georgia forestry today jan-feb 2014

GEORGIA FORESTRY

TODAYVolume 10, Issue 1

January | February 2014

PRESCRIBED FIREIN GEORGIA


http://www.meeksfarms-nurserys.com

Georgia Forestry Today 3

http://www.landmarkspatialsolutions.com

http://www.aggeorgia.com

4 January | February 2014

GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY is published bi-monthly by A4 Inc., 1154 Lower BirminghamRoad, Canton, Georgia 30115. Recipients include participants of the Forest Stewardship Pro-gram and the American Tree Farm System.

Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher, A4 Inc., nordo they accept responsibility for errors of content or omission and, as a matter of policy, neitherdo they endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Part of this magazine may be re-produced with the written consent of the publisher. Correspondence regarding changes of ad-dress should be directed to A4 Inc. at the address indicated above. Advertising material shouldbe sent to A4 Inc. at the e-mail address: [email protected]. Questions on advertising should bedirected to the advertising director at the e-mail address provided above. Editorial materialshould be sent to A4 Inc. or to Alva Hopkins.

GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY1154 Lower Birmingham Road, Canton, Georgia 30115

On the Cover: GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAYPrinted in the USA

PUBLISHER:A4 Inc.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAlva Hopkins

[email protected]

PRODUCTION MANAGERPamela [email protected]

EDITORIAL BOARDWendy BurnettAlva HopkinsJesse JohnsonStasia KellySandi Martin

Roland Petersen-FreyBrian Stone

Steve McWilliams

Depending on your manage-

ment goals and the way this

tool is applied, prescribed fire

can be used to help improve

forest stand health, increase

wildlife diversity or improve

access for hunting and recre-

ation.

Today, prescribed fire is a

safe way to apply a natural

process, ensure ecosystem

health, and reduce wildfire

risk. See story on page 8

http://www.interforestry.com

5Georgia Forestry Today

FORESTRY TODAYGeorgia

Volume 10, Issue 1 January | February 2014

P.08 Prescribed Fire in Georgia

Part I | Burning’s Many Benefits

P.13 Message from the Georgia

Forestry Commission Director

P.14 GFC News

P.15 Chestnut Restoration

Takes Root in Georgia

P.18 Winter is a Great Time for

Small Game Hunting

P.22 How Forest Landowners Connect

Us to the World

P.25 GFT News

P.27 Help Wanted: How Warnell is Prepping

Students to Go from the Classroom to

the Field

February 12-14Forestry Day at the Capitol, Atlanta, GeorgiaInfo: www.gfagrow.org/FDAC

March 27GFF Longleaf Classic Golf TournamentHawkinsville, Georgia

June 3-62014 National Conference of Private ForestLandownersRitz-Carlton, New Orleans, LAInfo and Registration: www.forestlandowners.com

June 16-20Georgia Teacher Conservation WorkshopCharlie Elliott Wildlife CenterInfo and Registration: www.gfagrow.org

June 21-24Association of Consulting Foresters NationalConference, Savannah, GeorgiaInfo: www.acf-foresters.org

July 19-202014 GFA Annual Conference & Forestry ExpoWestin Hilton Head Island Resort & SpaInfo: www.gfagrow.org

Forestry Calendar

If you have a forestry event you’d like to see on our calendar, please contact AlvaHopkins at [email protected] with the subject line ‘Calendar Event.’

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http://www.arborgen.com


List of advertisers

American Forest Management......................................30

Arborgen........................................................................6

Beach Timber Company Inc. .......................................30

Blanton’s ........................................................................7

Bodenhamer Farms & Nursery ....................................28

Canal Wood LLC.........................................................30

Cantrell Forest Products Inc.........................................30

Davis - Garvin .............................................................24

Farm Credit Associations ...............................................3

Flint Equipment Company ..........................................29

Forest Resource Services Inc. ........................................30

F&W Forestry Service..................................................28

International Forest Company .......................................4

LandMark Spatial Solutions ...........................................3

Lanigan & Associates ...................................................24

Meeks’ Farms & Nursery ....................Inside Front Cover

Outdoor Underwriters .................................................28

Plum Creek....................................................................5

Rivers Edge Forest Products .........................................30

UPC | Georgia 811 ........................................Back Cover

Weyerhaeuser ...............................................................23

Yancey Brothers ...................................Inside Back Cover

http://www.blantonscontainernursery.org


Prescribed Fire in Georgia

magine a vast longleaf pine

forest in Georgia several hun-

dred years ago. On a sultry

summer afternoon, a thun-

derstorm moves through and

lightning strikes a tall pine

tree on a remote sandhill.

Spanish moss ignites and falls to the

ground, initiating a fire in the wiregrass

below.

The fire spreads gradually. It’s

slow-moving and mild fire, burning

across the landscape—picking up

speed in grassy areas, slowing down in

thicker hardwood areas. The fire burns

for days or even weeks.

Ahead of the fire, small creatures

scurry into gopher tortoise burrows or

fly into the canopy. Larger animals, like

bobcats and deer, trot up to the line of

small flames, hop over and continue

into the black. The fire clears the un-

derbrush, leaving the canopy trees rel-

atively unharmed. It burns hundreds,

maybe thousands of acres before

going out by running into the flood-

plain of a river or being doused by a

storm. The rain washes the ash into

the soil, recycling the nutrients back

into the ecosystem.

Imagine what that looked like. And

imagine what the forest floor looked

like a few weeks later as the bright

green shoots of the native ground-

cover burst into the sunlight.

Hard to imagine? Maybe. But this

kind of fire was a common occurrence

across our state years ago-from the

mountains to the coast. It was and is a

natural disturbance that has helped

shape our ecosystems. Fire is a natural

process that Georgia’s plants and ani-

mals evolved with.

As our state became more devel-

oped and the forests became frag-

mented, natural fires could not move

through the landscape without nega-

tively affecting humans. Natural fires

were suppressed, resulting in harmful

effects on native plants and animals.

Today, however, fire has re-

emerged as a powerful management

tool that many Georgians use to re-

store and enhance habitat.

It’s called controlled or prescribed

burning, named so because the land

manager chooses the day and the con-

ditions under which a fire is set. Pre-

scribed fire is a critical tool for

managing many of our natural com-

munities. In fact, it is one of the most

effective, efficient and economical

ways to manage Georgia forestlands.

Depending on your management goals

and the way this tool is applied, pre-

scribed fire can be used to help im-

prove forest stand health, increase

wildlife diversity or improve access for

hunting and recreation.

Prescribed Fireis a safe way to apply a natural process,

ensure ecosystem health, and reduce

wildfire risk.


IPart I Burning’s Many Benefits

These before (right) and after (left)photos illustrate fire’s restorative powerin a seepage bog with pitcherplants insouth Georgia. However, carrying out aprescribed burn requires carefulplanning, preparation and execution.

