The Florida Forest service is taking applications for the 2020 Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program

 The Florida Forest service is taking applications for the 2020 Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program.

The southern pine beetle is one of the most destructive forest pests in the southeast, and periodic outbreaks can rapidly kill millions of pine trees on tens of thousands of acres.

Since 2015, over 460 infestations have been reported in Florida, killing trees on more than 2,200 acres.

The last major outbreaks between 1999 and 2002 caused an estimated $59 million dollars in timber losses on over 24,000 acres.

The Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program offers an incentive payment for landowners who conduct a first pulpwood thinning and partial cost reimbursement for prescribed burning, mechanical underbrush treatments and planting longleaf or slash pine.

Since it was first offered in 2005, the program has supported these practices on more than 197,000 acres around the state.

The program is limited to 44 northern Florida counties located within the range of the southern pine beetle including Franklin, Gulf, Wakulla and Liberty counties.

Applications will be accepted through August 6th.

https://www.fdacs.gov/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Our-Forests/Forest-Health/Forest-Insects/Southern-Pine-Beetle/Southern-Pine-Beetle-Prevention

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