Georgia forestry, Vol. 46, no. 4 (Winter 1993)

Georgia
Forestry
USPS No. 217120
Winter , 1993 No.4 Vol. 46
STAFF Howard E. Bennett, Editor William S. Edwards, Assoc. Editor Jackie Bleemel, Graphic Artist Bob Lazenby, Technical Advisor
Zell Miller, Governor John W. Mixon, Director
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Jim Gillis, Jr., Chairman, Soperton
Felton Denney, Carrollton James Fendig, Savannah Dr. Gloria Shatto, Rome Robert Simpson, Ill, Lakeland
DISTRICT OFFICES District One
3086 Martha Berry Hwy., NE/Rome, GA 30165
District Two 3005 Atlanta Hwy./Gainesville, GA 30507
District Three 1055 E. Whitehal Rd./Athens, GA 30605
District Four 187 Corinth Rd ./Newnan, GA 30263
District Rve 119 Hwy. 49/Milledgeville, GA 31061
District Six 1465 Tignall Rd .,/Washington , GA 30673
District Seven 243 U. S . Hwy. 19 N/Americus, GA 3 1709
District Eight Route3, Box 17{nfton, GA31794
District Nine P> 0 > Box345/Camilla, GA31730
District Ten Route 2 , Box 28/Statesboro, GA 30458
District Eleven Route 1, Box 67/Helena , GA 31037
District Twelve 5003 Jacksonville Hwy./Waycross, GA 3 1503
Urban Project 6835 Memorial Drive Stone Mountain, GA 30083
Georgia Forestry is published quarterly by the Georgia Forestry Commission, Route 1, Box 181 , Dry Branch, GA 31020. Second class postage paid at Macon , GA POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Georgia Forestry Commission, Route 1, Box 181 , Dry Branch, GA31020.

Macon school students enjoy a hayride as part ofa tour of Sandy Creek Christmas Tree Farm in Twiggs County. Many growers now promote tree sales with tours, Santa appearances, storytelling sessions and other events.
PUBLIC URGED TO PURCHASE FRESH, GEORGIA-GROWN CHRISTMAS TREES
If your family is among the 36 million that will buy a real Christmas tree this year, you can do so with a clear conscience that the tradition is both "environmentally correct and even patriotic," according to the National Arbor Day Foundation.
Growers who own the more than 200 Christmas tree farms throughout Georgia will readily agree with that assumption. They have been urging buyers for years to settle for nothing less than a fresh , home grown tree.
The Georgia Christmas Tree Growers Association encourages the public to purchase a tree at one of the many "choose and cut"farms or from a sales lot supplied by a local grower. While some of the larger growers wholesale their trees after Thanksgiving, many promote an annual family tradition by inviting buyers to the farm and in some cases provide entertainment in keeping with the season.
Georgia farms range from those that grow a few hundred trees to highly mechanized farms that grow and harvest up to 50,000 Christmas trees annually. Virginia pine continues to be the main crop of almost every farm , with red cedar as the second most popular species. White pine, Leland cypress, Norway spruce, blue spruce, Scotch pine and Fraser fir are also grown on some farms , but in limited numbers.
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 90 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on some 15,000 plantations, many of which ate family operations. The tree farms are found in aliSO states and employ 100,000 people full or part time.
The association points out that artificial trees, on the other hand, are generally manufactured in Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and are usually made of nonbiodegradable plastics and metals.
The national organization, which includes many Georgia members, also emphasizes that for each real Christmas tree harvested , two to three seedlings are quickly planted in its place . Since young trees in their rapid growth years have a high rate of photosynthesis, just one acre of Christmas trees produces the daily oxygen requirement for 18 people. With approximately one million acres dedicated to Christmas tree production in the U. S., this translates to oxygen for 18 million people every day.
ON THE COVER - Commission photographer Billy Godfrey focused on this icecoated Georgia pine near Jackson in the dead of winter.

2/Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993

Two Georgia state agencies are cooperating in a project that would possibly provide a solution for some landowners who are realizing conflicts in managing their timberlands in associati on with red -cockaded woodpecker (RCW) colonies.
The Georgia Forestry Commission and the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) , are proposing the development of a statewide Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) benefiting both the birds and the landowners.
Meetings are being held to obtain public input on a Habitat Conservation Plan for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Forestry Commission.
'The presence of the woodpecker on private land can present financial hardship to forest landowners wishing to develop or extensively harvest their forest land, " said Larry Thompson, Endangered Species Coordinator ofthe Commission 's Forest Management Department. "Landowners need a process which will ensure their rights and benefit the birds as well. " DNR wildlife biologist Jim Ozier and Thompson said public input willhelp in the development ofa plan that will attain that goal.
The first meeting was held at McRae and other sessions are scheduled for January 13 at Darton College, Albany, and January 27 at Herty Auditorium, Dixon Memorial State Forest, Waycross. The meetings begin at 7(XJp.m. FOr further information caJ/ taU!me 1-800- GA TRE5.
Populations of the small black and white birds declined to such an extent that it was listed by the U. S . Fish and Wildlife Service in 1970 as

an endangered species because of a genuine threat of extinction . The protection came under the Endangered Species act in 1973, making it illegal to harass, harm, shoot, trap, kill or capture the bird. Protection also came under Georgia's Endangered Wildlife Act. The federal act posed a hardship on some landowners, as the bird inhabits some mature forest tracts ready for harvest. Most of the redcockaded woodpeckers, however, are presently found on federal government lands, including wildlife refuges, military bases, national forests and other protected areas. The birds were once common residents of Georgia's coastal plains and parts of the piedmont area, but as various land management practices have diminished the fire-climax longleaf pine/wiregrass community and open mature southern yellow pine forests, the bird and other animals and plants associated with these habitat types have drastically declined.
The Habitat Conservation Plan now being proposed by the two state agencies would involve the relocation of woodpeckers from some isolated tracts of private lands to public or other protected lands where their presence is desired .
Several characteristics of the bird make them unique and vulnerable. Whereas all other woodpeckers excavate their nesting and roosting cavities in dead wood, RCW use only living pine trees. These trees must be ofsufficientsize and age (usually 60
+ years old) to contain enough heartwood
for a suitable cavity. The heartwood is free of the sticky resin that oozes from the pines' sapwood. The birds prefer pines with red heart, a fungal disease that causes heartwood decay, making cavity excavation easier.
They must first peck through the tough sapwood, however, to reach the interior

RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS
BYJIM OZIER

excavation is avery s Iow process , often taking more than a year of parttime work. The birds also peck into the sapwood surrounding the cavity entrance to create an area of resin flow that probably serves to deter predators and competitors. Once a
(continued on pg. 22)

NON-GAME SPECIALIST, GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/3

..-

Gone are the days when rural Georgians have to stand by helplessly when fire strikes their homes or barns. Many country residents now have modern fire protection that rivals services provided for those who live in cities.

RURAL FIRE DEFENSE

By Howard Bennett

W hen the old farm bell in rural Georgia rang at noon , it was "dinner time ," and when it sounded again at dusk, field hands knew it was "quittin' time,"but when it shattered the quiet of the countryside at any other time , it meant FIRE or some other disaster and neighbors came running from miles around.
That was yesterday. Thanks to a statewide program administered by the Georgia Forestry Commission, the old bell has given way to a sophisticated radio pager system and well-trained volunteers with modern firefighting equipment have replaced neighbors who usually fought losing battles against burning farm houses and barns.

