Georgia Boasts More Than 24 Million Acres Of Forestland.
Executive SummaryGeorgia’s forests are being sustainably managed to meet the numerous needs ofour state today. To ensure our forests will continue to meet the needs of presentgenerations and the projected demands for future generations, many challengesmust be addressed. Forest sustainability is dependent on both environmentaland economic sustainability. A challenge to either element is a challenge toboth elements. Success will depend on proactive decisions by our state leadersand the entire forestry and conservation communities addressing a myriad offorestry-related issues.Georgia boasts more than 24 million acres of forestland. Georgia’s forestinventory volumes are at an all-time high. We have 49 percent more cubic feetof wood growing in Georgia than we did 40 years ago. However, the state’spopulation is increasing at a record rate. Urbanization continues to be a threatto forest sustainability. Further, recent increases in population and changingland-use patterns have made ongoing forest management more difficult in someareas of the state. These and other trends threaten forest sustainability and thenumerous economic, environmental, and social benefits that our forests provide.This report describes both forestland (all forests including those not availablefor commercial harvest – 24.6 million acres) and timberland (all forests that areavailable for commercial harvest – 23.9 million acres). (GFC 2016)Georgia’s forest area has remained stable over the past 50 years at about 24 millionacres. Approximately 91 percent of this acreage is privately owned, giving Georgiamore privately-owned acres of timberland than any other state in the nation. Forestgrowth exceeds removals by 41 percent annually and is available to supply globaland local markets. However, ownership patterns are changing and average parcelsizes are shrinking. This trend is due to a number of factors, including urbanizationand the tremendous divestiture of forest industry-owned lands. Several issues,such as federal, state, and local tax structures and the strength of forest productmarkets, affect the economic viability of owning and managing forestland.Eighty-three of Georgia’s 159 counties have at least one primary wood-usingmill. Strong markets for forest products are crucial to the future of traditionalpulp and paper, lumber, and pole supplies. In 2017, the economic impact offorestry was 35.9 billion and over 147,000 jobs. (Georgia Institute of Technology,2018) The development of a forest resource-based bioenergy industry is poisedto contribute significantly to Georgia’s economy and reduce our dependence onnon-renewable fossil fuels.Georgia’s forests provide valuable ecological services that help supply ourstate with clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunitiesthat benefit all Georgians. A University of Georgia (Warnell School) study valuedthese ecological services at 37 billion annually, with clean water noted as oneof the most important services that benefit society (Moore 2011). Because twoout of every three raindrops in Georgia land on forestlands, the sustainablemanagement of our forests is one of the most significant factors affecting thestate’s water quality and quantity. The General Assembly’s adoption of theStatewide Water Management Plan recognizes Forestry Best ManagementPractices as a model program that other land-use practitioners should emulate.A GFC internal analysis (unpublished) of watersheds used for drinking waterindicates that 60.5 percent of these areas are forested, so these forests cleansethe water utilized by the majority of Georgians. Wildlife-associated recreation,which is greatly supported by healthy forest ecosystems, generates 5.5 billionannually and supports 40,000 jobs.1
Executive Summary (cont.)Forestry professionals ensure public safety by providing fire preventionservices in the form of prescribed fire as well as wildfire suppression. Thehealth and sustainability of Georgia’s forests are dependent on attention toboth. Urbanization places more lives and property at risk from wildfire as growthexpands into rural environments and greatly complicates the management ofwildfires and prescribed fires.Urbanization and fragmentation impact natural habitat and ecological servicesforests provide. The loss of forestland to urbanization continues to be the greatestsingle factor for conversion to other (non-forest) uses, even though we are stillemerging from one of the greatest recessions in our country’s history. A systemof public and private conservation strategies is needed to support forest andwildlife sustainability. Sustaining healthy forests, including the professional useof prescribed fire, is critical to maintaining the full suite of ecosystem services,traditional forest outputs, and habitats required by native species. Expansionof the Georgia Land Conservation Program supports this goal, as do the StateWildlife Action Plan and the Forest Action Plan.Timber security is an important component of forest sustainability. Forests are avaluable commodity and deserve sufficient protection under Georgia law. HouseBill 790, passed in 2014, strengthened Georgia’s timber security law and madegreat strides in protecting Georgia’s forests. GFC law enforcement officers haveinvestigated 484 timber complaints since July 1, 2014, when HB790 clarified GFCauthority. These 483 complaints represent almost 18,000 acres of forestlandwith more than 2.5 million of estimated losses. GFC has assisted landownersin recovering 413,434 in damages, with