Clay County’s county forester, Carlton Scott of the Florida Forest Service, briefed the board on the agency’s annual activity and monitoring in Clay County.

Scott said the county set a less-than‑5% chance of a southern pine beetle outbreak for the year and that no beetles were detected in the annual traps or aerial surveys. The agency prepared two forest management plans for private landowners, one plan for Clay County Parks and Recreation, and conducted tree plantings and education: five Arbor Day events for roughly 710 attendees, six educational programs for 1,700 children and adults, and five urban tree inspections for homeowners.

On state-owned lands, the report noted a timber sale on Belmore State Forest for 320 acres and a timber sale on Jennings State Forest for 169 acres, and more than 3,700 acres of prescribed burning across those two forests. The state forests recorded an estimated 170,000 visitors this year and hosted an annual teachers’ tour for statewide educators.

Scott said the agency also performs wildfire prevention work, conservation easement information, and urban-tree pest monitoring, and that the county’s season was manageable after rainfall reduced early-season dryness.

Commissioners asked how the Forest Service coordinates with local emergency management and neighboring counties for large incidents. Scott described mutual aid, aviation resources managed at the state level and prepositioning of aircraft, and the ability to call resources from neighboring counties and federal partners as needed.

No formal action was required or taken; the briefing was informational.