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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
May 2004 News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc. Conference was recorded
Wednesday, May 19, 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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Ian Vásquez (00:30) |
Property Rights Most Important Ingredient in Private Forestland Recipe
Ian Vásquez is the director of
the
Cato Institute's
Project on Global Economic Liberty in Washington, D.C. Recently,
Cato honored
Hernando de Soto with the 2004
Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty.
As de Soto states:
...the property system is much more
than ownership: it is in fact the hidden architecture that organizes the
market economy in every Western nation. What the property system
accomplishes is so central to capitalism that developed nations have
come to take its success for granted.
Ian discusses the Prize and explains why
property rights should not be taken for granted not only in third-world
countries, but also in Alabama.
About the prize and the prize winner:
Some published works by Ian Vásquez:
Phone: (202) 789-5200
Email: ivasquez@cato.org
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Bill Dart (04:08) |
ATVs Fly Out the Door with No Place to Land
Bill Dart
is executive director of the
Blueribbon Coalition in Pocatello, Idaho. Like
Brent Williams and
Glenn Myers, he is working to find "common ground" between ATV (all
terrain vehicle) riders and landowners for the benefit of both. Today Bill
shares with us some enlightening ATV statistics and demographics. In a
recent email note he wrote, "OHV [off highway vehicle] recreation
can be a very lucrative business.
Sales of ATV's and dirt bikes is through the ceiling, while
opportunities to ride them is declining." Unfortunately for us, Bill
is still searching for good liability insurance protection for landowners
who lease their land to riding clubs or charge fees for day-riding.
Currently the only coverage available is for races and special events.
Some Successful ATV Trail Systems:
Information on Risks and Insurance:
Phone: 1-800-258-3742
Email: brbill_d@sharetrails.org
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Sheriff Jay M. Jones
(07:40) |
Posting Land Critical Tool to Prevent and
Prosecute Trespass
Jay Jones is currently
serving his second term as
Sheriff of Lee County, Alabama. He recently spoke at a
landowners' meeting
where he discussed landowners' legal options when dealing with trespassers,
such as trespass prevention and the process of pressing charges if
prevention methods fail. He explains the language of Alabama State Law
and how it relates to trespassers' common claim that they were not
knowingly* trespassing. Unfortunately, law officers are generally
prohibited by law from arresting anyone for the commission of a misdemeanor
unless it is committed in their presence. Most of us are familiar
with the fish & game law which requires hunters to have written permission
to enter another's land, but trespass unrelated to hunting is considered
relatively unimportant under current law.
See 3rd Degree Criminal Trespass in
table below.
Understanding the Language of the Law:
|
Violation |
Interpretation |
Punishment |
| Criminal Trespass in the
1st Degree |
Knowingly entering/
remaining unlawfully in dwelling/residence |
Maximum 1 year jail and
$2,000 fine |
| Criminal Trespass in the
2nd Degree |
Knowingly entering/
remaining unlawfully in building or on real property which is fenced
or enclosed to exclude intruders |
Maximum 90 days jail and
$500 fine |
| Criminal
Trespass in the 3rd degree: |
Knowingly entering/remaining on unlawfully in or on premises |
Maximum
30 days jail and $200 fine |
* The element of
"knowingly" relates to whether the property is "apparently unused or
unimproved." If the owner has personally communicated that the premises
are private or if the land is conspicuously posted, the intruders claim
of "not knowing" would be negated.
To secure a warrant, a complainant must:
- Be the injured party (owner)
- Personally observe violation of law or
have a witness who made the observation
- Be able to specifically identify the
violator (owner or witness or
photo from which violator can be identified)
- Be willing to be present in court and
testify
Editor's comment: If you aren't on your
own property, you are most definitely on someone else's. It boggles my mind
that the law allows people to claim they don't know they are trespassing.
Phone: (334) 749-5651
Email:
jjones@leecountysheriff.org
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Rick Bruin (11:39) |
Fire, Chemicals, Heavy Equipment --- Baaaaa
Rick Bruin runs
Walking Stick Acres in Berry, Kentucky. Rick tells us that the right
kind of goats on the right kind of property can be a great combination for
preparing land for planting or maintaining land in a condition that is
relatively brush-free and fire-resistant. With no gas or chemicals and a
minimum of labor and equipment, Bruin's goats can maintain property value,
enhance the appearance and thus increase the value of commercial property,
and even clear brush around timber for the purpose of effortless navigation
for foresters and landowners. Walking Stick Acres will be relocated to Coosa
County, Alabama by the end of 2004.
Phone: (859) 824-3422
Email: walkingstickllc@isoc.net
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Bryan Kinkel (15:22) |
Deer Management 101: The Book
Bryan Kinkel is a deer biologist with
Woods and Associates, Inc., a private consulting firm that provides
site-specific forestry and wildlife habitat management services and
educational opportunities (August 5-8, Callaway Gardens, Georgia).
