Overview Katrina caused the largest single devastation of forests in our Nation's history. According to the USDA Forest Service, Hurricane Katrina caused damage to 5 million acres, with 4 million acres in Mississippi alone, and most of it on private lands. This represents 19 billion board feet of timber with a value of $5 billion. This is enough timber to build 800,000 homes and make 25 million tons of paper and paperboard.
Much of the downed timber is now worthless due to splintering of the logs and degradation of the wood structure. Experience with Hurricanes Ivan and Hugo suggest that about 1/3 of the downed timber will be salvageable; that will only partially defray the costs of clearing, site preparation and replanting.
Region The area of damage is mostly forest land in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
 A map of the area hit by Hurricane Katrina.
178 counties in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi were declared primary presidential or secretarial disaster areas in 2005 because of hurricane Katrina. Forest landowners experiencing losses in these counties are eligible to apply for assistance under the new and existing federal aid programs.
Initial USDA Forest Service Hurricane Katrina Damage Estimates
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service have found
that approximately 19 billion board feet of timber spread over five million
acres in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama have been destroyed as a result of
Hurricane Katrina. Full Story
Tips for Landowners Attempting to Salvage Hurricane Damaged Timber
Hurricane Katrinas impact on the forests of south Mississippi was
catastrophic. The challenge for landowners, loggers and consuming mills is to
salvage as much of the volume and value from those forests as possible. This
process is not going to be easy, and raises special problems for those buying
the timber and conducting the necessary operations. Landowners can expedite the
process by doing some preparatory work. The items listed here by Mississippi
State University are just a few suggestions to make the process less stressful
and flow easier.
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