The Sequestering Carbon and Protecting Florida Land Program is a new program designed to help increase the acreage of healthy forests in Florida by helping Florida landowners to make the long-term investment required to establish and/or maintain this valuable ecosystem. The program offers landowners incentive payments for conducting certain approved forest management practices that establish new forest stands. This program is administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Forest Service and is funded by the state of Florida.

The Florida Forest Service will focus the use of funds on providing incentive payments to landowners to encourage implementation of approved tree establishment practices, including site preparation, seedling purchase and planting.

2021 Sequestering Carbon and Protecting Florida Land Program

The 2021 program is now available for project application. This program is part of Florida’s ongoing initiative to increase the state’s forest cover. Applications will be accepted through Oct. 8, 2021. Interested applicants can find more information by viewing the request for applications at https://www.myflorida.com/apps/vbs/vbs_www.ad_r2.view_ad?advertisement_key_num=160693. After the application period has closed, applicants will be notified of the results by an email and an official letter..

Applicants are limited to non-industrial private landowners; a county or local government; or a legally organized and registered nonprofit organization, entity or institution owning its own lands. Florida landowners with a practice area of a minimum of 20 acres are encouraged to apply. Funding opportunities will max out at 250 acres for reforestation.

Practice Categories

Site Preparation
• Prescribed Burning: Can be used to clear logging debris from the planting site or as a control method for grasses and woody vegetation that compete with the pine seedlings.
• Mechanical: Any mechanical treatment to remove debris or vegetative competition or to prepare the soil for pine seedling establishment. Examples would be root raking, subsoiling, bedding, scalping, shearing or any other activity approved by the Florida Forest Service.

• Chemical: Herbicide treatment to control grasses and woody shrubs that would compete with the pine seedlings. Chemical treatment is recommended where prescribed burning is a more restrictive option.

Planting
• Machine Planting: Method used with a wheeled tractor or crawler.
• Hand Planting: Method used by an individual with a dibble, hoedad or shovel.

Seedlings
• Containerized: Pine seedlings that are grown in soil plugs and shipped with soil formed around the roots.
• Bareroot: Pine seedlings that have no soil around their roots when shipped.