On Monday, June 3, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $19.1 billion emergency supplemental disaster relief package, which includes some critical funding for private forest landowners who were impacted by natural disasters.
The package added $480 million to the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP), earmarked for private forest owners. In addition, $3.005 billion in disaster relief payments were included to provide states with funding to assist with expenses related to the losses of crops, including trees and other commodities.
“We are thankful for the leadership of Georgia’s Senators and House members in passing this much needed funding,” GFA President & CEO Andres Villegas said. “We look forward to working with state and federal partners to ensure that resources flow to timberland owners affected by Hurricane Michael”
GFA will continue to provide updates to members as the U.S. Department of Agriculture determines how funding is distributed. For questions on this issue, contact Director of Government Affairs Tom Beyer at tom@gfagrow.org.