FLORIDA FORESTS WEEK

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson has officially proclaimed this week, October 20-26, 2024, “Florida Forests Week in the State of Florida and congratulates forest owners and forest practitioners who grow, harvest, and replant healthy trees in order to protect and maintain Florida’s forests for present and future generations.”

This is also National Forest Products Week. There are many Forest Week events and activities taking place this week across the state in communities, classrooms, public lands, and private forest properties to celebrate and recognize the critical role of forests in our society. Check out what’s happening on these partner social media pages: Florida Forestry Association, Florida Forest Service, UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, Florida Land Steward Partnership, Southern Group of State Foresters, Wetland Preserve.  Post and share your activities this week and tag #floridaforests

HURRICANE RECOVERY

Recovery from recent storms continues. We are sharing recovery information as it is available in these updates. Natural disaster recovery assistance resources are below:

Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has established the FDACS Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program to provide low-interest or interest-free loans to producers impacted by a declared natural disaster. Assistance is available to those impacted by Hurricanes Debby and Helene. For details and an application see the FDACS Natural Disaster Loan Program web page.

USDA offers a variety of programs to help farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, communities, and businesses that have been impacted by natural disaster events. Visit farmers.gov for all available USDA disaster recovery programs. Also see the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Emergency Assistance Updates for Florida.

See our on-demand webinar about USDA Disaster Recovery Programs.

FEMA has recovery assistance websites dedicated to Hurricanes Debby (https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4806), Helene (https://www.fema.gov/disaster/current/hurricane-helene), and Milton  (https://www.fema.gov/disaster/current/hurricane-milton)

UF/IFAS Resources: Find hurricane preparation and recovery tips and resources in our publication: Prepare your Forest Property for Hurricane Season. Review key assistance contacts and strategies to recover value and minimize economic losses to timber within a week and months after a hurricane. See our on-demand series of webinars on Hurricane Preparation and Recovery in our Florida Land Steward Events Calendar.

Hurricane season continues through November 30.  Keep an eye on the tropics at the NOAA Hurricane Center.

FLORIDA PANTHER PAYMENT FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PILOT PROGRAM NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT

Application deadline extended to October 31, 2024

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has launched the Florida Panther Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) pilot program. The program will benefit private landowners and the panther population by providing per-acre payments for habitat conditions supporting panther conservation and landscape connectivity. Landowners in the following counties are eligible for participation: Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Osceola, Polk and Sarasota. Applications for enrollment will be accepted until Oct. 31, 2024.

Interested landowners can learn more or apply for the Florida Panther PES here. Contact program staff at PES@MyFWC.com.

SIGN UP OPEN FOR USDA NRCS ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM AND CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM

Apply by November 1, 2024

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida announces Fiscal Year 2025 (October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025) federal assistance opportunities for agricultural producers, including through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). While NRCS accepts applications year-round, Florida producers and landowners should apply no later than November 1, 2024, to be considered for funding in the current FY2025 cycle. Applications received after this signup period will be automatically considered for future funding cycles.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners integrate conservation into working lands. It provides financial and technical assistance to address natural resource concerns. Benefits include conserving water; enhancing wildlife habitat; improving air, soil and water quality; mitigating impacts from climate change; and preventing soil erosion.

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is for is the largest conservation program for working lands in the country. This program helps landowners and producers enhance natural resources and improve their business operation. Landowners can earn CSP payments for conservation performance. You can get paid for conservation practices you may already be doing.

Applications are available at your local USDA Service Center or online on the Get Started with NRCS web page.

Several Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Opportunities Now Available in North Florida – Applications due November 1, 2024

Through RCPP, NRCS co-invests with partners to implement conservation projects for specific goals in specific regions. To apply for RCPP, land must be located within a project area and land management activities must address the resource concerns identified as the goal of the project. NRCS Florida has serval RCPP projects offering land management assistance opportunities for private landowners. For more details on these assistance opportunities and where they are, see this NRCS RCPP news release.

SIGN UP OPEN FOR USDA NRCS AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAM (ACEP)

Apply by December 20, 2024

Florida landowners and eligible entities may apply at any time, but to be considered for the FY 2025 funding opportunities, applications must be received by December 20, 2024 for both Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) and Agricultural Land Easements (ALE).

ACEP protects the agricultural viability and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting non-agricultural uses which negatively affect agricultural uses and conservation values. ACEP protects grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring or conserving grazing land, as well as protecting, restoring, and enhancing wetlands. See this USDA NRCS ACEP news release for more details about these easement opportunities.

Applications are available at your local USDA Service Center or online on the Get Started with NRCS web page.

GULF COASTAL PLAIN ECOSYSTEM PARTNERSHIP (GCPEP) LONGLEAF PINE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The GCPEP Longleaf Assistance Program includes incentives for longleaf establishment, stand improvement, and prescribed fire. It is available to landowners within the GCPEP project area. This includes Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Holmes Counties west of the Choctawhatchee River in Florida; and Baldwin, Escambia, Covington, Conecuh, Coffee, and Geneva and Dale Counties west of the Choctawhatchee River in Alabama. Habitat improvements must be within existing longleaf stands, mixed stands, or to establish new longleaf forests. Incentives can cover up to $100/ac. for establishment, up to $50/ac. for stand improvement, or $15/ac for prescribed fire, not to exceed 50% of landowner costs. For more information contact the Program Coordinator: Jacob Barrett, jacob@longleafalliance.org, (478) 230-4761.

ENROLL IN THE ONLINE FOREST LANDOWNER ACADEMY

Need a good self-paced primer on forestry and forest stewardship? Don’t have time to attend workshops and other events? The UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Science’s online Forest Landowner Academy is for you. The direct link to enroll is https://ifas-sfrc-for.catalog.instructure.com/courses/for-fla.

Questions about the course can be directed to Chris Demers, cdemers@ufl.edu, (352) 846-2375; or Michael Andreu, mandreu@ufl.edu.

GET FLORIDA LAND STEWARD EMAIL UPDATES

Don’t miss out on news and events! Sign up for the regular email updates! Send an email to Chris at cdemers@ufl.edu to be added to the email listserv. Florida Land Steward email updates are sent once a week or every other week and include the latest calendar of workshops, tours and other events; a link to the current issue of the quarterly Florida Land Steward newsletter; updates on cost-share and other assistance programs, opportunities, and resources; and other stewardship related news and information.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

See our Events Calendar and News page for upcoming events and ongoing programs, initiatives, and opportunities.

ACCESS THE QUARTERLY FLORIDA LAND STEWARD NEWSLETTER ONLINE

Access the current and back issues of the quarterly Florida Land Steward newsletter here.

HAVE AN EVENT OR RELATED NEWS TO SHARE?

Drop a line with the details and link(s) to Chris at cdemers@ufl.edu.

CONSIDER A GIFT IN SUPPORT OF THE UF/IFAS FLORIDA LAND STEWARD PROGRAM

The mission of the UF/IFAS Florida Land Steward Program is to help and encourage private landowners to actively manage their land resources for long-term environmental, economic, and social benefits. This program is largely supported by partners and donors. If this program has made a difference in your land stewardship efforts, please consider a gift.  Support the UF/IFAS Florida Land Steward Program here. Thanks!