Georgia forestry, Vol. 30, no. 1 (Mar. 1977)

Georgia Forestry

CONTENTS

Mar. 1977 i No.1 Vol. 30
George Busbee - Governor A . Ray Shirley - Director

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

H. E. Williams, chairman
Felton Denny Eley C. Frazer, Ill Jim L. Gillis, Jr. Robert Simpson, II I

Woodbine
Carrollton Albany Soperton Lakeland

Intercha nge Beautif icat ion Project to Enhance Envi ronment ... ........ .... ..... .. ... .. ... ... .. .. 3 Decreasing South ern Pine Beet le Leve l Should Cont in ue Th rough 1977....... ... ... ... .... 4 1977 NSCP Approved
Gill is Named t o Board.. .. ... .. ..... .... ................ .. .... ......... ...... ........ ....... ...... .... ... .. ...... 5 Mock Fires Test Fire Fighting Techn iques .... ... .... ... ....... ........ .... ... ... ..... .... ............ .. 6-7 $1 .1 Million Allocated fo r FIP.. ...... .. .. .. ... ... ... .. ..... .... ..... ....... ....... .. ... .... .. ..... .... ... .... S-9 Forestry Faces and Pl aces .. ....... ... .. ... .... ...... ..... .. .. ...... .... ... .. ..... ..... .... ... ....... ....... ..10-11 Wildfires Take Toll .............. .... ... .. ......... ... ........... .... ... .... ....... .. .. ...... ..... ... ....... ... .. .. ... 12 1976 Accompl ishments Cited .. ......... ... .. .... ... ... ... .............. .... .......... ...... .... ........ ........13 Logging the Foresters.... .... ......... ........... .. .. .... ..... .. .. ........... ...... ..... .... ... ...... ... .. .... .14-15

STAFF
Frank E. Craven - Editor Thomas R. Fontaine, Jr.- Assoc. Editor Thomas B. Hall - Artist
DISTRICT OFFICES GEORGIA FORESTRY COMMISSION
COOSA VALLEY DISTRICT P. 0 . Box Z , Mount Berry 30149
NORTH GEORGIA DISTRICT Route 5, Box 83, Canton 30114 ATLANTA DISTRICT 7 Hunter St ., S.W., Room 545, Atlanta 30334 CHATTAHOOCHEE FLINT P. 0 . Box 1080, Newnan 30263 MCINTOSH TRAIL Route 7. Box 455, Griff in 30223 LOWER CHATTAHOOCHEE DISTRICT 6250 Warm Springs Road, Columbus 31904
MIDDLE FLINT DISTRICT P. 0 . Box 1369. Americus 31730 COASTAL PLAIN DISTRICT Route 2, Ashburn 31714 SOUTHWEST GEORGIA DISTRICT Route 2, Box 21 5, Camilla 31730
GEORGIA SOUTHERN DISTRICT Route 2, Statesboro 30458 COASTAL DISTRICT P. 0. Box 113, Midway 31320 SLASH PINE DISTRICT Route 2, Box 127B, Waycross 31501 CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER DISTRICT Route 2. Box 266, Washington 30673 GEORGIA MOUNTAINS P. 0. Box 293 , Oakwood 30566 NORTHEAST GEORGIA DISTRICT 650 College Station Road, Athens 30601
HEART OF GEORGIA DISTRICT P. 0 . Box 96, McRae 31055
MIDDLE GEORGIA DISTRICT Columbus Road, Route 8, Macon 31206
OCONEE DISTRICT P. 0 . Box 881, Milledgeville 31061
Georgia Forestry is published quarterly by the Georgia Forestry CommiSsion , Box 819, Macon. Ga. 31202 . The Georgia Forestry mailing address is Rt . 1, Box 85, Dry Branch, Ga . 31020.
Second clasa postage paid at Dry Branch, Ga.

Cruising The News

Dangerous Dry Season
We join the Georgia Forest ry Commi ssi on and t he Ware County Forestry Uni t i n urging t he cit izens of our area t o tak e ext ra preca ut ions during t hi s dangerous dry season.
The Georgi a Forest ry Commiss ion has ask ed that all outsi de bu rni ng be halted ex cept w ith special preca ut ion s and prefe rably only aft er advice has bee n obtai ned about saf e practi ces f rom ex perienced f oresters.
Those who have lived in Ware Count y f or the past 25 y ears reca ll wit h pa in th e d isast rou s fires which ravaged thousands of ac res of timber in t h is area.
One of t he w orst f ires occu rred 23 yea rs ago in 1954 as fire swept rel ent lessly out of the Ok efeno kee Swam p and spread for miles. Farms and ho mes w ere end angered and animals were forced t o scurry out of their natural hab it ats and see k ot her refuge .
Enti re secti o ns of Ware and neighbori ng cou nt ies we re charred by the great f ire. It was a depressing sight .
The economi c loss w as, of course , tremendou s. Even now, th ere are traces o f t he great 1954 f ire .
Let us by all means heed t he wa rn ing of t he Georgi a Fo rest ry Comm ission and refrai n f rom outside burning until t he sit uation is eased by rain .
Forest s are vita l t o t he economy of t his area.
(From the Wa ycross Journal -Herald)

Arbor Day In Georgia

...

