Georgia
about
Georgia Partnership for Forests & Water is hosted by Georgia Forestry Foundation. Partners hold bi-monthly virtual calls and periodically host a GA Forests & Water Forum. To join, contact info@southeasternpartnership.org.
goals
Help maintain or expand healthy forests in drinking water source watersheds.
Maintain and improve water quality and quantity through healthy forest retention and stewardship.
Initiate and develop working relationships among water utilities, the forestry sector, state and local agencies, and conservation groups.
Identify watersheds and initiatives that have high potential for cooperative forest conservation and long-term stewardship.
Explore pilot projects to implement creative long-term stewardship strategies, such as Payment for Watershed Services and forestry best management practices that demonstrate the interdependence of healthy forests and drinking water.
FORUM AGENDAS & REPORTS
NOV 2014 - GA Forests & Drinking Water Forum Report
MAY 2017 - Middle Chattahoochee Forests & Water Supply Forum Report
SEPT 2019 - Upper Oconee Watershed Forests & Drinking Water Forum Report
PARTNERSHIP CALL NOTES
For earlier (archived) call notes, email info@southeasternpartnership.org.
OTHER RESOURCES
2024 - NRCS-GA Source Water Priority Areas - Map
2023 - Financing Nature-Based Solutions: Forestland Water Quality
2022 - Oconee River Watershed Forests and Water Conservation Plan
2020 - Georgia Statewide Forest Resources Strategy (Water quality/quantity is discussed on pages 3-6 and 46-48.)
2019 - Middle Chattahoochee WMPI Priority Areas
Background
The USDA Forest Service (USFS) and the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities are collaborating with Southeastern states to maintain healthy watersheds that provide safe, reliable drinking water, healthy forests, and strong local and regional economies.
Southeastern Partnership for Forests and Water recognizes that healthy forests benefit drinking water quality and quantity. Stewarding, enhancing, and maintaining healthy forests in key Southeastern drinking water source watersheds is necessary due to increasing population growth and urbanization in the Southeast, which is resulting in forest fragmentation, forest losses (conversion to other land uses), and a decline in forest health. Goals are accomplished by strengthening collaborative state partnerships, initially through forests and drinking water forums, and then identifying priority watersheds and projects for collaboration, creating financing mechanisms and seeking funding.