An organization that represents forest landowners says in Florida, many are still recovering from Hurricane Michael. So the association is asking Congress to pass legislation that would help Panhandle residents recover their lands and losses.
It's been three years since Hurricane Michael battered Florida. Forest Landowners Association CEO Scott Jones said back then, the storm's strong winds twisted trees.
"And so they couldn't be harvested, they couldn't be sawn for lumber. I mean, the value goes from $1,000, $1,500 an acre to $0 because you can't sell your trees," Jones told WFSU.
During the interview, he said some landowners don't have the money to replant their trees. As a result, his association is advocating for Congress to pass the Disaster Reforestation Act. Jones said it changes the tax code to benefit forest landowners.
"You can say I lost, you know, x number of dollars, worth of income, and I can say I'll reduce that, I'll count that as a loss and reduce my overall taxable income for that year, by that amount, and that either means I pay less taxes that year, or I get a refund that year," Jones said.
Jones said recovering some of those losses could help landowners replant trees rather than converting their land to other uses. He said the legislation is a better long-term solution to help forest landowners get relief as storms intensify.
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