What We Are Doing in Georgia and the South Today 
John W. Mixon (1) 
The greatest opportunity to increase forest pro- 
ductivity in the South today lies in increasing the 
number of managed forested acres. We need to 
plant trees on nonproductive agricultural and pas- 
ture lands. By means of either natural regeneration 
or replanting, we must do a better job in regenerat- 
ing our harvested stands. At the present, we are 
harvesting more acres than we are planting in the 
Southern States. For example, in 1985, 2.1 million 
acres were planted while 3.6 million acres were har- 
vested. Industries currently regenerate 92 percent 
of the acres they harvest, but the nonindustrial pri- 
vate landowners regenerate only 50 percent of the 
acres they harvest. We must work to close this gap. 
Southern State forestry organizations are re- 
sponding to this need in various ways. Several 
Southern States now have effective State incentive 
programs. Mississippi plants 50,000 to 60,000 acres 
per year under its program. North Carolina, South 
Carolina, and Texas also have outstanding pro- 
grams. Virginia has a seed tree law that has in- 
creased the number of acres of natural regeneration 
in that State. 
Georgia's Regeneration Program 
The latest forest survey by the USDA Forest 
Service, which was conducted in 1982, revealed 
that Georgia was harvesting nearly as much timber 
as was being grown each year--a fact that led to the 
formation of our ambitious regeneration program in 
the State. Next to protection from fire, the goal to 
reforest every harvested acre quickly became our 
top priority. 
We asked forestry leaders from State and Fed- 
eral agencies, forest industry, private consulting 
firms, and other forestry-related interests to meet 
with us and determine ways to regenerate more 
pine timber in Georgia. This group became Geor- 
gia's Forestry Development Committee, which 
meets four times a year to discuss progress and 
(1) | John W. Mixon is director of the Georgia Forestry Com- 
mission. 
plans for continued regeneration efforts. As in the 
entire region, the nonindustrial private landowner is 
the target of Georgia's regeneration efforts. 
Through the Forestry Development Committee, 
we are working to identify and assist the nonindus- 
trial private forest landowner in various ways. 
1. County reforestation committees 
In every county throughout the State, service 
foresters, county forest rangers, USDA Forest Serv- 
ice personnel, county extension agents, Farm Bu- 
reau representatives, Soil Conservation Service 
technicians, soil and water district supervisors, Agri- 
cultural Stabilization and Conservation Service ex- 
ecutive directors, Tree Farm chairmen, consulting 
foresters, industry procurement foresters and 
landowners meet to identify landowners who have 
harvested pine stands within the past 2 years and 
those who own marginal and submarginal farmland. 
These identifications are made with aerial surveys. 
Inthe next step, someone from the county refor- 
estation committee contacts these landowners and 
encourages them to plant trees. The one-on-one 
contact is a must to get the landowners to leave 
seed trees for natural regeneration or plant 
seedlings. The committee members emphasize not 
only the economic benefits of forestry but also op- 
portunities for recreation, wildlife habitat improve- 
ment, and other goals that may be important to the 
landowner and society. The committees advise 
landowners about the programs available to assist 
them in planting their land. Finally, the committees 
publicize the advantages of planting pines through 
demonstrations, workshops and conferences, 
and, of course, the press. 
2. Reforestation foresters 
In 1984, Governor Harris and the Georgia Gen- 
eral Assembly approved adding 12 reforestation 
foresters to the staff of the Georgia Forestry Com- 
mission for Statewide service. The foresters now 
coordinate reforestation efforts in their districts, in- 
cluding the activities of the county reforestation 
committees, publicizing reforestation information 
through the local media, investigating seedling 
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