| |
CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
October 2005 News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc. Conference was recorded
October 19, 2005.
|
|
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.
.
|
Thomas Tanton
(00:29) |
Biomass: High Cost Energy Solution
Thomas Tanton is a Senior
Fellow with the
Institute for Energy Research and resides in northern California. He
recently wrote a report for the
Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) called
Distorting The Wealth Of Nature. Tanton points out subsidies
federal and state governments are paying for the development of biomass to
energy projects. He displays a table that shows "when measured on a
dollar-per-energy-output basis, renewables [biomass] are receiving more
direct federal subsidies than are petroleum, coal, and nuclear." In fact
renewables receive 14.6 cents per million BTUs more than
coal and twice the amount as nuclear. So where's the energy
"output"? Tanton speaks on the reality of biomass, what’s holding back a
boom in biomass to energy, and what YOU should know about biomass to energy.
AFOA wants to be sure that any efforts forestry interests put into
developing bioenergy programs are efficient and do not waste tax money.
Phone: (916) 645-2854
Email: rtanton@psyber.com
.
|
Thomas McEvoy
(04:50) |
Settle Timber Sale Disputes Through Arbitration
Thom McEvoy
is an Associate Professor at the
School of Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, located in
Burlington. What if you and your timber buyer have a dispute and the matter
can't be settled - not even by your consultant? If your timber sale contract
contains a clause on settling disputes out of court, chances are the remedy
is some form of arbitration. McEvoy discusses the advantages of arbitration
over going to court. McEvoy is an author and has recently updated
Owning and Managing Forests: A Guide to Legal, Financial, and Practical
Matters, which is the revised, expanded, and updated edition of
Legal Aspects of Owning and Managing Woodlands.
Phone: (802) 656-2913
Email: tmcevoy@together.net
.
|
Sarah O'Sullivan
(08:53) |
Work with Your Neighbors to Kill Cogongrass
Sarah O'Sullivan is a Forest
Health forester with the
Alabama Forestry Commission's
Management Division in Montgomery. She will discuss a new
opportunity for southwestern Alabama landowners to work with their
neighbors to kill
Cogongrass,
Chinese and European privet, or
Tallowtree (or Popcorn tree) on both sides of the property
line. Hurricane Ivan cost share money is available for you and other
landowners willing to work together. Signup is November 1 to December 8,
2005. Applications are available at your
county AFC office. Note: while AFOA encourages you to work with
your neighbors to fight these troublesome plants, keep in mind that signing
up must be done on an individual basis.
Phone: (334) 240-9350
Email:
osullivans@forestry.state.al.us
.
|
Dr. Jeffrey Jackson
(12:21) |
Edge Effect: The Land Between
Jeff Jackson is a wildlife
management consultant and retired professor from the University of Georgia.
In his article,
Edge Effect Goes into
the Woods
[PDF], he explains that an
edge effect is the "tendency for a greater variety for organisms to cluster
in the boundaries between habitat communities," and "are the
meeting grounds where things happen." So if you're looking for birds,
snakes, or deer tracks, a good place to find them would be edge between the
forest, field, marsh, pond, etc. Best of all, edge effect can be a
low cost, wildlife habitat improvement method resulting from clear cutting
or logging operations.
Tips for Developing a Forest Edge
- Cut openings and lanes in the forest to
create a habitat suitable for diverse wildlife
- Improve wildlife habitat even more by
expanding the edge, or removing some of the trees just inside the
forest.
Edge Effect and Habitat
Phone: (706) 543-2656
Email: jeffjack6@yahoo.com
.
|
Dan Miller (16:57) |
Build Your Cabin in the Woods
Dan Miller
is the
Farmstead Editor for
Progressive Farmer located in Birmingham, Alabama. In his
article,
Build Your Cabin in the Woods, he explains how you can build
your own self-sufficient backwoods dream cabin using the Progressive
Farmer "Back 40" remote-retreat home plans. Build a
Backwoods Cabin,
Lean To with Fire Pit,
ATV Shed, or a
Hilltop home. It was fun just looking at the plans while daydreaming
of a cozy, rustic hideaway. With the "Back 40" plans, daydreams can be made
into reality.
Phone: (205) 445-6000
Email:
dmiller@progressivefarmer.com
.
|
Jack Rhodes
(20:07) |
Timber Buyer List Pays for Itself
Jack Rhodes is Treasurer
and long-time member of AFOA and resides Birmingham, Alabama. Jack
took the initiative to market his own timber by using AFOA's timber
buyers list. Just by sending $10 to AFOA, he had at his
disposal 119 names, addresses, and telephone numbers - information AFOA
updates daily - of timber buyers in Elmore county where his timber was
located. The list was sent to him printed on gummed labels, ready for
mailing. Jack got back 12 bids from the letters he sent out to
prospective buyers. Get your own list by writing to the address below, and
tell 'em Jack sent you!
Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
P. O. Box 361434
Birmingham, Alabama 35236
Phone: (205) 661-0662
Email: ljr35244@aol.com
.
|
Jason Martin
(22:54) |
Hunting Land: Lease Prices & Practices
Jason
Martin is the Staff Forester for the Alabama Forest
Owners' Association in Birmingham, Alabama. “What’s the right price to
charge for hunting on my land?” That’s a question many landowners ask
themselves but struggle to answer. They may know what their neighbors or
friends charge, but can they be sure they’re being fairly compensated?
Martin has recently finished a survey of
landowners from all the counties in Alabama to help answer that
question. One important fact to remember is that the quality of hunting land
varies just as the quality of fishing ponds and seats at football games.
Note: Jason reminds us that the results are presented as averages and
that there are leases with both higher and lower prices. Almost none are
the average.
Phone: (205) 987-8811
.
|
Dr. Brooks Mendell
(26:10) |
Timber Market Report
Brooks Mendell
(bio link updated 10/16/06) is Principal and Founder of
Forisk Consulting
and a Visiting Assistant Professor with the
Warnell
Center for Forest Business at the University of Georgia in Athens. When
you begin wondering how Katrina impacted market prices of timber,
Mendell suggests you take a look at what the mills are doing in their
ability to use this downed timber. A good sign, Mendell states, is that
mills in Mississippi and Alabama are adding capacity, so at least the
ability to absorb all the wood on the ground is growing. He advises on this
and more and mentions a
Timber Market Analysis course he will be teaching on January 24-25,
2006.
Phone: (706) 542-6021
Email:
bcm3407@forestry.uga.edu
.
|
|
|
