Small woodland owners in Rhea County, Tennessee : problem A: Characteristics of Rhea County small woodland owners and their farms : problem B: Management practices of Rhea County small woodland owners : problem C: Factors influencing woodland management practice adoption by Rhea County small woodland owners : three related special problems in lieu of thesis /

Rhea County was organized from a part of Roane County in 1809. The settlers, largely of Scotch-Irish descent, came from southwestern Virginia, upper Tennessee, and North Carolina (13).* Rhea County is. located in southeastern Tennessee, thirty-nine miles from Chattanooga. Part of the county is.in the valley and ridge region and partly on the Appalachian Plateau. The northwestern third of the county is on the Appalachian Plateau and is characterized by high lying, relatively smooth areas interspersed with deep, narrow valleys of dentrite pattern. The rocks that underlie this part of the .county are mainly sandstone (13). Rhea County has an area of approximately 217,600 acres--204,40O acres in land and 13,200 acres in water (10:1). The county was originally covered by forest predominantly hardwood or mixed hardwood and pine. About 40 percent of this land is presently cleared, most of it for crops and pasture (13:2). Large Appalachian Plateau areas and chevty ridges of the valley are cut over woodland and mostly consist of undesirable species. Many farmers in the past have considered the timber produced on this woodland mainly as a bonus and have viewed the use of approved woodland management practices as unprofitable. The population of Rhea County in 1959 was approximately 15,800 and included those living in the three incorporated towns of Dayton, Spring City, and Graysville. Fully 64 percent of the population consisted of rural non-farm, 14 percent of rural farm and 22.1 percent of urban. In 1960 the educational level for Rhea County for persons 25 years and over was 8.4 years of school compared to the state average of 8.8 (4: 10),