Planting Trees in Georgia
Dixon Memorial State Forest
Stretching across 35,000 acres, Dixon Memorial State Forest is the largest state forest in the state. Developing and managing a healthy and sustainable tree canopy is a priority here to support public recreational use as well as healthy biodiversity.
Efforts are focused on enhancing a native ecosystem that has faced many recent challenges, including disease, insects, and drought. This work includes the addition of longleaf, slash, and loblolly pine that will grow to help restore the land and ensure a healthy future for the forest — providing soil stability, improving water quality, enriching recreational forest use, and supporting a number of wildlife species.
The Florida black bear in particular will benefit from reforestation. Vacciniums, huckleberries, gallberries, and saw palmettos — all staples of the bear’s diet — will fill in the understory of this newly restored forest. As this area is home to one of only three populations of Florida black bears in the state, maintaining their habitat is a priority for the Georgia Forestry Commission.