[ Return to FHP Southern Region
]
[ Return to FHP Southern Region
]
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.
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 privatelyowned.
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. During 2000, SPB activity again increased, and in 2000 and 2001 14 counties were in outbreak status, primarily in the Piedmont area. Throughout 2001 there were over 21,900 infestations, killing an estimated $46.5 million worth of timber.
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 2001.
The gypsy moth threatens South Carolina’s hardwood forests. Using a statewide network of traps, the South Carolina Forestry Commission and USDA Forest Service work closely together to monitor for any accidental introductions of the gypsy moth. No moths were captured in 2001.
Forest tent caterpillars defoliated over 169,000 acres of hardwoods (primarily the gum species) over a 12 county area along the coast in 2001.
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.
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 South Carolina 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.
|
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cooperative Forest Health Program |
60,984 |
60,984 |
54,728 |
69,314 |
|
Forest Health Monitoring |
100,000 |
50,000 |
50,000 |
50,000 |
|
Cooperative suppression - southern pine beetle |
90,000 |
200,000 |
750,000 |
250,000 |
|
Francis Marion & Sumter NFs - southern pine beetle |
25,000 |
70,000 |
150,000 |
150,000 |
|
Francis Marion & Sumter NFs - gypsy moth eradication |
24,000 |
19,000 |
19,000 |
0 |
For additional information, contact:
South Carolina
Forestry Commission
P.O. Box 21707
Columbia, SC 29221
Phone: (803) 896-8814
E-mail: aboone@usit.net
Internet: http://www.state.sc.us/forest/id.htm
or
USDA Forest Service
Forest Health Protection
P.O. Box 2680
Asheville, NC 28802-2680
Phone: (828) 257-4320
E-mail: creynolds02@fs.fed.us
Internet: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth
