Eighteen rural Ohio school districts and their corresponding counties and townships will share $1,765,245 from the sale of timber from Ohio’s state forests. Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director James Zehringer and Smokey Bear today 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.

“We are always eager to reinvest these revenues in our local communities and educate students about proper forest management,” said Zehringer. “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.”

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.

Students cheered today at South Elementary in Hamden, part of the Vinton Local School District, as they received Ohio’s largest check for $327,440.02. The students at Portsmouth West Elementary in the Washington-Nile Local School District sang their school song after receiving their check for $99,584.35.

Smokey Bear also treated the students to a special showing of his new educational musical cartoon forestry.ohiodnr.gov/smokeybear and led them in a lesson about protecting our forests and preventing forest fires.

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 that 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 the ODNR Division of Forestry’s website at forestry.ohiodnr.gov.

ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov.