The U.S. Forest Service recently announced that the agency has protected one million acres of forest through its Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program. The millionth-acre milestone was reached on private land in New Kent County, Va., as a result of the Logger Incentive Program developed by the Virginia Department of Forestry. This program makes treating small forests for southern pine beetle economically viable by paying loggers directly for their work on small pine stands.
The Forest Service established the Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program in 2003 as a comprehensive strategy to manage losses from the pest by reducing the stress to forests through good forest management. The program was developed through close cooperation with state foresters and national forest managers. Their strategy is proactive and broad – to increase the resiliency of pine forests across the South, crossing ownership boundaries and land uses.
The Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Program spans 13 states and crosses boundaries from privately owned land to state and national forests, aiming to prevent future outbreaks and losses. More than 13,000 individual landowners have participated in the program, together with hundreds of loggers and contractors across the South, to improve the health of southern forests.
“The millionth acre is a tribute to healthy forests throughout the South, both here in these woods and throughout the regional landscape,” USDA Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources and the Environment Arthur “Butch” Blazer said. “Preventing infestations by the southern pine beetle takes cooperation on a grand scale, and today we honor everyone who contributed – every acre and every effort.”