Cogongrass Cost Share Program Update - FFS

Please see below for information on the Cogongrass Cost Share Program that we are currently accepting applications from non-industrial private landowners through February 29, 2016. See links below for further information. I am the contact for this program for Polk, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties. Thanks


Corey Walk
Senior Forester, Lakeland District
Polk, Hillsborough, Pinellas Counties
(863) 519-1066
Corey.Walk@FreshFromFlorida.com<mailto:Corey.Walk@FreshFromFlorida.com>

1700 US Highway 17 South
Bartow, Florida 33830

Florida Forest Service
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service.


Please note that Florida has broad public records law (Chapter 119, Florida Statutes). Most written communications to or from state employees are public records obtainable by the public upon request. Emails sent to me at this email address may be considered public and will only be withheld from disclosure if deemed confidential pursuant to the laws of the State of Florida.

________________________________
From: Eickwort, Jeffrey
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2015 4:32 PM
To: _Forestry County Foresters
Cc: Strom, Rebecca; Pearce, Chris; Ayers, Anthony; Stine, Bonnie; Ellis, Brad; Lehnert, Karen
Subject: Cogongrass Program Update

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update and reminder - we are now fully "live" and ready to accept cogongrass cost-share applications! Although this is a long-running sign-up period (through February 29) for applicants to begin treatments in 2016, I urge you not to wait until the last minute to submit applications! Submitting them early gives us time to catch and fix any errors and issues ahead of time. Unlike some of our programs, the demand has tended not to overwhelm our supply of funding, so qualified applicants have a good chance of being approved.

The Press Release has been approved: http://www.freshfromflorida.com/News-Events/Press-Releases/2015-Press-Releases/Cost-Share-Program-Now-Available-to-Help-Fight-Invasive-Destructive-Plant. You may distribute this, or use it for reference when writing your own articles for local media!

The website has been updated: www.freshfromflorida.com/Cogongrass-Program<http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Cogongrass-Program>. Here you can download all of the forms and guidelines.

As with all such programs, the landowners will have to register as vendors and submit their W-9 information at https://flvendor.myfloridacfo.com/. Detailed instructions can be found on page 7 of the Guidelines. If they have recently participated in or applied to one of our programs, they may already be registered - but DFS occasionally dumps the information from inactive accounts, so they should still sign into the website to check!

Please copy our staff assistant Rebecca Strom with any application materials sent by email. Thanks for all you do, and please contact us with any questions!

Regards,
Jeff Eickwort
Jeffrey Eickwort
Biologist and Supervisor, Forest Health Section Florida Forest Service Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
(352) 395-4689
(352) 395-4623 Fax
Jeffrey.Eickwort@FreshFromFlorida.com<mailto:Jeffrey.Eickwort@FreshFromFlorida.com>
1911 SW 34th Street
Gainesville, FL 32608
www.FreshFromFlorida.com<http://www.FreshFromFlorida.com>
Please note that Florida has a broad public records law (Chapter 119, Florida Statutes). Most written communications to or from state employees are public records obtainable by the public upon request. Emails sent to me at this email address may be considered public and will only be withheld from disclosure if deemed confidential pursuant to the laws of the State of Florida