Sixteen rural Ohio school districts and their corresponding counties and townships, including three in Highland County, will share more than $2.3 million from the sale of timber from Ohio’s state forests, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
According to a chart provided by the ODNR, the Ohio Valley Local School District received $1,372.30, Highland County received $686.15 and Bruch Creek Township received $686.15.
“The Trees to Textbooks program is a great avenue for local schools to benefit from the natural resources that can be found in their own backyards,” said ODNR Director James Zehringer. “Our state forests are crucial in helping to provide the resources that help our students and communities succeed.”
Through the ODNR Division of Forestry’s Trees to Textbooks program, a percentage of the revenue generated from state forest management activity goes to the county, township and school district in which the activity took place. To see which local communities received Trees to Textbooks funding, go to bit.ly/TreesToTextbooksFY18.
The ODNR Division of Forestry has been distributing timber revenues to counties and townships since the early 1980s. In 1999, the Trees to Textbooks program was started, and since that time more than $31 million has been shared with Ohio school districts and local governments. This year, a total of $2,312,003.04 was awarded to 16 rural Ohio school districts and their local governments.
Vinton County has three state forests within its borders: Tar Hollow, Vinton Furnace and Zaleski state forests. Funding from selling timber from those three state forests allowed the state to award the Vinton County Local School District with $500,270.68. This is the largest amount of money awarded from the Trees to Textbooks program to a school district.
The ODNR Division of Forestry is responsible for the care of nearly 200,000 acres of state forests. State forestry experts manage these woodlands for overall health and diversity, soil and water conservation, improved wildlife habitat and a variety of recreational opportunities. Selected trees or areas of woodland are harvested through a competitive bid process, which includes requirements for sound management practices. All work is conducted by certified master loggers under strict monitoring.
The ODNR Division of Forestry works to promote the wise use and sustainable management of Ohio’s public and private woodlands. To learn more about Ohio’s woodlands, visit forestry.ohiodnr.gov. Follow us on Instagram at @odnrforestry (instagram.com/odnrforestry).
Submitted by Stephanie Leis, ODNR Office of Communications.