When a fighter plane crashed near Pearson on a May morning, scattering fire and debris that destroyed one home and battered several others, volunteer firemen from four departments were quick to respond and are credited with saving several structures . It was dangerous duty, as the plane was carrying ammunition and six bombs.
A train was moving along a stretch of track in rural Pierce County on a Sunday afternoon when a ruptured fuel line caused a fire to suddenly erupt in the locomotive. Fortunately, the train was near the Bearville Fire Department and volunteers from that county station extinguished the blaze that could have heavily damaged or destroyed an extremely expensive piece of railroad

equipment. The old gymnasium at Southwest
Georgia Academy near Damascus was made of heart pine and when it caught fire , probably from faulty electrical wiring, volunteers knew it was fu tile to try to extinguish the inferno, but they did save four adjacent buildings, including the main classrooms and a library. Hal Haddock, farmer, one of the fou nders of the private school and a volunteer fireman , said value of buildings saved was "between $400,000 and $500,000."
The fires are just three of the thousands fought across the state each year by the 750 Rural Fire Defense (RFD) stations now operational in 145 Georgia counties. Georgia's RFD program, designed to protect property against fire in the broad

4/Georgia Forestry/Winter 1993

rural areas, crossroads farm communities and in some srriall towns, began in the late 1960's. The RFD program was established to help communities obtain adequate firefighting equipment and training for volunteer firemen . The program concerns structural, motorized equipment and miscellaneous fires that cannot be extinguished, of course, by fire plows, the Commission's primary defense against forest wildfires.
Today, it is a widespread protection endeavor that sets Georgia apart from all other states, Several others are building a system of rural fire protection, but no other state can match Georgia's network of fire departments that respond to thousands of fires annually.
Basic training in firefighting is offered to volunteers by the Georgia Fire Academy at the Georgia Public Safety Trai ning Center in Forsyth , and arrangements are often made for the course to be taught at local fire stations.
The Commission had realized for years that the small water tanks on forest rangers' pickup trucks were inadequate for fighting most rural structural fires and when a congressional act cleared the way for the state agency to receive excess military property through the U. S. Forest Service Cooperative Fire Control Plan , the RFD program was launched.
Don Freyer, RFD Coordinator for the Forestry Commission, said "we started slowly back in the 1960's in creating this program of protection and for several years we had to be content with working almost solely with federal excess equipment, mainly trucks, which we obtained for counties interested in establishing rural fire departments."

The Commission set up shops in several county forestry units and personnel, when not engaged in fighting forest fires or attending to other essential duties, built steel tanks that are mounted on the surplus trucks. They installed pumps, finished the necessary plumbing and then painted the newly fabricated fire trucks. The finished product, called a "fire knocker," is equipped to draft water from lakes, rivers or other bodies of water in the proximity of a fire. The fire trucks are leased to a county or community on a 50-year basis.
"Our people have to be welders , plumbers, mechanics, automotive electricians, pipefitters and painters to build the fire knockers and other equipment," Freyer said. "Some who had these skills when they came with the Commission have taught others ." A special shop was built at Commission headquarters in Macon in recent years to augment the unit shops and handle the more difficult and technical work.
Now that RFD is well established in all sections of the state and rural residents are more appreciative of the protection it affords , some counties and other entities are becoming less dependent on the Commission. Some, through taxation, cost-share programs or other means, are buying new trucks and having

the CommisSion build and mount tanks on the chasis and install front mounts to create Class A pumpers.
Freyer said, howe~er, that ;,the durable Fire Knocker, with its 950-gallon tank, continues to be used in most of the rural fire stations and , of course, we're still building them."
Although some federal , state and county money is involved in initially establishing the fire departments, Freyer said many of the volunteer firemen and their families raise money locally to build firehouses, buy breathing apparatus and protective clothing, and provide general maintenance of equipment.
Roger Browning, the Commission's Urban Interface Fire Coordinator, points out that shortly after the program was started it became obvious that "it was not only bringing fire defense to long neglected areas, but it was also bringing rural people closer together socially." He explained that those involved in RFD work together to hold fish frys , auctions, bake sales and other fund-raising projects to benefit their departments. In Sale City, a small South Georgia community, such activities paid for a fire station, complete with modern kitchen, and now proceeds are going toward purchase of a second truck. The firehouse is the social center for the small town and outlying farm

This hom e battered by debris caused by theplane crash nearPearson was burning when RFD units arrived on the scene to extinguish several fires in the area.

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/5

Mennonites who conductannual bake sales to support their volunteer fire department in Macon County are representative ofmany communities that sponsor fund-raising events to keep their firefighting equipment in top condition.

communities and the department sponsors fall festivals, Easter egg hunts and Christmas parties, but the activities never get in the way of keeping equipment and personnel in readiness for the next fire.
Some of the most devoted firefighters and successful fund-raisers are the Mennonites of Macon County, members of a religious order founded in Holland iri the 16th Century. The master farmers and dairymen moved to the area from Virginia 40 years ago and turned worn out cotton land into lush pastures and grain fields . When RFD was introduced, they went about organizing their fire department with the same zeal exhibited in establishing their model farms.
The most popular and profitable event held by the Mennonites to support their fire budget is an annual "all you can eat" feast and bake sale which is held each November at their firehouse. This year, more than 1,300 persons paid $6.00 each for the food prepared by the Mennonite women . In addition , the Mennonite men hold an auction of farm equipment and tools in Montezuma

each spring to raise needed funds . "There is always a need for money to
keep rural fire departments in top condition," Browning explained. "Water hoses deteriorate, pumps and truck motors have to be repaired, ladders and tools undergo rough treatment at fires and have to be replaced and firehouse utility bills have to be paid."
Oglethorpe County, a rural area of three small towns and a half dozen farm communities, is one of the more active in the RFD program. There was a time when residents could do little more than stand by and watch fire consume a country home, cotton gin or crossroads store, but today more than 150 trained volunteers attached to eleven fire stations stand ready to tackle fire even in the most remote areas of the county.
A volunteer from the county's Sandy Creek Rre Department remembers when citizens first started raising money to buy used trucks and build fire houses. "We had a barbecue that brought in $1,475," he said "and the wives had a big part in it." Freyer is quick to point out, however, that "wives participation in RFD is not

limited to working in benefit barbecues and other fund-raising projects. Many are well trained volunteers who fight fire alongside the men."
One of the current problems confronting the Comm iss ion is the increasing number of homes being built in heavily wooded areas, especially mountains of North Georgia where rugged terrain makes forest fire suppression very difficult.
"Big Canoe, a development in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is an example of that type of situation," Browning said , "But the five RFD departments and the close cooperation of some 400 residents in the resort area have greatly alleviated the problem ." He said a master management plan , including emergency escape routes, detailed communications instructions and other pertinent information has been worked out by the commission for the RFD units in the event a major fire strikes the area. Browning said it is the kind of comprehensive plan that is being utilized in similar areas.
All calls that come into RFD departments don't concern fire; when needed, the volunteers respond to other emergencies. Kenny Calhoun, Director of Dooly County's Emergency Management Agency and Fire Coordinator, said he always will remember the RFD participation in the dramatic rescue of a log truck driver pinned in the wreckage of his vehicle for almost four hours.
"When we arrived on the scene about ten miles east of Vienna," Calhoun said, "the trailer load of logs was in the ditch and the truck cab was upside down, with the driver pinned in and one of his legs impaled by a steel rod. " The coordinator said that when the call came from the sheriff's office, he feared fuel from the truck's tanks might ignite, so three RFD departments were dispatched . Although the fire didn't occur, the firemen and personnel from other emergency units had plenty of work to do, according to the accident report. Two surgeons were on the scene to treat the driver after he was carefully extricated from the twisted metal by utilizing special rescue tools.
Freyer said there have been a number of responses in which RFD departments

6/Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993

around the state have come to the rescue of persons in floods, storms and other disasters.
Although RFD volunteers are not trained to fight forest fires and are not obligated to assist Commission rangers in battling woods fires, they are often on the scene to attend interface situations that extend out of the woods fires. Several RFD departments recently worked several days to help the Commission subdue a stubborn peat bog fire near Adel.
"We can always count on the RFD people," Freyer said. "They have always been helpful in many different occasions."
The RFD coordinator said it is difficult to place a true value on all property saved from fire by the departments, but based on the latest annual reports filed by the 740 stations on the 14,454 calls answered, the figure exceeds $109,9 1 5 ,0 0 0 .
When Rural Fire Defense came to Pickens County in 1985, farmer J . A. Townsend, one of the organizers of the department in the Hinton Community, recalled a time during his youth when a faulty flue set fire to the wood-shingled roof of his country home. "Daddy saw it in time," he said, "and he leaned a ladder against the house and me and my brothers and sister carried buckets of water up to the fire and put it out." He said the family was lucky, as country fires were usually not detected in time and help was often too far away. There were times when the old farm bell was of little help.
That was yesterday.
Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/7

