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The Arkansas 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.
Over 50% of Arkansas is forested (more than 18.3 million acres).
Over 90% of forested acreage in Arkansas is privately owned.
The Ouachita and Ozark–St. Francis National Forests (2.3 million acres) provide recreational and wildlife benefits as well as forest products and jobs for thousands of people.
In 2001, red oak decline and mortality continue to be severe on thousands of acres in north and central Arkansas, following a third year of intense drought. Red oak borers, Armillaria root rot, and Hypoxylon canker were associated with the mortality. Red oak borer populations are high with hundreds of attacks per tree on most red oaks. Adult borers emerged during the summer in unprecedented numbers, and newly hatched larvae continued to produce structural damage to oak trunks and limbs, increasing the risk of breakage and injury to forest users.
Southern pine beetle (SPB) is Arkansas’ most important forest pest. However, SPB populations were undetectable during 2001. A significant outbreak has not affected the state since 1995-96. The outlook for 2002 is for low population levels to continue.
Cooperative gypsy moth eradication project involving participation by the Arkansas State Plant Board, Arkansas Forestry Commission, and USDA Forest Service was successful. Delimiting trapping continued in Carroll, Marion, and Newton counties to ensure any resurgence is detected. Eleven moths were caught in 2001 in three counties. Trapping will continue in 2002 but no treatments are planned.
In 2002, the Arkansas Forestry Commission in cooperation with USDA Forest Service Research and Forest Health Protection will continue to participate in the Forest Health Monitoring Program. This program is designed to annually collect, analyze, interpret and report on the conditions of the forests in Arkansas.
In spite of the relatively good health of Arkansas’ 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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas’ forests.
|
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cooperative Forest Health Program |
71,800 |
71,800 |
64,434 |
88,096 |
|
Forest Health Monitoring |
0 |
62,300 |
130,000 |
65,000 |
|
Cooperative suppression, southern pine beetle |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Gypsy moth eradication |
20,000 |
20,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
|
Ouachita National Forest, southern pine beetle |
25,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
|
Red Oak Borer |
0 |
0 |
50,000 |
250,000 |
For additional information, contact:
Arkansas Forestry Commission
3821 W Roosevelt Road
Little Rock, AR 72204
Phone: (501) 296-1940
E-mail: jim.northum@mail.state.ar.us
Internet: http://www.forestry.state.ar.us/
or
USDA Forest Service
Forest Health Protection
2500 Shreveport Highway
Pineville, LA 71360
Phone: (318) 473-7286
E-mail: sstanley@fs.fed.us
Internet: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth
