Forests throughout upstate South Carolina largely escaped major damage from February’s ice and snow storms that caused up to $363 million in losses to pine forests in a wide swath of counties across the state.
The damages led South Carolina’s state forester to issue a forest disaster declaration last week after fly-over and on-the-ground surveys showed that storms had downed entire groves of pulpwood pine trees and snapped branches and canopies from scores of other trees left standing.
The South Carolina Forestry Commission surveyed upstate forests as well, but where the upstate saw snow, the Midlands and Coastal regions saw up to an inch of ice, said Henry E. Kodama, state forester.
“From what we understand, there is little to no damage across that tier of counties — Oconee, Anderson, Pickens, Greenville, Cherokee, York,” Kodama said.
In 24 other counties and 1.5 million acres across the state, foresters are scrambling to find and collect downed and damaged trees to salvage as much wood as they can before it begins to rot on the ground.
From GreenvilleOnline.com: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20140317/NEWS/303170003/State-foresters-scramble-salvage-downed-pine-trees