Tax incentiveState
Georgia Department of Revenue and county boards of tax assessors · GA
Timberland assessed at 40 percent of its current-use value instead of market value for a ten-year covenant
Georgia's conservation use program lets owners of agricultural land, timberland and environmentally sensitive land pay property tax on current-use value rather than development value. Owners sign a ten-year covenant to keep the land in a qualifying use; annual value changes are capped at 3 percent.
Advice and site visitsState
Georgia Forestry Commission · GA
A custom forest management plan written by a GFC forester at no charge, plus advice on harvesting, forest health, reforestation and prescribed burning
Georgia Forestry Commission foresters write management plans tailored to a landowner's goals and give advice on timber harvesting, forest health, reforestation, prescribed burn plans and best management practices. Larger properties with several land uses can request a more detailed Forest Stewardship Plan written by natural resource professionals.
Discounted treesStateSeasonal
Georgia Forestry Commission · GA
Pine, oak, fruit, flowering and pollinator seedlings at reasonable prices, delivered free to any GFC county office
The Georgia Forestry Commission grows 15 to 20 million seedlings a year at Flint River Nursery in Byromville and sells them to the public, in small or large quantities. Species include loblolly, slash, longleaf and shortleaf pine (including improved varieties), oaks, ornamental, fruit and flowering trees, and a pollinator pack.
Cost-shareState
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife · HI
75% cost-share to write a 10-year forest management plan and up to 50% cost-share to carry it out, on 5 or more acres of forested or formerly forested land
The Forest Stewardship Program helps private owners of forested or formerly forested land in Hawaii manage it for forest resource values. The state reimburses 75% of the cost of developing a 10-year forest management plan and up to 50% of the cost of implementing approved practices, at program-set rates, subject to funding. Proposals and plans are reviewed by the Forest Stewardship Advisory Committee (FSAC), which ranks eligible plans for state funding; DLNR-DOFAW approves its recommendations.
GrantStateClosed
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program) · HI
Grants to community groups, schools and agencies for tree planting and giveaways, tree care and tree education on public or publicly accessible land in Hawaii
Kaulunani is Hawaii's state urban and community forestry program, housed in the Division of Forestry and Wildlife and supported in part by the USDA Forest Service. Its grant program funds community projects such as tree plantings and giveaways, tree care, education and outreach, cultural and artistic expression, and management of invasive species, pests and diseases affecting trees, plus Arbor Day celebrations with tree planting or giveaways. The program reports awarding over $9.1 million to more than 500 projects, matched by over $9 million in cash and in-kind contributions.
Advice and site visitsState
Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Forestry Bureau · IA
Advice from a DNR district forester at no additional cost on planting, managing and harvesting woodland, plus help with cost-share programs
Iowa DNR district foresters have helped Iowans manage woodlands since 1935. They advise on improving woodland for wildlife, recreation, water quality or wood products through tree planting, selective harvesting and other practices, and can prepare management plans (four sample plans are posted). They also connect private landowners with cost-share reimbursement for tree planting, forested riparian buffers, forest stand improvement, site preparation for natural regeneration, wildlife habitat improvement and fencing, through programs such as REAP (minimum 5 acres for timber stand improvement, 3 acres for tree planting), NRCS EQIP and FSA CRP.
Tax incentiveState
Iowa Department of Natural Resources and county assessors (Iowa Code chapter 427C) · IA
Full property tax exemption (assessed at $0 per acre) for 2 or more contiguous acres kept in forest with at least 200 trees per acre
Iowa's Forest and Fruit Tree Reservation Act of 1906 (Iowa Code chapter 427C), known as the Forest Reserve Law, exempts qualifying private forestland from property taxes; since 1986 the assessed value has been $0 per acre. A forest reservation must be at least 2 contiguous acres (generally at least 66 feet wide) with at least 200 growing forest trees per acre; fruit tree reservations of 1 to 10 acres also qualify. Once approved, the exemption continues each year the land is maintained as a reservation without re-filing and transfers with the property.
Discounted treesState
Iowa Department of Natural Resources, State Forest Nursery · IA
Low-cost native, Iowa-grown bare-root tree and shrub seedlings sold in bundles of 25, shipped to your door or picked up in Ames
The Iowa DNR State Forest Nursery in Ames has grown conservation seedlings for Iowans since 1937. It sells native hardwoods, small trees, shrubs, evergreens and specialty packets (for example a songbird packet of 16 shrubs and 4 trees) in bundles of 25, graded by age class (1-0, 2-0, 3-0). Orders are taken September through May and distributed in fall (first two weeks of November) and spring (beginning in April), weather permitting. Conifers, redbud, cottonwood, poplar, willow and the songbird packet are spring delivery only.