Kinkel is co-author of
Deer Management 101 - Manage Your Way To Better Hunting, which uses
a mixture of research and practice to reveal habitat insights in a
no-nonsense, hunter-friendly format.
Click here to order Deer Management 101
Deer management links and resources:
Phone: (417) 334-3441
Email: bryan.kinkel@comcast.net
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Alexander Clark, III
(18:47) |
Grow the Trees Timber Purchasers Want
Alexander Clark
is a Forest Products Technologist with the
USDA Forest Service's
Southern Research Station
in Athens, Georgia, and works specifically with the
Disturbance and the Management of Southern Pine Ecosystems Unit.
Clark explains why it is important for landowners to be concerned with their
trees' wood quality and he gives us a few pointers on how to grow trees that
will have the wood properties stumpage buyers look for. His recommendations
are geared to help us improve yields of "mature wood" (not soft "juvenile
wood") on straight trees. Pine trees may all look the same to us on the
outside, but the conditions under which they were grown makes for big
differences on the quality of the lumber and other products that can be made
from them after harvest.
On Improving Lumber Quality and Yield
from Planted Loblolly Pines:
- To reduce knot size and diameter of
juvenile wood core plant more than 600 loblolly pines per acre
- Competition control plus fertilizer at
planting increases growth significantly, but also increases diameter of
juvenile wood core (24%) and lowers Specific Gravity slightly (3-4%).
- Mid-rotation fertilizer can increase
growth with no long-term reduction in wood Specific Gravity
- Fertilize with Nitrogen after thinning
to enhance mature wood growth
- Lumber strength, stiffness, and grade
increase with increasing rotation length (suggest rotation of 25 to 30
years)
- Prune loblolly pine aggressively as
early as possible in the rotation to reduce the diameter of the knotty
core
From Planting to Harvest -- a schedule*:
- Control woody competition before
planting with herbicides
- Apply Phosphorus if needed
- Plant 600-800 Trees Per Acre to
keep branches small and accelerate time to crown closure
- Apply Herbicide Weed Control where
cost-effective to decrease time to crown closure to decrease time to
thinning size and to increase chances for good survival.
- Thin for pulpwood at age 12-14, or 2
years after crown closure, when trees are producing mature wood (market
permitting). Use first thinning to eliminate cankers and defects.
- Fertilize with Nitrogen (and a dash of
Phosphorus) at/after thinning to enhance growth rates of mature wood.
- Second thinning for pulpwood/chip-n-saw
to achieve quality and even spacing in the residual stand to 200-300 at
age ~20.
- Control woody competition at time of 2nd
thinning as needed
- Fertilize with Nitrogen (and a dash of
Phosphorus) at/after 2nd thinning.
- Harvest quality saw timber at age 25-30.
* Time to achieve certain milestones or apply
treatments will depend on site quality, competition, and survival. Less
intensive options applying just one thinning and/or fertilization may be
prudent for some sites/objectives. Markets will dictate timing and
commercial viability of thinnings.
Phone: (706) 559-4323
Email: aclark@fs.fed.us
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Powell
G. Ogletree, Jr.
(22:55) |
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Gee Ogletree
is a real estate, forestry, natural resources, business and trial
attorney with
Adams and Reese LLP in Jackson, Mississippi. During the
Mississippi Forestry Association's 2003 Annual Meeting, Gee presented a
speech entitled, Forestry Law from a Landowner's Perspective: Yesterday,
Today and Tomorrow. Compared to seventy years ago, most landowners would
only work with a lawyer on rare occasions such as "...buying or selling a
home, writing a will, or, probating an estate." For most other transactions,
such as buying equipment for one's property, Gee comments, "You just shook
hands and made a deal." However, today, "Our society has changed to
the point that operating a forestry business requires the owner to
have a working knowledge in property, labor, employment, tax,
environmental and other laws." We hope you will read his thought
provoking comments:
Forestry Law from a Landowner's Perspective: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,
Tree Talk, Winter 2004.
Phone: (601) 292-0740
Email: gee.ogletree@arlaw.com
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Eddie Stone (28:12) |
Alabama Stumpage Market Report
Eddie Stone is a consulting forester and owner of
Forever Green,
Inc. His goal is to help us get the most from our timberland
investment in a variety of ways. But while Eddie might help us lease our
land for hunting or other recreational activities, he doesn't let us forget
that stumpage income still pays the bills. He reminds us, too, that we
should be aware that published timber price reports may lag behind the
actual market conditions. Sometimes 30 to 60 day periods of wet or dry
weather can have a strong effect on local stumpage markets. Eddie suggests
we develop a relationship with people who can help us stay alert to rapid
market changes.
Phone: (205) 702-4420
Email: edstone@mindspring.com
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