Archived 2020 News, Issues & Information
(12/30/20)
How about some good news?
"Jasper Lumber announces $45 million
expansion, to create 60 jobs."
AL.com's headline forgot to mention
that the sawmill expansion will also
create markets for lots of sawtimber
stumpage grown by local forest
owners. But that's OK. We'll take
expansion any way we can get it.
Happy New Year!
(12/29/20)
Each month we receive, by email,
the Alabama Wildlife and
Conservation News from the
Alabama Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources.
We copied two stories from the
December issue for you to read.
One is on measuring browse pressure
on game food plots, the other is on
the value of snags (standing dead
trees) to wildlife. If you would
like to sign up to receive the
newsletter or other information from
the Department,
click here.
(12/28/20)
"Some demographers say the baby
who will live to 200 years old is
already born," says economist
Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton
School of Business. Source:
The Wall Street Journal,
1/10/20. You could grow
some mighty big trees in 200 years.
Cached copy of WSJ article.
(12/23/20)
"Is there a land bubble out
there?" Georgia Consulting
Forester Bob Hatcher asks
that question in a Letter to the
Editor to AFOA's Capital Ideas
newsletter.
Read Bob's letter here.
(12/22/20)
How to Keep People Off Your
Property. Huntin' Land
podcast talks to Josh Phifer,
Barn Owl Tech, "about how to keep
people off your property, what you
can do legally to prevent people
from coming on your property,
catching trespassers who already
are, and the steps you need to take
when you do." Interview begins at
6:26. About 26 minutes.
(12/21/20)
Volunteers Needed! The folks who
are trying to bring back the
American chestnut tree are looking
for volunteers to plant blight
resistant trees in a seed orchard in
Moore County, Tennessee, next week,
Tuesday and Wednesday. Probably a
fun day (or two) with nice people.
Invitation and details...
(12/18/20)
Volume 2 of
Freshwater Fishes of North America
is a "monumental, fully illustrated
reference (936 pages, hundreds of
photos and illustrations) that
provides comprehensive details on
the freshwater fishes of the United
States, Canada, and Mexico." ($150)
Volume 1 was published in 2014.
($120)
(12/17/20)
Raymond James downgraded their
rating of
Rayonier Inc. (RYN-NYSE)
($30.48) Tuesday to Market
Perform
(from Outperform). RJ's headline
included:
"Covid Surge Limiting Mill
Capacity."
(12/16/20)
North American Softwood Lumber
Capacity Continues to Shift South.
"The South surpassed Western Canada
to become the largest region in
North America for softwood lumber
capacity a few years ago, and the
shift continues." Source:
Forisk Blog, December 15,
2020.
(12/15/20)
How Would a Biden Administration
Increase Income Tax?, a
slide presentation by
Robert Tufts, Visiting
Professor, Alabama Cooperative
Extension System, Auburn University.
About 15 minutes.
(12/14/20)
Forest Technology Instructor Wanted!
Lurleen B. Wallace Community College
Forest Technology Instructor,
Mark Hainds (you may have met
Mark at past AFOA annual meetings)
is retiring, so the College is
looking for his successor.
(12/11/20)
Can I use my IRA to buy land?
Carla McEwen of IRA
Innovations discusses the
possibility in Great Days
Outdoors podcast. Starts at
12:53.
(12/10/20/)
Learn more about growing Christmas
trees on an excellent virtual farm
tour with an Extension Agent in
North Carolina.
(12/09/20)
Becky Barlow, Auburn
professor and Alabama Extension’s
Forestry, Wildlife and Natural
Resources coordinator, has been
appointed the Harry E. Murphy
Professor of Forest Measurements
and Management in Auburn’s School
of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.
Murphy was a consulting forester, a
strong advocate of the free market
system, and an early supporter of
the Alabama Forest Owners'
Association.
(12/08/20)
World's Tallest Timber Tower Rising
in Milwaukee (25 stories
- what? about 300 feet?).
World's tallest tree is a coast
redwood named Hyperion -- 380 feet
tall.
(12/07/20)
Some truth about hurricanes from
a real estate investor.
From
Ross Rant, 12/5/20:
The press has
been playing up the line that climate change has
spawned a major uptick in hurricanes. Here is
reality. Until the 1970’s there was no way to know
about all of the storms in the ocean that never hit
land, or just lasted two days, unless a ship spotted
it. Now we have satellite coverage of the whole
ocean. In addition the former head of hurricane
reporting and tracking, who has retired, said there
are two day storms that today are labeled as
tropical storms, that in the eighties, and prior,
they were not even reported because they were
classified as just bad storms, or were not even
noticed due to no satellite coverage in those days.
Since the 1880’s when records began to be kept,
there has been no increase in frequency of major
storms, just more naming of them and highlighted
news about them. In 1950 there were 8 storms labeled
as major hurricanes, in 1961 it was 7 and in 2020 it
was 6. In summary, there has been no consistent
recording of storms over the past 140 years, and no
consistent terminology to identify severity of
storms, so to try to claim now there are more major
storms due to climate change is nonsense, and
propaganda by the climate change press and
politicians. It is simply that today every big storm
is suddenly a name storm and makes the national
news. Climate change has spawned a whole industry,
and just look at the Biden focus on it. Be careful
what you read, and are told about the effects of
climate change. Some is true, but some, like
hurricanes, is not.
(12/04/20)
Thinking about building a cabin?
A long list of Log Cabin Kits was
provided along with contact
information in an article by John
Phillips in the
December issue of Great Days
Outdoors. Turn to page 39.
(12/03/20)
Upcoming webinars, woodland owner
retreats, and "Noon on Fridays"
are topics included in the
December Virginia Tech Forest
Landowner e-Update from Jennifer
Gagnon. Several Alabama Forest
Owners' Association members have
participated in Gagnon's "On-line
Woodland Options for Landowners" in
past years.
(12/02/20)
Motley Fool discusses:
Why Timberland REITS Are Riskier
Than They Appear. See middle
column at top of page 2 of each
issue of
Capital Ideas for quotes and
links for several timberland REITS.
(12/01/20)
Alabama Mushroom Society
Newsletter, November 2020.
Enjoy.
(11/30/20)
Appalachian Hardwood
Manufacturers recently completed a
video project with marketing
students from High Point University
(North Carolina). The project is
titled
Appalachian Hardwood Forest to
Finished Products and shows
a student learning the process it
takes to make beautiful hardwood
products. About 5 minutes.
(11/25/20)
If Sally or Zeta visited your
forestland, you may need to salvage
damaged timber and learn more about
claiming a casualty loss on your
2020 tax return. University of
Tennessee Extension Forester David
Mercker wrote a piece for our
December newsletter, entitled
After the Catastrophe: Steps in
Claiming a Timber Casualty Loss
(page 4). On page 5 of
the same newsletter, we printed
Consulting Forester Ed Travis's
Timber Sales and Timber Casualty
Losses program notes from
November 12. See also:
Dr. David Mercker's AFOA interview,
Back Porch Forestry, June 1, 2020,
and
When a Tornado Strikes.
(11/24/20)
SmartMap, the mapping and
drone class that Beau and Christian
Brodbeck have led at AFOA's annual
meetings for the past few years, is
now available online. And while
online courses are great, Beau and
Christian have agreed to conduct the
in-person class at
AFOA's 2021 Annual Meeting on April
17.
(11/23/20)
Your comments wanted: The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
recently proposed to change the
status of the red-cockaded
woodpecker from “endangered” to
“threatened.” The Service also
proposed a “4(d) rule” – new
regulations that will govern how
landowners can manage their forests
when this species is present. These
proposals are open to public comment
in the Federal Register until
December 7, 2020.
(11/20/20)
Chestnut Chats: The American
Chestnut Foundation has been
conducting Chestnut Chats on Fridays
since April 17. Topics have
included
The Art of Grafting,
Finding and Conserving Chestnuts in
the Wild,
Using Drones to Locate and Pollinate
Chestnut Trees,
Research on Large Scale
Reintroduction of American Chestnut,
and
Cooking With Chestnuts.
(11/19/20)
"This week, the Republican governor
released a budget recommendation
that proposed eliminating
Mississippi’s income tax within the
next decade in a bid to attract more
residents." We wonder how
Mississippi will balance its budget
when the income tax is put aside.
(11/18/20)
Do you need a water well at your
cabin or do you have one
already? If yes, you may find this
University of Georgia webinar just
what you need.
Well... Let's Talk Water Safety &
Protection. Two video
recordings and speakers' PowerPoint
slides are down near the bottom of
the web page.
(11/17/20)
A look at the future of forestry
education: Forestry 350 at the
University of British Columbia.
Patrick Culbert, Assistant
Professor in the Department of
Forest and Conservation Sciences,
provides
a taste of the future of forestry
education in dozens of unique 360°
view videos (use your
tablet or smartphone to appreciate
the videography - hint -- look up,
look down, look behind you).
Start with this example:
Plant Identification Walk in Pacific
Spirit Regional Park, Part 1 (360°
Video)
(11/16/20)
"In 2020 tax rates on capital
gains [income for timber held
longer than one year] and
dividends remain the same as 2019
rates (0%, 15%, and a top rate of
20%)."
Read more -- click, then scroll down
to Investment Gains and Losses.
Source: DeLoach, Barber & Caspers,
P.C. Newsletter, 11/16/20.
(11/13/20)
"Explosion of interest."
"People tell us they want a place to
get away."
Read more: Seller's Market by
Victoria G. Myers, The
Progressive Farmer, November
2020.
(11/12/20)
Should game wardens or others be
free to trespass on your forestland?
1) Read this story from
Tennessee,
2) listen to our interview
with Institute for Justice attorney
Josh Windham, and
3) read Windham's request for
help from Alabama forest owners.
(11/11/20)
Mill construction and expansion
make a difference.
Read F&W Market Update, 11/6/20,
and
listen to Markets Expert Amanda
Lang, Capital Ideas - Live!,
11/11/20.
(11/10/20)
The
Natural Inquirer program
provides a variety of science
education materials for PreK through
grade 12. We don't know much about
the site (Developing
a Testable Question looked like
it might be interesting), so if
you have any suggestions for parents
or grandparents, please let AFOA
know --
rll@afoa.org. Thanks.
