FARMINGTON – There is money available to help eligible forest landowners develop a forest-management plan.

The money is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Maine branch of the service set aside the money in its Environmental Quality Incentives Program to develop the forestry plans, said Elaine Tremble, a public affairs specialists with the Maine agency.

Each county has different priorities, Tremble said, but she knows that forest management plans are a priority in Franklin, Oxford and Somerset counties. The funding is available to eligible landowners in those areas.

The money is available for one year to forest landowners who have a minimum of 10 acres in contiguous forestland, have no existing plan or the plan is more than 10 years old, and if the applicant meets other Environmental Quality Incentives Program eligibility requirements.

Landowners would need to work with the local conservation districts to determine if they are eligible for the money.

After the plan has been developed, the landowner would be eligible to apply for the implementation of the practices included in the plan, she said.

Payment rates established for this initiative allow for a flat rate of $20 per acre for forests 10 to 50 acres in size, and a $12 an acre flat rate for forests greater than 50 acres, with total payments not to exceed $4,000.

Applications for the initiative in Franklin County must be received in the NRCS office at the USDA Service Center at 107 Park St. in Farmington by March 15. For more information, contact district conservationist Paul Hersey at 778-4767, ext. 105.