PINE TREE COURT - --.~ ffJtest /(fJyalty! GEORGIA FORESTRY Editorial Forest Economy Of The Southeast (From the Home Tribw1e) There i s a direct rela tionship the farm bull etin of the Federal between the forests of the Southe~st and its industrial develop- Reserve Bank of Atlanta. men t . Dut, perhaps eve n more TI1 e f orest s produce pulpwood, important is the indirect re- and they also produce lumber and lationship. turpentine. And, you can't ove r- look eve n such it e ms as fence TI1~ presence of large s upp li es post s a nd firewood, which may of pulpwood in forests of the Southeast, for exampl e, has meant a rapid exp~n sio n in th e paper seem inconsequential to the city dwell er, but whi ch are valuable to the farmer. and allied products industries IS now eight ti mes as great as i t was twenty years ago. Forests reduce the water run- off, and mul c h forme d by fallen l ea ves help s pr eve nt fla s h Indirec tly, forests have contributed to the industrial development of the Southeast by controlling pnd con serving water s upplie s . ' Pro tected and en hance d by forest cove r, wate r supplies, as a source of e l ec - floods. Water s tored in fores t so ils helps to main ta in s tream l e vel s during dry seasons . And, for es t e d watersh eds r edu ce s oil erosion and he lp a c ity obtain c lear and pure water at a sav ings to taxpayers. tricity, have attracted many indu s trie s. Power pl a nt s -- s uch as Plant Hanrnond at Home--must have a dependabl e sour ce of water , e qual]~ as much as the ' hydroe lectric plants on our rivers. Forests contri but e to the overall economy of a regio n And, s ince they do, e ve ry seg- me nt of th e economy s hould be interested in expanding and conserving forest resour<=:es. It's not just a matter for the fanner The se facts \}re brought out in alone . (from the Ocilla Star) . This news paper ha s be e n urgi ng tts r eaders for several years to let nature have a chancd to enrich them by growing pine trees, and has s ucceeded in interesting mahy. The old custom of burning off woods continues by some land owner s , and only a few sea ttered ones take proper care of their young pines . There are vast areas in South Georgia that probably will neve r be g? od for anything other than growin g p ine s . Yet much of this area is kept de voide d of the weal th-making pines by the habit o f burning the woods e very s pring so that sc rub cows may have s ome early wire grass t o e at. Thi s wood burning habit ha s decreased s omewhat in re cent years with the c losed range law, which forced farmers to take better care of their stock. Vol. 8 GEORGIA FORESTRY May, 1955 Published Monthly by the GEORGIA FORESTRY COl\11\IISSIO~. State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia Guyton lJeLoach, Director No.5 We believe landown e r s would derive more benefit from their un cultivatable lands by a s ound refor estat ion pro g ram (tree planting), with l ess emph asis on providing a littl e wire grass for livestock. Members, Board of Commissioners: K. S. Yarn, Chairman _____________________________________________________________Waycross Sam H. Morgan____________Savannah C. M. Jordan, J r .______________Alamo John M. McElratlL____ _________ Macon H. 0. Cummings _______ Donalsonville Georgia Forestry is entered as second class matter at the Post Office under the Act of Au'Sust 24, 1912. Member of the Georgia Press Association. EDITO R .. _____ .----------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard E. Davis ASS OCIATE EDITORS _________________ Robert Rutherford, C?therine Dismuke DISTRICT OFFICES, GEORGIA FORESTRY COMMISSION: DISTRICT 1-Route 2, Statesboro DISTRICT VI-P. 0. Box 505, Milledgeville DISTRICT 11-P. 0. Box 26, DISTRICT VII-Route 1, Camilla Rome DISTRICT 111-P. 0. Box 169, Americus DISTRICT VIII-P. 0. Box 811, Waycross DISTRICT IV-P. 0. Box 333, Newnan DISTRICT IX-P. 0. Box 416, Gainesville DISTRICT V-P. 0. Box 328, DISTRICT X-P. 0. Box 302, McRae Washington iteign ing over Georgia's forest festivities tluring the past montn "ere queens, kings, and 1umiJerj acks. l{uling at Swaiusboro' s Pine Tree Festival were Queen Linda Ul'~le, King Jim Pritchard, Princess i{ebecca llammock and Prince