The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency is tow accepting applications for the emergency forest restoration program to address damage from the May 2024 snow storm that caused trees to break.

Jill Lorang, FSA county director, said the sign-up period is Aug. 1-30.

A public meeting to discuss EFRP is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Monarch Fire Station.

ERP provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest land to restore land damaged by a natural disaster, according to Lorang.

Before an application for EFRP assistance is approved, an onsite inspection of the damages by FSA, in cooperation with a state forester, is required to verify the damages and enable an environmental review, according to the agency.

“FSA remains committed to helping landowners impacted by this disaster,” Maureen Wicks, state executive director, said in a release. “I encourage eligible landowners to contact the FSA county office as soon as possible to make an appointment to apply.”

To meet eligibility requirements, nonindustrial private forest land must have existing tree cover or had tree cover immediately before the storm occurred and be sustainable for growing trees, according to FSA.

The land must also be owned by any nonindustrial private individual, group, association, corporation or other private legal entity that has definitive decision-making authority over the land, according to the FSA.

*Photo by Montana Tourism

Jenn Rowell

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