Florida's Future Forests Program

Florida's Future Forests Program is a state-funded financial assistance program administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Forest Service. The program is designed to increase Florida's forested acreage by supporting pine seedling establishment on lands that previously supported forests or are capable of supporting forests but are not currently forested. Examples include former farm or pastureland, cut-over or harvested areas, and lands affected by wildfire or hurricanes. Up to $4,000,000 is available for the funding opportunity. The program seeks to strengthen the long-term ecological and economic value of Florida forest lands while supporting ecosystem services, future raw materials for the forest industry, and related social, cultural, civic, and workforce benefits. Funding is provided as cost-share reimbursement for approved forest establishment practices. Eligible practices include prescribed burning site preparation at $30 per acre, mechanical site preparation at $150 per acre, chemical site preparation at $115 per acre, machine or hand planting at $60 per acre, containerized pine seedlings at $180 per 1,000 seedlings, and bareroot pine seedlings at $60 per 1,000 seedlings. Eligible pine species are longleaf, loblolly, slash, and sand pine, and planting density must be between 425 and 807 trees per acre. Applicants may request practices on a minimum of 10 acres and a maximum of 250 acres. Payment may not exceed the lesser of actual practice costs, applicable maximum reimbursement rates, or $125,065 per agreement. Practices performed before execution of the State Financial Assistance Recipient Agreement are not eligible for reimbursement. Eligible applicants include non-industrial private landowners, including private individuals, groups, associations, corporations that are not wood-using entities and do not have publicly traded stock, and other private legal entities with decision-making authority over eligible land. County or local governments and legally organized and registered nonprofit organizations, entities, or institutions may also apply. Nonprofit applicants must perform funded practices on privately owned land. Eligible sites include private, nonprofit entity, and local government lands; state and federal lands are ineligible. Acreage enrolled in another state or federally funded cost-share program is not eligible for reimbursement, and only one application may be submitted per applicant or entity during the funding cycle. Applicants owing money to FDACS under a Final Order, fire suppression bill, or other debt are ineligible. The application process begins when the landowner or an authorized representative contacts the Florida Forest Service County Forester assigned to the county where the property is located. The County Forester or an FDACS designee conducts a site visit to determine property eligibility and appropriate practices, confirms the acreage and requested practices with the applicant, and creates the application in the FFS Customer Relationship Management online portal. Required application materials include applicant information, a completed and signed Attachment A Project Budget Worksheet, a stand map meeting Attachment C mapping standards, and certification of a Florida Substitute W-9. MyFloridaMarketPlace vendor registration is also required when applicable for non-private-citizen entities. The fully signed Attachment A, stand map, and Substitute W-9 certification are uploaded to the FFS CRM portal by the FFS County Forester or FDACS designee. Applications are not accepted by mail or email. Eligible applications are evaluated using a point system with a maximum of 40 points. Scoring considers pine species, the combination of practices requested, planting acreage, and the applicant's previous participation in Florida's Future Forests Program. Longleaf and slash pine receive the highest species score. Practice combinations containing prescribed burning, seedlings, and planting receive the highest practice score, while smaller planting acreage receives more acreage points than larger acreage. Applicants who have never previously participated or received payment through the program receive the highest prior-participation score. Applications are ranked by total score, and available funding is allocated from the highest-scoring eligible applications downward until funds are exhausted. Tied scores are resolved through a random sequence process. FDACS may provide partial funding, reject applications, or waive minor irregularities when determined to be in the state's best interest. The RFA was released January 13, 2026, and completed applications were required to be entered into the FFS CRM portal no later than March 27, 2026, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Award notices were anticipated for April 13, 2026. Successful applicants must fully execute the State Financial Assistance Recipient Agreement within 30 days after receipt, and no on-the-ground practices may begin before execution by all parties. All funded practices must be completed by April 30, 2027, and reimbursement paperwork must be received by the FFS State Office by May 14, 2027. Established forest stands must generally be maintained for at least five years following treatment, with periodic FFS property visits continuing through June 30, 2032. Questions about the program or application process may be directed to Gregory Marshall at (850) 545-6194.

Contact the assigned FFS County Forester early so the required site visit, practice verification, mapping, and Attachment A preparation can be completed before the deadline. Ensure the Stand Map satisfies every Attachment C requirement because poor-quality or nonconforming maps may cause rejection or delay. Do not begin funded practices before the agreement is fully executed. Confirm that proposed acreage is not enrolled in another State or Federal cost-share program. For ranking, note that species, practice combination, planting acreage, and prior Florida's Future Forests Program participation directly affect the application score.