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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
February 2004 News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
Conference was recorded Wednesday, February 18, 2004.
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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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Rebecca Wright Pritchett
(00:26) |
Wetlands Rule Needs Landowner Influence:
Please Help.
Rebecca Wright Pritchett is the Chair of the Environmental & Natural
Resources Division for
Sirote & Permutt in Birmingham, Alabama. Today she offers us an
opportunity to "help" the federal government redefine the term "isolated
wetlands" and thereby limit the level of federal intrusion into private
decision making.
Several years ago certain isolated wetlands had fallen under the
jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers (COE) because those wet areas might
have provided habitat for migratory birds. Then, in 2001, the U.S. Supreme
Court decided that those wet areas were no longer to be considered "waters
of the United States" and therefore would not fall under the COE's
permitting jurisdiction (SWANCC
Decision). Unfortunately, the Court's ruling was not clear enough,
and as a result, landowners who want to make some alteration to an isolated
wetland are now forced to ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and the COE if their particular wetland is part of the "waters of the United
States" and subject to regulation. (You should be aware that there are
potentially hundreds of thousands of isolated wetlands of varying sizes
throughout Alabama and some of them may be on your land).
The Bush Administration and Congress
need to know what you think.
- Should the "use of the water by
interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other purposes, the
presence of fish or shellfish that could be taken and sold in interstate
commerce, and the use of the water for industrial purposes by industries
in interstate commerce" cause an isolated wetland to fall under COE
jurisdiction?
- Should the regulations define
“isolated waters,” and if so, what factors should be considered in
determining whether a water is or is not isolated for jurisdictional
purposes?
Your comments can be sent to:
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President George W. Bush, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20500
- Hon. Mike Leavitt, Administrator, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460
- LTG Robert B. Flowers, Commander, HQ,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 441 G. Street, NW, Washington, DC
20314-1000
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Sen. Richard Shelby, 110 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC
20510
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Sen. Jeff Sessions, 335 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington,
DC 20510.
- Find your U.S. Congressman’s address at
http://www.house.gov
Phone: (205) 930-5140
Email:
rpritchett@sirote.com
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Barry Hart (05:50) |
Safe Harbor Program and the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker
Barry Hart is a terrestrial zoologist with the
Alabama Natural Heritage Program, an organization established by the
Alabama Chapter of The Nature Conservancy in 1989. He is currently
developing the "Alabama Statewide Red-cockaded Woodpecker Safe Harbor
Agreement" for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alabama
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Most of us do not have red-cockaded woodpeckers (RCW) on our land. They
don't like the way we manage our land -- we don't prescribe burn often
enough, and we harvest our pine trees before they begin to rot. But what
happens if you prescribe burn frequently, perhaps to improve
silvopasture or quail habitat, and at the same time hold off harvesting
your pine trees until they reach "old age"? In that case, you may
encourage RCW to set up housekeeping on your land, and the Safe Harbor
Program may be of interest to you -- and your neighbors.
Barry explains how the Safe Harbor Program may protect you from fines and
other penalties associated with allowing a rare bird to live on your
land.
Read
the Draft Alabama Statewide Red-cockaded Woodpecker Safe Harbor
Agreement, final draft, 78 pages, pdf format -
replacement made 03/28/05.
Footnote -- September 5, 2004. Barry Hart has left the Alabama Natural
Heritage Program and is moving to Tennessee. He will be replaced by Ms.
Jan Garrett.
Phone: (334) 834-4519X4
Email:
bhart@alnhp.org
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L. Louis Hyman
(10:17) |
Forestry and Estate Taxation
Lou Hyman is with the
Alabama Forestry Commission in Montgomery, Alabama and is
regularly called upon by AFOA for tax advice. Now, you can receive this
advice directly from Lou at the
Forestry Taxation Seminar, which he will present in Florence on March
11, 2004, along with CPA and former AFOA president
Henry Barclay.
Seminar Topics Will Include:
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Reforestation Tax Credit
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Capital Gains Treatment of Timber Sale Income
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Recent Capital Gains Tax Rate Changes
Phone: (334) 240-9354
Email:
hymanl@forestry.state.al.us
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Trey DeLoach (12:03) |
Basic Education Courses for Forest Owners --
in Mississippi
Trey DeLoach is the Extension Forestry Specialist with the
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center in Raymond, Mississippi.
