2003 annual report

FOREST MANAGEMENT ......................................................................... 3 FOREST PROTECTION ............................................................................ 9 REFORESTATION ................................................................................... 13 FOREST PRODUCTS UTILIZATION, MARKETING, & DEVELOPMENT ............ 14 FOREST INFORMATION AND URBAN & COMMUNITY FORESTRY ................. 16 FOREST ADMINISTRATION ..................................................................... 19

Governor Sonny Perdue

P. W. Bryan, Jr. Thomasville

Jim L. Gillis, Jr., Chairman Soperton

James G. Fendig Savannah

Larry S. Walker Oglethorpe

H. G. Thomas New Louisville

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I am pleased to present the Georgia Forestry Commission 2003 Fiscal Year Annual Report. A report is required each year by the Georgia Code; however, we are also proud of the agency's accomplishments. Although the amount of the GFC budget appropriated from the General Assembly was reduced by $2.6 million from 2002, the agency still managed to provide an outstanding level of service.

We were fortunate - after a five-year drought - that Georgia

received adequate rainfall so that the year ended with the

lowest number of wildfires since 1957. GFC took the

WILLIAM R. LAZENBY

opportunity to provide additional training for firefighters and sent crews - as wells as individuals - to numerous fires

in Western states. Additonal GFC crews were sent to East

Texas to help locate parts of the crashed Columbia Space Shuttle. This group participated

in Incident Command System (ICS) training, which involves an on the job training (OJT)

component (a U.S. Forest Service ICS Team was assigned to coordinate cleanup of the

Pentagon after the 9-11 disaster).

The Georgia Forestry Commission continues to serve taxpayers and provide services and education pertaining to Georgia's forest resources.

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Forestry-related technical information and assistance is provided to Georgia's private forest landowners by the Forest Management Department to enhance their woodlands for economical, social and environmental benefits.
RURAL FORESTRY ASSISTANCE
Rural forestry assistance promotes healthy, vigorous forests capable of providing a renewable and dependable source of forest products for the state's economy. Approximately 6,971 forest landowners in Georgia received GFC forest management information during FY2003 addressing recommendations on 558,097 acres.
FOREST STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM (FSP)
The Stewardship Program completed its twelfth year and has a cumulative enrollment of 4270 landowners covering 1,117,642 acres in Georgia. The cornerstone of the Forest Stewardship Program is the Forest Stewardship Plan developed for each landowner in the program. These plans evaluate the landowner's timber, wildlife, soil, water, scenic and recreational resources and make specific recommendations on how these resources can be better managed and improved. A total of 145 plans covering 41,084 acres were written in FY2003 by GFC foresters. The unique cooperation between the public and private sectors has continued and strengthened this year as 36 consulting and industry foresters provided 292 plans on 69,860 acres for their clients.
The Program also seeks to recognize those landowners who have demonstrated their commitment to forest stewardship by doing an outstanding job of managing their property. The state total of those receiving this rare and distinguishing honor has risen to 171 covering 136,913 acres.

Forest Stewardship Program Accomplishments 2002-2003:
Three High Schools participated in the "Future Forest" Program resulting in approximately 46 acres of reforestation and 22 acres of wildlife habitat improvement.
Twenty five landowners planted 2645 acres of longleaf pine under the Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program (A partnership with USFWS, GFC, and the Longleaf Alliance).
Continued the Wildland-Urban Interface Pilot Project that combines Forest Stewardship, Wildfire Protection, and Urban & Community Forestry. The pilot areas are Camden and White Counties.
Maintained the "Virtual Forest" website to show landowners how different forest stands should be managed.
Held a GROWS (Georgia Recognizes Our Woodland Stewards) Landowners Conference in Savannah, Georgia.
Provided assistance to the GA Envirothon and Regional FFA Field Days.
COST SHARE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS
The Commission is the technical agency responsible for determining specifications necessary for landowners to install a range of forest practices under three different cost share incentive programs administered by the Farm Services Agency (FSA). An additional program introduced in 1992 is administered by Georgia Forestry Commission with assistance from FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Department of Natural Resources, and U. S. Forest Service.
The incentive programs include:

Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP) FLEP was created within the 2002 Farm Bill. FLEP

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is intended to be a costshare program to provide incentives to landowners for implementing multiple use practices on their forest land.
Stewardship Incentive Program (SIP) - This federal program is the companion to FSP. Its purpose is to promote multiple resource management practices as identified within a Landowner Forest Stewardship Plan. Seven practices are available under SIP. The Commission serviced 95 SIP requests on 34,758 acres. SIP was replaced in the 2002 Farm Bill by the Forest Land Enhancement Program.
Forestry Incentive Program (FIP) - The purpose of FIP is the optimum production of wood fiber products. Since its inception in 1975, FIP has been responsible for tree planting on 440,988 acres in Georgia. GFC accomplishments in FIP for the fiscal year involved preparation of 398 forest management plans which covered 15,122 acres. FIP was replaced in the 2002 Farm Bill by the Forest Land Enhancement Program.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) - The Conservation Reserve Program, primarily created to provide soil erosion protection and crop base reduction, was expanded to improve wildlife habitat. Commission foresters provided technical assistance in preparing 163 tree planting plans which covered 5,971 acres. In Georgia, 28,787 acres of trees were planted with CRP funds.
REGENERATION
Georgia planted 230,074 acres that were artificially regenerated with both hardwood and pine seedlings during the 20022003 planting season. This included 123,070 acres on private lands, 106,350 acres on forest industry lands, and 454 acres on government lands. Georgia has led the south in tree planting for the past 20 consecutive years. Based on the survey findings, some 300 million seedlings are produced by private and public nurseries with the state.
The Commission still maintains its list of recommended site preparation, tree planting and herbicide vendors for landowners seeking those

