Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is working with Republicans and Democrats to support Georgia’s forestry industry.
Sen. Ossoff is co-sponsoring the bipartisan Jobs in the Woods Act, legislation that would boost Georgia’s forestry industry by establishing a competitive grant program for forestry career training programs. The bipartisan bill was first introduced by Senators Angus King (I-ME) and James Risch (R-ID).
According to the Forest Resources Association, the forestry industry has an aging workforce and is facing difficulties attracting younger foresters. While Georgia employs around 182,000 people in the forestry industry, a 2023 study by the Georgia Forestry Foundation showed an annual demand gap of approximately 40 workers for foresters and forest technicians.
“Georgia leads the nation in forestry. This bipartisan legislation will help equip our forest workers with the skills they need and our industry with the resources to continue leading the nation,” Sen. Ossoff said.
Sen. Ossoff continues working to support Georgia’s foresters.
In September, Sens. Ossoff and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) introduced the bipartisan Emergency Pine Beetle Response Act to help Georgia foresters recovering from pine beetle infestations.
In February, Sens. Ossoff and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced the bipartisan Forest Data Modernization Act, which would modernize and improve the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis program to ensure reliable data is available to inform forest management decision making.
Last December, Sen. Ossoff successfully fought to pass a bipartisan disaster relief package that included $21 billion in agricultural disaster funding to help Georgia farmers and foresters recovering from the disastrous impacts of Hurricane Helene and farmers nationwide impacted by natural disasters.
Click here to read the Jobs in the Woods Act.
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