Charles H. Bronson, Commissioner    -    James R. Karels, Director
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Division of Forestry Shield Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Forestry Home > Forest Management > Forest Health> Southern Pine Beetle>

Manage Your Forest: Prevent Southern Pine beetle

Southern Pine Beetle Prevention
Cost-Share Program

The Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Cost Share Program is offered to eligible non-industrial private forest landowners by the Division of Forestry (DOF) through temporary grants from the USDA Forest Service.

2009 Program Materials and Dates
Guidelines and Application Instructions: Required Forms: Sign-up Period:
Ended for 2009
The goal of the program is to minimize southern pine beetle damage in Florida by helping forest landowners reduce the susceptibility of their pine stands to this destructive insect pest. Periodic southern pine beetle outbreaks in Florida have resulted in millions of cubic feet of pine timber killed on thousands of acres. Forest management practices, such as thinning, prescribed burning, other competition control, and use of less-susceptible pine species can improve the health of pine stands and decrease their likelihood of developing southern pine beetle infestations.

Program Information

The program offers partial cost reimbursement or incentive payments for:
  • first pulpwood thinning
  • pre-commercial thinning
  • prescribed burning
  • planting longleaf pine
  • mechanical underbrush treatments

All payments are made at specified per-acre or per-seedling rates. Please see the Technical Guidelines booklet listed above for available practices, practice requirements, and payment rates.

The program is limited to 44 northern Florida counties located within the range of the southern pine beetle. Qualified landowners may apply for up to two 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 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 Forest Health Section office in Gainesville.

Applications received in Gainesville 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. Contrary to previous years, the 2009 program will not operate on a first-come, first-served basis. All applications received at any time during sign-up period will be equally evaluated and ranked for funding approval using established criteria. The program is supported through temporary grants from the USDA Forest Service and limited funding is available.

Contacts

For more information on the SPB Prevention program, please contact:

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