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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
October 2003 News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
Conference was recorded Wednesday, October 15, 2003.
SCROLL DOWN FOR CONFERENCE GUEST INFORMATION
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Hayes D. Brown
starting time: (00:00) |
Moderator
Hayes D. Brown, attorney and forest owner, will moderate this
news conference. Hayes' email address is
hbrown@hayesbrown.com.
Click Here to View & Hear Prior News Conferences.
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James S. Burling
(00:36) |
Eminent Domain: National Perspective
Jim Burling
is an attorney with
Pacific Legal Foundation, a non-profit, tax-exempt public
interest legal foundation. From PLF's
At Issue June '03 newsletter we read, "Classic public uses
justifying the condemnation of private property under eminent domain
include public road building, firehouses, school construction, and the
like. Today, unfortunately, the public use limitation on the power of
government to condemn private property is interpreted so broadly as to
be meaningless." Here in Alabama, we've been hearing a lot about the
City of Alabaster's taking of private land to give to a shopping center,
but abuse of eminent domain has become a national problem. Today Mr.
Burling tells us that property owners have won some recent cases, and
urges us to fight back.
Cases
Struck-down Cases
Ongoing Cases
phone: (916) 362-2833
email:
jsb@pacificlegal.org
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Ellen B. Steen
(04:31) |
"Well, there you go again!"
Ellen Steen is a partner with the law firm
Crowell & Moring LLP
in Washington, D.C. She specializes in environmental law, particularly
environmental legal issues affecting forestry and agriculture. Several
years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency tried to remove the
national silviculture exemption from Clean Water Act rules. Massive
public opposition helped EPA to decide that forcing us to apply for
permits for every forestry activity on our land, such as tree planting
and timber harvests, was not a good thing to do. EPA officials may even
have noticed that forestry activities produce only tiny amounts of
sediment in our streams as compared to other land uses. Now EPA is
defending the exemption in court!
Click here to read
"Environmental Groups Push for Federal Permitting for Forestry" by
Ellen Steen. (includes linked court cases & rulings)
Ms. Steen suggests, "Landowners and forestry organizations
should let their congressional representatives know that this issue
continues to be of great concern and ask them to urge EPA to be vigilant
in defending its silviculture regulation in the courts."
Late Breaking News Item -- Judge: Loggers Need Pollution
Permit
phone: (202) 236-1300
email:
esteen@crowell.com
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John F. Tourtellotte, Sr.
(09:47) |
SynFuels: Is it Time?
John Tourtellotte
is a chemical engineer and president of Tourtellotte and Associates,
LLC, based in Birmingham, Alabama. John is working on a method to
produce a gas from wood waste and small trees that would reduce the
consumption of fossil fuel, increase the use of renewable fuel, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance the value of local forest
biomass. For more details on the energy bill and renewable portfolio
standards,
see Vern Hayes' comments in last month's Capital Ideas -- Live!
phone: (205) 967-8326
email:
jft3s@bellsouth.net
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Brent Williams
(14:32) |
ORV Riders Seek Land
Brent Williams is
president and founder of the
Central Alabama Offroad Society, a non-profit club of 4x4
enthusiasts that was designed to bring together and promote the interest
of family four-wheeling. These 4x4s are big, full-size vehicles, not the
little 4-wheelers that we discussed
last month with Glenn Myers. C.A.O.S. is looking for land on which
they can ride, and they have a few ideas on how they might pay a
landowner for the opportunity. Brent will speak to AFOA members on
October 23 in Jefferson County and will even give a few observer
passes to members who want to watch the activities at
Gray Rock ORV Park's Fall for All Ride on October 24 - 26.
Other ORV Groups
phone: (205) 491-5337
email:
bronc4602halfton@cs.com
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Richard H. Chapman
(17:25) |
Oil & Gas Lease Self-Help Group
Rick Chapman
is the CEO of the
National Association of Royalty Owners, based in Norman,
Oklahoma. Many of us have heard a knock on the door and met a "land man"
who wanted to buy our oil or gas rights. Most of us will only sell those
rights one time, and it is comforting to know that there is an
organization out there whose business it is to help us swim through
those shark infested waters. NARO will hold its
National Convention in Austin, Texas, October 23 - 25.