COMMISSION PERSONNEL TRAIN
ENGINEERS IN FIREFIGHTING
District 6 Commission personnel completed their second training session for U. S. Corps of Engineers at Strom Thurmond Lake in Columbia County. The second session, completed by 27 Corps of Engineers members, was requested after a similar 1990 Training meet held in District 6 resulted in positive evaluation response from all Corps members completing the course.
Pete Allen, senior ranger of the Commission's Harlem Unit, was in charge of training that consisted of eight hours of classroom and five hours live fire training. Other Commission District 6 personnel assisting Allen with instruction included: Senior Ranger Reggie Morgan, Chief Ranger Bill Dawkins, and Reforestation Forester John Colberg.
The specially requested training session was conducted through the Commission's statewide RFD training that assists in instructing personnel throughout Georgia. Don Freyer, Commission RFD coordinator for the state, said it is gratifying to interact with other agencies and provide wildland fire training as a public service. Freyer said similar training for the Corps of Engineers was provided by the Commission in Elbert County.
Pete Allen, who trained both District 6 Corps of Engineers classes, said the request for a second training session from large outside agency shows the training is working well. He said the course, modified to meet the needs of Corps members, is designed to teach basic guidelines of brushland fire control with handtools. Areas of instruction include: fire weather, fire behavior, tactics, communication, and chain of command.
"This is a safety first training operation," Allen emphasized. "We take all precautions to assure the safety of all participants. There are firebreaks - either natural or plowed lines - and a comprehensive written plan on how the burn will be conducted." Allen added that he often limits trainees to half-hour actual work sessions with live fire because of the strenuous work and intense heat.
According to Commission safety guidelines for the course, one Commission employee is designated as safety officer and emergency ambulance services are notified of exact locations and times of training.
Although firefighting with handtools may seem a simple process to the uninitiated, there is a definite procedure, chain of command, and defined use of a variety of handtools that must be followed for an effective, safety first operation. Crew organization varies according to density of brush, trees and grass.
For instance, crew organization for line control of fire in heavy brush consists of a foreman who moves up and down the fire line directing operations continuously. The foreman is responsible for crew safety, location, and progress. He maintains appropriate contact with the sector chief. Each handtool also has a specific use in the critical environment of a brush fire . Brush hooks are used to cut entry. Pulaskis widen fire lines. Shovels cool hot spots, trench, and scatter brush in the burn area. Axes chop heavy material. Some of these tools change in use as the fire line changes. A tool boy (or swamper) is present on the crew to carry a shovel and knapsack as required by the foreman.
Various types of fire situations are covered in Commission instruction. Training provided for the Corps of Engineers is considered unusually valuable because of the productive interaction of agencies in protecting large areas of Georgia land under jurisdiction of the U. S . Corps of Engineers.
8/Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993

GEORGIA FFA TEAM
THIRD NATIONALLY
A Georgia FFA Forestry Team has won 3rd place in national competition at the 66th National FFA Convention held in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Bleckley County High School FFA Forestry Team won the national honor under the direction of Cliff Paulk of Cochran. Team members included Stewart Thigpen, Dwayne Havard, Jonathan Braswell, and Scott Carr.
The Bleckley County team, that won the Georgia FFA Forestry Finals competing against 20 teams in Macon, matched skills with 36 winning teams from other states for the national contest. Arkansas won first place and West Virginia came in second.
Don Register, Georgia Department of Education Area Forestry Teacher, who is one of three state FFA fo restry coordinators, said the Georgia winners displayed exceptional skills in national competition. He added that the Bleckley County team, like other Georgia teams that have competed nationally, were retrained for different events and perspectives of forestry competition on a national level. Georgia FFA forestry teams have placed in the top three nationally, in the past nine years of competition.
According to competition guidelines, the National Forestry Contest annually tests student skills and knowledge in forest management. Competition segments include: a general forestry knowledge exam, tree and equipment identification, forest-business management problem, timber cruising skills, timber stand improvement, map interpretation, compass practicum, tree and forest disorders, and chainsaw troubleshooting.
2,000 TREES GIVEN
TO CARTER CENTER
Georgia-Pacific recently donated more than 2,000 loblolly pines to the Carter Center in--'-Atlanta for use in th eir landscape projects. The three-foot pines line the executive entrance to adorn the Presidential Parkway and are used in various locations around the facilities.
The center recently won the 1993 Outstanding Civic Organization Award for its on-going efforts toward tree preservation and planting.

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY OF SMOKEY BEAR

COINCIDES WITH RESCUER'S 90TH BIRTHDAY

By Bill Edwards

EDITOR'S NOTE: As part of the 50th Ann iversary of Smokey Bear celebrations, the Georgia Forestry Commission has scheduled the Smokey Anniversary Hot Air Balloon to be in Macon during the annual 94 Cherry Blossom Festival. The balloon will be featured and a birthday cake cutting ceremony will be held on March 25 at Macon's Central City Park from 3:00 to 5:00 p. m. The Commission has invited Governor Miller to attend this event.
Georgia's other appearance of the Smokey Balloon is scheduled for the Southeastern Forest Festival in Patterson , April 9-10.
This year's 50th anniversary of Smokey Bear and the 90th birthday of his rescuer, Homer C. Pickens Sr. , coincide for a New Mexico birthday party that received front page coverage by the Alb uquerque Journal and national coverage by the Associated Press.
Homer C. Pickens Jr., a retired full colonel of U.S. Army Intelligence said. 'We knew there would be some coverage of the party because my father's name is prominent in New Mexico, but we never expected anything this extensive ." Pickens Jr., now working as senior legal assistant for the Augusta, GA law firm of Knox and Zacks, remembers well the now

famous rescue of the little burned bear cub that grew up to be an international image second only to Santa Claus in recognition .
An estimated 100 guests, including numerous dignitaries, Pickens children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and Smokey himself (actually a ranger in a Smokey suit - but the kids didn't mind) attended the event. The Pickens' birthday party serves as a prelude to numerous events planned nationwide to celebrate Smokey's Golden Anniversary from October 1993 to August 1994. Anniversary activities will culminate with a celebration in Washington, D. C. on August 9, 1994.
If the attention attracted by the Pickens' birthday party is any indication, the nationwide series of anniversary events will give Smokey all the credit he deserves for a half century of service.
"Actually." said Pickens Jr., "it was not my father, personally, who lifted the bear from the burning tree. He had assigned men from his department to help fight the massive forest fire , and one of these men picked up the injured bear and gave it to a game warden . That's how the whole story of Smokey started."
At the time, summer of 1950, Pickens Sr. was assistant director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. An 18,000 acre fire was burning in the

Capitan Mountains of the Lincoln National Forest near Roswell, New Mexico. Pickens assigned personnel from his agency to fight the growing blaze. The fire grew to such intensity that numerous agencies and private citizens were involved in the firefighting. Even the U.S. Army from Fort Bliss, Texas, were called out with specially trained firefighting crews of Mescalero Indians.
Pickens Sr. devotes an entire chapter of his autobiographical book Tracks Across New Mexico to the raging mountain fire and rescue of the bear cub. Copyrighted in 1980, the book is now out of print and a highly sought after collector's item. Chapter 14 relates that Speed Simmons was in charge of a crew of firefighting soldiers assigned to one side of Capitan Mountain when the fire crowned and passed over them. The crew escaped being burned alive by flattening themselves among the rocks and covering their heads with handkerchiefs soaked with canteen water.
After the fire passed over, they heard a squealing sound and discovered a singed bear cub clinging to a small oak tree. The cub's feet were so badly burned that he would have died without medical attention; there was no trace of a mother bear or any other cubs. Simmons removed the cub and carried him to a

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/9

fire camp where Ray Bell, also serving with Pickens department as a game warden, examined the bear and then flew it to Santa Fe and took the injured cub to a veterinary hospital. The Bell and Pickens families eventually took care of the bear until it was fully recovered and developed what Pickens Sr. remembers as an "ornery disposition. " The bear stayed in Pickens' home for about a month while recovering.
CELEBRITY
During his recovery period, the little cub became increasingly popular with local residents and adults. Warden Bell and Pickens Sr. came up with the idea of using the bear as a living symbol for the Smokey Bear fire prevention image that was established in the early 40s. The o rig inal Smokey image had been established shortly after Pearl Harbor when forest protection agencies became alarmed over loss of personnel to the Armed Services and defense plants.
Since statistics showed that more than 90 percent of forest fires were caused by human carelessness, it had been felt that an educational program was necessary and the Smokey image was created as part of the program.
Now, Bell and Pickens Sr. offered their concept of a real live Smokey the Bear

to the U. S. Forest Service through the new Mexico Department of Game and Fish. The idea moved rapidly through the ranks and plans were made to fly little Smokey to Washington, D. C., where dedication ceremonies would be held and he would be provided with a new home at Rock Creek Zoological Gardens. Having been rescued from certain death, the newly recovered little Smokey was now to be provided with the best of everything - including a special diet and swimming pool.
Publicity mushroomed and none other than Mr. Piper, manufacturer of the Piper Cub aircraft, provided a plane to fly Smokey to Washington. Santa Fe artist, Jim Young, painted the plane's fuselage with a picture of Smokey during the flight from Santa Fe to Washington. Right stops included Amarillo, Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis, Louisville, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Baltimore. The crowds grew larger with each stop.
In St. Louis, the group was greeted with a black limousine to take them to the Chase Manhattan Hotel. On the third day, the group landed for their last stop in Baltimore, where Smokey was taken to a veterinary hospital for a routine examination. Smokey checked out fine ; celebrity status apparently agreed with him .
On the final morning of the journey,

