By Jonathan Dingler
Journal Correspodent

King Solomon once said "To everything a time and season". According to the Texas Forest Service, it's the season for thinning densely stocked timberlands. It's been over a decade since the Southern Pine Beetle devastated the pine forests of Texas and Louisiana causing headaches for foresters and landowners alike in the Piney Woods, but that's no reason to be complacent.

Since beetle outbreaks are cyclical in nature and have historically occurred every 6 to 10 years, Ron Billings, project manager for TFS, says that East Texas is overdue for another SPB outbreak.

So just where have the beetles been over the last decade or so? That's a good question. TFS and other federal and state agencies have in place a monitoring program which traps Southern Pine Beetles as well as their predatory enemy, the checkered beetle throughout the South. Population trends show that when SPB populations are high, the checkered beetle populations are in decline and vice-versa. Each spring, traps baited with the SPB pheromone scent, frontalin, and southern pine turpentine are set out in pine forests when dogwoods begin to bloom. Dogwood blooms mark the primary dispersal season for populations of the SPB as well as other insects. The traps are monitored weekly for a 4-6 week period by federal and state cooperators. In 2007, traps scattered throughout Southeast Texas failed to pick up a single Southern Pine Beetle, with only a few being trapped in Louisiana in the Florida parishes. Early 2008 reports indicate similar findings in Texas which suggest another year of little or no beetle activity. Sooner or later, though, they're bound to return. For this reason, TFS is working on an effort to lower the likelihood of future devastating outbreaks.

In 2003, the Texas Forest Service created the SPB Prevention Project, with financial assistance from the USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Protection. The goal of this program is to identify beetle-prone pine stands on private lands within East Texas and offer federal cost shares as an incentive to encourage eligible landowners to thin their timberlands for SPB prevention. Research has shown that beetles tend to favor densely stocked pine stands, and thinning to reduce basal area can significantly reduce the risk of beetle attack.

To be eligible for this cost share program, private timberlands must be pulpwood stands categorized as high risk by the TFS and located in one of the following East Texas counties: Anderson, Angelina, Cass, Cherokee, Gregg, Hardin, Harrison, Houston, Jasper, Liberty, Marion, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler, or Walker. High risk stands are typically considered pine stands with an average total height greater than 50 feet and a basal area greater than 120 square feet/acre, especially those located in bottomlands or flatwoods. If in question, TFS personnel can help you determine if your timberlands qualify as high risk.

Stands located within five miles of a Texas national forest are also eligible for cost-share. National Forest lands have been hit particularly hard by SPB outbreaks in the past. One reason for this is that policies restricting timber harvest on federal lands have created thousands of acres of densely stocked pine timberlands, which are favored by the Southern Pine Beetle.

Cost share rates for the program vary by location. For eligible stands located within five miles of a Texas National Forest, the rate is $50 per acre. For stands located in Polk, Tyler, Jasper, Newton, Hardin, Orange, Liberty, San Jacinto, Montgomery, and Walker counties the cost share rate is $40/acre. For stands located in Anderson, Angelina, Cass, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Houston, Marion, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby and Trinity counties, the rate is $25 an acre. Fees for hiring a consulting forester will also be reimbursed at a rate of $5 per acre, not to exceed 50% of the total cost. Of course this is all in addition to the revenue generated from the timber sold, which according to Timber-Mart South brought in an average of $8.11 per ton in the southeast during 4th quarter 2007.

Cost shares are also available for pre-commercial thinning at a rate which covers 50-70% of actual costs, not to exceed $105/acre of cost shares for tracts within five miles of a National Forest, $90/acre for the stands in Polk, Tyler, Jasper, Newton, Hardin, Orange, Liberty, San Jacinto, Montgomery, and Walker counties, and $75/acre for stands in Angelina, Cass, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Houston, Marion, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby and Trinity counties.

The maximum allowed cost share per federal fiscal year (October 1 - September 30) will be $5,000 for individual landowners and $10,000 for a partnership or trust involving two or more partners. Maximum allowed per fiscal year to thin a single stand will be $5,000. For questions or more information on this program, contact Mike Murphrey, SPB Prevention Forester in Lufkin at (936) 639-8170.

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