On December 5, 2024, in response to 2024 hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced flexibilities that will allow the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to expedite approval of payments and practice implementation for Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP), and Tree Assistance Program (TAP) applicants impacted by these three named storms in 2024.
Figure 1: Hurricane Debby moved inland over north Florida into southern Georgia, slowing its forward speed, before emerging back over the ocean just off the coast of South Carolina on Aug. 6. (credit Weather.com).
Figure 2: Hurricane Helene wind zone boundaries obtained from NOAA National Hurricane Center (NHC, left) and the TreeS-DIP forest damage map produced by the U.S. Forest Service Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (right, credit GTAC and Dr. Robert Chastain).
Figure 3: Hurricane Milton threatened South Georgia only weeks after Hurricane Helene (credit National Hurricane Center/TNS).
Expedited Emergency Conservation and Disaster Recovery Payments for Producers Provide Necessary Relief to Forest Landowners
Why this matters: With 88% of Georgia’s damaged timberlands being privately owned, governmental relief efforts are essential to a full recovery. The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) provides financial and technical assistance to help agricultural producers rehabilitate land and conservation structures damaged by natural disasters. The Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) provides financial and technical assistance to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forestland to complete forest restoration activities to restore forest resources and forest health. And the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) provides financial assistance to orchardists and nursery tree growers to help cover the cost of replanting or rehabilitating eligible trees, bushes and vines that produce annual crops that were damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster.
The December 5th announcement stipulated the USDA will streamline and provide flexibility for ECP and EFRP applicants to start non-ground disturbing activities like surface debris removal and fence restoration without FSA prior approval or on-site inspection. These flexibilities on environmental compliance requirements will allow participants to restore private forestland to pre-disaster conditions and prevent subsequent damage- while also addressing debris hazards to natural resources, critical infrastructures, and public health and safety. Once land has been restored to pre-disaster condition, producers can apply for TAP to financial assistance to replace damaged trees, bushes and vines to bring the land back into production.
Photo Credit: Georgia Forestry Association – Following Hurricane Helene
“Producers impacted by natural disasters, including hurricanes, are often up against the clock when it comes to recovery efforts to bring damaged agricultural land back into production, coupled with the day-to-day management of their operations, time is of the essence,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. “By reducing required documentation and simplifying environmental compliance reviews, producers can implement restoration activities sooner, our offices can approve cost share payments more quickly and we can clear the application backlog in states where producers have been hard-hit by numerous catastrophic hurricanes and other natural disaster events.”
How this applies to forest landowners: According to the USDA, due to emergency circumstances, FSA received a categorical exclusions waiver that will allow alternative arrangements to meet National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance for seven ground disturbing activities. Because these activities occur in locations where the natural disaster event itself caused the ground disturbance, these restoration activities have low potential to adversely impact resources.
The exclusions wavier covers the following practices:
- Fence replacement
- Sediment removal, incorporation, grading, shaping and leveling
- Tree, root and stump removal
- Roads, bridges and culverts necessary to facilitate forest restoration
- Burning of woody debris
- Vegetation removal, including tree stumps, on 40 or more total acres
- Clear cutting operations for timber on 100 or more total acres.
Click here for more on ECP, EFRP and TAP or to apply for disaster recovery assistance.
Visit gfagrow.org/hurricane-helene to learn more about Hurricane Helene’s impact on Georgia’s most productive forestlands.
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