Minnesota DNR Press Release | August 14, 2025
Private landowners in Minnesota with open lands, like former pastures or crop fields, can now apply for financial help to plant trees through the DNR’s Field to Forest Cost-Share Program.
The goal is to restore tree cover across the state. Selected projects can get up to 75 percent reimbursement for planting costs, plus a $500-per-acre incentive payment after planting is completed in spring 2026 to help with seedling care.
Forestry incentives coordinator Jennifer Teegarden says Minnesota has lost more than 15 million acres of forest since European settlement, most on private lands. This program helps restore those lost forests (and the environmental, economic, and habitat benefits they bring) by covering part of the planting and early care costs.
Reforesting open lands can slow runoff, prevent erosion, improve water retention, and rebuild healthy soils. Forests also provide wildlife habitat, help guard against drought and flooding, and for landowners, can boost property value, offer future timber income, and create recreation opportunities.
The program focuses on projects of three acres or more, not residential landscaping. Funding is first-come, first-served. Landowners can buy seedlings from private nurseries or the Minnesota State Forest Nursery.
Interested landowners should contact their local DNR stewardship forester by December 1st. Details are online at mndnr.gov/woodlands.
Funding comes from the U.S. Forest Service.
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