P e t e I~ o we 1 I . Turning heads at the AT-FA annual meeting was 'liss Gum Spirits of Turpentine of 1955, Miss Marjorie ILYersof Patterson. Top LumLerjacks at the Pine Tree Festival were Madison t) i X o II , 1\i II g J . F. Ma t h i s a n d Bong Lawreuce. MAY, 1955 New Committee Will Attack I & D Outbreaks Salvaging On State Under Way Forestland Ccnc ; ete action to attack current and future forest tree insect and disease outbreaks was taken last month at Macon with formation of a statewide committee repreBenting landowners, forest industries and state and private forestry organizations. W. M. Oettmeier, of Superior Pine Products Corp., Fargo, heads the group, which will be known as the Georgia Forest Pest Committee. 0. G. Traczewitz, of Waycross, rep resenting International Paper Company, serves as Vice Chairman. The Macon meeting, ca ll ed by the Georgia Forestry Commission, drew more than 100 persons from all parts of the state. R. J. Kowal, of the South- ea~tern Forest Experiment Station, Asheville, N.C., described the work done by similar committees in other southern states attacked for forest insects. He also stressed the need for an efficient early detection system, statewide in s cope, which wquld enab l e attacks to be laun c hed "wh ile they st ill are small enough to control." Mr. Kowal pointed out Georgia's record-breaking drouth and fire seas on " contributed material] y" to a current South Georgia pine beetle infestat ion whi c h already ha s been responsibl e for a lo ss of 50,000,000 board feet of t imber. "Operation Salvage, " one of the greates t forest salvage operations ever to be attempted in the Southeastern Unit e d States, today i s unde r way on a 21, 100 a cre tract of state forestland burned over in a series of devastating spring wildfires. The salvage operation is an aftermath of the forest fires which during the ea rly days of March came whipping out of the drought- s truck Oke fenoke e Swamp Park and turned the surrounding Ware County countryside into an area of palling smoke and searing flames . Amon g ar e as hardest hit was the Wayc ross State Forest, whi c h only a month e arlier had been described by Georgia Forestry Commi ss ion Director Guyton DeLoach as "one of the fine s t stands of timber in the state ." Plans already were und e r way when the fires s truck for a major improvement harvesting, in which some of the forest's prime sawtimber, along with poles, pulpwood and a variety of othe r forest produ cts would b~ remove d. With 21,000 of the 37,000 acres of the for es t scorc hed and c harred by the wildfires which had c rossed them, the area stood immediately s usceptibl e to the ravages of the pine beetle. State fore stry officia l s, realizing that all wood not removed within 60 to 90 days following the fir es would be unmerchantabl e, began t heir plan s for a gigantic salvage operation eve n as embers st ill smo ld ered within the boundari es of the fire line. With an estimated 65,000 to 70,000 cords of wood to be r e served from the burned area, the race to" beat the beetles" be came imminent. Governor Marvin Griffin, noting the time factor, immediately i ssuP. d an executive ord e r authorizing the Geo r g ia Forestry Commission to dispense with normal time-cons uming bid procedures and to negotiate directly with fores t industries for sale of the fire dama ge d timber. Assembling at a special emer- (Conti nued on Pa ge 10) "LOGGEKS tmEA~t." lett pnoto, loads sawtimber rapidly at co nc en tration point. In right photo , Commission Foresters J. 11 . \\'all, and T. B. Hankinson scale sawlogs prior to loadin g on a truck at concentration area. Guyton DeLoach, Director , Georgia rorest ry COmmiss ion, who served as acti ng chairman of the meeting prior to the el ection of Mr. Oettmeier, exp lained one of the objectives of the session was to prevent a situ ation of "too little, too l ate" in fighting forest insect and disease i nfestations . (Co n tinu ed on Page 10 ) 3 GEORGIA FORESTRY Thousands of forestry-minded Georgians gathered l ast month at Swainsboro to participate in the tenth annual Emanual County Pine Tree Festival and to pay tribute to the festival theme, "Keep Pines Alive in' 55." The week-long