(11/09/20)
Critical Habitat for the Canoe
Creek Clubshell, a freshwater
mussel which lives in St. Clair
County and Etowah County (see
map in Frequently Asked Questions),
has been proposed by the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service. The Service seeks
public comments on their proposal
with a deadline of January 4, 2021.
(11/06/20)
Reports from Secretary of State
on Local Amendments Related to
Property Taxes (counties
which voted against property tax
amendments highlighted in red):
o
Crenshaw County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o Elmore
County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o Fayette
County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o
Geneva County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o Greene
County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o Macon County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o Marshall
County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o Mobile
County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o Montgomery
County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o St. Clair
County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o
Sumter County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
o Washington
County:
Voting Results
Sample Ballot
(11/05/20)
"Exposure
to forest floor enhances young
immune systems, study finds,"
reports Siobhán Dunphy in the
European Scientist, 10/27/20.
"Scientists have long suspected that
increased hygiene, urban lifestyles,
and insufficient contact with nature
have played a role in the rise of
chronic disorders such as asthma,
diabetes, and allergies – which are
all related to an overreactive
immune system."
(11/04/20)
Remember economist
Milton Friedman? We think
you will
enjoy his brief comments on free
markets and manufacturing a simple
wooden pencil (about 3
minutes).
(11/03/20)
How much carbon is stored on an
average acre of Alabama forestland?
Experts will be asking that question
as different groups begin pilot
projects next year testing out their
carbon buying schemes with real
Alabama forest owners (Finite
Carbon,
AFF's Family Forest Carbon, and
Natural Capital Exchange).
Hint: 24.2 tons in aboveground
trees...
(11/02/20)
Kith Kitchens opening cabinet
factory in Florence, creating 131
jobs.
Who is Kith Kitchens?
(10/30/20)
Don't wait too long to thin your
planted pines. "The
importance of thinning at the right
time overrides the desire to wait
for higher prices" said
Consulting Forester Stephen Butler
at an Alabama Forest Owners'
Association Forestry Field Day in
Choctaw County on October 8. Source:
Talking Trees by Dee Ann
Campbell,
The Choctaw Sun-Advocate,
10/21/20.
(10/29/20)
Stephen Pyne discusses
"The
Pyrocene: How Humanity Created a
Fire Age." The occasion
is the Lynn W. Day Distinguished
Lectureship in Forest and
Conservation History presented by
the
Forest History Society.
(10/28/20)
Wood or Plastic? David Song,
a SoCal Edison spokesman (Southern
California Edison is the primary
electricity supply company for much
of Southern California), "said
that when SoCal Edison has the
opportunity to replace a [wooden]
pole with
a plastic one, they’ll do it
every time." Editor's note:
TimberMart-South reports that a ton
of pine sawtimber in Alabama brought
$22.70 on the stump (3Q20); a ton of
power poles brought $47.54.
(10/27/20)
The Wood Yard "is a friendly
hardwood and specialty lumber store
that caters to the furniture and
cabinet builder, the home hobbyist
and craftsman." Most of us aren't
interested in starting a business
like The Wood Yard, but many
landowners have hard-to-find or even
rare species of trees on their land
that might be in demand by
craftsmen.
The Wood Yard has a newsletter that
you might find interesting.
(10/26/20)
"The rare Chilean soapbark tree
produces compounds that can boost
the body's reaction to vaccines."
Read about the COVID-19 connection
in this fascinating story in The
Atlantic, October 21, 2020.
(10/23/20)
"National Forest Products Week
reminds Americans that well-managed
forests supply the wood and fiber
essential to the production of
everyday goods," said
Scott Jones, CEO of Forest
Landowners. "Demand for these
products, and the timber that is
used to create them, make it
possible for private forest owners
to be economically viable, which in
turn provides them with the
resources to maintain healthy and
productive forests."
Read the President's Proclamation on
National Forest Products Week, 2020.
(10/22/20)
"Plant
Seedlings Early," says
Southern Forest Nursery Management
Cooperative. "Seedlings should be
planted early enough to allow for
root growth to start before bud
break while seedlings are still
dormant."
(10/21/20)
Questions: Should we hold
cash? buy land? buy gold? buy
bitcoin? buy stocks? buy bonds?
o
How Long Can the Fed Keep This Time
Bomb from Exploding?, Mises
Institute, 10/21/20
o
Global Impact of a "Blue Wave"
Election Outcome, Charles
Schwab, 10/12/20
(10/20/20)
"Dutch to phase out subsidies for
wood fired power stations."
"Imports [of wood pellets] are
expected to reach 2.5 million metric
tons this year, with the U.S.
supplying up to 500,000 metric tons
of that volume."
(10/19/20)
Wood Duck Mates Determine Migration
Routes, or in terms most of
us would understand, "Boy meets
girl; girl flies home; boy follows."
(10/16/20)
"The prettiest mushrooms are
often the tiniest... so get low."
Read more in 10 Tips for
Photographing Little Mushrooms in
the Forest by Albert Dros,
PetaPixel, 10/13/20.
(10/15/20)
The Alabama Policy Institute shares
their perspective (in plain
English) on the statewide
amendments to the Alabama
Constitution that will be on
everyone's ballot on November 3rd.
Also, click here
for local sample ballots and a list
of the counties where voters will
make property tax decisions -- up or
down, etc.
Here is a perspective on the
amendments from AL.com
and
another from Alabama Farmers
Federation.
Here is an anonymous perspective on
the first four amendments (posted
November 2).
(10/14/20)
Mouse Utopia Experiment
might shed some light on how
families can help children develop
an interest in and take on the
responsibilities of family land
management.
(10/13/20)
Migrant Workers and Tree Planting:
Based on information gathered from
employers of H-2B forestry workers,
a video was created by Forest
Resources Association and Rayonier
"to inform and educate elected
officials and decision-makers about
the critical role of the H-2B visa
program in renewing our nation's
forest lands..." About 6 minutes.
(10/12/20)
"The US Southeast region is the
largest supplier of wood in the
world," reports the Southeastern
Lumber Manufacturers Association in
a 10/12/20 Forest2Market blog post.
Read more: Is Southern Yellow
Pine Good for the economy?
(10/09/20)
In deciding to not designate
critical habitat for the
"threatened" eastern black rail,
did the US Fish & Wildlife Service
defer to the concerns of private
landowners? If yes, we
commend them for their decision.
See highlighted words in the
FWS press release, dated 10/7/20.
(10/08/20)
"An escape from chaos." That
is what a Georgia consulting
forester and real estate agent
attributes the growth in his
forestland sales in 2020 as
compared to 2019.
Read more in the Matre
Forestry Newsletter, 10/8/20.
(10/07/20)
"Many ecologists believe dead
wood is one of the greatest
resources for animal species in the
forest." Read more from
Wisconsin Woodland Owners
Association's
When Dead Wood is Good Wood.
(10/06/20)
"The right to private property
can only be considered a secondary
natural right," concluded Pope
Francis in his Sunday criticism of
free-market capitalism.
Read the Foundation for Economic
Education's response.
(10/05/20)
"As of September, U. S. sales of
paper tissue, including paper
towels, were still 10% to 15% higher
than before the pandemic..."
Read more in The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, 9/29/20.
(10/02/20)
"Ironically, having a cemetery on
our property breathes new life into
it." Forester Jennifer Gagnon
opens the latest issue of
Virginia Forest Landowner
e-Update, Fall 2020,
with a story about her personal
forestland and the people with whom
she shares it. Enjoy.
(10/01/20)
Raymond James upgraded their
rating of
PotlatchDeltic Corporation
(PCH-NASDAQ) ($42.10) today to
Strong Buy
(from Outperform) with a revised $51
target. RJ's headline included:
"Cash Lumber Prices Still Near
Record High."
(09/30/20)
Georgia Public Broadcasting
Education and the Georgia Forestry
Foundation (GFF) have joined forces
to launch
MAKE THAT PAPER: CAREERS IN FORESTRY,
a scenario-based educational game
that teaches high school students
about working forests and real-world
forestry jobs by simulating
workplace scenarios and testing
forestry industry knowledge.
(09/29/20)
Property tax votes or other fees
will be on the ballots for the
following Alabama counties:
Crenshaw,
Elmore,
Fayette,
Geneva,
Greene,
Macon,
Mobile,
Montgomery,
St. Clair,
Sumter,
Washington, and
Marshall
(Volunteer Fire District 15).
Property tax votes typically
impose a tax for more than 25 years.
All voters will be faced with 6
statewide amendments, and many
county ballots contain local
amendments.
Click here to find your county's
sample ballot on the Secretary of
State's website.
(09/28/20)
You've heard of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average,
the
S&P 500, and the
Nasdaq Composite, but do you
know anything about the NCREIF
Timberland Index? Learn more
from economist Jack Lutz in
The Tao of Timberland -- another
Update, Forest Research
Notes, Vol. 17, No. 3.
(09/25/20)
"Radical transformation of American
medicine" discussed by
healthcare policy expert
John Goodman (Goodman
starts discussion with good question
at about 10 minutes into the video).
We think some of the discussion on
telemedicine and new "user friendly"
technology will be of interest to
many forest owners.
(09/24/20)
Improving stumpage prices ahead?
Read F&W Market Update,
9/22/20.
(09/23/20)
"Hurricane Laura caused
$525.4 million in damage to
Louisiana farmers and
$1.1 billion to the Louisiana timber
industry, according to
preliminary estimates by the LSU
AgCenter."
(09/22/20)
Report from Summerdale, Alabama
Christmas tree growers to Mike
Buchart, Executive Secretary,
Southern Christmas Tree Association
(SCTA): "Hi, Michael. Want a
hurricane from Hell? If you can,
please forward this note to as many
SCTA members as you can. Sandra and
I are fine but exhausted. Still no
power, water, etc., but it is coming
soon, we hope. Our house is fine.
The farm suffered serious damage
with all 20,000 trees blown over or
down. We are gradually rescuing
them and are learning a lot to share
with everyone. Will have plenty of
pictures and stories. This sure is a
challenge, but might make us
tougher. Sure makes us appreciate
the modern comforts. Blessings to
everyone and stay safe. Steve &
Sandra Mannhard."
(09/21/20)
"Oregon is the only state to have
a private wildfire insurance policy
and has been with Lloyd's of London
since 1973. The $3.75 million
premium is split between the state
and private timberland owners.
