Louisiana Forestry Resources

Louisiana Administrative Code,
Title 7 - Agriculture and Animals,
Part XXXIX - Forestry,
Chapter 13 - Forest Productivity Program

§1301. Authority

A. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry adopts the following regulations under the authority of R.S. 3:4413 for the purpose of implementing the provisions of
R.S 3:4410-4416, the Louisiana Forestry Productivity Program, enacted by Act 1377 of 1997.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1678 (September 1998).

§1303. Definitions

A. The terms defined in this Section have the meanings given to them herein, for purposes of these regulations, except where the context expressly indicates otherwise.

Approved Forestry Practice a forestry practice approved by the Department, for which the landowner is authorized to receive reimbursement under the cooperative
agreement.
Commissioner commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
Cooperative Agreement the written and signed contract including all other documents made a part of the agreement or incorporated by reference between the Department and a landowner, together with any written and signed amendments or addendums to the original cooperative agreement, establishing the terms of the agreement between the Department and the landowner under the Louisiana Forestry Productivity Program.
Department the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Forestry.
Forestry Practice any procedure or method used in the establishment and management of timber species.
Fund the Forestry Productivity Fund established at R.S. 3:4411.B.
Landowner any individual, corporation, partnership, association, trust, joint venture, other legal entity or combination thereof who owns five contiguous acres or more of land located in Louisiana. For purposes of these regulations a joint ownership of property is considered to be one landowner separate and apart from the individuals or entities who own the property jointly.
Program the Forestry Productivity Program authorized by R.S. 3:4410-4416.
State collectively, the State of Louisiana, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the State Forestry Commission and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1678 (September 1998).

§1305. Application and Fee

A. Any landowner desiring to apply for participation in this program must first submit an application to the Department on a form supplied by the Department.

B. Each landowner submitting an application must also submit a $25 nonrefundable application fee at the time the landowner's application is initially submitted to the
Department.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1679 (September 1998).

§1307. Extent of State Participation

A. Financial assistance by the state to any one landowner participating in this program shall be limited to a total value of ten thousand dollars during a fiscal year.

B. The state's participation under any cooperative agreement shall be limited to either or both of the following types of assistance:

1. a direct grant, for the purpose of assisting the landowner in implementing an approved forestry practice authorized by a cooperative agreement through the use of the landowner's resources or through the landowner's contacts with private firms; or

2. utilization of the state's personnel, equipment, or materials to implement an approved forestry practice authorized by a cooperative agreement, if private sector
services are unavailable.

C. A direct grant shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost of implementing the cooperative agreement or the maximum cost share rates established by these regulations, whichever is less. In the event that state personnel, equipment or materials are utilized to implement an approved forestry practice the landowner shall be invoiced by the Department for the cost of implementing the forestry practice. The landowner shall promptly pay such invoice and may subsequently submit the paid invoice for reimbursement under this program and these rules and regulations.

D. The maximum cost share rates are established as follows:

E. The commissioner, with the advice of the State Forester=s Forestry Planning Committee, shall review annually the cost share rates established in this Section and determine if any of the rates require adjustment.

F. The state shall not provide reimbursement under this program for any forestry practice implemented by a landowner unless a cooperative agreement is on file with the department prior to implementation.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4412 and R.S. 3:4413.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1679 (September 1998).

§1309. Land and Landowners Eligibility, Exclusions and Limitations

A. Any landowner owning five contiguous acres or more in Louisiana suitable for growing a timber species approved by the Department is eligible for participation in this program unless excluded by these regulations or otherwise excluded by law.

B. The following landowners are not eligible to participate in this program:

1. landowners owning less than five contiguous acres of land;

2. public utilities companies;

3. landowners engaged in the manufacturing or production of forestry products;

4. any federal, state, or local government agency or political subdivision;

5. corporations with publicly traded stock;

6. any landowner with joint ownership in an eligible tract of land unless all joint owners and usufructuaries or duly authorized agent or agents, if any, sign the cooperative agreement;

7. any entity, other than a natural person, including but not limited to trusts, joint ventures, partnership, limited liability companies or successions, which have a set legal existence of less than ten years unless all persons or legal
entities who would, by law, be entitled to receive title to the land upon dissolution of the entity sign the cooperative agreement.

C. The following lands are not eligible to participate in this program:

1. any tract of land that is less than five contiguous acres;

2. lands owned by any landowner not eligible for participation;

3. land subject, at the time of application, to a reforestation contract with any federal, state or local government agency or under a private reforestation program.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:44413 and R.S. 3:4414.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1680 (September 1998).

§1311. Obligations of the Landowner

A. The landowner shall abide by the provision of the law establishing this program, these regulations, and the cooperative agreement.

B. The landowner shall maintain the land subject to the cooperative agreement in forestry usage in accordance with the cooperative agreement for a period of at least ten years from the date the Department issues a certification of
performance of the terms of the cooperative agreement.