services. This listing can be found at the GFC website: www.gfc.state.ga.us.
FOREST HEALTH
The Forest Health Unit provided statewide leadership and guidance to GFC foresters and rangers on many forest health related issues. The southern pine beetle continued to decline after a three-year record high. Statewide, 1,910 individual forest health assists were provided to landowners. Forest health recommendations were incorporated into 847 forest management plans. Insect and disease advice was given to landowners on 60,390 acres.
The gypsy moth trapping program placed 5,600 traps across the state. Five moths were caught in three counties. These areas will be intensively trapped next year to determine if there is an active infestation.
The Unit also participated in several federally funded projects that dealt with exotic plant pests, forest fuel prediction, and the sudden oak death fungus.
FOREST WATER QUALITY
The Commission has a contract with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division (GAEPD) to coordinate the state's forestry water quality program. The major responsibilities include Best Management Practices (BMP) education in an effort to minimize erosion and sedimentation from all silvicultural practices; complaint investigation and remediation; and BMP monitoring.
During the year, 132 BMP talks were given to over 3,692 people. Six of the talks were presented to 226 loggers and foresters participating in the American Forest and Paper Association sponsored Sustainable Forestry Initiative's Master Timber Harvesters' Program. Participants are able to interact with various experts speaking on the sustainable forest initiative, silviculture, wildlife habitat, endangered species, wetlands, water quality, harvest planning, business management, OSHA rules, workers' compensation, and safety management. This educational program

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has been in place since December 1995, and as of July 2003, approximately 2,901 persons have completed the three day course and maintained their MTH status. In order to maintain their status, participants are required to complete eight hours of continuing logger education classes every two years. The GFC provided BMP education concentrating on stream crossing compliance and TMDLs at 20 continuing logger education classes during the year. Most of the major timber companies now require loggers to attend these MTH workshops in order to deliver wood to their yards. The GFC maintains a list of MTH timber buyers on its web site and a link to the UGA MTH list of all participants. The BMP manual is also on the web site.

The GFC monitored a sample of both pre-suppression and wildfire firebreaks for BMPs during the year. Results indicate that more BMP water bars are needed to reduce erosion impacts.
In its 2002 biennial report, the GAEPD identified 800+ water quality impaired stream segments in the state and is under a federal court consent order that requires well over 1,100 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for various pollutants to be developed by 2004 to improve conditions in these streams. It has been estimated that the fish communities (biota) in 17% (197) of these segments are impaired due to nonpoint sources of pollution, which includes silvicultural operations.

The department received 68 water quality complaints related to forestry practices that were investigated and mediated by Commission personnel. Documentation has been received on 54 of those which nine were considered no problems. 26 have been resolved and 17 remain pending. Three have been turned over to the appropriate regulatory agencies.
Sample timber sale contracts and invitations to bid, which include BMP language, are available at all GFC offices.
In an effort to determine if our educational efforts are effective, the GFC completed the fourth statewide BMP implementation survey in 2002. Data was collected on 420 randomly selected sites to measure BMP implementation rates. Those sites had to have experienced forestry activities within the past two years, preferably within the last six months. By ownership, 66% of the sites were on non-industrial private forest (NIPF) land, 26% were on forest industry land, and 8% were on public land. Sites covered all geographic regions of the state. A report was made available January 2003 showing that of the 49,622 acres evaluated, 99.1% were in compliance with BMPs and of the 12,200 individual BMPs evaluated, 86% of them were implemented. During the previous 1998 survey, 98% of the 43,906 acres evaluated were in compliance with BMPs. More detailed information can be obtained by calling 1-800-GA TREES. Another survey is planned for 2004.

The GAEPD has contracted with many of the Regional Development Councils to write TMDL Implementation Plans to meet the TMDL requirements and is expecting the GFC to assist in the development of the forestry component for those plans. According to the federal requirements and proposals, there has to be "reasonable assurance" that BMPs will be implemented in order to meet the TMDL requirements. This could involve permits, written silvicultural plans, plan reviews, performance bonds, or BMP monitoring of every forestry operation within the watershed of a listed stream for a period of 5 years or until the stream is evaluated again during the next GAEPD River Basin monitoring cycle and at that time is either deleted from or kept on the list for another five years.
The GFC developed a forestry action template with the endorsement of the GFA Environmental Committee. In the plan, the GFC proposed to conduct monthly BMP assurance monitoring of active forestry operations instead of the permit, harvest plan, performance bond, and review process. Once the plan is developed, it must be submitted to the USEPA and put out for public comment. Afterward, the plan must be approved by the federal court and if approved becomes a part of the federal consent order.
Starting January 2003, the GFC began conducting a statewide BMP Assurance Monitoring Project targeting 63 sediment impaired TMDL watersheds identified by GAEPD as needing sediment reductions.

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Active sites are identified by air, on the ground observations, county records, and by requests. Logger, timber buyer, landowner, and receiving mills information is identified. With landowner permission, GFC personnel conduct an initial BMP audit to provide any needed advice to prevent problems. A final examination is conducted once the operation is completed. There were approximately 269 site inspections made. Results indicate that a 10-15% increase in BMP implementation rate was achieved in the final inspection. This clearly demonstrates a pro-active approach of providing "reasonable assurance" that BMPs are being implemented.
The GFC has been involved in the State River Basin Planning effort. The plans include FIA (Forest Inventory and Analysis) data, BMP implementation rates, and conservation and protection plans for implementation measures. Plans completed so far include Chattahoochee, Flint, Savannah, Ogeechee, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Oconee, Ochlockonee, Satilla, St. Marys, and Suwannee River Basins. During the year, the Ocmulgee and Altamaha River Basin draft plans were completed and the Oconee updated. The Tennessee River Basin is scheduled next.
The GFC is a partner with the Upper Ocmulgee River Resource Conservation and Development Council and has been involved in a streambank revetment (stabilization) demonstration project along the Etowah River adjacent to the Hightower Educational Forest in Dawsonville, GA. The streambank of the river was experiencing tremendous erosion and sloughing into the river resulting in the main channel moving away from the City of Dawsonville's water supply intake. The revetment project will utilize two methods using natural materials: tree stems and tops and log cribs to shore the bank up and divert the channel back toward the water intake.
The GFC is a partner in the USFS Large-scale Watershed Initiative on the Chattooga and Conasauga Rivers in Georgia. Through federal grants, the GFC is funding the writing of a TMDL Implementation Plan for eight streams listed for sediment and fecal coliform impairment in the Chattooga Basin and a private landowner riparian buffer demonstration also in the Chattooga.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
The Commission provides environmental impact analysis of forestlands affected by proposed Department of Transportation (DOT) road construction. These assessments are necessary to ensure no adverse impact will result from the road construction; however, if adverse impact is imminent, mitigation between DOT and forest landowners is necessary. GFC involvement includes detailed information on affected timber, yard and urban trees, wetlands, watersheds, trees of historical or cultural importance, and endangered plants and animals. In FY2003, there were 116 assessments conducted by the Commission for DOT.
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 timber cruising to determine wood volumes, timber marking, advertising, sending out bid invitations, conducting bid openings, negotiating terms, and awarding contracts to successful bidders.
In FY2003, there were 36 timber sales on other state agency lands which involved 214,911 tons of pine pulpwood, 16,272 tons of hardwood pulpwood, 14,618 tons of pine chip-n-saw, 35,424 tons of pine sawtimber, and 2,593 tons of hardwood sawtimber, all with a total value of $ 3.49 million to the state.
STATE FOREST LAND MANAGEMENT
The Commission owns or manages several properties around the state. These lands incorporate forest stewardship (multiple resource) management, including forest products, wildlife, recreation, soil and water conservation, aesthetics, historical and cultural resources. Forest Stewardship Plans on these lands detail the various activities that occur to benefit the state and general public economically, socially, and environmentally. The properties include:
Dixon Memorial State Forest The largest of GFC holding (35,708 acres), the Dixon Memorial State

