Annual report

John W. Mixon Director

Gloria Shatto Mount Berry

James G. Fendig Felton Denney

Savannah

Carrollton

Robert Simpson, III t*'rn Gillis, Jr

Lakeland

Chairman, Soperton

Georgia Fcorestry Cr> omm-ission
R 0. Box 819 - Macon, Georgia 31298-4599 (912) 751-3500

John W- Mixon Director

Governor Zell Miller The General Assembly The People of Georgia
Dear Fellow Georgians:
The Georgia Forestry Commission is pleased to report another successful year in which substantial progress was made in programs that convince landowners to wisely manage, harvest and replant their forestlands.
Fiscal Year 1994 was a time of increased public awareness of forestry's economic contri bution to our state. Georgians were apprised of the true value of our forests and the urgent need for their perpetuation through publications, news releases, seminars and other com munications provided by the Commission.
Although the Commission's well-trained and well-equipped forest firefighters kept wildfire losses to a minimum during the year, an alert citizenry contributed to the effort by spotting and reporting hundreds of fires in their early stages.
For the second year, the Reforestation Department operated its nurseries and seed or chards on revenues derived from the sale of seedlings to landowners. No funds from the taxpayers were required and almost six percent of the department's allotted budget was returned to the state treasury.
During Fiscal Year 1994, more than 26,200 landowners received information or assis tance from the Commission's Forest Management Department. An additional 485 landown ers entered the Forest Stewardship Program as the cooperative plan completed its fifth year. The cumulative enrollment now stands at 1,576 landowners.
Georgia landowners planted more than 326,600 acres in trees during the year and more than 60 communities - ranging from small towns to cities - maintained their status as a "Tree City USA," with the cooperation of the Commission's Urban Forestry advisors.
As we enter a new fiscal year, the Commission renews its pledge to work diligently in its role as protector and promoter of Georgia's most valuable and renewable resource - her forests.

Sincerely,

Jim L. Gillis, Jr. Chairman, Soperton

Director

T. Felton Denney Carrollton

J. G. Fendig Savannah

Gloria Shatto Mount Berry

An Equal Opportunity E,mployer

Robert Simpson, III Lakeland

The number of Georgia forest fires during Fiscal Year 1994 nearly equaled the ten year average with acres burned and size per fire slightly below the aver age. Fiscal Year 1994 totaled 10,269 fires with 36,726 acres burned; the average size fire was 3.57 acres.
Debris burning and incendiary continue to account for the majority of the fires with 46 percent caused by debris burning and 25 percent incendiary; these two causes also account for 70 percent of the acres burned. The number of fires and acres burned during March of 1994 were nearly double those of any other month for the period. Georgia experienced 2,210 fires and 11,582 acres in March alone. This accounts for slightly more than 20 percent of the fires and nearly one third of the acres burned for the year. Artificial regenera tion of pine species continues to increase fire poten tial with 10,637 acres of this forest type burned for an average size fire of 6.6 acres. Twenty-five fires exceeded 100 acres in size, four of which burned more than 300 acres each.
SMOKEY'S 50TH BIRTHDAY
The Commission, with the rest of the nation, cel ebrated Smokey's 50th birthday this year with distribu tion of special anniversary materials and Smokey Bear birthday parties and special events across the state. Smokey Bear birthday parties were held at Augusta and Macon with attendance estimated at more than 10,000. The Smokey Bear hot air balloon made ap pearances at parties and also made special appearances at Rome, Clarkesville and Patterson for festivals.
Smokey Bear held center court at two University of

Georgia basketball games this year as the Commission sponsored Smokey Bear sports events at the games. The Georgia Mountain Fair at Hiawassee was dedicated to Smokey's fifty years of fire prevention. Thousands of commemorative Smokey Bear items such as balloons, posters, hat pins, litter bags and frisbees, were distrib uted at ball games and in classrooms.
Georgia's Junior Forest Ranger program continues to be a popular program for elementary school classes. Students learn about forest fires and complete a for estry project to earn a Junior Ranger Certificate. In Fis cal Year 1994 - 6,700 students were introduced to the Junior Ranger Program.
FIRE USE ASSISTANCE
This year marked the seventh year of the statewide outdoor burning permit law in Georgia. The number of permits issued continues to rise with 297,367 issued for this fiscal year. The majority of permits are leaf and pile burning for yard maintenance. Commission per sonnel were also asked to consider the burning of 493,936 acres of agriculture land and 937,951 acres of prescribed burning or silvicultural site prep burning. Permits were also issued for land clearing type burning which accounted for 76,833 acres.
Commission rangers and foresters are urged to pro vide actual assistance with burning when requested by the landowner. During the year assistance was given to more than 1,100 landowners resulting in successful burning of approximately 43,000 acres.
Presuppression firebreak plowing is the Commission's most popular and probably the most

productive service. During the year, breaks were plowed for 7,395 landowners resulting in more than 20,000 miles of firebreaks. Presuppression breaks serve to protect forest land from encroaching wildfire and provide landowners with prescribed burning con trol.
The Commission purchased 22 heavy duty harrows this year to facilitate a more environmentally accept able firebreak. Landowners now can choose to have the firebreaks harrowed; some landowners will plant winter grasses to stabilize the breaks. Soil erosion pre vention is an integral part of all Commission firebreaks with rangers being taught proper installation of water bars and turnouts as well as proper use of streamside management zones.
DETECTION, DISPATCH, SUPPRESSION
Increases in Georgia's population forecast good and bad for forest protection programs. With the added ru ral population, most forest fires are promptly detected and reported by concerned citizens. In Fiscal Year 1994, nearly two thirds of wildfires were detected by this method. Increasing population also offers more poten tial for destruction of life and property due to fire, so prompt detection and quick and forceful response are most important.
The firetower detection network has steadily declined from nearly 200 active towers in the late 1970's to just 25 year-round towers operated today. Single engine Cessnas, 180's and 182's have proven to out perform the fire towers in cost and efficiency. The Commission's detection forces now include 30 such aircraft with one to three assigned per forest protection district. Nearly 10,000 aircraft hours were used this year flying de tection with 921 wildfires first reported by aircraft and strategic surveillance provided on 885 wildfires. Pilots are trained to advise forest rangers on fire behavior and geographical characteristics as well as direct rout ing to the fire scene and location of endangered im provements. More than 44,000 control burns were checked by aircraft during the year to make sure that

