National Woodland Owners Association

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:13:00 +0000

Understanding the Big Picture:

The latest State & Private Forestry Annual Report from the National Association of State Foresters is now available for PDF download.

Click Here.

FSA Releases Proposed Rules for BIOMASS CROP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (BCAP)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:34:00 +0000

You can review the Administration's interpretation of this popular 2008 Farm Bill program by clicking here, or pointing your browser to www.fsa.usda.gov. Look for NWOA's comments on this proposal online and in National Woodlands magazine.

Two great online resources for timber taxes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:53:00 +0000

As you get ready to close out 2009, some excellent internet repositories exist that can help you get a handle on the nuances of your ownership structure, the federal tax code as it relates to family woodland ownership, and critical updates about changes in tax law.

THE NATIONAL TIMBER TAX WEBSITE: www.timbertax.org

THE SIEGEL TIMBER TAX CHRONICLES: www.timbertax.net

WWW.WOODLANDOWNERS.ORG is now even easier to use!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:40:00 +0000

We've updated our homepage with a new clickable map. NWOA's regions are easily identifiable- and you can easily click on your state of interest to visit our state affiliate websites and a wealth of online resources.

Have feedback for us about the site? Please contact us at 703.255.2700 or by clicking here.

Happy Veterans Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:18:00 +0000

NWOA is proud of the men and women who have served our nation by donning the uniform of Sailor, Soldier, Airman, or Marine.

Thanks for your service!

Cooperative Extension Reorganized and Rebadged as The National Institute of Food & Agriculture

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:17:00 +0000

The USDA's newest agency is an old one with a new name -- Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is now the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

You can browse the new organization's website here.

While the implications for extension forestry and research are unclear at this early date, more details about programs, staffing, funding and mission should emerge over the winter and in early 2010. Stay tuned.

Family Forest Legacies: Securing the Future of Your Woods

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:50:00 +0000

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF GUIDE, a project of the US Forest Service Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry.

Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 2009 Tax Year

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:12:00 +0000

Brought to you by the Cooperative Forestry unit of the US Forest Service, click the link below to download the PDF:

http://www.timbertax.org/developments/TaxTip09-Final.pdf

It's getting close to tax time - establish your BASIS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Download a preview of this excellent resource here:

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/em/em8941.pdf

Order a copy here (Enter 'EM 8941' in the pub search box):

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:37:00 +0000

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY VILSACK ANNOUNCES $71.7 MILLION IN LOAN ASSISTANCE TO HELP RURAL BUSINESSES

Guaranteed Loans Provided Through Recovery Act Funds Will Help Strengthen Rural Communities Throughout America

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $71.7 million in loan guarantees to assist 20 rural businesses in funding made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding announced today is being made available through USDA Rural Development's Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program. Altogether, $1.7 billion is available to businesses across the country through Recovery Act Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program funding. "The Recovery Act funds announced today will help businesses get access to the capital they need to launch and expand their businesses and help bring additional jobs to America's small cities and towns," Vilsack said. "President Obama and I are committed to building strong rural communities by helping businesses grow so we can put people back to work." For example, in Georgetown, S.C., USDA Rural Development is guaranteeing a $3 million loan to enable a local gate and mounting-system company to restructure debt and purchase new machinery and equipment. In Franklin County, Ohio, a farmer owned cooperative with local headquarters was selected to receive a $7.5 million loan guarantee. The loan will help provide business services to more than 50,000 livestock farmers in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. The Business and Industry loan will help the cooperative continue to maintain health insurance to its nearly 500 employees, many of whom live in counties with unemployment rates 125 percent greater than the national average and counties that have been affected recently by natural disasters. Eligible Business and Industry Loan Program applicants include private businesses, cooperative organizations, corporations, partnerships, non-profit groups, federally recognized Indian tribes, public bodies and individuals. The funds will be targeted to creating and retaining quality jobs and serving difficult-to-reach populations and areas hardest hit by the current economic downturn. Learn more about the program by visiting www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/busp/b&i_gar.htm. Many businesses and rural residents have benefited from loans guaranteed by USDA Rural Development. For example, in 2004 a $7.3 million USDA loan guarantee to expand Poplar Bluff Industries' Nordyne plant in Poplar Bluff, Mo., created 400 jobs and saved another 400. The plant makes HVAC equipment. More information about USDA's Recovery Act efforts is available at www.usda.gov/recovery. More information about the Federal government's efforts on the Recovery Act is available atwww.recovery.gov. Below is a list of lenders that will be assisting rural businesses. Funding is contingent upon borrowers meeting conditions in the loan agreement. Connecticut: Rockville Bank, South Windsor, $650,600 loan Illinois: People's Bank & Trust, Pana, $1,590,000 loan Centrue Bank, Streator, $1,600,000 loan Iowa: Bank Iowa, Clarinda, $2,000,000 loan Bank Iowa, Clarinda, $2,400,000 loan Kansas: Fall River State Bank, Fall River, $700,000 loan Kentucky: Citizens Commerce National Bank, Nicholasville, $5,000,000 loan Louisiana: MC Bank and Trust, Morgan City, $2,200,000 loan Maine: Northeast Bank, Lewiston, $1,750,000 loan Bangor Savings Bank, Portland, $1,452,000 loan Minnesota: RidgeStone Bank, Brookfield, WI, $5,000,000 Nebraska: Union Bank and Trust, Lincoln, $7,000,000 loan Cornerstone Bank, Stromsburg, $290,000 loan Ohio: National City Bank/PNC, Columbus, $7,500,000 loan The Park National Bank, Columbus, $6,129,700 loan South Carolina: Carolina First, Greenville, $3,000,000 loan Wisconsin: Heartland Business Bank, De Pere, $7,500,000 loan RidgeStone Bank, Brookfield, $2,960,000 loan RidgeStone Bank, Brookfield, $6,612,000 loan RidgeStone Bank, Brookfield, $6,320,000 loan USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development fosters growth in homeownership, finances business development, and supports the creation of critical community and technology infrastructure. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development's web site at www.rurdev.usda.gov.