Tax incentiveState
Idaho State Tax Commission and county assessors (Idaho Code title 63, chapter 17) · ID
Owners of 5 to under 5,000 acres of forestland can choose to be taxed on forest productivity values or on bare land value plus a 3% yield tax at harvest, instead of full market value
Idaho's Forestland Taxation Law gives owners of at least 5 but less than 5,000 acres of forestland statewide a choice of two systems. Under the Productivity option, annual property tax is about 1% of state-set productivity values (for 2026, $589/$323/$145 per acre for Good/Medium/Poor land in Zone 1 down to $224/$124/$59 in Zone 4) and no yield tax is owed at harvest. Under the Bare Land and Yield option, annual tax is about 1% of lower bare land values ($170/$118/$69 in Zone 1 down to $89/$57/$29 in Zone 4) plus a 3% yield tax on stumpage value when timber is harvested. Forestland under 5 acres is assessed at market value; 5,000 acres or more is taxed under Productivity.
Discounted treesUniversity / extension
University of Idaho, Franklin H. Pitkin Forest Nursery · ID
Container-grown conifer, hardwood and shrub seedlings from $1.51 each (5 cubic inch) or $0.70 each when buying 200 or more of a species
The University of Idaho's Pitkin Forest Nursery in Moscow is a production container nursery growing nearly 500,000 seedlings a year of over 70 species of conifers, hardwoods and shrubs. For fall 2026 and spring 2027, regular prices (0-199 per species) are $1.51 for 5 cubic inch, $3.05 for 8 cubic inch and $3.89 for 20 cubic inch seedlings; bulk prices (200 or more per species) are $0.70, $1.55 and $3.23. Seedlings are sold in lots of 5, 10 or 20 depending on size, and can be picked up at the nursery or shipped ($29.00 for the first seedling plus $0.48 for each additional).
Advice and site visitsState
Idaho Department of Lands · ID
Help from an IDL Private Forestry Specialist with a forest management plan, tree planting, forest health problems and cost-share applications
The Idaho Department of Lands partners with private forest landowners to improve forest health. Its Private Forestry Specialists help landowners write forest management plans, plan tree planting, deal with forest health issues and apply for cost-share assistance, and IDL runs educational sessions on forestry topics. The federally funded Forest Stewardship Program connects landowners with planning; IDL recommends the 'One Plan', a Forest Stewardship Plan that also meets the standards of Idaho's NRCS Forest Management Plan and Idaho Tree Farm plan. Landowners with a plan get discounted registration for selected educational programs. IDL also offers Forestry after Wildfire assistance (damage assessment, regeneration and funding options).
Cost-shareStateStatus not confirmed
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forest Resources · IL
Cost-share payments for tree planting, timber stand improvement and other practices in an IDNR-approved forest management plan
Illinois pays private woodland owners part of the cost of practices written into a DNR-approved forest management plan, such as tree planting, timber stand improvement, invasive species control and prescribed fire. The program is funded by a 4% fee on Illinois timber sales. An IDNR district forester writes or approves the plan and signs off on each practice before work starts.
Discounted treesStateSeasonal
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Mason State Tree Nursery · IL
Bareroot hardwood seedlings at $35 per 25 or $65 per 100; shrubs and conifers at $25 per 25 or $50 per 100 (spring 2027)
Mason State Tree Nursery near Topeka is Illinois' only state-owned tree nursery and sells native bareroot tree and shrub seedlings each spring, plus potted white pine and Norway spruce, wildflowers and pollinator seed packets in fall. Stock is sold first come, first served and is meant for conservation and reforestation planting.
Tax incentiveState
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry · IN
Reduced property tax assessment, free forester inspections and cost-share priority for 10 or more acres of forest, wetland, shrubland or grassland managed under a plan
Indiana's Classified Forest and Wildlands Program (Indiana Code 6-1.1-6) significantly reduces the assessed value of at least 10 contiguous acres of forest or non-forest wildlife habitat that the owner agrees to manage for timber, wildlife and watershed protection under a professionally written management plan. Enrolled owners get free technical assistance from DNR foresters and wildlife biologists, a reinspection at least every seven years at no cost, priority for cost-share funds, free posting signs and the option to 'green' certify their forest. Enrollment stays with the land when it is sold and does not open it to public hunting.
Advice and site visitsState
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry · IN
A DNR district forester will visit your woods and recommend a course of action, and can enroll you in tax-incentive and cost-share programs
Every Indiana county is covered by one of the Division of Forestry's 20 cooperative forest management districts. District foresters are professionally trained to manage forestland and can start a landowner off by visiting the woods and recommending a best course of action to meet the owner's goals. They administer state and federal programs offering technical assistance, property tax incentives (Classified Forest and Wildlands) and cost-share incentives (Forestry BMP Cost-Share Program) for sustainable management.