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fires remained under supervised control. Aircraft were instrumental in surveying the state for southern pine beetle infestations with 260 hours flown for this pur pose.
The Commission continues to maintain and use three UH1H helicopters equipped with 240 gallon water buck ets for suppression assistance to tractor/plow units on unusually difficult fires. Aircraft support personnel in clude a Chief of Air Operations who supervises the entire program, an airplane maintenance facility with four mechanics and a secretary, a helicopter maintenance facility with one mechanic, and fifteen district pilots.
Each county forestry unit is equipped with one to six tractor/plow units used extensively for fire fighting and presuppression firebreak plowing. Customized crawler tractors provide efficient suppression for most situations. Search for more productive and efficient machinery and attachments is a continuous objective of the forest pro tection organization. Equipment manufacturers are en couraged to provide equipment for evaluation; inno vation is rewarded through purchase and use of the nation's best fire suppression fleet. Approximately 400 well trained rangers provide expertise for 350 suppres sion units to keep fires small.
Improvements in Commission water handling capa bility are on-going with application of 5/4 ton pick-up, quick response units, equipped with 200 gallon capac ity tanks, 100 gallon per minute pumps and 1000 feet hoselay capability. The Commission had produced ten such units during Fiscal Year '94 with plans to pro duce more in the future.
The 24 hour dispatch system continues to function very well with use of radios, repeaters and telephone call forwarding. County forestry units handle their own dispatch during normal working hours, but depend on district and state dispatch through the communications system after hours and on weekends and holidays. Tele phone call forwarding allows a citizen to talk with Commission personnel to report a fire or a request for forestry assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The radio repeater system allows dispatchers to talk directly to rangers and to monitor their safety during

the fire suppression activity.
FOREST PROTECTION SHOPS
In addition to aircraft maintenance shops, the Forest Protection department operates a welding and fabrica tion shop, a vehicle mechanic shop, and Rural Fire Defense fire apparatus shop.
The welding and fabrication shop builds all of the Commission's fire plows, truck beds, tractor canopies, V-blades, etc. Industrial duty sheet metal machinery, drilling machines, lathes and presses are utilized by tal ented craftsmen to fabricate very functional custom ized additions to fire suppression equipment. Such qual ity equipment adds safety to the fire suppression job that would not otherwise be affordable or provide the utility if purchased on the open market.
Commission vehicle mechanics perform maintenance and repairs on the fleet. The Commission also employs one paint and body craftsman for repair and painting of the vehicles. A modern paint facility was installed this year to improve safety and environmental require ments of the vehicle paint operation.
The Rural Fire Defense Shop builds many different fire apparatus to support the Commission's fire truck leasing program for rural fire departments. The fireknocker refurbishment program, has benefited own ers of older fireknockers leased in the early 1970's. These vehicles are approaching 20 years of use and require technological updating. The RED shop is in strumental in providing innovation for the water han dling capability of regular Commission forces.
FEDERAL EXCESS PROPERTY
The Commission screens thousands of federal ex cess property items acquired from the military. Defense and marketing offices at military bases across the South allowed the Commission to acquire, free of charge, some $3,393,398 worth of tools and equipment during the year.
An agreement with the USDA Forest Service, through

the auspices of the Federal Property and Administra tive Services Act of 1949 and the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, authorizes the Secretary of Ag riculture to provide assistance, including excess prop erty, to fire cooperators such as the Commission. The 3.39 million dollars of excess property acquired in Fis cal Year 94 included 63 trucks for use by rural fire de partments, two heavy bulldozers, several forklifts, heavy shop equipment, pumps, valves, tools and fire hoses. The Commission currently utilizes an estimated $12,320,614.00 worth of property acquired through this program over the past several years. A Forest Pro tection forester administers this program for the Commission to insure compliance with federal guide lines for acquisition and use of property for fire coop erator purposes.
MAINTENANCE AND CONSTRUCTION
The Commission strives for self sufficiency by pro moting a do-it-yourself trademark involving mainte nance and repair of equipment and grounds, as well as building and facility construction performed statewide by Commission rangers. Many rangers have special skills such as carpentry, electrician, masonry, cabinet build ing and mechanics, that are used to keep costs down. Employees showing interest in specific vocations are encouraged to use their special skills. The following list illustrates the utility of this trademark:
EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE AND OVERHAUL PERFORMED
BY COUNTY UNIT PERSONNEL
TRUCKS PAINTED.................................................... 64 TRACTORS PAINTED............................................185 PLOWS PAINTED/REWORKED......................... 269 TRAILERS/TRUCK BEDS
PAINTED/REWORKED........................................215 ENGINES OVERHAULED (TRUCK)................... 19 ENGINES OVERHAULED (TRACTOR)............... 9 TRACK SYSTEM OVERHAULED........................ 12

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REAREND/TRANSMISSION OVERHAUL............6 FINAL DRIVE/TRANSMISSION OVERHAUL.... 4 CLUTCH OVERHAULED (TRUCK)................... 11 CLUTCH OVERHAULED (TRACTOR) .................0 BRAKES OVERHAULED (TRUCK)..................... 28 BRAKES OVERHAULED (TRACTOR)..................2 HYDRAULIC SYSTEM OVERHAULED................7 FIRE KNOCKER TANKS BUILT.............................29 FIRE KNOCKER TANKS PLUMBED.....................16
In addition to the above repairs on equipment, virtually all new construction and building mainte nance is performed by county unit personnel.
PRESCRIBED BURNING CERTIFICATION
The 1992 "Prescribed Burning Act" allowed the Commission to provide a Prescribed Burn Manager Certification Program to practitioners. The purpose of the certification program is to establish skills related to this silvicultural practice to help perpetuate use of fire. Increasing population and crowded Georgia highways have added liability to the practice of prescribed burn ing requiring a more calculated approach for applica tion of this forest management tool. The certification process brings practitioners up to standard for current, safe burning practices for the 1990's. The certification process includes self study and a one-day training ses sion emphasizing plan writing, smoke management, public relations and technical fuel, weather and fire parameters. Those who pass a final test are issued a numbered certificate. During the year, sessions were conducted at Macon, Rome, Statesboro, Valdosta, Al bany and Athens. More than 400 participants were cer tified through the process.
TRAINING
Commission personnel receive informal training in cluding on-the-job-instruction from tenured personnel at the county unit level. Training consists of fire control techniques, safety, equipment operation and mainte nance, fire weather, radio communications, fire organi