BREAKTHROUGH ON JAPANESE STILTGRASS?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:25:00 +0000

DISEASE OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN KILLING JAPANESE STILTGRASS

(09/15/2009) - originally appeared in THE HUR HERALD (WV)

Article and photos
By Russ Richardson

During the past fifteen years the introduced weed Japanese Stiltgrass has spread across the region to become one of the most serious problems impacting the long term health and productivity of our native woodland.

Late this summer, a still unidentified Stiltgrass disease has become more widespread and it was recently confirmed by researchers at Indiana University.

So far, the disease has been confirmed in Calhoun, Roane and Lincoln Counties, West Virginia.

Stiltgrass grows very thickly and produces a heavy thatch when it dies in the fall. It is extremely flammable and very slow to rot.

It is a very coarse grass that is not very palatable, not sought after or eaten by deer, cows, horses, sheep or goats.

Healthy Stiltgrass can easily grow to be between
4 and 6 feet tall producing a ground cover so thick
that native trees and forest plants are choked out.

Almost any local timberland that has been logged
since the ice storm of 2003 is now infested.

Because of the rapid growth and spread of stiltgrass and the combination of environmental problems that follow an invasion, it has become one of the most studied weeds in the country.

There is increasing evidence that Stiltgrass plants may change forest soils in ways that benefit stiltgrass survival.

It is now viewed as a very serious threat to the long term health and productivity of our natural hardwood forest.

Studying a fertile site in a typical Roane County woodlot,
harvested in 1999, revealed after ten growing seasons, there
are no young trees and the stiltgrass came in so thickly, even
raspberries weren’t able to compete. The only small trees are paw-
paw stump sprouts. If or when commercially valuable native trees
will ever be able to naturally seed in or return is unknown.

Japanese stiltgrass control is very difficult, producing heavy amounts of seed with rapid spreading.

During the summer of 2008 scattered stiltgrass patches in the area
started showing signs of a disease that was weakening the plants.

Late in the summer of 2009, the still unidentified stiltgrass disease has become more widespread and it was recently confirmed by researchers at Indiana University as sickening plants in Indiana and the WV Department of Agriculture has found the disease in Lincoln County. The yellow vegetation in the middle of the photo is a patch of dying stiltgrass. Nearly all the stiltgrass on a few acres of this property is sick, diseased or dying.
Dead and dying stiltgrass in Roane County woodland. A few weeks ago the logs on the ground were completely obscured by tall, healthy stiltgrass.
The Calhoun County white oak stump in the middle of this
photo was overtopped by stiltgrass in early August. By the
end of the month, as the stiltgrass disease progressed, the
plants had withered and died back, completely revealing the stump.

The stiltgrass disease has an unknown origin and it is yet to be found whether it is related to any known illness or disease in our native plants.

Samples of diseased plants have been sent to both WVU and Indiana University and researchers are working to identify the disease. Because so little is known about the disease and its origin and whether it is a virus, fungus or bacteria, or whether it has the potential to become valuable as a tool in Stiltgrass control.

However, the discovery and confirmation of something killing Japanese Stiltgrass has excited botanists, conservationists and ecological researchers across the country.

If local property owners have noticed stiltgrass plants dying they are encouraged to call the WV Department of Agriculture in Charleston at 304-558-2212 to report the mortality.

2009 FARMABLE WETLANDS PROGRAM UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Farmable Wetlands Program

Overview

The Farmable Wetlands Program (FWP) is a voluntary program to restore up to one million acres of farmable wetlands and associated buffers by improving the land's hydrology and vegetation. Eligible producers in all states can enroll eligible land in the FWP through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

Producers plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion and enhance wildlife habitat on land enrolled in CRP. In return, FSA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 years. FWP is designed to prevent degradation of wetland areas, increase sediment trapping efficiencies, improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and provide habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.

Eligible Land

To be eligible, land must meet one of the following:

Includes farmed and prior converted wetlands that have been impacted by farming activities. Must be cropland planted to an agricultural commodity three of the 10 most recent crop years and be physically and legally capable of being planted in a normal manner to an agricultural commodity;

Include a constructed wetland developed to receive flow for a row-crop agriculture drainage system for the purpose of providing nitrogen removal and other wetland functions;

Devoted to commercial pond-raised aquaculture in any year during 2002-2007; and

Cropland that, after Jan. 1, 1990, and before Dec. 31, 2002, was cropped during at least three of 10 crop years, and was subject to the natural overflow of a prairie wetland.

Acreage must also meet the following FWP eligibility requirements:

Enrolled land cannot exceed:

40 acres for wetlands or constructed wetlands

20 acres for intermittently flooded prairie wetlands

40 acres per tract for eligible wetlands and buffers; and

Participants must agree to restore the hydrology of the wetlands to establish vegetative cover, which may include emerging vegetation in water, bottomland hardwoods, cypress and other appropriate tree species; and to the general prohibition of using the enrolled land for commercial purposes.

