(Friday - December 04, 2020 - News release from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) - Being a forest landowner can be fun and quite rewarding, but it also requires time and effort to reap those rewards. Being a good steward of the land is one responsibility that forest landowners must undertake. Managing your land can provide you with some great habitat for hunting, improve trails for hiking, or create some periodic income through timber harvests. Although harvesting timber brings in some financial gains through selling the timber, most other forest management activities don't always provide the same benefit. One option that landowners have, to help with this financial burden, is to utilize cost share programs provided by the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

The NRCS offers several programs that landowners can use to apply for funding to address issues with their natural resources. These issues could include over or understocked forests, invasive shrubs, lack of wildlife food sources, and much more. The funding can also help cover some of the costs for writing a long-term forest management plan, which is written with the input from qualified forestry professionals. Forest management plans are also needed to enroll in tax savings programs, such as the Qualified Forest Program.

If you're not sure whether you have natural resource issues on your property, call your local NRCS Service Center or the local Conservation District. The NRCS and the Conservation District have staff that can help you with managing your property, providing education, and assisting with applying for funding from the NRCS programs. Each NRCS program has a sign-up period each year and this year's sign-up period for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program has a deadline of January 22, 2021. Anybody interested in receiving forest management assistance should contact Amy Walker at (906) 774-1550 ext 100 or www.dmfapforester@gmail.com.

Those interested in applying for financial assistance from the NRCS should contact Tom Berndt or Michael Paling at (906) 774-1550 ext. 108 or ext. 107.