festival, climaxed by an address by Governor Marvin Griffin and by the col orfu] and traditional Pine Tree parade, was described by Georgia forestry leaders witnessing the event as '' ... the best yet. " A King Lumberjack contest to determine the cormmni ty' s champion beard grower , a soap box derby, a go lf tournament, a fat cattle show and a boat and water ski show formed a part of the week-long itinerary. Le d by the Marin e Corps band from Parris Island, the parade included e i ght other ba nd s and dozens of floats. Governo r Griffin, featured speaker, lauded Emanua] Counti- ans for their part in Georgia's $750,000,000 a year forest indus - try and out lin ed activities under way by the state of Georgia to insure " a future econom y in which your forests a nd forest industries wi ll conti nue to p lay a ma JO r ro I e. " With comely, blonde Linda Deckle .r;eign1ng as lOSS Festival Queen, festival cont est winners were announced after the gove rnor's ta lk. Contests and Winners were as follows: Best school float: Swainsboro Elementary Schoo]; best organizational float: Town and Country Garden Club; best commercial fJ oat: Union Bag and Paper Corporation; Pine tree essay contest, llu ghie Lawson; best window po s ter, Eddie Lew i s; best pin e and pine cone arrangeme nt s , Mrs. E. D. Bennett; best wi ndow exhibit, Emi J y Brov,n. Sara El l en Phillips reigned as County Farm Queen . 1. Governor Marvin Gri tfin ad- dresses the testi val gmui' 2. Town and Country Garden Cluh float. 3. All r ian Schoo I float. 4. Union Bn g aml Paper Corpora- tion tloa t. 5. ~wainsiJoro (<;lcm<>utar.) Sciwo l float. 0 6. "Clowning it up" in tile parad e. MAY, 1955 --::: ..... ~. -- Two portable sawmills are in operation on the salvage area. TI1e mills arc relocated as the salvage progresses. In left photo , be- low, 11. L. Wiam, Madison County Forester, checks a carload of pulp- wood. In right photo, a mechanical loader fills a truck rapidly. Hen IY \H lliams, Management For- ~~w/~ ester, above, marks a tree for cut tin g. Po 1c operations on salvage, below , produced some high quality material. . i . - '... ::- ,_ .:. ...... ~ .!r 'k/ooJ Ptani =r7~UJ.Up t-=:: o::.....,. . P~t4!UVWU; No..l 'k/oo&i orgia," a ccording to the survey r e port, "has s ome of the fastest growing timber in the country. Thus e very sect ion, every community of Georgia ha s forest l 1ands whi ch c an contribute to our potential for employment, industry and wealth. The publication also r eported the wid e differences e xist in g in the growth and cut balance from count y to county. " Some counti es ," it was reported, " are grow in g a nnu al] y twice as much pin e tim be r as t hey are cut ting; some a r e cult ing_ t wice a s mtr h as t hc y a r e growi ng . Rangers In T e News Residences of Crisp County's forest fire fighters now are centralized about the lookout tower, thanks to the combined efforts of Crisp County Ranger \hll iam Tvedt, the County Forestry &ard, and Marvin McKin"ney~ The homes were built by M~. McKinney, who rents them at low rates to the foresters on a 1 ong term basis. Fire suppression equipment also is stationerl at the location; and the arrangement prevents loss of valuabl e time in rounding up the fire crew when wildfire is reported after the men have gone off daytime duty. The name of "Rangerville' has Leen applied to the location. .. RANGER UOGGS RETIRES--fire Investigator kobert Gore presents Floyd County Ranger George W. Boggs, "1\lr. Forest Fire Protection of Floyd County" by reputation, \\ith a plaque in token of his .18~2 years of fai thl'ul service. [{anger Boggs was the first Forest Ranger to head the Floyt! County Unit when it was orga ni z~u as the first County Forestry Unit in the state to operate as a single county entity. FIRE JI'REVENTION IHLLBOARU- -This attractive display is prominent on much- traveled Highway 41 ncar Unadilla. Ranger \\'alter Spires of Uooly County has the cooperation of Clint B. Brannen in donating the sign space. Similar displays in nearby Crisp Com~ty were sponsored by the Crisp Keep Green Council. Among the many Georgia Forestry Commission Rangers cooperating with the current "Con servation Good Turn" pro gram