Archived 2002 News, Issues & Information

(12/28/02) MSU Extension Forester Dr. Debbie Gaddis explains why it's so important to keep good records on family forestland and talks about the kinds of records that need to be kept. REAL | MP3

(10/26/02) Register to vote: Click here for details at the Secretary of State's website.

(10/26/02) Check out Mississippi's Better Farming radio programs. October 25's program featured Dr. Debbie Gaddis explaining how to obtain a tax deduction if shade or timber trees were damaged in recent storms. Friday's shows are reserved for forestry topics.

(08/27/02) We Know You Are Tired of This, But... Click on the appropriate years to view the tax returns of the Alabama Treasure Forest Association: 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998. Be sure to look at the 9th page of the 1998 file to see how much membership income the association had in 1994 when it received more than $140,000 from government grants. Ask yourself: Is ATFA likely to ever ask Congress to reduce funding for USFS taxpayer funded programs? Will ATFA help us minimize government intrusion into our businesses and our lives?

(07/17/02) Truth Under Fire: Environmentalist claims of vindication go up in smoke.

(07/09/02) Use of Biomass to Produce Steam and Electricity was discussed on June 27 at AFOA's Jefferson County Program and also on Capital Ideas -- Live! on May 15 by Southern Company Services Engineer Doug Boylan. Professor David South recently suggested that we check the following sites for further information on the burning of wood to produce useful energy.

• Tracy Biomass Plant in California
• Sweden Produces About 19% of Its Energy Needs From Biomass
• Shell Oil's Predictions on Economics of Biomass Energy 
• Worldwide Use of Wood As An Energy Source Is Increasing (in absolute terms only) 
• Tenth Biennial Bioenergy Conference Bioenergy for the Environment 9/22-26/2002
• Environmental Sustainability of Forest Energy Production: overview of guiding principles by C. T. Smith

(07/02/02) State of the World's Forests: 2001. A report from the United Nations.

(07/02/02) Only 12 percent of the world's forest are privately owned.

(06/29/02) U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Norton Asks for Public Comment on Landowner Incentive & Stewardship Grant Programs. ...another program to help you through your day.

(06/28/02) "When you see a fire burning along a road in Shelby County, it's in all likelihood a controlled burn by foresters. That burn helps prevent the possibility of a future deadly and destructive fire like the ones we've seen on TV every night in recent weeks." Source: Perry Pearson, Shelby County Reporter, 6/26/02.

(06/27/02) Should Private Forest Landowner Associations Be Propped Up With Tax Money? AFOA, Forest Landowners Association and the Association of Consulting Foresters have been trying to convince the US Forest Service & Alabama Forestry Commission to stop funding the Alabama Treasure Forest Association and a new National Network of Forest Landowners. To read the Forest Landowners Association's Policy Statement on this issue, click here. To review tax returns of the Alabama Treasure Forest Association for past years, click on the year: 2000, 1999, 1998.

(05/26/02) Who Receives Farm Subsidies? Click on Alabama and check out the amounts received by the 100 biggest recipients.

(05/02/02) Birmingham's Misuse of Eminent Domain Sends Message to Every Landowner and Aspiring Landowner. (cached)

(01/28/02) Wanted: 500 acres for Turkey Hunting. Write to Bud Foshee at 5120 Stratford Road, Birmingham, AL 35242 or budfoshe@bellsouth.net.

(04/21/02) James M. Vardaman describes how to use NRCS soils information to determine value of land for growing timber.

(04/11/02) "...the Amazon rain forest may be largely a human artifact", the Atlantic Monthly.

(04/11/02/) The Alabama Forest Owner's Guide is a website that you might find useful and interesting. John H. Sandy, Head of the Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering at the University of Alabama, is the web master. If you find interesting parts of the guide that we should pay closer attention to, please send a note to AFOA.

(04/05/02) Master Tree Farmer I (2001) was a 21 hour live satellite broadcast workshop for southern landowners and is now available on the Internet. We attended and liked the whole program, but we were quite impressed with the tax discussion presented by Albert Todd from Columbia, South Carolina. Click here to learn from Mr. Todd. You'll need Real One Player (free) to listen to the program. Download Real Player.

(02/05/02) Insurance to cover "perils" of fire, wind, ice, snow, lightning, theft, vandalism, and malicious mischief is available to forest owners from the Great American Insurance Company. Contact Eric Pugh at (515) 222-9975 or epugh@gaic.com.

(01/28/02) 800 to 1000 acres within 100 miles Birmingham. Also wanted: nice house to buy or lease. Contact Butch Evans at (205) 655-2578 or kehorsewhisper@aol.com.

(01/10/02) Loan Wanted to Refinance Forestland.  William H. Hooper is seeking an investor to loan money as first mortgage holder to refinance $87,000 on 255 wooded acres in northeast Madison County. He offers to pay 7% for a 15 year term on your investment. He claims a high credit rating and can provide references. Contact Mr. Hooper at (256) 883-2948 or whhooper1@email.msn.com.  Editor's note: AFOA does not endorse the loan seeker, but we thought you might be interested. Be sure to thoroughly check references of anyone seeking to borrow money from you.

(01/08/02) Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 2001 Tax Year, by Larry Bishop, is available in a pdf file.

(01/03/02) Wanted to Lease: 200 to 500 acres within 1.5 hours of Shelby County. "Two non-drinking responsible deer hunters," bow & gun, prefer 65% of property in hardwoods and no more than 15% clear-cut or fields (swampy land or thick brushy property is desirable). "We do not hunt with dogs nor will we bring a lot of guests onto your property." References available on request. Contact Pete Folmar at (205) 669-9889 or Folmar50@cs.com. 

Archived News, Issues & Information from 2001