Smokey and his group flew into the Washington airport in a heavy rainstorm. In spite of rain , they were greeted by a large crowd and great fanfare. Senator Dennis Chavez ad Pickens Jr. (then with the Federal Bureau of Investigation) were among the first to greet the group.
Pickens Sr. recalls that little Smokey, who weighed only 10 pounds, remained the center of attention. "I had to wear buckskin gloves because he had a tendency to bite when I least expected it, "Pickens Sr. said . "My p rimary responsibility, I thought, was to protect Smokey. But as it turned out, I had to protect his admirers more often."
NEW HOME
Smokey thrived in his new home and people came from all over the world to visit the living symbol of fire prevention. He grew to be a large bear - a strapping 300 pounds of symbolic message that spread around the world. In 1962, the U. S . Department of Agriculture sent Smokey a bear girlfriend ("Goldey") to produce an heir to Smokey's title, but the relationship failed to produce a little Smokey.
Meanwhile , Smokey 's infl uence seemed to spread everywhere. He even has had his own zip code . In one instance, he appeared in a celebrity

Rare 1950 photo shows Smokey 's rescuer, Homer C. Pickens, Sr. , displaying recovered cub at Washington D. C. airport before placing him in new zoo home complete with swimming pool. Homer C. Pickens, Jr., now senior legal assistant with Augusta law firm, holds umbrella on that rainy and memorable day. Pickens Sr. , now 90, is still an active conservationist.
10/Georgia Forestry/Winter 1993

cookbook that listed his favorite recipe (blueberry cake). In the cookbook, Smokey shared the spotlight with such celebrities as John Wayne, Bob Hope, Lawrence Welk, and Mrs. Richard (Pat)
Nixon . Another indication of fame is when the
National Enquirer takes notice. Two years before Smokey died, the Enquirer, having heard of his failing health, could not resist running a story on the subject.

PASSING

Smokey lived much longer than others of his species. The black bear (Ursus Americanus) usually lives 10 to 12 years in its natural wild habitat. Smokey lived to be 27 years old. When he passed away on November 8, 1976, arrangements had already been made for the final resting place to be his native mountains in New Mexico.
Once again dignitaries gathered, and most of the faces would have been fam iliar to Smokey. The body was flown from Washington to Albuquerque, with plans to drive to Capitan for the burial. However, even in death , Smokey's celebrity status was attracting attention this time undesirable attention - and alterations had to be made in the original burial plans.
It was rumored that a plan was un derway to hijack Smokey's body, remove the claws and sell them for for a large sum of money. No actual threat ever developed and nobody ever knew if there was any truth in the rumor; but at the time, no chances were taken. When the plane carrying Smokey landed in Albuquerque , a detachment of New Mexico State Police were waiting to escort the body back to Capitan.
The police escort traveled through a cold and clear New mexico for three hours. It was dark when they arrived at the burial place and armed state police directed headlights on the site as Snokey was buried.
As the grave digging silently progressed, two semi-inebriated deer hunters wandered out of a dim bar across the road and came over to investigate. When they were told what was happening, both offered assistance and

Homer C. Pickens, Sr. prepares Smokeyfor flight from Santa Fe, NM to Washington, D.C. Although publicity was widespread and crowds increased with each stop, no one suspected this "ornery" little bear would become international sy mbol second only to Santa Claus in recognition.

helped lower Smokey into the grave. When it was over, one of the Texans
said, "Nobody is ever going to believe we helped bury Smokey Bear."
SMOKEY LIVES ON
Today, Smokey's image lives on in a nation of children being educated in the wisdom of forest protection. A large granite stone with Smokey's name marks his grave. Pickens Sr., now 90, who retired as director of the New Mexico Game and Fish Department, went on to work an additional 15 years as conservation officer for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission at Los Alamos; many years have passed, but he still remembers that burial day of Smokey in detail. "I am proud to have played a small role in the story of Smokey," Pickens Sr. said.
Smokey seems to have made an

indelible impression on everyone who encountered him. Pickens Jr. remembers in particular an incident in 1966. Pickens Jr. was home on leave, between military tours in Vietnam, when he went with his father to visit Smokey in the Washington zoo, children were throwing peanuts to the bear when he suddenly looked up. "He looked straight at my father," Pickens Jr. said. "It would be a wild stretch of the imagination to sense that there was any recognition by the bear - but I saw it and it was very touching to me. It may have been imagination, but it is still real to me."
But it was Homer Pickens III, now 28 and working in Washington for the U. S. Department of Defense, who perhaps best summed up the family ties between his grandfather and Smokey. "My grandfather is synonymous with Smokey," said Pickens III. "They both take on a bit of the same identity."

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/11

GEORGIA'S TRAPPING PROGRAM

YIELDS VERY FEW GYPSY MOTHS

Seventeen college students serving as Georgia Forestry Commission summer interns have been driving the roads in 84 counties Georgia and hanging cardboard gypsy moth traps on tree limbs.
They have completed the 1993 gypsy moth detection program by placing almost 10,000 traps throughout the wide area, an effort that resulted in the capture of 44 male moths.
The program is designed to discover introductions of gypsy moths into Georgia from surrounding infested states. Gypsy moths and egg masses were found in White County in July of 1991 and these finds were the result of an artificial introduction; someone accidentally brought egg masses down

from one of the northeastern states. Two spray projects have been
conducted in White County. In 1992, approximately 5,250 acres were treated with the aerial application of Bacillus thuringifnis (BT) and 1,937 acres teated the following year. A negative moth catch in the region during 1993 indicated a successful eradication.
Commission Entomologist Terry Price said 18 moths and three egg masses were discovered in Fannin County. The GFC personnel will delimit a twenty-squaremile area around the egg mass finds to determine the exact location of the infestation. Other moths were caught in Fulton, Lowndes, Clarke, Hart, Chatham, Glynn, Habersham and Camden Counties.

rnnnTED
The Georgia Forestry Commission is seeking a small sawmill to add to the collection of forestry-related machinery, equipment, tools and other artifacts now on display at the Georgia Forestry Museum on the grounds of the Georgia Forestry Center in Macon .
The mill would not have to be operational; it could be a static display to show museum visitors how lumber is manufactured. An old steam-driven mill would be ideal, but any small mill would be appreciated.
A plaque denoting an individual or family donating the mill to the museum will be permanently displayed next to the machinery.
Please contact the Forest Information and Education Department, Georgia Forestry Commission, Box 819, Macon, Georgia 31298 (Phone 912/751-3530) if you can make such a contribution or have information on someone who might make the donation.

The dreaded moth is spread from one area to another mainly by vacationers and other travelers from infested states. Egg masses, moths and caterpillars are often transported on motor homes, campers and other recreational vehicles, causing the insects to establish new homes in campgrounds, picnic sites and other forested areas.
Oak leaves are the caterpillars favorite food and they have seriously damaged or destroyed thousands of acres of hardwoods in the New England states, where they have been established for many years.
A regulation now requires that all outdoor household items moved from high risk areas into or through nonregulated areas must be free of gypsy moth life stages - eggs, caterpillars, pupae and adults. The owner of the items is responsible for making sure he or she is not moving a serious pest problem along with the household articles.
A brochure published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture makes this appeal to residents in moth-infested areas:
"If you live in areas where the gypsy moth is prevalent, you know the damage the leaf-eating caterpillars can cause. They defoliate trees and shrubs, giving summer scenes a barren winter look. Gypsy moths have defoliated up to 13 million acres of trees in one season. They cause untold annoyance-crawling on homes, littering lawn furniture and pools, and making outdoor a ctivities miserable.. .Recent studies show that most new isolated infestations of the gypsy moth were started fro m egg masses transported on outdoor household article -garbage cans, lawn furniture , firewood , children 's toys any item accessible to the female moth at egg laying time . .. Don' t

