2026 Alabama Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program
Ends on
Program Overview
The Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program is offered to eligible non-industrial private forest landowners by the Alabama Forestry Commission through temporary grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. Please note this program is for prevention practices only and is not available for individual tree removals and remediation. In addition, no practices can be retroactively cost-shared. Only approved applicants that conduct thinnings after approval will be eligible for cost-share reimbursement.
Periodic southern pine beetle outbreaks in Alabama have resulted in millions of cubic feet of pine timber killed on thousands of acres. The goal of this program is to minimize the risk of southern pine beetle outbreaks by assisting landowners with proactive management practices to improve forest health and lessen the susceptibility of pine stands to southern pine beetle attacks.
Covered Practices
Commercial thinning of loblolly or shortleaf pine stand:
- Stand must be 12-22 years old.
- Average diameter at breast height (DBH) should be in the range of 7-16 inches.
- Trees per acre is greater than or equal to 600, or basal area is greater than or equal to 120 square feet.
- Thinning reimbursement: $100 per acre.
- Following the thinning practice, basal area must be between 40-80 square feet per acre.
- If the stand is rated high for annosus root rot (ARR) and the landowner wishes to use borax treatment, then an extra $20 per acre is awarded as an incentive.
- Max acreage enrollment is 100 acres per landowner.
- You will need to provide documentation of the total logging and hauling costs associated with the timber sale. This is required for reporting and can be obtained in a few ways.
- Load sheets displaying delivered mill price versus the stumpage price paid to landowner.
- Up front logging and hauling cost rate provided on the timber sale contract multiplied by the total tons harvested.
* In the case that these values cannot be directly reported, a summary of the total tons harvested of each product class with the agreed upon stumpage values is allowed.
Non-Commercial thinning of loblolly or shortleaf pine stand:
· Stands eligible for non-commercial thinning are pre-merchantable pine stands that are excessively overstocked (>600 Trees per acre).
- Non-commercial thinning can be completed using hand crews and mechanical methods to reduce stocking to a healthy level that an AFC forester will determine during a field visit.
- Residual trees should have desirable form and evenly spaced.
- Non-Commercial Thinning reimbursement: $300 per acre
Both practices have a maximum reimbursement of $10,000 per landowner.
Landowner Agreement
Landowners approved into the program will have to sign an agreement including, but not limited to, the following conditions pertaining to landowner services.
- Landowner must allow permission to enter and leave (ingress and egress) the property for the purpose of verifying, mapping, and performing any necessary related acts that may relate to them conducting the service requested.
- Landowner will agree to release and indemnify the Alabama Forestry Commission (including its officials, employees, agents, and contractors) from any claims, demands, causes of action, and/or liabilities of any nature arising from or related to this program.
Joint Ownership
Where more than one person owns the land jointly, such as a group, association, or corporation, the joint owners are considered as one eligible landowner. All owners in joint ownership must sign the cost-share application. Individual owners who share in joint ownership, but also own separate property in their own name, may participate as individuals, and the joint ownership does not affect their eligibility. Application with joint ownerships will include only one tax identification number and only one payment to be issued. The principal applicant will be responsible for dividing the payment appropriately among the owners.
How to Apply
The link for the Landowner Services Program application is listed below. In the online application, participants will be required to answer questions that pertain directly to eligibility.
Submittal and receipt of an application by the Forest Health Coordinator does not guarantee acceptance into the program. AFC program staff will review the applications, which will be accepted or rejected based on the program specific eligibility requirements. After eligible sites are evaluated by AFC personnel, the local AFC office will reach out to you for further instruction. Landowners accepted into the program must also register their W-9 information at the State of Alabama Vendor Self Service website at https://procurement.staars.alabama.gov/. Reimbursement cannot be made until you have a completed vendor account. The STAARS helpdesk can provide assistance in establishing an account at (334) 353-9000