Legislation to Speed Disaster Relief for Forest Landowners Passes the Senate
Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act to Cut Red Tape, Deliver Faster Help After Natural Disasters
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act, landmark legislation that will accelerate timber and agricultural producers’ access to federal disaster relief. The bill reforms the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) — two critical safety nets for family forestry businesses and timber producers recovering from natural disasters.
The Forest Landowners Association (FLA) has championed this legislation as a critical piece of its disaster recovery agenda. When hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, or other natural disasters devastate private forestland, FLA members need a federal safety net that moves at the speed of recovery, not the speed of bureaucracy.
“The Emergency Conservation Program Act allows for cost-share funds to be distributed when the work needs to be done on their land, not after the fact,” stated Scott Jones, FLA CEO. “This change is significant to private forest landowners who need to replant and restore their property without having to wait months or years after replanting for a federal reimbursement.”
Background: The Problem with Current Programs
Today, the ECP and EFRP were created to reduce the burden of natural disasters by providing timber producers and family forestry businesses with financial and technical assistance to repair and restore their land following wildfires, floods, and other catastrophic events. Despite their important mission, these programs have long been plagued by slow response times, leaving producers facing significant delays and red tape when trying to access financial assistance.
For many agricultural producers, especially family forestry businesses operating on thin margins, these delays are more than an inconvenience — they create impossible choices. Producers are often forced to either put off critical repair work while waiting for federal assistance or begin the costly recovery process without any guarantee of federal support.
What the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act Does
The legislation addresses these long-standing problems through two key reforms:
1. Advance Cost-Sharing Relief: The bill gives producers impacted by disasters the option to receive an advance on cost-sharing relief based on existing USDA estimates. This expedited option ensures family forestry businesses, timber producers, and farmers in dire need can begin the critical work of restoring their property to productive levels without waiting months for federal reimbursement.
2. Expanded Wildfire Eligibility: The bill reforms eligibility for wildfire damage relief to include any wildfire caused or spread due to natural causes, as well as wildfires caused by the federal government. This change ensures timber producers are not left without recourse when fire damage originates beyond their control.
“Many of America’s private forests border federally owned lands,” added Jones. “The expanded wildfire damage relief provides a much-needed safety net when fire originates on federal lands and spreads quickly, destroying the neighboring private forestlands cultivated through decades of care.”
Why This Matters to Timber Producers and Family Forestry Businesses
With the increasing frequency of natural disasters across the U.S., improved federal programs are essential to the recovery of rural communities that rely on these forest-based businesses to thrive. The current delays in ECP and EFRP assistance have real economic consequences, leaving timber producers vulnerable and slowing recovery in rural communities.
The Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act will ensure that when disaster strikes, America’s family forestry businesses and timber producers can access the help they need to get back on their feet — faster, and with fewer bureaucratic hurdles—while providing the food, fuel, fiber, and housing materials needed.
The bill now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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