Page 22 - Georgia Forestry - Fall 2018

agencies to accomplish projects that likely would not occur under the Forest Service’s normal operating budget.
In early 2016, the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) and the USFS began discussions about ways they could partner on projects that would improve nationally owned forestland for the benefit of all Georgians. GFC concluded that stand inventory, timber sales, firebreak construction and mastication were best- fit services, which were included in the agreement that was adopted and launched later that year. Activities were planned for parts of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests.
U.S. Forest Service Fire and National Resources Staff Officer Mike Brod has been working on the initiative since its inception.
“This makes us all a lot more efficient,” Brod said. “We were one of the first in the South to partner with a state agency on an agreement that included a timber sale. It’s worked so well that we’ve expanded the
project and have pulled in another agency, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. These partnerships enable us to get more work done on the ground for the American people,” said Brod.
Prep Work
with a Purpose
The first timber sale was for a 239-acre tract in the Oconee Ranger District, known as “Wireskull.” U.S. Forest Service objectives included thinning several stands of young to older timber to speci- fied basal areas, while preserving certain species for wildlife purposes, including shortleaf pine, dogwood, oak and hickory.
Georgia Forestry Commission State Lands Forest Management Coordinator Ben Hammond received a harvest pre- scription order from the USFS, which included those requirements, along with maps and shape files to guide operations.
“The Forest Service does all the envi- ronmental impact studies, and we follow
timber sale processes used by the GFC. A portion of the money generated from the timber sale pays for our time and expenses, and the rest is used by the Forest Service for other projects and purposes. It keeps generating income,” Hammond said, of subsequent agree- ments and envisioned timber sales.
For the Wireskull tract, Hammond pro- duced a bid packet, advertised it statewide and posted it on the GFC public website. Potential buyers were given about a month to submit their bids. The state contract clearly details requirements that must be met by the buyer, down to the type of vegetation and natural ele- ments to be installed on loading decks and skidder trails, post-harvest.
Sale preparation work began in fall 2016 with timber marking and marking for sale boundaries. The buyer was
Right: GFC’s Ben Hammond and USFS’s C-O NF Silviculturist Hector Socias verify harvest plan directives.
MACON • ATLANTA ROME • LUMPKIN WAYCROSS
FRC.US.COM (877) 832-2441
20 | GEORGIA FORESTRY