Landowners pay their share through a
property tax formula."
Learn more.
(09/18/20)
"Since 1978, I have kept
continual 8”x 11”, hardbound,
blank-paged nature journals. Now
numbering 54, when I finish one, I
go buy another one. Why have I kept
these going for so many years?
Since the beginning, they have
become my basic way of learning
about the nature around me,
recording it, making sense of it in
relation to my own life. In
fact, over the many years these
piles of journals at my feet have
become my best friends, as I often
refer back to them, trying to see
how my life and the life of nature
has changed or not." Claire
Walker Leslie, author of
A Year in Nature: A Memoir of Solace.
(09/17/20)
"The
'Paper Makers' film tells
the story of the modern day paper
industry through the eyes of the
workers who cultivate sustainable
forests, apply technologies that
nurture and protect them for years
to come, and help create
nature-based sustainable products —
all in one of America’s oldest
natural industries." Source: AFA
Newsroom, 9/16/20.
 (09/16/20)
Alabama forest owner Jeff
Sessions, former U. S. Senator
and former U. S. Attorney General,
is returning home from Washington to
control privet and kudzu and promote
American values. Sessions spoke to a
large audience at the Alabama
Forestry Association's Annual
Meeting in Orange Beach on September
14, 2020.
(09/15/20)
Farming/Agriculture is looked
upon more favorably this year than
last year, according to a Gallup
Poll as reported by
PowerLine Blog on 9/11/20 (scroll
down). We're not sure if
Forests and Forest Landowners fit
into the Farming/Agriculture
category, but it would be nice, in
this case, if we did.
(09/14/20)
"$5 million power pole factory
coming to Tallapoosa County."
Source: AL.com, 9/14/20.
TimberMart-South reported Alabama
statewide average pine sawtimber
stumpage at $23.28 per ton and pine
power poles at $44.46 per ton in
their second quarter report for
2020.
(09/11/20)
Whether hurricane frequency has
increased on not, favoring windfirm
tree species should be of interest
to forest owners, especially in
south Alabama.
o
Climatologist Dr. Roy Spencer: Even
with Laura, Louisiana Hurricanes
Have Not Increased Since 1851
o
Hurricane Laura Causes Extensive
Damage to Timber Industry
o
Hurricane Katrina Winds Damaged
Longleaf Pine Less than Loblolly
Pine
o
Longleaf pine stood firm to
Hurricane Katrina’s winds
(09/10/20)
The defense of property rights by
our friends and neighbors and law
enforcement officials is critical to
those of us who plant little trees.
So it may be unsettling to learn
that National Public Radio (NPR)
discussed looting with author Vicky
Osterweil,
In Defense of Looting, and
didn't seem to raise an eyebrow when
she made outlandish statements, such
as: "[Looting is] taking those
things that would otherwise be
commodified and controlled and
sharing them for free," she
continues. "[Looting] demonstrate[s]
that without police and without
state oppression, we can have things
for free." Please read the
Foundation for Economic Education's
Debunking NPR's Bizarre 'In Defense
of Looting' Interview by
Brad Polumbo, 8/31/20.
See Copyright page from Osterweil's
book.
(09/09/20)
It's bird migration time again.
Check out
The Cornell Lab's Bird Migration
Forecast Maps including a local
migration alert tool to find out how
many birds will be passing over your
area tonight.
(09/08/20)
Which beetle is killing my trees?
Learn more from a video put together
by the South Carolina Forestry
Commission:
Southern Beetles: Identification,
Management and Risk Assessment.
About 9 minutes.
(09/04/20)
North American flying squirrels
glow bright pink in response to
ultraviolet light. For an
educated guess as to why, read
Amphibians Aglow by Brett Amy
Thelen at Northern Woodlands,
8/24/20.
UV flashlight, $12.99
(09/03/20)
Remember back
on May 21 when we told you about the
HuntStand Pro App and it's property
mapping and other features?
Today we learned about
5 new very short tutorials
that you can watch and listen to to
get more out of the App. Topics:
Getting Started, Adding &
Deleting Map Objects (property
lines, etc.), Syncing Hunt Areas,
Offline Mapping, and Weather
Forecasting.
(09/02/20)
Have you considered moving closer
to your children when you retire?
You may want to study the
Tax Foundation's Estate/Inheritance
Tax Map before making the move.
More than a dozen other states
impose taxes on estates or
inheritances of up to 18 percent.
(09/01/20)
"Accumulation of capital under
strong property rights gave us what
we have today, and without it,
we would still be living in the past
realities of famine, sickness, and
living at all times only a few
degrees from death." Source:
The Forgotten Horrors of Famine Show
Why Americans Should Not Take
Prosperity for Granted by J.
W. Rich, Foundation for Economic
Education, 9/1/20.
(08/31/20)
$10 million made available today
by Governor Ivey for forest
landowners who sold timber
during the months of March through
July.
According to an article in AL.com,
the payment rate will be $1 per ton
of timber sold.
Read the Governor's press release
here (the press release
contains contact information to help
you make your application).
More details from Forest Landowners
Association, 9/2/20.
(08/28/20)
"Zippered wood (check
out the photos in Architect
magazine, 7/12/20)
twists standard 2x4 to craft new
forms."
(08/27/20)
Electric Trail Boarding --
Maybe you've heard of Electric
Mountain Boards, but we hadn't -
until today. They are being featured
at
GoFar USA Park, up near
Decatur, Alabama. The park also
features Electric Trail Carts, a
Paintball Shooting Range, Farm
Animals, Pony Rides, Mountain Bike
Trails, and Electric Scooters. Emily
Fagerman, co-owner of GoFar USA
Park, talks about the park on The
Land Show, Episode 253 (23:28
to 38:08).
(08/26/20)
Alabama forest owners who have a
good understanding of the need for
fire in the forest will
appreciate this article on
Forbes.com, 8/24/20:
Stop Blaming Climate Change For
California’s Fires. Many Forests,
Including The Redwoods, Need Them.
(08/25/20)
Let's say you own forestland here
in Alabama, but for some reason you
live in another state and will
retire soon. If you have given any
thought to coming back home, the Tax
Foundation's purchasing power map
comparing Alabama to other states
might help you make a decision.
Source,
What is the Real Value of $100 in
Metropolitan Areas?,
8/12/20.
(08/24/20)
Have you ever been so eager
to achieve something that you bit
off more than you could chew? If
you have, we think you will enjoy
Declan McCabe's story of
The Kingfisher and the Mussel,
from Northern Woodlands,
8/17/20.
(08/21/20)
Researchers reported "the likelihood
of hitting a deer decreased from 35%
(truck with headlights only) to 10%
(truck with headlights and
rear-facing light bar)."
Source: Reverse-facing Lightbar
Helps Reduce Deer Vehicle Accidents,
Kip Adams, QDMA, 8/18/20.
(08/20/20)
Read this Alabama Conservation
Department 8/14/20 Press Release
and then with a straight face tell
us why a person who was not raised
in a family of hunters would ever
consider becoming a hunter. There
are so many other outdoor activities
that are not wrapped in red tape —
red tape that, if not followed, can
result in fines or more serious
punishments.
(08/19/20)
Hindsight is 20/20. Today we
share a few "after the wildfire"
stanzas from Foresters, a
poem by Walter Stephens.
Stephens is a member of the Georgia
Forestry Association. Source:
Georgia Forestry, Summer 2020.
Next day
when walking on your land
Which once grew tall and graceful trees
The only things your eyes see now
Are snags which smolder in the breeze.
If only you had burned that ground
When moisture heat and wind were right,
You'd not now see this sterile scene
Of smoking spires against the light.
A burn controlled is man's attempt
To mimic nature's plan,
Except to choose the day that's right
To gently heat the land.
(08/18/20)
"...we at the [Cullman County]
sheriff's office are proponents of
not only having a weapon for
self-defense but also being
proficient in how to use it,"
said Sheriff Matt Gentry in
an 8/17/20 AL.com article headlined
"1 of 4 burglars shot by Cullman
County homeowner, sheriff says."
Editor's Note: Forest owners are
fortunate that nearly all of us have
a safe place to learn to use a
shotgun, rifle, or handgun. The next
time you head to the woods, plan to
teach someone how to safely load,
fire, and reload. Not a bad thing to
be "proficient" at.
(08/17/20)
"Move Over Gold. Wood is the Shelter
of Choice in the Pandemic."
Source: Bloomberg, July 24,
2020.
(08/14/20)
CRYSTAL BALL GAZING: "The
average pine growth-to-drain
for the South in 2019 is 1.26,
indicating a general oversupply of
timber. Fast-forward six years to
2025 and the timber supply
profile balances with a
growth-to-drain of 0.95. During
this time, 17 sawmills and pellet
mills expand or come online in the
region." Source: Amanda Lang, Forisk
Consulting, at a meeting of the
Cahaba Chapter of the Society of
American Foresters, 8/11/20.
(08/13/20)
Lumber "prices have been sent
soaring by saw mills that
failed to anticipate the coronavirus
pandemic setting off a building
boom. ... Restaurants and bars in
cities across the country have
scrambled to build outdoor seating
areas in efforts to stay in
business. And some Americans, stuck
at home for months, have taken on
remodeling projects and have been
building decks." Source: The Wall
Street Journal, 8/6/20. Of
course, as forest owners know, those
high lumber prices have not
translated into high stumpage
prices, because of the huge stumpage
oversupply.
(08/12/20)
"Today the Department of State
issued a
National Interest Exemption for
H-2B applicants to facilitate
the United States' immediate and
continued economic recovery. Those
working in forestry are considered
essential workers and have been
given an exemption from the June
22nd proclamation banning additional
visas to H-2B workers. This
decision means tree planters will
have a path forward to get the labor
needed to plant seedlings this fall
for landowners." Source:
ArborGen, 8/12/20 at 3:43 PM.
(08/11/20)
"Become a Poll Worker!"
beseeches Alabama Secretary of State
John Merrill. "Serving as a poll
worker is an amazing opportunity to
learn more about the election
process while contributing to your
community."
(08/10/20)
The "paper market, like everything
else, has been rocked by the
coronavirus." Verso
Corporation, when announcing the
closure of its Wisconsin Rapids
coated printing paper mill, said
"demand for printing paper fell 38
percent year-over-year in April."