zation policies. Although all employees receive formal orientation and are required to complete a well planned regime of organized formal training, the instruction while on the job remains beneficial.
Formal training coordinated at the state level in cluded one ranger fire school, four fire simulators, six National Safety Council Defensive Driving Courses' and on Incident Command System 1-220 course. Merit System sponsored training included three Persuasive Speaking courses and one Seminar for First Line Su pervisors. During the year, six GFC personnel were qualified by the Merit System to instruct the seminar for First Line Supervisors. These instructors taught two additional courses during the year.
During Fiscal Year 1994, Commission trained instruc tors taught the six hour Standards for Survival and two hour Hazardous Materials Awareness for Firefighters courses to their respective districts. The state staff and district office staff were introduced to the Americans with Disabilities Act with a training session designed to describe requirements of this new law.
Forest Protection offers an Employee Development Program to rangers for increased knowledge of forestry subjects other than fire control. Employee development broadens perspectives on supervision and helps pre pare rangers for future promotion to Chief Ranger. Through this program, rangers are required to study personnel supervision, GFC policy and laws, and learn more about forest management, services provided by the Commission, reforestation, water quality, health and safety, equipment inspections, and other aspects of Commission services. Rangers are required to write news articles and make presentations to local schools or civic groups. Also required for the Employee Devel opment Program are several landowner visits by the trainee accompanied by a Chief Ranger or Forester. At the end of Fiscal Year 1994, 29 rangers had completed the program and 31 were various stages of comple tion.
The New Employee Orientation manual was com pletely revised with addition of a requirement that each new employee tour the State Headquarters and com

plete a session with each department head. Three such tours and orientation sessions were conducted this year, more than 50 employees toured the state facility and received department specific orientation information.
RURAL FIRE DEFENSE
Rural Fire Defense shop personnel, through a cohe sive effort with county unit employees, produced 31 fire fighting vehicles to be loaned or leased to fire de partments across the state. This year's efforts became a part of 1,203 major fire apparatus located at 758 fire departments which provide structural fire protection for residents of 145 of Georgia's 159 counties. Fire depart ments responded to 18,401 alarms in Fiscal year 1994 with an estimated $72,137,751 lost to structure fires. Annual estimated value saved was $205,919,599 as a result of quick response by Commission built fire appa ratus.
In appreciation of the above efforts, the Georgia For estry Commission sponsored the 10th biannual Geor gia Fire Equipment Show. More than 1,000 Georgia firefighters attended the show which included keynote speakers, fire equipment displays and demonstrations and a fire and safety vendor mall with the latest in wild land and structural fire equipment being displayed and sold.
Rural Fire Defense shop was also instrumental in providing equipment for commission firefighters in the form of five quick response truck units and eight smaller slip-on units for ranger pick-ups. This equipment is custom built by skilled craftsmen and provides utility exceeding equipment otherwise purchased from ven dors. The RFD shop also assisted with fabrication and plumbing of six tractor wash units used by county unit personnel for cleaning fire suppression equipment.
The Rural Fire Defense program utilized federal grant money to provide Community Wildland Fire Defense Training to 15 fire departments during the year. This training helps structural firefighters to understand wild land fire tactics and strategy in order to improve re sponse to grass and brush fires. In addition, increased
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emphasis was directed toward providing information on protection of lives and property specific to the wildland/ urban interface environment.
The fireknocker refurbishment program, established to help fire departments upgrade older fireknockers that were leased as many as twenty years ago, was once again a popular program this year with 19 existing fireknockers receiving new pumps, tanks, foam units, etc.

PHYSICAL FITNESS PROGRAM

In addition to proper training and necessary equipment, physical fitness is the next prerequisite for an aggressive and effective firefighting program. The Forest Protection department initiated a fitness program in 1994 to test and evaluate firefighters statewide. This voluntary pro gram tested 275 Commission employees for treadmill endurance, upper and lower body strength, body fat con tent, vital signs, and cardiovascular efficiency.
The program was administered through Georgia Col lege in Milledgeville. Employees will be tested periodi cally to improve physical fitness within the Commission. Employees are now allowed thirty minutes per day, dur ing working hours, to perform various approved physical fitness training.

Above: Many Georgia chil dren received warm hugs from Smokey during his round of 50th anniversary birthday parties. The Commission's approach to increased fire suppression capabilities is the quick re sponse unit shown at right. Protection of homes and other property can be ac complished rapidly with wa ter and class "A"foam capa bility.

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The Forest Management Department is responsible for providing forestry related technical information and assistance to the private forest landowners of Georgia through a network of forestry personnel around the state. Such technical assistance is provided to improve and enhance private forest lands for economical, social and environmental benefits as determined by the landowner's objectives.
RURAL FORESTRY ASSISTANCE
The aim of rural forestry assistance is to promote healthy, vigorous forests capable of providing a renew able and dependable source of forest products for the state's economy. Over 26,200 private forest landown ers in Georgia received GFC forest management infor mation and/or assistance on approximately 1.40 mil lion acres during Fiscal Year 1994. Forty-four timber marking assists were provided, involving 1.5 million board feet of sawtimber, 4,115 cords of small wood products, and 997 seed trees on 1,307 acres. Over 9,800 forest management plans addressing recommendations on 961,103 acres were written.
FOREST STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM (FSP)
The Stewardship Program completed its fifth year and has a cumulative enrollment of 1,576 landowners, including 485 who enrolled in the program this year. The cornerstone of the Forest Stewardship Program is the Forest Stewardship plans developed for each landowner in the program. These plans evaluate the landowner's timber, wildlife, soil, water, scenic and rec

