Forestry in Caroline County, Virginia

Matt Coleman, Forester
Jerry Bailey, Technician
Virginia Department of Forestry
138 Courthouse Lane
Bowling Green, Virginia 22427




Phone: 804.633.6992

Map and Directions to this office.

General Information

• Population: Map l Graph
• Forestry-related ordinances and zoning
• Virginia Locality Property and Tax Assessment Web page
• Caroline County Web site
• U.S. Census Bureau - Caroline County
• Virginia's Soil and Water Conservation Districts
• USDA Soils Web site - Soil maps and data available online for all 95 Virginia counties and 39 cities.
• Virginia Cooperative Extension - Offices in Virginia.

Conservation

• Forest Cover
• Forest Patches
• Conserving the Forest Landbase

Fire

• Fire Risk
• Wildland/Urban Interface
• Fire Resources

Forest Economics

• Harvest Value, Volume
• Planning Districts
• Jobs/Economy
• Harvest Value By County: Overall Ranking l Ranking by County Name

Forest Management

• Reforestation of Timberlands
• Forest Inventory and Analysis Data Center

Water Quality

• Riparian Restoration
• Riparian Buffers
• Source Drinking Water

Weather Information

• Visit VDOF's Weather Page

History

Caroline County, formed in 1727, has always been active in managing its forest resource. Products ranging from saw timber to excelsior to pulpwood have driven the county’s economy for years. The forests value for watershed protection and recreation has also long been recognized.

The Caroline County office of the Virginia Department of Forestry is located in the town of Bowling Green next door to the fire station. They have a long history of assisting private landowners in the county with issues ranging from forest management to wildfire suppression and law enforcement. Of the 262,600 acres of timberland in the county, 77% of total land area, approximately 59,000 acres are owned by Federal, State or County facilities. The county relies heavily on timber harvesting and management on an economic basis. Caroline County ranks number 6 in the state for average annual harvest value accounting for approximately $5.5 million. The Department of Forestry assists private landowners with reforestation of approximately 1,500 acres in pine seedlings annually. Forest Industry also re-establishes what it harvests. Pine species account for about 35% of all forest types.

Services Provided

Personnel at the Department of Forestry are available to provide technical advice. Forest Stewardship Plans are the most current form of delivering sound forest management which is tailor made to each forest landowner. These plans include up to date aerial photographs and reference materials dealing directly with the landowner’s objectives.

Cost share assistance programs can be handled through the Department. Generally, there are both state and federally funded programs available to help offset the costs associated with several types of forestry projects.

The Riparian Buffer Tax Credit program is currently available to help landowners who clear-cut a parcel of timber with a streamside management zone or buffer present. This program encourages the owner to leave a wider than normal buffer to protect the quality of the water from sedimentation. By leaving this buffer in place, a landowner may take up to a 25% tax credit on that year’s taxes.

As always, the Department of Forestry stays involved with wild land fire suppression and prevention. They have several pieces of rolling stock such as a crawler tractor and fire plow and a Hummer outfitted with suppression tools. They also help to train and work alongside of the county’s six volunteer fire departments.

Last modified 2007-07-03