Closer to home, Domtar
Corporation reported that it
would close its Kingsport,
Tennessee uncoated freesheet
papermill and
will spend $300 to $350 million to
repurpose the mill to produce
linerboard. "Linerboard is
the facing material used in the
production of corrugated and solid
fiber shipping containers."
(08/07/20)
"Most grade hardwood is moving
again. ..hardwood sawmills ..."
are "... paying good prices for most
forms of hardwood sawtimber."
Read Forest Management Specialists'
Timber Market Update - Mid-South
Region.
(08/06/20)
If you like puzzles, please consider
letting the US Fish & Wildlife
Service know what you think of their
proposed definition of habitat.
We think they are concerned that it
may not be proper to declare a
location as critical habitat for a
critter when none live there and the
location is inhospitable for the
critter. Although this is an
important issue, AFOA does not have
any answers here. We'd appreciate
receiving your thoughts on the issue
- if you decide to make an official
comment. Comments are due by
September 4. Read previous news
entries here
(11/29/18),
here (01/24/18),
here (08/25/16),
and here
(07/20/16).
(08/05/20)
Chestnut Chat: Research
Forester Stacy Clark
will share results of an American
Chestnut Tree re-introduction
project that is taking place in
forests of the southern
Appalachians. The session will be
conducted on ZOOM beginning at 10:30
AM Central Time on Friday, August 7
--
Details Here.
(08/04/20)
What part of
"vacant forestland cannot be billed
for fire dues" do these folks
not understand? Today (it's not
too late to vote as we write this)
Theodore/Dawes in Mobile County
is trying to create its own fire
district. One of our members
told us they plan to collect $125
per tax parcel, but
check this article from WKRG5 dated
8/4/20 for details.
(08/03/20)
Georgia consulting forester Mike
Matre gives a 3-minute
perspective on growing and marketing
pole timber (very
straight pine trees valued per ton
at nearly twice that of pine
sawtimber in the latest
TimberMart-South price report).
(07/31/20)
Could the "work from home"
phenomenon reduce property
values (and property taxes) of large
commercial buildings? Could the loss
of property tax revenue from those
buildings put pressure on lawmakers
to raise property taxes on other
properties such as homes and rural
property?
Scroll down in The Future of
Everything to the last bulleted
item in Future Feedback.
(07/30/20)
$65,000 per drop plus $22,000 per
hour! That's what those huge
tanker planes (VLATs) which drop
fire retardant on West Coast forest
fires cost. Just think how many
rangers, who could be working year
round creating fire breaks and doing
prescribed burns to prevent big
wildfires, are displaced by those
big machines.
(07/29/20)
F&W Forestry Services' 7/28/20
Market Update includes a
surprising statement from
their southwest Alabama reporter:
"Sawmills have actually been
calling and asking us to put out a
sale or are asking for an
opportunity to negotiate."
(07/28/20)
Spraying woodland herbicides with a
drone may be just around the corner
if a little company in Iowa
continues to make progress on its ag
spraying machines.
Rantizo "became the first
company [in the US] to begin
commercial drone spraying," and was
licensed in 10 states last fall,
including Georgia.
Common herbicides used to prepare
planting sites for hardwoods and
pines.
(07/27/20)
The United States of America
ranked among the top ten countries
for average annual net gains in
forest area in a report by the
United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization.
Read the full report, Global
Forest Resources Assessment 2020,
here.
(07/24/20)
Consulting foresters
Michael Heatherly and
Jack Fillingham led an AFOA
Forestry Field Day on Wednesday
and we thought you would like to see
their handout materials. On the
third page they have pictured some
"increment cores."
Click here to learn more about using
an increment borer to determine a
tree's age or rate-of-growth.
Video - about 4 minutes. Hint:
Never leave your increment borer in
a tree longer than needed to extract
a core. They will sometimes get
stuck and can be very difficult to
remove.
(07/23/20)
Lessons from my grandma - or - A
quick-start guide to woodland
management for women landowners (and
smart men, too!) is the
title of an Auburn ForestHer Lunch
and Learn hosted on Zoom and
recorded last Tuesday. About an
hour.
(07/22/20)
Trespass to steal ginseng roots
may not be a big deal for most
forest owners in Alabama, but it
might be for some, and definitely is
for forest owners in West Virginia.
Source:
Poaching ginseng is not a victimless
crime, The Montgomery
Herald, 6/26/20.
(07/21/20)
"The state owned enough land in the
county," (press F9 key to
read) stated a county
commissioner. "No more land
should be taken off the tax rolls,"
said another. AFOA was glad to
read what the commissioners said
about converting more private land
to public ownership, even if the
message had to come from Wadena
County, Minnesota.
(07/20/20)
You may have missed Consulting
Forester Larry Gibson's
Forestry Field Day last week, but
we wanted you to see the field notes
Larry used with his presentation.
In his Stand A example, ninety-six
tons per acre of wood were harvested
in the first two thinnings by age
22, and the final harvest is less
than 10 years away. See also Larry's
herbicide recommendations for
killing kudzu, wisteria, and
cogongrass.
Plan now to not miss Consulting
Forester Jack Fillingham's Forestry
Field Day, this Wednesday, July 22
in Tallapoosa County.
(07/17/20)
Pond Management Basics is a
one hour and twelve minute class
taught by Extension Agent Bence
Carter and recorded on July 9, 2020.
(07/16/20)
Our second Dinner & Discussion (via
Zoom) has been posted to the web.
Just like our face-to-face meetings
at local Birmingham area
restaurants, we listened to the
latest issue of
Capital Ideas - Live! (David
West from
Forest Resources Association
answered questions about the ban on
migrant tree planters), we sampled a
few topics from our News webpage, we
shared where our forestland is
located, and then had a brief open
discussion.
Our next face-to-face Dinner &
Discussion is scheduled for August
13 at 6 PM at The Fish Market
Restaurant on US 280 in Hoover.
(07/15/20)
Forest2Market CEO Pete
Stewart Talks Lumber, Forest
Health on NPR’s Marketplace,
reports headline on F2M July 14
blog.
NPR conducted "fair and fact-based
discussion about lumber industry,"
says F2M.
Listen to 2 minute interview here.
(07/14/20)
Heaven help us when
"conservatives" begin pandering to
the environmental community.
That was the first thought we had
when we read that Ivanka Trump
would be highlighting administration
environmental policies at the
American Forestry Conference
(Georgia Forestry Association's name
for their virtual annual meeting) on
July 27.
Read the Newsweek article
here (7/3/20) and tell us why we
shouldn't be worried (cached
copy). See
Consulting Forester Marshall
Thomas's comments about the
Trillion Trees Act, below.
(07/13/20)
Eminent Domain. Taking Private
Property for Public Use.
When should the power of eminent
domain be allowed? not allowed?
A Pennsylvania landowner questions
the right to use the power when it's
used only for the benefit of the
pipeline company. Who
decides?
(07/10/20)
Sequestering greenhouse gas our
only hope? Read the discouraging
latest issue of
F&W Forestry Report, Summer
2020.
(07/09/20)
"Obviously." "Naturally." To
regenerate an upland hardwood stand:
"Obviously, enough desirable trees
have to be present in the current
stand [before logging] for the
process to succeed, but when it is
properly conducted, a young stand
dominated by desirable species such
as oaks will naturally regenerate
with good results." If "obviously"
and "naturally" don't immediately
pop into your head when considering
regenerating an upland hardwood
stand, you might benefit from
reading
Upland Hardwoods: Natural
Regeneration, a
Mississippi State University
publication.
(07/08/20)
Market Headlines:
o
Japanese wood chip, wood pellet
demand expected to grow,
June 10, 2020
o
Netherlands to double wood pellet
imports in 2020, June 29,
2020
(07/07/20)
A video discussion of tree planting
tools produced by and
starring
Dr. Brady Self, Mississippi
State Extension Service, will be
useful to forest owners who are
planning to plant trees themselves
or hire a tree planting crew next
winter. 17 minutes. Send
questions to Brady at
brady.self@msstate.edu.
(07/06/20)
Maintaining good water quality
following a timber sale requires a
coordinated effort between the
landowner, the logger, and the
landowner's consulting forester.
Dr. John Auel, Mississippi
State Extension Service, offers good
(and bad) examples and good advice
on how to implement Forestry Best
Management Practices (BMPs) to
prevent erosion and improve water
quality on your land. 24 minutes.
(07/02/20)
Have fun celebrating the Fourth,
but if you're planning on working
with your tractor this weekend, read
Phil Bancroft's
The Day Food Plots Almost
Killed Me before heading
to the woods! Editor's note: The
following observation was in the
last paragraph of Phil's story:
"Phil’s hunting land is covered by
QDMA’s Hunting Land Liability
Insurance. His medical bills from
his accident totaled over $200,000,
including a $46,800 helicopter ride.
His QDMA insurance policy helped
defray the out-of-pocket medical
costs not covered by his health
insurance."
AFOA's Hunting Lease Liability
Insurance is similar to QDMA's
and is purchased from the same
insurance agency, Outdoor
Underwriters, Inc.
(07/01/20)
CANCELLED The
Southern Christmas Tree Association
will hold their 2020 Annual
Conference in Alabama on August 7 -
9. They'll be headquartered at
The Lodge at Gulf State Park.
Read their latest newsletter here.
(06/30/20)
"Add it all up, and as the country
mouse of old learned, the giddiness
and opulence of the city are
increasingly not worth the danger,
noise, and mess of the city, at
least after February 2020," says
Victor Davis Hanson, American
classicist, military historian,
columnist, and farmer. He closes an
interesting essay entitled,
The Triumph of the Country Mouse
with, "Wherever we live, in our
dreams at least, we are all country
mice now."
(06/29/20)
"There's always some excitement
in the air going with fire."
The LSU AgCenter posted a video
about the prescribed burn workshop
they held on June 2-4, 2020.
Their next prescribed burn workshop
will be held October 7-9 in Hammond,
Louisiana. Contact Extension
Forester Whitney Wallace, for
more information:
wwallace@agcenter.lsu.edu.
(06/26/20)
Carbon Credit Market Bill in
Congress:
A needed government assist for
forest landowners, or
a vote buying scheme?
(06/25/20)
Tree planting crews will be hard
hit by President Trump's ban on H-2B
visa forestry workers.