Conservation Practices

The conservation practices authorized under FWP are:

CP27 - Farmable Wetlands Wetland;

CP28 - Farmable Wetlands Buffer;

CP39 - Farmable Wetlands Constructed Wetland

CP40 - Farmable Wetlands Aquaculture Wetland Restoration

CP41 - Farmable Wetlands Flooded Prairie Wetland

Contract Duration and Effective Date

FWP contracts are in effect for 10 to 15 years, in exchange for annual rental payments, incentive payments, and cost-share for installing necessary practices. The effective date of the contract is the first day of the month following the month of approval.

Payments

Eligible producers may receive the following types of payments:

Annual rental payments for a 10- to 15-year period. The rental rate is based on the weighted average dryland cash rent.

For aquaculture, if there is no soil survey data, annual rental payments are based on the country average CRP rental rate.

Upfront CRP signing incentive payment of $100 per acre. (This one-time payment is made after the contract is approved and all payment eligibility criteria are met.)

Practice incentive payment equal to 40 percent of the eligible costs of installing the practice. This one-time payment is made after the practice is installed, eligible costs are verified, and other payment eligibility criteria are met.

Incentive amount equal to 20 percent of the weighted average dryland cash rent.

Up to 50 percent cost-share for establishing permanent cover.

Cooperating Agencies

The FWP is administered by USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) with assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; Forest Service; State Foresters; other state agencies; and local soil and water conservation districts.

More Information

For more information on FWP, other conservation programs, and to sign up, please visit your local FSA county office orhttp://www.fsa.usda.gov.

USDA's Farm Service Agency Accepting Applications for New Biomass Crop Assistance Program

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:27:00 +0000

EAST LANSING, Michigan September 8, 2009 - USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Christine White announced that biomass conversion facilities can begin signing up to participated in the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which will help increase the production of renewable energy. The program, authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill, provides financial assistance to producers who deliver eligible material to approve biomass conversion facilities. FSA will provide financial assistance to collect, harvest, store and transport eligible materials.

"This program will benefit producers, the developing biomass industry, the general public and the environment as we continue working to expand production and availability of renewable energy," said White. "Owners of eligible material can receive financial assistance for delivering qualified biomass to approved conversion facilities that use biomass for heat, power, bio-based products or advanced biofuels."

Once an agreement is signed between FSA and a facility, and funding through the program is provided, the facilities can begin accepting eligible materials. Producers who sell these materials can apply for matching payments under the collection, harvest, storage and transportation (CHST) component of BCAP.

The matching CHST payments are paid at a rate of $1 for $1 per dry-ton equivalent received from a qualified biomass conversion facility, not to exceed $45 per dry-ton equivalent. A biomass owner is eligible to receive payments for two years. The purpose of the matching payments is to assist biomass producers with the CHST cost of delivering biomass to a qualified biomass conversion facility.

For example, if a qualified biomass conversion facility pays a producer $30 per dry ton for biomass, the material owner or producer would be eligible for a matching payment of $30 per dry ton from FSA. This payment will help offset the costs of CHST.

Biomass conversion facilities may become "qualified" by submitting a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to the FSA state offices. The MOA generally provides the requirements for becoming a qualified biomass conversion facility. Once a facility becomes qualified, eligible material owners or producers who deliver biomass to that facility may be eligible to receive CHST payments.

An application must be submitted before the eligible material is sold and delivered to a qualified biomass conversion facility. After the product is delivered, a producer must provide FSA with documentation of product quantity, quality and payment rate. County offices will validate payment requests with information in the county office and information provided under the terms of MOAs with the qualified biomass conversion facilities. CHST payments will not be authorized until after an appropriate environmental analysis has been conducted.

Biomass conversion facilities and material owners should contact their FSA local offices or visit www.fsa.usda.gov for more information.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:48:00 +0000

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY VILSACK ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTION AND VISION FOR AMERICA'S FORESTS

SEATTLE, August 14, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today outlined his vision for the future of our nation's forests. In his first major speech regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, Vilsack set forth a new direction for conservation, management, and restoration of these natural treasures.

"Our nation's forestlands, both public and private, are environmental and economic assets that are in critical need of restoration and conservation," said Vilsack. "By using a collaborative management approach with a heavy focus on restoring these natural resources, we can make our forests more resilient to climate change, protect water resources, and improve forest health while creating jobs and opportunities."

Climate change, catastrophic fires, disease and pests have all led to declining forest health in recent decades. The resulting impact on watersheds, the climate, local economies, wildlife, and recreation, has led the USDA to offer a new vision for our nation's forests. By taking forest management in a new direction, the Department will emphasize the role our national forestlands play in contributing to the health and prosperity of the country and reverse the trend of declining forest health.

"Declining forest health and the effects of our changing climate have resulted in an increasing number of catastrophic wildfires and insect outbreaks," said Vilsack. "It is time for a change in the way we view and manage America's forestlands with an eye towards the future. This will require a new approach that engages the American people and stakeholders in conserving and restoring both our National Forests and our privately-owned forests. It is essential that we reconnect Americans across the nation with the natural resources and landscapes that sustain us."

In addition, the new approach to managing our forests aims to secure the nation's water supply. Watersheds with a large proportion of forest cover are more likely to be associated with good water quality, with forests protecting soil, moderating streamflow, supporting healthy aquatic systems, and sustaining good water quality.

