Financial
relief may be available to assist timber owners who suffered
damages as a result of the severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that left a path of destruction
across several counties in Alabama on January 12, 2023.
The Alabama Forestry
Commission encourages adversely
affected forest landowners to reach out to their local Farm Service Agency
(FSA) offices to request funding through the Emergency Forest Restoration
Program (EFRP). Landowners will need to submit a request for EFRP so that an
Environmental Assessment can be done regarding their storm-related damages.
Once enough landowners have reached out to the FSA, implementation of EFRP will
be requested. Although there is no guarantee, the more interest is generated,
the likelier the program will be activated. EFRP must be activated for
assistance to be offered.
To find contact information for
your local FSA office, visit https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app