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Friday, Sep. 11, 2009

Project to aid private forests in Middle Georgia

The Georgia Forestry Commission has begun a three-year project aimed at improving forest management practices in four Middle Georgia counties: Twiggs, Jones, Putnam and Jasper.

The project is being funded through a $100,000 forest stewardship grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, said Rick Hatten, director of field operations for the Georgia Forestry Commission.

The grant program focuses on Middle Georgia because of its water quality issues, historic pine beetle outbreaks and its proximity to the Oconee National Forest, said program coordinator Jody Potts. The national forest has historically been somewhat difficult to manage because it is heavily fragmented with private lands.

Potts, who was hired earlier this year as statewide stewardship outreach coordinator, has begun field days for forestland owners in Middle Georgia and will be helping plan controlled burns and other management activities across property lines. Controlled burns and thinning help prevent wildfires and reduce pine beetle outbreaks.

A few weeks ago, Potts coordinated a meeting in Jones County that educated 50 people about water quality and wildlife management, she said.

Potts said there are 219 landowners enrolled in the four counties who are part of the project and are enrolled in the forest stewardship program. Under that program, the forestry commission began creating fire management plans for private landowners starting in about 1991, Hatten said. The commission never checked back to see if the plans were being followed.

But the recent federal economic stimulus package contained $62.7 million for the Georgia Forestry Commission, which will hire 40 new foresters, Hatten said.

Some of those foresters will revisit the forest stewardship plans, add controlled burning provisions to them and conduct controlled burns on as many properties as possible, according to Hatten and the forestry commission Web site.

Forestland owners who would like to learn more may contact Potts at jpotts@gfc.state.ga.us or (706) 224-2190.

To contact writer S. Heather Duncan, call 744-4225.