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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!
JULY 2013 News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by the Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
This Conference was recorded on July 17,
2013
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Hayes D. Brown
starting time: (00:00)
Hear Conference |
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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Randal O'Toole
(00:30)
Hear Conference
Comment |
The Case For Recreation Fees on Federal Land
Randal O'Toole is a
Cato Institute
Senior Fellow working on urban growth, public land, and transportation
issues. In a recent Cato Policy Analysis,
Improving Incentives for Federal Land Managers: The Case for
Recreation Fees, O'Toole caught our attention when he wrote: “By giving away dispersed recreation
[hiking, backpacking, hunting], the
federal government reduces to nearly zero the value of such recreation to
private landowners.” Now we know that unlike western states, where much
of the land is owned by the federal government, only about 5% of Alabama
forestland is owned by the state and federal governments. Unfortunately,
there is constant pressure for those governments to acquire more land in our
state - Forever Wild spends up to $15 million each year acquiring private
forest and farm land and about two years ago the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service attempted to add 100,000+ acres to the Cahaba River National
Wildlife Refuge. Perhaps if federal and state agencies who administer public
lands were to charge access fees which reflected the true cost of providing
the resource to the public, the interest in acquiring more public land would
be reduced. You may want to encourage your Congressman to reauthorize the
Recreation Enhancement Act that allows fees on federal lands to be
collected. It is set to expire in December 2014.
Phone: (541) 595-1460
Email: rotoole@cato.org
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David P. Tenny
(04:32)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Private Forest Owners Make Significant Contribution to U.S. Economy
Dave Tenny is the
founding President and
CEO of the
National Alliance of Forest Owners
(NAFO), an organization devoted to policy advocacy on behalf of
private forest owners.
In a press release dated June 27, 2013, Tenny said, “Private forest
owners are a driver of the U.S. economy by providing millions of jobs while
producing a broad range of goods and services that improve quality of life
in every home and community. Private forest owners are able to provide these
substantial benefits because they recognize that responsible management
today yields sustainable economic and environmental benefits over the long
term.” The report, conducted by Forest2Market, is an update to NAFO’s
inaugural report in 2009 (see
Tenny's January 2010 interview with AFOA). It provides national,
regional and state-specific data on jobs, payroll, sales, acreage ownership
and contribution to overall manufacturing and gross domestic product.
A few points to take with you to Kiwanis or your garden club:
- The U.S. grows more trees than it
harvests. USDA reports that the standing inventory (volume of
growing trees) in U.S. forests has grown by 50% between 1953 and 2011.
- For the past 100 years, the amount of
forestland in the United States has remained relatively stable, at
around 755 million acres, thanks to improvements in markets for forest
products and reforestation efforts.
- 89 percent of the freshwater supply
in the Eastern U.S. originates on forestlands.
The Report:
The Economic Impact of Privately-Owned Forests in the United States,
June 27, 2013
Snapshots of state data
(Alabama snapshot)
- Private Forest Acres: 21,371,666
- Public Forest Acres: 1,428,718
- Direct, Indirect and Induced Jobs
from Private Forests: 139,825
- Direct, Indirect and Induced Payroll
from Private Forests: $5,040,527,742
- Annual Sales from Private Forests:
$12,165,600,944
- Percentage of Manufacturing: 17.89%
Phone: (202) 367-1163
Email:
dtenny@nafoalliance.org
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Dr. Stephen G. Dicke
(08:19)
Hear Conference
Comment |
High Value
Utility Poles from Pine Plantations: Yes!
Stephen Dicke is
Extension Professor in the
Department of Forestry of the College of
Forest Resources at Mississippi State University. About a month ago, in
the Mississippi Forestry Association's Mid-Month Update, we saw a
photo of Stephen standing in a loblolly pine plantation. Some of the trees
behind him were marked for cutting and he was quoted saying, "the use of
'super trees,' Generation 1, initially, along with meticulous management has
produced the rare but profitable utility pole specimens found in abundance
on the farm." In
Opportunity to grow and market poles in loblolly pine plantations,
Stephen answers the question, "Why should owners of loblolly pine
plantations be interested in poles?" A quick glance at the first table in
the paper shows pine pulpwood worth $8.95 per ton and pine poles worth
$60.34/ton (10-year average, south Mississippi, Forest2Market). He recommends
that new plantings should be made with "good genetics" and thinning
decisions should be made by a forester to protect potential poles, not by a
feller-buncher operator focused on leaving the largest (but not necessarily
the straightest) trees.
