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USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land in order to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster. Funding for EFRP is appropriated by Congress.
EFRP is administered by FSA’s state and county committees and offices. Subject to availability of funds, locally-elected county committees are authorized to implement EFRP for all disasters except drought and insect infestations, which are authorized at the FSA national office.
Land Eligibility
County FSA committees determine land eligibility using on-site damage inspections that assess the type and extent of damage. To be eligible for EFRP, NIPF land must:
- Have existing tree cover (or had tree cover immediately before the natural disaster occurred and is suitable for growing trees); and,
- Be owned by any nonindustrial private individual, group, association, corporation, or other private legal entity, that has definitive decision-making authority over the land.
In addition, the natural disaster must have resulted in damage that if untreated would:
- Impair or endanger the natural resources on the land; and,
- Materially affect future use of the land.
Payments
EFRP program participants may receive financial assistance of up to 75 percent of the cost to implement approved emergency forest restoration practices as determined by county FSA committees. Individual or cumulative requests for financial assistance of $50,000 or less per person or legal entity, per disaster are approved by the county committee. Financial assistance from $50,001 to $100,000 is approved by the state committee. Financial assistance over $100,000 must be approved at the FSA national office. A payment limitation of $500,000 per person or legal entity applies per disaster.
Emergency Forest Restoration Practices
To restore NIPF, EFRP program participants may implement emergency forest restoration practices, including emergency measures:
- Necessary to repair damage caused by a natural disaster to natural resources on nonindustrial private forest land; and
- Restore forest health and forest related resources on the land.
Other emergency measures may be authorized by county FSA committees, with approval from state FSA committees and the FSA national office.
Sign-up Periods
Producers should check with their local county FSA offices regarding EFRP sign-up periods, which are set by county FSA committees.
For More Information
Additional information on EFRP is available at FSA offices and on FSA’s website at: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov and www.fsa.usda.gov/conservation
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