Welcome to the Southern Group of State Foresters

Our goal is to provide healthy forests for today and tomorrow. A healthy forest provides clean water, clean air, healthy habitats for wildlife, great recreation opportunities, and the forest products we need-wood for our homes, paper for the books used to educate our children, and so much more.

Our members share and promote forest management practices for responsibly managing forests.

These practices include planting trees, thinning forests to reduce the risk of destructive wildfires, monitoring and combating diseases and insects, improving water quality, and supporting economies in Southern communities.

On a community level, we help make cities and communities more livable by teaching residents a bout the power of trees in their backyards, and by promoting fire protection so they know how to protect both their homes and forests from wildfires. We train and equip rural fire departments, assist communities and private forest landowners during hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters, and help private land owners develop and implement forest management plans. For decades, The Southern Group of State Foresters(SGSF) has informed legislators about the benefits of forestry. We have testified before Congress regarding the need for forest tax incentives and backed legislation aimed at helping private forest landowners manage their forestlands.