SIP At A Glance For Ice Storm 1998

Special funds are available to landowners through the Stewardship Incentive Program (SIP) to help forests recover from the ice storm of January 1998. SIP will pay up to 75% of the cost for certain practices.

The general requirements are that you must:

• Own between 10 and 5,000 acres.
• Be an individual, Indian tribe, association, or corporation without publicly traded stock.
• Have a qualifying forest stewardship plan (SIP will pay 75% of the cost to develop a plan for your property or to update an existing plan to assess the damage caused by the ice storm).
• Have ice damage on at least part of your woodland.

Other program requirements include:

• The plan must be written by a NH licensed forester.
• Practices must be maintained for 10 years.
• All practices must meet minimum specifications as approved by the UNH Cooperative Extension Forester serving your county.
• The maximum payment for all SIP practices is $10,000 per fiscal year.
• No SIP payment can be made for work performed before written approval from the NH Farm Service Agency.

Practices available:

SIP 1 Landowner Forest Stewardship Plans are based on landowner objectives and must address fish and wildlife habitat, timber, water quality, wetlands, recreation, aesthetics, forest protection, cultural features, soils, endangered species and the effect that the ice storm had on these resources.

SIP 2 Reforestation and Afforestation pays for planting and site preparation

SIP 3 Forest Improvement provides for weeding and thinning, pruning, clearing debris from roads and trails, clearing debris for sanitation, safety, fire hazard reduction, or non-commercial salvage on damaged land.

SIP 5 Soil and Water Protection and Improvement pays for erosion control, best management practices, repairs to culverts and ditching, forest road design and layout, and construction of forest access corridors to rehabilitate non-commercial stands damaged by the storm.

SIP 6 Riparian and Wetland Protection and Improvement pays for the removal of woody debris only to the extent needed to restore the function of erosion control structures.

SIP 7 Fisheries Habitat Enhancement will have limited applicability since the ice storm had a generally positive impact.

SIP 8 Wildlife Habitat helps restore or enhance damaged habitat.

SIP 9 Forest Recreation Enhancement provides landowners with assistance in the design and construction of recreational trails, the enhancement of aesthetics, and for the cleanup of damaged trails and historic sites such as cemeteries and old mill sites.

For further information or to apply, contact the UNH Cooperative Extension Forester or the NH Farm Service Agency office serving your county. Please note that funds may also be available for certain practices at a rate of 50% reimbursement for landowners whose properties have not sustained damage.

UNH Cooperative Extension County Foresters and NH Farm Services Agency Offices
County	UNH Cooperative Extension	Phone	NH Farm Service Agency	Phone
Belknap	Sumner Dole 36 County Drive Laconia, NH	527-5475	Kathleen Dole 10 Ferry Street Concord, NH	223-6003
Carroll	Peter Pohl 75 Main Street Center Ossipee, NH	539-3331	John Riff 4 Mayberry Lane Lancaster, NH	788-4602
Cheshire	Marshall Patmos 800 Park Avenue Keene, NH	352-4550	Pamela Marvin RR 1 Box 315 Walpole, NH	756-2970
Coos	Samuel Stoddard 629A Main Street Lancaster, NH	788-4961	John Riff 4 Mayberry Lane Lancaster, NH	788-4602
Grafton	Northam Parr County Court House RR 1 Box 65 C North Haverhill, NH	787-6944	Steven Schmidt Swiftwater Road RR 2 Box 148C Woodsville, NH	747-3751
Hillsborough	Jonathan Nute 468 Route 13 South Milford, NH	673-2510	William Wilson Chappell Prof Bldg 468 State Route 13 Milford, NH	673-1222
Merrimack	Timothy Fleury 315 Daniel Webster Highway Boscawen, NH	796-2151 or 225-5505	Kathleen Dole 10 Ferry Street Box 22, Suite 212 Concord, NH	223-6003
Rockingham	Philip Auger 113 North Road Brentwood, NH	679-5616	Arlene Fisher 243 Calef Highway Route 125 Epping, NH	679-4656
Strafford	Donald Black 259 County Farm Rd Unit 5 Dover, NH	749-4445	Arlene Fisher 243 Calef Highway Route 125 Epping, NH	679-4656
Sullivan	Stephen Wood 24 Main Street Newport, NH	863-9200	Pamela Marvin RR 1 Box 315 Walpole, NH	756-2970
UNH Cooperative Extension programs and policies are consistent with pertinent Federal and State laws and regulations on non-discrimination regarding age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran's status. College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, County Governments, NH Division of Forests and Lands, Department of Resources and Economic Development, NH Fish and Game Department, US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service Cooperating. 3/97