12/Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993

be r esponsible for moving an old pest to a new neighborhood."
Price said that "although we are presently keeping a close surveillance on the European gypsy moth here in Georgia, the Asian gypsy moth is now of great concern in some areas of the Uni ted States and Canada ." He explained that the Asian variety spreads faster than the European insect and could cause much greater damage to Georgia's hardwoods if it becomes established in the state.
The adult female European gypsy moth does not fly, but its Asian counterpart does fly and may lay an egg mass up to 25 miles from where she lived as a caterpillar. The Asian gypsy moth could elude the conventional monitoring efforts used for European gypsy moths. It also eats a greater variety of hardwood and coniferous trees than its European cousin. Hybrids of European and Asian gypsy moths may have the same troublesome traits as the Asian gypsy moth .
Asian gypsy moths were found in and around Wilmington, North Carolina, in July. The source of the infestation was a cargo ship carrying ammunition from depots and bases in Germany.
Germany is experiencing the largest infestation of gypsy moths since World War II , and reports indicate that outbreaks are occuring in other European countries as well. As more military equipment and personnel return to bases in the United States, the chance is greater that unwanted gypsy moths could be introduced into uninfested parts of the United States.
The end of the Cold War means increased foreign trade-and an increased chan ce that problem pests will be imported.
Forest pest specialists from the U. S . Forest Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are working with Russian counterpars in eastern Russian port cities and their environs to set up monitoring programs for the Asian gypsy moth.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is using an exclusion strategy to prevent ships originating from
(continued on page 17)

Numerous dignitaries attended the dedication ofa $6million building at University of
s Georgia Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry. Participating in the ribbon cutting
ceremony are left to right: Robert L. fzlar, Executive Director of Georgia Forestry Association and past president of Warnell School of Forest Resources Alumni Association; L. A. Hargreaves, Jr. Dean Emeritus; Representative Thomas B. Murphy, Speaker ofthe House; Klaus Steinbeck, Professor ofForestResources; Arnett C. Mace, Dean; and Charles Knapp, UGA President
SCHOOL OF FOREST RESOURCES
DEDICATES NEW BUILDING ADDITION

The University of Georgia's $6 million building addition to the Daniel B. Warnell School of Forest Resources complex was dedicated in a fall ceremony with Speaker of the Georgia House Tom Murphy as keynote speaker.
Other speakers at the dedication included UGA President Charles Knapp; Robert lzlar, president of the Warnell School of Forest Resources Alumni Association and director of the Georgia Forestry Association; and Klause Steinbeck, a professor in the forest resources school.
Arnett C. Mace, Jr. , dean of the Warnell School, also spoke at the dedication . "The new addition to the Forest Resources Complex provides space essential for quality instruction, research, and service programs to more effectively manage Georgia's valuable forest resources," Mace said. "The new

classroom, offices, and modern laboratories will greatly enhance contributions of the school's faculty, staff and students to management of forest for economic, social and environmental values ."
Following the dedication, held on the patio connecting old and new buildings, guests toured the facility and attended a reception in the lobby of the new building. Forest resources research , teaching and computer support sections were included on the tour.
Located on south campus, the new brick building is connected by three walkways to the original three building forestry complex. The annex includes extensive teaching facilities , research laboratories, one large classroom, conference rooms, and offices. More than 60 faculty members, staff, and graduate students are housed in the building.

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/13

FLOOD PLAIN TREE PROJECT UNDERWAY

Mike Crane judges Wide Dimenson competition at Annual Timber Products Fall Grader's Contest in Orangeburg, SC Georgia Southern yeUow pine manufacturers were among 19 companies from three states competing in the annual event Rrst and secondplace awards were won by Georgia's Union Camp.

GEORGIA PINE MANUFACTURERS

COMPETE IN GRADING CONTEST

Georgia Southern Yellow Pine manufacturers were among 19 companies competing at the recent Annual Timber Products Fall Grader's Contest hosted by Cox Wook Preserving of Orangeburg, SC. Dale Todd and Barry Bennett, of Georgia's Union Camp, won first and second place awards.
The 68 graders, including participants from North Carolina and South Carolina mills , competed for $1 ,700 in cash awards and a First Place Trophy. Contributions for awards were .made by participating mills and friends of the industry.
The four contest categories included: Narrow Dimension, Wide Dimension, Board Competition and a written test. Three places were awarded in each category.
Individual winners for Narrow Dimension competition included: First Dale Todd, Union Camp, Meldrim, GA; Second - John Grant, Georgia Pacific, Varnbille, GA; Third - Chris Stewart,

Ingram Lumber, Effingham, SC; Wide Dimension category winners
included: First - Bruce Moore, Ingram Lumber, Effingham, SC; Second - Barry Bennett, Union Camp, Meldrim, GA; Third - David Clark, Federal Paperboard, Johnston, SC.
Board Competition winners included: First - Mike torte , Ingram Lumber, Effingham, SC; Second - Chris Steward, Ingram Lumber, Effingham, SC; Third Robert Washington , Coastal Lumber, Walterboro, SC.
Winners in the written test category included: First - Barry Bennett, Union Camp, Meldrim, GA; Second - David Clark, Federal Paperboard, Johnston, SC; Third - Mike Torte, Ingram Lumber, Effingham, SC.
Ingram Lumber's Mike Torte won the overall individual competition by having the best accumulative score in all categories. Torte, Bruce Moore and Chris Stewart were awarded the team trophy for highest accumulative score.

A tree planting project extending 22 miles along creek flood pla in areas in Dekalb County was started in midNovember to stabilize soil, expedite plant cover, enhance natura l plant regeneration and provide wildlife food source, according to the county's Public Works Department.
The planting project, to extend through February of next year, is being carried out by the department's Water and Sewer Division and Environmental Development Section, in cooperation with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The reforestation work is aimed at "revegetating the construction easements" along Dekalb County outfall sewer projects .
Species to be planted will include cherry bark oak, possum hawthorn, swamp chestnut oak, overcup oak, shagbark hickory, persimmon, autumn olive, paw paw, chickasaw plum, sugar berry, pecan, bitternut hickory and wax myrtle. Liner material with rigid seeding protecto rs will be used to provide maximum survivability.
CENTER RENOVATED
ON BRASSTOWN BALD
There is something new at the highest point in Georgia.
The visitor center located at the very top of Brasstown Bald has been in existence for several years, but now the interesting interpretive exhibits detailing the cultural and geological history of the area have a brand new look. There's everything from talking robots to a model mountain railroad locomotive.
The U. S. Forest Service hosted a grand opening celebration recently and Ninth District Congressman Nathan Deal kicked off the festivities with a keynote a d d ress .
U. S . Forest Service officials said Brasstown Bald offers plenty to do for families. Visitors can see fou r states and there are several hiking trails that leave from the parking area to the top. Brasstown Bald is located on Georgia 180, south of Blairsville.

14/Georgia Forestry/Winter,1993

Forest Rangers Phillip Talley, left, and WiUiam Couch of the Commissions Dawson County Unit, two ofseveral who worked to restore the big log cart, stand before the prized relic before it is placed on display in the museum.
ANCIENT LOGGING EQUIPMENT RETRIEVED FROM RIVER BED

spraying with linseed oil and turpentine They also began a search for quality wood to replace parts that were not salvageable .
The cart - or log skidder - has wheels seven feet in diameter and was used to lift one end of a large log or two. The vehicle was pulled to the sawmill by a team of oxen. The sturdy, high-wheeled carts were widely used in logging operations in colonial Georgia and into the early years of this century. The cart salvaged from the Aint River is believed to have been in use 90 to 95 years ago.
"After our district personnel located and seasoned suitable replacement wood, " Findley said, "we found we didn't have adequate shop equipment to fabricate the needed spokes and other parts, so it was all sent to the Dawson County Unit where facilities were available ."
Chief Ranger Jerry Barron of the Dawson Unit said the cart arrived in his county this summer on a flat bed trailer and personnel of the unit and the Dawson Demonstration Forest Office began to custom make parts and reconstruct the log cart.

A scuba diver exploring the depths of the Flint River near Bainbridge in the spring of 1990 came upon two mammoth wooden wheels half submerged in sand beneath 20 feet of water. It was the discovery of an object that is now proudly displayed in the Georgia Forestry Museum.
Camilla District Forester Greg Findley said the diver told him of the find and with the use of a barge, a crane borrowed from Decatur County and the efforts of Commission personnel and several volunteers, a logging cart dating back to the turn-of-the-century was carefully retrieved from the river bed.
"The big hubs of the wheels were in good shape and so were the spokes that were buried in sand," Findley said, "but most of the parts exposed to the flow of the water over the many years were pretty well worn away." Archaeologist Lewis Larsen advised the district forester and his personnel on further preserving the cart made of heart pine by periodic

Skidding logs by mule team in Georgia in 1903.
Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/15

-

ChiefRanger Terry Herrin helps students identify trees on the school's recently created nature trail. Below, students attend a program at the outdoor theater.