reational resources and make specific recommendations on how these resources can be better managed and improved. Since the beginning of the program, 1,094 plans have been developed, and 420 of these were completed in the last year. The unique cooperation between the public and private sectors has continued and strengthened this year as fifty-six consulting and industry foresters provided 233 of the year's plans for their clients.
The Program also seeks to recognize those landown ers who have demonstrated their commitment to forest stewardship by doing an outstanding job of managing their properly. Twenty-two landowners were designated as Outstanding Forest Stewards this year, bringing the state total of those receiving this rare and distinguish ing honor to fifty-nine.
COST SHARE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS
The Commission is the technical agency responsible for determining specifications necessary for landown ers to install a range of forest practices under four dif ferent cost share incentive programs administered by the Agricultural Conservation and Stabilization Service (ASCS). An additional program introduced in 1992 is administered by the Georgia Forestry Commission with assistance from ASCS, the Soil Conservation Service, the Department of Natural Resources and the U. S. Forest Service. The incentive programs include:

Stewardship Incentive Program (SIP1 - This fed eral program is the companion to FSP Its purpose is to promote multiple resource management practices as identified within a Landowner Forest Stewardship Plan. Eight practices are available under SIR The Commission serviced 1,164 SIP requests which included Forest Stew ardship Plans on 53,650 acres, tree planting on 8,980 acres, timber stand improvement on 2,331 acres, soil and water conservation on 96 acres, wildlife habitat management on 1,158 acres, and recreation on 37 acres.
Agricultural Conservation Program (ACPI - The purpose of ACP is to prevent soil erosion. Since its in ception in 1936, ACP has been responsible for tree planting on 799,678 acres in Georgia. GFC accom plishments in ACP involve preparation of 1,529 forest management plans which include 25,595 acres of site preparation, 28,571 acres of tree planting, 1,463 acres of timber stand improvement, and 208 acres of site preparation for natural regeneration.
Forestry Incentives Program (FIP1 - The purpose of FIP is the optimum production of wood fiber prod ucts. Since its inception in 1975, FIP has been re sponsible for tree planting on 309,597 acres in Geor gia. GFC accomplishments in FIP for the fiscal year involved preparation of 743 forest management plans which include 20,743 acres of site preparation, 23,916 acres of tree planting, 781 acres of timber stand improvement, and 52 acres of site preparation for natu ral regeneration.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRPf - The Con servation Reserve Program, primarily created to pro vide soil erosion protection and crop base reduction, has not had a sign-up since June, 1992. However, GFC foresters provided technical assistance in preparing 83 tree planting plans which include 3,293 acres of site preparation and 4,330 acres of tree planting.
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Trpp Assistance Program (TAP) - TAP was created in 1988 to provide financial assistance for renovation or re-establishment of stands of trees damaged by natu ral disaster (drought, flood, hurricane, etc.). During the fiscal year, GFC technical assistance was provided in 31 tree planting plans which included 347 acres of tree planting and 193 acres of site preparation.
REGENERATION
Georgia planted 326,657 acres that were artificially regenerated with seedlings during planting season 19931994. This included 192,543 acres on private lands, 129,856 acres on forest industry lands, and 4,258 acres on government lands. Another 174 acres were regen erated by 9 landowners using pine seed through the Commission's direct seeding program.
The 112 mechanical tree planters either owned or operated by the Commission were used by 563 private landowners to artificially regenerate approximately 10,139 acres.
The Commission still maintains its list of recom mended site preparation, tree planting and herbicide vendors for landowners seeking those services.
Natural pine and hardwood regeneration demonstra tion sites have been established in 103 counties across the state to show Georgia landowners low-cost meth ods to bring sites into full production.
Commission reforestation and management forest ers, rangers, and other personnel were instrumental in promoting reforestation and maintaining local forest landowner association committees that keep abreast of sound forest management techniques and new devel opments through regular meetings.
FOREST HEALTH
The forest health unit had many accomplishments during Fiscal Year 1994. GFC management foresters gave forest health advice to 502 woodland owners rep resenting 63,845 acres. GFC urban foresters inspected over 24,000 trees affected by insects and diseases in residential yards throughout Georgia.

Over 11,000 gypsy moth traps were placed in 84 counties and 31 square miles of woodlands were de limited with an additional 496 traps.
Pine bark beetles began to increase towards the end of the year and predictions are for moderate to high activity during Fiscal Year 1995.
Georgia's 148 forest health plots were re-visited for the fourth season and several off-plot evaluations were conducted. The off-plot evaluations included (1) Oak Skeletonizer Outbreak in North Georgia, (2) Bark Beetle Pheromone Trapping, (3) Soils Associated with South west Georgia Southern Pine Beetle Infestations, (4) Pitch Canker Evaluation in Northeast Georgia, and (5) In troduction of the Pine Shoot Beetle Survey.
FOREST WATER QUALITY
Continued urban development and population in creases are placing more pressure on Georgia's com mercial forests to provide for clean water and wildlife habitat. The Commission has an agreement with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Environmen tal Protection Division to educate the forest community and promote the voluntary use of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to control erosion and sedimentation for all silvicultural practices.
Commission foresters advised 3,103 landowners in volving 330,437 acres on protecting water quality. Dur ing the year, approximately 4,988 BMP booklets were distributed to foresters, loggers, and landowners. In addition, 89 BMP talks were given to over 2,791 people.
The department received 89 water quality complaints related to improper logging practices that were investi gated and mediated by Commission personnel.
Sample timber sales contracts which include BMP language are available at all GFC offices. The Commission plans to conduct the third BMP Compli ance Survey during Fiscal Year 1995 to evaluate the use and effectiveness of BMPs on sites across the state.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
The Commission provides environmental impact