of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts is Newton County Ranger Carl Dennis. The Ranger recently presented a program and demonstration for a group of Cub Scouts from Oxford. The group visited the Newton Tower, where Ranger Dennis and Towerwoman Mary Kitchens showed them how fires are detected and "crossed out." The County Forestry Unit head also told the boys of the forest management work under way in their county and described the duties of a forest ranger. . ~- __ ... BRA NNEN MOTOR CO. GEORGIA FOREST RY 9 1955 Youth Forestry Camps Brown Named To Attract Record Numbers GFA Officer Plans for a " full schedule" of summertime youth forestry camps throughont the Georgia area were announced this month; and the state's forestry leaders repor~ed a record number of boys and girl~ will attend the camps. Youth forestry camp s for 1955 wi~l include the Boys Forestry Camp for Future Farmers of America; the North Georgia 4-H Club Forestry Camp, the South Georgia 4-H Club Forestry Camp, and the 4-H Club Naval Stores Camp. The Future Farme r s of America Camp, to be held June 27-July 2 at Laura W~lk er State Park near Waycross, will attract 100 boys from the South Georgia Voca tional Dis t ri ct. The camp i s s ponsored by five member mills of the Southern Pulpwood Conservation As soc iation, the Brunswick Fulp and Paper Company, St. Mary's Kraft Corporation, Union Bag and Faper Corporation, Macon Kraft Company, and Gair Wood1ands Inc. The Georgia For est r y Commission conducts the camp , and 12 South Georgia vocational agriculture teachers will aid in superv1s1on. The North Georgia 4- H Club Forestry Camp will be held May 30-June 4 at Rock Eagle 4-H Club Center. Dorsey Oyer, Extension Forester, Georgia Extension Service, reported 50 boys representing three North Georgia Extension Districts and 50 girls representing counties throughout the state will attend. Speakers wil I include J. G. Bradberry, Vice President, Operations, Bell Telephone Company, Atlanta; W. A. Sutton , Association Director, Extension Service, and E. A. Johnson, Coweta Hydrologic Laboratory, U. S. Forest Service, Franklin, S. C. The South Georgia 4-H Club Fore st Camp will be held at Laura Walker State Park June 611 and will attract 100 boys from three South Georgia Extension Distri cts . Speakers will include Guyton DeLoach, Director, Georgia For est ry Commi ssio n; J. J. Armstrong, General Manager, Woodlands Division, Union Bag and Paper Corporation, Savannah; C. C. Murray, Dean and Director, Col le ge of Agriculture, and W. F. Bazemore, President, First Nationoo Bank, Waycross . (Continued on ?ape 10) ''LEAitl\ll"G BY UOING" AT BOYS FORESTRY CMJP--J. L. Spires, Southern Pulp\\ood Conservation Association , at lett, instructs a group at t he 19!l4 Coys Forestry Camp in machine plan ti n g of tree seedli n gs. Harvey R. Brown ha s been named Execu tive Sec r etary of the Georgia Forestry Association. That announceme nt came this mon th from Hugh W. lli bbs, Pres ide n t of the Georgia Forestry Associatio n . " We are fortu nate in securing the services of a man with Mr. Brown's background and experience in the field of organizational and promotional activities, " said Mr. Dobbs. Mr. Brown, a native of Norfo l k, Virginia, attended t he University of California at Berkeley and wa s a resident of the West Coast for si~ yearb. He came to Atlanta in 1941 in organizational work and entered the air force in 1942, se rving for three years as instructor in in the Eastern Training Command durin g World War II . A r esident of Macon, Mr. Brown has been in organizational and promotional work for the past 1R ye~rs. He was manager of the Agri cultura l Department of the Macon Chamber of Commer ce for the last two years. The Georgia Forestry Association is a non-profit, nonpoliti cal organization supported by busi ness, landcwners , forest industries and interested private citizens working for th e preservation and proper management of Georgia's forest resources. Salvaging--- (C ontinued from Pa ge 2) ge ncy me et ing In Waycross, some of the state' s l eading pulpwood compa ni es ag r ee d to purchase 69,000 cords of timber at $3.25 per c ord. Lumber firms agreed to purcha se 2, 300,000 board feet of saw timber for