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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!

July 2005 News Conference for Forest Owners Sponsored by Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc. Conference was recorded July 20, 2005.

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.

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.

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Walter E. Cartwright

 (00:29)

$3 Million Forestry Damage From Dennis

Walter Cartwright is the assistant director of the Alabama Forestry Commission's Forest Management Division in Montgomery. Cartwright highlights the AFC's damage assessment report of Hurricane Dennis, along with a map of  damaged areas in Escambia and Monroe counties. He will describe the extent of timber damage to Alabama’s timber lands, where the damage occurred, and offer an overall estimate of damages. He will also provide information on how we can obtain assistance.

Phone: (334) 240-9331
Email: cartwrightw@forestry.state.al.us

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Dr. William L. Hoover

 (04:57)

Hurricanes and Your Taxes (Revisited)

Bill Hoover is the assistant department head, professor of forestry, and extension coordinator at the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. In addition, he is the director of the National Timber Tax Website. For those of us who experienced damage as a result of Hurricane Dennis, Hoover will address some tax matters we should become familiar with.

Phone: (765) 494-3580
Email: billh@fnr.purdue.edu

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Dana Berliner

 (08:51)

Attention Alabama Lawmakers: Suggestions for Effective Eminent Domain Legislation

Dana Berliner serves as a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice located in Washington, D.C. She has researched eminent domain issues and was one of the lawyers who represented homeowners in the Supreme Court case of Kelo v. City of New London. According to the Institute for Justice, at least twenty-five states are pushing bills to restrict the use of eminent domain, including Alabama. Alabama lawmakers take note: Berliner offers suggestions on legislation that would curb the recent eminent domain ruling and narrow the definition of "public use" for land takings. Some legislative fixes being debated in the Special Session of the Alabama legislature allow eminent domain condemnation of private land for private industrial development. Protection of forestland owners whose land might be taken for a park is not even being considered.

Excerpts from Berliner's comments:

  •  Due to a "very broad and frightening" 1985 Alabama Supreme Court ruling, Alabama property owners have very little protections and should be worried. Thus:
    • Implement legislation that would limit eminent domain in certain situations
    • Pass a statute that lists what kinds of things it would be appropriate to use eminent domain for - i.e., actual public projects, public utilities
    • Divide the statues so that it's possible to have financing for larger areas, but implement a stricter standard for actually taking somebody's property away.
  • Alabama’s Constitution can have statutes which offer protection by simply forbidding using eminent domain for private development.

Phone: (202) 955-1300
Email: dberliner@ij.org

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J. Peyton Knight

 (12:38)

ESA Reform On Hold. Now What?

Peyton Knight is the director of Legislative Affairs for the American Policy Center, a grassroots, activist think tank headquartered in Warrenton, Virginia. He will tell us what happened recently with House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo's efforts to reform the Endangered Species Act. In addition, he suggests some things that could be done now and gives his thoughts on what should be in the law (as well as what shouldn't be in the law).

Small landowners should contact Chairman Pombo (fax: 202-225-5929) and their own representatives and tell them:

  • Full protection of private property rights is absolutely mandatory in any ESA reform effort.
  • Invasive Species language would only broaden the current ESA and make it much worse for property owners."

In the News

Phone: (540) 341-8911
Email: knight@americanpolicy.org 

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Melisa Love

 (15:06)

So, Who Works for YOU?

Melisa Love is President of Forestry Consultants, Inc., in Opelika. Lisa is also the secretary of the Alabama Board of Registration for Foresters (appointed by the Governor) and is also being considered by the Governor as an appointee to the Alabama Forestry Commission. In her article in The Registered Forester: "Protecting the Public: Will landowners benefit from forester 'agency disclosure'?" she brings up the "buyer beware" problems landowners face due to being confused about the different roles of various forestry professionals. She describes why this is a problem and defines these roles to help us be smarter consumers of forestry services. AFOA urges you to recognize that many foresters in Alabama are registered foresters and many timber buyers are registered foresters. The question to ask is, "Who is looking out for me?"

Categories of Forest "Advisors"
Type Role Considerations
Non-forester timber buyer a) the buyer is not representing you in the sale
b) the buyer is not a forester and should not attempt to "practice forestry"
Non-forester timber seller selling timber is an integral part of practicing forestry and thus only registered foresters (or those legally exempt from registration) may legally perform this task.
Registered forester timber buyer a) since these are registered foresters, they can give you advice about forest management and practices.
b) but in a timber sale transaction, know that you are his customer, not his client.
Registered forester timber seller a) can give practical forestry advice and assist you the timber sale transaction.
b) must represent only you - which typically means seeking to get you the highest possible price with the best possible terms.

Additional Clarifications on Forest "Advisors":

Phone: (334) 745-7530
Email: fcinc@mindspring.com 

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James E. Miller

 (19:34)

Shooting Over a Baited Field: What's the Issue?

Jim Miller is a research scientist in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at Mississippi State University. Rumor has it that Alabama will see legislation introduced that would legalize hunting white-tailed deer over baited fields. He is here to argue his case that baiting and supplemental feeding of wildlife are not suitable replacements for habitat sustainability and management. He will explain what's behind the push to make hunting of deer over bait legal, why the majority of state Fish and Wildlife agencies prohibit this, and the possible threat such legalization would pose to the future of public support for hunting.

Phone: (662) 325-2619
Email: jmiller@ext.msstate.edu

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Dr. David J. Moorhead

 (22:54)

Practical Ideas on How to Kill Weeds and Brush in Your Timber Stand

David Moorhead is a professor of silviculture and extension forester with the Warnell School of Forest Resources at the University of Georgia. He will talk about woody plant control by referring to some highlights from the Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet: Controlling Undesirable Trees, Shrubs, and Vines in Your Woodland. He points out that, "timber stand improvement (TSI) treatments are used in developing stands to regulate stocking, growth and quality. One of the most common treatments is the removal or deadening of undesirable vines, shrubs, and other trees in the stand. Cutting, girdling, and frilling along with the application of herbicide can be effective TSI treatments.

Selected Timber Stand Improvement Techniques (From Randall B. Heiligmann)

Frilling & Girdling Methods of killing standing trees that may be done with or without an herbicide.
Injection Involves introducing an herbicide into the undesirable tree through spaced cuts made around the trunk of the tree with an ax, hatchet, or tree injector.
Basal bark spraying Method where the lower or basal 12 to 18 inches of the trunk portion of small diameter stems can be treated with herbicides and penetrates the bark to kill the tree and basal buds that might sprout.
Cut stump application A common treatment that is used to prevent sprouting when a stem is cut.
*Contact your Extension office for current herbicide use information and always read the entire label before using any herbicide and. The label contains complete instructions for use, along with other valuable information such as personal and environmental safety considerations and procedures. The labels also list information about the effectiveness of the herbicide in controlling different species of trees, shrubs, and vines.

Phone: (229) 386-3298
Email: moorhead@uga.edu 

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Tony Hernandez

 (25:52)

Alabama Tree Planting Contractor Not in the News

Tony Hernandez is owner of Forestree Network Services, located in Roanoke, Alabama. We thought it might be good to introduce you to an Alabama-based forestry services contractor this month, because of the attention being given tree planting contractors in Georgia, Louisiana and Arkansas. A law suit focused on the forest industry and labor rules could cause problems for you next winter if you plan to plant trees. Tony Hernandez is NOT named in, nor associated with, the above lawsuit. In fact, Hernandez was recommended to AFOA as someone who does a good job. He will tell us about his tree planting business and some of the other services he provides, including pine straw raking and bailing.

Phone: (334) 863-8524

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