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Forest is located near Waycross, Georgia. It is a very bio-diverse forest including approximately 15,000 acres of the Okefenokee Swamp. Dixon has been managed by the Commission since 1938. Accomplishments for FY2003 include one total harvest timber sale involving (four) planted pine stands totaling 168.55 acres and 42 years of age. Volumes and values of wood in the timber sale were as follows: 5,035 cords of pine timber (including pulpwood, chip-n-saw and poles), for a total of $416,419.36. Timber stand improvement thinnings were conducted on nine stands of planted pines totaling 556.44 acres. These thinnings totaled 15,542.93 tons of pine timber and generated approximately $302,378. Other accomplishments include 195.4 acres of tree planting, 196.9 miles of firebreak maintenance, 73.74 miles of road and ditch maintenance, and over 1,674.48 acres of prescribed burns. Revenues received through the sale of various forest products at Dixon totaled $722,795.66. Expenses amounted to $150,100.88 resulting in approximately $572,694.78 in net revenues.

planting on 158 acres. Seedling survival surveys were performed on 105 acres. Prescribed burning was performed on 19 stands totaling 428 acres. Maintenance and construction of access facilities included: 24.9 miles of road grading, applying gravel to 2.8 miles of roads, installation of eight signs, installation of two gates, repair of three gates, and mowing of 33.6 miles of roadsides.
The Forest and/or staff were host to 247 persons attending a total of 11 natural resource educational programs. Approximately 120 contacts were made during FY2003 and 300 pieces of literature were distributed. The recreational trail program, which is a cooperative effort of Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division and the Georgia Forestry Commission, provided 26 miles of horse and bicycle trails for public use. In addition to the many hunters and fishermen using the Forest, an estimated 4,900 persons used the horse and bike trail network during the year.

The Herty Building at the Forest was a host to over 1,300 persons attending a total of 27 natural resources educational programs.
Dawson Forest - Dawson Forest, a 10,130 acre forest located in Dawson County, is owned by the City of Atlanta and managed by the Georgia Forestry Commission. Forest management activities for FY2003 include the administration of three timber salvage contracts and the completion of one Select Harvest Contract involving a total of 301 acres. Timber harvest amounts totaled 3,718 tons of pine pulpwood, 6,239 tons of pine sawtimber, 1,267 tons of hardwood pulpwood and 1,461 tons of hardwood sawtimber. Harvest activities occurred on 327 acres during the year with 119 inspections made of the harvest operations. Best management practices were applied to the harvest areas and to roads accessing these areas by Commission personnel following timber harvests. They involved the harrowing and seeding of a total of 12 acres of bare soil, including 20 log decks and over one mile of timber haul road.
Forest regeneration activities included 87 acres of site preparation to control unwanted vegetation and tree

Paulding Forest - The 10,000 acre Paulding Forest in Paulding County is also owned by the City of Atlanta, but managed by the GFC. Forest management activities for FY2003 include the administration of one timber sale and one operatorselect harvest contract. Amounts of wood harvested and yet to harvest in the two timber harvest contracts include: 10,488 tons of pine pulpwood, 7125 tons of pine sawtimber, 810 tons of hardwood pulpwood and 2025 tons of hardwood sawtimber. The area of actual timber harvest that occurred during the year totaled 231 acres with 17 inspections made of the harvests.
Forest regeneration activities included 128 acres of tree planting. Improved loblolly pine, Montaine variety of longleaf pine and black oak seedlings were all used in reforestation efforts. Seedling survival surveys were performed on 76 acres. Prescribed burning was performed on two stands totaling 70 acres.
Other related activities included: 18,000 feet of property boundaries surveyed and flagged; 15,000 feet of property line painted; installation of one new gate; grading of 1.7 miles of roads; application of