By Shan Cammack | Department of Natural Resources


Why Should I Burn?There are a number of reasons to con-

duct prescribed burning. One result of

not burning at all is an increase in the

amount of fuels—litter, debris, shrubs,

etc.,—that can lead to a devastating

wildfire.

This is seen all too often in the cat-

astrophic wildfires that occur in the

western U.S. each year. While summer

2013 was not a record year in the

number of wildfires or acres burned, it

was devastating in the number of wild-

land firefighters killed, particularly the

Yarnell Hill tragedy in Arizona. The

area that claimed the lives of 19 Hot-

shots – specially trained firefighters –

had not seen fire in more than 40

years. It was a tinderbox ready to ex-

plode. We’ve seen that in Georgia as

well, as natural fires left the Okefeno-

kee Swamp in 2007 and 2011 and hit

upland areas with high fuel loads built

by years of fire suppression. Some of

these upland areas were devastated by

intense fire.

Besides reducing hazardous fuels,

there are a number of management

goals that can be achieved with pre-

scribed fire.

Management ObjectivesCan include:

•• Reducing hazardous fuels

•• Preparing seedbeds

•• Suppressing woody vegetation

•• Recycling nutrients

•• Increasing forage

•• Increasing herbaceous diversity

•• Enhancing wildlife habitat

•• Enhancing rare species habitat

•• Removing litter and debris

•• Promoting fire adapted species

•• Controlling disease

•• Controlling exotic or invasive

species

Where Do I Start?Prescribed burning is an effective but

potentially dangerous tool that carries

a lot of responsibility. To bolster your

own skills and knowledge of fire, take

the Prescribed Fire Certification

Course. You’ll find information on

available classes at

www.gfc.state.ga.us/forest-manage-

ment/prescribed-fire/prescribed-fire-

certification.

The Georgia Prescribed Fire Coun-

cil is another place to learn and grow.

The council’s mission is “to protect the

right, to encourage the use of, and to

promote public understanding of pre-

scribed fire.” The group’s annual meet-

ings are a great place to meet other

people interested in fire and learn

about various aspects of prescribed

fire. The council’s last annual meeting

covered a number of important topics,

including air quality, wild turkey man-

agement, new permitting technology,

public relations, fire weather forecasts,

effects on hardwood understory and

ATV safety. Join the council online at

www.garxfire.com.

The next step in prescribed burn-

ing is to have a plan. This begins with

choosing an area to burn and outlining

your management objectives. Con-

sider what kind of fire you need to

achieve those objectives and then

choose the weather and fuel condi-

tions that will produce those fire ef-

fects. Is this a first entry burn? Are

there sensitive elements to consider?

Would mechanical treatment ahead of

the fire make it more effective?

I manage habitats for rare species.

This adds a layer of complexity to the

things you must consider. I may be

dealing with duff accumulation around

fire-suppressed longleaf pine or need-

ing to reduce the heavy shrub layer in

a pitcherplant bog. I must be careful in

the weather that I choose. Each of

these examples requires a conserva-

tive prescription for weather so that

the fire does not get too hot. It’s help-

ful to get advice from other resource

managers that have successfully dealt

with these issues.

Key Components of a Prescribed Burn Plan•• Author/burn boss (name and

contact details)

•• Important contacts (Georgia

Forestry Commission, local law

enforcement, medical, fire)

•• Purpose of burn (ecological, fuel

reduction, etc.)

•• Unit description (fuel types and

loading, hazards, surrounding

fuels)

•• Previous burning events (pre-

scribed fire and wildfire)

•• Weather parameters (winds, tem-

perature, rH, mixing height,

record onsite!)

•• Smoke management plan (sensi-

tive areas and distance, down-

drainage)

•• Burn management (firebreaks, ig-

nition, holding, mop-up, map)

•• Contingencies (escape routes,

secondary control lines)

•• Post-burn monitoring (objectives

met, fuel consumption, prob-

lems)

Georgia DNR considers prescribed fireits most important habitat managementtool on state lands, such as at Seminole

State Park near Bainbridge.

Smoke can get you in trouble fast. It is

very important to choose a weather

prescription that manages your

smoke. Identify major roads and

smoke sensitive areas (like schools and

hospitals) and only burn on a day

when the wind carries the smoke away

from these areas.

Carrying out a prescribed burn re-

quires planning and preparation. Once

you have decided what area you would

like to burn and what weather is ap-

propriate, you prepare your firebreaks

in order to keep the fire contained. I

burn on state parks and nature pre-

serves, so I often use existing trails and

roads as well as creeks and rivers as my

firebreaks. Sometimes a simple pass

with a backpack leafblower is all I need

to prepare a firebreak. However, I

often use fortified harrowed or plowed

lines on the property boundaries.

Make sure your firebreaks are clear of

fuels and check for dead snags that

might cause problems later. Those

pesky dead snags have a knack for

catching on fire when you least expect

them and can shower embers across

your firebreak.

Managing the burn will require ig-

nition devices as well as tools to sup-

press the fire, and enough help to run

the burn as well as patrol your fire-

breaks. If you feel like you need help,

there are a number of private forestry

consultants that can assist you. The

Georgia Forestry Commission can also

help you conduct your burn. And don’t

forget to call GFC to get a burn permit

before you strike a match!

Who Else Is Burning?Land management agencies across

Georgia are increasing their use of pre-

scribed fire statewide to manage a va-

riety of habitats. Federal and state

agencies as well as private organiza-

tions are collaborating more and more

to achieve their fire management

goals. A number of wildlife species—

plants and animals alike—are benefit-

ting as natural habitats are improved.

The Georgia Department of Natu-

ral Resources considers prescribed fire

its most important habitat manage-

ment tool. In the past year, for exam-

ple, DNR conducted prescribed

burning on a record 59,000 acres of

state land.

But, as an agency charged with

managing natural resources in a state

that is more than 90 percent privately

owned, DNR must reach out to you,

the forest owner. We strongly promote

the use of fire by private land man-

agers. The more that fire is safely ap-

plied in our state, the healthier our

forests will be for generations to come.

Wildlife will benefit and you can

achieve a myriad of management ob-

jectives.

Read more about this important

tool in the second column of our two-

part series in the next issue of Georgia

Forestry Today.

Shan Cammack is a natural re-

source biologist for the Georgia De-

partment of Natural Resources and

chair-elect of the Georgia Prescribed

Fire Council.

Learn More•• The Southern Fire Exchange Web-

site, http://southernfireex-

change.org, offers a

comprehensive resource online,

with information on every aspect

of burning, from planning to train-

ing to fire science. Fact sheets in-

clude “Cypress Mortality Following

Wildfires: Information and Rec-

ommendations for Fire and Natu-

ral Resource Managers;” “Nests

Under Fire: Does it Matter? Grow-

ing-season Burns and Ground-

nesting Birds;” and, “Situational

Awareness: Nighttime Smoke and

Fog on Prescribed Burns.”