Discounted treesState
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry · IN
Low-priced bare-root pine, hardwood and shrub seedlings for conservation plantings in Indiana, minimum 100 per species
Indiana DNR's Vallonia and Jasper-Pulaski state nurseries grow pine, hardwood and shrub seedlings for Indiana landowners, with prices kept low to encourage conservation plantings. Conifers are usually 4 to 14 inches tall and hardwoods and shrubs 4 to 24 inches. Orders open the first business day in October and are accepted until supplies run out; some species sell out early. Seedlings are shipped by FedEx or picked up at either nursery, and planting instructions come with each shipment. The nurseries advise against using their seedlings for Christmas tree plantings.
Discounted treesUniversity / extensionSeasonal
Kansas Forest Service (Kansas State University) · KS
Low-cost tree and shrub seedlings for windbreaks, woodlots, wildlife habitat, riparian and other conservation plantings in Kansas
The Kansas Forest Service, part of Kansas State University, grows bareroot and containerized tree and shrub seedlings and sells them for conservation plantings: woodlots, windbreaks, educational purposes, riparian and streambank vegetation, Christmas tree production, wildlife enhancement and timber production. Sales are normally held each fall and spring through the online Tree Store or by phone. Because the agency is building a new headhouse and improving its greenhouses, there is no fall 2026 sale; the spring 2027 sale will offer bareroot stock only (no containerized conifers) and fall 2027 is expected to offer containerized deciduous trees and shrubs but no conifers.
Advice and site visitsUniversity / extension
Kansas Forest Service (Kansas State University) · KS
Site visit and management recommendations from a Kansas Forest Service district forester for forest, woodland or windbreak land of roughly 10 or more acres
The Kansas Forest Service Rural Forestry Program serves private owners of Kansas forests, woodlands, windbreaks and riparian buffers (about 93% of the state's 4.6 million acres of trees are privately owned). Seven district foresters, each covering 10 to 23 counties, make site visits and recommend forest and windbreak management, tree planting, timber stand improvement, harvest and protection; write Forest Stewardship or forest management plans; mark stands for improvement; help with planting, including access to tree-planting equipment; inspect Tree Farms; provide timber marketing materials and buyer lists; and connect landowners with financial assistance. Funding comes mainly from the USDA Forest Service Forest Stewardship Program, with NRCS and the Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Conservation.
Discounted treesState
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division of Forestry · KY
Bare-root hardwood and conifer seedlings from the two state nurseries, sold online at $40 per lot ($65 for large stock) and shipped January through April
The Division of Forestry runs two state nurseries, at Gilbertsville in Marshall County and Grassy Creek in Morgan County, growing about 1.25 million seedlings a year for planting on public and private land in Kentucky. The page lists uses such as planting open crop or pasture land, Christmas tree plantations, wildlife habitat, urban areas and surface mine reclamation. The online store for spring 2027 lists roughly 40 species, most at $40.00 and large-stock versions at $65.00; pawpaw and eastern redbud are capped at 100 seedlings and flowering dogwood at 300.
Advice and site visitsState
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division of Forestry · KY
Free site visit and a customized forest stewardship plan written by a state forester or other natural resource professional
The Division of Forestry is the lead agency for Kentucky's Forest Stewardship Program. A forester, wildlife biologist or other natural resources professional walks the property with you, examines its features and health, and prepares a written stewardship plan based on your goals. On the application you pick a first and second priority from forest management, fish and wildlife habitat, forest watershed improvement, or recreation and aesthetics; a Fish and Wildlife biologist or NRCS district conservationist joins the visit depending on the priority. A stewardship plan also meets the Agriculture Water Quality Plan requirement for silviculture on a farm.
Cost-shareState
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Forestry · LA
State payments that offset part of the cost of planting pine or hardwood, site preparation and competing-vegetation control on 10 or more acres
The Forest Productivity Program (FPP) pays landowners an incentive toward the cost of establishing a timber crop: planting or seeding pine or hardwoods (including seedlings, labor and site preparation), site preparation for natural regeneration, and release of desirable trees from competing vegetation by herbicide or prescribed burning. Eligible landowners can receive up to the maximum approved amount of assistance each fiscal year. In return the land must stay in forestry use for 10 years; if it is sold, the original recipient remains responsible unless the new owner accepts the obligation in writing.
