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Home > Publications > Forest Consultant's Newsletter > Spring 2006 Foresters' Bulletin

Spring 2006 Foresters' Bulletin

 

WoodsWISE – May 2006 Project Application Period

MFS offers financial incentives to eligible woodland owners to implement specific recommendations of their Forest Management Plans**.

MFS District Foresters will be accepting applications for eligible projects during May 2006, with applications due to the District Offices by May 31st.

To be eligible, landowners must have a Forest Stewardship Management Plan**, or the equivalent. Landowners applying must be working with a private, WoodsWISE-eligible Stewardship Forester who has reviewed/signed the application. Foresters and landowners are urged to contact the MFS District Forester with any questions, well before the May 31st deadline.

Landowners must apply and be pre-approved for cost-sharing, before the project begins, to be eligible. The program reimburses landowners for documented costs for completed work. Most technical assistance by the forester is cost-sharable.

Application forms, eligibility & project requirements, and additional information are available at http://www.state.me.us/doc/mfs/fpm/wwi/wwi.htm. For additional assistance, contact the MFS Augusta office, your MFS District Forester. **Applications for WoodsWISE Forest Stewardship Management Plans are accepted continuously.

New Fish Passage Cost-share Program

Maine Forest Service announces new enhanced incentives for forest landowners to upgrade stream crossings that may be acting as barriers to fish passage. Improperly installed and inadequately maintained stream crossings can restrict access to important habitat essential for fish survival.

Landowners currently eligible to participate in MFS’s WoodsWISE and Project Canopy programs can apply to receive financial assistance for upgrading substandard stream crossings within important Atlantic salmon watersheds. Funding from the Maine Atlantic Salmon Conservation Fund and the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund will provide landowners with cost-share assistance of up to 75% for projects that have been prioritized as providing the greatest benefit to Atlantic salmon.

Applications will be accepted concurrently with the May WoodsWISE project application period – May 1st to May 31st.
Forms, procedures, and requirements are designed to be similar to those for WoodsWISE projects. Some features of the Fish Passage program are:

  • both private and public landowners are eligible
  • applications are limited to 8 listed Atlantic Salmon watersheds, Eastern Coastal Rivers, and the Penobscot River drainage
  • applicants must have a Forest Stewardship Management Plan or equivalent, and be working with an eligible Stewardship Forester
  • practices include open-bottom and/or bottomless crossing structures, and must restore/enhance passage for aquatic organisms
  • some WoodsWISE restrictions and funding limits are waived.

 

All applications will be ranked according to the degree of Atlantic salmon/fish passage benefit, and funding determined accordingly. For more information and application forms call the Maine Forest Service’s or go to: http://www.state.me.us/doc/mfs/fpm/water/small_stream_crossings.html .

 

WoodsWISE training for NEW Stewardship Foresters

Training for foresters interested in providing cost-shared services will be held at two locations in May. Foresters who have not taken part in WoodsWISE previously, or who have did not receive training in 2005 or later, must attend one of these sessions to be eligible for cost-shared work.

Thursday, May 18th, 1-5 p.m. MFS Old Town office
Friday, May 19th, 8 a.m -12 p.m MFS Bolton Hill office

The workshops are open to, but not mandatory for currently eligible Stewardship Foresters who attended training in 2005 or later. The sessions are also open to others interested in learning about the program’s operation.

Space is limited, especially in Old Town. Please register for these events if you plan to attend by calling Judy Tyler, MFS Augusta, at 207.287.2791. No other training sessions for new foresters are currently planned.

Additional training sessions for currently eligible foresters are not yet scheduled.

WoodsWISE Funding: an update

WoodsWISE projects are funded primarily through the Forest Land Enhancement Program, or FLEP. This federal program is administered nationally by the USDA Forest Service, and is available in most states.

FLEP was authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill as a 5-year program. FLEP funds in Maine have not been exhausted and are still available. However FLEP’s re-authorization in the 2007 Farm Bill seems unlikely at this time. In addition, the current USDA Forest Service FLEP grants to Maine will begin to expire between 2006 to 2008, and are unlikely to be extended. That means that all FLEP funds must be obligated and spent within MFS’s grant deadlines.

We will continue to hold WoodsWISE Project Application Periods while funds last, and while there is enough remaining time to complete the project. We encourage landowners and foresters to review the list of eligible projects, and to consider whether there are projects they would like to undertake.

At the same time, in the near future, funds that have been obligated but not expended within the WoodsWISE completion deadline (i.e. projects approved but not completed) may be lost, and may not become available for other Maine landowners. We therefore ask Stewardship Foresters and landowners to:

apply for projects with a good probability of successful completion so that these funds are used to benefit Maine landowners

if approved projects will not be completed, let us know as soon as possible

We continue to seek other sources to fund WoodsWISE projects (see the Fish Passage program on reverse). USDA-NRCS supports some forestry projects through EQIP and may have available funds.

Funding for WoodsWISE Forest Stewardship Management Plans through USDA Forest Service’s Forest Stewardship Program appears to be relatively stable, and is not directly affected by FLEP funding.

Forest information via listserv

Maine Forest Service provides an email “listserv” of current forestry and forest-related information to several groups:
- Licensed Forester News (licensed foresters and related resource management professionals)
- WoodsWiseWire (landowners, general interest)
- MaineLoggers (our most recent addition)

We use listservs to announce workshops, events, new publications, available technical or financial resources, reports, and other information on a broad range of topics relating to natural resource management. This is a very efficient and cost-effective way for MFS to get this information out to those who need it. We also welcome suggestions/contributions.

If you are not receiving this information, it may be because we do not have an email address for you. If you would like to receive this information (or know others who would) please send an email to gregory.r.lord@maine.gov, and indicate the list you would like to receive.

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