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gravel to 1.5 miles of roads; installation of ten signs; and distribution of 135 pieces of literature to recreational users of the Forest.
GEORGIA'S FOREST INVENTORY/FIA The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program in Georgia has accomplished the measurement and/or re-measurement of 1,012 forested and non-forested plots in FY 2003. These plots were collected by five certified crews until mid April when two additional crews hired in January begin collecting data as stand alone crews. The two additional crews were needed to maintain production goals agreed upon with the USDA Forest Service. Eighty-six of the plots were co-located Phase 2/Phase 3 plots, which require a greater collection of data involving forest health criteria.
Georgia's panel 3 (12%) collection was completed in mid-October 2002. Georgia panels 4 & 5 were combined for a 24% sample which also began in mid-October.
As of June 30, 2003 Georgia is approximately 62% complete on combined panels 4 & 5. Projected completion date is January 2004.
Nine new FIA Foresters were certified and began collecting data during FY 2003. Certification provides for greater accuracy and consistency in field data collection.
Two Southern State FIA Coordinators' meetings were held in FY 2003: (1) St. Augustine, Florida on October 9 & 10 and (2) Asheville, North Carolina on April 30 & May 1.
A USDA Forest Service FIA Orientation and Field training session was attended by Chris Dowdy, Dan Chappell, Kent Johnson, Brent Bryant and Brian Allen in Oak Ridge, TN from May 5 thru May 15, 2003.
The weeks of March 17 thru March 28, 2003 were used to remeasure plots within the Okefenokee Swamp in southeast

Georgia. Two USDA Forest Service and 10 GFC personnel were involved.
One general training/NaTally refresher course was conducted by USDA Forest Service personnel at the Brender Forest on November 20 & 21, 2002. Ten of the current FIA Foresters and Coordinator attended.
Annual Regional Phase 2/Phase 3 Indicator Training was attended by all GFC FIA foresters and state coordinator at two locations during FY 03. Five of the seven crews including coordinator traveled to Lake Point State Park in Eufaula, AL for recertification June 10 thru 12. This was a joint training with Alabama and Florida FIA crews. Three of the five crews were only trained in Crowns as the other two crews were responsible for collected DWM and Soils data across the entire state. They were also trained in Crowns to collect all P-2/P3 data in their own work unit. The remaining two crews from North Georgia and coordinator attended Crowns only certification in Gainesville, GA. June 19, 2003.
Georgia's 3 panel report (Panels 1, 2 & 7) were verified and posted to the Southern Research Station (SRS) web page December 6, 2002. Due to Coefficient of Variations standards and thus potentially high sampling error; Growth, Removals and Mortality figures were not published and will likely not be made available until ALL plots in cycle 4 are measured/remeasured.
Other southern states currently involved with the annual FIA inventory process include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Data processing under FIA involves the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station in Asheville, NC, Starkeville, MS and the new headquarters in Knoxville, TN. In addition, quality control is directed through the USDA Forest Service in coordination with the states.

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Georgia experienced 4,288 wildland fires in fiscal year 2003 burning 11,890 acres for an average sized fire of 2.77 acres. There were 3,333 structures with damages caused by wildfire.
WESTERN FIRE FIGHTING CREWS
The Georgia Forestry Commission sends firefighting personnel to western states during summer months to assist with large wildfire incidents. The fire fighters sent are well trained and certified to fight fires on large incidents. In fiscal year 2002/03, the Georgia Forestry Commission sent two crews to western states during the summer months to assist with large wildfire incidents. In addition to these crews, some 37 individuals or "single resources" were sent to help in the management of these incidents.
The crews and individuals were assigned to fires in Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico and South Dakota.
Georgia Forestry Commission fire fighters are sent only when the fire danger in Georgia is minimal.

COLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE RECOVERY
On February 1, 2003, the Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy occurred. The shuttle wreckage and debris were scattered over a wide range in East Texas. The Georgia Forestry Commission responded to a request from the U.S. Forest Service for crews to aid in the search for shuttle debris. In response to the request, the GFC began mobilizing crews for two-week deployment to Texas.
Since this was not a fire assignment, some of the red card qualifications were lifted which allowed more GFC employees to volunteer.
From February until the end of April 2003, the GFC deployed five crews and eleven single resources. A total of 93 GFC employees were involved.
COMMUNICATIONS
The Georgia Forestry Commission's statewide radio communications system consists of 56 repeaters strategically placed throughout the state. Reliable

TEN-YEAR FIRE SUMMARY

Fiscal Year
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

No. of Acres Average Fires Burned Size

10,269 5,913
10,668 7,224 6,579
11,004 11,688
8,392 10,369
4,288

36,726 18,977 40,053 22,997 36,660 47,370 71,595 41,574 45,332 11,890

3.57 3.21 3.75 3.18 5.57 4.30 6.13 4.95 4.37 2.77

Ten Year Average

8,639 37,317

3.93

Lightning 5%
Children 4%
Incendiary 18%

FIRES BY CAUSE

Machine Use 11%

Smoking 3%
Railroad 3%
Miscellaneous 6%

Campfire 1%

Debris Burning 49%

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communications is vital for the safety of our fire fighters as well as the rapid notification, dispatch and suppression of wild land fires.
The GFC is looking ahead in communications and will further evaluate such technologies as Voice Over Internet Protocol or VoIP. The current VHF high band system works well in the type of environment our Forest Rangers are in, but it does require maintenance and support. With state funding an issue, newer technology that is not as expensive to maintain is being evaluated.
FIRE USE ASSISTANCE

The Georgia Forestry Commission offers hands-on assistance with prescribed burning assistance by offering personnel, equipment, and technical advice to assist Georgia's citizens with outdoor burning activities. There were 3,062 landowners who received burning assistance on a total of 99,105 acres.
Pre-suppression firebreak plowing is one of the most requested services offered by the Forestry Commission. This year, 20,859 miles of firebreaks were plowed or harrowed for 6,754 landowners. Presuppression firebreaks are used for containment of a prescribed fire unit or simply for protection from wildfire.

Fire plays an important role in resource management for Georgia homeowners, farmers, land managers, and foresters when trying to accomplish their diverse goals. The Georgia Forestry Commission issued 264,397 permits this year via phone calls to county units, and 6,203 online permits through our new online burn authorization system. Permits are issued for all types of outdoor burning operations to include agricultural, land clearing, burning of yard debris, and prescribed burning.
Prescribed burning of forestland is used to reduce heavy accumulations of forest fuels reducing the chance of devastating wildfires. Prescribed fire is also used to maintain certain wildlife habitats, site preparation for reforestation activities, and to reduce competition from undesired understory vegetation. This year the Forestry Commission issued 15,158 permits for forest resources management prescribed burns involving more than 706,901 acres
There were 13,943 permits issued for burning debris from land clearing operations such as road and power line right-of-ways, and clearing construction sites for business and homes.
Although a permit is not required by Georgia's farmers for agricultural practices such as burning crop residue, pastures, overgrown fields, or clearing off land for new crop/pasture land, they must notify the Georgia Forestry Commission prior to burning. The Georgia Forestry Commission answered 11,744 calls resulting in 209,494 acres of agricultural burning.

