services when needed, the 
Department of Forestry owns 
and operates site-preparation 
equipment to handle work 
when contractors or forest 
industry services are not 
readily available. Similarly, 
the State provides assistance 
in prescribed burning, 
organizes planting crews, 
and contracts for the aerial 
application of herbicides. In 
the case of herbicide 
applications, the State 
identifies and schedules as 
many tracts in one area as 
possible so that when the 
work begins, it can be done 
rapidly and efficiently with 
close attention to quality 
control and environmental 
protection. To assure quality 
control, the State acts as the 
contractor for landowners. 
TO assure environmental 
protection, State personnel 
provide on-the-ground 
supervision of each treated 
tract. All of these services 
are provided to the landowner 
via a per-acre surcharge to 
cover costs (Stanley pers. 
communication, Graff pers. 
communication). 
74 
Other State Incentives 
Programs 
Virginia’s highly successful 
Reforestation of Timberlands 
Program has been used as 
a pattern for other Southern 
States concerned about the 
pervasive problem of the 
failure of nonindustrial forest 
landowners to regenerate 
their pine stands after harvest. 
Mississippi, North Carolina, 
and South Carolina now 
operate similar programs. 
Texas has taken a different 
approach. The Texas Forestry 
Association has formed the 
Texas Reforestation 
Foundation (TRe Foundation) 
to provide financial 
assistance to landowners in 
return for a commitment to 
manage their land for trees 
for at least 10 years. The 
program is in cooperation 
with the Texas Forest Service, 
with funds provided 
principally from contributions 
to the TRe Foundation by 
forest industry. 
The most recent 
program—the Alabama 
Agricultural and Conservation 
Development Commission 
Program —was legislated in 
1985. It is administered 
through the State Soil and 
