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1/3/2008
Helping to Restore Georgia Forests |
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On January 7 at 11:30 AM at the Herty Building located at 5003 Jacksonville Highway in Waycross, a press conference will be held to announce the establishment of a privately funded Wildfire Relief Fund. The Wildfire Relief Fund is being created to provide financial assistance for forest restoration in South Georgia to family forest owners who were affected by the 2007 wildfire season.
During the spring and summer of 2007, Georgia experienced an unprecedented drought and subsequent period of wildfires, especially in a 21-county area of Southeast Georgia. Between mid-February and June, a total of 54 wildfires burned across the area scorching a total of 462,753 acres. According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, a total of 30,921 acres burned on private family lands.
"We are asking our partners to help us raise $7,000,000. This is the amount the Georgia Forestry Commission reports it will take to reforest and restore the affected areas," says Monte Simpson, Fund spokesperson and Weyerhaeuser Public Affairs Manager. "That's less than $1.00 from each resident in the state to bring back this area from the misfortune it experienced last spring."
Forest products companies approached the Georgia Forestry Commission offering financial donations to offset unexpected reforestation costs experienced by family forest owners. As a result, the GFC consulted with the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Seven Rivers Resource and Conservation Development Council to develop the Wildfire Relief Fund, a 501 (c) (3) tax deductible entity that will accept donations to assist affected family forest owners.
Once funds have been received, the GFC will notify those family forest owners who are known to have been affected by last spring's wildfires. These landowners will be given the opportunity to apply for incentive payments from the Wildfire Relief Fund to reforest their lands. GFC foresters will review applications and inspect the affected lands and reward incentive payments based on need and the amount of dollars available in the Fund.
Partners of the Wildfire Relief Fund include the Georgia Forestry Association, Weyerhaeuser, BASF, National Wild Turkey Federation, Georgia Forestry Commission, Seven Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Council, Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Anyone interested in becoming a partner should contact Lynn Carter at 912-367-7679. Or, if you'd like to make a donation, send it to:
Attn: Wildfire Relief Fund
Seven Rivers RC & D Office
239 North East Park Ave, Suite E
Baxley, GA 31513
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