Fire Use Assistance by the Georgia Forestry Commission not only helps Georgia's landowners reach their management goals and objectives; it also helps in the prevention of catastrophic wildland fire.
Hands-on assistance for burning operations and firebreak plowing provides our best direct opportunity for wildfire prevention and educating landowners on fire use.
PRESCRIBED FIRE CERTIFICATION
The Prescribed Fire Act of 1992 allows the Georgia Forestry Commission to certify prescribed burn managers. This is accomplished through a one day training session followed by a comprehensive test. Colleges or other institutions of higher learning host most of the sessions.
During the year, prescribed burn practitioners attended six certification sessions conducted throughout the State. These six sessions successfully certified 176 landowners/burn practitioners.
This program insures a basic level of knowledge for those who practice prescribed burning in Georgia, thus maximizing accomplishments and minimizing problems associated with fire and smoke.
FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT
The Forest Protection Department is responsible for writing specs for new equipment purchased for

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wildland firefighting. Continual efforts are made to A Pointforecast system was added to our system to

look for equipment of high standards to meet our provide automatic hourly weather and smoke

unique needs.

management forecasts for specific points in Georgia.

This year different types of equipment have been purchased to help us accomplish our mission.
CRAWLERS 7 - Dressta TD-9, 95HP 3 - CAT D5N, 115 HP
ENGINES 13 - Type 7 Engines
TRUCK/TRACTORS 7 Sterling LT9513

FABRICATION SHOP
During fiscal year 2003, the Fabrication Shop manufactured and constructed thirty custom tanks for the Rural Fire Defense Program. Thirty-one fire plows were refurbished in addition to the fabrication of ten new plows. Maintenance repairs were performed on twenty-six V-Blades and five others were built. Forty firebreak harrows were repaired for the districts, as well as the complete overhaul and construction of five new harrows. The Paint Shop completed 155 projects, including fire truck tanks, fire plows, and tractors.
AIR OPERATIONS

TRANSPORTS 3 Peterbilt Model 3307
WEATHER FORECASTING
The weather office continues to improve on the weather forecasts and fire danger information. In this fiscal year, the weather office used the new MRF MOS data from NWS as the basis of our 7-day forecasts instead of the old MRF MOS data, which was discontinued by NWS. In addition, Wind Chill Factor was added in our 3-day-5-period weather forecast.
Weather Station Network: A new station was added at Flint River Nursery. Moreover, all weather stations, including the new station, have satellite transmission capabilities. In addition, the weather stations at Dallas and Waycross were moved to better-exposed sites. At the same time, we began to have a maintenance contract with Bureau of Land Management on all of our weather stations. All of this will help us provide better accurate and timely weather and fire danger information for the public.

The Georgia Forestry Commission operated 21 airplanes and three helicopters in fiscal year 2003. There was a total of 6,422.2 hours flown in support of the forestry mission. We conducted those operations with just 10 full time pilots and 24 part time pilots.
Georgia Forestry Commission's airplanes accumulated 5,671.3 flight hours for 2002-2003. The contract air patrol vendors flew a total of 643 hours in Districts 1 and 4. Of those totals, 231 were dedicated to insect and disease control. The helicopters flew 107 hours in support of fire suppression.
The airplane pilots detected 575 wildfires and worked on 669 wildfires with ground crews. They confirmed 27,331 controlled burns and reported 7,051 other controlled burns.
RURAL FIRE DEFENSE PROGRAM
Increased wildfire occurrence along with urban and rural growth continues to prompt service requests from fire departments statewide. For fiscal year 2003, a total of 57 work orders were processed. There were 11 fire knockers built and seven front mount pumpers. A total of nine fire knockers were refurbished. In addition, there were 14, Type 6 engines fabricated for fire departments.

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The number of units in operation now totals 1,263 pieces of equipment located at 722 fire stations in 141 counties. Additional program highlights include:
Rural Fire Defense Advisory Board
15 Basic Fire Fighter's training courses were taught to fire departments through the VFA grant
Burn Building classes sponsored
"Helping Hands" program continued to service the Wildland PPE needs of fire departments and industry cooperators
Awarded 64 grants to counties under a 50/50 matching formula generating $280,000 worth of PPE purchases for Rural Fire Departments

purchasing Smokey Bear items along with other educational materials for schools, fairs, expos and community festivals.
Grant funding has also been utilized for fire prevention work in the top 32 wildfire occurrence counties in Georgia. These are counties that experience 100 or more wildfires per year. Intentions are to reduce the number of wildfires in these counties by at least 10%.
In fiscal year 2003, the Georgia Forestry Commission provided 1,141 fire prevention programs to schools and other civic functions.

FIRE PREVENTION
The Georgia Forestry Commission has nine trained fire prevention specialists available for mobilization to areas in Georgia that are experiencing high fire danger. These specialists form teams that concentrate on educating the public on the dangers of improper fire use during high fire danger periods.
The Georgia Forestry Commission has also targeted the adult audience in Georgia as well as children for fire prevention efforts. Federal grant funding has assisted in fire prevention. Grants are assisting in general statewide fire prevention activities for
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NURSERIES

TREE IMPROVEMENT

Seedling sales declined again in FY03 for the third consecutive year. A sluggish economy, low stumpage prices, continuing drought, and diminishing Conservation Reserve Program funding all contributed to a slow tree planting season. The trend has been felt throughout the southeast, at private, industry, and state nurseries.
Nonetheless, Georgia Forestry Commission nurseries had a busy and productive year. The two GFC nurseries served over 3600 customers by filling more than 6200 orders. Enough GFC seedlings were sold to reforest 25,000 acres of land. This accounts for 11 percent of all the trees planted in Georgia and more than 20 percent of the trees planted on private, nonindustrial property.
SEED ORCHARDS
FY 2003 total seed yields were down from the previous year with 5.1 tons cleaned seed collected. Flint River Seed Orchard produced 1,834 pounds of Premium Slash and Improved Loblolly, and 1,740 pounds of hardwood seeds. Arrowhead Seed Orchard collected 147 pounds of Loblolly Rust Resistant, and 1,244 pounds of hardwood seeds. County unit personnel supplied 4,143 pounds of hardwood seeds. All seeds collected by GFC personnel are sent to the seed conditioning facility in Macon where they are cleaned and conditioned for immediate planting or placed in cold storage for future use.

