RD43 - Annual Report on the Actions, Conclusions and Recommendations for Conserving the Commonwealth's Forest Supply


Executive Summary:
Section 10.1-1119 of the Code of Virginia directs the State Forester to report his actions, conclusions and recommendations to each session of the General Assembly, and to publish such conclusions and recommendations as may be of interest to the general public.

As an agency that coordinates forestry activities among private landowners, special interest groups, educators, consulting foresters, and industry, the Department of Forestry has taken a lead role in providing "a desirable forestry future" that will ensure a healthy, protected forest for future generations.

To carry out the mission of the Department of Forestry (DOF), all employees must focus diligently on forest resources. All programs, projects and activities must clearly support this underlying premise. Since the DOF does not own these forest resources, the mission can be accomplished only by influencing those who either own or control the resources or make policy decisions affecting them. Currently less than 15 percent of the forest land in Virginia is under forest management. This means only about 15 percent of private landowners in Virginia - who own three-quarters of Virginia's forests - are using the essential information that enables them to make informed decisions about their forest.

Rapid population growth places ever greater demands on Virginia's shrinking forest land base. Successful pursuit of the DOF mission hinges on four fundamental achievements: protection of forest resources, conservation of the forest land base, protection of water quality, and improvement and continued renewal of its forests. DOF has made outstanding progress in forest protection and pine management. This must continue; but these successes alone will not be enough. If present population growth trends persist, the available forest land base will eventually diminish to the point where it may no longer support the needs of existing forest industry. Our initial assessments suggest that we are approaching this point quickly. DOF must address the issue of forest land base conservation and land-use policy.