NASHVILLE– Are you a landowner looking to conserve and maintain your forest? If so, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry (TDF) is now accepting orders for tree seedlings at the East Tennessee Nursery in Delano, Tenn.
The East Tennessee Nursery produces forest seedlings that are available for sale to landowners. These seedlings are adapted to growing conditions found in Tennessee and are used primarily for reforestation and forest conservation projects.The deadline to submit a seedling order is April 24, 2020.
Since the 1950’s, the Division of Forestry’s reforestation program has produced more than 1 billion tree seedlings. These seedlings have been used to drive rural economic activity and address conservation issues from Mountain City to Memphis. The nursery provides the Division the opportunity to help landowners meet soil, timber, wildlife, aesthetic, and water quality objectives and support a $24.3 billion dollar forest products industry.
“Whether a landowner has less than an acre or more than 100 acres, sustaining their forest with high quality seedlings helps them meet their management objectives,” State Forester David Arnold said. “We are proud to provide forestland owners with the species and quantity needed at a low cost.”
Forest landowners may apply for free seedlings for forest sustainability and restoration through the Trees for Tennesseeand Play. Plant. Preserve.tree seedling programs. Trees for Tennesseeis an initiative aimed at increasing pine regeneration on recently harvested land or fallow fields. Sponsored by Huber Engineered Woods LLC, the goal of the program is to establish 250,000 pine seedlings every year throughout the greater Tennessee Valley and Cumberland Plateau regions.
ProMark’sPlay. Plant. Preserve.program works to ensure that the hardwood resources used for making drumsticks and mallets in Tennessee are sustainable. The program provides 75,000 hardwood seedlings for planting to restore existing forests and raise new ones. To be eligible for the programs, landowners must have a reforestation prescription plan prepared by a professional forester and plant a minimum number of trees. Quantities are limited, so participants should place orders as soon as possible.
Cost share programs are also available for seedlings through the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program and other state and federal programs.
For more information about the programs, eligibility requirements, and online seedling sales, please visit www.planttntrees.org or contact your local area forester through our website, www.tn.gov/agriculture/forests/staff.html.
