INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Seventeen southern Indiana counties are sharing $330,000 from the state Department of Natural Resource's' Division of Forestry's sale of timber from trees felled in state forests.

The DNR says half of the money that each county receives will go to rural and volunteer fire departments that maintain a cooperative agreement with the DNR's fire control headquarters. More than 135 departments will benefit from the program. Fire departments are encouraged to use the funds to improve their wild land firefighting capability.

Monroe County is getting the largest share of the money at nearly $108,000, followed by Brown County at $55,000.

The DNR'S Division of Forestry allocates 15 percent of timber sale revenue from state forests to counties where the harvests occur.