Page 24 - Georgia Forestry - Spring 2020

‘I Am GFC’
The People Behind the Campaign
By Stasia Kelly
Georgia’s vibrant forest industry employs enough people to make up a mid-size city. That’s according to the recently released 2018 Economic Benefits of the Forest Industry in Georgia report from the Georgia Forestry
Commission (GFC), which shows there were 55,089 total direct employees in the forest industry in Georgia in 2018, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
That’s just under the population of Valdosta, with each person playing a vital role in making Georgia the number-one forestry state in the nation. From nurseries and forests to harvest sites and mills, to lumber yards, factories, shops, showrooms and beyond, forestry provides livelihoods — and benefits — for people in every part of our state. In fact, economic activity generated by the state’s forest industry rose $36.3 billion in Georgia between 2018 and 2019.
22 | GEORGIA FORESTRY