President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is one component of this new direction that USDA has already begun to implement. Through the Recovery Act, the Obama Administration is funding 512 projects that will create jobs restoring our nation's private, state and national forests through hazardous fuel reduction, forest health protection, rehabilitation, and hazard mitigation activities. Nearly 170 of these projects will help maintain our forests to reduce the potential for fires. Meanwhile, thirty of these projects, funded at $57 million, will promote the development of biofuels from woody biomass to help private sector businesses establish renewable energy infrastructure, create green jobs and build a new, green economy for the 21st century.

The U.S. Forest Service manages national forests and grasslands encompassing 193 million acres of land, which is an area equivalent to the size of Texas. With over 80% of the forest area in the United States outside of the National Forest System, the new vision seeks to increase public-private cooperation regarding the conservation and restoration practices to non-federal forests - state, tribal and private forest lands. The Administration's plan calls for the U.S. Forest Service to play a leading role in the development of new markets to sustain the economic viability of forest stewardship and provide landowners with economic incentives to maintain and restore forests.

National forestlands produce economic benefits from a diverse range of sources including recreation and more than 200 hydroelectric plants operated in national forest watersheds. With more than 192 million visitors to National Forests in 2008, local communities throughout the country benefit economically from those who recreate on and near forestlands and high-quality water bodies protected by forested watersheds.

A healthy and prosperous America relies on the health of our nation's forests:

Nearly 87% of all of the country's fresh water supply originates from forests and agricultural lands and more than 200 million people rely on their drinking water from public and private forests and grasslands;
53% of the Nation's total water supply originates from public and private forest lands;
More than 900 cities rely on national forest watersheds;
3,400 public water systems serving 66 million people in 33 states are supplied by watersheds with Forest Service land;
Public and private forests in the 20 Northeastern and Midwestern States help to protect more the 1,600 drinking water supplies supplying more than 4 trillion gallons per day to households of more than 52 million Americans;
80% of the forest area in the United States is outside of the National Forest System;
The estimated annual value of water from national forests for in-stream uses is at least $3.7 billion.

-USDA News Release, August 14th, 2009

‘American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’ Approved Forestry Projects on State & Private Lands, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Alabama

Regional Longleaf Pine Restoration Initiative and Fuels Management

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 8,975,000 for Wildland Fire Management

States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Alabama State Cogongrass Task Force’s War on Cogongrass

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 6,281,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Alaska

Kenai Borough Spruce Bark Beetle Mitigation

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,795,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Borough: Kenai Peninsula Borough

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Matanuska-Susitna Community Wildfire Protection Plan Wildfire Mitigation

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,436,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Borough: Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Anchorage Hazardous Wildland Urban Interface Fuels Treatment

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 538,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Governmental Unit: Anchorage Municipality

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Chugach State Parks Hazard Fuels

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 179,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Governmental Unit/Borough: Anchorage Municipality and Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Alaska Weed Management

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,140,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Boroughs/Areas: Aleutians East Borough, Bristol Bay Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Kodiak Island Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Valdez-Cordova Census Area and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Arizona

Groom Creek/Crown King Fire District

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 179,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Yavapai

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

ShowLow FD

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 112,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Navajo

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Government Canyon - Lynx Creek State Land and City of Prescott Communication Sites

Date of announcement May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 449,000 for Wild

County: Yavapai

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

White Mountain Apache Tribe Hazardous Fuels Reduction

Date of announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 4,487,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Apache

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

White Mountain Apache Tribe Nursery Development for Post-Fire Rehabilitaion

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 2,243,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Apache

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

California

Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit South Lake Tahoe Partners Fuels Project

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $3,589,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: El Dorado and Placer

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

San Bernardino and Riverside County Partners Fuels Project

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 8,973,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Riverside and San Bernardino

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Region-wide Fuels Reduction and Urban Tree Planting Projects

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 6,012,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Tulare and Yolo

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Invasive Plant Distressed County

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 332,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Humboldt and Los Angeles

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Invasive Plant Region-wide

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 7,179,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Colorado

Community Wildfire Protection Plan Implementation

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 4,487,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: El Paso

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

High Priority Forest Restoration and Fuels Mitigation

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 6,281,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Gilpin

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Delaware

Delaware Hazardous Fuels Reduction/Ecosystem Improvement

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $449,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Kent, New Castle, and Sussex

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Florida

Florida Community Fuels Management Program, Phase 2

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 6,281,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Regional Longleaf Pine Restoration Initiative and Fuels Management

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 8,975,000 for Wildland Fire Management

States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Georgia

Dixon Memorial State Forest Wildfire Recover and Habitat Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $377,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Brantley and Ware

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Georgia Stewardship Revisit Prescribe Fire

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $2,243,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Enhanced Fuels Management & Community Wildfire Protection Plans Program

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $3,589,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Charlton, Clinch and Ware

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Regional Longleaf Pine Restoration Initiative and Fuels Management

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $8,975,000 for Wildland Fire Management

States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina

Counties: statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Georgia Forestry Commission Cogongrass Eradication

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $1,795,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Hawaii

Hawaii Fuels

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 897,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai and Maui

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Hawaii/PI Invasive Plants

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 4,486,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Idaho

Managing Noxious Weeds and Invasive Species - Adams

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 2,269,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Adams

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Boise and Payette National Forests - Stewardship/Biomass Projects

Date of Announcement: May 5, 200

Estimated Funding: $ 6,138,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Partners: State and Private Forest Protection, Idaho Department of Lands, BLM

County: Adams

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Idaho Silver Valley – Hazardous Fuels Treatment (partially funded under 10%)

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,817,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Shoshone

