One of the Alabama Forestry Commission’s (AFC) legislative mandates is “to make exploration, surveys, studies and reports concerning the timber and forest resources (of Alabama) and to publish such thereof as will be of general interest .” In 2008, Congress passed the Farm Bill which directed states to develop long term statewide assessments and strategies for forest resources. The AFC is currently in the process of developing a statewide assessment and strategies plan that will fulfill both state and federal legislative mandates. The target date for completion is June 18, 2010, when it will be submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture. An eight-member State Assessment Team has been appointed to guide the development and completion of the assessment document. The AFC has also contracted with a professional biologist to serve as technical writer for the final report. The format of the assessment will consist of two parts. Part one will be an actual statewide assessment of Alabama’s forest resources. The State Assessment Team will use natural resource data as well as public input, demographics, and other nontraditional land use information to determine 1) the conditions and trends of Alabama forest resources, 2) the threats to forest resources, 3) areas or regions in the state that are priorities, and 4) any multi-state areas that are regional priorities.

Alabama has 22.7 million acres of forests

The second part of the document will detail a long term statewide forest resource strategy, including 1) how to address threats to Alabama’s forest resources and a 2) a description of the resources needed to implement those statewide strategies.

Public Survey

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Gathering public input is a crucial step to assessing Alabama’s forest resources. On December 19, 2008, twenty-seven stakeholders met in Montgomery to help frame the assessment plan’s focus. Their comments were then used by the Forestry Commission and Auburn University-Montgomery to develop an online public attitude survey open to landowners, natural resource professionals, and other key groups. The online survey received 1,157 visits, of which 865 responded to all 31 questions. Another 120 respondents completed partial surveys. Though a nonscientific survey, the results do provide valuable information that when used in context of other data and analysis will help identify critical issues facing Alabama forest resources.

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