In both loblolly and slash pines, the breeding of the 3rd generation populations has commenced. In this cycle the Georgia Forestry Commission will be employing a new technique that will improve the efficiency of tree breeding. In the past, cuttings from selected trees were grafted onto one-year old trees in a clonebank. The grafted trees must then reach sexual maturity so that flowering and pollination can take place a period that may last 8 to 10 years. With a new technique called "top-grafting," flowering can occur within 1 to 3 years. Instead of grafting on young seedlings, top-grafting uses large, sexually mature trees as grafting stock. This means a shorter time to flowering and a faster breeding cycle. The technique was developed in the industry/university tree improvement cooperatives that the Georgia Forestry Commission participates in. Passing the benefits of the latest forestry practices to the private landowner is a major objective of the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Pine and hardwood seed production at Arrowhead and Flint River Seed Orchards is progressing as expected. Reduced seedling sales, as the industry is now experiencing, is allowing for a buildup of seed supplies. With improved genetic material now available from the North Carolina State University Tree Improvement Cooperative, the establishment of a 3rd cycle Loblolly orchard at Flint River has begun.

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Forest Products Utilization, Marketing and Development (FPUM&D) provides technical assistance to Georgia's forest products community to ensure that the industry remains a viable competitor in the global marketplace while contributing to the state's economic well being.
Primary objectives include encouraging the efficient use of wood in the manufacturing process. Wood users are also assisted with measures of efficiency in their mill operations by providing data and factual information regarding the proper uses of wood to help ensure a long and reliable life span. The latest technical information on manufacturing of wood products, and collecting, compiling, analyzing, and disseminating market, residue, and resource data is also provided. The overall goals are to enhance the state's economy through forest products development and to extend the state's timber supply by encouraging a more efficient use of the wood resource.
The department cooperated with Georgia Tech's Economic Development Institute to publish the "Economic Benefits of the Forestry Industry in Georgia: 2002". According to the report Forestry has a $25.3 billion annual impact to Georgia's economy and provides employment to over 70,000 Georgians.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Rural development activities relate to quality of life issues as well as job creation in rural areas of the state as part of the overall effort to maintain a sustainable economy. This allows growth, income creation, and a continuation of viable economic activities, including production from the forest products industry. Georgia's commercial forests cover approximately 24 million acres of a total land base of nearly 37 million acres. The continued development of the state's forest resource base as an income generator is a high priority. A new economic impact model for forestry was developed in cooperation with Georgia Tech's

Economic Development Institute. The new model provides a greater insight into the importance of forestry to the State's economy. Plans are in place to update the model on an annual basis.
Issues concerning fiber supply continue to be 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 continues to function in the area of identifying and increasing wood fiber supply potential in Georgia. Research proposals submitted by academia are evaluated with state and industry input to identify projects that will help to maintain the global competitiveness of the pulp and paper industry in Georgia.
Project managers in the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism were assisted during the year with forestry expertise in answering forest product trade leads and resource related questions. The Commission also worked with local economic developers in attempts to attract industry to their counties. In Cooperation with the Southern Research Station updated forest resource and residue reports are available for downloading on the Internet. For FY 2003 new investment in Georgia's forest products industry totaled $57.5 million and created 939 new jobs. Business expansions in the forest products sector totaled $65.9 million and created an additional 422 jobs helping to cushion the impact of numerous industry closures.
The Commission continues to participate as an active member of the Economic Development Committee of the Southern Group of State Foresters. The thirteen southern state forestry agencies along with the US Forest Service work jointly on sustainable development of the region's forest resource.

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UTILIZATION AND MARKETING
The department coordinates the Timber Products Output study updates in conjunction with the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station. Information obtained by the studies are used in updating the Timber Products Output Report and the Georgia's Wood-Using Industries and Forest Products Marketing Directory. Both publications are posted on the department web page. In FY 2003 the department completed the update for the 2001 Timber Products Output Report and published the 2003 edition of Georgia's Wood-Using Industries and Forest Products Marketing Directory. Requests for copies of the publications were received from all over the United States and several foreign countries. Internet downloads of the directory averaged over 1,800 per month.
Technical information requests were serviced by the department involving a broad range of information, statistics, and other services provided in the area of wood products and usage. Areas of assistance included lumber drying, pine straw, international trade, biomass energy, equipment selection, and sources of wood supply for various manufactured articles and specialty forest products.

The department continues to be active as an advisor to Georgia Tech's Advanced Wood Products Laboratory and a member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association. Additionally the department represents the Commission as a member of the Energy and the Environment Committee hosted by the State Energy Office and actively participates in the Georgia Industrial and Technological Partnership.
G E O R G I A S TAT E F O R E S T E R S MARKETING TASK FORCE
The Georgia State Forester's Marketing Task Force was initiated during the past fiscal year. Composed of private non-industrial landowners, representatives of forest industry, consulting foresters, and academic institutions the task force was charged with examining what Georgia's State agencies and educational institutions are doing and can do in the to support the forestry community in the State. Two reports have been initiated and made available to the general assembly.

Foreign delegations from several nations including The Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg were hosted in the fiscal year. Sites visited included primary and secondary wood processors, along with wholesalers, retailers, building supply operations, construction sites and lumber quality control/grading agencies.

