1 00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:03,010 (leaves crunching) 2 00:00:03,010 --> 00:00:04,920 - [Patrick] Off the beaten path in a remote section 3 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,480 of Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County, Virginia, 4 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,494 loggers are busy doing what loggers do, 5 00:00:09,494 --> 00:00:12,780 (machinery roaring) 6 00:00:12,780 --> 00:00:14,010 removing timber from the land 7 00:00:14,010 --> 00:00:15,980 and hauling it away to a lumber mill. 8 00:00:15,980 --> 00:00:19,370 - This is a real estate disposal contract 9 00:00:19,370 --> 00:00:20,950 for standing timber. 10 00:00:20,950 --> 00:00:22,760 - [Patrick] Local district US Army Corps of Engineers 11 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,310 Real Estate Office Foresters administer removal 12 00:00:25,310 --> 00:00:27,740 of the real property through timber sales. 13 00:00:27,740 --> 00:00:31,010 - The Army is in the business of their asset, 14 00:00:31,010 --> 00:00:35,329 their land, and they have a lot of standing timber out here 15 00:00:35,329 --> 00:00:38,101 that otherwise, without timber harvest, 16 00:00:38,101 --> 00:00:41,163 would go untreated, is what I would say. 17 00:00:41,163 --> 00:00:44,680 The untreated stands are less desirable 18 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,333 to be mission ready for troop training. 19 00:00:47,333 --> 00:00:49,700 (machine guns firing) 20 00:00:49,700 --> 00:00:50,890 - [Patrick] According to its website, 21 00:00:50,890 --> 00:00:52,790 Fort A.P. Hills' vision is to deliver 22 00:00:52,790 --> 00:00:55,112 adaptive training in base operation support 23 00:00:55,112 --> 00:00:58,087 to ensure mission readiness in a dynamic environment. 24 00:00:58,087 --> 00:00:59,640 (machine gun firing) 25 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,050 Having training ranges at the ready 26 00:01:01,050 --> 00:01:03,863 through forest management assists in delivering that vision 27 00:01:03,863 --> 00:01:07,280 and managing the forest here also have other benefits. 28 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,290 According to Willey, thinning the sections of trees 29 00:01:09,290 --> 00:01:12,710 and providing diversity makes for a healthier forest. 30 00:01:12,710 --> 00:01:16,030 - If you had a monoculture stand of pine, for example, 31 00:01:16,030 --> 00:01:18,201 and the southern pine beetle sweeps through, 32 00:01:18,201 --> 00:01:22,130 essentially, you have now a dead stand of pine. 33 00:01:22,130 --> 00:01:23,660 - [Patrick] Willey says those dead trees 34 00:01:23,660 --> 00:01:25,760 would then add to another risk to the post 35 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,760 and surrounding communities, forest fire. 36 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,291 - The last thing we wanna do is load our woods 37 00:01:31,291 --> 00:01:35,120 with fuel or potential for more fire. 38 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:36,720 We're fortunate on the east coast, 39 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:38,920 we're generally wetter than the west. 40 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:41,798 However, if we fall into a extended drought, 41 00:01:41,798 --> 00:01:44,480 we're at risk for fire here. 42 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:45,313 - [Patrick] According to Willey, 43 00:01:45,313 --> 00:01:48,350 surrounding communities also see a monetary benefit. 44 00:01:48,350 --> 00:01:51,490 - The local economy gets a benefit 45 00:01:51,490 --> 00:01:53,070 out of these timber sales. 46 00:01:53,070 --> 00:01:55,110 - [Patrick] Willey says 40% of the timber sales 47 00:01:55,110 --> 00:01:56,870 net proceeds are returned to the county 48 00:01:56,870 --> 00:01:58,960 through what is called state entitlements. 49 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:00,780 - That money gets reinvested 50 00:02:00,780 --> 00:02:03,600 into roads and schools within the county. 51 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:05,840 - [Patrick] Overall, the Norfolk District's program 52 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:07,700 raises a little more than a million dollars 53 00:02:07,700 --> 00:02:09,630 for the Department of the Defense annually. 54 00:02:09,630 --> 00:02:12,740 Willey says a timber sale is truly a team effort. 55 00:02:12,740 --> 00:02:14,789 Prior to the sale, installation foresters 56 00:02:14,789 --> 00:02:17,050 who are charged with the overall management 57 00:02:17,050 --> 00:02:19,440 of the post's forests, lay the groundwork 58 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:21,200 for the upcoming disposal action. 59 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:25,490 - Installation foresters run out here preparing these sales. 60 00:02:25,490 --> 00:02:27,570 They're working on the environmental documents 61 00:02:27,570 --> 00:02:30,044 to ensure they're in compliance with NEPA, 62 00:02:30,044 --> 00:02:33,538 and they coordinate with the US Fish and Wildlife Service 63 00:02:33,538 --> 00:02:36,156 for rare, threatened, and endangered species. 64 00:02:36,156 --> 00:02:38,638 They're getting through all the front loading 65 00:02:38,638 --> 00:02:40,280 of the timber sale. 66 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,110 - [Patrick] Willey is one of two district foresters 67 00:02:42,110 --> 00:02:43,618 within the district, and they administer 68 00:02:43,618 --> 00:02:45,507 the timber harvest sales contracts 69 00:02:45,507 --> 00:02:48,580 on Army installations throughout most of the northeast, 70 00:02:48,580 --> 00:02:49,600 which produces similar benefits 71 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,710 for the installations and surrounding communities. 72 00:02:52,710 --> 00:02:55,027 - It's a large portfolio of land 73 00:02:55,027 --> 00:02:58,750 and what we can do as a service to the taxpayer 74 00:02:58,750 --> 00:03:03,400 is not only own and use this land, but maintain it, as well. 75 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:04,740 - [Patrick] From Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, 76 00:03:04,740 --> 00:03:06,060 (truck rumbling) 77 00:03:06,060 --> 00:03:07,457 I'm Patrick Bloodgood.