Page 36 - Georgia Forestry - Winter2017

Sustainability Report
Clean Water
Rainwater has to be rerouted where buildings and other impervious surfaces replace the natural landscape. As urban and suburban areas continue to expand, the support of healthy water systems provided by forests increases.
Rain that falls in the forest is more likely to be absorbed by the soil and to reach rivers and streams.
Across the industry, forestry BMPs represent the techniques that have been found to measurably prevent contamination, erosion and sedimentation. According to Scott Thackson, the Water Quality Coordinator at the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC), the state was an early adopter of BMPs.
GFC is responsible for promoting and monitoring the implementation of BMPs throughout the state as a result of agreements with the state’s Environmental Protection Division, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Renewable Energy
The forest industry efficiency
efforts extend to the harvest and manufacturing processes. By using every part and byproduct of harvested trees, the industry generates biofuels that add to the country’s domestic energy sources.
1,628
in the GA-MTH logger education program
As of Dec. 21, 2016 (source: GA-SIC)
450 400 350 300 250 200
150 100
50
0
STATEWIDE TRENDS IN REDUCTION OF WATER QUALITY RISKS FROM 1998 THROUGH 2015 SURVEYS3
1998 2002 2004 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 (448) (286) (213) (154) (22) (26) (100) (63)
GFC implements an extensive state survey to evaluate the implementation of BMPs across Georgia. The survey, conducted every other year, is among the most comprehensive in the U.S. GFC uses the survey results to measure progress and to identify needs that drive the allocation of their education resources.3
Administration reports that 22 percent of all renewable energy in the U.S. was generated from woody biomass in 2015.
Thinning small diameter trees (less than 12") is a key tool of maintaining healthy forest growth and management. Ensuring that there are healthy markets for these small diameter trees, including energy production, is key to sustainably managing forests for the long term.
Woody biomass comes from the bark, sawdust and other byproducts of the manufacturing process that would otherwise be cast aside. For decades, the wood products industry has been using biomass to generate heat, steam and electricity with increasing efficiency. The American Forest and Paper Association reports that, by using this energy, the industry prevents 181 million metric tons of CO2e emissions annually.4
By using innovative management and processing, many in the industry produce renewable bioenergy because new trees are planted to replace those that have been converted to energy.
Forest products produce fuel that comes from bark or woody biomass or from black liquor, which is a byproduct of the paper manufacturing process. The industry turns waste products into an energy resource. As a result, the industry generates power that supports its own operations, but may also have the capac- ity to add power back to the grid. The U.S. Energy Information
ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS
34 | GEORGIA FORESTRY