The US Department of Agriculture is investing $20 million in a project to bring climate-smart forest practices to Tacoma. The project was announced at the TUPAC Community Center in the city’s Hilltop community and is part of a larger effort to find ways to expand markets for climate-smart commodities like cross-laminated timber. The project aims to educate early adopters of the policies on the benefits of climate-smart forest practices. Forterra CEO Michelle Connor says these materials could be used to address Tacoma’s need for affordable housing while establishing a relationship with Tribal lands that isn't based on exploitation and extraction. “This grant will allow us to have climate smart commodities that tie together our most rural communities, our Indigenous and environmental knowledge, with the heart and soul of neighborhoods like Hilltop,” she said. Forterra says it’s already begun that process by unveiling a prototype that shows what housing in the Hilltop could look like under this new framework. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/usda-funding-smart-forestry-project-tacoma-affordable-housing/281-9ba350d3-c0b6-4b4f-883f-f3645038208f