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Sustainable Forest Incentive Act

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The Sustainable Forest Incentive Act (SFIA) provides direct incentive payments to property owners to encourage sustainable use of forest lands.

Property owners can receive a payment for each acre of qualifying forest land they enroll in SFIA.

In return, they agree not to develop the land and to follow a forest management plan while they are in the program. All enrolled land must remain in SFIA for at least 8, 20, or 50 years depending on their recorded covenant (agreement) length. For information on forest management plans, visit the Department of Natural Resources website.

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Payment Rates [+]

Payment amounts vary based on the length of your covenant and your total number of acres enrolled in SFIA. The payment rates are adjusted each year based on statewide average market values and tax rates, but will not increase or decrease by more than 10% per year. For land held in a conservation easement, see the note after the table.

The 2021 payment rates are:

Covenant Length	Payment Rate (per enrolled acre)
8 years	Less than 1,920 acres enrolled: $9.71 1,920 or more acres enrolled: $13.45
20 years	Less than 1,920 acres enrolled: $13.45 1,920 or more acres enrolled: $17.18
50 years	Less than 1,920 acres enrolled: $17.18 1,920 or more acres enrolled: $20.92

For new applications in 2021 and land that is in a conservation easement, the payment is $3.74 per acre.

Note: If your land was enrolled in SFIA in 2017 and also has a conservation easement, the payment rate is $7.00 per acre and that land is limited to an 8-year covenant.

All payments received are treated as taxable income.

Qualifications [+]

Qualifying properties must:

Be current on property taxes
Have 20 or more contiguous acres
Be at least 50% forest land as defined in Minnesota Statute 88.01, subdivision 7
Have a registered forest management plan in place
Have a covenant in place limiting the property’s use to forest management activities

Qualifying properties cannot be:

Classified as 2c Managed Forest Land by the assessor or enrolled in:
- Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM)
- Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
- Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
- Green Acres
- Agricultural Preserves
- Rural Preserves
Used for residential or agricultural purposes
Improved with a structure, pavement, sewer, campsite, or road used for purposes that are not in the forest management plan
Covered under a Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council easement or similar easement granted after May 30, 2013

How to Enroll [+]

How to Get the Payment [+]

Resources [+]

Questions?

If you have questions about enrolling in SFIA, call 651-556-6088 or proptax.sfia@state.mn.us.

Contact Info

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Last Updated

December 15, 2021