Survey Implications for Public Forest Lands

Public timberlands represent the smallest of major ownership classes in Arkansas; of the State’s 18.38 million ac of timberland, the public owns 3.198 million ac, or 17.4 percent. Of that total, > 85 percent is in Federal ownership (70.8 percent in national forests). State lands account for 12.4 percent, and county and municipal lands, about 2 percent. Compared to other ownerships, public timberlands have higher levels of stocking, more area in sawtimber, and higher per-acre growing-stock and sawtimber volumes. Site quality in the national forests is poor relative to other public lands, where the difference between upland and bottomland physiography is somewhat higher. By total area, hardwood forest types dominate National Forest System lands in the Ozark and Ouachita regions. The archetypal species groups are shortleaf pine in the Ouachitas and hard hardwoods in the Ozarks. In both regions, the archetypal species groups show growth that is slightly less than the State average, removals that are much lower than the State average, and, as a result, a growth surplus that is from two times to three times greater than the State average. As described in the Forest Inventory and Analysis reports, data suggest two elements of concern about timberland conditions on national forest lands in Arkansas: removals exceed growth in the planted pine component of the Ozark region, and stands tend to be overstocked in the Ouachita region. Nevertheless, the data support the hypothesis that the public sector in general, and the national forests in particular, support timberlands with larger trees than other ownership classes in the State. 1 Research Forest Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Hot Springs, AR. Citation for proceedings: Guldin, James M., comp. 2001. Proceedings of the symposium on Arkansas forests: a conference on the results of the recent forest survey of Arkansas; 1997 May 30–31; North Little Rock, AR. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–41. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 125 p. INTRODUCTION The public forests of Arkansas are among the State’s most valued treasures. Many attribute Arkansas’ identity as “The Natural State” to its forested nature and the many resources that its forests provide. Public forests include Federal, State, county, and municipal ownerships. However, management objectives within and among these different ownership categories differ with respect to tract size, management philosophy, and constraints related to social, economic, and legal issues of governance. Federal forest ownership in Arkansas includes the Ouachita National Forest and the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, which are managed by the Forest Service, an Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Department of the Interior has jurisdiction over seven national wildlife refuges (managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and several national parks, scenic rivers, historic sites, and military parks (managed by the National Park Service). A third Federal agency, the Department of Defense, manages timberland on several large military installations, including (as of 1995) Fort Chaffee, Camp Robinson, Little Rock Air Force Base, and the Pine Bluff Arsenal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is also under the Department of Defense, manages the dozen or so artificial impoundments of Arkansas waterways and the recreational lands that adjoin them. State ownership includes an extensive system of nearly 50 wildlife management areas that, under the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, encompass roughly 350,000 ac. The State owns 48 State parks, which are managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. Other significant State holdings include the 10,000-ac Poison Springs State Forest, which is managed by the Arkansas Forestry Commission; lands managed by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission; and several forested tracts managed by the University of Arkansas System. County and municipal forest lands constitute the smallest share of public ownership and provide primarily local outdoor recreation. If such lands qualify as timberland according to Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) standards, they would be included in these data. The author has used results from the 1995 FIA Report for the State of Arkansas to characterize public forest lands. However, the FIA sample design limits the ability to make detailed interpretations across ownership categories. For example, each plot cluster represents, on average, 5,760 ac of forest. At this sampling intensity, the Poison Springs State Forest would be represented by only two plots, which could not accurately characterize current conditions, much less long-term changes in so small a tract. Nor can it facilitate comparison with other ownerships of small aggregate acreage. Therefore, only the broadest characterizations of ownership are considered in this paper. The author’s objectives are to quantify broad attributes of public forest lands in Arkansas relative to both the general conditions of the State’s forests and the public sector data from earlier FIA reports.