VDOF’s White Pine Seedling Crop Ruined, Thousands of Southwest Virginia Landowners Affected

Virginia’s white pine tree seedling crop was decimated by a hail storm that tore through Augusta County earlier this summer. Because of the damage, the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) will not have the white pine seedlings to sell this year and a very limited number for sale in 2008. This will affect thousands of landowners in Southwest Virginia who purchase and plant nearly 2 Million seedlings on their property annually.

“White pine is one of the most important tree crops in Southwest Virginia,” said Ed Stoots, Southwest Virginia’s regional forester. “Thousands of area landowners actively manage white pine stands and have been purchasing seedlings from us for years. To my knowledge, this is the first time that an entire crop of white pine seedlings was rendered worthless by a severe storm.”

White pines have an enormous economic impact in Southwest Virginia. In addition to their timber value, they are used as Christmas trees and their trimmings are used to make pine roping for Christmas decorations. White pines have also become a favorite of area mining companies who have been planting the trees on reclaimed mine land.

“White pine and its associated products contribute more than $15 Million annually to the regional economy,” Stoots said. “The loss of the seedling crop will create some problems for folks who earn money from white pine.”

The Virginia Department of Forestry is actively seeking suitable white pine seedlings from other nurseries, but officials do not believe that sufficient quantities will be found to meet all needs.

“We will have to give priority to private landowners who have tracts that were recently harvested or had site preparation worked performed in preparation for planting trees this winter,” Stoots said. “We encourage interested parties to contact their local VDOF forester as soon as possible. Doing so will enable us to know how many white pine seedlings are needed from other sources. Also, your local forester will offer forest management advice, including possible alternative seedlings that are suitable for your specific location and soil type.”

For more information, contact your local VDOF office.

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The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, there are Forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide service to citizens of the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.

With nearly 16 million acres of forest land and more than 248,000 Virginians employed in the forest products industry, Virginia forests provide more than $30 billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.