Read the Forest Resources
Association's statement on the issue.
(06/23/20)
OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR ONLINE
COURSE: Forest Principles,
Practices, and Stewardship for
Landowners is the title of a
6-week course organized by Dr.
Adam Maggard, Alabama
Cooperative Extension.
Read the course description with
registration information here (updated
7/17/20).
(06/22/20)
Maine Project Learning Tree
facilitator, Anita Smith,
shows how to be a Tree Detective
using the rings and markings on
stumps and logs to figure out
what the lives of trees might have
been like. She demonstrates a simple
art project we can do to show the
patterns of growth in our own lives,
and we leave with a challenge to go
outside and explore the stumps and
logs in our own backyard!
YouTube video about 11 minutes.
(06/19/20)
Some of you may remember when the
Kimberly-Clark paper mill in
Childersburg, Alabama (Talladega
County) produced newsprint for
the Birmingham News and
Post Herald. The mill is now
owned by
Canada's Resolute Forest Products
and produces market pulp, not
newsprint. (Resolute recently
shut down 40 percent of its
newsprint capacity (2 mills in
Quebec).) The Childersburg pulp
mill spends $51.2 million acquiring
and hauling wood to the mill and
spends a total of $169.4 million
operating the mill annually.
(06/18/20)
May we ask how much land
governments in the U.S. need to own?
May we ask if anyone in Congress has
any concept of the huge amount of
land already owned by
federal, state and local
governments? May we ask if anyone in
Congress recognizes that the
productivity of our country is
reduced when government acquires
productive private land? The U.S.
Senate is poised this week to spend,
"forever," nearly one billion
dollars a year on the Land and Water
Conservation Fund.
Please read The "Great American
Outdoors Act" is a federal land grab
slush fund.
(06/17/20)
"Markets are hard to put a finger
on at the moment," reports the
F & W Market Update of
6/16/20.
(06/16/20)
Back Porch Forestry creator
Dr. David Mercker has
produced a fifth program, this one
titled, "Tax
Treatment for Timber Casualty Loss."
Bookmark this one, because when your
trees are damaged in the next
tornado, ice storm, hurricane, or
wildfire, you'll want to watch it
again. Click
here for earlier Back Porch Forestry
programs.
(06/15/20)
"This year, Alabama is predicted
to have a low number of Southern
Pine Beetle (SPB) infestations.
More specifically, high risk
counties are expected to have no
more than 6 to 9 SPB spots. The
overall prediction for the state,
Alabama has a 16% chance of having
any SPB spots this active season."
Source:
2020 Southern Pine Beetle Spring
Pheromone Survey Results
and
Southern Pine Beetle Outbreak
Prediction Maps: Alabama 2020,
Alabama Forestry Commission,
6/12/20.
(06/12/20)
"Produced mostly in the U.S.,"
supplies of lumber for Japanese
furniture makers and whiskey
distillers are tight,
reports the Nikkei Asian Review,
6/6/20.
(06/11/20)
Forty-two percent of respondents to
a LandThink Pulse question
"believe that demand for land will
DECREASE for the remainder of 2020."
(06/10/20)
We invite you to take a walk with
Tree Farmer Angela Wells on her
Montana land. She shares
several good ideas on keeping track
of things to do on your land. We
hope you will enjoy the short walk
with Angela.
(06/09/20)
Fascinating! We found the
speaker's notes and map from last
week's Forestry Field Day
(see 06/04/20, below) very
interesting and think you will, too.
The discussion and tour included
viewing various ages of mixed
plantings of oaks and pines.
(06/08/20)
Is there a light at the end of the
tunnel, and does the forest supply
chain have a reason to be hopeful?
Forest2Market President & CEO
Pete Stewart speculates about
the future in an interview with
The Forestry Source, June 2020.
(06/05/20)
"Forest School enjoys its moment in
the woods." "Founded in the
tradition of forest schools that
dates to 1950s-era Scandinavia,
the school teaches things such
as the six ways to get a fire
started, the difference between
frogs and toads, and how to weigh
the risks involved in swinging on a
vine."
(06/04/20)
Consulting Forester Bruce Lanier
met about 2 dozen forest landowners
in the Pickens County woods today
to discuss Ways to Weather
Current Pine Pulpwood Market
Conditions, Managing Mixed Pine &
Hardwood Stands, and Rethinking
Planting Density. Bruce covered
the topics well, but questions from
the audience kept him on the job an
hour beyond the planned adjournment
time. His contact information is at
www.ForesterSearch.com
here.
(06/03/20)
Log Truck Drivers are in demand.
"Log truck drivers operate heavy
trucks to transport logs and other
wood products over the road. They
can work directly for forest
products companies, or they may be
self-employed." Pass this message
along to children or grandchildren
who might be interested.
(06/02/20)
Alligator hunters began registering
today to win one of 260 tags
available in Alabama this year.
The world record was taken by Mandy
Stokes of Camden in 2014: 15 feet 9
inches and 1,011.5 pounds.
(06/01/20)
Why do a timber inventory?
... and a brief discussion about the
basics of deciding which trees to
measure. This 11 minute video
discussion from NC State may help
you better understand what your
forester measures when cruising your
timber.
(05/29/20)
Why I Decided to Hunt My Own Food,
by Kim Martin, gives us an
idea about what goes through the
minds of young people today. An
interesting read.
(05/28/20)
The film that shined too bright a
light on green energy schemes,
Planet of the Humans, has
been removed from the web by
YouTube. Source:
The Guardian, 5/25/20.
See 5/1/20,
below.
Watch on Vimeo, 6/4/20.
(05/27/20)
Low property taxes are the reason
many of us have invested in and/or
continue to stay invested in
forestland in Alabama.
Alabama's reliance on property taxes
to pay for government services is
the lowest in the country, reports
the Tax Foundation today. Even
then, some studies have shown that
the taxes paid for the services
received on rural undeveloped land
are excessive.
(05/26/20)
"The Dove Daddy," Rick Bourne, gives
tips on what you can do right now
to produce a quality dove field
for the fall on
Episode 240 of The Land Show.
Bourne's interview begins at 51:09.
(05/22/20)
Managing for Top Quality White Oak,
Fundamentals of Tree Identification,
Why Do Trees Die?, and
Clues in Determining a Quality
Hardwood Stand are the first
four of the "Back Porch Forestry"
series created by Dr. David
Mercker, University of Tennessee
Extension Forester. Dr. Mercker
presented
Managing for Quality White Oaks
at AFOA's 2018 Annual Meeting at Joe
Wheeler State Park.
(05/21/20)
HuntStand Pro, an excellent
hunting and land management app
for your iPhone or Android phone, is
available at a 20% discount to
AFOA members and the hunters who
hunt on their land. Use the app to
find out who owns a tract of land,
mark game camera locations, share
with your hunters to keep track of
their locations on your property,
measure distances, map your
property, and more. The property
ownership service is worth the price
of the app: coverage of the whole US
for a year for only $19.99 after the
discount.
The discount code is AFOA20.
It is case sensitive.
(05/20/20)
Black Walnut trees for
valuable lumber and veneer, and for
the nuts, too, is a big deal in
the Midwest.
The May bulletin of the Walnut
Council is available on line.
Past issues can be accessed here.
Enjoy.
(05/19/20)
Satellites Show a Decline in
[Prescribed] Fire in the U.S.
Southeast. Spring 2020
(January 1 through May 9) "had the
fewest active fire detections of any
spring in the VIIRS (Visible
Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite)
record (which began in 2012)."
"According to one recent estimate,
about 70 percent of all prescribed
fires in the United States occur in
the Southeast." Editor's note:
Sounds like a lot of fuel left in
the woods to burn by accident later
this fall.
(05/18/20)
Markets Work and a host
of
other forestland oriented white
papers are available from
Forest Resource Consultants. If
you are looking for a consulting
forester in Alabama to help you make
a timber sale, plant trees, paint
boundary lines, kill cogongrass, or
estimate timber volumes, find one at
www.ForesterSearch.com.
(05/15/20)
Alabama Timber Market Outlook
was the featured topic of discussion
last evening when the Alabama Forest
Owners' Association hosted its
Dinner & Discussion online. We
wish to thank
Dr. Adam Maggard,
Extension Specialist and Assistant
Professor, Auburn University for
bringing this interesting and
up-to-date perspective on the
markets that pay the bills for
forest owners.
(05/14/20)
"Poor
Savings Habits Have Left Americans
Vulnerable to Economic Crises,"
shouts the title of a recent
Foundation for Economic Education
essay. AFOA suspects and hopes that
most forest owners are savers and
investors, but we also suspect that
many AFOA members worry about the
savings habits of their children
and/or grandchildren. Potential
savers might benefit from reading
The Richest Man in Babylon.
(05/13/20)
Two bills in Montgomery (HB369
-- you may need to click
this link twice -- and
SB263) sound like bail
outs for the deer-farm industry
in case a herd becomes infected with
chronic wasting disease. Read the
bills and let AFOA know what you
think.
(05/12/20)
"With school and university systems
across the country now employing
'distance learning' for the
foreseeable future, tens of
millions of K-12 and college
students are doing their work online.
All of this adds up to a situation
where printing and writing papers
are simply not needed to accomplish
tasks and take tests." Read more
from John Greene's May 11, 2020
Forest2Market Blog,
Structural Changes to Declining Pulp
& Paper Segments Will Accelerate
Under Pandemic.
(05/11/20)
County Tax Maps are available for
Alabama counties. AFOA
compiled a list of county tax maps
for you to use. They come in handy
when someone wants to know where
your land is located - like visiting
friends, prospective timber buyers,
or hunters who are interested in
leasing hunting rights on your land.
A few of the links may not be the
best available URL, so please send
additions or corrections to
RLL@AFOA.org. Greene County
updated 8/19/20.
(05/08/20)
Wildfire Headlines from Florida
as reported by
Wildfire News of the Day,
5/8/20
o Santa Rosa
County:
Florida Forest Service discusses new
policies to fight wildfires in time
of coronavirus
o Walton
County:
33 homes destroyed as result of
South Walton wildfire ignited by
illegal burn
o Walton
County:
Firefighters battle 85-acre wildfire
in Lake Wales near S.R. 60
o Lake Wales:
Firefighters battle 110 acre blaze
in Washington County
o Pace:
Florida Forest Service says Pace
wildfire is contained after burning
70 acres
o Woodville:
Officials warn of increased risk of
fires in coming days
(05/07/20)
Coloring Sheets
and Virtual Field Trip Videos
are available at
John Deere for Kids.
