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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!

September  2003 News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
Conference was recorded Wednesday, September 17, 2003.

CLICK HERE
to Listen to the
Conference.

This conference and all future conferences will be in the .mp3 format, which is compatible with Windows Media Player and most other media devices.

SCROLL DOWN FOR CONFERENCE GUEST INFORMATION

cilhayes.jpg (3561 bytes)

Hayes D. Brown

starting time: (00:00)

Moderator

Hayes D. Brown, attorney and forest owner,  will moderate this news conference. Hayes' email address is hbrown@hayesbrown.com.

Click Here to View & Hear Prior News Conferences.

.

Glenn Myers

 (00:40)

Fun and Profit: Trails for Bikers & Hikers

Glenn Myers is President of Cheaha Trail Riders, a group that, during the past 3 years, has developed in partnership with the US Forest Service, the Kentuck ORV System in the Talladega National Forest near Anniston. Kentuck now has 23.5 miles of trail open to the public, year round access, a kiddy loop, bathroom, campsites, loading/unloading dock, and "some of the best riding in the nation." Myers is currently assisting with the planning and development of Minooka Park, a 159 acre OHV Park & Trail System with a lake and 10 miles of trails suitable for ATVs, Dirt Bikes, Mountain Bikes, Horses, and Hikers.
     While Kentuck & Minooka are built on public lands with significant public funding, forest owners should consider working with a trail riders association to develop private, for fee, riding areas. Acreage requirements should pose no problem for many AFOA members and a Google search found only a handful of ATV trails in Alabama.

phone: (256) 831-1935
email: gmyers.nohvcc@juno.com

.

Calder M. Hibbard

 (03:48)

Property Tax Incentives Common in U.S.

Calder Hibbard is a Research Fellow in the Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul. He has co-authored a paper entitled Property Tax Programs Focused on Forest Resources: A Review and Analysis (click here - pdf file) which contains important information for all private forest owners. Although the September 9, 2003 referendum to raise taxes was soundly defeated, owners of forest and farmland were pointedly criticized in the debate leading up to the vote. We were labeled as people who do not pay our fair share of taxes. Today we present Mr. Hibbard and his research to you to make sure you know that property tax incentives to encourage the ownership and nurturing of forestland are very common in the United States.
     What is special about Alabama's situation is that our current-use property tax assessment program is almost totally free of expensive bureaucracies found in the programs of most other states. Unfortunately, our current-use assessment formula is flawed and must be repaired soon to remain effective. (See Editor's Note, June 18, 2003) Perhaps, when the needed repairs are made, a broad segment of Alabama society can be included among the proponents of the current-use assessment program.

phone: (612) 624-2202
email: hibb0006@umn.edu

.

Dr. B. Graeme Lockaby

 (07:57)

Cleaning Urban Runoff: A Forest Product Worthy of Payment

Graeme Lockaby is Co-Director of the Center for Forest Sustainability at Auburn University. The goal of the Center "is to understand the impact of rising populations on multiple forest resources and, ultimately, our quality of life." In a speech to the Alabama Forestry Association earlier this month, Dr. Lockaby stated that some of the services provided by working forestland (water quality improvements, for example) are so valuable that forest owners should be paid for providing them. Forestland water cleanup may be more cost-effective than some alternative engineering methods and active timber harvesting, if done correctly, may improve the cleansing effect.

Nighttime photo showing lights across the U.S. In Alabama the lights are particularly concentrated near Birmingham, Huntsville and the Gulf Coast. (click on the photo to increase size)

 

phone: (334) 844-1054
email: lockabg@auburn.edu

.

Terry Reece Love

 (12:10)

Protect Yourself: Develop a Sound Hunting Lease

Terry Love is a consulting forester with Forestry Consultants, Inc., based in Opelika, Alabama. We've noticed that Terry has been bringing a steady stream of forestland properties to AFOA's "Hunting Land for Lease" web page, so we thought we'd ask him to provide us with a few tips on leasing land to hunters.
     He urges landowners to develop a good contract or lease agreement with the hunters and suggests several points to include in the lease, including requirements for liability insurance and safety concerns.
Items he suggests we include are:

  • Landowner & Hunter (or club) Names
  • Rights Given to Hunters
    • Right to harvest game - specific or general
    • Right to cultivate food plots &  specified locations
    • Right of Ingress & Egress
    • Right to Maintain & Improve Existing Roads & Trails
  • Location of Property (legal description)
  • Term of the Agreement (starting & ending dates)
  • Amount of Compensation
  • Termination Clause for Breach of Contract
  • Type of Hunting Allowed -- stand, stalk, dog, etc.
  • Timber Management Priority Statement
  • Soil Erosion Clause
  • Liability Insurance Requirements
  • Statement on Sub-leasing
  • Signatures of Lessor & Lessee(s)
  • Map of Property

Links of interest:

phone: (334) 745-7530
email: troublelove@mindspring.com

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Dr. Vernon R. Hayes, Jr.

