Landowner Support

There are several programs that can assist you with your land protection goals.

For forest and woodland properties:

The Family Forest Carbon Program is a great opportunity to receive funding to improve woodland health on your property. Developed by the American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy, and in partnership with Pennsylvania DCNR and Audubon, the Family Forest Carbon Program supports landowners through funding and assistance to carry out certain forest stewardship activities that enhance habitat for wildlife and improve water quality on your woodland property.

Funding is currently available for two activities in Pennsylvania:

1. Limiting timber harvests to allow trees to grow large for 20 years. This practice still allows for sustainable forest management.
2. Funding for invasive or competing plant management following a regeneration harvest, such as a clear cut, group selection cutting, shelterwood harvest, or overstory removal, to allow healthy trees to grow back.

To find out if you are eligible and to learn more about the program, visit www.familyforestcarbon.org . You can use an online tool called WoodsCamp to find your parcel on a map and request a report on your woodland property. This report will provide information about the opportunities that match your forest and your goals, including the Family Forest Carbon Program.

Through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office, Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP) helps private landowners preserve and protect forested land by providing financial assistance, 10-year cost-share agreements, and 30-year, or permanent, easements. By protecting forestland, the HFRP aims to enhance biological diversity, protect threatened and endangered species, and improve carbon sequestration. To qualify for this program, an NRCS environmental assessment must determine eligibility. More information can be found here: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/easements/forests/?cid=stelprdb1242716

 

For agricultural or cultivated land and farms:

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers several programs that support and assist landowners in protecting and improving farmland, forests, grasslands, and more.

Similar to HFRP, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) offers assistance to farmers and ranchers who wish to protect the future viability of vital resources, such as working farms and agricultural lands, through conservation easements. Through the Wetlands Reserve Easements component of ACEP, assistance is available to landowners who want to preserve grasslands and wetlands in order to improve wildlife habitat and to enhance water quality for the surrounding landscape and watershed. More information is provided here: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/easements/acep/?cid=stelprdb1242695

Pennsylvania Land Trust Association’s general guide to farm preservation: https://conservationtools.org/guides/148

 

For invasive plant and deer management:

The Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) offered by the Pennsylvania Game Commission provides landowners with permits to redeem for antlerless deer tags. These ‘coupons’ can be redeemed by you, the landowner, or they can be given to hunters chosen by you for use on your property. Typically, one coupon is granted for every five acres of cultivated land or every 50 acres of non-cultivated land, but it is also possible to receive more coupons on a custom basis.

DMAP extends hunting opportunities in the first week after Thanksgiving to include antlerless harvest during the antlered-only season. Deer management is an effective strategy for forest regeneration, limiting agricultural damage, and encouraging wildlife diversity.

Refer to the DMAP application page here for more information: https://www.pgc.pa.gov/InformationResources/GetInvolved/LandownerPrograms/DeerManagementAssistanceProgram/Pages/default.aspx

>Link to Invasive Plant Guide .pdf<