[Washington, DC] Three U.S. non-profit agencies are getting almost half a billion dollars in duties from Canadian lumber companies under the softwood lumber deal. The groups, announced Friday by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, include the respected Habitat for Humanity that ‘ s supported by former president Jimmy Carter and builds homes for low-income people. The American Forest Foundation, a non-profit education and conservation organization founded in 1982, will get US$150 million to promote sustainable forests and help U.S. communities that depend on the timber industry. The newly created United States Endowment for Forestry and Communities Inc. is to receive $200 million for the same purposes. Laurence Wiseman, president of the American Forest Foundation, said he hopes the money can focus some attention on all the family-owned forests in the U.S. and help them stay on their land.

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