WOODED AREA NEAR SCHOOL BECOMES OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

A serene wooded area adjacent to Patterson Elementary School is now a pleasant learning center for 386 students and the principal is giving personnel of the Pierce County Forestry Unit much of the credit for "making it happen ."
Chief Ranger Terry Herrin and others from the Commission helped establish the popular Project Learning Tree Program in the school in 1991 and that's when Principal Joy Williams, Herrin and others began discussing the idea of developing a teaching facility in a natural setting.
The idea caught on and soon money, materials and volunteer labor began coming in from local and area sources. A Rural Development Authority grant helped kick off the project and the donation of money, lumber, concrete, paint, hardware and other materials from 21 businesses assured its success.

The school principal suggested an amphitheater as an outdoor classroom and Ranger Herrin convinced Williams and the other planners that a nature trail should be included in the learning center.

A rustic sign now proclaims the area an"Outdoor Classroom, Amphitheater, and Nature Trail." The trail winds about 600 feet through the woods and is bordered on both sides by cypress logs. Signs identify dozens of tree and shrub species and point out squirrel and bird nests along the way.
The principal said the school is grateful to the many individuals and companies for their generosity and interest, but she had special praise for Ranger Herrin and his personnel. "The forestry people have been very helpful," Williams said , "We had to go to them many times for advice. We could not have made it without them."
Commission personnel assisting Herrin in the project were Ranger Charles Cooper and Tower Operator Pam Brooks from his unit, as well as several employees from the Bacon and Brantley County Units.
The ranger said the entire community has taken an interest in the outdoor attraction and school officials said groups other than students are also invited to use the facility. Several other area schools have visited the outdoor classroom and it is expected to be a model for those interested in building such a facility.

16/Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993

GYPSY MOTH
(continued from page 13)

eastern Russian ports from entering U. S. ports until they can be inspected and certified free of Asian gypsy moths. The traps set out in Georgia are of folded cardboard construction . They contain sex-attractant strips and a sticky substance to attract and capture male moths.
"We plan to use about 10,000 traps in forests in about half of the state next year," Price said , "in our continuing effort to stay abreast of this problem ."
The entomologist said landowners and other Georgians can identify the gypsy moth if they better understand the insect's life stages.
The gypsy moth goes through four stages of development-egg, larvae (caterpillar), pupae (cocoon) , and moth. It has one generation a year. Overwintering egg masses are attached to trees, stones, walls, logs and other outdoor objects, including outdoor household articles. Each gypsy moth egg mass contains up to 1,000 eggs and is covered with buff or yellowish hairs from the abdomen of the female . The velvety egg masses average about 1-1/2 inches long and about three-fourths of an inch wide, but may be as small as a dime in some situations. In Southern states, eggs begin hatching in late March.
Price said "we are pleased that our trapping program is successful and, of course, thankful we are not faced with a full scale invasion of the moth into our state." He warned , however, that vacationers and other travelers from infected states could drastically change the status of moth populations in Georgia unless caution is exercised.
This symbol represents the program to prevent the spread of gypsy moth on outdoor household articles.

Foresters plant memorial tree while Mrs. McArthur, landowners look on.

TELFAIR LANDOWNERS HONOR

ORGANIZER OF ANNUAL MEET

The Telfair County Landowners Meeting was held again this fall , but this time the agenda included a solemn ceremony; a live oak was planted on the grounds of the Telfair County Forestry Unit and dedicated in memory of the late Franklin McArthur.
McArthur, retired chief ranger of the unit who died this year, was the founder of the landowners organization some 20 years ago. The popular supper meeting at the forestry unit nine miles south of McRae deals with a wide range of forestry and allied topics and has an annual attendance ranging from 35 to 80

to serve the landowners. He said the live oak "planted the second day of November, 1993, is an expression of our gratitude for one who served his fellowman so well."
Five area banks and businessmen cosponsor the annual meeting.
McArthur came with the Georgia Forestry Commission as a forest patrolman in Montgomery County on August 2, 1956. He was promoted to ranger in Telfair County on March 3 , 1957, where he served until his retirement on September 30, 1982.

landowners.
District Forester Grady Williams of the DR. MILLER HONORED

Commission's Helena District presided at

The Southeastern Society of American

the tree dedication and others on the Foresters has granted its 1993 Excellence

program were Forester Harry Graham, in Forestry Research Award to Dr. James

Chief Ranger Guy Bland of the Telfair H. Miller, research forester with the U. S. Unit, and Roger Browning, Rural Fire Forest Service Experiment Station ,

Defense specialist. Williams said McArthur coordinated a
program to conserve, protect and perpetuate the forest resources of Telfair County and was always willing and eager

Auburn University. The award recipient worked with the
Georgia Forestry Commission ten years ago by directing a research program to control kudzu. The methods developed during that study continue to be the

recommended practice.

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/17

HAMPSTERS REVEAL SOBERING KUDZU POSSIBILITY

An unruly bunch ofboozinghamsters have providedsome definite proofthat certain extracts from kudzu - a prolific vine that has been choking Georgia's forests lor decades - may be highly effective in treating alcoholism, according to Harvard Medical School.
Harvardresearchers prescribedkudzu extractslor the partyanimals andfound many of the little beasts voluntarily went on the wagon. The Harvard study points out this is no small accomplishment lor this type of hamster. The Syrian Golden hamster, used in the project, prefers alcohol to water. When these little drinkers are provided with the opportunity to really -go on a binge,their alcohol consumption rate (when compared with human consumption capacity) escalates to 40 times that of the typical town drunk.
The project established these facts by oHering the hamsters dishes of pure drinking water and water solution with 15 percent alcohol, the hamsters eventually ignored the pure water and said bottoms-up to the mixed drink.
What Prompted Study?
Dr. Bert L. Vallee of the Harvard Medical School and his colleague, WingMing Keung, collected research information on the use of kudzu and found Asian doctors have been using derivatives of the vine to suppress alcohol cravings since 200 A. D. Vallee said a kudzu concoction, used in China and Japan for centuries, is taken as a tea.
The Harvard researchers identified the active ingredient in the tea as daidzin , which they synthesized and injected into 71 of the alcoholic hamsters. Results were immediate; the tiny drunkards cut down
on their alcohol consumption by more than 50 percent and were rendered

potentially suitable and productive members of the hamster society.
Vallee said the kudzu drugs tested by Harvard did not affect the appetite of the hamsters and seemed to produce no toxic reactions. Harvard researchers are now testing the kudzu compounds on other animals for possible toxicity.
Kudzu Paper
Kudzu, an Asian vine that grows extremely fast, was imported into the U. S. early in this century to provide possible livestock food and prevent erosion. Soon, however, it was recognized that the rapidly spreading plant was very difficult to control , as it draped vines over woodlands and fields , choking out trees and vegetation in Georgia and other states.
Now, however, Georgia's kudzu is being viewed as offering possible benefits from several perspectives.
There is even speculation that kudzu might be a paper making source of the future . Dr. Jeffrey S . Hsieh, director of Pulp and Paper Engineering , is enthusiastic about the potential. Hsieh points out that although the vast majority of paper produced in the U. S. uses wood fiber as a base, non wood fibers are used to produce such things as cigarette paper and dollar bills.
Like other researchers in the paper field , the Georgia Tech researcher is motivated by the belief that demand for paper may someday exceed the supply of trees. "Kudzu can be made into paper," Hsieh said. "The quality is not so good which is as we expected - but we never expected kudzu to be used to replace wooden fibers, rather as supplemental components."

18/Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993

ARBOR DAY POSTER CONTEST ANNOUNCED
All fifth grade students in the state are invited to compete in the 1994 Arbor Day Fbst:er Contest, a projectsponsored by the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Georgia Project Learning Tree in cooperation with the National Arbor Day Foundation.
Sharon Dolliver, assistant chief of the Commission's Information and Education Department and state coordinator for the contest, said the principal objective of the project is to increase students' awareness of the importance of diversity in the urban and country forest.
The coordinatorsaid contestants must be students who are currently in the fifth grade. The posters can be done in crayon, marker, watercolor, ink, acrylic or tempera paint and must relate to the theme ''Trees are Terrific...Up Close and Personal!"
The school winner will be eligible to compete in the state contest. The state winner will receive a $100 U. S. Savings Bond and plaque from Georgia Project Learning Tree, and will be invited to participate in a Georgia Arbor Day Ceremony. The second and third place winners will receive a $75 .00 and $50.00 Savings Bond , respectively.
The state winner's poster will be forwarded to the National Contest. The national winner, his/her teacher and one parent will be guests of the National Arbor Day Foundation for Arbor Day in Nebraska C ity, Nebraska . Activities include invitations to the National Awards Banquet. The national winner will also receive a $500.00 savings bond from The Foundation.
Deadline for the contest is J anuary 31, 1994, and the winning entry from schools must be received at the Commission's state headquarters on or before that date. Address posters to Sharon Dolliver, Georgia Forestry Commission 5645 Riggins Mill Road, Macon , Georgia, 31020 . Call Dolliver's office (912/751-3530) for additional information.