•• “Introduction to Prescribed Fires

in Southern Ecosystems” is a fan-

tastic booklet that covers general

information on prescribed burning

as well as explanations of environ-

mental effects, weather and burn-

ing techniques. View or download

the booklet (by Thomas Waldrop

and Scott Goodrick) at

www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/41316.


Prescribed fire, like this one at DoerunPitcherplant Bog Wildlife ManagementArea in Colquitt County, is a one of themost effective, efficient and economicalways to manage Georgia forestlands.

ave you broken yourNew Year’s resolutionsyet? I hope if theywere truly importantto you that you areholding steadfast. If

you’ve taken a different approach and arecontinuing the efforts that brought yousuccess in 2013, I’m with you, too. Slowand steady often wins the race! That’s the good news in our industryright now, as the Georgia Forestry Com-mission compiles data from a number ofsources documenting the sustainability ofGeorgia’s forests. In the last GFT issue wetalked about the many positive actions andopportunities for forestry in Georgia. Sincethen, Georgia Tech has completed our an-nual “Economic Benefits of Georgia’s For-est Industry” report, and it stronglyvalidates the steadily improving trends.The full report can be reviewed on ourwebsite, but a few impressive highlightsthat show our industry is packing astronger economic wallop include:

Direct Impacts from 2011-2012:• Output: 8.5% increase to $16.35

billion.

• Employment: 6.7% increase to49,497 jobs.

• Wages and salaries: 3.08% increase to$3.08 billion.

Total Impacts from 2011-2012:• Output: 15.88% increase to $28.94

billion (the highest increase sincetracking began and a nearly $4 billionincrease over 2011.)

• Employment: 14.58% increase to135,732 jobs (roughly 17,000 addedjobs over 2011.)

• Wages and salaries: 15.48% increaseto $7.49 billion (the highest sincetracking began.)

As we see positive growth in forest industryand increased utilization of Georgia’s great-est renewable resource, we invariably expe-rience increasing concerns from a widevariety of stakeholders about the sustain-ability of our forests. The GFC’s missionand vision are centered on the long termsustainability and health of Georgia’sforests. We are currently wrapping upwork with a diverse group of forestry in-terests to update the 2008 “SustainableForest Management in Georgia Report.”The report utilizes data and input fromvarious sources, including the Forest In-ventory Analysis, Timber Product Outputsurvey, Economic Benefits of the Forest In-dustry report, and Georgia’s Forest andState Wildlife Action Plans. We will bepresenting this information to the gover-nor and state legislature this session and

the report will be available on our websiteat GATREES.org. The updated sustainability report sub-stantiates how Georgia’s forests are beingsustainably managed to meet the numer-ous needs of our state today and how theycan continue to meet the challenges of thefuture. Documenting our many successesand diligently addressing our challengesare more and more important as Georgiaincreasingly competes in domestic andglobal markets with our traditional andemerging industries. I urge you to reviewthe sustainability report to learn moreabout these challenges. We will be high-lighting these challenges and our actionsin future Georgia Forestry Today issues,and we look forward to working with ourmany partners throughout the year to en-sure success. As always, I hope you’ll share ourforestry story with the people around you.Every single Georgian has a stake in ensur-ing its happy ending is never ending.

Sincerely,

Robert FarrisGFC Commissioner v


Georgia Forestry Commission

Message from the Director

Dear GFT Reader,

Robert Farris

H


Landowners in 22 northeast Georgia counties have

been busy planting 300,000 pine seedlings, courtesy

of Huber Engineered Woods LLC. Huber donated$20,000 for purchase of the seedlings and GFC personnelassisted with applications and distribution. Applicants wererequired to follow professionally written reforestation plansfor the work performed on 10-50 acre planting sites. e

GFC News

When it comes to staying organized, computers, smart phones, and even

sticky notes have their places. But for many of our customers, there is no substitutefor the annual GFC Planner. The planner contains 18-months of two-page calendars,valuable information about forestry in Georgia and GFC services, along with plentyof beautiful photos and space for making notes on the go. The 2014 edition is availablenow from your local GFC district office. e

Barbecue, friendship, and forestry tales marked the Swainsboro celebration

honoring the incomparable “Mr. Jim L” in December. Jim L. Gillis Jr. was rec-ognized for his continuous service to the GFC and the forestry community at a spe-cial luncheon during which he received numerous accolades. The festivities wereenjoyed by a host of Gillis’ colleagues and friends, including former directors of theGeorgia Forestry Commission and GFC Director Bob Farris, political dignitariesand other GFC Board members. Gillis joined the GFC Board in 1977 and served asits chairman for 20 years. At age 97 he regularly attends GFC Board meetings and

remains a vibrant and beloved contributor to Georgia’s forestry community.e

e Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Georgia Chap-ter of e American Chestnut Foundation (GA-TACF) haveteamed up to plant a progeny test orchard of advanced, potentiallyblight-resistant American chestnut seedlings at the Dawson CountyGeorgia Forestry Commission site in Dawsonville, Georgia. especially-bred chestnut seedlings, called Restoration Chestnuts 1.0,are part of a unique breeding program led by TACF to restore theAmerican chestnut to the eastern forests of America.

e Georgia chapter’s partnership with GFC represents an-other huge step in TACF’s chestnut restoration program. Withprojects like this, the organization is finally beginning to test andevaluate hybrid chestnuts, the result of more than 30 years of scien-tific research, for blight- resistance and growth characteristics inGeorgia. GFC is equally excited to be a part of testing the blight-resistance of the latest backcross progeny from TACF.

e idea for a GFC/TACF partnership was conceived in 2011,when former Director of Field Operations, Rick Hatten, presented

the concept to GFC’s Forest Health staff. Scott Griffin, then ForestHealth Specialist, approached TACF with the agency’s interest inhelping restore blight-resistant chestnuts in Georgia. A location inDawson County on the former Hightower Educational Forest tractwas selected. e establishment of a test orchard at this location fitwell with GFC’s mission of providing leadership, service and edu-cation in the protection of Georgia’s forest resources, and TACF’sgoal of restoring the American chestnut throughout the forests ofthe eastern U.S. to benefit the environment, wildlife and society.

Chestnut restoration takes root in Georgia


Volunteers measure the height of newly planted Restoration 1.0 chestnut seedlings.

