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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
NOVEMBER 2011
News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by the Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
This Conference was recorded on November 16, 2011
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Hayes D. Brown
starting time: (00:00)
Comment |
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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Charles C. Mann
(00:37)
Hear Conference
Comment |
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
Charles Mann is a
writer.
We first heard of him when he wrote the best seller
1491: New Revelations of the
Americas Before Columbus. 1491 caught fire with people who
were fascinated with native American cultures and the impact they had on the
land. We learned that America had not been a vast wilderness before 1492;
much of the forest had been cleared for agriculture and much of the pristine
forests explored by English, French, and Spanish explorers were the result
of huge population collapses. Now Mann has published 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
to help us understand the huge impact on our world brought about by the
discovery and exploitation of the New World.
"It is true that our times are different from the past. Our ancestors did
not have the Internet, air travel, genetically modified crops, or
computerized international stock exchanges. Still, reading the accounts of
the creation of the world market one cannot help hearing echoes-some muted,
some thunderously loud-of the disputes now on the television news. Events
four centuries ago set a template for events we are living through today,"
from the Prologue of 1493. Today we ask Mann, How might forest
owners benefit from reading 1493?
Buy the book at Amazon.com
Hardcover $19.13, Kindle version $14.99
Charles Mann's
website
Contact:
http://www.charlesmann.org/Contact.htm
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Prof. Susan Pace Hamill
(04:47)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Property Tax Reform
Susan Hamill is
Professor of Law at
The University of Alabama School of Law. She has been an outspoken
critic of Alabama's current property tax structure. When we read an
editorial in the October 30, 2011 issue of The Birmingham News
headlined,
An unhappy outcome, we thought, "Not unhappy for me." The
goal of
the Lynch Lawsuit discussed in the editorial, was to force the state
legislature to rewrite our property tax laws - create a new structure. We
suspect that proponents of
Constitutional Reform seek the same end. Our fear may not be a new
structure, but it certainly is a fear of higher, possibly much higher,
property taxes. So today we have asked Professor Hamill to help us
understand the goals and rationale of those who would raise property taxes
on forest and farm land. What does she mean when she says we need a tax
structure that is more fair? Several of her research papers and editorials
are included in the links below.
For Further Study:
Phone: (205) 348-5931
Email: shamill@law.ua.edu
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Eric D. Gee
(10:24)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Southern Pine Lumber Design Values Under Review
Eric Gee is
Director, Expo & Forest Resources for the
Southern Forest Products
Association (SFPA). But before we start, we need to make it clear:
"The SFPA does not test lumber or establish design values. SFPA’s primary
function is to market lumber products and to help users understand Southern
Pine grading rules and design values developed by the Southern Pine
Inspection Bureau (SPIB) and approved by the American Lumber Standard
Committee (ALSC) Board of Review." Recent testing by SPIB suggests that the
design values established by tests done 20 years ago no longer hold true.
Visually graded southern pine lumber may be from 20 to 35 percent weaker
than decades old tests indicated. As the new values are applied, building
designers may require 2x6s where 2x4s had once been thought sufficient.
Building code requirements for rafters, joists, and trusses could cause
builders to use more or thicker lumber or higher grades. The ALSC is
soliciting comments on the proposed design values, to be received by about
December 27. More testing is planned for next Spring. AFOA will bring an
expert guest to our January issue of Capital Ideas - Live! to discuss
changes, if any, that landowners might make in planting density of new pine
plantations, species choices, thinning specs, etc.
Suggested Reading:
Phone: (504) 443-4464 ext. 214
Email: egee@sfpa.org
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Dr. Stephanie Brun de Pontet
(14:17)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Benefits of Learning Together
Stephanie Brun de Pontet is a
Senior Consultant of the
Family Business
Consulting Group, Inc. who "specializes in advising family
enterprises facing important transitions." She and Amy Schuman recently
wrote a paper entitled,
The Family That Learns Together Stays Together, and we thought
most AFOA members will need to read it sooner or later. "While most people
agree investing in education is a good idea, converting those intentions
into something relevant, engaging and practical in a family business can
come with some daunting challenges." Have you ever thought: "How do you
reach out to a diverse and dispersed group of owners, all with busy lives?
And: "How do you make a dent in all the areas of education needed by the
next generation?"
