Facts About Threats
Rural. land (agricultural and forest land) is developed at about 1.1 million acres per year.
Forecasting models indicate that 12 million forest acres in the South will be lost to urbanization between 1992 and 2020.
Models forecast that timber production in the US will increase by about a third by 2040 and that nearly all of this growth will will come from the South.
Over the past 50 years pine plantations have been displacing natural forests, and now occupy 32 million acres (15%) of the current southern "forests".
Pine plantations generally provide poor wildlife habitat.
Pine plantations use fertilizers and herbicides, which eliminate many benefits for early successional species of wildlife and harm water quality.
Direct regulations of forestry is limited. Instead we must rely on voluntary Best Management Practices.
Technology allows smaller diameter trees to be cut for pulpwood.
Roadless, Transportation and other policies are continuously redefined, leaving forests susceptible every time the administration changes.