Gov . Busbee has procl aimed t omo rrow , Feb . 18, as Arbor Day in Geo rgia . In so doing he po int ed ou t t hat fo rests occupy 69 percen t of the state's land area ( higher for the Way cross area al o ne) and provide th e raw mater ial fo r t he state's w ood -usi ng indu stries. And not e thi s: t he i ndu st r ies referred t o f un nel an est i mated $3.4 b illi o n a y ear into Geo rg ia's economy . A rbor Day is t rad it ionall y a ti me t o ca ll attention t o f o rest reso urces and wh at t hey mean to all of us. A favor ite project is t o have sch ool chi ldren and ot hers observe th e occasion by p lant ing a tree . Not only is the tree pl anter strik ing a blow fo r t he con servation and beauty of his comm un ity and state but he receives t he great personal satisfact ion of having a part in the li fe of o ne o f nature's gems. A s we indicated ear lier, Arbor Day sh o uld be of particular int erest to those of us who l ive in one of the most beautiful and produ ctive forest areas in the Uni t ed States. Southeast Georgia is a leader, for exa mple, in pul pwood production and many large pulp and and paper pl ant s are located in t his area. It is t o t he credi t of t he forest ry industry that it has bot h pract iced and preached conservation t o assure t hat the v ast woodl ands will not so me d ay di sa ppear. Let us join t omorrow in the observance of Arbo r D ay , re membe r ing th at we are all stewards of o ur God -given resources.
(From the Waycross-Journal Herald)

A challenging beautification project has been initiated at the 1-75 , 1-85 an d 1-20 interchange in Atl anta. Approx imately 16,000 trees wi ll be planted on the 500 acre interchange.
The pro ject is a cooperative effort between the Georgi a Fo restry Com m ission, Department of Transportation and the City of Atl an t a. When completed, it will cost abo ut $20,500.
Ed Laws, ch ief landscape architect, Department of T ransportation; J . Lowery, parks arboricultural manager, City of Atl anta; and Francis Palmer, di strict forester, Atl anta Dist rict; are in charge of planting designated areas of the interc han ge.
The Forestry Commi ssion is in cha rge of planting the buffer zone around the interchange with Virginia p ine. The Department of Transportation and the City of Atl anta are dividing the median area between them.
The Department of Transportation and t he City of Atl anta did the staking, landscaping and mulching.
Th e spec ies being planted include Virginia pine, crabapple, dogwood, hedge maple, Norway maple, su gar maple, magno li a , sweetgum, water oak , willow oak and Japanese zelkova .
Th e result of the beaut ification project shoul d be an up gradin g of the en vironment of the interchange.
The 1-20 and 1-285 interchange was planted in Spring 7971 (bottom). The 1-20, 1-75 and 1-85 interchange, right, will have a more formal landscape

Interchange Beautification Project To Enhance Environment

3

Decreasing
Southern
Pine Beetle
Level
Should
Continue
Through
1977
The South experienced the coldest January on record. What effect the severe cold had on reducing southern pine beetle levels in Georgia is speculative. The April survey should give indications as to the effect, and what level of incidence can be expected in the coming months.

Southern Pine Beetle Infestation
LEGEND High
Medium Low

In 1976, there was a trend toward

Elsewhere, southern pine beetle acti -

decreasing southern pine beetle popula- vity is light to medium. There are 70

tion levels with isolated areas of new counties with some bark beetle activity .

infestation. Southern pine beetle spots These counties are primarily above the

decreased from 3,565 in 1975 to 2,053 Fall Line. The average spot is 20 trees.

at the end of October 1976.

Three counties reported southern

Ray Shirley, director, Georgia Fores- pine beetle activity fur the first time in

try Commission, stated that the state- 1976. They are Camden, Decatur and

wide trend toward decreasing popula - Glynn Counties. The beetle activity in

tion levels should continue through these counties is light.

1977 . However , there will continue to

The August 1976 U.S. Forest Service

be isolated areas of moderate to high survey showed infestations occurring

levels of infestation, primarily in north- throughout most of the Chickamauga

west and southeast Georgia .

and Chattanooga National Military Park

Shirley said that the majority of with the heaviest concentration of large

southern pine beetle incidence is on spots in the eastern section of the park.

federal land in Catoosa, Dade and Wal - The spot size ranged from one to 200

ker Counties where infestation is heavy . trees.

However, all three counties did show a

Since the last survey in April 1976,

decrease in spots from the previous year, the number of southern pine beetle

Catoosa County 12 percent; Dade Coun- spots decreased from 57 to 35 spots .

ty 17 percent; and Walker County . 27 The average number of trees per spot

4 percent.

reduced from 144 to 44 trees . All spots

checked were actively infested . The park contained an estimated 1,295 active trees at the time of the survey, Shirley added.
Although the population has decl ined, Shirley emphasized that the large number of infested trees indicates a potential for continued pine mortality should environmental conditions remain favorable in the coming year . Much of the affected pines are large overmature shortleaf pine.
Forestry Commission personnel will continue to contact landowners, providing them with assistance in marking infested areas and obtaining a market for damaged wood . Park representatives will be contacted concerning the detection of any new activity.
Aerial and on -the-ground statewide insect and disease surveys are conducted in April, July and October.