C. The landowner shall not sell, convey, or otherwise lose control of land subject to a cooperative agreement under this program without placing a provision in the act transferring the land requiring the new landowner to assume
responsibility for abiding by the terms of the cooperative agreement and to maintain the approved forestry practices for the life of the cooperative agreement.

D. The landowner shall reimburse the department the cost of the state=s involvement in the cooperative agreement plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees if the landowner violates the law establishing the program, these
regulations or the cooperative agreement.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1680 (September 1998).

§1313. Approved Forestry Practices

A. Forestry practices approved by the Commissioner for purposes of this program are:

1. site preparation for reforestation by natural or artificial means;

2. planting of seeds or seedlings;

3. timber stand improvement through removal of undesirable vegetation or trees; and

4. post planting procedures that improve the growth, productivity, or viability of trees planted under this program.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1680 (September 1998).

§1315. Forestry Practice Implementation Period

A. Each landowner shall have eighteen months to complete the forestry practice or practices authorized by the cooperative agreement. A landowner may apply, in writing, for an extension of up to six months in which to complete the practice or practices. The department may grant the extension if it determines that the practice or practices were not completed as a result of circumstances beyond the landowner's control.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413 and R.S. 3:4415.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1680 (September 1998).

§1317. Payment by the Department

A. Payment by the department to any landowner under any cooperative agreement entered into under this program shall be made by the department only out of monies that are in the fund at the time payment is due.

B. The department shall make payment under any cooperative agreement only when:

1. the landowner has completed, to the department's satisfaction, all forestry practices stated in the cooperative agreement;

2. the landowner has complied with all other terms of the cooperative agreement;

3. the landowner has submitted invoices paid by him for all forestry practices authorized by the cooperative agreement.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1680 (September 1998).

§1319. Repayment by Landowners to the Department

A. The Department may seek repayment from a landowner when:

1. the landowner has, for any reason, received monies over and above the amount allowed by law or these regulations;

2. the landowner has failed to maintain the approved forestry practices for the life of the cooperative agreement;

3. the landowner has failed to abide by the terms of the cooperative agreement;

4. the landowner sells, conveys, or otherwise loses control of land subject to a cooperative agreement under this program and the new landowner does not abide by the terms of the cooperative agreement or does not maintain the approved forestry practices for the life of the cooperative agreement;

5. the department determines that a landowner has committed program violations or abuses that require repayment from the landowner or has violated any of the provisions of §1311 of these regulations.

B. A landowner may appeal a department's demand for repayment of monies paid the landowner under this program by filing with the commissioner a written request for an administrative review by him of the department's demand for repayment. The landowner's request for an administrative review must be postmarked within 15 days
after the landowner receives the department's demand for repayment. A copy of the request must also be sent to the state forester who, upon receipt of the landowner's request shall forward all of the department's pertinent documentation to the commissioner with a copy to the landowner.

C. The landowner's request for an administrative adjudicatory hearing shall contain the following information:

1. the name, address and telephone number of the landowner and of any party that the landowner believes may be adversely affected by the commissioner's determination;

2. a statement of the facts known to the landowner and the reasons why he believes that the department is not entitled to repayment; and

3. a copy of all invoices and documents relating to the cooperative agreement.

D. The commissioner, upon receipt of all documentation from the department and the landowner shall either review the information and make a decision or appoint a hearing officer to conduct an administrative adjudicatory hearing and submit a report and recommendation to the commissioner for a final decision. Any administrative adjudicatory hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413 and R.S. 3:4415.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1681 (September 1998).

§1321. Competitive Research and Cooperative Extension Grants

A. A competitive grant process is hereby created, subject to the following provisions, in order to provide for research and cooperative extension activities to enhance reforestation, increase productivity, and to further knowledge regarding the proper application of forestry principles.

B. Each fiscal year the commissioner shall set aside a portion of the monies in the fund to be used for competitive grants.

C. All competitive grants shall be awarded on a matching fund basis, with no more than 50 percent of the cost of the program being funded to be paid by the fund.

D. No grant shall be awarded under this program for any purposes other than research or cooperative extension activities intended to enhance reforestation, increase productivity, or to further knowledge regarding the proper application of forestry principles.

E. All grant proposals must be submitted, in writing, to the department no later than May 1 of each year. Each grant proposal must state in detail the purpose, goals, procedures, completion date and budget of the project as well as any
additional information requested by the department.

F. The commissioner may award grants, no later than July 1 of each year, if the commission determines that an award of a grant will fulfill the purposes of the program. Upon the award of a grant the department and the grant recipient will enter into a written cooperative agreement detailing the terms and conditions of the grant.

G. Any grant that is awarded for a project that extends beyond the fiscal year in which the initial grant award is made may be renewed for the following fiscal year but any payment of monies by the department under the extended grant shall be subject to the availability of grant money in the fund.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:4413 and R.S. 3:4415.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of the Commissioner, LR 24:1681 (September 1998).

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