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Indiana

Green Infrastructure Jobs in Urban - Industrial Areas

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 292,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Lake and Porter

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Massachusetts

Southeast Massachusetts Hazardous Fuels Mitigation and Ecosystem Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $1,974,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Barnstable, Dukes and Plymouth

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Massachusetts Native Species (Invasive) Ecological Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 538,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Michigan

Invasive Species Control

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 2,692,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Mississippi

Mississippi Hazardous Fuels Reduction Program

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 763,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Eradication of Invasive Species in Mississippi

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,167,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Montana

Lake County Fuels Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 987,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Lake

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Flathead County Fuels Projects

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 506,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Flathead

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Managing Noxious Weeds and Invasive Species – Lincoln County

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 377,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Lincoln

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Wildfire Rehab and Restoration – Powell and Sanders Counties

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 538,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Sanders

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Lincoln County Fuels and Ecosystem Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 808,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Lincoln

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Sanders County Fuels and Restoration and Stewardship Projects

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,064,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Sanders

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Flathead County Stewardship Projects/Energy Conservation Landscaping

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 987,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Flathead

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Montana Hazardous Fuels Reduction/Restoration Forestry Projects

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 3,589,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Sanders

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Nevada

Nevada Urban Forest Revitalization

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 314,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Truckee River Riparian Fuels Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 269,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Arrowcreek and Skinner Fire Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,077,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Rancho Haven/Red Rock Fire Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 449,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Belli Fire Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 538,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Perennial and Tamarisk Removal Pepperweed Control and Fuels Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 763,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Clark

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Washoe County Open Space Fuels Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 249,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Peavine 2006 Fire Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 583,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Carson River Stream Bank and Stabilization

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 628,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Carson City

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Hawken 2007 Fire Restoration

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 718,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Nevada Invasive Fuels Eradication – Washoe and Lyon Counties

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 2,243,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe and Lyon

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

New Mexico

Three Pueblos Forest Hazardous Fuels Reduction/Restoration Project

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 808,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Taos

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Washoe County Open Space Fuels Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 249,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Washoe

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

North Carolina

NC – Hazard Mitigation Program

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $4,666,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: statewide

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Regional Longleaf Pine Restoration Initiative and Fuels Management

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 8,975,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Ohio

Create an Invasive Species Job Corp

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 4,419,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Gallia, Guernsey, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton and Washington

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Oregon

Douglas County Fuels Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,716,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Douglas

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

State Forests Forest Health Improvements

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 2,243,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Douglas, Coos and Linn

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Noxious Weed Abatement

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 135,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Linn

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Linn/Lane County Noxious Weed Treatment

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 135,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Linn

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Woody Biomass Removal for Energy Production

Date of Announcement: June 11, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 800,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Douglas

The projects funded collect and bundle woody biomass from private forest lands. Biomass will be used at a local power plant to generate energy.

Douglas County Small Woodlands Biomass

Date of Announcement: June 11, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 500,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Douglas

This project was developed by the Oregon Department of Forestry to work with small woodland owners to reduce hazardous fuels on their lands and pool this available biomass for use in two co-generation facilities in Douglas County. The concept is to improve the economics of the work by increasing the economy of scale across multiple small forest land owners.

Puerto Rico

Prescribed Fire Project on Puerto Rican State and Private Forestry Lands

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 2,064,000 for Wildland Fire Management

County: Across Puerto Rico

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Puerto Rico Hurricane and Hazardous Fuel Mitigation

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 1,167,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: across Puerto Rico

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states.

Rhode Island

Invasive Vegetation Survey and Eradication

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 673,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Bristol, Kent, Newport, Providence and Washington

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

South Carolina

Regional Longleaf Pine Restoration Initiative and Fuels Management

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 8,975,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, NC, SC

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Control to Protect Watersheds in SC

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 179,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Virgin Islands

St. Croix Hurricane and Hazardous Fuel Mitigation

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 404,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Saint Croix

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Washington

Northport Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 224,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Stevens

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Glenwood Highway Phase 2 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel

Break

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 162,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Klickitat

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Klickitat Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 126,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Klickitat

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Onion Creek Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 157,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Stevens

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Maloney Mtn Fuels Treatment as Part of Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 135,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Columbia

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Chewelah Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 224,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Stevens

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Kettle Falls Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 135,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Stevens

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

The Wedge Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 224,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Stevens

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Burlington Northern Santa Fe buffer Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 54,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Klickitat

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Ford Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 224,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Stevens

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Republic Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Reduction

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 314,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Ferry

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

High Valley Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Break & Firewise

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $67,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Klickitat

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Greenwater Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Firesafe Homes/Shaded Fuel Break

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 90,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Pierce

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

West County Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Break

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 135,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Skamania

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Oklahoma Road Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Break

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 81,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Skamania

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Touche/Robinette Mountain

Community Wildfire Protection Plan Fuel Break and Firewise

Date of Announcement: May 5, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 135,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Columbia

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

Spokane Indian Reservation Forest Health Projects

Date of Announcement: May 13, 2009

Estimated Funding: $ 2,243,000 for Wildland Fire Management

Counties: Stevens

Funds for these programs of work are for projects that will be carried out on State and Private Lands. Specific projects will be selected by the states

For Comparison’s Sake, the Estimated Total of Federal Funds Assigned to National Forest Projects:

