Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Forest Service (FS)

To apply, contact the Forest Legacy Program national team at sm.fs.flp@usda.gov

Scott Stewart

Forest Legacy Program Manager

Claire Harper

The purpose of the Forest Legacy Program is to identify and conserve environmentally important forest areas that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. Providing economic incentives to landowners to keep their forest as forests encourages sustainable forest management and supports strong markets for&#x2004;forest products.


Landowners may participate in the Forest Legacy Program by either selling their property outright or by retaining ownership and selling only a portion of the property’s development rights; both are held by state agencies or another unit of government. The use of a conservation easement, a legal agreement between a landowner and a non-profit land trust or governmental agency, allows the land to remain in private ownership while ensuring that its environmental values are retained.




The purpose of the Forest Legacy Program is to identify and conserve environmentally important forest areas that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. Providing economic incentives to landowners to keep their forest as forests encourages sustainable forest management and supports strong markets for forest products.

Landowners may participate in the Forest Legacy Program by either selling their property outright or by retaining ownership and selling only a portion of the property’s development rights; both are held by state agencies or another unit of government. The use of a conservation easement, a legal agreement between a landowner and a non-profit land trust or governmental agency, allows the land to remain in private ownership while ensuring that its environmental values are retained.


A proposed project’s eligibility to be included in the Forest Legacy Program (FLP) is determined by both the Federal requirements included in this section plus any requirements identified by a State Forest Action Plan or other pertinent State law. For the purposes of these implementation guidelines, a proposed FLP tract meets the minimum eligibility if: 
- It is within, or partially within, a designated FLA.
- It has a minimum of 75 percent forestland or a documented plan that includes sufficient landowner capacity to reforest to at least 75 percent forestland. 
- It can be managed consistent with the purpose for which it was acquired by FLP.
- The landowner is willing to sell or donate the interest in perpetuity.
- The landowner acknowledges that the conservation easement will be held by a government entity if Federal funds are used for the acquisition.

State and local governments, individuals, tribal governments, and non-profit organizations are all eligible recipients.

Payment per unit of land to do or avoid certain practices related to land management.

Easement

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

Forestry

Forest Residues

Timber

- Inflation Reduction Act Call For Funding
- Land and Water Conservation Fund Call for Funding
- Forest Legacy Program Scoring Guidance
- Program Implementation Guidelines (PDF
- FS Budget and Performance
- FS Strategic Plan


Air Quality

Carbon Capture

Certification

High Tunnel

Landscape

Regenerative

Soil Health

Wildlife & Pollinator Habitat

Trees

Certified Organic

Certified Grassfed

Cover Crops

Reduced Tillage

Water Management

Landowners with completed FLP conservation easements on their property(s) have the longterm responsibility for managing their land in a manner consistent with the purposes of the FLP and the terms specified in the conservation easement and Multi-Resource Management Part II – Forest Legacy Program Structure and Funding 16 Forest Legacy Program Implementation Guidelines Plan. Landowners who purchase or inherit properties with FLP conservation easements also assume these long-term roles.

To apply, reach out to your local USDA service center.

Clint Cross

Matthew Vandersande

The Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership enables NRCS and the Forest Service to collaborate with states, agricultural producers, forest landowners, tribes and public land managers to invest in conservation and restoration at a big enough scale to make a positive difference. Working in partnership, and at&#x2004;this scale, helps reduce wildfire threats to communities, protect water quality and supply, and improve wildlife habitat for at-risk species.


2025 Projects: USDA is investing more than $8 million for five new projects through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Program. The $8 million investment in new projects is in addition to $32 million for 24 existing three-year-long projects. These projects reduce wildfire risk, protect water quality, and improve forest health across the nation.


Since 2014, USDA has invested more than $423 million in 134 projects in 42 states as well as Guam and Puerto Rico.



The Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership enables NRCS and the Forest Service to collaborate with states, agricultural producers, forest landowners, tribes and public land managers to invest in conservation and restoration at a big enough scale to make a positive difference. Working in partnership, and at this scale, helps reduce wildfire threats to communities, protect water quality and supply, and improve wildlife habitat for at-risk species.

2025 Projects: USDA is investing more than $8 million for five new projects through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Program. The $8 million investment in new projects is in addition to $32 million for 24 existing three-year-long projects. These projects reduce wildfire risk, protect water quality, and improve forest health across the nation.

Since 2014, USDA has invested more than $423 million in 134 projects in 42 states as well as Guam and Puerto Rico.

There is no landowner application to Joint Chiefs'. The partnership selects project areas, and the projects are proposed by the agencies, not by you: "Joint Chiefs' project proposals are developed at the local level through a collaborative process between NRCS, Forest Service and partners... Proposals are submitted by the local NRCS and Forest Service offices to the national agency offices. Proposals are reviewed and vetted at multiple levels in the agencies based on local, state, Tribal and regional priorities." Past partners "have included county, state, non-governmental, Tribal, utilities or private individual stakeholders."

So for a farmer or woodland owner the real eligibility test is geographic: does your land sit inside a currently funded Joint Chiefs' project area? Ask your local NRCS field office, and check the annual project summaries and the interactive project map on the program page.

Who ultimately receives the money: private forest landowners and agricultural producers inside those project areas. The program "enables NRCS and the Forest Service to collaborate with states, agricultural producers, forest landowners, tribes and public land managers," works "in partnership with state forestry agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private landowners," and the funded projects "provide private landowners with conservation resources that help them complete restoration efforts on their land." Projects are sited "where public forests and grasslands intersect with privately-owned lands" — that is, near National Forest System land.

