COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Forestry gave its forests a manicure of sorts last month – removing trees of poor health and vigor that were prone to attack from insects and disease.

Rather than let the wood sit and decay, the DNR sold the wood to competitive bidders and gave the proceeds to schools in those corresponding counties and townships. When the sawdust settled, 18 rural Ohio school districts and those counties and townships will share nearly $1.8 million from the sale of timber from Ohio’s state forests. DNR Director James Zehringer presented checks to the Vinton Local School District in Vinton County and the Washington-Nile Local School District in Scioto County during separate school assemblies. Through the DNR 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.

“We are always eager to reinvest these revenues in our local communities and educate students about proper forest management,” Zehringer said. “Well-managed public and private forests create diverse landscapes for wildlife, promote healthier lifestyles through recreational opportunities and allow forest product industries to contribute more than $20 billion to Ohio’s economy.”

The Division of Forestry actively practices forest management through the direct application of silviculture on Ohio state forests. Silvics is the branch of natural science that deals with the principles underlying the growth and development of single trees and of the forest as a biological unit. Therefore, silvics provide the foundation of silviculture, which is the art and science of producing, tending and controlling forest establishment, composition, structure and growth.

Students at South Elementary in Hamden, part of the Vinton Local School District, received Ohio’s largest check, for $327,440.02. The students at Portsmouth West Elementary in the Washington-Nile Local School District received a check for $99,548.35. As part of the presentation the students were shown a musical cartoon that gave them a lesson about protecting forests and preventing forest fires.

The DNR 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 that includes requirements for sound management practices. All work is conducted by certified master loggers under strict monitoring.