 (15:51)

Bio What? An Energy Bill Update

Vern Hayes is the government affairs director for the Forest Landowners Association and is  based in Washington, DC. Last September Vern reported on the Energy Bill and how it might provide stable markets for low quality forest products and wood waste and we've asked him to give us an update on the situation 12 months later. In a repeat of last year's energy bill debate, power companies would not receive valuable renewable energy credits if they burn trees harvested simply to produce electricity. Electricity produced from burning wood waste and annual crops, such as switchgrass (review Doug Boylan's report from May 2002), and electricity produced from wind or solar sources would receive those credits.

phone: (301) 877-6898
email: vhayes@forestlandowners.org

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Nancie G. Marzulla

 (19:12)

Smart Growth or No Growth?

Nancie Marzulla is a founder and President of Defenders of Property Rights and "is one of the nation’s leading authorities on constitutionally protected rights in property." She is co-author of the basic textbook of property rights law, Property Rights: Understanding Government Takings and Environmental Regulation. Today Nancie describes how the "Smart Growth" movement is funded and how it impacts landowners. She recommends ordering a free DPR publication, Smart Growth (click here).

A few links for you to review:

phone: (202) 822-6770
email: brian@yourpropertyrights.org

.

Danny Bryant

 (22:51)

Prescribed Burning Short Course:
October 14-17, Starkville, Mississippi

Danny Bryant is the Fire Training Officer for the Mississippi Forestry Commission and is one of eleven instructors that will teach the Prescribed Burning Shortcourse (click here) next month at Mississippi State University. Several AFOA members have attended this course in past years and spoken highly of the instruction and hospitality given them in Starkville.
     Danny tells us who should attend the course, why someone should become a "certified prescribed burn manager", and what pre-requisites are required to enter the course. If you have pine trees on your land, this course will provide you with important information.

phone: (601) 359-2808
email: dbryant@mfc.state.ms.us

.

Robert C. Wright

 (25:48)

"Timber Prices Are Up, Especially Hardwood."

Bob Wright , a repeat guest on Capital Ideas - Live!, brings us a special perspective on North Alabama Timber Markets from his Tennessee vantage point. The rugged hilly terrain of North Alabama and Tennessee have much in common, including tree species and silvicultural conditions. Bob has been publishing the Tennessee Forest Products Bulletin for the Tennessee Division of Forestry for several years and has a keen appreciation for the importance of size on the value of hardwood trees. Bob recommends we look at page 5 of the Bulletin to appreciate the differences between grades 1, 2 & 3.

phone: (615) 837-5431
email: robert.wright@state.tn.us

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Issues and Topics AFOA is following.

To suggest an issue or a topic for a future news conference, please send an email note to AFOA by clicking here.

  • National or Federal Issues
  • EPA Proposed Water Quality Trading
  • Energy Bill
  • CCA Treated Southern Pine Lumber
  • TMDLs
  • EPA Basin Projects
  • CARA
  • Forest Certification
  • 2002 Farm Bill
  • Energy Crisis & Federal Eminent Domain
  • Red Hills Salamander
  • State or Local Issues
  • Constitutional Revision/Tax Reform
  • County Zoning
  • Right to Farm & Practice Forestry
  • Illegal Dumping
  • Delaney Family Current-Use Case
  • JeffCo Storm Water Management Program
  • Current Use Tax Assessment Rates
  • Local Harvesting Restrictions & Road Weight Limits
  • Bridge Repairs & the Alabama Trust Fund
  • Dog Hunting & Hunter Trespass
  • Forest Management Issues
  • Seasonal Forest and Wildlife Management Tips
  • Southern Pine Beetle: Salvage & Prevention
  • Forest Fertilization
  • Intensive Forest Management
  • Long Rotation Management & Natural Regeneration
  • Technology
  • Palm Pilots & Forest Records
  • Useful Computer Software
  • Markets
  • Industry Consolidation & Timber Markets
  • Stumpage & Forest Product Markets
  • Forestland For Sale
  • Wood Buying Policies During SPB Epidemic
  • Alabama's Pine Straw Wholesale Market
  • Minerals, Gas & Oil Activity
  • Recreational Businesses for Forest Owners
  • Forest Taxation