People who own forestland in a part of western Arkansas can apply through May 3 for financial assistance to improve forest health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service announced.
The announcement builds on a partnership that began in 2014 between the Conservation Service and the U.S. Forest Service.
The project lasts through 2021 and focuses on enhancing shortleaf pine tree forest ecosystems in western Arkansas and southeast Oklahoma, according to the announcement.
The agencies have tried to promote shortleaf pine trees, which are native to Arkansas and the southeast United States but have largely been replaced by loblolly pine trees that the agencies argue can be problematic for forest health.
Eligible areas include private lands within 10 miles of the Ouachita or Ozark-St. Francis national forests in Arkansas and private lands within each hydrologic unit code -- the federal codes for every watershed -- of surface drinking water supplies in counties within the national forests.
People can apply by visiting their local Natural Resources Conservation Service office, which are listed at nrcs.usda.gov.
NW News on 04/19/2019