analysis of forest lands affected by proposed Depart ment of Transportation (DOT) road construction. These assessments are necessary to ensure no adverse impact will result from the road construction; however, if ad verse impact is imminent, mitigation between DOT and forest landowners is necessary. GFC involvement in cludes detailed information on affected timber, yard and urban trees, wetlands, watersheds, trees of historical or cultural importance, and endangered plants and ani mals. In Fiscal Year 94 there were 37 assessments con ducted by the Commission for DOT.
FORESTRY & LAND USE FIELD DAYS
Two Forestry and Land-Use Field Days were held in Fiscal Year 1994. In September, 1993, the fourth Field Day was held near Griffin. It drew some 1,300 people from 132 Georgia counties and five other states. Twentyfour different forestry and multiple resource stations were available on site for Field Day participants to gather information. The fifth Griffin Field Day is scheduled for September, 1995.
In May, 1994, the third Swainsboro Field Day was held on the James Morgan Farm. It drew over 350 people to the 23 stations on site.
STATE LANDS ASSISTANCE
Many state agencies request the assistance of the Georgia Forestry Commission each year in handling the sale of timber from their lands. The Commission is charged by law to handle such sales, which involve tim ber cruising to determine wood volumes, timber mark ing, advertising, sending out bid invitations, conduct ing bid openings, negotiating terms, and awarding con tracts to successful bidders. In Fiscal year 94, there were 18 timber sales on other state agency lands which in volved 11,154 cords of pine pulpwood, 1,255 cords of hardwood pulpwood, 1,792 cords of pine chip and saw timber, 3.20 million board feet of pine sawtimber, 1.37 million board feet of hardwood sawtimber, and 3,415 cords of pine plywood logs, all with a total value of

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$1.85 million dollars to the state.
STATE FOREST LAND MANAGEMENT
The Commission owns or manages several proper ties around the state. These lands incorporate forest stewardship (multiple resource) management, includ ing forest products, wildlife, recreation, soil and water conservation, aesthetics, historical and cultural re sources. Forest Stewardship Plans on these lands detail the various activities that occur to benefit the state and general public economically, socially, and envi ronmentally. The properties include:
Dixon Memorial State Forest - The largest of GFC land holdings (35,708 acres), the Dixon State Forest is located near Waycross. A very biodiverse forest includ ing approximately 15,000 acres of the Okefenokee Swamp, Dixon has been managed by the Commission since 1938. Accomplishments for Fiscal Year 1994 in clude 366 acres of site preparation and tree planting, 3,919 acres of prescribed burning, 63.5 miles of fire break maintenance, 278 miles of forest road mainte nance, and 120,000 faces worked for naval stores.
Revenues received through the sale of various forest products at Dixon totaled $603,273.
Baldwin State Forest - Located near Milledgeville, this 2,628 acre forest has been owned and managed by GFC since 1969. Recreational use of Baldwin is in great demand, with field dog trials held throughout each year and five fish ponds open to the public. GFC ac complishments for the fiscal year include property line sign establishment, tree planting of longleaf pine on 30 acres, prescribed burning on 370 acres, and salvage harvesting involving 13.7 cords, valued at $137.00
Alamo State Forest - This 146.4 acre state for est located near Alamo, in Wheeler County, had a Forest Stewardship Plan completed in July 1993. Since the property had been recently acquired by the GFC (January 1993), the primary accom-

Commission foresters during the fiscal year continued to provide up-to-date information to forest landowners concerning forest management in wetlands.

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plishment for Fiscal Year 1994 was cleanup and repair to prepare it as a demonstrational Stewardship Forest. Specific accomplishments include boundary line and sign establishment and maintenance, perimeter road and gate establishment for access control, sanita tion thinning on 30 acres of pine plantation, selective firewood harvest (35 cords) for various GFC county units, wildlife food plot maintenance in three areas, pond maintenance, waterfowl nesting area establishment, and establishment of a designated camping area for local groups (two Boy Scout troops utilized.
Dawson Demonstration Forest - The Dawson For est is owned by the City of Atlanta and managed by the Commission. Designated as a Wildlife Management Area by the Department of Natural Resources, the 10,130 acre forest is located south of Dawsonville. A Forest Stewardship Plan was completed in the fall of 1993. Accomplishments on Dawson Forest for the Fis cal Year include timber marking on 130 acres, timber cruise and sale of 142 acres involving 533,000 board feet of pine sawtimber, 812 cords of pine pulpwood, 123,000 board feet of hardwood sawtimber, and 225 cords of hardwood pulpwood valued at $137,691, Best Management Practices (BMPs) installed on 112 acres, pine reforestation on 35 acres, hardwood timber stand improvement on 7 acres, prescribed burning on 284 acres, 8.3 miles of firebreak installation, 11.3 miles of forest road improvement and maintenance, environ mental education trail establishment, and 4.5 miles of boundary line maintenance.
Paulding Forest - This 10,038 acre forest, also owned by the City of Atlanta and managed by the Commission, is located west of Dallas, Georgia. Paulding is managed as a Wildlife Management Area by the Department of Natural Resources. Accomplishments at Paulding in clude additional gate installation, firebreak establish ment on 60 acres, hunting check-in station establish ment, and boundary line maintenance.

Gracewood Forest - Located near Augusta, Gracewood's 538 acre forest was transferred from Gracewood State School & Hospital to the Commission in 1984. The tract consists primarily (77%) of nine-yearold loblolly pine which was previously in pasture. Ac complishments at Gracewood for the fiscal year include current development of a Forest Stewardship Plan, 12 miles of firebreak maintenance, and acquisition of a farm tractor and harrow.
NAVAL STORES
Naval Stores specialists in the Commission answered 71 requests for assistance from landowners, involving 400,000 turpentine faces on 13,600 acres, during the fis cal year. The Naval Stores Conservation Program (NSCP) was in effect for par ticipating producers.
Forest Stewardship Plans are provided by foresters emphasizing multiple re source management.

Personnel made performance inspections for the pro gram in Georgia and cooperated with NSCP in the naval stores areas of Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. The Commission cooperated with the American Tur pentine Farmers Association (ATFA) in sponsoring the annual training program at meetings in Baxley and Valdosta.
The Commission assisted the ATFA on one research project involving production and collection methods for high quality pine gum.

