Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program

• Grant program offering cost reimbursement to private forest landowners in Florida for pine forest management practices • Funded through USDA Forest Service temporary grants, administered by Florida Forest Service • Eligible applicants: Non-industrial private forest landowners • Covered activities include: - First pulpwood thinning - Prescribed burning - Other forest management practices to reduce pine beetle susceptibility • Program goals: - Minimize southern pine beetle damage in Florida - Help landowners implement preventive management practices - Improve overall pine stand health through thinning, prescribed burning, and competition control • This appears to be a recurring grant program to help prevent pine beetle outbreaks, which have historically damaged millions of cubic feet of Florida timber