Cost-shareStateSeasonal
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries · LA
Financial assistance for prescribed burning, site preparation, tree planting and forest stand improvement on private forestland, from a $3 million, four-year fund
Launched June 2026 by LDAF and LDWF, the Louisiana Forestry Initiative (LFI) is a statewide cost-share for non-industrial private forest landowners, funded by the U.S. Forest Service and administered by the National Bobwhite and Grassland Initiative Foundation (NBGIF). It covers prescribed burning, site preparation, tree planting and forest stand improvement, with some priority areas identified, and will provide more than $3 million in assistance over four years. Landowners work with LDAF foresters and LDWF biologists on a management plan and sign contracts online.
Advice and site visitsState
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Forestry · LA
Advice and action plans from state foresters on insects and disease, cost-share programs, regeneration planning and which seedlings to plant
LDAF's Office of Forestry says its foresters are in the field providing Louisiana's roughly 148,000 woodland owners with advice and action plans, covering insect and disease problems, federal and state cost-share programs, planning for regeneration before harvest, and which seedlings to plant, with follow-up visits to make sure practices are carried out. The office is also the lead agency for the federal Forest Stewardship Program in Louisiana, which recognizes landowners managing their land for total resource management.
Tax incentiveState
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (State Forester) with local assessors · MA
Woodland certified under a forest management plan is assessed at forest-use value instead of market value
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 61, owners of 10 or more contiguous acres of forest land can have the land assessed at its value for growing timber rather than its development value, in exchange for managing it under a 10-year forest management plan written by a licensed forester and certified by the State Forester (DCR). The classification is recorded as a lien and must be recertified at least every ten years. Leaving the program triggers the greater of a five-year roll-back tax with interest or a conveyance tax that starts at 10 percent of sale price and falls 1 percent per year.
Cost-shareState
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation with Massachusetts Woodlands Institute · MA
Fixed reimbursement of $1,140 for a new 10-year Forest Stewardship Plan on 10 to 36 acres, plus $16 per acre above 36
The Massachusetts Forest Stewardship Program pays most of the cost of having a licensed consulting forester write a 10-year stewardship plan covering timber, water, wildlife habitat, climate resilience and recreation. DCR approves applications and plans; the Massachusetts Woodlands Institute issues the reimbursement. Add-on payments are available for Foresters for the Birds and Climate Forestry plan components.
Free treesState
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Urban and Community Forestry · MA
Free 6-to-10-foot trees planted on your property by DCR crews if you live in a planting zone of a participating Gateway City
DCR's Greening the Gateway Cities Program plants trees in dense residential neighborhoods of Massachusetts Gateway Cities to cut household heating and cooling costs and grow canopy by about 5 percent in target zones. A DCR forester visits, picks species and locations with you, and crews hired from the community plant the trees at no charge. Participating cities include Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield and Worcester.
Free treesStateSeasonal
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Forest Service · MD
A free bag of 20 to 30 native bare-root tree and shrub seedlings for planting along a stream, ditch, pond or other waterway on your property
The Maryland Forest Service gives Maryland landowners free native tree and shrub seedlings to plant as a buffer along waterways. Each bag holds 20 to 30 bare-root seedlings, typically one to two feet tall, with species information, planting guidance and basic maintenance instructions. Seedlings are picked up at local distribution sites in time for spring planting and go first come, first served.
Tax incentiveState
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Forest Service · MD
Reduced, frozen property tax assessment (generally the agricultural rate) on 5 or more acres of forest under a 15-year management agreement with DNR
Owners of five or more contiguous acres of forestland can enter a Forest Conservation and Management Agreement (FCMA) with DNR. Enrolled forest is assessed at a reduced rate, generally the agricultural rate, which stays frozen for the life of the agreement. Each agreement follows a forest management plan written for the property, runs at least 15 years, is recorded in county land records, and can be amended or transferred to a buyer who accepts the management responsibilities. About 1,300 agreements cover more than 84,000 acres statewide.
Discounted treesState
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Forest Service · MD
Low-cost native tree and shrub seedlings in bundles of 25 (hardwoods) or 50 (conifers) with free FedEx shipping, for conservation plantings
The state nursery in Preston, Caroline County, grows conifer, hardwood and shrub seedlings for reforestation, wildlife habitat, riparian buffers, watershed protection and Christmas tree production. Hardwoods are sold in bundles of 25 per species and conifers in bundles of 50 per species through the online store, which is open for the spring 2027 planting season. Seedlings may not be used for ornamental landscaping, and DNR may ask for a planting report.
Discounted treesStateStatus not confirmed
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Forest Service · MD
$25 off one native tree priced $50 or more at participating Maryland nurseries, one tree per household per year
Marylanders Plant Trees, offered by the Maryland Forest Service since 2009, gives Maryland residents a printable $25 coupon toward a native tree with a retail value of $50 or more at participating nurseries statewide. The tree must come from DNR's recommended native tree list and be planted on private residential property. Organizations planting on public land are directed to Tree-Mendous Maryland instead.