If your land is in a funded project, you enroll through the regular NRCS conservation programs, and the ordinary NRCS eligibility check applies as stated on this page: "An official tax ID (Social Security number or an employer ID)", "A property deed or lease agreement to show you have control of the property", and "A farm number" from FSA, plus "an AD 1026" for highly erodible land and wetland compliance.

The work funded is forestry, not cropland conservation: "hazardous fuel treatments, installing fire breaks, reforestation, riparian habitat restoration."

No acreage minimum, income limit, or audience restriction is published. The evaluation criteria on the page govern project proposals, not individual landowners — they reward "Reduction of wildfire risk in a municipal watershed or the wildland-urban interface (WUI)," alignment with Forest Service Wildfire Crisis Strategy landscapes and high-risk firesheds, and "Coordination (i.e., pre-planning) with individual landowners within the proposed project's boundaries."

Conservation

Disaster Relief

Emergency

No per-landowner award ceiling, payment rate, or cost-share percentage is published.

Joint Chiefs' is not a sign-up a farmer applies to directly. NRCS and the Forest Service competitively select multi-partner, landscape-scale projects; if your land falls inside a funded project area, you then get assistance through the regular NRCS conservation programs, on your state's practice payment schedules — NRCS says to "Review the amount and availability of financial assistance for selected conservation practices in your state." Payment follows completed work: "If you're selected, you can choose whether to sign the contract for the work to be done."

Project term: "Through the three-year projects, NRCS and Forest Service work in partnership with state forestry agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private landowners to apply targeted forestry management practices across public and private lands."

Every dollar figure the program publishes is project-level, not per farm — for 2025, "USDA is investing more than $8 million for five new projects... in addition to $32 million for 24 existing three-year-long projects," and cumulatively "Since 2014, USDA has invested more than $423 million in 134 projects in 42 states as well as Guam and Puerto Rico." Do not read those as anything you can receive.

Funded work is the forest-health set: "hazardous fuel treatments, installing fire breaks, reforestation, riparian habitat restoration."

What to ask your local NRCS field office: whether your property sits inside a currently funded Joint Chiefs' project area, and what the payment rate is for the specific forestry practices you want in your state.

Cost-share sign-up periods occur four times throughout the year. Landowners should contact their local Area Forester to verify eligibility and complete planning before enrolling.

Tennessee Department of Agriculture

The Southern Pine Beetle cost-share program provides financial assistance to private landowners to help manage pine forests and make them more resilient to beetle infestations. Funds come from the USDA Forest Service and are administered by Tennessee's Division of Forestry.



Eligible landowners are private individuals, joint owners, non-publicly-traded corporations, and nonprofit organizations. Excluded are government entities, wood-using industries, publicly-traded corporations, and commercial recreation operations. Eligible forests are pine stands harvested or killed by Southern Pine Beetle, stands needing beetle suppression, and those requiring thinning or replanting; stands must have more than 50% of their basal area in pine prior to SPB attack.

Inputs

Forest Management

Both hazard-reduction and risk-reduction practices offer 50% reimbursement with per-acre maximums. Hazard reduction (reestablishment): site preparation ($30–$100/acre) and planting ($45–$75/acre). Risk reduction (existing stand improvement): competition control ($30–$50/acre), thinning ($55/acre), and beetle suppression ($250/acre, priority). Annual maximum is $20,000 per landowner across all practices combined.

The 2026 application window (September 1 – October 9, 2026) has closed. Contact your local County Forester office for details.

Florida Forest Service — Main Office

The Florida Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program helps non-industrial private forest landowners reduce pine beetle damage through management practices. It provides partial cost reimbursement or incentive payments for forest treatments that improve stand health and decrease infestation susceptibility. Funding comes from temporary USDA Forest Service grants.



Eligible applicants are non-industrial private forest landowners located in 44 northern Florida counties within the southern pine beetle range. Minimum tract size is 10 acres (5 acres for first pulpwood thinning). One application per landowner annually, with up to two approved practices per year.

Maximum funding is $10,000 per landowner per year. All payments are made at specified per-acre or per-seedling rates. Eligible practices: first pulpwood thinning, prescribed burning, planting longleaf and/or slash pine, and mechanical underbrush treatments. Limited funding is available.

Cost-share rates. First pulpwood thinning $100/acre; prescribed burning $15/acre; mechanical underbrush treatment $30/acre. Pine stands established or treated with program funds must be maintained for at least five (5) years following completion of the treatment.

See the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) on the USDA Forest Service Forest Landowner Support page for eligibility, deadlines, and proposal requirements.

USDA Forest Service — Forest Landowner Support (IRA)

Forest Landowner Support provides competitive grant opportunities to entities and organizations for delivering technical and financial assistance to private forest landowners. The USDA Forest Service made $150 million from the Inflation Reduction Act available to help underserved and small-acreage forest landowners connect to emerging voluntary climate markets.



Eligible entities include Tribal governments and organizations, states, local governments, public and private non-profits, and for-profit entities. The program supports underserved landowners and small-acreage landowners (owning less than 2,500 acres) in emerging private markets for climate mitigation and forest resilience.

Beginning Farmers

Socially Disadvantaged

Veterans

Español

Native Americans

People Of Color

Women

Applicants could submit up to three proposals for up to $25 million total, and submit separate proposals to different tracks (which had varying deadlines). Supported activities include connecting landowners with emerging climate markets, state-endorsed cost-share payment programs for forest management on private land, and state/non-profit programs that pay landowners for practices that increase carbon sequestration and storage.

List of Forest Service (FS) Funding Opportunities