship agreements
• Contracting with loggers who hold federal timber permits
• Utilizing Wood for Life Initiative made possible by National Forest Foundation stewardship agreements
• Working through tribal agreements or accessing tribal trust lands, which may include federally managed forests designated for traditional and cultural uses
• Purchasing personal-use firewood permits for self-harvesting dead and fallen timber by the cord.

Across the program, wood-sourcing partnerships span a wide range of organizational types and scales. Many firewood banks work directly with federal land managers and USFS non-profit partners, such as National Forest Foundation staff or Bureau of Land Management offices, who help identify available material and guide banks through permitting requirements. Others partner with contract loggers or forestry contractors who provide log-length wood as a by-product of commercial harvests. Tribal firewood banks frequently collaborate with tribal forestry departments or natural resource offices to ensure harvesting aligns with cultural, ecological, and community priorities.

During the 2025–2026 season, AGH supported firewood banks that engaged with 44 federally managed forests to source firewood, including Nez Perce Trust Land, which encompasses National Forests across Idaho’s panhandle. The list of those forests is below: 

For more information about the Firewood Bank Assistance Program or details on how 2025–2026 grantees sourced wood from federally managed forests, contact Hannah Stinson at hannah@forgreenheat.org.

Lists of participating firewood banks are organized by the mechanisms used to source wood from federally managed lands, noting that some organizations rely on more than one approach.

Used a Forestry Agreement While Working with Land Managers (Good Neighbor Authority & Restoration Program)

1. Bááháálí (Bread Springs) Navajo Chapter, NM
2. Lincoln County Port Authority Firewood Bank, MT
3. Big Sandy Rancheria (BSR) Firewood Bank, CA
4. Full Circle Forestry Cooperative, NC
5. Asheville Tool Library Firewood Program, NC
6. Washoe Tribe Elder Firewood Program, NV
7. Gold Country Community Services, CA

Contracted Loggers with Federal Timber Permits

1. Nativity Woodbank, OR
2. Chama Peak Land Alliance, NM
3. Healing Heat Firewood Bank, GA
4. Warm Hearths - Brandt Services, UT
5. Little Woodbank, MT
6. Beaverhead Community Wood Bank Ministry Inc., MT
7. Hinton Rural Life Center, NC
8. Swan Valley Connections Community Firewood Bank, MT
9. Oglala Sioux Tribe Winter Wood Operations, SD
10. Wood4Good, LTD, VT
11. Hoonah Community Firewood Bank, AK
12. St Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church Wood Bank Ministry, MT
13. The Way Outside, MT
14. Bethel Wood Bank, ME
15. Clear Creek Wood Bank, WY
16. Haa Gán (Our Firewood), AK

Partnered with National Forest Foundation Wood for Life Initiative 

1. Shoshone Paiute Wood Program, NV
2. Pueblo of Zia Wood Bank, NM
3. Tse'ii'ahi' Wood Bank Hub, NM
4. Diné Ba'adeiti - For The People, AZ
5. Kayenta Chapter, AZ
6. Koho4Hopi, AZ
7. Crow Tribal Firewood Program, MT
8. Utah Navajo Health Systems (UNHS) Firewood Bank, UT

Used Tribal Agreements

1. Nez Perce Tribe Forestry and Fire Management, ID
2. Oglala Sioux Tribe Winter Wood Operations, SD
3. Northern Arapaho Tribe, WY
4. Koho4Hopi, AZ
5. Skokomish Firewood Bank, WA
6. Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources Firewood Banks Project, CA
   

Used Wood Products Removal (BLM) or Personal Use Firewood Permit (Typically Purchased/Removed By the Cord)

1. Dot Lake Village Firewood Bank, AK
2. Warm Elders, UT
3. Bááháálí (Bread Springs) Navajo Chapter, NM
4. Klawock Indigenous Stewards Forest Partnership Firewood Distribution Program - Shaan Seet, AK
5. Williams Community Firewood Bank, OR
6. Yeshua's Hearth, WV
7. Hinton Rural Life Center, NC
8. CommunityWorx Firewood Program, TN
9. CHIP Firewood Bank, ME
10. Wood For Warriors, NC