$667,046,800.00

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:32:00 +0000

USDA ANNOUNCES FIRST NATIONAL SIGN-UP FOR NEW CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM

Continuous Enrollment for Producers Begins Aug. 10

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2009 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin continuous sign-up for the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) on August 10 with the first signup period cutoff scheduled for September 30. CSP is a voluntary program that encourages agricultural and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation activities and adopt additional ones on their operations.
"This program will help the Nation's agricultural and forestry producers reach greater levels of conservation performance, which will help protect our land and water," Merrigan said. "The conservation benefits derived from maintaining and enhancing natural resources will improve the quality of soil and water, assist in addressing global climate change, and encourage environmentally responsible energy production."
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) authorizes CSP. Congress renamed and revamped the former Conservation Security Program completely to improve its availability and appeal to agricultural and forestry producers. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers CSP. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland—a new land use for the program—and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe.
Eligible applicants may include individual landowners, legal entities, and Indian tribes. The program will be offered to producers in all 50 states, District of Columbia and the Pacific and Caribbean areas through continuous sign-ups. Agricultural and forestry producers must submit applications by Sept. 30 to be considered for funding in the first ranking period. Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment at 12,769,000 acres for each fiscal year nationwide.
To apply for the newly revamped CSP, potential participants will be encouraged to use a self-screening checklist first to determine whether the new program is suitable for them or their operation. It will be available on NRCS Web sites and at NRCS field offices. After self-screening, the producer's current and proposed conservation practices are entered in the conservation measurement tool (CMT). This tool estimates the level of environmental performance to be achieved by a producer implementing and maintaining conservation activity. The conservation performance estimated by the CMT will be used to rank applications. States will determine their own priority resource concerns, one of the criteria that will be used to rank applications. States will establish ranking pools to rank applications with similar resource concerns.
NRCS field staff also will conduct on-site field verifications of applicants' information obtained from the CMT. Once the potential participant has been field verified and approved for funding, he or she must develop a conservation stewardship plan.
For information about CSP, including eligibility requirements, producers can visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp or visit their local NRCS field office.
USDA is finalizing the program's policies and procedures. The CSP interim final rule, published in the Federal Register, is open for public comment through Sept. 28.

NEW REPORTING RULES FOR LUMP-SUM TIMBER SALES NOW INTO EFFECT

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:55:00 +0000

By Guido van der Hoeven, Extension Specialist, Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, NC State University (reprinted with permission).

On May 28, 2009 new rules for reporting of lump-sum timber sales went into effect. TD 9450 approved for release by IRS's Office of Chief Counsel on May 15, 2009 outline the changes to Treasury Regulations § 1.6045-4. This section is now amended to require the use of IRS Form 1099-S (Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions) by purchasers of standing timber in a lump-sum transaction to report the sale or exchange of timber to IRS and to provide the completed form to the seller.

The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 6045(e)(2) now requires the issuance of this informational form to timber sellers due to the amendment of paragraphs (b)(2)(i)(E), (b)(2)(ii), and (c)(2)(i) of the treasury regulation section 1.6045-4 for sales of exchanges of standing timber for lump-sum payments completed after May 28, 2009. The Form 1099-S is to be provided to the seller by January 31 of the year following the sale and to IRS.

Example: Mr and Mrs. Pine own 50 acres of pine timber that is mature and ready for harvest. The Pines hire a consulting forester to cruise and conduct a lump-sum sale by sealed bidding of the 50 acres of timber land. The successful buyer bid $200,000 for the timber. The closing date (timber deed executed and delivered) occurs on June 29, 2009 and a check for $200,000 is delivered to the seller on the same date. The successful buyer must now issue and IRS Form 1099-S to the Pines by January 31, 2010 (see blank example below). In box 1 the date of June 29, 2009 is placed and in Box 2 the amount of $200,000 is found. Relevant details for Filer and Transferor are place in the appropriate boxes. The description of the timber is found in Box 3.

These final regulations do not change the information reporting requirements currently applicable to sales or exchanges of standing timber under pay-as-cut or contingent payment arrangements as found in IRC § 6050N.

Need a Hard Copy of the 2009 Estate Planning Guide?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:31:00 +0000

NWOA recently received a limited quantity of the latest version of 'ESTATE PLANNING FOR FOREST LANDOWNERS: WHAT WILL BECOME OF YOUR TIMBERLAND.'

The guides themselves are free, and you only need to cover the cost of postage, currently priced as $4.95 for a Priority Mail Envelope on postcalc.usps.gov. You can mail us a check, or contact us by email (info@woodlandowners.org) or phone (703.255.2700).

Fresh Off the Presses: UPDATED Estate Planning Guide for Woodland Owners

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:59:00 +0000

ESTATE PLANNING FOR FOREST LANDOWNERS:
What Will Become of Your Timberland?

Newly Released Estate Tax Planning Guide

The USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station and its collaborators recently released the estate tax planning guide titled “Estate Tax Planning: What Will Become of Your Timberland?” This is the updated version of one of the most widely used tax publications for private family forest owners. The electronic version is available free at: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/gtr/gtr_srs112.pdf.

The publication contains 180 pages of practical estate planning techniques and estate tax laws and rules with many examples and applications specifically for woodland property. It is written to assist woodland owners and their advisors—attorneys, consulting foresters, tax preparers, financial planners, as well as state agency foresters and cooperative extension agents.

For more information contact Linda Wang at lwang@fs.fed.us or (404)272-4791, or Neal Bungard at nbungard@fs.fed.us or 603-868-7719, or John Greene jgreene01@fs.fed.us or (504) 589-7130.