LOOKING BACK
This was an effective poster in its day, an era in Georgia Forestry before the horse-drawn plow gave way to the crawler tractor, and the chain saw and feller buncher replaced the crosscut saw. A fence law finally curtailed roaming cattle, the dibble and the mobilized tree planter also helped make the poster obsolete.
4 ways to insure your future
1 Plow Fire Thin Timbe~2
Lane Wisely ._ ,~'IE~"'~

3 D-o--n-'t

Plant

. ,:.

Over-graze

NEW TECHNOLOGY PRODUCES SUPERIOR WOODEN CULVERT

A Commission-constructed culvert near Griffin in Spalding County indicates the current demand in Georgia and nationwide for increased use of wood products in this specialized technology.
Constructed on a tract of demonstration forest property that has become a popular Forestry Reid Day site, the engineered culvert is built with preservative treated Southern yellow pine. Astream crossing in the forest was made permanent by addition of the culvert and a roadway.
The environmentally beneficial culvert measures 28 feet long and 8 feet wide with a cross section producing

4 ft. X 4 ft. X 28 ft. sections. Factory fabricated into sections, the panels were interlocked at the site and erected by utilizing hand labor and a backhoe . Commission personnel from local units constructed the rectangular configuration with an earthen overlayer to allow all types of vehicular traffic, including log trucks , fire equipment, and other emergency vehicles.
Treated lumber used throughout the culvert construction will not decay, or permit termite infestation. The wood is impervious to freezing or thawing, and water cannot rust the construction. The culvert's flat bottom is an excellent

avenue for water flow and movement of fish and amphibians along the stream's length. Additional stream treatment included use of rock riprap to slow and direct stream flow and overseeding with grass and mulch to hold soil. Overseeding establishes a non-erodible cover for bare soil around the construction site.
The primary reason for construction of the wooden culvert was to make a section of the forest readily accessible; this section of woodland is needed to demonstrate scientific forest management techniques. Since the demonstration is expected to be an ongoing activity for many years, Commission officials made the decision to install an environmentally beneficial stream crossing that would last many years and provide a safe point of traversal.
While there is not a Georgia firm currently producing culverts from state resources, Commission officials emphasized the potential exists for such an enterprise - and the Spalding County construction furthered technology transfer of the concept. Although wooden culverts are not limited to Southern yellow pine, it is often the species of choice among manufacturers due to its economical cost, availability, strength, and receptiveness to preservative treatments.
An increasingly important fringe benefit in using wood for stream crossings is that it allows carbon to be stored longterm in the wood structure that has been treated to prevent deterioration; the practical application of this knowledge is enormous. For instance, it is estimated that a wood framed house stores more than 14 tons of carbon. Culverts and other treated wooden structures have a similar capacity to trap carbon and prevent it from escaping into the atmosphere and converting to carbon dioxide - which could contribute severely to global warming.
This factor emphasizes again that it is becoming increasingly recognized by the consuming public that wood products are the most environmentally responsible building material in the world - and the resource is renewable.

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/19

While the hand held drip torch remains the most popular fire setting device for prescribed burning, at left, methods have been devised for more efficient burning oflarge areas. The aerial ignition equipment at right makes short work oflarge acreages by applying ignition devices from a helicopter. Small balls filled with acid are injected with antifreeze with the ensuing chemical reaction being fire. Balls are distributed in a grid throughout to allow each ignition to burn for only a shortperiod before reaching an adjacent burned area.

COMMISSION TESTING PROVIDES FIRE MANAGER CERTIFICATION

Series ofMeets Scheduled

Smokey Bear's 50th Anniversary marks a half century of protecting the nation's forestlands against wildfire; but controlled fire can be beneficial to woodlands when used as nature intended. The frequently misunderstood practice of prescribed burning is gaining acceptance following passage of the Prescribed Burning Act.
The Commission is scheduling a series of meetings throughout the state to certify qualified applicants as prescribed burn managers. Sessions are currently set for March 9 at Valdosta State University and for May 19 at Augusta Tech. Other certification meetings will be scheduled at various locations across the state and will be announced when scheduled.
Alan Dozier, associate chief of the Commission's Forest Protection Department, described sessions held recently at Macon, Rome and Statesboro as "very successful." He said the certification program was initiated last year following the Georgia General Assembly's enactment of the Prescribed Burning Act, which recognizes prescribed fire as a valuable forest management tool and an enteral part of the Southern pine ecosystem .
"This program is very useful for a practice that is often misunderstood," Dozier said. "Goals of the certification program include honing the skill of

prescribed burn practitioners to allow them to continue to practice burning in an environment of increasing population and regulation in the state. Although the law does not require a person to become certified to practice prescribed burning, it allows the Commission the opportunity to provide those interested with higher learning achievement on the subject," he pointed out.
Program guidelines were set by a committee of private, industrial and government foresters. "The certification program is not a training session to teach individuals how to prescribe burn ," Dozier emphasized. "It s a certification process to identify and register those who already know how to burn."
Prerequisites for applicants include the applicant being the person in charge of at least five prescribed burns and having at least two years experience in the field of forestry, or having completed a University-sponsored prescribed burn workshop. Applicants do not have to be foresters , however, as technicians, landowners who practice burning, and forest rangers may apply.
Materials and subject matter chosen by the Committee emphasize areas where improvement is needed. Prescribed burn plan writing and smoke management is emphasized throughout the instructions

because these are the areas where most practicioners are lacking in ability.
Qualifying applicants are mailed a study manual and given a one-day refresher session before taking the certification test. Those who score 70 percent or more on the test receive a numbered certificate and a wallet certification card.
The study manual is divided into 11 chapters; each aimed towards improvement in the practice. Chapter titles include: the written plan, weather and fuel considerations, Georgia's weather forecast, firing techniques , smoke management, fire behavior, public relations, avoiding common problems, safety, and regulations.
Dozier said the primary long-term objective of the program is to clarify and correct public misconceptions concerning prescribed burning. "If we can become better burners and more adept at explaining the process and advantages to the general public then we can gain support for this valuable forest management tool ," he said. "Promotional emphasis on fire prevention has created a misconception that fire is bad . This is a serious misunderstanding of the facts. Nature and the environment depends on fire in many of the southern ecosystems."
For more information, contact any Commission office or caU 1-800-GA TREES.

20/Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993

BORN IN 1903 AND STILL PLANTING TREES IN 1993

LANDOWNER MAINTAINS 165-YEAR OLD HOMESTEAD

T he James Kelly Family owned 22 ,000 acres of rolling hills in Glascock County in the 18th century and as soon as the virgin longleaf pine was cut from a tract of timber, the land was given away.
Some of the heart pine that was so plentiful in that era can be seen today in the construction of the big two-story plantation house the family built 165 years ago on a hill about two miles northwest of the town of Gibson.
Hardwick (Pete) Harris, the present owner and lone resident of the antebellum home, delights in showing the old house to visitors. Although some necessary renovations have been made down through the years, most of the 165year-old building has not been altered. Some of the planks in the walls are 17 inches wide. A local historian claims it was "the only painted house in North Georgia" for many years.
Harris, who was born in the house in 1903 and has outlived five brothers, two sisters and two wives, said the Kelly and Harris families are th e only ones to have occupied the big house . His father, Sherman Harris, obtained the plantation house, several well-built barns and 15,000 acres of surrounding land before the turn of the century.
Harris said all the pine land was not cut over and "when I was a child we had portable sawmills to come on our land and cut lumber. " He said he also
Homeowner and Ranger Usry in front ofplantation house.

remembers when his father "had 25 to 30 men out in the woods cutting railroad crossties" with hand tools.
Parcels of the Harris Plantation have been sold from time to time, but the present owner retains 787 acres and most of that land is in timber.
"The last time I sold some timber was about 20 years ago," Harris said. "Only sold trees 12 inches and up and got a fancy price and I made sure the logs were hauled out of the woods on small carts that wouldn't skin the trees left standing."
Harris said he had a buyer to make an offer on some of his trees about four

years ago and "it was about $300,000, but I decided to let the trees keep on growing ."
Although he celebrated his 90th birthday in September, the landowner continues to make long range plans in his forests . He planted 40 acres in pine seedlings just three years ago.
"Mr. Harris is a good landowner to work with," said Ranger Marvin Usry of the Glascock County Forestry Unit. "We keep good firebreaks around his property, and assist him in any way we can. He is always appreciative."

