The Vermont Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP) is a State program funded by U.S. taxpayers. Through FLEP, Forest landowners may apply for and receive money to pay for a portion of certain forest management expenses. Well-managed, privately owned forestland provides for environmental, economic and social values to the public. FLEP provides incentives to landowners who have Vermont Forest Stewardship Plans to help them manage their forests for a combination of personal and public values.
The objective of the Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP) is to encourage long-term stewardship and management enhancement of non-industrial private forest lands for economic, environmental, and social benefits by sharing the cost of developing and carrying out an approved Vermont Landowner Forest Stewardship Plan.
| Who should you contact for more information? |
The County Forester is responsible for the administration of the program within the county and for monitoring the program to ensure that it is achieving desired results and to ensure compliance with practice installation and maintenance specifications.
| How do you know if you qualify? |
Qualifying lands are non-industrial private forestlands with existing tree cover and other non-industrial private lands within the same contiguous tract which is identified by the landowner and approved by the County Forester as suitable for growing trees and scheduled for conversion to Forest Land Enhancement Program practices.
| Is there a minimum or maximum parcel size? |
A landowner must own a minimum of 10 acres of contiguous non-industrial forestland and a maximum of 1,000 acres. The State Forester, with the concurrence of the Area Director, Northeastern Area, State and Private Forestry, USFS may approve cost-sharing assistance to landowners that own more than 1,000 acres but not over 5,000 acres of non-industrial private forestland if they determine that there will be significant public benefits as a result of the approval.
