Georgia

Forest Action Plan

Leadership, service, and education in the protection and conservation of our forest resources

Georgia’s 24 million acres of forest land are a rich and renewable resource that provide myriad benefits to citizens across the state, and yet challenges to the land and the professionals who manage it abound. The vision of the Georgia Forestry Commission ensures the benefits of healthy forests—clean air, clean water, and abundant forest products—are available to present and future generations.

The Georgia Forest Action Plan provides a science-based foundation that analyzes forest conditions and trends in the state and delineates priority rural and urban forest landscape areas, and provides the GFC and its valued partners with a solid road map for navigating the challenges ahead.

Conserve working forest landscapes for multiple values and uses

Water quality is the public’s primary issue of concern. Urbanization and non-point sources of pollution are the greatest threats to Georgia’s water quality. Urbanization removes acreage from forest cover, resulting in increased storm runoff and intensified streamflow that causes stream bank erosion, sedimentation and flooding.

Currently, more than 6,000 miles of streams do not meet state water quality standards due to non-point sources of pollution. Magnifying the threat is the problem that Georgia does not have systems in place that measure stream and aquifer water output or pollution capacities, making water projections impossible to gauge. Specific regional water priority issues are detailed in the Forest Action Plan.

Prevent and mitigate wildfire and minimize negative environmental and economic impacts of invasive Species

The urbanization of Georgia is a serious threat that could undermine forest sustainability in decades to come. Georgia is home to four of the nation’s fastest growing counties and the state’s population is projected to increase by an additional 46 percent in the next 20 years.

From 2001-2005, Georgia’s canopy cover declined by a total of 398,330 acres and impervious surfaces increased by 106 acres a day. Much of this growth occurred in metro Atlanta, though the Savannah, Columbus, and Macon areas reflected significant changes as well. Population increases and the loss of tree cover to impervious surfaces impact every forest benefit. Proactive management tools and technical support systems are needed to adequately protect Georgia’s forest resources.

Maximize water quality and quantity benefits provided by Georgia’s forests

Forest fragmentation and parcelization are additional challenges caused by urbanization. These phenomena are created when forests are converted to other land uses and when the number of forest landowners increase, but the land parcels shrink in size. Contributing factors include urban sprawl, inheritance issues, tax implications, timber land divestitures, investment concerns or other financial pressures.

Taxation issues also play a part as land values rise but income from forest uses does not. The global recession and economic pressures of global competition have compounded these issues. Likewise, these situations can lead to a decreased value for forest management, and an increased occurrence of water quality degradation, wildlife disruption and forest pest incidence.

Best Management Practices

Georgia’s best management practices (BMPs) program is quasi-regulatory. The agencies responsible for BMPs policy development are the Georgia Forestry Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Click here to view the most recent BMPs recommendations on the state forestry agency website.

Click the following links to view available BMP monitoring data and implementation rates from NASF’s 2015 BMP survey and NASF’s 2019 BMP survey.

Forest Action Plan

Leadership, service, and education in the protection and conservation of our forest resources

Conserve working forest landscapes for multiple values and uses

Prevent and mitigate wildfire and minimize negative environmental and economic impacts of invasive Species

Maximize water quality and quantity benefits provided by Georgia’s forests

Best Management Practices

Georgia Forestry Publications

State Management Plans

Georgia Contact Information