He works with county extension agents and other individuals, agencies, and
organizations to provide outstanding information, education, and training in
many forestry subject areas. While AFOA regularly posts these
landowner-focused short courses to our
Calendar of Events, we thought that highlighting them today might
encourage your attendance.
Federal funding for these courses was authorized by Congress because
dramatic reductions in federal timber sales had resulted in drastic cuts in
federal funds used by local county governments to pay for schools and roads.
Trey will teach a course on
Timber Marketing on April 15.
Landowner Short Courses from Mississippi State University:
- Timber Tax Fundamentals -
February 21, Collins; February 24, Brookhaven; March 2,
Senatobia; March 12, Leake; April 15, Jefferson
- Analyzing your Forest Investments
- February 21, Holly Springs
- Hardwood Management - February
24, Lafayette; March 8, 15, 22, 27, Yalobusha; April 8,
Attala
- Profitable Marketing and Harvesting
of Timber - March 6, Prentiss
- Forest Wildlife - March 8,
Senatobia
- Forest Valuation Workshop - March
27, Tylertown
- Cogongrass Workshop - April 20,
Lucedale; April 22, DeKalb
- Forest Regeneration - April 24,
Poplarville
- Tree Identification - May
5, Magnolia
Phone: (601) 857-2284
Email:
treyd@ext.msstate.edu
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Jason Irving (15:55) |
Forestweb.com: Focused News for the Forestry Community
Jason Irving, though based in Toronto, Ontario, is responsible for
global sales of
Forestweb.com. The web-based company works with clients to help them
take charge of and customize their information flow - from statistics, to
data, to news. "But," AFOA asks, "what about smaller forest owners?
What kind of services does Forestweb provide for us?" Jason explains
what information on the Forestweb website is of use to us and how it might
benefit us.
Phone: (416) 537-1029
Email:
jason@forestweb.com
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Thom J. McEvoy
(19:40) |
Positive Impact Forestry - A New Book
Thom McEvoy
is an Associate Professor at the
School of Natural Resources
at the University of Vermont. Thom has authored or co-authored four books,
more than 150 Extension publications, popular articles and technical
bulletins on forestry subjects. His latest book, Positive Impact
Forestry is "a primer for private woodland owners and their managers
on managing their land and forests to protect both ecological and economic
vitality." Today he shares with us Positive Impact Forestry's theme
and main ideas. The book is scheduled to be printed in April 2004.
To Order the Book:
Positive Impact Forestry - A Sustainable Approach to Managing Woodlands
McEvoy's
Legal Aspects of Owning and Managing Woodlands - awarded best forestry
book of the year by the National Woodland Owner’s Association - is still a
‘best-seller’ for the publisher and can be purchased from AFOA for $19.
(AFOA, Box 361434, Birmingham, AL 35236)
Phone: (802) 656-2913
Email:
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Dr. David South
(24:58) |
Historical Perspective on Forestry
David South,
Professor of Forestry at the
School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences
at Auburn University, takes us back in time with a series of publications
and filmstrips, some of which are a century old! The publications provide a
nostalgic quality to the study and application of forestry of our past. The
film strips, both visually interesting and historically significant, give us
a more personal glimpse into the everyday life of our landowning and
land-working predecessors. David introduces us to forestry's "roots" with
A Primer of Forestry, 1903, by Gifford Pinchot, in addition to the links
below.
Publications
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The Nurseryman's directory; a reference book of nurserymen, florists,
seedsmen, tree dealers, etc., for the United States, 1883
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North American forests and forestry; their relations to the national
life of the American people, 1900, Ernest Bruncken
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First book of forestry, 1902, Filibert Roth
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American Southern Pine, 1939, W. LeRoy Neubrech
Filmstrips
David South's Home Page
Phone: (334) 844-1022
Email: southdb@auburn.edu
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Lois Cason Wooten
(27:49) |
Forestry Tours Provide Exotic Opportunities for
Landowners
Lois Wooten of Savannah, Georgia, is a landowner who has traveled
the world, met all kinds of interesting people, and has observed how the
people of other countries apply a working knowledge of forestry. Now, she
wants other landowners to become aware of upcoming opportunities. You, too,
can benefit from the "forestry abroad" experience. Lois gives us an idea of
the similarities we share with landowners in other counties, and points out
the many differences between us, as well.
Phone: 1-800-447-4484
Email:
yo231@aol.com
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