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- 71% of Alabama is covered with forests.
- Alabama has the second largest commercial
forest in the nation.
- There are nearly 23 million acres of forest
growing over 16 billion trees
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-How Many Acres are 23 Million?
Alabama's forests are approximately the size of the state of
Indiana! |
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-How
Many Trees are 15 Billion?
Alabama's forests grow 4,000 trees for every man, woman,
and child
in the state. |
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-How
Much Wood is in Alabama's Forests?
Currently, enough lumber exists in Alabama's forests to build and
furnish nearly 4 million homes. |
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Sources: Alabama Forestry Commission |
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Alabama's
Forests ARE DIVERSE |
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- Hardwood forests presently count for the
largest share of Alabama's timberland base.
- Only 20% of Alabama's forests is planted.
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The Present Forest Component |
Forest Type |
Million Acres |
Percentages |
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Hardwoods |
10.61 |
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46.2 |
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Bottomland |
2.93 |
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12.8 |
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Upland |
7.68 |
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33.4 |
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Oak-pine |
4.21 |
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18.3 |
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Pine |
8.1 |
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35.2 |
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Natural |
3.52 |
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15.3 |
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Planted |
4.58 |
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19.9 |
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Non-stocked Forest |
0.07 |
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0.3 |
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| Total Forest
Acres |
22.99 |
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100% |
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Source:
2000 FIA Statistics |
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Alabama's
Forests ARE IN EXCELLENT HEALTH |
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The
latest forest survey shows 17% less sawtimber lost to insects, fire, and disease over the previous survey. |
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The
total growing stock volume saved is equal to the amount of wood used
by a medium pulpmill annually. |
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The
trees saved will continue to increase because of state aircraft detection
of the major causes of mortality. |
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Source: USFS
Alabama Forest Inventory |
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Alabama's
Forests ARE PROTECTED FROM WILDFIRE |
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Alabama
has reduced the yearly average of acres burned and the average
size of a wildfire by two-thirds since 1953. |
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These
reductions are because of the Alabama Forestry Commission
employees who directly respond to fires. |
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There
are approximately 1,000 certified rural volunteer fire departments with
25,000-30,000 firefighters that are within minutes from every fire.
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Source: AFC Wildfire
Records |
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Who
Owns ALABAMA'S FORESTS? |
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95% of
Alabama's forests are privately owned. |
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Only 5%
of Alabama's 22-million acres is owned by government. |
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Nearly
50% of all forest owners own less than 500 acres. |
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There
are approximately 440,000 timber ownerships in Alabama. |
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Forest
landowners work with state agencies on timber harvesting methods
to protect streams and wetlands and improve habitat for
big game, birds,
fish, and other wildlife. |
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Sources: Alabama Forestry Commission |
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Leading
Industry IN THE STATE |
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Alabama
is home to over 1,100 forest manufacturing operations. |
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Timber
is the dominant crop harvested in 34 Alabama counties. |
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The
forest industry directly employs approximately 70,000 Alabamians
with an annual payroll
of $ 2.2 billion. |
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Approximately
100,000 workers are indirectly dependent upon the forest industry. |
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In all,
the forest industry employs about 13% of Alabama's total work
force either directly
or indirectly. |
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Alabama's
Forests PROVIDE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES |
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Camping,
hunting, hiking, and fishing are just a few of the many outdoor
activities enjoyed by people
in Alabama's forests. |
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In 1940,
there were less than 15,000 deer and 12,000 turkey recorded in Alabama. Today our forests are home to 1.4
million of the nation's 18 million white-tailed deer and 350,000 of its
4million wild
turkeys. |
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Hunting
and fishing generate over $60,000,000 annually in taxes, license fees, hunting rights, and sales of equipment and supplies. |
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