GFC eUpdate [May 29, 2014]

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GFC eUpdate

Contents
Forestry: A Foundation for our Future Winners
Announced
RFD's Eligible for Federal Equipment
Through GFC
Forest Management Acorns
Reforestation Matters
Forest Utilization Updates

"Forestry: A Foundation for Our Future" Winners Announced
The Georgia Forestry Foundation (GFF) has announced the winners of its 2014 Forestry: A Foundation for our Future, Artwork and Slogan Contest. Winners in both the 5th - 8th and 9th - 12th grade categories will be awarded a prize package valued at $35,000.
GFF launched the Forestry: A Foundation for our Future contest and education initiative earlier this year with the primary goal of "creating greater awareness of the economic, environmental and social benefits of Georgia's working forests." The contest asked all 5th - 12th grade students across the state to submit artwork with a slogan that expresses the value of Georgia's working forests and what that means to the student.

Upcoming Events
Natural Resources Conservation Workshop 6/8 - 6/12/2014 Tifton, GA
Intensive Forest Management: Quantifying
Treatment Responses and Making Decisions Based on Value-
Added
6/11/2014
Statesboro, GA

In the 5th - 8th grade level of competition, Leah Caitlin Geiger of Tallulah Falls High School in Tallulah Falls, GA, was chosen as the winner with the submission of her artwork and slogan, "Plant a Forest: Grow Our World." In the 9th - 12th grade level of competition, Eric Riggs of Southeast Bulloch High School in Brooklet, GA, won with the submission of his artwork and slogan, "Forests: Giving Us the Tools to Create Our Future." For more information on the GFF and the Forestry: A Foundation for our Future contest, visit the contest website.
RFD's Eligible for Federal Equipment Through GFC
The Georgia Forestry Commission can help firefighters in your community improve local emergency response. Through the Firefighter Property Program, excess federal property from the Department of Defense is provided to the GFC and Rural Fire Departments at little or no cost to the end user. The program was established by Congress in 2005 and GFC began participating in 2012. To date, $18 million in assets have been obtained, providing faster response times in Georgia to wildland fires, structural fires and other emergencies. To learn more about the program, contact your local GFC office.

Teacher

Conservation Workshop
6/16 - 6/20/2014 Mansfield, GA
Association for Consulting
Foresters: National Conference
6/21 - 6/24/2014 Savannah, GA
Billy Lancaster Forestry Youth
Camp 6/22 - 6/26/2014 Covington, GA
Introduction to ArcGIS 7/15/2014
Athens, GA
GFA Annual Conference & Forestry Expo 7/19 - 7/20/2014 Hilton Head Island,
SC
9th Annual Georgia Environmental Conference 8/20 - 8/22/14 Jekyll Island, GA
GA Master Timber Harvester Workshop
8/27 - 8/28/14 Swainsboro, GA

Forest Management Acorns
For many people, the February ice storm is just a memory, but not for the GFC's Sustainable Community Forest Program. SCFP personnel continue to assist FEMA, GEMA and local communities to identify and manage storm damage debris resulting from winter storm PAX. Community Foresters Joe Burgess, Mark McClellan and Joan Scales have been participating in applicant information meetings and providing site visits to quantify debris volumes and make recommendations for debris reduction across the presidentially-declared disaster area. SCFP Program Manager Gary White has been staffing the Joint Field Office in Atlanta, serving as a liaison to FEMA and GEMA. White has been reviewing project worksheets and helping clarify state environmental regulations for both FEMA and counties applying for aid.
The sign-up period for the Southern Pine Beetle Program is May 26th through June 16th. The program provides cost sharing for the following practices to improve the health of loblolly or shortleaf pine forests: pre-commercial thinning, pine release and prescribed burning. The prescribed burning practice can also be applied to young longleaf pine stands (10 years old or less). Funds will also be available for the planting of commercial pine and hardwood species. Applications will be ranked placing highest priority on those that do the most to prevent SPB infestations. Go to the SPB Cost Share Program for more information.
Reforestation Matters
Flint River Nursery will begin accepting order applications for GFC seedlings on June 16, 2014. Orders may be placed by visiting a local GFC office, by mail or by calling the nursery at 229-268-7308. Orders may also be placed via our online store at www.gaseedlings.org, which lists current pricing. The following species will be available for the 2014-2015 planting season:
Pines: RR3 Loblolly, Select RR3 Loblolly, Select P3 Loblolly, Georgia Giants, premium slash, high gum slash, Select Premium Slash, pitch canker-resistant slash, longleaf, shortleaf and Virginia pine. Hardwoods: Northern Red Oak, Southern Red Oak, white oak, sawtooth oak, gobbler sawtooth oak, crabapple, common pear, persimmon, wild plum, crepe myrtle, dogwood, redbud, bald cypress, catalpa, green ash, red cedar, red maple, river birch, wax myrtle, yellow poplar, Ornamental

Package and Wildlife Package.
Forest Utilization Updates
GFC's Utilization staff recently began the 2014 biannual survey of Georgia's 150 primary wood-using industries in the state. These mills process logs into products such as lumber, poles, veneer, plywood and wood pellets, among others. The data collected will be used to determine the kinds of forest products manufactured in Georgia, the volume of materials produced from the raw products and provide an estimate of timber drain. The information will be published in the Timber Product Output (TPO) report, produced through a cooperative project of the GFC and USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, which has been in place for over 50 years. Further information on TPO in Georgia can be found on the GFC website.
Two new staff members have joined GFC's Utilization Department. Jonathan Brown, a UGA graduate with a master's degree in forest business, has worked with the GFC in forest management and forest inventory analysis. Prior to joining the GFC he worked for a consulting forestry firm and for Timber Mart-South. Brown will continue work in GFC's carbon sequestration, forest investments and ecosystem services program areas. Bill Pryor, a Syracuse University forestry graduate and former industry forester with Union Camp Corporation, brings nearly four decades of forestry experience to the department and will work in the further development of GFC's forest biomass energy program. Prior to joining the utilization department Bill worked with the GFC in forest management based in the Ogeechee District.
Copyright 2005 Georgia Forestry Commission, all rights reserved 1-800-GA-TREES
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