1977 NSCP Approved

Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge advises that the Naval Stores Conservation Program has been announced . for 1977.
An allocation of $400,000 has been earmarked for cost-share payments earned under the NSCP, Senator Talmadge said . He pointed out that gum producers will be receiving the highest cost-share payments ever approved.
The initial installation (virgin faces) calls for payments of 22 cents per face on a nine inch practice; 28 cents per face on a ten inch practice; 32 cents per face on an 11-inch and above practice ; and nine cents per face on first elevation using spiral gutters or Varn aprons and double headed nails. The Georgia Agricultural Stabilization Conservation Service Office, Athens, will make the cost-share payments .

Gum naval stores producers may make their requests for NSCP participa tion through their county ASCS office or county forestry offices, effective immediately .
Jim L. Gillis, Jr., president, Ameri can Turpentine Farmers Association, Valdosta, made the request for the program's continuation on behalf of the Association's membership. Gillis stated that he was pleased that the Department of Agriculture had continued the pro-

gram for the gum naval stores p roducers. He noted that naval stores is truly a con servation program because of th e accumulation of timbe r inve ntory whil e working the trees.
Ray Shirley, director , Georgia Forestry Commission, said that th e field pha se of the program is under the direction of the state foresters of Ala ., Ga., Fla ., and Miss. The Forestry Commission coordi nates the field services in the four states, he added.

Gillis Named To Board

Governor George Busbee has an nounced the appointment of Jim L. Gillis , Jr. , Soperton , to the Georgia For estry Commission Board of Commissioners .
Gillis succeeds L. H. "Luke" Morgan whose term had expired. Morgan . area supervisor, ITT Rayonier, Inc., Fitzgerald, had served on the Board for 14 years. He chaired the Board in 1975-76.
Gillis is president and a past director of the American Turpentine Farmers

Association, a director and past presi dent of the Georgia Forestry Association and has served as chairman of the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee for more than 24 years.
The farmer, woodland owner, cattleman and banker is on the board of di rectors of the Georgia Agri-Business Council, chairman , Ohoopee Soil and Water Conservation District for the past 38 years , supervisor in the Ohoopee Soil Conservation District, and past president of the Georgia Beef Cattle Improvement Association .
Gillis is on the Board of Governors and past president of the Georgia Bankers Association, president of the Bank of Soperton and has served seven years on the Georgia Development Authority.
The former state senator is chairman of the Treutlen County Commissioners, a former mayor of Soperton and serves on the board of managers and past president of the Georgia Association of

County Commissioners.

The active conservationist was Out -

standing Conservationist of Georgi a in

1960, Georgia Citizen of the Year in

1961, Progressive Farmer "Man of the

Year" in 1967 and honorary me mber ,

Soil Conservation Society of America

in 1967 .

The Treutlen County native is a

member and past president of the Sop-

erton Lions Club . He has served as a

Zone chairman .

He graduated from the University of

Georgia in 1937 with a BS degree in

Forestry.

Gillis is married to the form er

Katherine Hudman of Scre ven County .

They have four children, Mrs . Maryann

Persons, Sea Island ; Mrs. Kate Felton,

Atlanta ; Mrs . Margaret Loi s Clardy .

Ocala , Fla .; and Jim L. Gill is , Ill , Soper -

ton. The Gillis' also have nine grand-

children . The family is a member of the

First Baptist Church of Soperton .

5

The continuing efforts of the Georgia Forestry Commission to provide Georgians with the best possible forest fire protection service is evident by the 4 .1 5 acres burned per fire in the 197576 fiscal year despite more than a third of the fires occurring in the month of February . In order to maintain a high efficiency level, two f ire problems were held in Georgia this past Fall.
Mock fires "destroyed" approximately 4,000 acres of valuabl~ forests during the fire fighting exercises. The mock fires "roared" through the forests near Milledgeville and Waycross.
Ray Shirley, director, Georgia Forestry Commission, pointed out that the primary purpose of the drills was to combine personnel into an efficient team to battle forest fires . In addition it provided training in the management

The " Fire "

The p rogress o f the "fire" is plotted and the course of " action " planned.

Mock Fires Test

Fire Fighting Techniques

Th e Clerk r ecords messages and time of t ransm i ss i o n.

An up-to-date communications system provides direct contact between headquarters and field personnel.
6

Records officers kept personnel on the move.

of personnel and equipment on large fi res under critical fire weather conditions.
Sh irley noted that industry is often called in to ai d in combatting large fires . The Forestry Commission wanted to acqu a int their personnel as well as its new employees with the complete operation employed by the state agency when a wildfire strikes, he added.
The two 24-hour drills resulted in the use of 203 fire fighters and fire suppression equipment from the county
for estry un its in the central and southern sections of the state.
A headquarters trailer, field kitchen and supply unit was dispatched to the exercise sites from the Forestry Commi ssio n 's state headquarters at Macon . Technicians from the Telecommunications Division, Department of Admini strative Serttices, installed radio and field telephone systems to handle communications as the imaginary fires built up into a roaring inferno . Portable water and electric systems went into operation, and a "tent" city was erected at the fire camp headquarters .