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The Forest Products Utilization, Marketing and De velopment Department (FPUM&D) provides technical assistance to Georgia's forest products industry to en sure that the industry remains a strong and stable con tributor to the state's economic well-being. Some of the primary objectives are to encourage the efficient use of wood in the manufacturing process, assist wood users with measures of efficiency in their mill operations, pro vide data and facts regarding the proper uses of wood to ensure a long and reliable life span, provide the lat est technical information on manufacturing of wood products, collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate market, residue and resource data. The overall goals are to extend the state's economy through forest prod ucts development and to extend the state's timber sup ply through a more efficient use of the wood resource.
Wood Bridges
The promotion of new engineering technology in using pressure-treated lumber to replace and/or upgrade bridges on the state's secondary roadways is one of the programs now underway. Efforts are made to stimu late awareness of viable, efficient alternatives to tradi tional bridge construction techniques and materials. Other components include developing and managing information about wood in transportation and transfer this information and technology to a wide range of us ers. Benefits include the stabilization and revitalization of the economic well-being of rural economies through service industry development and market expansion.
This year, Appling County was selected to receive a new demonstration bridge under the auspices of the

National Timber Bridge Initiative which is coordinated by the FPUM&D Department. Several demonstration wooden bridges were completed through the use of state and federal funds. These included completion of four demonstration bridges in Forsyth, Miller and Trueifen counties. The Forsyth County bridge is a vehicular bridge and is one of the longest modern wooden bridges on a public road in Georgia; a pedestrian and a vehicular bridge were constructed in Miller County and a pedestrian bridge was constructed in Truetlen County. A number of additional bridges located throughout the state are currently at different stages in the construction process.
Final monitoring and testing of the experimental wooden bridge constructed from CCA pressure treated Southern Yellow Pine was completed in Richmond County. Results are being analyzed by scientists at the National Forest Products Laboratory.
For the Fiscal Year, 65 requests were handled deal ing with various aspects of wooden bridge technology, markets and construction. An additional four requests were processed dealing with pressure treating as related to wooden bridges.
Rural Development
Rural development activities relate to quality of life issues, as well as job creation in rural areas as part of the overall effort to create a sustainable economy that allows growth, income creation, and a continuation of viable economic resources, including the forest prod ucts industry. Since much of the state's land area is cov ered by forest resources, development of the state's for

est resource base as an income generator is a high pri ority.
Issues concerning fiber supply have been identified as an important part of any long-term expansion effort for the state's primary and secondary forest product industries. The Fiber Supply Working Group of the Georgia Initiative in Pulp and Paper Technology con tinues to function in the area of identifying and increas ing wood fiber supply potential in Georgia. Studies are underway to both quantify available fiber supplies and also to determine methods to increase per acre growth of timber in the state. A landowners survey has been devised and is being implemented in order to deter mine landowner's willingness to invest in reforestation efforts and to carry out good forestry practices. Various landowner attitudes will be defined in long-term forest management goals and objectives.
In order to obtain better estimates on future timber supply in the state, the Forestry Commission has ac tively begun participation in the Southern Forest As sessment Consortium, along with the North Carolina Forest service, several Southern universities and col leges and private industry in the South. The goal is to develop reliable growth projection techniques for tim ber inventory to assist in the estimation and delinea tion of future timber supplies in the Southern portion of the United States, with emphasis on Georgia and the surrounding states.
The Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism was assisted during the year with forestry expertise in the answering of forest product trade leads including some that could possibly bring new mills to Georgia. There were 32 forest resource and forest residue reports pre pared for various clients during the previous fiscal year. Additional requests were answered in the area of in dustrial development involving forest resources.
There were four federal rural economic development grants administered by the department in this fiscal year. These included a waste wood recovery project in Bulloch County, development of a nature park in Catoosa County, expansion of a mill work business in Fannin County and an outdoor education center in Wayne County. The emphasis is on job creation and
11

improvement in the quality of life for rural communi ties. An on-going project includes the improvement in value-added activities at a specialty sawmill in south Georgia.
Assistance has been provided in the development of improved gum naval stores collection, storage and dis tribution. Anticipated successful outcomes will allow the gum naval stores industry to increase its competitive position in the world market.
The Commission continues to participate as an ac tive member in the Southern Forest Based Economic Development Council. Activities include participating in the development of training seminars for forest in dustry, residue utilization, the establishment of brochures and booklets outlining information on the forest re source, and related activities dealing with the market ing of southern forest products in order to strengthen local economies and provide employment opportuni ties.
Efforts in understanding the benefits of carbon se questration from the state's forest resource, and the potential development of carbon sequestration incen tives to encourage private sector involvement in tree planting, have been initiated.
Utilization & Marketing
The Georgia Wood Using Industries and Forest Prod ucts Marketing Directory continues to be distributed in Georgia, other states and to several foreign countries as a way of soliciting interest in Georgia's forest prod ucts. The Economic Importance of Forestry brochure was also prepared and distributed in the fiscal year.
Over 200 requests were serviced by the department involving a broad range of information, statistics, and other services provided in the area of wood protection and usage. Areas of assists included such diverse needs from wood users in the state as the disposal of bark, environmental issues affecting log storage at log yards, wood stain as a defect in drying and other drying infor mation, exporting of wood products, equipment selec

tion and sourcing, as well as lumber and log grading. Pallet disposal and recycling, sawmill information,
shingle production, preservatives, and a large number of miscellaneous assists, including the production and sale of non-traditional forest products such as Paulownia and woodland perennials were also provided. Moisture related problems affecting processed wood and related drying problems are always areas of concern. Log pro curement by custom sawmills is also an active area of assistance.
Wood pellets continue to generate interest both from a production standpoint and from the consumers need for information. Ten pellet related requests were pro cessed, involving procurement, distribution and use of pelletized fuel products. Disposal of used pallets and residue generated at pallet processing plants continued to generate service requests, with 18 fielded during the year.
In other areas of wood energy, assists concerned chip production and procurement, fuelwood markets in gen eral, firewood production, cogeneration, and an array of miscellaneous subjects. Altogether, approximately 60 requests were processed and a teachers workshop on biomass energy was held at Georgia Southern Univer sity.
A dry kiln short course was co-sponsored with other cooperators at the Georgia Forestry Center in Macon. A number of presentations were made, including a tour for the Chinese Ministry Forestry group. Several wood waste systems were assisted, including waste pallet re cycling activities and wood waste burning facilities. Tours were also given at the wood burning system at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. Warm Springs Founda tion was assisted in the renovation and expansion ef forts as a way to achieve greater wood usage in state facilities.
Work was begun on the interim update of Georgia's Fourth Forest Report including highlighting changes occurring in the field of forest resources since 1986. Changes being addressed include the population growth of the state and the shift in other variables affecting the forest resource in the last decade.