Disturbance in the Forest- Woodland Owners in Arkansas Share Stories of Tough Times and Natural Disasters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:35:00 +0000

(courtesy of our friends and affiliates at the Ozark Woodland Owners Association,
found online @ www.ozarkforestry.org)

Hell Hath No Fury…..Like Mother Nature
by Thomas E. Bryant, OWOA Past President

Like many of you I am sickened by the damage inflicted on our forests as a result of the recent ice storm. If I had planted hardwoods instead of pine…..if I had not thinned the pine a couple of years ago….if I had taken out those mature trees last year. The list goes on and on. Hindsight is 20/20 but the fact is we did do those things and we and mother nature will live with them. Mother nature can be cruel sometimes.

I was lucky compared to many. My 70 acres of 7 year old pines were high on the mountain but I only lost about 10-15% of them. My planted oaks did ok as they were in the low lands and most of the rest of my trees suffered broken limbs with minor crown damage. I’m thankful but my heart is heavy for my friends who saw wholesale destruction of parts of their forests. Entire crowns of many mature oak trees have been totally destroyed. It will be several months before an accurate assessment is made by the Arkansas Forestry Commission and we know the full extent of the damage statewide but it is in the millions of dollars.

Now is not the time to panic because with timber prices down there may be little we can do to salvage some of the downed trees but you should try. The greatest danger is probably from bugs that may get into pine trees that are destroyed and then spread into the remaining viable trees, so keep a watch on the remaining trees. The oaks with damaged crowns and limbs will likely survive. They just won’t flourish and a prolonged dry spell will take its toll on them.

For those of you who were without power and/or heat for extended periods now might be the time to assess alternative heating sources for emergency preparedness including the stockpiling of firewood for next time if you have the option of using wood heat. There will be lots of opportunities for firewood for those willing to cut it as the recovery takes place. I would also strongly recommend the use of a professional forester, now more than ever, because he is trained to be able to make a quick judgment on each tree in our forests as he cruises a stand. Knowing the impact of a destroyed crown on a particular species will determine if that tree should be removed. In the next ten years I expect to see increased removal of these large damaged trees through selected harvests. This can also be an opportunity to remove not only the damaged trees but the inferior ones we left standing last time, such as crooked and forked trees, to give more room for those younger straight and genetically superior ones.

In closing I must reiterate that using a professional forester is an investment in your forests for generations to come. Use the services of professionals who only have your best interests at heart.

Ice Storm of 2009
by Dr. Robert Craig, Private Forest Landowner

Several years ago I read in a little forestry trade journal an article titled “A Forest is a dangerous Place to Store Wood”. Iwish I had kept it to read again and to share with friends, particularly since our disastrous ice storm of January 2009. The article listed the numerous hazards to the health and wellbeing of a stand of forest trees. As I recall the foremost hazards were probably fire and insects but ice was mentioned further down. Certainly this has proven to be true here in North Arkansas.

This recent ice storm has probably brought into question some of our long employed practices. I attempt to grow primarily pine timber. When I plant I always plant improved loblolly which have much longer needles, and those needles accumulate more ice. I am not so sure I wouldn’t plant short leaf in the future. Also we hear a great deal about thinning and that all sounds and looks good until an ice storm of this magnitude comes along. My areas of greatest damage were in thinned stands. My area of least damage was stands of native short leaf that had not been thinned in the last ten years. Whereas I own and manage very little hardwood timber I was amazed at the damage to some of it. Middle aged white oaks completely uprooted. Others had their trunks shredded as though sticks of dynamite had gone off inside them.

My sympathy goes out to all tree farmers and tree lovers that have been hit by this disaster in North Arkansas. We know the land will eventually heal and hopefully we can regain the joy we experience in tree farming. Also we hope that this storm is a one time anomaly and not a trend.

North Central Arkansas Ice Storm
By Larry Morris, Consulting Forester

North Central Arkansas has experienced a devastating ice storm. The damage to the infrastructure has been enormous. I want to focus on the damage to our trees, both in our yards and those trees in the woods. From what I have observed in northern Independence county and southern Sharp County, south of Evening Shade, between 65 and 85 percent of the trees have received some form of damage. When you cross the Strawberry River traveling North or East this percentage jumps to 90-100 percent of the trees receiving damage. From what I have been told this damage rate is to be expected anywhere along a line from Mt. View to Piggott. What needs to be done for these trees? If the damage is in your front yard there will be an influx of "fly by night tree trimmers." An old saying goes, “Anyone can trim a tree, but very few can trim a tree properly.” If you hire a tree trimmer get references and contact those references before agreeing to let the work start. Also ask for a copy of their liability insurance. If they drop a tree on your house you want their insurance to pay.

When deciding what to do, look first for hanging limbs and get those removed so they don’t fall when you are not expecting them to fall. When cutting a hanging limb be sure to make an under cut so that when the limbs starts down it doesn’t pull the bark and cambium with it as it falls creating a large scar. If possible seal these cuts with pruning paint if you have it if not, a can of spray paint is better than nothing. Next step, look for these trees which are just leaning and not uprooted. If the tree has not pulled from the roots, give it time to straighten up before deciding to cut it down. Many trees will straighten up when it gets warmer. Remember trees take a long time to grow. So don’t make a hasty decision you may regret. Ask your trimmer to not coat rack your trees. This is cutting the tree back to just stubs out from the trunk. The trimmers like to do it this way because it is “quick and dirty." A reputable trimmer will work shaping the tree and leave ample branching with buds to grow back. The important thing is not to get carried away and strip your trees doing more damage than the Ice Storm.