Personnel carried out their suppression actions utilizing telephone and radio communications in moving ground and air personnel and equipment from one location to another. Referees threw in obstacles to make the exercises more realistic. Men were "injured" in the battle against the "flames", and equipment "breakdowns" plagued the fire bosses.
Emphasis was placed on the use of the Forestry Commission's patrol craft in detecting and suppressing forest fires . The planes, equipped with two-way radios and loudspeakers, are also used for directing ground crews to the blaze

and keeping them advised of any sudden change in fire direction .
James C. Turner, Jr., chief, and Jack G. Long, analyst and training officer, Forest Protection Divis ion, coordinated plans for the "dry run" exercise.
At Milledgeville, the fire boss was Theron Devereaux, distr ict forester , Athens District. Billy Barber, district forester, McRae District, and Hollis Winn, Washington District ranger, were plans boss and service boss, respectively. The line boss was Harold Watkins, ranger, Twiggs-Wilkinson Forestry Unit.
James Tidwell, district forester, Ash burn District, was the fire boss at Way cross. Jerry Marsh, forester, Statesboro, District, and H. L. Neal , district forester, Midway District, were the plans boss and service boss, respectively . The line boss was R. T . Kirkland, ranger, Pierce -Ware Forestry Unit.
Turner was the chief umpire for the two fire problems.
Shirley termed the simulated operation "very successful" and excellent training for all personnel concerned .

In addition to the fire line, personnel have opportunity to work chow line.
7

$1.1 Million ,Allocated For FIP In Georgia

. '

.-J f-~--~i

A landowner must have a forest manage-

ment plan for the area in which the

The 1977 Forest Incentives Program (FIP), a program designed to increase

practice will be carried out. The plan must be prepared by a forester.

timber production through tree planting and/or timber stand improvement , is now available to all Georgia landowners, according to a joint announcement made by Ray Shirley, director, Georgia Forestry Commission, Macon, and George Ward, state executive director, Agricultural Stabilization and Conserva tion Service, Athens .
The 1977 program is basically a continuation of the 1976 program with the

preparation; $60 per acre , an increase of $10 , for heavy site preparation; and $4.50 per acre, an increase of $1, for tree seed Ii ngs.
Landowner payments for the FP-2 practice are $3 .75 per mile for fire breaks, an increase of $.25; $18.75 per acre, an i ncrease of $1 .75 , for pre-commercial thinning ; $1.85 per acre, an increase of $.35, for prescribed burning; $18.75 per acre, an increase of $1 .75,

difference in the cost-share payments . for pruning; and $18.75 per acre, an

There is also a slight increase in the state 's allocation.
Georgia's basi c F I P allocation is $1 ,195,000. This is an increase of $185,000.
There are no long term agreements offered under the 1977 FIP. The fol lowing costs are the maximum flat costshare rates as recommended and approved by the State ASCS Committee .

increase of $.25, for site preparation for natural regeneration.
Practice FP-1, tree planting, is to establish a stand of forest trees for timber production purposes and to preserve and improve the environment. Costsharing under this practice, in addition to tree planting , is authorized for clearing land occupied largely by scrubby brush when it is essential to permit planting desirable tree species .

Payments received by the landowner

Cost-sharing is not authorized for

for FP-1 are: $12.50 per acre, an in- planting trees on less than 10 acres,

crease of $1, where planting is done planting orchard trees, planting for or-

with farm equipment; $18 per acre, an

namental purposes, Christmas tree pro-

increase of $1, where planting is done duction or fencing.

by hand or with heavy equipment; $26

The tree species will be determined

per acre, an increase of $6, for Iight site

by the Georgia Forestry Commission ,

preparation; $41 per acre, an increase and must be planted between Novembe r

of $6, for Iight preparation; $41 per

1 and March 31 . The trees must be spac-

8 acre, an increase of $6, for medium site ed uniformly over the area with a mini-

mum of 600 trees per acre. Practice FP-2 is for improving a
stand of forest trees . This is applied to stands of forest trees needing improvement for the primary purpose of producing sawtimber and veneer logs where the potential productivity of the stand or site meets or exceeds minimum forestry standards.
Cost-sharing for the FP-2 practice is authorized for pre-c ommercial thin ning , pruning or releasing desirable seed lings and young trees. Also included are firebreaks, prescribed burning and site preparation for natural reseeding . Thi s improvement should be carried out in
Under the FIP, cost-sharing is available to establish a stand of forest trees for timber production purposes and to preserve and improve the environment.

Georgia Forestry Commission personnel provide the local county ASCS office with technical data on which the application is approved and payment made.

such a manner as to preserve or improve the env ironment, especially wildlife habitat and the appearance of the area.
Cost-sharing, under the FP-2 practice, is not authorized for t imber stand im provement on less than 10 acres, for prescribed burning except when approved in conjunction w ith site p reparation and fenc ing.
The local county ASCS office will approve the applications, keep records and make payments to the landowner. The Georgia Forestry Commission will provide the technical forestry field assistance .
In approv ing requests, high priority

will be given to practices that result in the planting of 40 acres or more of trees or timber stand improvement of 40 acres or more or a combination of both.
FIP payment to the landowner is limited to $10,000 per calendar year. Approved practices remain in effect until cancelled . The payments may be assigned to a vendor with the landown er's approval.
Those eligible, prima rily small landowners, include private individuals, groups, assoc iations, corporations, or other legal entities who own nonindustrial private forest lands capable of producing an industrial wood crop.
A landowner must have a forest management plan prepared by a forester, under the direction and approval of the Georgia Forestry Commission for the area in which the practice will be carried out.
The Georgia Forestry Commission has the responsibility for : (1) certifying the need and suitability for the practice, (2) preparing a forest management plan, (3) providing prescription for the onthe-ground methods to be used in the application of the practice, (4) assist approved landowners in securing the services of vendors, and (5) certifying that the practice has been satisfactorily completed so that cost-share payments can be made _
For detailed specifications and other F IP information , landowners are urged to contact their local county forestry unit of the Georgia Forestry Commission or their local county ASCS office.