By Lynne Womack, GfC forest Health

specialist & dr. Martin Cipollini, science

Coordinator, Ga-taCf and dana

Professor of Biology, Berry College

An original test orchard pure American chestnut seedlingin its protection tube, ready for planting.

e American chestnut tree was oncefound on more than 200 million acres ofeastern woodlands from Maine to Florida,and from the Piedmont west to the OhioValley. An estimated four billion Americanchestnuts, one-quarter of the country’shardwood tree population, grew within thisrange. e American chestnut tree was anessential component of the entire easternUS ecosystem. A late-flowering, reliable,and productive tree, unaffected by seasonalfrosts, it was likely the single most impor-tant food source for a wide variety ofwildlife from bears to birds. Rural commu-nities depended upon the annual nut har-vest as a cash crop to feed livestock and thechestnut lumber industry was a major sectorof rural economies. It was devastating onmany levels when, during the first half of the20th century, these trees succumbed to alethal fungus infestation known as “chest-nut blight.”

In 1983, a group of prominent plantscientists founded e American ChestnutFoundation. ese scientists recognized thesevere impact the demise of the Americanchestnut tree had on economies in ruralcommunities and on the ecology of forests

within the tree’s native range. e group’sgoal was to breed blight-resistance from theChinese chestnut tree into the Americanchestnut tree, while maintaining the Amer-ican chestnut’s characteristics. e Ameri-can Chestnut Foundation’s backcrossbreeding program took Chinese chestnuttrees, naturally resistant to the blight, andcrossed them with their American cousins,resulting in trees that were 50-percentAmerican and 50-percent Chinese. esetrees were then backcrossed to the Ameri-can species, resulting in trees that were 75-percent American. e procedure wasrepeated to produce an American chestnuttree that retains few Chinese chestnut char-acteristics other than blight-resistance.Backcross breeding has continued, produc-ing a cross that is 15/16ths American chest-nut, which shows the growth form of theAmerican chestnut and high levels of blight-resistance (called B3F3 for the backcrossprocess). In 2005, TACF harvested its firstpotentially blight-resistant chestnuts, andthe first B3F3 seeds available for wide-spread field tests were given the name“Restoration 1.0 Chestnuts.” ese seedsare now in a phase of rigorous testing and

trial in both forest and orchard settings, in-cluding the progeny test orchard in Daw-sonville.

e partnership between GA-TACFand GFC to bring blight-resistant chestnutsto Georgia started with the planting of 20pure American chestnuts seeds in a test plotat the Dawson unit in March, 2012. istest plot was used to determine if the sitewas suitable to grow chestnuts. More thanhalf of the seedlings survived several hurdlesthe first year, including heavy deer browseand extremely hot, dry weather. e deerbrowse was so great that Dawson GFC staffcame to the site one morning to find all ofthe seedlings’ plastic protection sleeves scat-tered across the site. Some of the deer wereactually sighted with tubes stuck on theirmuzzles! ese seedlings were then furtherprotected with fencing, and by the end ofthe year, 13 of the original 20 were still sur-viving.

In the summer of 2013, aer determin-ing the test plot a success, plans moved for-ward to start the Progeny Test Orchardwith Restoration 1.0 Chestnut seedlings.is test orchard at the Dawson Unit is thethird of its kind in Georgia. One is locatedin Blue Ridge on the Chattahoochee Na-tional Forest and another is near Lake Alla-toona on US Army Corps of Engineersland. e Dawsonville planting initiateswhat is designed to be a 30-year experimentthat will evaluate the performance of B3F3trees from various families under field con-ditions. e main difference betweenGFC’s planting and the two other plantingsin Georgia is that both the Blue Ridge andLake Allatoona sites are in cutover forestareas, while the Dawsonville site is in an oldfield. e main challenge at this site is keep-ing competition from grasses to a minimumduring the first couple of years of growth—and, of course, reducing animal damage.

Site preparation during the fall of 2013included mowing and burning the old field,a broadcast spray with herbicide and sub-soiling each row. e orchard was thenplanted in late November by a combinedtotal of over 50 GA-TACF volunteers and


GFC Coosa District Manager Ken Masten protects chestnut seedlingsfrom wildlife with plastic tubes.

GFC employees. All 600 seedlings camefrom TACF’s Research Farm in Mead-owview, Virginia. ese seedlings includedabout 20 families of the latest B3F3 crossesand several families of control trees (pureAmerican, pure Chinese, and intermediatecrosses). e orchard is set up in 25 blocksof 24 trees each. is experimental designrandomly distributes seedlings from thesame 24 families in blocks throughout theorchard to account for micro-environmen-tal differences in location within the or-chard or differences in planting. All treeswere tagged, and the locations of each treeand height at planting were recorded for fu-ture research purposes.

e goal for the orchard is to providedata on field performance (growth rate,growth form, blight resistance, etc.) of indi-vidual trees to TACF’s Research Farm. iswill help TACF further select and breedlines for use in reforestation projectsthroughout the region. e fungus thatcauses chestnut blight survives on other

host species (including oaks, which are notsusceptible to the blight) and is now natu-rally present throughout the chestnut range.is means blight will naturally find its wayinto the orchard and in the next five to 10years we will begin to see which trees showsigns of blight-resistance. Although none ofthe families in this orchard were bred fromAmerican chestnut trees in Georgia, thefindings will help determine which familiesat TACF’s Research Farm show the mostblight-resistance and how well the variouslines grow in this part of Georgia.

Efforts are underway by GA-TACF tocreate backcrosses of trees that contain na-tive Georgia American chestnut genetics.is state-level program has been workingto develop regional lines of B3F3 trees andto increase the overall genetic diversity ofAmerican chestnuts involved in TACF’sbreeding program. e first round of blight-resistance tests using Georgia- bred treeshave just been completed in backcross or-chards at Berry College in Floyd County

and at the Georgia Mountain Research andEducation Center in Union County.

It is hoped that this progeny test or-chard marks the beginning of an enduringrelationship with GA-TACF in helpingbreed blight-resistant American chestnutsand return this historic tree to the wild inGeorgia. While work continues to add ge-netics from native Georgia trees, it is excit-ing to know that research is alreadyunderway with trees that may soon be readyfor use in reforestation projects in Georgia.Projects such as the one in Dawsonville aredesigned to be run as natural experiments,so the spread of seeds by wildlife fromblight-resistant trees in the orchard to adja-cent woodland areas would be seen as a wel-come event. As the relationship grows, GFChopes to be able to use this information toeducate landowners on the status ofTACF’s research and how they can be in-volved in restoring this magnificent treeback to Georgia’s forests. v


TACF’s Restoration. Chestnut seedlings in tubes and trays, ready for planting.


