Whitney State Forest Closing Part 2

A little better clarification as to exactly what is going on. I misspoke when I said the clearcut area would be planted in Loblolly, it will be planted in Shortleaf Pine which is a slower grower but more valuable wood and will add more diversity to the forest. Here is a short excerpt from the state forest manager for the Whitney:

Timber harvesting is scheduled to begin on or around June 2 in two stands of the forest. The stands to be cut are identified on the map as “LP31 A” and “LP31 B”. They are colored dark green. Both stands are comprised primarily of Loblolly pine planted 31 years ago. Prior to planting, these areas were fields.

Area “LP31 A” will be clearcut, treated to control invasives, possibly prescribed burned, and replanted with Shortleaf pine.

Area “LP31 B” will be thinned to improve the growth rate, vigor, and health of the remaining trees. Trees harvested in this thinning were marked by Department of Forestry personnel. Each tree was selected for harvest for one of two reasons. Either it has a characteristic that makes it unlikely to develop into a more valuable tree, or while nothing in particular is wrong with the tree marked for harvest, another tree adjacent to it exhibits better characteristics. The logger will take care to minimize damage to the trees remaining in the stand after the harvest.

The Whitney State Forest is part of the State Forest system of Virginia and managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry. The Virginia Department of Forestry is a state agency and receives its funding from tax dollars for the majority of it’s programs and operations. However, the State Forest system is a portion of the agency that receives no funding whatsoever from tax dollars. All of the money for the State Forest system is generated from the state forests through timber sales, use permits, and firewood sales. 25% of the money generated a state forest is given to the county that forest is located in. The remaining 75% pays for reforestation, maintenance, vehicles, equipment, and salaries of state forest personnel. Timber was last harvested from the property in 1960 before it was donated to the Commonwealth in 1972.