Thursday, October 19, 2023

Franklin County has approved a special use permit allowing the Florida Division of Forestry to conduct logging operations on McIntyre Road

Franklin County has approved a special use permit allowing the Florida Division of Forestry to conduct logging operations on McIntyre Road on the eastern end of the county to help protect the trees there from southern pine beetles.

There has been a ban on large trucks on McIntyre Road since 1992 after the road was damaged by logging trucks leaving deep ruts in the roadway.

The problem became bad enough that emergency vehicles could not use the road to reach the few homes that are located there.

Last year the county created a special use permit for forestry to use the road for a limited amount of time to treat the area affected which was affected by a southern pine beetle infestation.

Forestry supervisor, Jarrod Cook, said the Division now needs to access the site again for logging operations to thin the trees which will protect against future pine beetle infestations.

He pointed out that while this site is still healthy, there have been at least 100 acres of trees within a ten-mile radius of the area that have been affected by pine beetles this year.

He added that the trees there have not been thinned in 29 years, which makes them about 4 years overdue.

Southern Pine Beetles are considered the biggest threat to forest land in Florida.

Outbreaks can spread over 50 feet a day and can only be stopped by cutting down a large buffer of trees surrounding the outbreak.

An infested pine tree will die within six weeks and there is no treatment available to save infested trees.


Infestations of these beetles can lead to widespread forest death, increase the threat of catastrophic wildfire, degrade wildlife habitat, and decrease the overall aesthetics of the area.

Forest management practices such as thinning, prescribed burning, competition control, and use of less-susceptible pine species can improve the health of pine stands and decrease their likelihood of developing southern pine beetle infestations.

However, once an infestation occurs, cutting down a buffer area is the only way to stop the spread.



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