Winter is a GreatTime for SmallGame Hunting By John Trussell


Many hunters consider the fox squirrelGeorgia’s small game trophy because itcomes in so many color combinations.

o you remember your firstgame animal taken withbow or gun? It is usually anevent one never forgets,and it is a special memory

that always harkens you back to a younger, sim-pler place in time. When I was about ten yearsold, I had a Crossman pump pellet gun that I hadgotten for Christmas, and soon squirrels were mychosen targets as they dug up seeds from my dad’sgarden. ey also tried to eat their way into theattic of our house and chewed on our plasticwater hoses, thus they not welcome or “personanon grata” around my house. On the plus sidethey were very plentiful and once cleaned andfried, darn good eating.

It was shortly aer I got my pellet gun that Ispotted a squirrel in our back yard, and as I ap-proached, it scurried up a small oak tree andseemed to disappear. But soon I spotted a fewhairs from its tail as it laid flat against a branch.Every time I moved around for the shot, it slidaround to the other side of the tree. I knew Ineeded to outsmart this squirrel. Eventually, I de-cided that if I threw a small limb to the other sideof the tree, it might think that I had moved, andshow itself for a shot. Trying that technique, I wassoon rewarded with a target, and a well-placedpellet brought the squirrel tumbling to theground. I was one proud hunter!

As I triumphantly carried my prize to showmy parents, my mom’s brief comment was, “that’sgreat son, now go clean it; don’t expect me to doit!” us my first cleaning was sort of a hatchetjob on the squirrel, but a couple of nights later atsupper, my mom announced with a smile on herface and a wink in my direction, that we were hav-ing fried squirrel and chicken. I was glad to haveput some meat on the table. I’m sure you remem-ber your first game story with equal fondness.

Although deer hunting gets a lot of presstime, small game hunting in Georgia is nothingshort of outstanding. In this article we will focuson squirrels, rabbits, quail and will start on theproper loads for each species.

Although there are several gauges of shot-guns, I have always been partial to the 12-gauge

semi-auto with screw-in chokes. It’s very ver-satile and throws the most lead, but asmaller gauge, if you’re accurate with it, canbe just as effective. Number 6 shot is verygood for both rabbits and squirrels out to40 yards when using a modified choke. Forquail, the shots may be closer, and number8 shot is generally preferred. Use an im-proved cylinder choke for close-in shootingthat you might find at a quail plantation.For quail in more open areas, a modifiedchoke that holds a tighter pattern, is a betterchoice.

For rabbits, the best places to hunt arenormally cutovers with vegetation in theearly stages of regeneration with lots ofbrambles and briars. Private properties withlittle hunting pressure will usually reveal themost rabbits. But don’t overlook publichunting areas. Down in central Georgia,both Oaky Woods and Ocmulgee WMAsoffer pretty good rabbit hunting, says KevinKramer, Regional Managing Biologist withthe Ft Valley office. ick, cutover areas usu-ally offer the best cover for rabbits, saysKramer, and just driving around the WMAswill quickly reveal some likely areas to ex-plore—like the cutover across from the cellphone tower on the main road going to theOaky Woods check station. Another spot isthe cutover behind the school bus body,shown on the WMA map. Many of the up-land pine areas have been thinned in the lasttwo years, and as the understory vegetationdevelops, the rabbits will move back in, saysKramer. Bobby Bond, DNR’s rabbit Biolo-gist, says rabbits are in normal numbers andhunters should have average to good successwith a little work. “Look for that succes-sional habitat that is 3-5 years old and therabbits will be there, but you might have towork at finding them.”

In southwest Georgia, Julie Robbins,wildlife biologist says that Chicha-sawhatchee WMA is her top pick for rab-bits. It has a good mix of uplands, oaks, andwater that holds good numbers of rabbits.Other choices might be Albany Nursery,River Creek, or Elmodel. Greg Nelms, biol-ogist from Fitzgerald, says that although theflatwoods of south Georgia can be hard to

On very cold mornings, bobwhite quail will sometimes tightly huddle in the cornstalks or thick grasses until the sun warms up the woods and they begin to feed.

Can you spot the quail? Quail hunting of wild birds has declined, but the GADNR is making efforts to bring them back.


hunt, his top choice would be Dixon Me-morial Forest WMA as some areas havebeen burned over and are regenerating goodbrowse for rabbits. “Look for that succes-sional habitat that is three-to-five years oldand the rabbits will be there, but you mighthave to work at finding them. Now let’s takea quick look at squirrel hunting.

Imagine, if you will, a game animal thatis not only under hunted, but is very abun-dant all over the state—and the open seasonis almost seven months long. In addition,the daily limit is a generous ten per day, andthey can be hunted with both shotguns andrifles, as well as with or without dogs. Itwould seem as though squirrel hunting of-fers something for most hunters.

Squirrels are also a fine game animal onwhich to train young hunters. Under thewatchful eye of an adult, youngsters can de-

velop the searching, patience, and stalkingskills which are so important to all huntingactivities. And because squirrels are so plen-tiful, a young hunter’s chances of success arehigh. ere’s nothing like a few squirrels inthe game bag and pleasant memories of thehunt to fuel a kid's desire to return to thewoods. Back home, a mess of squirrel anddumplings will give the young hunter awholesome meal that he can be proud toprovide for the family.

To get started, just head to any goodwoodlot with pretty of acorn and hickorynut trees, and the squirrels will be there. Ifyou can sit still for about ten minutes, thesquirrels will reveal themselves and you’re inbusiness. I like to use a scoped 22 rifle forsquirrel hunting, but a young hunter will getbetter results with a shotgun. A single shot410 makes a fine first gun.

Now let’s consider quail hunting. I usedto have a great time quail hunting as a kid,but today I can hunt all day and be lucky torun across a single covey of quail. Biologistsmay point to modern farming methods,poor habitat, or too many predators likefoxes, armadillos, bobcats, and coyotes asreason for the decline. Too many ants mayalso be a factor too. A baby quail coming outof the shell had better get moving quick be-cause something’s trying to eat it! If I reallywant to have a great quail hunt, I head toone of Georgia’s 94 quail plantations thatspecialize in planning the best quail huntingexperience for Georgia sportsmen. You cancount on having a great hunting trip withgood friends, and they put some great foodon the table. v

Brad Gill, an avid rabbit hunter from Madison, holds up a nice Georgia cottontail rabbit that was brought into gun range with the help of several well trained beagles.


Trees are more than just part of a forest. They make up 751million acres of forest land in the UnitedStates, which is about 30 percent of thetotal U.S. land area (Smith 2009). Theyprovide us with lumber, panels, and engi-neered wood products used to buildhouses; poles used for electricity and com-munications lines; pulp for paper prod-ucts; performance fibers used in diapersand flat screen television screens and cellphones; and are sources of renewable en-ergy in the form of pellets. They are partof our ecosystem, providing wildlife habi-tat, watershed protection, clean air, andrecreational opportunities. Trees are partof our history and our everyday lives; theyconnect us with people in our communityand around the globe.

