emergency_forest_restoration_program-fact_sheet
Following last week’s delivery of a Mississippi congressional delegation letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday approved Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) signup in all 82 counties in Mississippi. A 120-day signup period will run from April 15 to August 15, 2024.
Requirements for participation in EFRP:
- Restoration must be completed to meet the National Resources Conservation Service and/or State Forestry Agency technical standards.
- Participants must document and keep records of all costs incurred, including costs associated with personal labor, to complete the restoration activities.
- The minimum qualifying cost of restoration is $1,000.
- The program’s payment limitation is $500,000.
Administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency, EFRP is a cost-share program that provides financial and technical assistance to owners of nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) to restore NIPF damaged by a qualifying natural disaster event. All Mississippi counties were placed under a natural disaster status following severe drought conditions last summer.
EFRP financial assistance is not provided upfront, but is reimbursed after restoration is complete at 75 percent of the lesser of the actual costs incurred or allowable cost. If an EFRP application is approved, the participant(s) is expected to perform restoration/conservation practices based on the FSA-848A, Cost-Share Agreement and Restoration Plan provided.
A USDA EFRP fact sheet is attached above.
Potential applicants should check with their local FSA office for more information.
The entire Mississippi Congressional Delegation has sent a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack Thursday requesting his assistance in changing the Emergency Forestry Restoration Payments structure to allow landowners to receive advanced payments under the program.
Currently, landowners have to pay these costs out of pocket, then wait a period of time before being reimbursed.
The USDA declared all 82 counties in Mississippi as primary disaster areas due to the extreme drought in 2023 triggering a major pine beetle outbreak leading to over 12 million dead trees in the state.
That is an economic value of $96 million of lost timber. The Mississippi delegation is asking the USDA to provide assistance in advance of landowners attempts to restore their property.
The EFRP program provides a 75% cost share for clean up, debris removal, and replanting costs for timber destroyed by a natural disaster/drought.