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Forest Resource Development Program

The Forest Resource Development Program (FRDP) was created by the Mississippi Legislature in 1974 to aid in the development of the state’s forest-based economy. It is funded by the Timber Severance Tax - a state tax collected when timber is harvested.

Let us help you grow a healthy forest and turn your trees into usable Forest Products! This Story Map showcases the FRDP program, its effects, and how to enroll.

What is the Forest Resource Development Program (FRDP)?

The FRDP provides financial assistance to eligible landowners for establishing and improving a crop of trees. The program helps offset landowners’ expenses by sharing the cost of implementing specific forestry practices designed to produce timber and enhance wildlife development. 

Cost-share payments cover up to 75 percent (depending on the practice) of the total cost of implementing one or more forestry practices at the flat rate established for each practice. 

Eligible landowners can receive up to $10,000 of FRDP assistance each year. In turn, the landowner agrees to protect the area by receiving FRDP assistance from fire and grazing and properly managing the area for a minimum of ten years. 

How Does FRDP Work?

The landowner works with their Area Forester to prepare a management prescription for each area where FRDP assistance will be applied, ensuring the forestry practices needed to establish or improve a crop of trees. The landowner may work with a private forestry consultant or another registered forester.

The Area Forester works with the landowner to ensure the prescription meets both the landowner and program objectives. Once approved, the landowner is responsible for making the necessary arrangements to implement each practice (e.g., contract with a vendor, order seedlings, etc.).

Eligible Forestry Practices

Cost-share rates and practices are subject to change. Contact local your local Area Forester to confirm current rates and practices. Eligible practices include:

  • Tree Planting – Pine 
  • Tree Planting – Hardwood 
  • Tree Planting – Free Seedlings 
  • Light Site Preparation – Chemical 
  • Light Site Preparation – Mechanical 
  • Heavy Site Preparation – Chemical 
  • Heavy Site Preparation – Mechanical 
  • Post Planting Site Preparation 
  • Release 
  • Combination Woody/Herbaceous Treatment 
  • Site Preparation Burning 
  • Silvicultural Burning 
  • Tree Planting – Containerized Longleaf 
  • Tree Planting – Bareroot Longleaf 
  • Tree Planting – Containerized Loblolly 
  • Site Preparation for Natural Regeneration 
  • Firebreaks 
  • Mixed Stand Regeneration 
  • Supplemental Hardwood Planting 
  • Pre-Commercial Thinning 
  • Post Planting Herbaceous – Banded 
  • Subsoiling – Open Field 
  • Post Planting Herbaceous – Broadcast 
  • Fertilization – Stand Health 
  • Mid-Rotation Management in Plant Plantation 
  • BOE Management Plans for FRDP

Who is Eligible for Assistance?

FRDP assistance is available to landowners in Mississippi who own at least 10 acres of manageable forestland. Landowners eligible for assistance include:

  • Private nonindustrial landowners, groups, or associations 
  • Landowning state agencies 
  • A political subdivision of Mississippi 

We accept applications for FRDP assistance on a first-come, first-served basis. Landowners failing to receive immediate cost-share assistance will be notified as soon as funds become available.

Landowner Responsibilities

Landowners receiving FRDP assistance are responsible for meeting these requirements:

  • Provide a forest management prescription for each area where cost-share assistance will be applied. 
  • Implement all practices approved in the forest management prescription. 
  • Carry out each practice as soon as possible following approval. (All forestry practices must be completed during the fiscal year for which they are approved – a period from July 1 of one year to June 30 of the next.) 
  • Pay the total cost of implementing each approved practice. (FRDP payment will be forwarded to the landowner only after paid costs.) 
  • Protect trees established with FRDP assistance from destructive fire and grazing. 
  • Use the area improved for the long-term purpose of growing timber. 
  • Ensure that property lines are correct and marked. 

FRDP assistance will not be repeated for any practice except when failure is caused by a natural disasters and cannot be applied on any acreage already receiving federally-funded assistance.

Participate in the Forest Resource Development Program

If you would like to participate in the FRDP, contact your local MFC office and fill out the FRDP Application.

Your local MFC office will confirm funding amounts and participation in the FRDP when your application is finalized.