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EDUCATIONAL FORESTS
The Georgia Forestry Commission's three Educational Forests provided instructional and recreational opportunities to over 10,000 people. The three Forest Coordinators also provided outreach presentations to local schools and communities. Spirit Creek Educational Forest hired a full time intern from the Student Conservation Association for a year beginning January 2003. Funding was provided by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Columbia County Board of Education, Briar Creek Soil and Water Conservation District, and the CSR Resource Conservation & Development Council.
GEORGIA FORESTS FOREVER PROGRAM
The Georgia Forests Forever program was shared with 15,094 students while visiting 92 schools during the 2002-2003 school year. The traveling classroom incorporates 12 computer stations and a forest mural to teach students about the importance of Georgia's forest resources. Teachers continue to request repeat visits.

exhibits, displays, and community services. The North Georgia Mountain Fair, the Georgia National Fair, and the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo are major exhibit arenas to distribute information to the public about wildfire prevention and forestry. Cooperation and funding from Fire Protection and Forest Stewardship programs provided three professional exhibit graphics for the 2003 Sunbelt Agricultural Expo.
A week-long, residential, summer workshop was provided to K-12 teachers at the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center in Newton, Georgia. Known as the GENIE (Georgia Environmental Network In Education) Institute the workshop provided Georgia teachers an opportunity to increase their content knowledge and awareness of Georgia's natural resources and integrate what they learned into the classroom. The workshop was a cooperative effort with the University of Georgia's Warnell School of Forest Resources and the Jones Ecological Research Center. Major funding was provided by an Eisenhower Higher Education grant applied for by the School of Forest Resources and significant inkind resources were provided by the Jones Center.

The guestbook registered 78 entries to the Howard E. Bennett Forestry Museum located in Macon at the Georgia Forestry Commission headquarters. The museum is also enjoyed by audiences attending meetings and training at the nearby auditorium. Additional tree identification signage was placed in the arboretum.

OTHER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Rangers and Foresters provided information and education about wildfire prevention and forestry in Georgia through educational presentations, programs,

The Georgia Forestry Commission hosted the State FFA (Future Farmers of America) Forestry Career Development Event (CDE). This event is administered by the Georgia Department of Education's Vocational Agricultural Department. Hundreds of high school students test their knowledge and skills in 11 forestry events. The Commission also provided publicity coverage for the event.

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URBAN FORESTRY

officials, representatives of numerous veterans'

organizations, and the general public. Fifth grade

The Urban & Community Forestry (U&CF) Program student, Caitlyn Bass, received the State Arbor Day

provides communities with resources to help citizens Poster Contest Award.

become more aware and appreciative of the benefits

of a healthy and sustainable urban and community Arbor Day in Georgia: Ideas, Materials, and

forest. In 2003, the Urban & Community Forestry Resources was developed to help teachers implement

Program continued to offer new workshops and Arbor Day programs. The packet contained

educational opportunities for foresters, citizens and informational materials, tips for organizingArbor Day

partners.

events, and Urban Forestry Activity Books for

children; 1,000 copies were distributed throughout

To encourage citizen involvement in building long- the state. In addition, Tim Womick presented the Trail

term and sustainable urban forestry programs in their of Trees Program in Rome, Sandy Springs and

communities, the U&CF Grant Assistance Program Decatur schools. He was in Rome for several days

provided federal cost-share funding for 38 of school and city activities including Environmental

community-based projects in 2003. An additional Science Fair, science think tanks, auditorium

$5,000 was awarded for a large scale watershed presentations, Arbor Day Reception, tree plantings,

project. The 2003 Program focus was again the Five- Rome City Commission meeting, and tour of Rome

Year Plan for Georgia's Urban & Community Forest. Environmental Center. Thursday, he worked with

A total of $570,000 was allocated. Recipients Keep Sandy Springs/N. Fulton Beautiful and 2

matched this with $440,269 in cash, and $448,154 in schools in that area. Arbor Day brought him to

in-kind services and contributions. Five grant writing Fernbank Science Center in DeKalb County with

workshops were held in Atlanta, Dalton, Jefferson Georgia's first lady Mrs. Perdue. She skillfully read

and Brunswick. The Atlanta workshop was Dr. Seuss's eloquent but cautionary tale "The Lorax"

successful at reaching a new, diverse audience.

to children there. Mrs. Perdue, the story, along with

Tim's dynamic and interactive presentation made it

The Commission continued to promote the Georgia an Arbor Day to remember. Through the week more

Model Urban Forest Book and completed a than 1,600 students, teachers, parents, city leaders,

Demonstration Project with USDA Forest Service and museum employees enjoyed Tim's message about

funds. The project provided Georgia's citizens and Arbor Day.

local officials with a CD and brochure to organize

community support for the urban forest and plan for The Tree Ordinance Development Guidebook was

development with green infrastructure in mind. The distributed to help communities with the revision of

Demonstration Project involved partnerships with an existing or development of a new tree ordinance.

Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, Arabia Mountain In addition the Guidebook was made available to

Heritage Area, Park Pride and Trees Atlanta and was download from the Georgia Forestry Commission

presented at the national urban forestry conference in Web site.

San Antonio, Texas. The Atlanta Habitat for

Humanity component of the project was a finalist for The Cities of Social Circle, Vienna, Helen, and

a Magnolia Award from the Georgia Department of Buckhead received first-time Tree City USA

Community Affairs.

certifications for outstanding accomplishments.

Ninety-four communities received recertification, for

The Commission partnered with the Georgia a total of ninety-eight Tree City USAs in Georgia.

