Forestry and Wildlife Cost Share Programs

A quick reference designed to provide Non-Industrial Private Forest (NIPF) landowners with a brief overview of the primary federal cost-share programs that are available to assist them in implementing forestry and wildlife practices.

The following information does not represent the entire list of programs available to landowners, just some of the more frequently used programs.

You will find the administering agency, the practices offered, limits to eligibility, cost-share rates, maximum yearly reimbursements, management plan requirements, and program life spans.

For more detailed information about landowner eligibility and specific practices that are cost-shared, contact your local County Forester or program administration Agency listed for each program.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

Administered by USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary program available to agricultural producers to help them use environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. Landowners enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion, and develop wildlife habitat. In return, FSA provides participants with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance.

Practices Offered: Tree Planting Various Non-Forestry Practices.

Land Eligibility: Erosion Index of 8 or higher, unless a Conservation Priority such as longleaf pine or wetland restoration. Treatment area in production at least four years in the past six years.

Landowner Eligibility: All landowners as long as they meet the above land eligibility criteria.

Cost-Share Rate: 50 percent of State Average Installation Cost.

Maximum Reimbursement: Annual rental payment up to $50,000 per year.

Management Plan Requirement: One page tree improvement, or tree planting prescription, as part of a Conservation Plan of Operations.

Practice Lifespan: 10 to 15 years.

Program Administration Location: Local USDA Service Center

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

Administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

Practices Offered: Tree Planting, Timber Stand Improvement, Various Non-Forestry Practices (tree growth is not an objective of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program).

Land Eligibility: Priority is given to Highly Erodible Lands (HEL), and parcels in Conservation Priority Areas.

Landowner Eligibility: All landowners as long as they meet the above land eligibility criteria.

Cost-Share Rate: 75 percent of State Average Installation Cost.

Maximum Reimbursement: Up to 10,000 per person, per year.

Management Plan Requirement: One page tree improvement, or tree planting prescription, as part of a Conservation Plan of Operations.

Practice Lifespan: Five to 10 years.

Program Administration Location: Local USDA Service Center

Southern Pine Beetle (SPB) Assistance and Prevention Program

Administered by the Florida Forest Service, funded by the USDA Forest Service.

Practices Offered: First pulpwood thinning, prescribed burning, mechanical underbrush treatments, longleaf or slash pine planting.

Land Eligibility: Limited to 44 northern Florida counties located within the range of the southern pine beetle. Minimum tract size 5 acres for thinning, 10 acres for all other practices.

Landowner Eligibility: Non-industrial private forest landowners with at least 5 acres, but not more than 5,000 acres, of forest land in Florida.

Cost-Share Rate: Paid at fixed dollar-per-acre or dollar-per-seedling rates established for each practice.

Maximum Reimbursement: $10,000 per year.

Management Plan Requirement: Practice to be described on application form with detailed practice map. Although not required, applicants with a multi-resource forest management plan, or a commitment to obtaining/updating such a plan, receive associated points in the application ranking procedure.

Practice Lifespan: Practice area must be maintained as a forest stand for at least five years.

SPB Program Administration Location: Local Florida Forest Service County Forester Office

Longleaf Pine Private Landowner Incentive Program

Administered by the Florida Forest Service, funded by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation with support from U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy, and the Southern Company.

Practices Offered: Invasive Exotic Plant Control, Timber Stand Improvement, Prescribed Burning, Longleaf Understory Native Vegetation Establishment, Mechanical Underbrush Treatment, and Longleaf Seedling Establishment.

Land Eligibility: Limited to the 58 Florida counties north of Lake Okeechobee. Minimum tract size 5 acres.

Landowner Eligibility: Non-industrial private forest landowners with at least 5 acres, but not more than 5,000 acres, of forest land in Florida.

Cost-Share Rate: Paid at fixed dollar-per-acre or dollar-per-seedling rates established for each practice.

Maximum Reimbursement: $10,000 per year.

Management Plan Requirement: Practice to be described on application form with detailed practice map. Although not required, applicants with a multi-resource forest management plan, or a commitment to obtaining/updating such a plan, receive associated points in the application ranking procedure.

Practice Lifespan: Practice maintained for at least five years.

CFA Program Administration Location: Local Florida Forest Service County Forester Office