The Influence of Cost-sharing Programs on Southern Non-industrial Private Forests

This study was undertaken in response to concerns that the decreasing levels of funding for government tree planting cost share programs will result in significant reductions in non-industrial private tree planting efforts in the South. The purpose of this study is to quantify how the funding of various cost share programs, and market signals interact and affect the level of private tree planting. The results indicate that the ACP, CRP, and Soil Bank programs have been more influential than the FIP, FRM, FSP, SIP, and State run subsidy programs. Reductions in the CRP funding will result in less tree planting; while it is not clear that funding reductions in FIP, or other programs targeted toward reforestation after harvest, will have a negative impact on tree planting levels.