many additional cases still pendingjudgement.Forestland valuations for tax purposes have been inconsistent across Georgiaand “highest and best use” land valuation threatens forest sustainability.Despite the implementation of conservation use tax programs – ConservationUse Valuation Assessment in 1991 (CUVA) and the Forest Land Protection Actin 2008 (FLPA), property tax burdens on Georgia’s timberland owners continueto exceed those in most other states. During the 2018 election, Georgia votersapproved “Amendment 3,” which creates more uniformity in the valuationprocess for timberland across the state’s 159 counties. Legislation can stillbe developed to support the fair and equitable treatment of forestland to helpensure Georgia’s forest resources for future generations.With the wise use of scientific knowledge and resources, Georgia can keepits forests sustainable for present and future generations, providing tangiblebenefits to landowners, local economies, and forest industry, while continuingto provide vital environmental and ecosystem services from which all Georgiansbenefit.2
IntroductionIn 2007, the Georgia General Assemblyenacted into law Senate Bill 176.It requires the Georgia ForestryCommission (GFC) to submit a reportevery five years which summarizesthe sustainability of our state’sforests. Specifically, the bill requestsverification of “the ability of forestresources in this state to meetthe needs of the present withoutcompromising the ability to meet theneeds of future generations.”working will be market prices thatgenerate enough revenue to allowfor an acceptable rate of return of thelandowners’ investment.Forest sustainability is dependent onboth environmental and economicsustainability. A challenge to one isa challenge to the other. While weare maintaining acres of forests at astable rate and growth is surpassingremovals, it is increasingly importantto maintain traditional markets anddevelop new markets for forestproducts so landowners haveincentives to keep forests in forests,rather than choose alternative uses forthe land. A key component of helpinglandowners keep their working forestsits effect on vital natural resources,including the state’s water, air, andwildlife. The one critical link thatimpacts the health of each of theseresources is Georgia’s 24.6 millionacres of forestland.Georgia’s population is increasingat record rates. Within 25 years, thenumber of people calling our state“home” is expected to jump from 10million to almost 15 million. As wemonitor the impacts of that growth, itis prudent to pay special attention toIt is GFC’s goal to help educateGeorgians about their role inguaranteeing the sustainability of ourprecious forest resources - for thebenefit of each of us today, and forevery future generation.3
Georgia’s Forests TodayAn OverviewGeorgia’s timberland acreage hasremained relatively stable for morethan 60 years and perhaps moreimportantly, timber volumes haveincreased. Georgia’s timber volumesare at an all-time high since the forestinventory of Georgia began in the1930s. (Figure 1)Timberland Acreage Through Time in GeorgiaFigure 1 - Georgia Timberland Acreage Trend282725.826Million 20132016Survey YearSource: US Forest Service 2016 Data and The Georgia Forestry CommissionFigure 2 - Georgia’s Forestland c9%Corporate29%Other1%Source: US Forest Service FIA Data 2016, 2017, 2018 (depending on state) and The Georgia Forestry CommissionNOTE: The Forest Inventory & Analysis(FIA) program of the U.S. Forest Serviceis the system of ongoing measurementsof our forests in the U.S., and has beenin place since the 1930’s. All metricspertaining to our forests and charts anddiagrams are derived from this data.(GFC 2016)Georgia timberland remains relativelyconstant with 24 million acres,according to 2016 Forest Inventoryand Analysis data. This accounts for67 percent of Georgia’s total land area.However, sawtimber supply remainshigh in relation to demand. Thispresents a challenge for timberlandowners considering final harvest dueto low prices. Weak markets couldpressure landowners to convertto non-timberland, subdivide largetimber tracts in land sales, or delayreforestation and future timber salerevenue.Ownership of Georgia’s ForestsThe majority of Georgia’s forests areprivately owned, and we lead thenation in privately-owned timberlandacres. Only nine percent of ourforests are public lands, includingstate and national forests, parks,and other federal, state, and localgovernment lands. State and localtax structures, inconsistent valuationof forestland and struggling forestproduct markets, and land-usechanges will have a major impact onthese landowner decision-makers.Shrinking Parcel Sizes and TheirImpactsThe shrinking size of forestlandparcels is of concern. As forestland ispassed to a new generation, it is oftenin jeopardy of being subdivided for avariety of reasons. Although largeblocks of productive timberland arebeing purchased by timber investmentmanagement organizations (TIMO’s)and real estate investment trusts(REITS), many acres of forestland4