Cost-sharing is authorized to increase timber quality such as precommercial thinning.

Cost-sharing is available under FIP for

releasing tree seedlings, thereby improv-

ing timber growth and putting the area

in a productive state_

9

Forestry Faces

.... Two prom inent South ern Fo resters were hono red by th e Southe astern Section, Soci ety of Am eri ca n Forest ers at th eir recen t an nual meeting .
Those se lected we re Jack T . May ,left , Scho ol of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, Ath ens, for his w o r k in science, research an d the developm ent of Forestry and Robert M. Nonn emacher , r ight , Inte rn at ion al Paper Company , Mobile, Ala ., for his expert ise in the o peration, managemen t and pro motion of Forestry .
Th e awards were presen t ed by John M . McCullough , center, chairman, Southeastern Section , Society of American Fo resters, Montgomery, Ala .

.....There are 41,300 commercial forest acres in Clarke County . This represents 51 .6 percent of the land area.
Approximately 95.6 percent of the commercial forest acreage is privately owned . The remaining 4.4 percent is owned by municipal, county and state governments .
The forest acreage has a growing volume of 51.4 million cubic feet. The

annual cut is 3 .6 million cubic feet, and the annual growth is 3.4 million cubic feet.

There were 6,665 cord s of round

pulpwood produced in the county in 1975. The highe st production, 8,097 cords, occurred in 1974. Since 1946,

production has totaled 92,112 cord s of pulpwood .
There are approximate ly seven wood using industries in Clarke County em ploying 462 persons with an annual pay -

roll of $3,532,476. The products produced by the industries include veneer, pulpwood, chips and baseball bats .

.... Georgia's school teachers , principals, librarians, curriculum directors and ad-

..... The Georgia Forestry Commissi on has three colillputer terminals centrally located to provide weather information in the state . Term inals were recently placed at Grif fin and McRae to handle North and South Georgia respectively. The terminal at Maco n takes in the Central Georgi a area.
Mrs. Judy B. Dennis, right, secretary , Forest Protection Division and key weather operator, observes Mrs . Barba ra Kilgo as she feeds information obtained from local key fire danger stations int o the comput er terminal . Checking the data is Henry Swindell, Griffin District forester . Miss Frances Stanley is the computer terminal operator at McRae.
The local observations are combined with national weather data in a time -sharing 10 computer to provide fire danger and weather forec asts.

ministrators have a unique opportunity this summer to attend the Georgia Environmenta l Education Institutes, according to Collus Johnson, secretary, Georgia Environmental Education Coun cil, Carrol lton .
The Institutes are three weeks in length and will be held at Shorter Col lege in Rome, June 6-24 and Valdosta State College, June 13-July 1. Expenses for room, board and tuition for the seminar on the use and conservation of Georgia's natural resources run from $264-391 .

And Places

Upon completing the three week course, the participants will rece ive 10 college credit hours toward either undergraduate or graduate degrees . The Institutes may also be used to f ulfi ll course requirements for renewal of teacher certification in counties where this is required.
Coordinators of the Institutes are Dr . Philip Greear at Shorter, and Dr. Clyde Connell at Valdosta who are Chairmen of the Biology Departments at t heir respective colleges. Each segment of t he course is taught by experts fro m related state and federal agencies, and industry , such as the Soil Conservation Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Forestry Commission, U. S. Forest Service, the timber ind ustry, the mining industry, Extension Service and others. The Institutes have received national acclaim for exce llence in purpose and achievement, and are praised unanimously by all teachers who have attended in the past . Many en thusiastically termed it one of the " fin est and most valuable courses " t hey have ever had.
The Institutes are sponsored by the Georgia Environmental Education Council, which is comprised of representatives from the state and federal conservation agencies, the timber and mining industries and conservation groups.
Any educator desiring additional information or an application for enrol lment at one of the 1977 Institutes should contact Callus Johnson, secretary, Georgia Environmental Educatio n Council, 203 Griffin Drive, Carro ll ton, Georgia 30117 or the colleges invo lved . ~A suggestion by James W. Keanum , right, patrolman, Newton-Rockdale Forestry Unit, Covington, has been adopted by the Georgia Forestry Commission.
The Forest Patrol man was given a Certificate of Commendation by the State Employees Suggestion program . It was awarded by Henry Swindell, district foreste r, Georgia Forestry Commission, Griffin.
Keanum's suggestion dealt w ith the lowering of temperature settings in state