(05/06/20)
Forestry Newsletters from
Clemson,
Virginia Tech, and
Mississippi State are now
available.
(05/05/20)
More details now available for
the Montgomery County Proposed
Property Tax Increase.
WSFA12 reported that
the bill to allow a tax vote,
introduced Monday, 5/4/20, by
Democrat Rep. Kirk Hatcher,
might be blocked by
Republican Rep. Reed Ingram.
The WSFA story says the bill would
raise property taxes for schools
from 10 mills to 18.5 mills, while
an earlier
report by the Montgomery
Advertiser said the proposed
tax would raise the millage rate
from 10 to 22. Editor's Note: We
wonder if Ingram's threat to block
the bill unless the referendum date
is moved to next February or later
is little more than virtue signaling
to his base, since the referendum
might more easily pass if the
election is held on an obscure date
next winter. Just a thought.
(05/04/20)
Fire Lines is the
newsletter of professional and
part-time prescribed burners. The
March-April 2020 issue contains
sections entitled
New Technology and Tools,
New Fire Science Publications for
the South, and
Upcoming Events (included
are a half dozen on-line webinars).
(05/01/20)
So,... even if you nodded your
head in agreement with
Elon Musk's "forcible imprisonment"
comments during
a Tesla, Inc. first quarter earnings
call, you may still be
questioning the rationale behind
government subsidies of Musk's
electric cars, wind & solar energy,
and wood-fired power plants.
Questioning that rationale is
exactly what the documentary
Planet of the Humans
does, available, at least today, on
YouTube. 6/4/20:
Watch on Vimeo.
(04/30/20)
"While there has been a lot of ‘hand
wringing’ about this asset when the
stock market set records last year,
we now see,
from a risk standpoint, timberland
serves well to preserve wealth and
still generate cash, especially
through tough economic environments."
Source: Forisk Consulting LLC Press
Release, 4/29/20.
(04/29/20)
Alabama Forestry Association's
Chris Isaacson discusses the virus
panic impact on the forest industry
in Alabama on
Episode 236 of The Land Show
(from 23:14 to 38:06).
"It's the uncertainty."
(04/28/20)
So, Alabama Forest Owners. You
think you have problems? Be glad you
only have an oversupply of timber
and the virus panic to put up with!
o
Wildfires being fought in two
spots of Chornobyl NPP exclusion
zone
o
The stubborn Ukrainian tradition
behind forest fires in Chornobyl
o
Case Study: Chernobyl
wildfire extinguished with help of
drones
o
"Absolute Apocalypse":
Ukrainian film director uploads
drone footage of Chornobyl wildfire
aftermath (Video)
o
Radioactive Cesium measured
up north could origin from Chernobyl
forest fires
o
Wildfires Burning In
Ukraine's Western Zhytomyr Region
o
National Guard conducts
anti-sabotage operation due to
forest fires
Source: Wildfire News of the Day.
(04/27/20)
The Big Thinning,
number one in The Little
Foresters Adventures with Larry the
Logger, has just been
published, and forester/author
Dana Bloome hopes your children
will enjoy it. AFOA’s children’s
books reviewer, Brinley Laechelt,
reported, “It tells some pretty
interesting facts. I like how people
make stuff out of wood and how they
stay strong. And the safety message,
I like that. They’ve got safety gear
and some of it is funny.”
Illustrations by Vanessa J.
Thompson. $16.99 at
www.ForestryInBloome.com.
(04/24/20)
MODELS. Most people now
probably recognize that government
policies based on faulty models got
us into the current economic mess.
We hope the same concern for
policies based on models will cause
us to revisit the costly regulations
we now live under in the name of
preventing global warming. Please
read Jane Shaw Stroup's April
22 Environmental Blog,
Coronavirus Models and Climate
Change Models Have Limits.
Ms. Stroup spoke to us at
our Annual Meeting in 1995 and she
was the first guest on the first
issue of Capital Ideas - Live,
July 2000.
(04/23/20)
"I am not advising anyone to get
into timberland right now
because I think the last 10 years’
experience is much more relevant
than the last 30 years. Nothing in
the fundamentals looks bright until
timberland prices drop steeply,"
commented
Samuel J. Radcliffe on
Forisk Blog,
Timberland in Turbulent Times,
4/13/20.
(04/22/20)
Timber Market Update from Northwest
Alabama. There is a lot of
valuable information in the 4/22/20
report we received from Forest
Management Specialists. You may want
to share the report with your
consulting forester and recognize
that various product markets will
not be the same everywhere in the
state. If you do not have a
consulting forester, please take the
time to find one at
www.ForesterSearch.com.
(04/21/20)
Two students in the School of
Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at
Auburn University recently received
awards from the Alabama Forest
Owners' Association (AFOA). AFOA
gives the awards ($1,500 and $1,000)
each year to two students who have
shown an interest in the consulting
forestry profession. Our long-term
goal in giving the awards is to
improve the services available to
forest landowners.
Please read Dean Janaki
Alavalapati's letter to AFOA
recognizing the association's annual
support and introducing the student
awardees,
Andrew Loflin and
Robert Sitze.
(04/20/20)
Property Tax Increase Proposed by
Montgomery County Commissioners.
An article in the
Montgomery Advertiser on
February 25, 2020 reported that
the county commissioners decided to
ask for approval by the state
legislature to conduct a referendum
that could more than double the
county's millage rate from 10 to 22.
We don't know if the legislature
approved their request yet, so, if
you know anything about this
proposed tax increase, please send a
note to AFOA at
RLL@AFOA.org. Thanks.
(04/18/20)
We think you might enjoy and benefit
from listening to Forest2Market's
worldwide wood market information
exchange.
Unfortunately, the short take for
forest owners in the South: We
are growing more pine trees than are
needed and the virus panic has made
the supply problem even worse.
(04/17/20)
For more than you probably want to
know about the global production of
toilet paper, please read Bruce
Janda's Fisher International
article,
Coronavirus to Alter Global Toilet
Paper & Tissue Production.
Two things stood out: 1) The
machines that produce toilet and
other tissue papers are not very
flexible; and 2) China
produces a lot more of these
products than the U.S. or any other
country.
(04/16/20)
In case your trees were damaged
in the recent spate of storms,
two on-line publications from MSU
might be helpful. They are:
Frequently Asked Questions about
Timber Casualty Losses
and
Income Tax Deduction for Timber
Casualty.
(04/15/20)
First, do no harm. While we
have learned recently that "First,
do no harm,"
is not actually part of the
Hippocratic Oath that many
medical doctors abide by, we think
it would be nice if members of the
U.S. Congress were to make that
pledge -- in particular as it
relates to the Trillion Trees Act.
Marshall Thomas, President of
F&W Forestry Services, stated very
clearly in the
F&W Forestry Report, Spring
2020, "We don't need more
tree-planting subsidies." See
page 1, column 2 of the Report.
(04/14/20)
"Did you know you can reduce
heating and cooling costs by
strategically planting trees around
your home?" Since everyone is at
home this week, and the weather
forecast calls for two or three
sunny days, why not download the
Project Learning Tree
Family Activity: Reduce Your Utility
Costs with I-Tree and
step outside for a fun and
potentially profitable enterprise?
(04/13/20)
AGROMINING: We read about a
plant that pulls nickel (the metal)
out of the soil and thought it might
be worth a daydream or two. While
newly discovered nickel
hyperaccumulator
Phyllanthus rufuschaneyi is
found only in
Sabah (Borneo Island), other
hyperaccumulators are evidently
found in many parts of the world.
Now don't rush out to buy yourself a
potted Phyllanthus and make
plans to
become a nickel baron, but we
thought that a story about a plant
that can pull valuable nickel
($5.73/pound) from the soil might be
of some abstract interest to you.
(04/10/20)
The IRS announced on April 9 that
tax payments due June 15 may be put
off until July 15. Also,
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
from IRAs and similar accounts
will be "completely exempted" for
2020. Source:
Lehmann, Ullman and Barclay, LLP,
4/10/20.
(04/09/20)
Spring bird migration is now in
full effect in Alabama. Open
Cornell Ornithology Lab's
Species on the Move: mid-April
webpage and then scroll down to
Gulf Coast and Southeast. Click
on Beginning Arrivals and
Peaking Arrivals. Newspage
Editor Lee is eagerly awaiting the
chimney swift family which summers
in his old chimneys and winters in
Peru.
(04/08/20)
The Beginner's Guide to Becoming a
Homesteader may be just the
distraction you need to get you
through the coronavirus panic. Good
luck!
(04/07/20)
Telemedicine, Once a Hard Sell,
Can't Keep Up With Demand (pdf
version) is an article in the
April 1 Wall Street Journal
that may be of interest to you if
you live in a region of the state
where doctors and medical facilities
are in short supply. Of course,
high speed access to the internet
is a must for telemedicine to work.
(04/06/20)
On Line Learning Opportunities:
(04/02/20)
Buying and Selling Land during the
coronavirus panic and its after
effects. This Great Days
Outdoors podcast discussion is
interesting, but keep in mind that
the participants are in the real
estate business.
(04/01/20)
Christmas tree farmers may
qualify for coronavirus stimulus
aid. And, unrelated to the
virus, two Mississippi State
University professors offer
their help to Christmas tree
growers. Get details in the
latest issue of
Southern Christmas Trees,
March 31, 2020.
(03/31/20)
"They cut some trees to pay for
our tuition to college and now
some of our trees have been cut to
help our granddaughter attend
college." Sit back and listen to
Billie Smith Hopson describe her
family's experience with
The Oldest Tree Farm in Arkansas.
(about 29 minutes)
(03/27/20)
"See
the tree instead of the forest,"
recommends an Ohio Soil & Water
Conservation District in a news
article that urges families and
homeschool science teachers to head
outdoors to look for big trees.
Alabama keeps a list of big trees --
Champion Trees -- and
encourages nominations to the list.
(03/26/20)
Tax Deadlines Have Changed.
