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CAPITAL IDEAS -- LIVE!

JULY 2009 News Conference for Forest Owners
Sponsored by the Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
This Conference was recorded on JULY 15, 2009.

CLICK HERE
to Listen to the
Conference.
This conference is in .mp3 format, which is compatible with Windows Media Player and most other media devices.

Hayes D. Brown   Alabama Forest Owners' Association

Hayes D. Brown

starting time: (00:00)
Comment

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.

 

Rep. Chad Fincher

(00:28)
Hear Conference

Comment

Legislative Forestry Study Committee

Chad Fincher was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2006. Representative Fincher is a graduate forester and lives in Semmes, Alabama. He is the Chairman of the newly reactivated Legislative Forestry Study Committee. The Forestry Study Committee was established in 1979 and is composed of 15 members. The duty of the committee is to make a complete study and needs assessment of all facets of the Alabama forestry program, including but not limited to:

  1. Problems related to forest fires, their occurrences, causes, acreage burned, damages and whether legally or illegally set
  2. Fire prevention and control in the state forests, the adequacy of prevention, detection, reporting, suppression and law enforcement measures
  3. Resource management practices and industrial development related to the forestry program
  4. The effects and impact of both state and federal environmental legislation and regulations on forestry practices and landowner prerogatives and options.

The meetings of the Legislative Forestry Study Committee are open to the public and will be listed in AFOA's newsletter and website Calendar of Events. AFOA attended the July 9, 2009 meeting and found it to be very interesting and informative.

Phone: (251) 649-2372
Email:
chad.fincher@alhouse.gov

.

Frank M. Stewart, III

(04:20)
Hear Conference

Comment

Critical Definition of Renewable Forest Biomass

Frank Stewart is the contract lobbyist for the Forest Landowners Association in Washington, DC. In that role Frank has spent a great deal of time during the past several years trying to improve the definition of "renewable forest biomass" that gets inserted into laws such as the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and the 2008 Farm Bills and the recently passed American Clean Energy and Security Act. In a world turned upside down by fears of CO2-caused global warming, it is important that laws designed to reduce global warming by reducing CO2 in the atmosphere not exclude the products from our forestland from the benefits of those laws. Unfortunately there are individuals and groups who would like to exclude the use of woody biomass as a source of renewable fuels. They, too, lobby in the halls of Congress and they have been very good at excluding forest products as acceptable renewable fuels.

Good Definition -- The definition used in the 2008 Farm Bill, "...other plants and trees..." with modifying provisions that:

  • Includes renewable forest biomass from all forest types and ownerships
  • Relies on forest practices established at the state and local level, rather than creating new federal mandates, land use zoning or overly complex definitions
  • Defines sustainable practices using existing tools, such as state water quality Best Management Practices, with proven effectiveness
  • Protects wildlife, water, soils and unique places through established and trusted public processes that rely on state and local knowledge and expertise
  • Allows for forest-health related harvests from National Forests and BLM lands
  • Studies the impact of the RES on forest resources at the landscape level and takes corrective measures if and when they are needed.

Phone: (703) 549-0347
Email:
fms@washington-resource.com

.

Dr. H. Ken Cordell

(08:01)
Hear Conference

Comment

National Kids Survey

Ken Cordell was a guest on Capital Ideas - Live! last fall when he told us about (mostly adult) "trends in nature-based outdoor recreation." About four years ago, Richard Louv was a guest on Capital Ideas - Live! to tell us about his book Last Child in the Woods, and his concept of "nature deficit disorder." You have heard and may have personal experience that indicates kids don't go outside any more -- they don't come in contact with forests and wildlife. But, how much do we really know about whether or not kids spend time outdoors? Ken's research involves surveying kids across the country to find out whether they spend time in the outdoors and what they do when outdoors.

Read the Nationals Kids Survey Reports and then you decide:

Other related reading:

Phone: (706) 559-4263
Email:
kcordell@fs.fed.us

.