..... T he Georgia Forestry Co m miss io n recently held an Instr uctor T raini ng Course at t he Georgia Baptist A ssembly nea r Toccoa . Singl ed out fo r be ing th e most i mproved were Maurice Matthews, center, ra nge r, Oglethorpe County Un it , recei ving certificate from Bob Burns, train ing officer; O' Neal Kelle r , assi st ant ra nger, Franklin- Hart Stephens Unit; and Larry Sm iley, ranger , T oombs County Unit , 1-r , behind Matthews. Hollis Burns, ranger, Gordon Co unty Unit, was also named in t he most improved group. M ilton Rose, investigator , was na med t he top instru ct or.

offices where hot water is se ldo m used resu lting in lower utility bills and t he saving of energy.
.... C. Bonner Jones, pulpwood dea ler, Mi ll edgeville, is the 1977 chairma n of the Georgia Chapter, Society of A merican Foresters. He succeeds Eley C. Frazer, I ll, pres ident and consu ltin g forester, F&W Forestry Services, A Ibany.
Other officers are C. Sanders Bri ghtwe ll, consulting forester, Savan nah ,

Turner F. Barber, Jr.
chairm an -elect; and T urner F . Barber , Jr ., associate ch ief, Forest Management Division, Georgia Forestry Commissio n, Macon, secreta ry -treasurer.
T he of f icers were named at the annual mee t ing of the Southeastern Sect ion, SAF , in Albany.

Wildfires Take Toll

Incendiarism Is A Major Cause

February Is Hottest Month

Georgians experienced two distinct fire occurrence periods in 1976. The first six mqnths saw 10,951 wil.dfires burn 49,468 acres. The second half of the year was a complete turn around with 2,763 blazes blackening 8,864 forest and open acres.
Georgia landowners will long remember the first four months of 1976. During the period , 10,454 wildfires blazed through 48,165 forest and open acres. This was 44.5 percent more fires and 89.4 percent more acres burned than for 1975.
Below normal rainfall for the month of February contribu ted to the serious situation. Most of the state received one inch or less of rain during the period.
Du rin g the February dry spell, 4,551 wildfires burned 21 ,676 acres . The greatest sin gl e day's loss was 2 ,1 61 acres on Feb . 28 . The 447 fires on that date re12 presents the largest single day's occur -

renee on record. There were 6,503 acres burned dur-
ing the last week of February. However, 7,868 acres went up in smoke from Feb. 10-16. There were ten days in

which there were more than 1,000 acres burned.
In spite of the high acreage loss, there were only ten f ires that burned more than 100 acres. The largest fire, 1,025 acres, occurred in Effingham County in Apr il.
The Forestry Commission 's Midway and Rome Districts were the hardest hit due primarily to the woods arsonists . In February, there were 1,983 acres burned through incendiarism in the two d istr icts .
The fact that the state's average size fire was only 4.6 1 acres for the four month period is a tribute to the well trained personnel.
Wildfire occurrence topped the 10,000 mark for the second time in three years . The 13,714 wildfires represent an 89.6 perce nt increase over 1975. The 58,035 ac res burned was the largest
since 1966. The fires averaged 4.29 acres per fire during the calendar year .
Debris burning remained the number one fire cause in Georgia. Incendiarism was second and smoking third in the ranking of major wildfire causes. There were 4,604 debris fires against 4 ,224 incendiary blazes. Howe1.1er, the incendiary fires burned 21 ,699 acres in comparison to the 18,845 acres blackened by debris burning. The 1,705 fire s started by smoking blazed through 7,381 forest and open acres .
Campers continued to be the most fire prevention minded . They accounted for only 110 fires which burned 654 acres.
Only 141 of the wildfires, one percent, were unavoidable. These wildfires, caused by Iightning, burned 920 acres or 1.6 percent of. the forest and open acreage burned .

1976
mplishments Cited

Rural Fire Defense Program upgraded; incendiary fires increase forest acreage losses; Southern pine beetle spots decrease; and one of the largest superior pine seed crops harvested .
These highlights are depicted in the 1976 annual report of the Georgia Forestry Commission, Ray Shirley , director.
Due to the continuing interest and requests from cooperating rural fire de fense departments, the Forestry Com mission upgraded its RFD program with the production and leasing of 187 950gallon slip-on-units, fire knockers, in fiscal 1976.
There were 387 RFD depa rtments active in 142 counties at the end of June 1976. The volunteer rural fire control groups had 582 trucks on loan.
The Forestry Commission's survey of available rural fire suppression equipment revealed the need for countywide master fire plann ing. Countywide master fire plans were completed for Dooly, Elbert and Upson Counties. The Forestry Commission provides this service to requesting county governments.
During the 1976 fiscal year, rural fire defense personnel suppressed or assisted in the suppression of 5,876 fires in Georgia. There were 3,142 fires involving structures and equipment. The efforts of the RFD volunteers resulted in the saving of property valued at more than $26.5 million . Th is is exclu-