The departmentprovides assistance to both large and small lumber manufacturers, works closely with engi neers in the construction of modern wooden bridges andgives technicalaidin a wide area ofotherforestryrelated enterprises.

state competed in forestry events at the state finals. The annual competition is designed to promote student appreciation of the forests and interest in forestry ca reers. The program is administered by professional foresters with the State Vocational Agricultural Depart ment; publicity for the program is provided by the In formation and Education Department.

During Fiscal Year 1994, Forest Information and Edu cation Department intensified emphasis on public pre sentations of the Commission's expanding encourage ment of sound forest protection, management, and other reforestation practices that have been develop ing through many years of research.
As research continues to improve these practices, such emphasis is considered increasingly vital due con troversial environmental issues given wide publicity. A primary function of the Information and Education Department is promotion of these proven methods through mass media.
Means of promotion include brochures, pamphlets, news releases, feature stories, videos, exhibits, films projects, exhibits, posters, charts, and special publica tions.
Georgia Forestry Magazine, the Commission's quar terly publication that has served as a vital information channel for more than four decades, continued in main taining its standard of excellence with a balanced con tent of articles, reviews, and features. The publication has been awarded BestFeatureStoryofthe YearAward by the Magazine Association of Georgia. Current is sues of the magazine may be found in virtually every public library in Georgia. Commission district and county offices also have limited copies available for public distribution. The circulation reaches a wide spec trum of landowners, forestry oriented industrialists, and the general public.
Department news releases during Fiscal Year 1994 resulted in more than 3,700 reprints in 35 daily and 141 weekly newspapers. Releases were also picked up and printed by out-of state sources. Special articles and

photographs were also provided to newspapers and magazines on request.
Information and Education also works closely with other departments at the Commission's state headquar ters in Macon and district offices throughout the state by providing publicity for landowner seminars, con ferences, workshops and other training events.
Various publications issued by the department dur ing Fiscal Year 1994 were designed to promote Project Learning Tree, Arbor Day, Global ReLeaf, and Cham pion Trees of Georgia.
FORESTRY EXHIBITS
The department also created and circulated numer ous exhibits throughout the year emphasizing the role of forestry in today's society. Among the major events provided with exhibits were the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo in Moultrie, Chattahoochee Fair in Columbus, Georgia State Fair in Macon, Georgia National Fair in Perry, and Macon's Cherry Blossom Festival. Special exhibits were also designed for the Georgia Forestry Association and Georgia Farm Bureau conventions. The Commission's stewardship management program re quired hundreds of photos to be developed. Three vid eos were also made.
FORESTRY FIELD DAYS
Fiscal Year 1994 marked the ninth year in which FFA Forestry Field Day Finals were held at Commission headquarters in Macon. Students and advisors repre senting regional winning teams from throughout the

Urban Forestry is an important division ofthe Informa tion and Education Department. More and more cities and towns are cooperating in tree plantingprojects.
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URBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTRY
The cities of Auburn, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Cordele, Fort Gordon, Hiawassee, Homer, McDonough, Ocilla, Robins Air Force Base, Woodland and Young Harris received Tree City USA designation for their accom plishments in urban forestry, bringing Georgia's total number of Tree Cities to 73. The cities of Bainbridge, Blakely, Canton, Chatsworth, Cornelia, Covington, Dalton, Gainesville, Macon, Moultrie, Statesboro and Warner Robins also received the Tree City USA Growth Award for outstanding programs in 1993.
New support for urban tree planting came through the Georgia Community Tree Planting Program. To gether with the Urban and Community Forestry Pro gram and the Small Business Administration Tree Plant ing Program, 110 community forestry programs and tree planting projects were funded. A total of $716,875 in grant funds was leveraged with recipient matching funds to provide over $2.3 million for urban forestry programs in Georgia.
The Georgia Trees Coalition (GTC), was initiated by the Commission in 1991 to plant trees in communities across Georgia in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. It is a public-private partnership of federal, state and local governments, combined with businesses, local institutions and citizens groups. Con centrating on Olympic venue and training sites across the state, as well as Georgia's "Olympic Corridors", GTC has planted more than 1431 large trees in nine Geor gia communities during 1993 and 1994.
The Commission continued leadership and involve ment in other urban forestry efforts, including the Georgia Urban Forest Council, The Urban Resources Partnership, Cool Communities, Project Learning Tree and Tree City USA.
Top: Department is in charge of the Forestry Museum at Commission headquarters in Macon and also a na ture hail which is under development. Bottom photo: CommissionpersonnelandGeorgia Garden Clubmem bers cooperate in sponsoring and judging the annual Smokey BearAAloodsy Owl statewide poster contest.
14

Personnel of the Commission's Reforestation Depart ment consider Fiscal Year 1994 another very success ful year in the operation of the nurseries and seed or chards.
For the second time in its history, the department during the year operated at no cost to the taxpayer. Using its own receipts, it was able to return almost six percent of its budget to the state. The year also marked the third year in more than 71 years that seedling pro duction remained constant for three consecutive sea sons.
Department managers were able to allocate equip ment, personnel, and growing space efficiently and with certainty, leaving more time to concentrate on the main job at hand -- quality seedlings and customer service.
NURSERIES
At both Walker and Flint River Nurseries, fertility base lines have been developed to identify and quantify nutrient usage for the various species at each nursery. The information allows the manager to control seed ling growth by regulating soil fertility, rather than using drastic mechanical means such as top clipping.
The technique has been developed over a number of years and is still being refined, but its advantages are already apparent. GFC seedlings mature naturally to a physiologically dormant condition, with winter buds and a well-charged root system ready to withstand trans planting and resume rapid growth in the spring.

