Forest Health Highlights 1997
Georgia
The Georgia Forestry Commission provides forest health protection assistance to state and private land managers throughout the State. This program is funded cooperatively by the State and the USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection unit.
Georgia Forest Facts
Nearly
2/3 of the state of Georgia is forested
(more than 26.5 million acres).
Over
90% of forested acreage in Georgia is privately owned.
The
Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests (751,800 acres) provide
wildlife and recreational benefits as well as forest products and jobs
for thousands of Georgians.
Southern
pine beetle is Georgia's most important forest insect pest. In 1995, a
significant outbreak affected a large part of the state. Populations have
declined since then, but losses continued in the central Piedmont and
areas along the Atlantic coast. There were over 1,415 SPB infestations
affecting over 312,000 acres of forested land. The outlook for 1998 is
for increasing levels of SPB activity.
The
gypsy moth, a serious pest of hardwood forests, threatens
Georgia from the north. Using a statewide network of traps, the Georgia
Forestry Commission and USDA Forest Service cooperate to monitor for any
accidental introductions of the gypsy moth. As a result of this effort,
two isolated gypsy moth infestations (White County-1992; Fannin County-1995)
have been detected and successfully eradicated.
Since
1991, the Georgia Forestry Commission in cooperation with USDA Forest
Service Research and Forest Health Protection has participated in the
Forest Health Monitoring Program. This program is designed to annually
collect, analyze, interpret and report on the conditions of the forests
in Georgia. This is accomplished through a network of over 200 detection
plots.
Diseases
also threaten Georgia's forests. Two of the most important are fusiform
rust and annosum root disease of pines. Fusiform rust has infected 4.6
million acres of pine stands.
Dogwood
anthracnose is a disease that occurs in the forest environment at higher
elevations and in cool moist areas. This disease was initially found in
Georgia in 1987. It is now known to be present and causing significant
mortality to the native dogwoods in 38 counties, primarily in the northern
part of the state.
The Georgia Forestry Commission and
USDA Forest Service
In spite of the relatively good health of Georgia's forests, a variety of insects and diseases (both native and introduced), and human-caused impacts such as air pollution, continue to threaten the State's resources. To deal with this constantly changing mix of challenges, the Forestry Commission and the Forest Health Protection unit of the USDA Forest Service cooperate to prevent, detect, suppress, and manage this multitude of threats. The partnership between the two agencies has worked for three decades to maintain and improve the health of Georgia's forests.
Forest Health Protection contributions (dollars) to Georgia Forestry Commission Cooperative Forest Health program, cooperative pest suppression/eradication projects, and Chattahoochee/Oconee National Forests pest suppression, 1995-98.