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Data Sources

A primary source of data is the nationwide Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) project of the USDA Forest Service, undertaken in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. A description of inventory procedures used to collect survey data in the South is presented in chapter 16. Other sources of information reviewed for this chapter included papers and articles published primarily during the last 10 years that describe acreage, demographics, attitudes, and management behavior of private forest owners in various Southern States. Selected FIA data on regional timberland acreage, as well as selected State and Private Forestry Cooperative Program accomplishments data for Southern States, were obtained from unpublished USDA Forest Service sources. The term “forest land” as used in this chapter refers to tracts at least 1 acre, that are at least 10-percent stocked with trees of any size and are not currently developed for nonforest use.