South Carolina

The South Carolina Forestry Commission provides forest health protection assistance to state and private land managers within the State.  The State and the USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection unit fund this program cooperatively.

South Carolina Forest Facts

Over 2/3 of the entire state of South Carolina is forested (more than 12.6 million acres).

Over 90% of forested acreage in South Carolina is privately owned.

The Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests (560,000 acres) provide recreational and wildlife benefits as well as timber products and jobs to thousands of people.

The southern pine beetle (SPB) is South Carolina’s most destructive forest insect pest.  In 1995, the State suffered the worst outbreak on record when over $100 million worth of timber was killed.  Since that time populations have fluctuated at lower levels.  During 1999, SPB was in outbreak status in 9 counties (primarily the Piedmont area).  Throughout the year there were 3,840 infestations affecting almost 883,000 acres of host type.  The outlook for 2000 is for moderately high SPB population levels.

Fusiform rust is the most destructive disease of southern pines in South Carolina.  The fungus has severely infected pine stands on an estimated 1.4 million acres in 1999.

Forest tree nurseries are closely monitored and destructive insects and diseases are rapidly controlled. 

The gypsy moth threatens South Carolina’s hardwood forests.  Using a statewide network of traps, the Forestry Commission and USDA Forest Service work closely together to monitor for any accidental introductions of the gypsy moth.  An introduction of the Asian gypsy moth was successfully eradicated in 1995 north of Myrtle Beach.

Dogwood anthracnose is a disease that occurs in the forest environment at higher elevations and in moist areas.  This disease is currently found in 6 counties in the western part of the State.  Mortality of the native dogwoods ranges from 5% to 50% in these areas.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service Research and Forest Health Protection participates in the Forest Health Monitoring program.  This program is designed to annually collect, analyze, interpret, and report on the conditions of the forests in South Carolina.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission and
USDA Forest Service

In spite of the relatively good health of South Carolina’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 South Carolina’s forests. 

Forest Health Protection contributions (dollars) to South Carolina Forestry Commission Cooperative Forest Health program, cooperative suppression projects, and Francis Marion/ Sumter National Forest suppression projects, 1997-2000.

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