Corps Continues Debris Removal, Timber Salvage After Helene

Debris removal continues at the West Dam Day Use Area. After Hurricane Helene caused extensive damage at J. Strom Thurmond Lake (Clarks Hill), the Day Use Areas were closed due to safety concerns for visitors. Timber salvage focuses on recovering valuable timber that can be sold to mills, while debris removal is the process of cleaning up fallen trees, branches, leaf litter, and other organic matter that has no market value. As the Thurmond Project team waits to receive emergency supplemental funding, timber salvage operations are now being shifted by the Thurmond Project team into select recreation areas to aid in the reopening of these sites to the public. Timber salvage work has begun at the Ridge Road Campground located 15 miles from the Lake Thurmond Visitor Center and Dam.

The J. Strom Thurmond Lake Project (Clarks Hill Lake), managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, continues its mission to salvage timber in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and pivots its operations from wilderness areas to recreation areas.

Over the past six months, the Thurmond Project team has strategically utilized the Savannah District’s Operations and Maintenance (O&M) funds to open as many recreational areas as possible at the Thurmond Lake Project and requested, but has yet to receive, additional resources to accomplish such a massive storm debris removal task.

The primary focus for the O&M funds has been on reopening boat ramps and hunter access points, with the intention of using additional resources, once received, to restore day use areas and campgrounds. Through the use of O&M funds, the Thurmond Project team has successfully opened two day use areas, 17 boat ramps, 19 hunter access areas, and prepared a 20-acre debris site to support the future removal of debris from the recreational areas.

Simultaneously, a timber salvage mission at Thurmond was initiated, specifically outside of designated recreation areas, to ensure all areas of the Thurmond Project were being addressed.

The ongoing efforts at Thurmond Lake are not related to the recently completed task order for debris removal in the 10 counties within Georgia. That mission was awarded under the direction of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) and Federal Emergency Management Agencies (FEMA), as part of the FEMA debris mission assignment. This operation was entirely unrelated to the status or management of the Thurmond Lake Project, because FEMA-funded operations do not apply to federal dam and lake projects.

Located on the Savannah River, 22 miles upstream from Augusta, Georgia, the Thurmond Project consists of approximately 79,588 acres of land and 70,714 acres of water. Of that, an estimated 8,500 acres of forest was damaged from extreme wind gusts exceeding 100 miles per hour on Sept. 27, 2024, as Hurricane Helene traveled across Georgia and South Carolina.

Immediately following the storm, Thurmond Project crews rapidly mobilized to clear trees and other debris from primary roads, facilities, and critical infrastructure using operations and maintenance funds.

Currently, two distinct hurricane recovery efforts are underway at the Thurmond Project, debris removal and timber salvage.

“To the public, these missions may appear similar, but they are actually quite different,” explained Adam Weatherford, USACE chief of Forest, Fish and Wildlife at the Thurmond Project. “One of the key differences lies in the merchantability of the materials involved.”

Timber salvage focuses on recovering valuable timber that can be sold to mills, while debris removal is the process of cleaning up fallen trees, branches, leaf litter, and other organic matter that has no market value.

“When loggers salvage timber, they remove fallen and damaged trees at no cost to the (Thurmond) Project, and they actually pay for the timber,” said Weatherford. “In contrast, debris removal comes with a significant cost, as it is funded entirely by the Thurmond Project. The more timber we can salvage, the greater the savings for the Thurmond Project and ultimately, freeing up funds for infrastructure repairs in these areas.”

An open area at J. Strom Thurmond Lake Project was prepared to create a debris site for all timber and vegetative debris removed from day use areas by the Operations and Maintenance-funded contractor. The fallen trees and debris have also rendered many forested areas inaccessible and unsafe for public use and will remain closed until the hazards are removed.

The timber salvage mission began with the forestry management team conducting a comprehensive assessment of the hurricane’s impact on the site’s forested areas. This included estimating the volume of downed timber and creating timber harvest availability maps. Using this data, the team issued solicitations on the open market for competitive bidding. Once the sales are finalized, the salvaged timber is hauled to mills for processing.

Initially, timber salvage efforts were focused in wilderness areas because removing trees from recreation sites poses a higher risk of damaging infrastructure, according to Joshua Crocker, resident forester at the Thurmond Project. This makes the salvage process in recreation areas slower, increases operational costs for loggers, and reduces the revenue generated for the Thurmond Project.

The Thurmond Project team anticipated using emergency supplemental funding to contract debris removal specialists to clear additional recreation areas.

As the Thurmond Project team waits to receive emergency supplemental funding, timber salvage operations are now being shifted by the Thurmond Project team into select recreation areas to aid in the reopening of these sites to the public.

Timber salvage work has begun at the Ridge Road Campground located 15 miles from the Lake Thurmond Visitor Center and Dam.

“Once the trees have been removed from the campground the infrastructure buried underneath can be evaluated by the park operations team and repaired as funding becomes available.” said Weatherford. “This will accelerate the opening of the park for public use.”

A total of approximately 98,500 tons of timber have been salvaged from the Thurmond Project’s forests and sent to mills to date, according to Crocker. The breakdown of the salvaged timber by product is as follows: 50,000 tons of sawtimber, 10,000 tons of pine pulpwood, 7,000 tons of hardwood, and 31,500 tons of wood chips.

Revenues generated from the sale of forest products are an important source of funding for the Thurmond Project’s natural resources management programs, including the planting of new trees.

“There has been a lot of hard work to get these areas cleaned up as quickly as possible. However, this catastrophic event will impact the Thurmond Project for many years,” said Crocker. “The Thurmond Project team will continue to manage the forest in a manner that prioritizes public interests, forest health, and benefit wildlife.”

The fallen trees and debris have rendered many forested areas inaccessible and unsafe for public use and will remain closed until the hazards are removed.

For additional information about the J. Strom Thurmond Lake Hurricane Helene Recovery, visit Thurmond Hurricane Helene Recovery.