Suggested further reading:
Growing Poles in Southern Pine
Stands, Georgia Forestry Productivity Series
Phone: (601) 857-2284
Email:
steved@ext.msstate.edu
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Christopher Johnston
(12:03)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Pine Tip Moth Control Improves Early Growth
Chris Johnston,
International Forest Company, Inc.,
recently reported that the Moultrie, Georgia-based pine tree grower will
soon begin offering an interesting new product that may improve growth of
young pines. Chris wrote the following report about PTM Seedling
Injections for AFOA:
The pine tip moth is a small insect that
can severely damage young pine seedlings. Research shows that loblolly pine
trees not protected by PTM were 9 ft. shorter in height, 1 ˝ inches smaller
in diameter and had about 25% as much wood as pine that was protected with
PTM at 10 years of age. The PTM treatment is systemic, which means it is a
pesticide that is absorbed by the roots and is harmless to the plant or
animal, but when absorbed into its sap, makes the entire seedling toxic to
pests. We now have the ability to treat the root ball of container seedlings
before they leave the nursery to be planted. This method of treatment
reduces the cost by about half versus the conventional way of applying the PTM after planting has been complete.
Depending on the planting spacing of
the seedlings, we can add the PTM treatment for about 10 cents per seedling.
The active ingredient is FIPRONIL and is the same chemical found in your
pet’s flea collars. The PTM treatment will control pine tip moth and pine
bark aphids for 2 years. This is very important as the pine tip moth has 2
to 5 generations per year and each generation poses a threat to pines. The
pine tip moth first emerge February through March repeating their life cycle
on 6 to 8 week intervals throughout the growing season. They feed on the new
shoots and buds of the young pine trees, causing loss of the tree's form. Heavy attacks by the pine tip moth can also cause forks, crooks, and
multiple trunks. With the demand in the timber market for straight,
non-forked sawtimber trees, we are proud to offer PTM treated containerized
pine seedlings to all forest landowners.
Phone: 1-800-633-4506
Email:
cjohnston@interforestry.com
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J. Kevin Dodd
(15:43)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Statewide Planting Dates "Big Deal" for Dove Hunters and Landowners
Kevin Dodd is
Chief Enforcement
Officer at the
Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Division of the
Alabama Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources. In a recent discussion with Chief
Dodd, he alerted AFOA to news that will be of interest to landowners who
allow dove hunting on their property. As you know, dove hunting is a
Fall tradition of the rural South. Dove hunts are hosted every year as fund
raisers for community projects, secondary income for landowners, or purely
as social events. Unfortunately, you may also have seen or heard reports of
landowners or hunters being charged for hunting doves over illegal baited
areas. Some of the reported fines are quite high and landowners have been
reluctant to allow such activities. The Mourning Dove is a migratory bird
and hunting is regulated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The Service
allows the birds to be hunted over fields managed under "normal agricultural
practices," and it defers to each state's Agricultural Extension System to
identify what is "normal" for that state. The agricultural practice that has
caused the most conflicts has been fall wheat plantings. In the past the
Extension System had established three zones with specific planting dates
for each zone. Hunting over fields planted outside those dates was a
violation of state and federal standards. The good news is that the Alabama
Extension System has recently published new planting guidelines for Alabama.
"The new recommendations eliminate the zones and set the acceptable dates
for top-sowing wheat as August 1 through November 30."