SEED ORCHARDS
The fiscal year was a time in which hardwood seed production areas for future seed needs were expand ing. Flint River Seed Orchard planted 13 different spe cies, totaling more than 4,400 seedlings. Individuals for the areas were phenotypically selected on root and stem characteristics. Testing, selecting and roguing of these plantations will be on an on-going basis, with a total of 30 acres established at Flint River for this pur pose.
In addition to the hardwood production areas, 11.4 acres were dedicated to improved slash pine, and 1.5 acres were planted in improved loblolly pine. The new additions bring Flint River pine orchards up to a total of 82 acres.
Pine seed collections are at an all time low with seed only being collected from Baldwin Seed Forest and Big Creek on Dixon Memorial State Forest. How ever, hardwood seed collections are at an all-time high. Collecting, conditioning, and planting hardwood seed continues to be a major part of the seed orchard pro gram. Significant gains concerning hardwood seed ling production has been realized over the past few years.

A mechanical acorn planter replaces the old labor-in tensive method ofplanting hardwood seed by hand.

TREE IMPROVEMENT The emphasis in 1994 was to complete the pro posed breeding of second generation loblolly and slash pines. In loblolly, this was essentially accomplished. In slash pine, because of younger clones, an additional year of breeding will be necessary. Eleven progeny test were outplanted in 1994. One test compares the field performance of improved slash and loblolly with container-grown and bareroot longleaf. The others were tests of first and second generation loblolly. Rust resistant loblolly selections were made to be gin the establishment of a clonal rust-resistant loblolly orchard at the Arrowhead Seed Orchard. Forty selec tions of the most disease resistant clones in the south east have been identified for this orchard.
At right, trees in a newly developed seed orchard at FlintRiverNursery. The orchard willsoonproducehard wood seed for future planting.
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Soil fumigation prepares the soil for growing healthy seedlings in the seedbeds at the Commission nurseries. Irrigation systems help promote rapid growth of the young pines.
*

The Forest Administration Department is responsible for providing support functions necessary for the ac complishment of all Commission goals and objectives. Included in these responsibilities are personnel man agement, income coordination, procurement, fund dis bursement, payroll, personnel processing and property control.
The department coordinates all statewide programs directed by the Department of Administrative Services and is charged with drawing contracts and receiving bids for vendor services. In addition, Forest Adminis tration receives bids and collects and disburses funds from timber sold on all state-owned properly, includ ing Dixon Memorial State Forest and other Commissionowned property.
During Fiscal Year 1994, the Georgia Forestry Commission expenditures totaled $41,533,588, which included $33,247,251 in state funds. The remaining amount was comprised of agency earnings and federal funds.
Commission earnings for Fiscal Year 1994 totaled $4,609,798. Contained in this amount is $1,763,730 in seedling sales from nurseries, $539,637 from state forests timber sales, $876,222 from county cost share for fire protection and $1,430,209 in earnings gener ated from services provided by the Commission to lo cal governments and the private sector. In addition, federal funds, including grants and program monies received on a state matching basis, totaled $3,676,539.
Fiscal Year 1994 produced an employee turnover rate of four percent, while 16 employees retired from service.

COMPUTER SERVICES
Forest Administration directs the computer services facility located at the Forestry Center in Macon. An IBM AS/400 system communicates directly with 17 remote sites throughout the State.
The system communicates directly with the Depart ment of Administrative Services in Atlanta in order to access payroll, accounting functions, audits, motor ve hicle and property information. Additionally, the sys tem encompasses numerous programs which provide a variety of information, including fire statistics, seedling sales, forest re source surveys, invento ries and budget infor mation.
Fiscal Year 1994 also saw the inclusion of a training room in the computer services facil ity in order to provide computer training for Commission personnel.
Warehouseman checks uniform inventory and other supplies in Commission's central warehouse.

CENTRAL WAREHOUSE
The Central Warehouse, located at the state head quarters in Macon, is operated under the direction of Forest Administration. Items that are utilized on a regu lar basis by the field units and various departments are purchased in bulk at a significant savings and stocked in the warehouse.
During Fiscal Year 1994, warehouse expenditures totaled $1,015,704, while maintaining an inventory amount of approximately $623,000,
PHYSICAL PLANT OPERATIONS
The Administration Department is responsible for building and grounds maintenance, as well as security at the Macon Forestry Center. Administration person nel assist the field offices with construction projects, as well as specialized services including installation, test ing and inspection of a Commission fuel dispensing facilities.

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State Revenue Allotments
Governor's Emergency Fund Federal Grants County Protective Units Other Income Total
INCOME BY ACTIVITY
Field Services Reforestation General Administration & Support Wood Energy Total
EXPENDITURES BY OBJECT CLASS
Personal Services Regular Operating Travel Motor Vehicle Equipment Purchases Equipment Purchases Computer Charges Real Estate Rent Telecommunications Per Diem, Fees, & Contracts Capital Outlay Ware County Grant Wood Energy Contractual Research
Total
Number of Employees

ADMINISTRATION 1993
INCOME AND EXPENDITURES

1994

1993

33,247,251

31,452,157

0 3,676,539
876,222 3,733,576 41,533,588

0 3,681,018
876,222 3,633,186 39,642,583

34,016,080 1,651,435 5,866,073 0
41,533,588

32,096,241 1,757,779 5,788,563 0
39,642,583

27,941,105 7,286,337 155,587 1,201,573 1,860,242 381,970 54,763 951,490 1,303,636 306,885 90,000 0 0
41,533,588
804

26,527,334 7,368,078 169,193 957,063 1,740,644 275,026 52,247 932,903 1,320,469 210,226 89,400 0 0
39,642,583
802

1992
30,706,258
25,000 2,712,248
876,222 3,055,103 37,374,831
31,504,993 1,825,010 4,044,828 0
37,374,831
26,445,904 5,917,127 117,095 903,206 1,513,683 192,175 52,245 973,084 1,021,808 109,716 65,000 0 63,788
37,374,831
802

John W. Mixon Director

Approximate Cost of Press Time and Paper Only: COST: $1078 QTY: 1000