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Arkansas offers funding to help landowners protect forests from pine beetles, disease LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Arkansas landowners have until Aug. 28 to apply for state programs designed to help protect forests from pests, disease and other threats. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is offering funding through two programs: the Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program and the Southeastern Arkansas Hardwood Reforestation Program. The Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program is aimed at reducing the risk of southern pine beetle infestations, which can kill trees when populations become established in stressed forests. According to Arkansas Department of Agriculture Division forester Chandler Barton, one of the most effective ways to prevent infestations is to reduce the number of trees competing for resources. The program provides cost-share assistance for practices including commercial and noncommercial thinning, as well as prescribed burning. Pine forest landowners with at least 10 acres can apply. Barton said landowners who are concerned about their forests can contact a county forester to begin the application process. “Once accepted, an agreement is in place,” Barton said. “They just have to thin the trees and remove that risk from southern pine beetle on their forest.” The department is also offering assistance to landowners in southeast Arkansas who have experienced pine tree losses caused by disease and other forest health issues. The Hardwood Reforestation Program gives landowners an opportunity to replant areas with hardwood trees, including oak, rather than returning to pine. Barton said the program is designed to keep impacted land in forest rather than allowing it to transition into a non-forest condition. The programs are funded through the U.S. Forest Service. The deadline to apply for both programs is Aug. 28. Landowners can start the process by contacting one of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's county foresters. More information is also available through the department's forest health webpages. Barton said managing forests and maintaining healthy tree populations can help reduce the risk posed by southern pine beetles. “As long as we manage the forest,” Barton said, preventing the threat is possible.