FORESTRY DIVISION PLANS TO HELP LANDOWNERS - Shifting Foresters To Counties With Most Damage

(04/02/2003)
Officials in the West Virginia Division of Forestry met yesterday in Charleston to discuss how to shift personnel to help those counties that had significant forest lands damage from the ice and snow storm.

Calhoun County ranked third among seventeen counties with damage. Calhoun had 50,000 acres damaged by the ice storm, out of 307,000 for the state.

Division of Forestry Director Randy Dye says the state foresters working in the 13 counties with the most damage have been swamped with calls from residents who want to know what they should do about downed trees.

Dye says the property owners are right in seeking professional help, but it's taking a long time for the Division of Forestry to get back to them.

The Division is developing a plan to take state foresters from counties which received little damage and send them to the areas with the biggest problems.

Dye says residents have lots of questions, including which trees are damaged so severely that they need to be removed and which ones are worth leaving and have a chance to recover.