Our Forestland and National Forest

Our Forestland is a valuable part of the nation’s economy. In Alabama, we have a large portion of property that is covered by National Forests. This provides recreation to individuals and it helps steer the economic engine of the State through managed timber harvest producing lumber, paper products, fencing materials and much more. We need to make sure that foreign countries do not buy up our Nation Forests and the natural resources and minerals that go with them. In Alabama we have 668,000 acres covering 17 counties of National Forests.

All across the Southeast we also have a silent destroyer that is slowly devastating our pine timberland. It is the Southern Pipe Beetle. In 2024 there was a major outbreak in Alabama which resulted in a reported 12,000 infestation spots covering 25,000 acres. I believe this number has grown dramatically since the report as the beetle continue to spread rapidly. Although this may not seem like a big issue to some, this is devastating to the timber landowners and to the National Forests. Some landowners may just be a small family land all the way up to huge corporations. This can not be stopped by the Alabama Forestry Commission or other States Forestry Organizations. As your Senator, I will work with research and development companies to produce an insecticide to spray and terminate the pine beetle. I will also work with the Department of Agriculture to contract spray forests of Alabama to rid this killer just as the boll weevil had to be eradicated in Alabama between 1987 and 1995. This is a serious issue that we must get under control before it destroys the pine timber in Alabama and across the Southeast.