are being subdivided and convertedto non-timberland uses and splitinto small timber parcels, which areinherently more difficult to manage.As landholdings get smaller, theimplementation of sound forestmanagement often decreases and theland is less likely to produce traditionalforest products. Not only does it costmore for wood buyers and loggers tomove in equipment needed to harvestsmall tracts, efficient reforestationof these small woodlots is difficultas well. These logistical challenges,coupled with the diverse managementgoals characteristic of small forestlandowners, have contributed to recentdeclines in replanted acres. Smallertracts also present challenges towildfire suppression, a priority for GFC.Reduced management (e.g. thinning)contributes to higher wildfire risks,and protection of homes becomesmore difficult within a network of smallwoodlots.Figure 3 - Georgia Forestland Acreage by Forest Type GroupOther0.5 million Ac.2%Bottomland Hardwood3.8 Million Ac.16%Pine Plantation6.8 Million Ac.28%Upland Hardwood6.4 Million Ac.26%Oak-Pine Mix2.8 Million Ac.11%Natural Pine4.1 Million Ac.17%Composition of Georgia’s ForestsGeorgia’s forest composition is diverse,with hardwood timber comprising42 percent, softwood (mostly pine)45 percent, and mixed oak/pine, 11percent. Two percent of the timberlandarea is non-stocked; i.e. recentlyharvested land that has not yet seededor been planted with seedlings.Historical Growth, Harvesting andReforestationGeorgia’s forests are currentlygrowing more wood than is beingharvested on an annual basis. Whileacreage has remained stable fordecades, timber volume shows acontinued increase. Figure 4 showssoftwood net growth and harvestremovals for survey periods from 2004through 2016. The increased growthto removals ratio reveals the impactof improved genetics and silvicultureon forest productivity, particularlyfor pine plantations. Although theseplantations only comprise 28 percentof our forests, they are essential to theproduction of raw materials needed tosustain our forest products industry.Source: US Forest Service FIA Data 2016 and The Georgia Forestry CommissionFigure 4 - Georgia’s Softwood Net Growth vs. RemovalsAvg. Cubic Feet per 000Net y PeriodSource: Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, US Forest Service, 2016 Data5Georgia hardwood growth continuesto exceed removals at a higher rate,resulting in a net change of 39 percentfrom the 2004 to 2016 survey period,as shown in Figure 5. However, this isdue to removal decline (-40 percent)exceeding growth decline (-13 percent).Reasons for growth decline may includechanges to age class distributions, withmore volume moving into older, slowergrowing stands, land-use changes,mortality due to disease and insects, orreforesting in pine plantations. Perhapsone of the greatest contributions tohardwood removals declining is a lossof demand for hardwood pulpwood,as digital options continue to replacewriting and printing paper.
As seen in Figure 6, overall timbervolume has increased by 18 percentfrom the 2004 to 2016 survey period.This includes an increase by 26 percentfor pine, 11 percent for hardwood, and22 percent for mixed pine/hardwood,respectively.Figure 5 - Georgia Hardwood Net Growth vs. RemovalsAvg. Cubic Feet per 000Net y PeriodSource: Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, US Forest Service, 2016 DataFigure 6 - Volume by Forest Type Group and Survey PeriodMerchantable Green 00,000800,000,000600,000,000Mixed 001998-20042005-20112012-2016Survey PeriodSource: Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, US Forest Service, 2016 DataFigure 7 - Annual Harvest and Reforestation500450Thousand Acres400350300250200420020122016150100500Final Harvest Partial HarvestCommercialThinningSource: Forest Inventory and Analysis Data, US Forest Service, 2016 DataPine PlantingHardwoodPlantingFigure 7 shows significant changesto timber harvests from 2004 to 2016.The lumber market is strongly linkedto construction activity. Therefore,while residential construction wasnear an all-time high in 2004, highdemand existed for sawtimber, resulting in substantial clearcuttingand replanting. Following the recession, the 2012 timber market saw asignificant decrease in final harvestsas many landowners in need of cashflow opted to thin timber, hoping sawtimber prices would increase for theirfinal harvest. This delay in clearcutting also reduced tree planting in2012. The abundance of sawtimbercontinues to suppress prices in 2016.However, Georgia experienced anincrease in final harvests and pineplanting, and a decrease in thinning.Although Georgia’s timber volumesare still increasing, continuedreplanting is necessary to ensurevolume growth meets harvestingdemands. Our long-term trend hasshown we are growing 63 percentmore pine volume per acre whencompared to 1972 figures. Ownershipchanges could result in less intensiveobjectives for wood production, andthis trend could stabilize or reduceper-acre pine volume averages. (GFC2016) More funding for tree plantingor tax incentive programs wouldmake replanting after harvest moreeconomically feasible for privateforest landowners, thereby increasingfuture wood supply. Some states in6
Cubic FeetFigure 8 - Trend in Pine Total Volume Statewide by Diameter Class & Survey 000,000500,000,0000Diameter Classthe Southeast offer one or both ofthese options to encourage forestinvestments (Figure 8). This figureshows states that have either a mill tax(where money is collected at the firstpoint of round-wood scaling), stateappropriations, or a combination ofboth. A portion of these funds are thenused to finance forest managementactivities (such as tree planting)on timberlands to help sustain theresource. This does not include anyreforestation cost-share programsfunded by the federal government. Afew states have income tax incentivesspecific to reforestation investments.