In South Georgia, a small group oflegacy family forest landowners collectivelyown about 800,000 acres of land in Geor-gia, managed primarily for timber (Figure1). The uniqueness of these landowners isthat their land has remained in the same

family ownership for three to four genera-tions, surviving the Great Depression, twoWorld Wars, the Great Recession, andcountless natural disturbances such aswildfire. Over the years, each family hasstructured their operations in differentways, but they are all tied together by theircommon location near the OkefenokeeSwamp. They also echo similar themes ofecological values, land use practices, mar-ket access, and social values. Representingthese families are John Wesley Langdale,III with The Langdale Company, DottySessoms Porter with Sessoms TimberTrust, Miles A. (Andy) Stone with Supe-rior Pine Products Company, WilliamVarn with the Varn Companies, and JoeHopkins of the Toledo ManufacturingCompany.

WildfireFire is an important silvicultural tool aswell as a natural, ecological disturbance inthe Okefenokee Swamp, but it also cancause great devastation to neighboring pri-

vate lands if unchecked. An unchecked firein the Okefenokee could mean hundredsof thousands to millions of dollars in lostassets on private land. For instance, Varnsuffered a loss of 11,500 acres of timber-land during the 2011 fire season. WesleyLangdale, a resident of Valdosta, explainsthat “Wildfire is an active part of manag-ing this land. We have been fortunateenough to have relationships to help.”Langdale refers to the Greater OkefenokeeAssociation of Landowners (GOAL), anorganization of private landowners in part-nership with nongovernmental organiza-tions, state and federal agencies, and forestindustry. GOAL has been twice awardedthe Pulaski Award, a federal award that rec-ognizes outstanding contributions to wild-land firefighting. It has never before beenawarded to private landowners, but it hasbeen awarded to GOAL once in 1998 anda second time in 2005.

Georgia Forests and Market HistoryWith more than 24 million acres of forest-


How Forest Landowners Connect Us to the WorldBy Yenie Tran, Jacek P. Siry, Thomas G. Harris, Bob Izlar | UGA Center for Forest Business | Athens, Georgia

FAMILY FORESTED OWNERSHIP

land, Georgia ranks third in the UnitedStates with the most forestland. Georgiaalso leads the nation with the largest per-centage of forestland owned privately byfamily owners (Figure 2). The forest indus-try provides $28.7 billion of economic im-pact and is the second largest employer inthe state (GFC, 2012). The economy ofSouth Georgia is particularly dependenton timber markets, using Savannah as amajor port for exports of forest productssuch as pulp, panels, dimension lumber,and pellets.

During the early 1900s, South Geor-gia was a leading producer of turpentine,a product derived from the resin of pine

trees. Most of the panelists spoke about thebeginnings of their family businesses asbeing heavily reliant on turpentine pro-duction. The business was so significant inSouth Georgia that Wesley Langdale’s greatgrandfather, Judge Harley Langdale helpedto start the American Turpentine FarmersAssociation in 1936. Will Varn, who worksout of Hoboken, asserts that “Ample laborwas available after the Depression, and tur-pentine production was labor intensive.”As labor markets evolved, so did labor pro-duction costs, thus turpentine productiondecreased significantly by the mid-1960s.As a result, landowners shifted more man-agement into timber production, mainly

in slash, loblolly, and longleaf pines.

Market Challenges Having accessible and nearby markets wasand continues to be an important part ofsustainable forest management today. Overtime pine timber prices and hunting leaseswere unable to sustain the management ofthese forests. Cogdell native, Dotty Porter,says “At one time, revenue from huntingleases paid for the property taxes. This isno longer the case.” Sessoms Trust haslooked at different ways to remain compet-itive, including thinning of tracts, directsales to nearby mills, and establishing apine straw operation. Porter also has incor-


OWNERSHIP OFFORESTED LAND 2008

MILLIONS OF ACRES ANDPERCENT TOTAL

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porated more technology to improve in-ventory control. In addition to exploringnew markets and navigating through com-plicated tax regulations, each family busi-ness implemented some form of forestcertification to address the increasing needto recognize sustainable management.

Superior Pine converted into an S-Corp from a C-Corp structure to reducethe tax burden and also incorporated aGIS system, growth and yield modeling,and soil mapping into their managementpractices. They also established blueberrycrops; and Georgia today represents thefourth largest blueberry state in the nation.Although this operation has been prof-itable, Andy Stone says “Everyone shouldbe in the perishable products market atleast once. If you don’t like the price oftimber, leave it on the stump. If you don’tlike the price of blueberries, tough.”

ConclusionHistory has shown that the tenacity andinnovation of these families have weath-ered many devastating blows—from theGreat Depression, two World Wars, nu-merous fires, and to the most recent GreatRecession. With the invention of theHerty cup and the discovery that paper,cellulose, and rayon could be made from

fast growing young pines, forest marketshave evolved from turpentine to today’s di-verse markets for pulp, plywood, OSB,MDF, pellets, and lumber. Despite thishistory of success, many factors complicatetoday’s forest markets. After the aggressivedivestiture of timberlands by vertically-in-tegrated timber companies from the 1990sthrough early-2000s, land ownership haschanged dramatically, and large privateholdings have become increasingly frag-mented. Coupled with declining papermarkets and the recent decrease in largesoftwood sawmill capacity, challengesabound for these families to keep theirland intact. Each panelist mentioned fu-ture challenges in firefighting abilities, in-creased government regulations in the

form of endangered species and tax laws,and perhaps most importantly, keeping allof the shareholders and family membersknowledgeable and moving forward coop-eratively.

“Families and businesses can both becomplicated by themselves: successfullycombining the two over multiple genera-tions, as our panel companies have done,is difficult and rare,” notes William J.Lawrence III, the chairman Superior PineProducts. This is how the turpentine busi-ness transformed into what it is today—adynamic business of trees and forests, con-necting us to global markets and peoplearound the world. v

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Bronson Strickland, wildlife specialist withthe Mississippi State University ExtensionService, said bagging a trophy buck is thesuccessful result of time and careful imple-mentation of a management plan.

“To reach your full potential for pro-ducing trophy bucks on your property, startby establishing good deer density and thenwork to create a good buck age structure,manage deer habitat and conduct selectiveharvests,” he said.

At the recent Row Crop Short Course,Strickland told producers, crop consultantsand land managers that raising trophy bucksis a long and careful process. e first part isgetting the right deer density.

Too many deer will overbrowse existingforage and bucks will not reach their fullantler potential. Strickland said landownerscan maintain deer density by shooting thecorrect ratio of does to bucks relative to thehabitat’s population capacity.e next step is creating a good buck agestructure through selective harvest.

“Selective harvest manages the deerherd on the property by protecting the bestyounger bucks and harvesting the olderbucks,” Strickland said. “You’ve got to getdeer to five, six, and seven years old to con-sistently produce trophy bucks.”