The U. S. Treasury and the State of
Alabama announced that tax returns
due on April 15, 2020, have been
extended until July 15, 2020. Tax
payments for Federal returns that
had been due April 15, 2020, are
extended until July 15, 2020 without
interest or penalty. Alabama has
followed IRS in extending their
filing and payment due dates.
The due date extension extends the filing date for
calendar year C corporations,
individual and other returns as well
as the time for payment of HSA, IRA
and Archer MSA. A great place for
answers is the
Q&A page of the IRS.
IRS has also announced its
People First Initiative
suspending key compliance programs.
Alabama also includes the pass-through composite
payment due date in the delay. Many
states are following the lead of
federal requirements. Source:
Lehmann, Ullman and Barclay, LLP,
3/26/20
(03/25/20)
The proposed bridge between
Talladega and Shelby counties was
nixed by the Shelby County
Commission on March 23.
Local forestry experts reported to
AFOA that the privately funded
bridge would have improved stumpage
markets in Talladega and Coosa
counties.
(03/24/20)
Which Issues Are Most Important
To You? This is a question posed
by the National Woodland Owners
Association to its members each
year. AFOA would like to know how
you would rank these issues as well.
Click Here To Rank.
(03/23/20)
If you would rather be in the
woods than sitting at home
checking your Facebook, why not see
if you can follow Mercker and Yang's
ideas on making a "quick" cruise of
your timber (Quick
Cruising to Estimate Board-Foot
Volume of Standing Hardwood Timber).
Forestry Suppliers sells 10 factor
prisms; the
Jim-Gem Rectangular Prism, 10 BAF
($33.10) should get you started. You
may also want to use a
Scale Stick, Doyle Scale
($19.95) to measure diameters and
heights of trees. Heads-up: The
publication focuses only on
hardwoods.
(03/20/20)
Two perspectives on the paper
industry. Take your pick:
(03/19/20)
When our Alabama weather heats up in
a couple of months, you may wish you
were in cool northern Vermont.
Biodiversity University "offers
in-depth nature study taught
by the region's finest experts and
educators." Their "students are
weekend naturalists, working
ecologists, and anyone with an
insatiable drive to understand the
pieces and patterns of our wild
world." Course titles include:
Glacial Geology of Northern Vermont,
Digital Photography for Naturalists,
Field Herpetology, Forest Mosses,
Mushrooms - Field Identification and
Fungal Ecology, and more.
(03/18/20)
"Take your child’s creativity
outside!
Nature's Art Box by Laura C.
Martin offers 65 art projects
that kids can make with materials
found right in their backyard.
There’s no limit to the imaginative
possibilities as children mix paints
from colorful flower blossoms, dig
clay for molding elf-sized
furniture, and craft functional twig
baskets."
(03/17/20)
"Spring
turkey season will open March 21
and close May 3, 2020, for most
Alabama counties." Source:
Alabama Department of Conservation &
Natural Resources, 10/10/20. AFOA
members may use
www.HuntingLand.bz to find
turkey hunters eager to lease their
land.
(03/16/20)
The Alabama Forest Owners’
Association (AFOA) wishes to express
our concern for everyone impacted by
coronavirus. Like all of you, we
have carefully monitored the global
health crisis related to COVID-19
coronavirus. Due to the escalation
of COVID-19 in the state, after much
deliberation and in alignment with
the advice from the CDC and public
health authorities regarding mass
gatherings, we have made the
decision to cancel the AFOA Annual
Meeting which was due to take place
on
April 21-22, 2020 in Tuscaloosa
County, Alabama. The AFOA
Annual Business Meeting will be
rescheduled to a location in the
Pelham area.
(03/13/20)
“It’s an exciting time to be in
the corrugated industry. The
rise of e-commerce, coupled with
concerns about ocean plastics, have
created greater awareness among
consumers about packaging.”
Read more from The Simple Success
of Corrugated Containers,
Greenville Business Magazine,
3/5/20.
(03/12/20)
Why Plant Trees? "One
could never discuss the future of
forest products without mentioning
world population growth and
projected growth. Investors in
wood-using facilities are also
looking at world population growth.
As a forester, it is a huge breath
of fresh air to see so many forest
product mill investors in our state.
In the past couple of years the
Southeastern United States has
become the 'wood basket' for the
entire world. In Alabama alone..."
Read more in the Spring
Newsletter of Ketchum Land & Timber,
Vol. 1, #1.
(03/11/20)
"Americans, who already
consume (by far) the most towel and
tissue products in the world,
are rushing to purchase toilet paper
in bulk." "...retail giants
Costco, Walmart, and Target are
benefiting during the COVID-19
panic." Source: Fisher
International.
(03/10/20)
27,000 hunters who hunt on their
own land or were otherwise
exempt from needing an Alabama
hunting license were caught in
the baiting license trap last
year and bought a "bait privilege"
license to avoid fines. Alabama's
Division of Wildlife and Freshwater
Fisheries has added to the
bureaucratic red tape for landowners
hunting on their own land and seems
happy to brag about it in a
March 6, 2020 press release.
Evidently turkey hunters have
rebelled against the unnecessary
regulations of the Division by not
reporting their kills. We suspect
new regulations will be published
soon to whip turkey hunters into
line.
(03/09/20)
A video by Robert Bush, Sr. showing
the "incredible diversity" of
wildlife which used a log on
a Pennsylvania stream is a
must-watch. Lesson learned: point
game camera at log across stream.
A comment from a parent:
I have to tell you, my 3 year old
adores this video. I think it’s
really neat, but he asks to watch
“the log video again and again and
again” every day. I never knew
nature was so riveting. Thanks for
making and sharing this!
(03/05/20)
Beavers became big problem after
introduction to Navarino Island near
Chile's southernmost tip. If
you need help removing beavers,
coyotes, raccoons and other animals
from your property, call Brenda at
AFOA for the names of Animal
Nuisance Control Experts:
205-624-2225
(03/04/20)
1,430 Bullock County voters (94%
of precincts reporting) decided
to raise property taxes in the
county yesterday. Source:
WSFA12 News, 4:02 pm, 3/4/20.
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, there
were 10,914 people living in Bullock
County.
(03/03/20)
"When I sell stumpage (the
standing trees on my land),
where do the logs go?" If you've
ever asked yourself that question,
you might like to test the
interactive
Alabama Forest Industry Directory
Map. Select "Primary," the
second "Query criteria" on the left
side of the screen and then click
"Apply" down near the bottom of the
screen. Some of the little green
dots will turn red. Those are the
wood processing plants that begin
work on your logs -- sawmills,
veneer mills, pulpmills. Secondary
wood users begin their work on
already processed materials. Cabinet
makers may use already sawn lumber;
paper mills may use already
processed pulp, etc. Editor's
note: If you need a list of stumpage
buyers, contact Brenda at the AFOA
office - 205-624-2225.
(03/02/20)
"American ginseng is arguably the
most valuable non-timber forest crop
in Eastern North America." But
can it be grown commercially?
The Future of Wild-Simulated Ginseng,
an article on the website of the
Association for Temperate
Agroforestry, discusses the
difficulty in simulating the wild
conditions necessary to produce high
value ginseng.
(02/28/20)
The Role of Trapping in Wildlife
Management will be described
as a forest and wildlife management
"tool" by
Wildlife Biologist Mike Sievering
at
AFOA's Annual Meeting Field Day on
April 21 in Tuscaloosa County.
Sievering, who is
Conservation Director of the
National Trappers Association,
will probably set a few traps while
describing methods used to control
coyotes, beavers, raccoons and
possums.
Register now.
(02/27/20)
Goats can help reduce fire hazards
by cleaning up the underbrush on
your land. If you want to
learn more about goats and their
proper care, make plans now to
attend
Dr. Uma Karki's
presentation at
AFOA's 39th Annual Meeting in
Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, April 22.
(02/26/20)
A change in attitude? Please
read the following press release:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Finalizes Critical Habitat for
Threatened Black Pinesnake, 2/25/20:
We may be imagining things, but
we think we see a change in attitude
at the Service. Wouldn't it be
nice if they were able to change
from a command and control
organization into a service
organization, providing guidance on
how to nurture rare species of
plants and animals? We think many
landowners would view the Service a
lot more favorably than they do
today. Rare plants and animals
might benefit from such a change.
(02/25/20)
If building that dream cabin in
the woods is still on your
bucket list, you'll want to visit
Brock's Huntin Cabins website to
see photos of all the neat little
cabins they have to offer. Owner
Brock Ray was an interesting guest
on
The Land Show, Episode 227
(download and then scroll to 23:32
minutes).
(02/24/20)
"In Australia, we have reduced
our land-management actions and are
now suffering the consequences,"
reported Gary Morgan, a
consultant with Global Wildland Fire
Management Services and chair of the
Institute of Foresters of Australia.
"There is a solution. It is
certainly not more aircraft. ...
Clearly, the current approach is not
working. Politicians want to be seen
to be doing something, regardless of
effectiveness." Source:
The Forestry Source, February
2020, page 2.
(02/21/20)
29 YEAR PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
PLANNED FOR BULLOCK COUNTY. See
March 3 Sample Ballots:
Republican;
Democratic. We also noticed an
amendment on the Tallapoosa County
ballot that would create a local
"road maintenance district."
Tallapoosa voters may want to check
that out.
Click here for sample ballots for
all 67 counties, both Democratic
and Republican.
(02/20/20)
"A Visual Account of One Year in the
Life of a Longleaf Pine Forest"
is a short, but very nicely done,
slide show. We think you will enjoy
it - and maybe benefit from watching
it. Source: The Longleaf Alliance.
(02/19/20)
“The bottom line for U.S. forest
owners: based on our experience
with previous government incentive
programs,
The Trillion Trees Act would not be
a boon for U.S. forest owners.
In fact, if it massively increased
planting in the South, it would
exacerbate the timber oversupply
issue that plagues many timber
markets in the region.” Source:
Forisk Blog, 2/19/20.
(02/18/20)
"Alabama registered voters will
go to the polls on March 3, 2020
to vote in the presidential primary,
U.S. Senate, U.S. House of
Representatives, Alabama Public
Service Commission president and
Supreme Court Justices and members
of the Court of Civil Appeals and
Court of Criminal Appeals. Voters
will choose ballots for either the
Democratic or Republican parties. In
addition to candidates, voters will
select presidential delegates to
represent their votes at the
national party conventions." In
addition to candidates on the
ballot, Amendment One will ask
whether you want to allow the
Governor to appoint the State Board
of Education (to be renamed the
Alabama Commission on Elementary and
Secondary Education). Source: NFIB
AL Legislative Links,
2/14/20.