Suggested Reading:
Phone: (678) 773-1675
Email:
brundepontet@gmail.com
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John C. Gilbert
(21:14)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Mapping Your Land
John Gilbert
is a
Research Associate
at the
Auburn University's
Longleaf Pine Stand
Dynamics Lab. His work with the lab includes developing a Geographic
Information System database (GIS is a system of hardware and software used
for storage, retrieval, mapping, and analysis of geographic data) of
existing longleaf pine stands. "Through working with the database, John
became interested in creating a timely, readily available, source of
information and examples of online spatial resources to help landowners and
conservation professionals make maps and utilize aerial photography,
topographic layers, soils information, data collected with GPS units, and
even visual simulations as they make decisions regarding the management of
their property. He recently completed a book for the Alabama Forests Forever
Education Grant titled
Mapping Your
Land: An Overview for Landowners -- Online Mapping and Spatial Resources for
the Private Forest Landowner. This book focuses on utilizing
online mapping and spatial resources to promote appropriate multiple use
management for the small scale private forest landowner in Alabama by
highlighting these resources and tools with examples that can be utilized to
create effective maps and spatial resources. The book provides keywords,
homepage links, tutorial information, examples, and screenshots for online
programs like the USDA/NRCS Web Soil Survey, Google Earth, Alabama Historic
Aerial Photo Archive, USDA/NRCS Geospatial Data Gateway, and USDA National
Agroforestry Center CanVIS." We can't wait to spend time in the Aerial Photo
Archives. Just glancing at the webpage indicated there are aerial photo
collections going back into the 1940s.
Related Links:
Phone: (334) 329-0236
Email: GILBEJO@auburn.edu
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Anthony J. Edwards
(24:43)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Navigating and Mapping with Your iPhone
Tony Edwards is Vice President, Geologist and Property Manager,
Regions
Trust, Natural Resource Department. Did you
know that your iPhone comes with a map App? Did you know you can add
different map Apps to your iPhone? Did you know that your iPhone can serve
quite nicely as a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit that can place a dot
on the map App to tell you where you are in your woods?
While Tony uses professional GIS and GPS equipment at work, he also uses many iPhone
Apps to help collect and add GIS and GPS information when work
equipment might not be available. He will share some of his favorite “apps”
with us today. We have posted
Tony's program notes to help you follow his comments.
Links to Tony's Favorite Apps for iPhone and iPad:
Phone: (205) 326-5741
Email:
Tony.Edwards@regions.com
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Dr. Eric J. Jokela
(28:58)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Confidence Builds with Long-Term Research
Eric Jokela is a Professor
of Silviculture and Forest Nutrition at the
University of
Florida School of Forest Resources & Conservation. In
Twenty-five Years of Intensive Forest Management with Southern Pines:
Important Lessons Learned, Journal of Forestry, Oct/Nov
2010, he and co-authors T. A. Martin and J. G. Vogel noted that after 25
years, fertilizer and weed control treatments increased the site's growth
potential from 64' tall loblolly pines in 25 years to 87' and from 75' tall
slash pines in 25 years to 88'. Stem volume accumulation was doubled, and
high value products such as loblolly pine chip-n-saw and sawtimber were almost doubled.
The authors point out, "A commitment to long-term forest research provides
the basis and opportunity to understand developmental processes and stand
dynamics over an entire rotation." In this age of 30 second sound bites, a
25-year research project is unimaginable to most Americans.
Related articles:
- Jokela, E.J. 2004. Nutrient management of southern pines. pp. 27-35. In:
Dickens, E.D., J. P. Barnett, W.G. Hubbard, and E.J. Jokela (eds.). Slash
Pine: still growing and growing! Proceedings of the slash pine symposium. USDA
Forest Service Gen. Tech. Report SRS-76.
- Fox, T.R., E.J. Jokela, and H.L. Allen. 2007.
The development of pine
plantation silviculture in the southern United States. Journal of Forestry
105:337-347.
- Fox, T.R., H.L. Allen, T.J. Albaugh, R. Rubilar, and C.A. Carlson. 2007.
Tree nutrition and forest fertilization of pine plantations in the southern
United States. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry 31:5-11.
Phone: (352) 846-0890
Email: ejokela@ufl.edu
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James K. Lyons
(33:00)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Export Capability Expands Markets
James Lyons is the
Director and Chief Executive Officer of the
Alabama State Port Authority
in Mobile. We heard Mr. Lyons describe the importance of exports to our
state's economy earlier this year, and were quite impressed with his
knowledge and appreciation of our forest products industry. "Forest products
exports were valued at $1.16 billion in 2010, ranking the industry as the
fourth largest exporter in the state," according to the Alabama Development
Office. Pulp, paper, lumber, wood chips, wood fuel pellets...
Suggested Reading:
Phone: (251) 441-7200
Email: jlyons@asdd.com
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