SUGGESTED READING:
Phone: (334) 242-3467
Email:
kevin.dodd@dcnr.alabama.gov
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Angela M. Thorpe
(19:01)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Defensible Space Encouraged by Insurance Company
Angela Thorpe is a
Media Relations
Specialist with
State Farm Insurance Company in Colorado. Angela came to our attention
when she was
recently quoted in The Gazette, a Colorado Springs news paper. "
'We don't want everyone to start mowing down everything within 100 feet of
their homes,' she said. 'We really want the areas within 30 to 50 feet of
their homes to be really tight. We want to eliminate the fuels closest to
the house. It's the first 30 feet surrounding the home that requires the
most extensive mitigation. The 100-foot area is more about cutting limbs and
thinning trees.' " Many Alabama forest owners live in or near wooded areas,
so if that sounds like you,
check out the State Farm Wildfire Mitigation webpage. Some simple and
some more complicated actions you can take to make your home firesafe are
graphically illustrated and make good sense. Another webpage that Angela
suggests you consider using is their
Creating a Home Inventory webpage. "A home inventory is an excellent way
to expedite the insurance claims process after theft, damage, or loss. This
record of your insurable assets will not only help you in the settlement of
a covered loss or claim, but will also help verify tax-deductible property
losses and determine the right amount of insurance coverage you need."
Create A Safety Zone (Source:
State Farm)
The best way to protect your home from a wildfire is to remove or reduce the
potential fuel within a 30-feet safety zone around your home. (If you live
in a high-risk area, increase the safety zone to 100 feet):
- Remove vines from house walls.
- Move shrubs and other landscaping away
from your house walls.
- Remove highly flammable and low-branched
trees...
- For remaining trees, remove limbs within
15 feet of the ground.
- Clear tree debris, such as fallen limbs,
leaves, and pine needles and cones.
- Move stacked wood outside the safety
zone.
- Pay special attention to clearing debris
beneath decks and other overhangs.
- Consider removing wooden exterior
structures, such as decks and patios, or replacing them with more fire
resistant materials.
- Install non-combustible roofing and
siding materials, such as metal, slate, or concrete.
- Clear debris from gutters.
- Install electrical lines underground, if
possible.
You may also want to collect some basic
firefighting tools, including hoses, buckets, shovels, axes, rakes, and
saws. However, do not attempt to fight large, fast-moving wildfires on your
own.
Coincidentally, a workshop entitled
Wildfire Safe, Sound & Code Smart will be held in Cullman,
Alabama on August 22-23.
Phone: (303) 264-1560
Email:
angela.m.thorpe.cdxt@statefarm.com
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Roberta Burzynski
(22:54)
Hear Conference
Comment |
Why Would Anyone Cut a Tree Down?
Roberta Burzynski is a
Writer-Editor-Educator with the
Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry, USDA Forest Service.
Roberta and illustrator Juliette Watts have provided a wonderful
resource for forest owners whose young children or grandchildren ask
questions, such as, "Why did you cut those trees, Grandma?" "Some children
and adults are unaware that in order to reduce tree hazards, protect other
trees, or to get wood, it is necessary to cut trees." Roberta uses
words sparingly but appropriately to help young readers understand her
message and enjoy the 28 beautiful full-color, hand-painted illustrations.
Included at the end of the book are "A Note to Parents and Educators About
Caring for Trees," a one-page lesson on tree planting, and sample memorials
for those who want to plant a tree in memory of a friend or loved one.
While the book is available for purchase from the
Government Printing Office for $10, we
opened and downloaded a copy
into our iPad (iBooks) quite easily.
Phone: (610) 557-4187
Email:
rburzynski@fs.fed.us
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Arthia W. Rye
(26:55)
Hear Conference
Comment |
"Highest Hardwood Summertime Prices I've Ever Seen"
Billy Rye is
President of
Forest Management Specialists, Inc.,
a consulting forestry firm based in Florence, Alabama. When we called Billy
to ask him if he would give today's Timber Market Report, he was very
excited about hardwood stumpage prices, and said they were the highest he
has seen in the summer since he began his career as a consulting forester in
1996. He said white oak sawlogs are in high demand along with ash, poplar,
and "even red oak." "The pine stumpage market is not as good and any price
recovery will be gradual."
Phone: (256) 765-0397
Email: formgtspec@aol.com
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