Click here for election information
from the Secretary of State's office.
(02/17/20)
When it rains a lot, some tracts
of timber become too wet to log,
so loggers have to buy timber on
high-dry tracts -- usually in a
hurry in order to keep the mills
running. John Greene tries to shed
some light on the subject in his
blog:
Winter Precipitation Trends: Will
Timber Prices be Impacted?
(02/14/20)
The Tax Foundation is a great
source of information about taxes --
sales, property, income, estate...
Check out their blog -
click here - and, when you get
there, read about our neighbor's
plan to eliminate income taxes --
February 10,
Tennessee's Governor Lee Pushes to
Clear Out Remnants of Income
Taxation.
(02/12/20)
If controlling coyotes or beavers
is on your to-do list, you will
want to
listen to Ken Peters, Dominion
Trapping, on The Land Show,
Epitsode 224 (Ken's interview
begins at 22:02 and ends at about
36:51).
Dominion Trapping on Facebook.
(02/11/20)
MR. PRESIDENT, IT'S A BAD IDEA FOR
THE GOVERNMENT TO PLANT ONE TRILLION
TREES DURING THE NEXT 30 YEARS!
We are already growing more trees
each year than we harvest. Can
you imagine how bad pulpwood prices
will be in 15 years? How bad
sawtimber prices will be in 25
years? IT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA. JUST
SAY NO!
(02/10/20)
"A pulp mill is a timberland
manager’s friend, especially in the
US South... It is very helpful
to have a pulp mill or two within
delivery distance of your
timberland. Pulp mills consume
tremendous volumes of small and
low-quality wood, providing a great
market for those materials for
timberland owners." Read more in
Pulp Mills, Forest
Management...and People, by Jack
Lutz, Forest Research Notes,
4Q19.
(02/07/20)
"Engaging" with your woods in the
winter: Idea #1. "Walk your
property boundary lines. Deciduous
trees have dropped their leaves,
giving a better line of sight, the
weather is cool, making walking
rugged terrain easier, briars are
less fierce, poison ivy is beaten
back, and ticks and mosquitoes are
hibernating." Idea #1 and other
ideas were found in the
Virginia Forest Landowner
e-Update, February 2020,
published by Jennifer Gagnon,
Virginia Tech Forestry Extension.
(02/06/20)
Recent research "found deer were
[coyotes'] single most important
prey item..." To minimize coyote
damage, land managers should "ensure
that open areas managed as foraging
sites for deer, such as food plots,
are juxtaposed to dense cover..."
Read
How Much Venison Are Coyotes Eating?
by Dr. Mike Chamberlain and Dr. Joey
Hinton published by Quality Deer
Management Association, 2/5/20.
(02/05/20)
An environmentalist group convinced
a federal judge to force the
US Fish & Wildlife Service to "look
again" at an Endangered Species Act
ruling on the Northern Long Eared
Bat. The change sought by the court
would affect some forest management
decisions.
(02/04/20)
The Forest Floor is on the Move!
Most of us know birds migrate in the
spring and fall, but did you know
that amphibians migrate too? They
might not make the 1000-mile trek
that some birds do, but during the
winter, several salamander and frog
species can be seen in mass
migration crawling on the forest
floor towards temporary pools. This
phenomenon is like salmon traveling
upstream to reach their breeding
grounds, whereas amphibians will
travel toward shallow seasonal pools
to lay eggs and then slither back to
their comfortable homes in the
forest floor.
While we have over 70 species of amphibians in Alabama,
only a few species partake in this
migration, one of which is the
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma
maculatum). The spotted
salamander is a fairly large
salamander that is typically six to
eight inches long but has been known
to grow as large as 10 inches. As
the name suggests, this species is
identified by a series of irregular
shaped yellow, sometimes orange,
spots running down either side of
the back from the head to its tail.
Spotted salamanders exhibit a strong
homing behavior, meaning they return
to the pools they hatched from.
Source: Alabama Wildlife and
Conservation News, January 2020.
(01/31/20)
Do you ever worry that enough is
not being done to promote the
use of the wood we grow? Check out
some of the workshops and
demonstrations recently conducted by
Southern Forest Products
Association's international
promotions group:
(01/30/20)
A bridge that would link Shelby
County and south Talladega County
east of Columbiana near the 4-H
Center
has been approved by the Talladega
County Commission, but is
meeting opposition from some Shelby
County residents. A consulting
forester told AFOA that the bridge
would improve access to wood markets
in the area, including Coosa County.
(01/29/20)
We were glad to learn that
the Opp News covered a visit
to Lloyd Culp's forestland in
Covington County a few days
ago. Loflin Forest Management led
the tour which included a drone
demonstration and discussion on how
to have more successful timber
sales.
(01/28/20)
Last Thursday "the Environmental
Protection Agency released its final
rule defining “Waters of the US”
(WOTUS) over which EPA will have
regulatory jurisdiction. The
final regulation excludes from EPA
jurisdiction a number of water
features, including the following of
particular importance to private
forest management:
• Ephemeral streams,
defined as flowing only in direct
response to precipitation,
• Manmade ditches that
do not flow into a regulated water,
and
• Wetlands that do not
touch a regulated water of the US.
The effect of these exclusions is
that the listed water features will
NOT, by themselves, subject
timberland to EPA Clean Water Act
permit requirements governing such
things as the aerial application of
pesticides. The wetlands exclusion
will also significantly strengthen
the application of 'normal
silviculture' permit exemption for
forested wetlands. The text of the
final rule can be found
HERE." Source:
National Alliance of Forest Owners,
1/23/20.
(01/27/20)
Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for
the 2019 Tax Year by
Linda Wang, National Timber Tax
Specialist, USDA Forest Service, is
now available. Thank you, Dr. Wang.
(01/24/20)
Have you always wanted to know
the names of mushrooms you find on
your land? There are two
branches of the
Alabama Mushroom Society which
hold meetings in Birmingham and
Mobile; first Tuesdays and second
Mondays, resp., according to their
webpage.
(01/23/20)
PAWPAWS. You may not grow
them to sell, but have you ever
eaten one?
"Also called the Indiana banana or
the American custard apple, the
pawpaw is the largest native North
American fruit and has a legendary
flavor—many describe it as a cross
between a banana and a mango."
Source: Civil Eats, 1/9/20
(01/22/20)
Hurricanes, tornados, ice storms,
floods, and wildfire are among
events that can damage standing
timber. To help forest landowners
minimize taxes related to lost
timber value, the Tennessee Forestry
Association gathered some
information in
"Tax Considerations Associated with
Timber Casualty Losses."
(01/21/20)
"US-China Trade Deal Provides Relief
for Hardwood Sector," states
Travis Durkee in his January 20
Forest2Market Blog. Besides pointing
out the importance of hardwood log
and lumber exports, he also makes it
very clear that we're growing far
more hardwood timber than we're
harvesting -- see "US South
Growth-to-Removal Ratios" list
of hardwood species.
(01/20/20)
New York elementary school
principal and South Carolina forest
owner, Yvonne Knight-Carter,
tells her story about returning home
to manage her family's land.
(01/17/20)
Passing on legacies of forestland
and forestland management know-how
-- Professor Becky Barlow leads the
way. Source: Alabama Living.
(01/16/20)
BIRDERS! Imagine pointing
your telephoto camera at a bird you
don't recognize, snapping a picture,
and within a few seconds receiving a
message on your phone identifying
the bird.
Swarovski Optik and the Cornell Lab
of Ornithology think they're almost
ready to sell you the camera and the
service.
(01/15/20)
"A Talladega County firefighter has
temporarily left the Superspeedway
to help Australian firefighters
contain devastating wildfires
ravaging the country."
Source: WVTM 13, 1/13/20. For an
interesting perspective on the
fires, an AFOA member sent us
a YouTube story that disagrees
with many who believe global warming
has been the cause of the fires.
Warning: coarse language from Aussie
farmer at about the 3 minute mark.
(01/14/20)
Davis Fish Farm in Cherokee County
was featured this week on The
Land Show.
Daniel Davis talks about the pond
management services they provide,
including stocking trout in cold
water areas.
(01/13/20)
Driptorch Digest is the
"Newsletter of the Southern
Prescribed Fire Community." If you
are a prescribed burner or a
wannabe, you'll probably find
something useful in their January
2020 newsletter.
(01/10/20)
10 Predictions for Global Forest
Industries in 2020 by Pete
Stewart, CEO, Forest2Market.com,
1/6/2020.
(01/09/20)
In its quest to
"inspire the limitless potential in
every girl," Mattel is
working with forest scientist Nalini
Nadkarni to create a forest
scientist Barbie.
(01/08/20)
"We stood on a lot of consultants
shoulders. I enjoyed learning from
the consultants," says Mrs. Gail
Burris, Hampton County, South
Carolina, in a
3 minute video. If you need a
consulting forester to help you,
open
www.ForesterSearch.com.
(01/07/20)
Raymond James Financial Services
published a report today:
Overweight the Timber REITS -
Upgrading PCH to Outperform and
Raising Price Targets. If
your time is limited, read the first
page. Timber REIT prices are
published each month in AFOA's
newsletter,
Capital Ideas, top of middle
column on page 2. Source:
Howard Sokol, Raymond James
Financial Services.
(01/06/20)
Lady forest owners -
watch this video. Gentlemen
forest owners - watch the video with
your wife.
(01/03/20)
Tree Farm Certification in Virginia
is not free anymore. Current
Tree Farmers will pay from $50 to
$250 per year and new Tree Farms
will be assessed a one-time
certification fee of $100. Source:
Virginia Forest Landowner Update,
Winter 2020.
(01/02/20)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service would like your help to
decide whether the
Gulf Coast solitary bee
should be listed as a threatened or
endangered species under the
Endangered Species Act. We aren't
experts, but we think you have until
about March 19, 2020 to send them
your comments on scientific and
commercial and other information
about the bee. For more information,
go to the
Federal Register, Vol. 84,
No. 244, page 69713. If you need
help sending your comments, contact
Sean Blomquist at 850–769–0552 or
sean_blomquist@fws.gov.
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