Culling is intentionally removing theleast desirable deer from a herd, but high-grading is unintentionally removing thebest. High-grading a herd results in capping

the antler potential of the herd’s bucks.“People managing for trophy bucks

oen can’t get over the hump. eir bucksreach 3 1/2 years old, but the antlers don’tget bigger and they don’t know why,” Strick-land said. “What happens is they keep tak-ing the best bucks at 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years,leaving the lower quality bucks to get old.

“Harvest of the younger, large-antleredbucks typically sets the glass ceiling,” he said.“Bucks with the most potential for growinglarge antlers must be protected when theyare young and harvested only when theyreach maturity if trophy management isyour goal. It’s your resource to manage, butyou have to understand the consequences oftaking young bucks before their antlers havefully developed.”

roughout the process, careful landmanagement is key to the development oftrophy bucks. Location makes a big differ-ence in antler size.

“Antler size potential is defined by thesoil,” he said. “ere is a 30-inch antler dif-ference found between the Delta and theGulf Coast.”

Good soils produce good forage fordeer, and the state’s best soil is found in theDelta. Land managers in other areas cantake steps to improve the nutrition availableto deer, improving the quality of trophybucks.

Bobby Cole, president of Mossy OakBioLogic in West Point, said deer nutrition

relates directly to soil quality.“You’re better off spending money on limeand fertilizer so you see more success,” Colesaid.

He said hunters and land managersneed to learn the soil management skillsthat experienced farmers use.

Cole encouraged land managers toamend the soil and follow sound agricul-tural practices to produce the most foragefor wildlife.

“We want to overwhelm the deer withgroceries,” Cole said.

He recommended that land managersinstall utilization cages on the food plots.These devices are very small, fenced-inareas that prevent wildlife from feeding inone spot.

“Utilization cages tell the story,” Colesaid. “You can see how much an area hasbeen browsed and whether or not you needto shoot some more does.”

While creating the environment to de-velop trophy bucks may be the goal, goodland management practices also create habi-tat for other wildlife, such as ducks, bob-white quail and turkey.

“Having wildlife diversity on yourproperty is important,” Cole said. “It of-fers something for everybody who goeshunting.” v From: Mississippi StateUniversity

NEWSLand management for trophy bucks takes years


University of Florida researchers will use$1.45 million in federal grants to developtrait-prediction models and accelerate thegrowth of loblolly pine trees to producemore bioenergy.

In his grant application, UF associateprofessor Matias Kirst, the principal inves-tigator for the study, said Southern pinescan be used as renewable biomass for bioen-ergy and renewable chemicals. However, forpines to meet their potential as a bioenergycrop, researchers must develop more pro-ductive cultivars that can be efficiently con-verted into liquid fuels, said Kirst, whoteaches in the School of Forest Resourcesand Conservation, part of UF’s Institute ofFood and Agricultural Sciences.

Traditional breeding typically takes 15-

25 years to develop a new improved cultivar,Kirst said. is makes the industry less com-petitive compared to other forest speciesgrown overseas.

“ere is a lot of interest in the industryin breeding trees that grow faster, and withlower inputs,” Kirst said, particularly amongpaper manufacturing businesses.

Researchers hope to reduce the breed-ing cycle to four to five years. To do that, sci-entists must use new breeding techniquesthat accelerate cultivar development suitablefor bioenergy, said Patricio Muñoz, UF as-sistant professor of agronomy, and co-inves-tigator in the studies. Using a process knownas genome-wide selection, UF researchersplan to use analysis of DNA to create faster-growing trees, he said.

Kirst plans to develop models to predictwhich seeds will be most likely to growquickly.

Kirst published another study in 2011that he says serves as a precursor to thisgrant.

e UF grants, along with more than adozen others totaling nearly $9 million,were announced Nov. 15 by the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture’s National Instituteof Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Nationwide, the grants will support re-search into issues affecting plant breedingand production, leading to improvements inplants critical to the sustainability and com-petitiveness of American agriculture, ac-cording to the NIFA press release.v From:University of Florida


Grants to help UF researchers grow pine trees faster, produce more energy

e paper industry has voted overwhelm-ingly to create the Paper and Paper-basedPackaging Promotion and Research pro-gram (Paper Check-off ). e U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture (USDA) announcedthe referendum results (concluded on No-vember 8), in which 85 percent of the com-panies and 95 percent of the productionvoting to support the measure.

“Today’s announcement represents aseminal moment for our industry to standtogether and promote the benefits of paperand paper-based packaging to customersand consumers,” said Paper Check-off PanelChairman John Williams, president andCEO of Domtar. “Our industry producesrecyclable products from a renewable re-source. e Paper Check-off will allow us toinform consumers of the sustainable prod-ucts we make and the responsible manner inwhich we make them.”

e successful referendum concludes athree-year journey for paper industry lead-

ers, who conducted research, identified theopportunity to improve customer and con-sumer knowledge about our products andworked to develop the program and informthe industry of the benefits the PaperCheck-off could provide. At the request ofthe industry, USDA issued the proposedPaper and Paper-based Packaging Promo-tion Research and Information Order forpublic comment in January 2013. e sec-ond proposed rule was issued in September,announcing the Oct. 28-Nov 8 referendum,in which all covered companies were al-lowed to vote on the proposal.

e Paper Check-off joins numerousother agricultural based products in usingthe Department of Agriculture’s programstructure to fund product promotion, edu-cation and research. e initiative will coverfour segments of the paper industry: print-ing and writing; Kra packaging paper(used for products such as grocery bags);containerboard (used to make shipping con-

tainers); and paperboard (used for food andbeverage packaging, tubes, etc). Newsprintand carbonless papers will not be includedin the program.

The program will be administered bya 12-member board of directors andfunded by an assessment of 35 cents pershort ton on companies producing or im-porting 100,000 short tons or more annu-ally of the covered grades. Producers andimporters under the 100,000 short tonthreshold, along with converters, will notbe assessed but will benefit from the pro-motion program.

“is new $25 million program reach-ing across the paper and paper-based pack-aging industry offers a tremendousopportunity for improved marketplace in-formation and decision making about ourproducts,” Williams concluded.

For more information about the pro-gram, visit papercheckoff.com.vFrom: papercheckoff.com

Paper industry votes yes for e Paper Check-off

HELP WANTED: HOW WARNELL IS PREPPING STUDENTSTO GO FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE FIELD


Daniel Atkins thought he knew what hewas getting into when he enrolled at theWarnell School. “Go to class, pay atten-tion, memorize notes, pass exam,” he said.Most schools at UGA teach you to do onething, he said: Pass tests. But he quicklylearned that Warnell was “one of a kind,”and certainly not what he expected. “Thegoal of every teacher is to prepare you tobe a leader within your chosen profession,”Atkins said. “The faculty and staff at War-nell is top tier, second to none in theirbackgrounds, experience, and overwhelm-ing desire to mold young professionals intofuture leaders of our natural resources.”