sive of resource values saved on forest and brush fires.
Incendiar ism was the major fire cause in Geo rgi a for the second consecutive year . Woods arsonists set 4,541 fires that blazed through 21 ,850 forest and open acres. This was an increase in fires of 51 .7 percent and acres burned of 55.9 percent.
Th is led to wildfire occurrence topping the 10,000 mark for the second time in three years. The 13,242 wildfires represents a 35.5 percent increase over the 1975 fiscal year. The 55,301 acres burned was the largest since 1966. The fires averaged 4.15 acres per fire.
The Forestry Commi ssion is provided fire weather data from the National Weather Serv ice Forecast Office in Atlanta. The daily forecasts assist Commission personnel in maintaining a daily fire control readiness state.
In fiscal 1976 there was a trend to ward decreasing southern pine beetle population levels with isolated areas of new infestation. Southern pine beetle spots decreased from 3,556 to 1,086 spots at the end of the fiscal year .
The majority of southern pine beetle incidence is on federal land in Catoosa , Towns and Union Counties where infestation is heavy . Catoosa County did show a 33 percent decrease in spots from the previous year, and Un ion County remained stable. There was a 28

percent increase in spots in Towns County.
Elsewhere, southern pine beetle acti vity is light to med ium. There. are 50 counties with some bark beetle activity. These counties are primarily above the fall line .
A cooperative eval uat ion of pitch canker infe station was conducted in South Georgia by the Forestry Commis sion and industry. The h ighest incidence of pitch ~..ark!' .- infecti on wa s found in Brantley, Liberty, Ware and Wayne C o u n t ies.
Dur in g the past fiscal year, 49 ,917 woodland owners were provided forest management assistance on 1,791 ,377 acres.
There were 807 requests serviced under the Forest Incentives Program . This involved the completion of 637 management plans, planting of 8,950 acres, site preparing 9,663 acres and timber stand improvement on 4 ,920 acres. The Forestry Commission approved 21 ,870 acres for planting, 19,099 acres for site preparation and 1,067 acres for timber stand improvement.
Forestry Commission naval stores specialists handled 899 assists. Naval stores operations were carried out in 50 counties . The Naval Stores Conservation Program is administered by the Forestry Commission. A Commission forester coordinates the NSCP in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi. Personnel in these states service the program .
The Forestry Commission produced the second largest superior seed crop in the history of its tree improvement program. The seed yield for slash and loblolly pine was 11,546 pounds.
There were 6,858 bushels of slash pine cones and 563 bushels of loblolly pine cones collected. The increase was due primarily to a systematic spraying program and roguing that has opened up the orchard. The Forestry Commissi on seed orchard at Davisboro will produce the first certified blue tag slash pine seed by any state agency in the United States in fiscal 1977 . The Georgia Crop Improvement Association inspection estimated approximately 100 pounds of seed will be produced.
Georgia landowners purchased 43.5 mill ion tree seedlings during the 1975-76 planting season . There were 3,933 orders processed.
13

LETTERS
ASSISTANCE
Please allow me to express to you my bro ther's and my appreciation of the very real help we have received from Mr . Frank J . Pullen in the management of our timber land in Harris County, Georgia.
My brother, C . A . Carmack , Sr ., and I are novices in the ownership and management of tree farms . M r . Pul len has shared his very conside rable expertise with us and has helped us immeasurably in identifying trees for thinning and in planning long range for maximi zation of our forest. We have found him to be very diligent in carrying on his work. We also feel confident in acceptin g h is judgment as we make decisions involvi ng our lan d .
A s cit izens of Georgia, we are proud to have a p rofessional of Mr . Pullen 's ca libre in the service of the State .

PERSONNEL. .. H. GARY CHRISTMAS, patrolman, Cri sp- Dooly Fo restr y Unit, promoted to ranger, Sumter County Fo restry Un it ...JAM ES E. HORNE , as sista nt ran ge r, promoted to ra nger, Ben Hill County Forestry Un it ...JAMES W. LEE , JR ., assistant ranger, Li berty -Long Forestr y Unit , promoted to ran ger, Randolph -Terrell Fo restry Unit ...MISS SHARON NIX, new forester, DeKa lbRock dale Counties ...PHI LLIP A . PAR RISH, II , new for ester , Houston, Peach and Twiggs Count ies.

Logging The

E. N. Ca rmack Decat ur, Georgia

James W. Lee, Jr.

I w ant to thank Hollis Burns and his assistants for attending and treating my trees in Amakanat a Estates .
Gary D . Grines, D irect or Lay Activities Depa rtment Seventh-Day Adventist Chu rch Georgia-Cumberland Conference

H. Gary Christmas

Fl REBREAK
Enclosed is my check for plowing one hour fire breaks at my home near Cl ax ton , Ga., Evans County, which I appreciate very much.
Th is work is one of the most helpful of an y Georgia State Agency, ma ybe the most important among all state departments.
Thank you .
Mamie R. Plyles (M rs. B.C.) Garden City, Ga.

Miss Sharon Nix

14 William H. McComb

James E. Horne

RET! REMENTS ...ERNEST G. DIXON, patrolman, Johnson -Washington Forestry Unit, Ma r. 26, 1956-Jan. 1, 1977 ... WILLIAM H . MCCOMB, staff forester , Macon, Office, Dec . 2, 1943-Jan. 1, 1977 ... MORRIS A. SPRADLEY, patrolman, Camden County Forestry Unit , Jan. 17 , 1963-Jan. 1, 1977 .. .MRS . LOUISE S. TANNER, accounti ng clcr--; Macon Office, Apr . 29 , 1957 -Dec. 1, 1976.