Department of Veterans Service to conduct the Fifteen cities received the Tree City USA Growth

statewide Arbor Day Ceremony at the Georgia Award. Athens-Clarke County, Columbus, Conyers,

Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Milledgeville. Trees Cornelia, Covington, Dalton, Dublin, Gainesville,

were planted in honor and in memory of Georgia's Jasper, Macon, Madison, Newborn, Savannah,

veterans. The Georgia National Guard Youth Snellville, and Thomaston were recognized for

Challenge Academy Color Guard performed for state 17

programs that demonstrated environmental improvement and higher levels of tree care.
The Commission worked with the Georgia Urban Forest Council (GUFC) to host several educational programs across the state, a Basic Tree Care Workshop Series by Dr. Kim Coder of the University of Georgia, and an annual conference and awards program in November, "Community Trees: Growing From Grassroots." More than 100 people attended the conference.
A Workshop series titled, "Practical Marketing Solutions: Reaching Your Community to Value Trees and Greenspace" was delivered in the cities of Atlanta, Dalton, Jefferson, and Brunswick by the Marketing Consultant of the Georgia Forestry Commission. The workshop was designed specifically to help create public awareness of the value of trees to residents, elected officials and resource managers. More than 200 participants have learned how to create a marketing plan and campaign that helps them better communicate with target audiences and the general public.
Operation GA Urban Tree Safety was created in response to community concerns about a five-year drought that ended with above-average rains, wind storms, and fallen trees. A telephone hotline and informational materials were created for homeowners. Urban foresters were also available for neighborhood associations to conduct reconnaissance of community trees. Georgia Emergency Management Association, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and The Home Depot partnered. Media coverage included the NBC Atlanta affiliate and several major newspapers, reaching more than 1.8 million people.
Commission foresters provided technical assistance with tree ordinance development, project management, cultural practices, educational activities, and partnership development to communities in Georgia.
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Forest Administration's primary function is to provide administrative support for all activities that the Georgia Forestry Commission engages in and to provide administrative resources to insure the established goals and objectives of the Commission can be met. These resources include budget development and control, coordination of income, fund disbursement, accounting functions, informational technology, procurement, processing of payroll, employee benefits, property control, and central warehouse operations.
Total expenditures of the Forestry Commission for July 1, 2002 June 30, 2003 (Fiscal Year 2003) were $45,661,273. This total included $35,460,912 in state appropriated funds, $4,435,313 in federal grants and program funds, and $5,951,562 in Commission earnings. The earnings were comprised of $971,712 in tree seedling sales from state nurseries, $676,999 in timber sales revenue from state forests sales, $882,096 in county cost share funds for wildfire protection services, and $645,292 generated from presuppression fire break plowing, co-op agreements and other services provided to local governments and the private sector.
The Main Office Complex is located on Riggins Mill Road in Macon, Georgia. The Personnel Office is located at the West Gate entrance to Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Field offices are comprised of 12 District Offices that provide administrative and supervisory support for ten (10) to seventeen (17) county offices each. Additionally, there are two tree seedling nursery sites that grow and provide pine and hardwood seedlings for sale to the public. The Forestry Commission employs a total of 719 personnel when fully staffed.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Forest Administration manages the Forestry Commission Information Technology section located

at the State Forestry Center in Macon. The Information Technology section is responsible for the Computer Services, Telecommunications, Data Communications and Geographic Information Systems activities of the Forestry Commission. This section operates a local area network and a wide area network with connectivity to the GTA Georgia Online Network in Atlanta, the Internet, each of the twelve District Offices, the Personnel Office in Atlanta and both Nurseries. There is also an IBM AS-400 minicomputer, which provides connectivity to the GTA Mainframe in Atlanta.
The Information Technology Section maintains a local area network at each of the twelve District Offices, the Personnel Office and the Nurseries, which provides access to local file and print services and connectivity to the wide area network. The forestry network is TCP/IP based and wide area network connectivity for the Commission is provided through the GTA Frame Relay backbone. The GTA Georgia Online Network provides the Forestry Commission with access to Peoplesoft (Phoenix), the GTA Intranet and the Internet. Forestry Commission connectivity to Peoplesoft is three tier utilizing the local file servers as the application server and the local print server for print distribution. Peoplesoft provides the financial and human resource systems for the Commission.
The Information Technology section maintains a public Internet web site and home page for the Commission. The Commission public web site provides general information about each of the Commission departments including Forest Protection, Forest Management, Reforestation and Information and Education. The public web site also provides fire danger weather reports and electronic versions of a number of Commission publications. Electronic mail services for the Commission are provided through a mail server located at the Central Office in Macon.

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The Information Technology section develops and maintains the application systems, which support the specialized information requirements of the Commission. These information systems include Seedling Sales, Forest Management, Fire Statistics, Warehouse Management as well as several other specialized applications. All application systems are currently provided on a World Wide Web based Secure Intranet.
The Information Technology section coordinates and supports the Geographic Information System activities of the Forestry Commission. They are responsible for the development of current and future strategies for GIS and GPS for the Commission. The Information Technology section is developing strategies for the use of GIS/GPS data in forest management activities and wildfire prevention and response. The Information Technology section is responsible for coordination of all IT functions and resource needs with the Georgia Technology Authority.
CENTRAL WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS

considerable value for wildfire control use. These items are available at no cost to the state. Disposition of federal items the become surplus to the Forestry Commission is handled through public auctions in association with the federal General Services Administration. State property disposition is handled through the state Department of Administrative Services, Surplus Properties Division.
PHYSICAL PLANT OPERATIONS
The Central Headquarters site is located on a 40-acre tract on Riggins Mill Road in Macon, Georgia. State headquarters offices for forest fire protection, forest management, information and education, utilization and marketing, reforestation, and administrative functions are located at the Center. Maintenance of plant facilities and grounds as well as security for the Headquarters' site is a function of the administrative department. The Department of Corrections contracts with the Forestry Commission to provide inmate crews for grounds maintenance activities at the Headquarters' site.

The Central warehouse is located at the Macon Center. Items utilized on a continuous basis and which can be purchased in bulk quantity at considerable savings are stocked in the warehouse along with specialty items difficult to find on the open market. In FY2003, the total amount of warehouse issues to the field units and state headquarters totaled $746,811. Warehouse inventory value is normally maintained at approximately $750,000.

PROPERTY ADMINISTRATION

The acquisition, accountability records, and disposition of physical property is the responsibility of the administration department. Purchasing procedures are designed at the agency and state levels to encourage business activities with as many suppliers as possible and all vendors, including minority businesses, are encouraged to participate in the purchasing activities. The Forestry Commission participates in the federal excess property program and is able to screen and access property of

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INCOME & EXPENDITURES
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William R. Lazenby Interim Director
www.gfc.state.ga.us 1-800-GA TREES