John R. Weir

(11:47)
Hear Conference

Comment

Prescribed Fire Associations

John Weir is a Research Associate on the Faculty of the Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department at Oklahoma State University. He has conducted over 750 prescribed burns and is the author of Conducted Prescribed Fires: A Comprehensive Manual, a book to be released by Texas A&M University Press in October. Today we asked John to tell us about Prescribed Fire Associations -- a group of landowners that form a partnership to conduct prescribed burns. In Prescribed Fire Associations, he describes starting an association and gives guidelines for keeping the association going. He also lists several functioning Oklahoma associations that might provide advice for local Alabama county groups that want to start an association.

Suggested Reading:

Phone: (405) 743-4714
Email:
john.weir@okstate.edu

.

Dr. John S. Kush

(14:27)
Hear Conference

Comment

Escambia Experimental Forest

John Kush is a Research Fellow for the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and serves as Director of the Longleaf Pine Stand Dynamics Laboratory. Several AFOA members told us about a wonderful tour of the Escambia earlier this year, suggesting that we might tour the Forest during our 2010 Annual Meeting. Tentative plans are being made. To get you ready for 2010 and whet your appetite: "With the longleaf pine resource declining, the U.S. Forest Service established the Escambia Experimental Forest (EEF) in 1947 with the hope that Forest Service scientists could find ways to provide for longleaf's restoration, with special emphasis on its regeneration. The EEF is a 3,000 acre tract near Brewton, AL on private land owned by T. R. Miller Mill Company. The company, interested in the higher prices longleaf timber commanded, leased the property to the Forest Service for 99 years." John is co-producer of a 13-minute video entitled Sixty Years on the "Farm 40" that outlines the history of research on the Escambia Experimental Forest. He  has also offered to help us with our 2010 visit to the Forest. John suggests a visit to the website of the Center for Longleaf Pine Ecosystems which has a link to most of his publications, "many of which came from research done on the Escambia."

Phone: (334) 844-1065
Email:
kushjoh@auburn.edu

.

Crystal Lupo

(17:41)
Hear Conference

Comment

Survey of Portable Sawmill Owners

Crystal Lupo is a Graduate Student at Auburn University working on a project designed to create local markets for local resources. Last fall she conducted a web-based survey of portable sawmill owners to learn how the small mills are being used by forest owners to utilize timber on small timber tracts that may not be big enough for modern "commercial" harvests. She is now working on a more in depth, mailed survey and when that is finished, she will do in-depth interviews with a small group of mill owners. If you own a portable sawmill and would like to help Crystal with her research work, give her a call or send her an email. We look forward to bringing you the final results of her studies in a year or two.

Crystal will be presenting results of the portable sawmill survey at two conferences this summer:

Phone: (334) 844-8038
Email:
cvl0001@auburn.edu

.

Terry Reece Love

(20:19)
Hear Conference

Comment

Earning Additional Income

Terry Love spoke to us several years ago, urging us to develop a "Sound Hunting Lease," and we thought it was time to ask him back to talk about the current benefits of leasing hunting access to your land, including income aspects. Terry is vice president (and webmaster) of Forestry Consultants, Inc., based in Opelika, Alabama, and helps many landowners with their hunting leases. He frequently uses AFOA's Hunting Land for Lease webpage to help him find hunters interested in leasing his clients' land.

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

.

Dr. Curtis Seltzer

(24:12)
Hear Conference

Comment

Buying and Selling Forestland

Curtis Seltzer is a Virginia-based land consultant, author, and writer. Someone sent us a link to a recent landthink column by Seltzer entitled, Investing in timberland: Good move if it's priced right, and we thought AFOA members would benefit from reading the article and hearing Curtis expound on buying land. He has also written a book that may be of interest: How To Be a Dirt-Smart Buyer of Country Property. And finally, be sure to regularly check AFOA's Forestland For Sale webpage. Every now and then you will find really good buys.
 

Phone: (540) 474-3297
Email:
curtisseltzer@htcnet.org

.

 

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