Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration Private Landowner Incentive Program
2009 Program Materials and Dates
Guidelines and Application Instructions:
Required Forms:
(all forms are pdf)
Sign-up Period:
8:00 am, October 26, 2009
through
5:00 pm, November 20, 2009
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The primary objective of the Longleaf Ecosystem Restoration – Private Landowner Incentives Program is to increase the acreage of healthy Longleaf pine ecosystems in Florida by helping non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners to make the long term investment required to establish and maintain this valuable ecosystem. Toward this end, the program offers NIPF landowners incentive payments for conducting certain approved forest management practices that help establish or improve longleaf pine stands. This program is administered by the Florida Department of Agriulture and Consumer Services Division of Forestry (DOF) and is funded through a grant from the USDA Forest Service and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Program Information
The program offers incentive payments for:
- Longleaf pine seedling establishment
- Timber stand improvement
- Prescribed burning
- Native plant understory establishment
- Mechanical underbrush treatments
- Invasive exotic plant treatment
All payments are made at specified per-acre or per-seedling rates. Please see the Technical Guidelines Booklet (pdf, 915k)for available practices, practice requirements, and payment rates.
The program is limited to the Florida counties located within the historic range of longleaf pine (pinus palustris). Qualified landowners may apply for up to four approved practices per year. The minimum tract size requirement is 10 acres and funding requests may not exceed $10,000. Only one application per landowner is permitted per year.
Applying to the Program
To apply to the program, landowners should obtain the following documents from this web page or from a Florida Division of Forestry County Forester office:
Please follow the application instructions in the Technical Guidelines Booklet (pdf, 915k) carefully. Applications must first be submitted to the DOF County Forester in the county where the practices will occur (or other local DOF representative, if the County Forester position for that county is vacant). The County Forester will then make a site visit and assist with completing the application. After receiving initial approval from the County Forester, applications for the 2009 program must be received by the Florida DOF Cooperative Forestry Assistance Section office in Tallahassee between the start and end times listed below:
- Start: 8:00 am, Monday, October 26, 2009
- End: 5:00 pm, Friday, November 20, 2009
Applications postmarked by the end date will also be accepted.
The address is:
Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration Landowner Incentive Program
c/o Conservation Programs Manager
Florida Division of Forestry
3125 Conner Blvd., R-2
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1650
Applications received in Tallahassee before the start date, or received (or postmarked) after the end date will not be considered, or will receive lowest priority ranking for any remaining available funds. All applications received at any time during sign-up period will be equally evaluated and ranked for funding approval using established criteria (see Technical Guidelines Booklet pdf, 915k).
Contacts
For more information on the Longleaf Ecosystem Restoration – Private Landowner Incentives Program, please contact:
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