Appropriations for forests equal a fantastic investment

By GENE KODAMA

S.C. State Forester

Budget deliberations are a seasonal tradition in state government and are a huge challenge for agencies, legislators and the governor. So, funding sources are getting a lot of attention these days, as well as the destination of those funds. The Forestry Commission is best known for using its state appropriated funds for fighting wildfires, but it is also mandated to develop the forest resource as an economic engine and sound investment as well.

To understand the Forestry Commission budget it helps to understand where the money comes from and where it goes. Currently, the agency receives $14.3 million in state-appropriated funds, down 21 percent from $18 million last year. This money pays salaries, benefits and operating costs. $200,000 of that total is directly distributed to private landowners as Forest Renewal Program (FRP) dollars. In addition, this money is matched by the forest industry's wood consuming mills at a ratio of 4:1. So when the state provides us $200,000, industry matches it with $800,000. These funds are then distributed to forest landowners as an incentive for them to invest in site preparation, tree planting and other forest treatments.

About $5 million in federal funds are also acquired by the Commission to supplement state dollars and shore up some important forestry programs. These programs are mission critical for a state agency charged with protecting and developing the 13 million acres of forests that cover almost 70 percent of the state. They include urban forestry programs and grants, wildfire prevention and suppression, volunteer fire department assistance, insect and disease forest health programs, response to all types of disasters and emergencies, water quality protection, forest inventory, and cost share programs. Most of these funds require local matching dollars and are used to encourage landowners and other entities to make the long-term investments required to generate healthy productive trees and forests and to provide a variety of services in cooperation with its partners.

In addition, about $4 million of revenue is generated by the five State Forests. Such well managed forests support themselves and generate revenue, whether they are publicly or privately held. Our state forests (Manchester, Harbison, Wee Tee, Poe Creek and Sand Hills) are role models. These lands generate enough revenue from their timber and pine straw sales and recreation fees that no state funds are needed for their management. And in fact, they run on 75 percent of the revenue, and the other 25 percent is returned to the counties of origin for their school systems. The Forestry Commission returns these funds in lieu of paying property taxes ($672,000 last year). Obviously, forestry is good business for all.

To round out the Commission's current total budget of about $25 million, approximately $2 million is generated from facility and land leases, tree nursery revenue, services, and surplus property sales.

Funding from the Forest Renewal Program and federal sources like the U.S. Forest Service is often called "pass through" dollars in that they are received then passed along to others. In fact, all funds, no matter the source, really "pass through" the South Carolina Forestry Commission straight to the citizens and economy of South Carolina in the form of cash and services for the protection and development of its forest resources and forest industry.

At the current level of state appropriated funding, for every $1 dollar of funding provided to the Forestry Commission, the Commission supports $1,200 of economic impact by the state's forest industry. That's one fantastic return on investment!

As South Carolina's No. 1 manufacturing industry, forestry provides $17.4 billion in economic impact and is the No. 1 job provider and No. 1 wage provider. Agriculture and forestry together form the AgriBusiness cluster and is the largest state industry at over $33 Billion in economic impact. See www.trees.sc.gov for more information on forestry..