TREASURE Forest in Alabama: 
A Case Study of Multiple-Benefit Forestry 
L. Louis Hyman (1) 
The southern timber supply study, entitled "The 
South's Fourth Forest," included in its findings some 
serious problems in forest productivity throughout 
the South. The primary purpose of the study was to 
look at timber, but its findings and initial recommen- 
dations affect all the resources of the forest: soil, 
water, air, forage, range, and wildlife populations. 
Many people propose that the way to improve 
the situation is increased regulation of forest land- 
management practices. The landowners in AI- 
abama do not want regulation. But there is an alter- 
native that is fairly effective in increasing good forest 
resource management: the use of positive landown- 
er recognition through the TREASURE Forest Pro- 
gram. 
What Is TREASURE Forest? 
TREASURE Forest is a voluntary incentives pro- 
gram that is open to all Alabama landowners and 
that publicly recognizes good forest management. 
"Good forest management" is defined as managing 
the land to develop all the resources of that land to 
the maximum extent compatible with that landown- 
er's objectives. 
The name TREASURE is an acronym that 
stands for all of the benefits of the forest: Timber, 
Recreation (which includes wildlife), Environment, 
Aesthetics, from a Sustained Usable REsource. 
The early 1970's was a period of strong environ- 
mental awareness. The Monongahela decision out- 
lawed clearcutting in the national forests until the 
law was rewritten in 1976. In the States, many tradi- 
tional forestry and conservation practices were 
challenged by an aroused public. The TREASURE 
Forest Program was begun in 1974 as an effort to 
define good forest management and to publicly re- 
ward those who practice it. 
(1) L. Louis Hyman is chief of forest management for the 
Alabama Forestry Commission. 
The definition of good forest management is not 
set in concrete but is constantly evolving. The 
present definition includes the following minimum 
actions by the landowner: 
Protect from fire, insect, and disease problems. 
Salvage damaged timber where possible. 
Regenerate all lands after harvest. 
Follow Best Management Practices. 
Protect critical wildlife habitat and endangered 
species. 
Manage the forest in a way least damaging to other 
resources. 
Manage the forest to achieve multiple objectives. 
It needs to be emphasized that these definitions 
were developed by a multiagency group that includ- 
ed foresters, wildlife biologists, and soil conserva- 
tion personnel. 
One of the keys to the success of the TREA- 
SURE Forest Program is that it is tied directly to the 
landowner's objectives--what he or she wants from 
the land. The goal is to help landowners reach their 
goals in such a way as to produce the maximum 
benefits for the citizens of Alabama. By using this 
approach, many landowners with nontraditional 
perspectives can be encouraged to practice good 
forest resource management. 
In general terms, landowner objectives fall into 
four categories: timber, wildlife, recreation, and 
environment/esthetics. In order to receive the 
TREASURE Forest award, a landowner must have 
one primary and at least one secondary objective. 
Arecent survey of participants in the program found 
the distribution of objectives shown in table 1. 
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