USFS plans to thin NW Georgia forest

Comments are being accepted on the four-county program aimed at reducing the risk of pine beetle infestations.

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a significant thinning of pine timber across national forest property in Northwest Georgia in a bid to reduce the risk for South- ern pine beetle infestations.

The Armuchee Healthy Forest Project would encompass large tracts of Chattahoochee- Oconee National Forest land in Floyd, Chattooga, Walker and Whitfield counties.

Conasauga District Ranger Jeff Gardner is seeking public input on the project. However, the project falls under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, which means his decision regarding the final scope of the project is exempt from environmental review.

The proposed project would include commercial and non-commercial thinning, which would most likely begin in 2017 and stretch out over three to five years. The commercial thinning would encompass a total of 1,465 acres.

The non- commercial thinning would take place in areas that have already been affected by the Southern pine beetle.

Approximately 249 acres of the thinning activity is slated to take place in Floyd county, most of that north of Dunaway Gap on the east side of Johns Mountain.

Danny Skojac with the USFS in Chatsworth said the Southern pine beetle has long been considered the most harmful native insect pest across southern timber stands. The beetle gets underneath the bark and chokes off the passageways that carry water and nutrients through the trees.

Tim Chesnut, owner of Chesnut Forestry in

Coosa, said that when trees are weakened by stress, the beetles are able to thrive and grow in numbers. By thinning the forest, it reduces the competition for water and nutrients and makes the re-

maining trees stronger.

Gardner said the frequency of Southern pine beetle outbreaks has increased over the past 40 years. In the last major outbreak, between 1998 and 2001, more than 300 sites were ravaged in the four- county Conasauga district alone.

Most of the timber slated for thinning has been planted since 1970, though there are a few tracts that include trees that are 50 to 100 years old.

The project would also involve building between eight and nine miles of temporary access roads for the harvesting.

The Forest Service is accepting comments on the plan through May 31.

Letters may be sent to Conasauga Ranger District, 3941 Highway 76, Chatsworth, Ga. 30705 Attn: Armuchee Healthy Forests.

Faxes can be sent to 706-695-1872, email comments go to conasauga@ fs. fed. us or people can contact Danny Skojac by telephone at 706- 6956736, ext. 104.

Doug Walker / Rome News-TribuneDead pine needles are one of the telltale signs of a Southern pine beetle infestation. The U.S. Forest Service is proposing to thin more than 1,000 acres of the Chattahoochee National Forest in Floyd, Whitfield, Walker and Chattooga counties to combat the spread of the beetles.

Doug Walker / Rome News-TribuneThe reddish-orange pine needles in this tree are one of the primary signs of Southern pine beetle damage. The beetles embed themselves under the bark and choke off the circulation of water and nutrients to the trees.