Page 12 - Georgia Forestry - Issue2 - Spring 2018

Chamber of Commerce Uniquely Focuses on Forest Landowners in West Georgia
According to the Associated Press, 124 of Georgia’s 159 counties have seen less than 5 percent population growth for the past five years. Many of those communities have been left behind by new and expanding industries, but despite the recent economic downturn, one industry has remained steady — forestry.
According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, more than 60 Georgia counties are critically dependent on the forest industry. Towns like Warrenton and Washington have seen recent success with the announcement of new forest product mills, but there are several communities throughout the state, such as Talbotton, located about 30 miles east of Columbus, that are still praying for continued growth in their most important industry.
“Forestry is our number one industry in the county, and we are growing much more timber than we are harvesting,” local landowner Will Freise said. “Any timber that we do harvest is hauled 50 miles or more in any direction away from the county. We would be well served to build a forest product mill of any kind in this area.”
Freise serves as the chairman of the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce’s Forestry Committee, which is focused on educating and empowering local landowners. Since 2014, the Chamber has put on three landowner conferences per year, each focused on addressing a common issue related to maximizing timberland investments. Between 50 to
75 landowners attend each conference, which only costs $20 to attend (thanks to sponsorships from forestry businesses in the community).
For the most part, people who live in Talbot County work in other areas of the state, and, unfortunately, they
are spending their money elsewhere.
The Chamber is optimistic that these
meetings will help to empower local landowners while continuing to make Talbot County more attractive to prospective mills, and hopefully further economic development.
“We have all the right assets within the county — rail, water, etc.,” David Jordan, chairman of the Chamber
and local accountant said. “We have a tremendous fiber resource as well, and if our landowners continue to manage the collective resource to be productive, someone will notice it. When our forests are profitable, our county will be profitable.”
landowner
conferences
Those interested in attending a land- owner conference should contact
the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce at
(706) 655-8079 or at info@talbotcounty chamber.org.
10 | GEORGIA FORESTRY
“I was here at the office,” Reville said. “Dad came in and said they are going to make an announcement tomorrow. I was like ‘Really. Wow.’ I couldn’t believe it. Then I started getting text messages late at night from different people in the industry. I was blown away.”
In late fall 2017, Bounds replanted a tract of land with 545 pine seedlings, which he paid extra for so they could withstand disease. It was his faith in wood and it looked providential. The tract is just down Highway 47, about a mile from where the new Canfor mill is supposed to go. Bounds is just 24 years old, a recent graduate of the University of Georgia. It was always his plan to be a farmer and work with his father.
“You say ‘next year will be better’ because land is a long-term investment,” Bounds said. “This isn’t something where you have a bad year and you just hang it up.“It’s a way of life, not just an occupation.”
The South’s Time
has Come
If Canfor is going to be in the lumber busi- ness, it might as well be in the U.S. South. Georgia has more trees in its inventory