(Unpublished survey, fall 2013 –management chiefs in the SouthernGroup of State Foresters.)broadly affect reforestation acrossthe landscape. Incentivizing treeplanting with tax incentives or directcost-share payments from a varietyof sources should be considered.In the past, peaks in tree plantinghave coincided with federal treeplantingcost-shareprograms,illustrating that cost-share programscan directly contribute to increasesin future wood supply. However,many current federal programs areoffering lower incentives along withmore specific requirements, whichlimits the ability of the programs toOwnership Changes Impact ForestSustainabilityThe changing ownership patterns fromtraditional, rural-oriented landownersto landowners disconnected fromagriculture has contributed to areduced understanding of basic forestmanagement and the options available.There has also been a shift in ownershipfrom forest industry to privately-held7As a result of reduced tree planting,we are starting to see slightly lowervolumes in the smaller diameterclasses of southern yellow pine. Thistrend is likely to continue unless thereduced tree planting trend is reversed.The good news is that volumes haveincreased across most of the otherdiameter classes in most regions of thestate. This decline is fully depicted inthe appendix by FIA Survey Unit data,and the statewide trend is shown inFigure 8.companies and small private owners.With an estimated 200,000 landownerswho own 10 acres or more of timberland,the delivery of technical informationis a tremendous obstacle. Outreachto these private forest landowners isa priority for GFC. State, federal, andprivate resource professionals shouldadapt and leverage all opportunitiesto provide technical assistance to thisdiverse sector. Proper managementof the forest by every type of owner iscritical to ensuring that our state has asustainable wood supply.Professional consulting forestersalone cannot meet the needs of the200,000 forest landowners (owning atleast 10 acres) across the state. TheGeorgia Forestry Commission canprovide limited technical assistancethrough personal contact, landownerworkshops,conferences,publicmeetings publications, and other media.Private foresters also play a role intechnical assistance, but tend to servelarger landowners. Reaching a fractionof these owners is a daunting task,and is perhaps a function in which thestate should consider investing, sincethe ecosystem services our forestscollectively provide benefit everyGeorgian. There is a huge demandfor private foresters to manage largerland bases and provide the full suiteof services some landowners need.State foresters are needed to assist inthe critical functions of a governmentagency, such as protecting waterquality and the health of our forests.GFC foresters also help implement costshare programs to landowners, whichcollective
Georgia’s forest area has remained stable over the past 50 years at about 24 million acres. Approximately 91 percent of this acreage is privately owned, giving Georgia more privately-owned acres of timberland than any other state in the nation. Forest growth exceeds removals by 41 percent
Nurse-Midwives in Georgia: Value for Georgia Citizens Nicole S. Carlson PhD, CNM President, Georgia Affiliate of American College of Nurse-Midwives Assistant Professor Emory University School of Nursing . Birth in Georgia Georgia Births in 2013: . for Certified Nurse-Midwives in Law and Rule Data Current as of January 2014 MT WY MI ID .
Objective 1: Knows physical, human, and environmental geography of Georgia . The beginning Geography teacher: A. Knows the physical geography of Georgia B. Knows the human geography of Georgia C. Knows the regions and places in Georgia D. Knows the environmental geography of Georgia E. Knows the natural resource debates in Georgia
Brian Kiepper, University of Georgia Wayne King, Georgia Green Industry Association Katie Kirkpatrick, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Ed Klaas, Georgia Irrigation Association Georgia Department of Georgia Department of
Jan 06, 2021 · Overview of Georgia’s Pre-K Program Georgia’s Pre -K Program is a state-funded, universal prekindergarten program for four -year olds from all income levels that serves more than 80,000 children each year. Georgia’s Pre-K Program was established in 1992, and Georgia became one
270 Washington Street, SW, Suite 1-156 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Phone: (404)656-2180 www.audits.ga.gov Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts Performance Audit Division Greg S. Griffin, State Auditor Leslie McGuire , Director Impact of the Georgia Film Tax Credit Credit's impact on economy, jobs is less than reported
For more information about the incentives for live action film & television projects, please contact: Alison Fibben Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Georgia Department of Economic Development 75 Fifth Street, N.W. Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30308 Phone: 404.962.4052 Fax: 404.962.4053 Email: taxcredit@georgia.org
For more information about the incentives for live action film & television projects, please contact: Alison Fibben Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Georgia Department of Economic Development 75 Fifth Street, N.W. Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30308 Phone: 404.962.4052 Fax: 404.962.4053 Email: taxcredit@georgia.org
It WAS a powerful good adventure, and Tom Sawyer had to work his bullet-wound mighty lively to hold his own against it. Well, by and by Tom's glory got to paling down gradu'ly, on account of other things turning up for the people to talk about--first a horse-race, and on top of that a house afire, and on top of that the circus, and on top of that the eclipse; and that started a revival, same .
