The Southern Pulpwood Conservation 

 Association's program of direct 

 assistance to individual timberland 

 owners was largely handled by using 

 company conservation foresters. 

 Starting with only a handful of 

 pioneers in this field in 1940, the 

 program grew to include 126 

 conservation foresters in 1953, or 17 

 percent of the 753 foresters employed 

 by the industry at that time (Earle ca. 

 1954). Over the years this program 

 provided assistance to thousands of 

 individuals owning millions of acres, 

 with tremendous impact on forest 

 management in the South. Needless 

 to say, it greatly enhanced the image 

 of the pulp and paper industry in the 

 region. 



Henry J. Malsberger succeeded Frank 

 Heyward, Jr., as general manager in 

 1945 and served in that position until 

 the Southern Pulpwood Conservation 

 Association was merged with the 

 southern office of the American 

 Forest Institute in 1968. The new 

 group is known as the Southern 

 Forest Institute, with headquarters 

 remaining in Atlanta. 



In 1941 another regional forestry 

 association, the Forest Farmers 

 Association, was formed with 

 headquarters in Valdosta, GA. Its 

 founder, W.M. Oettmeier, of Fargo, 

 GA, conceived it as a unique group 

 of southern private, individual 

 timberland owners banded together to 

 provide themselves a greater voice in 

 matters, local and national, affecting 

 their interests. Later, companies and 

 larger members were accepted, but 

 this has remained primarily a 



nonindustrial association, always with 

 the smaller members in the majority. 

 Through the years the Forest Farmers 

 Association has provided an important 

 forum for bringing together the small 

 owner, forest industry, the forestry 

 profession, and government to 

 consider key forestry issues and 

 actions. As a result, its well-thought- 

 out and balanced views have made it 

 a particularly strong force in 

 legislative and governmental matters. 



Its monthly Forest Farmer magazine 

 and biannual "Manual" are highly 

 respected publications, edited 

 primarily as how-to-do-it publications 

 for private timberland owners. The 

 highly regarded "Manual" has been 

 adopted as a supplemental text for 

 pre forestry and farm forestry courses 

 by over a dozen southern colleges 

 and universities. 



In addition, the Forest Farmers 

 Association has been very progressive 

 in planning for the South' s forestry 

 future. It has continued to be highly 

 effective, working with various 

 members of Congress, including 

 Representative Jamie Whitten, of 

 Mississippi, and former Senators 

 Herman Talmadge and Richard 

 Russell, of Georgia, in expanding 

 forestry programs, particularly 

 research, protection, management, 

 and more equitable taxation. It was 

 also one of the original cosponsors 

 with the Southern Pine Association 

 (now the Southern Forest Products 

 Association) of the Southern Forest 

 Resource Analysis project in 1966, 

 which resulted in The South's Third 

 Forest report. 



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