Phillip A. Parrish, II

Foresters ...
Service Awards
20 YEARS
Eugene C. Bennett .......Towerman Cumming, Ga . Sept. 1956
James T. Braddy, Sr.. .. .Maintenance Mechanic
Waycross, Ga . July 1956
Hubert E. Brock .. .. .. ... .. Patrolman Bainbridge, Ga. Sept. 1956
James W. Cook .. ..... .. ....Patrolman McDonough, Ga . Nov . 1956
W. T. Cromer. ...... ........ Patrolman Oglethorpe, Ga . July 1956
Francis M. Durden .... ... Assistant Nursery Riedsville, Ga . Oct. 1956
Roy L. Herrick ..... .. ..... .Patrolman College Park, Ga . Nov. 1956
Wilbur G. Helms ...... ... . Patrolman Rochelle, Ga . Nov . 1957
Clarence E. Hilburn ...... Ranger Brunswick, Ga. Oct. 1956
Ms. Mary Jo Key .... .. .... Cierk -Typist Milledgeville , Ga. Oct. 1956
Tom J. Lomineck ......... Patrolman Colquitt, Ga . Dec . 1956
William F. McArthur.... Ranger McRae, Ga. Aug. 1956

James M. Moore ...........Patrolman Bremen, Ga. Oct. 1956
Leroy G. Page.............. Ranger Baxley, Ga . July 1956
Joseph L. Palmer... .. .... Patrolman Good Hope, Ga . Oct. 1956
Charles B. Place, Jr ....... PR Information Specialist
Macon , Ga. Nov . 1956
John H. Radcliffe , Jr .... Ranger Leesburg, Ga. Dec. 1955
Bobby Richardson .... ... Range r Colquitt, Ga . Oct. 1955
Harold 0. Smith .. ......... Ranger Augu sta, Ga . Nov, 1956
Jack E. Vickers ... ... .. ... . Ranger Ocilla, Ga . June 1956

William L. White ..... ..... Patrolman La Fayette, Ga . Oct. 1955
25 YEARS
John W. Beard... ... ... .....Patro lman Sylvania, Ga . Sept. 1951
William A. Demore ....... Ranger Clarkesville, Ga. July 1951
Ch arles S. Dunn ........ ... Ranger Chatswo rth, Ga . Dec. 1951
Orner Chester Merritt ... Ranger Bremen, Ga . Nov . 1951
Herbert L. Ryals .. .... .... Patrol man Townsend, Ga . Nov. 1951
Lawrence S. Tondee..... Ranger Cordele, Ga . Sept. 1951
30 YEARS

IN MEMORIAM ... LEWIS A. GILLIS, 52, was a forester in the Waycross Dis trict for 12 years . He came with the Forestry Commissi on Nov . 1962 and reti red in Dec. 1974 ... HERSHEL HIG GINS, 59, came with the Forestry Commission in Jan. 1964 as a towerman with the Lumpkin County Forestry Unit. He held that position at the time of his death , Oct . 24, 1976.. .DONALD E. MULLIS, 53, was a patrolman with the Dodge County Forestry Unit at the time of his death, Jan. 4, 1977 . He worked with the Forestry Commission for 22 years beginning with the Dodge Unit in Dec . 1954 ...JOHN W. RICE, 57 , was ranger of the Elbert-Mad ison Coun ty F4>restry Unit at the time of his death
Feb . 17, 1977 . He came with the Forestry Commission Jan. 1953 as an assistant ranger in Elbert County. Rice was pro moted to acting ranger in 1957 and to ranger in Apr. 1960.
FIELD OFFICE ...The U. S. Forest Service, Southeastern Area, has established a new field office at Chamblee. The new

James A. Henson ....... .. .District Froester

Waycross, Ga .

Oct. 1950

office will offer a wider range of services

to owners and managers of state and

private forests. The new facility is multi-

functional whereas each former field lo-

cation emphasized one activity . The

Chamblee address is Northgate Office Park, 3620 Interstate 85, N. E., Chamblee, Ga., 30341 .

MEETINGS ... GEORGIA Forestry Association Landowner Conferences, Rural Development Center, Tifton, Apr . 12;

Dixon Memorial State Forest, Waycross,

Apr. 13; National Guard Armory, Milledgeville , Apr . 14; Georgia Power Aud -

itorium, Rome , May 10 ; Pickens Voca-

tional Technica1 School, Jasper, May 11 ; Unicoi State Park, Helen, May 12 ...

GEORGIA Wildlife Federation , Riviera Hyatt Motel, Atlanta, Apr. 23 .. .WARE

County Forest Festival, Waycross, May

3-4 ...GEORGIA Forestry Association, Jekyll Island, June 12-14... NATURAL

Resource Conservation Workshop for

youth, ABAC, Tifton, June 13-17.

15

Georgia FORESTRY

SECOND-CLASS POST AGE PAID AT DRY BRANCH, GA.

March, 1977

The McDonal d Pecan Tree, l ocated on the lawn of the ol d McDonald place in Cuthbert, grew from a nut brought from Texas in 1848. In 7923, the American Tree Association held a meeting under the giant tree and named it the "Mother of Georgia's Pecan Industry." Ranger James Lane is pictured with the tree.