They’re also determined to help stu-dents find jobs. Atkins, who earned hisBSFR in 2012 and is now wrapping up hismaster’s degree in forest resources, has hadthree internships, the latest with PlumCreek Timber Company. And he creditsthe people working behind the scenes atWarnell with helping him land all three—and the full-time job that awaits him. “Be-cause of the time and effort the Warnellstaff put in, I seized an opportunity andwas hired full-time at the completion ofmy academic career,” he said.

College students—and their par-ents—are understandably concerned aboutjob prospects once graduation rollsaround, as the United States’ unemploy-ment rate has been tied to the rocky econ-omy. And while a college degree at onetime all but guaranteed employment, that’snot the case anymore, with the percentageof college graduates out of work hoveringaround the national unemployment rate.Although other colleges on campus try tohelp students find jobs post-graduation,Warnell has been stepping up its efforts toput jobs and employment opportunitiesout there—it’s just up to students to take

advantage of it all. Warnell may be one ofthe few colleges on campus who has stu-dent services staff members dedicated tohelping students find jobs—and that’s be-fore the professors, alumni relations, andgraduate student staff gets involved.

And the list of what they do is long.Warnell’s student services staff sends outinformation about internships, post jobopenings on Warnell’s job board, hold pro-fessional development workshops andclasses, and encourage students to join theprofessional societies—all year long. Staffmembers will even look at a student’s—oralumnus’—résumé and give advice on howto improve it. Even better, they also recruitalumni to mentor current students andbring employers, who are often alumni,here to recruit for jobs. Networking, saidStudent and Career Services CoordinatorAmi Flowers, is absolutely key to landinga job after graduation, and every year sheurges students to attend Roundtable. Heldevery year by the student chapter of the So-ciety of American Foresters, Roundtable isa popular networking event where studentscan meet the professionals out in the fieldnow—who may be looking to hire. If astudent isn’t taking advantage of all ofWarnell’s job-related services, she said,they’re missing out. “Their tuition fundsthe student services staff, which is put inplace for them to use,” Flowers said. “Weare free to them, so if they’re not taking ad-vantage of it they are not taking advantageof the benefits of attending a major uni-versity. We are literally here for them.”

Will Burge certainly took notice. Lastspring, the senior said, it hit home that hereally needed some experience on his re-sume. He’d wanted to do an internship thesummer before that, but had to take aclass. Staff members like Flowers, Burge

said, are pretty persistent in letting stu-dents know about internships and jobs,which include frequent e-mail reminders,so it was hard to ignore what was literally“right at your fingertips.” So Burge tookadvantage of it, and landed a part-time jobat the Westervelt Company in Statesboro.He’s cruising timber, working with GPS

and doing office work two days a weekuntil he graduates in December with hisBSFR. After that, he said, he plans to at-tend graduate school, possibly in Maine.“Internships are very beneficial, and it ex-poses you to the field of study, and it’s verypractical,” Burge said. “In class you arelearning about the concepts, but with in-ternships, you’re tying it all together.”

A recent study proves the importanceof internships. Although the unemploy-ment rate for college graduates over thepast several years has hovered as high as theten percent mark, some degrees are worthmore in the job market than others, ac-cording to a recent study by GeorgetownUniversity. The study found that graduatesholding degrees in agriculture and naturalresources, as well as those in the sciences,had better luck finding jobs than those inother fields—and those unemploymentnumbers dropped considerably with expe-rience and graduate degrees. A recent grad-uate in agriculture and natural resources,for instance, would fall into a group with6.1 percent unemployment rate. Add inexperience, and that number drops to 3.4percent. With a graduate degree, the ratedrops to 2.3 percent. “Employers like tosee applicants who have a degree in their

By Sandi Martin | Media Relations | Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

If a student isn’t taking advantage ofall of Warnell’s job-related services,she said, they’re missing out.


discipline but also have first-hand experi-ence in the field as well,” Flowers said. “In-ternships allow you to gain thatprofessional experience while you are pur-suing your degree. That study proves whatwe’ve known all along—internships are es-sential to getting hired.”

Kristen Black, a junior from PeachtreeCity, is already thinking about helping her-self get hired after she graduates in the fallof 2015 with a degree in wildlife. She re-cently attended the Southeastern Associa-tion of Fish and Wildlife Agencies as astudent worker, networking for four dayswith potential future employers and seek-ing out advice. And she’s already applyingfor internships for next summer, even if itmeans missing out on an optional fieldcourse, because that’s what’s going to helpher land a job, she said. “What are my fu-ture employers going to look for?” sheasked. “A field course or an internship?”In Warnell, the one major that practicallyguarantees employment is forestry. “Wehave more forestry jobs than we have stu-dents,” Flowers said. Emily Saunders, War-nell’s alumni relations and studentleadership director, agreed. “Most forestrymajors can easily get a job in forestry as aforester—whether it’s pursuing an MFR inforest business and working in a high risein Atlanta or managing forestlands as aconsultant. Our forestry majors are very

marketable, especially if they are willing totravel.”

Many of Warnell’s forestry undergrad-uates do seek out a master’s degree, andthat works out to their benefit, particularlyif they earn an MFR through the Centerfor Forest Business. “The Center for ForestBusiness has compiled an enviabletrackrecord in graduate placement,” said BobIzlar, director of the CFB. “Since the Cen-ter’s founding in 1997 and even before, wehave been able to place 99 percent of ourforest business graduate students in jobs.Many have had multiple job offers evenbefore graduation. This speaks to the re-gard with which our degree program andgraduates are held. At a recent meeting, Iheard the cadre of our forest businessalumni in the timberland investmentworld referred to as the ‘Warnell mafia.’ Itake that as a complement to our efforts.It is a reflection of dedicated faculty andstaff, an active advisory committee andsupportive employers.”

Michael Westbrook (BSFR ’05, MS‘08), the Atlantic Region Manager for theWestervelt Company, has come back toWarnell to recruit future potential employ-ees. Warnell students, he said, certainlyhave an advantage—although he admits tobeing biased toward his alma mater. Therecruitment of alumni to be mentors is ahuge benefit to both student and alumni,

he said. “I think alumni mentoring is agreat way for students to see insight intobusiness, but also a great way for alumnito see the continued growth of theirschool,” Westbrook said. “Higher educa-tion has allowed alumni to become theperson they are today and where they aretoday, so I think it is important they stayinvolved. The school we graduated fromwas defined by those who graduated beforeus, so we must refine it for those who grad-uate next.” v

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BOBBY D. BROWNRegistered Forester GA Number: 2164Licensed Realtor GA Number: 165520

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