Governor Ivey Announces Assistance for Alabama Timberland Owners

Governor Kay Ivey on Monday awarded $10 million of the Coronavirus Relief Fund for a state-wide program to assist Alabama timber owners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This grant program will be administered through the Alabama Forestry Commission and will include grants of up to $10,000 on a first-come, first-serve basis. Qualifying timber owners who harvested timber in Alabama during the months of March 2020 through July 2020 may be eligible for a grant at the rate of $1 per ton of timber harvested.

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Applicant must be domiciled in Alabama.
2. Applicant may be an individual or business entity that owned the timber at the
time of harvest. If a business entity, applicant must be a small business as
defined by the Small Business Administration.
3. Applicant must certify that they have not received other federal or state funding
for timber or timber related business losses due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
4. Applicants who receive funding are capped at a maximum payment of
$10,000
5. Applicant must demonstrate to the State of Alabama that timber was harvested
during the March 2020 through July 2020 time frame with scale tickets or other
documentation that can verify timber sale volume.
6. Applicant will be required to sign an affidavit of timber harvest confirmation.

The Alabama Forestry Commission is developing application and payment procedures.

A copy of the Press Release from the Governor of Alabama can be found here.

For information regarding CARES Act funding for timberland, please contact:
Alabama Forestry Commission
Forest Management Division
Telephone: (334) 240-9334
Email: CARES@forestry.alabama.gov