Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program

The Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program is a cost-share program designed to help landowners thin overstocked pine stands to reduce the risk of southern pine beetle outbreaks. The program's goal is to provide quality forest management guidance that promotes profitable and healthy pine stands for the future while proactively managing the hazard and spread of southern pine beetle and Ips bark beetles. The program is administered through the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Forestry Division, and funding for the program is provided through U.S. Forest Service award agreement 25-DG-11083105-004. The 2026 application materials describe thinning as an effective method for lowering the risk of pine bark beetle infestations. Eligible participants identified in the application include non-industrial private landowners, groups, small corporations, and part-time forest product manufacturers. Participants must have at least 10 contiguous acres of pine. For thinning practices, the property must have an estimated stand-wide basal area greater than 120 square feet per acre of pine, or more than 700 trees per acre for pre-commercial thinning. The applicant must be the legal owner or have power of attorney for the property where the practices will be performed and must assume responsibility for the parcel boundaries. The project-plan form also asks whether the landowner owns less than 2,500 acres and requests information about forest health issues, signs of tree mortality, long-term management planning, and previous participation in SPBPP. The program provides cost-share assistance for approved projects. Each landowner is eligible for a maximum cost share of 10,000 dollars, and the application also states a 10,000 dollar cap per landowner or logger per grant year. Any thinning completed before approval of the SPBPP application is not eligible for cost share. For thinning practices, a timber sale agreement is required before an application can be approved. The agreement must identify the landowner and logger, acres of harvest, and length of the contract or project completion date. Cost-share allocations are completed by the Department using requested acres and the applicable incentive or not-to-exceed rate referenced in the SPBPP Guidelines. A logger incentive may be allowable for first commercial thinning and chipping projects involving 40 acres or less. The available materials do not state a minimum award, total program funding amount, fixed number of awards, or required applicant matching percentage or ratio. Applicants complete the SPBPP Project Plan and Application and provide the requested applicant, property, and project information. The project plan requires a printed map of the tract through the Fire and Activity Reporting System, or FARS. Other requested information includes the SPBPP practice recommendation, pine basal area before the project, recommended basal area, recommended best management practices, other forest management considerations, consulting forester information when applicable, and logger information for thinning practices. The application also includes fields for the logger's contract period and the person who prepared the application and plan. If the plan was not prepared by a Department forester, the form includes a separate forester approval section. Landowners must register as vendors with the Arkansas Office of State Procurement at https://vendor.ark.org/ to obtain a vendor number. Applicants without a vendor registration number at application must complete the Vendor Registration Confirmation Form immediately after project approval. The deadline for 2026 applications is August 28, 2026. Applications are to be submitted by email to ADA.SPBPP@arkansas.gov. No separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, notice of intent, or other pre-application gating requirement is identified in the provided materials. Applicants must inform the Department before project work begins and keep the Department informed about project progress, including scheduled harvesting activities and practice completion. The Department has the right to inspect the property before and after completion, and applicants must provide requested documentation such as invoices, canceled checks, or mill receipts. Approved projects must be completed by June 1, 2027. After this date, the Department reserves the right to cancel the project's cost-share allocation. Upon project completion, Department personnel visit the property to conduct a final assessment and complete the SPBPP Project Completion Summary. The completed project plan and application, thinning agreement, completion summary with vendor numbers, and documentation of project expenses are sent to the SPBPP Program Manager in Little Rock. Reimbursement is then made by direct deposit to the landowner's account. The materials do not identify an award notification date or establish an explicit recurring annual application schedule beyond identifying the current deadline as the deadline for 2026 applications.

Submit the 2026 application to ADA.SPBPP@arkansas.gov by August 28, 2026. Do not begin thinning before SPBPP approval because prior work is ineligible for cost share. Include the required timber sale agreement for thinning and the printed FARS tract map. Complete state vendor registration for payment. Notify the Department before project work begins and provide progress updates. Retain project expense documentation. Complete the approved project by June 1, 2027.