Useful NARO Links
phone: (405) 573-2972
email:
naro@naro-us.org
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Dr. Claude E. Boyd
(20:34) |
Trends and Opportunities for Rural Land Use
Claude Boyd is a professor in the
Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures at Auburn
University. Dr. Boyd is also the current Butler/Cunningham
Eminent Scholar in Agriculture and the Environment and, in that
position, he comes to us today to describe a conference that he has
developed that explores rural land use changes and the pressures behind
those changes. Several presentations will relate to the forest industry.
Dr. Boyd invites forest landowners to attend the Butler/Cunningham
conference on November 3 & 4 and share their ideas during the two day
session.
phone: (334) 844-4075
email:
boydce1@groupwise1.duc.auburn.edu
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Dr. Ben Jackson
(23:58) |
Popular Tax Classes on Horizon
Ben Jackson
is the new leader of the
Continuing Forest Resource Education Program at the
University of Georgia. Many forest owners from Alabama take
advantage of the courses offered by the program. Two that are
particularly interesting are
Timber Income Tax and Estate Planning for Forest Landowners.
Both are taught by
Dr. Harry Haney, Jr., retired Virginia Tech forestry professor,
current president of the Forest Landowners Association, and Alabama
forest owner. The Timber Income Tax
course will be held in Athens, Georgia on December 2 & 3,
and the Estate Planning course will be held in Athens in the Spring.
Watch UGA Continuing Education Schedule for details.
phone: (706) 542-2194
email:
ben.jackson@gactr.uga.edu
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J. Craig King
(25:59) |
Land Auctions: Make Them Work for You
Craig King is president of
J. P. King Auction Co.
He has sold literally hundreds of thousands of acres of timber, hunting
properties, ranches, and other types of land throughout the nation. AFOA
frequently receives J. P. King's colorful brochures and has listed their
forestland auctions in our Calendar of Events many times. J. P. King
will be auctioning off 1,885 acres of "recreational/timberland" in South
Alabama/North Florida on
Saturday, November 8. Craig will describe the advance
preparations you should make if you plan to attend and think you might
bid on one or more tracts. You might want to review the following
items before driving off to Florida.
phone: 1-800-662-5464
email:
info@jpking.com
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Issues and Topics AFOA is
following.
To suggest an issue or a
topic for a future news conference,
please send an email note to AFOA by clicking here. |
- National or Federal Issues
-
EPA Proposed Water Quality Trading
- Energy Bill
- CCA Treated Southern Pine Lumber
- TMDLs
- EPA Basin Projects
- CARA
- Forest Certification
- 2002 Farm Bill
- Energy Crisis & Federal Eminent
Domain
- Red Hills Salamander
- Constitutional Revision/Tax Reform
- County Zoning
- Right to Farm & Practice Forestry
- Illegal Dumping
- Delaney Family Current-Use Case
- JeffCo Storm Water Management
Program
- Current Use Tax Assessment Rates
- Local Harvesting Restrictions &
Road Weight Limits
- Bridge Repairs & the Alabama Trust
Fund
- Dog Hunting & Hunter Trespass
- Seasonal Forest and Wildlife
Management Tips
- Southern Pine Beetle: Salvage &
Prevention
- Forest Fertilization
- Intensive Forest Management
- Long Rotation Management & Natural
Regeneration
- Palm Pilots & Forest Records
- Useful Computer Software
- Industry Consolidation & Timber
Markets
- Stumpage & Forest Product Markets
- Forestland For Sale
- Wood Buying Policies During SPB
Epidemic
- Alabama's Pine Straw Wholesale
Market
- Minerals, Gas & Oil Activity
- Recreational Businesses for Forest
Owners
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