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/21

BOOK REVIEW "Tree Maintenance"
by P. P. Pirone, J. R. Hartman, M. A. Sail, and T. P. Pirone. Oxford University Press, New York, NY $49.95
Tree Maintenance has been considered for the past 40 years to be among the definitive of guides for maintaining North American landscape trees.
The new edition also includes an extensive section on how to diagnose and control tree diseases. This valuable segment also focuses on such problems as construction damage, gas injury, sunscald, and air pollution .
The second half of the 514-page book concentrates on systematic listings of major landscape trees found in North America; diseases and pests most likely to attack each species are described. Also included are listings of relatively problem-free tree species. There is even a breakdown of species that may be suitable for situations adverse to most species.
Site evaluation is also thoroughly covered in relation to soil, drainage , and exposure. After the site is properly selected - detailed information is provided on pruning, fertilizing, and spraying for pests.
Clearly written, well organized, and beautifully illustrated with many new photographs - this comprehensive volume is an authentic encyclopedic resource. From elms and dogwoods to redwoods and magnolias - the information is available at the turn of a page. Anyone seriously interested in trees will consider this Sixth Edition to be a indispensable resource guide.

RED COCKADED WODPECKER

(continued from page 3)

cavity is completed , it will be occupied for many years. The cavity trees of all members of a group are clustered together on a few acres. The circular two inch cavity opening is usually on the south or west facing side of the tree.
The woodpeckers roost and nest in the cluster of cavities. During the day, they work on additional cavities and as a group search for insects, millipedes, spiders, etc. on the trunks and limbs of pine trees. Most of this activity takes place within 1/2 mile of the cavity trees.
The social arrangement of the bird is also unique. Most other bird family units are temporary and consist of the parent birds and their offspring during the nesting season. They often disperse or migrate afterwards. These woodpeckers, however, li ve in year-round resident groups of up to nine birds. Each group contains only one breeding pair; the rest are helpers, usually male offspring from previous seasons. If the male breeder dies, one of the helper males will take over. The female offspring disperse during the fall or winter after fledging. Iflucky the juvenile females will find bachelor males somewhere nearby and form new breeding pairs . However, females dispersing from isolated colonies will find it difficult to encounter suitable habitat, much less another member of their species. Also, once a resident breeding female dies, she might never be replaced by an immigrating female from another group, so the group may cease to reproduce and eventually die out.
A few isolated groups of birds still exist in mature pine stands scattered on various tracts of private land. However, as these areas are cleared or begin converting to hardwoods because of lack of fire , the woodpeckers and other inhabitants are vanishing. These displaced birds generally will not survive if there are no areas of suitable habitat nearby.
As responsible managers and stewards, landowners should strive to maintain biodiversity for continued existence on some of the few areas where birds remain. This benefits present and future generations and the environment as a whole that we all depend upon for survival. Through sound forest stewardship,

economic benefits can be realized while maintaining ecologically functional forests.
Although isolated groups of birds on small, scattered tracts of private land are probably living on borrowed time, landowners with occupied habitat are encouraged to maintain their land as such if possible. However, in some circumstances, this will not be practical. Recommended restrictions on timber harvest can present significant financial sacrifice. If a tract is providing only a marginal quantity of habitat, any further removal of timber could make it unsuitable for continued survival of the woodpeckers, and might result in a violation of the ESA. A possible solution to extreme situations is to relocate the birds to a more extensive area of habitat with birds present, such as government land. This would remove restrictions from the form erly occupied habitat and allow the birds to contribute their genetic diversity to the recovery of the species in a more stable situation.
In order to lessen the impacts on private landowners, the ESA provides for incidental "take" in some situations. The potential take must be minimized and mitigated, and incidental to an otherwise lawful activity. The take must not jeopardize the future of the species. In order to obtain an incidental take permit, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service must approve an application and a Habitat Conservation Plan that details protective and mitigative measures, and ensures funding is available to complete all necessary activities. A statewide plan would permit the state to remove birds from private land in some situations. Enough offspring would need to be relocated to start replacement groups for each group of woodpeckers affected. This might take 2-3 years.
The adults themselves would also be relocated eventually. Translocation of juveniles has proven successful in the past, but adults with established home ranges are less inclined to stay put when placed in unfamiliar surroundings. Once the red-cockaded woodpeckers have been relocated, restrictions on the land would be lifted.

22/Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993

PEOPLE
CHIEF RANGER JOHN MAN!OR of the Cook County Unit was honored recently at a retirement dinner attended by many friends and relatives. The ranger, a native of Berrien County, did sales work and served four years in the U.S. Air Force

Manior

Rentz

before coming with the Commission in 1964. He was named ranger after one year as a patrolman. Manier and his wife, Delores have five children and eight grandchildren ...The retired ranger is succeeded in Cook County by CHIEF RANGER LEVY RENTZ , a native of Valdosta who came with the Commission in 1988 and served in units in Talbot, Brooks and Lowndes Counties prior to his promotion . Rentz attended public schools in Valdosta and earned an associate degree in forestry and wildlife management at Abraham - Baldwin Agricultural College. The ranger and his wife Beth have a daughter, Casey.. .HEIDI KINSER,15, a student at Pickens County High School, is the 1993 winner of the F&W Young Forestry Aw ard and Scholarship. The annual

McClendon

Smith

award was presented by F&W Forestry Service, Inc. at the Georgia 4-H Congress in Atlanta...CHIEF RANGER FOSTER SMITH of the Clinch County Unit was recently honored at a retirement dinner attended by Commission personnel,

relatives and other friends . The ranger, a native of Ware County and a graduate of Ware County High School, came with the Commission in 1962. He served in the Ware County Unit, Dixon State Forest and Pierce County Unit before transferring to the Clinch County Unit as chief ranger in 1973. The retired ranger and his wife, Betty, have five children and five grandchildren. The couple is active in the FrrstBaptist Church of Homerville... FORESTER DARRELL WELCH, a native of Mississippi who earned degrees in forestry from Mississippi State and Clemson University , hffi been assigned to the Tifton District Office, replacing FORESTER STAN MOORE, who transferred to the 12th District. The

Welch

Henry

forester served Ben Hill, Irwin and Turner Counties ...FORESTER BARBARA McCLENDON, A 1990 graduate of North Carolina State University, came with the Commission this summer and is now assigned to the Stone Mountain office and will be forester for North Fulton County. The forester, who grew up in Asheville, N.C., formerly worked at the Regeneration Center for the State of Oklahoma. McClendon and her husband , Brent, live in Forest Park. ..FORESTER WILL HENRY, a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, who earned degrees in forestry from Auburn University and Penn State University, began work with the Commission earlier this year and is assigned to the Tifton District office. He is the Commission's urban forester for Valdosta and is active in the Morningside Baptist Church in that city...GUY BLAND was named chief forest ranger of the Telfair County Unit earlier this year to secede JACK

WALKER, who was transferred to Wilcox

County. Bland, a native of Telfair County

and a graduate of the county high school,

has a BA degree in biology from Georgia

Southern University. He was quality

control manager for a food processing

company in Douglas before coming with

the Commission in 1983. The ranger and

his wife Lynn and children , Guy, Brett

and Traci, make

their home near

Jacksonville in

rural Telfair

County. The

family attends the

Carmel United

Methodist Church

Bland

.. .District Chief

Ranger JIMMY

LEE , Waycross , was recently

named exchange clubs in the South

Georgia city. The ranger was honored

at a banquet and presented a plaque

and a check for $500 by the club .

Lee , who has been with the

Commission 24 years, was cited for

services "well beyond his required

duties"

STREAM MONITORING
STUDY UNDERWAY
The Forestry Commission is currently monitoring sediment in streams in 13 counties in a study to help determine the effectiveness of best management practices, means by which loggers, foresters and landowners minimize erosion from forestry operations.
Staff Forester Frank Green of the Commission's Management Department, who is in charge of the project that will extend through until next fall , said from one to five sites are selected from each of the counties and water samples are taken above and below streams where timber harvests or other forest activities have been completed.
The number of sites in a county are dependent upon the volume of wood removed from that county in a year. The purpose of this survey is to gather sufficient data regarding the quantitative impacts of commercial forestry activities on solids and turbidity levels of affected streams. Water samples are measured in a turbidimeter for sediment suspension.

Georgia Forestry/Winter, 1993/23

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