Here’s a fun fact: The two states in the contiguous U.S. with the largest acreages of timberland are Georgia and Alabama. Here’s a not-so-fun fact: According to a new report from the U.S. Forest Service and the Southern Group of State Foresters, population growth and urbanization over the next 50 years is expected to decrease timbered acreage in the South by 23 million acres, an area equivalent in size to all of South Carolina. It’s all part of the Southern Forest Futures Project, an ongoing effort to assess forest land across 13 states, from Texas to Virginia—about 90 percent of which is in private hands. For more information on efforts to protect Southern forests, check out the Dogwood Alliance and Southern Forests for the Future.
--Reed McManus
Image: Cumberland River, Boone National Forest, KY. U.S. Forest Service photo.