What to do in your woodlots is another story. The damage to the timber is catastrophic, and comes at a time when the market is very depressed. It will be hard to get your timber salvaged. There is a way to collect on a capital loss, but you need to check with your accountant on if you qualify and what you need to claim this loss. You will need to get help from a Registered Forester to make the evaluation. I have observed Pines, Maples, and Hickories were the species receiving the worst damage. I have noticed those pine plantations which have been thinned received the greatest damage. In my own pine plantations I have some areas which I will have to clear cut and replant in order to have an acceptable stand. Other areas I can selectively harvest leaving an acceptable number of trees for future growth. The problem is the ice was not selective and some of the trees I would have preferred to leave are snapped and broken.

The greatest problem we face is, at this time of year as the weather warms up, these damaged trees are in stress and they are “ringing the dinner bell for insects”. When these trees are in stress they become highly susceptible to insect attack. With all the limbs and broken green material on the forest floor the bugs will be feasting and when they come to a healthy tree they just go right on feasting. Hopefully we will have a wet spring minimizing the stress to our trees, and keep this problem to a minimum. Of course this opens those damaged tree to fungus spores. This damage will show up 20 to 30 years down the road. You must keep in mind that these trees with just the tops or large limbs broken, need to be harvested within twenty years. This will allow for diameter growth making the tree merchantable and also allowing for a better market.
One important point to make is that damage claimed must be merchantable damage. A stand may have as many as 90 percent of the trees damaged by tops broken or limbs broken, but if none of this damage is merchantable you have no loss. Yes you will have a period of reduced growth while the tree recovers but the loss experience during this time will be hard to determine, much less defend in an IRS audit. The important thing is get help from a Registered Forester before making decisions regarding you timber stands.

ICE STORM LEAVES MANY PRIVATE FORESTS IN RUIN

On January 26, 2009, the northern third of Arkansas suffered extensive damage from an ice storm that left thousands without power and the landscape in shambles. Community leaders, emergency response personnel and residents have worked tirelessly over the past weeks to clear away tons of debris from splintered and uprooted trees in populated areas. At the same time, private forest landowners throughout the area are faced with the daunting task of determining the steps they need to take to salvage as much timber as possible, remove debris to reduce potential hazards, and restore their devastated stands. Robin Moore owns 450 acres of forest land just north of the Buffalo River near Ponca in Newton County. “Twenty-five to 30 percent sustained major damage, and 90 percent sustained minor damage,” said Moore. “When I say minor, I mean the crowns are clipped off, the trees are bent over with the roots out of the ground.” Moore is a member of the Tree Farm system and participates in the Forest Stewardship program. The property was purchased in 1971, and he began managing the forest in 1983 by planting 90 acres of Loblolly pine. The remaining acreage has been kept as naturally regenerating hardwood stands. Moore compared the damage trees suffered this year as compared to the 2000 ice storms. “I think it was worse in 2000 for pines,” said Moore. “This storm was much harder on the hardwoods. I am amazed at how much damage there is. What appeared to be healthy hickory, white oak, red oak has been snapped off halfway up.” He added that maples seem to have been even more affected by the weight of the ice AFC County Forester Chris Wyatt has visited with Moore to assess the damage, but Moore notes there are few options available to salvage the trees damage. “There are a few shaving mills in the area. The trees that are damaged can be taken there, but it’s hardly worth the effort. However, I would like to see them used rather than letting them rot.”

The Arkansas Forestry Commission (AFC) encourages all landowners to have their forested property evaluated by an AFC County Forester, a consulting forester or an industrial forester. Consulting and industry foresters can provide timber marking services. Marking is a vital tool used to ensure that only trees that must come out due to damage are taken, unless others are also marked to make a timber sale worthwhile. Some forest stands have been entirely destroyed, but many may still have enough healthy trees to allow for regeneration. To find the contact information for AFC county offices, visit: www.arkansasforestry.org/districts/district_map.html or call (501) 296-1940. The AFC has an online directory of consulting foresters at: www.arkansasforestry.org/manage/consultingforesters.html, and has created a page designated to Ice Storm Damage information. The following is a sample of the information affected forest landowners should know:

Are funds available to clean up my stand through FEMA?
At this time there is no funding available through FEMA for forest landowners to remove debris from their property. At this time, the counties of Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay, Craighead, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Mississippi, Newton, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren and Washington have been declared federal disaster areas. More information about FEMA and its programs can be found at www.fema.gov.

Should I have a salvage-cut operation on my stand?
Trees with greater than 50 percent loss of the live crown or with the bole bent or butt deflected greater than approximately 45 degrees from vertical are considered severely damaged and can be cut for salvage. The most severely damaged stands should be salvaged first, and an emphasis should be placed on pine stands because they are more susceptible to pest outbreaks. Care should be taken to ensure that enough good trees per acre are left after a stand is thinned to prevent overcutting. When only a few trees per acre are damaged, it may not be worth the effort to sell them. Landowners or consulting foresters should have at least two to three bids before arranging a timber sale agreement. The agreement should be signed and have Best Management practices outlined. A sample timber sale agreement can be found online at: www.arkansasforestry.org/pdf/bidform2.pdf.

How can I tell if a tree is going to make it or not?
Pine and hardwood trees with partially destroyed crowns will be put under stress for future growth, and during the summer months they will need to have adequate rainfall to ease the stress. Small hardwood or pine trees (under 15 feet in height) usually straighten after severe bending. Taller severely bent trees should be considered for removal during the next scheduled harvest. An evaluation can be made next year to determine the number of living trees. Hardwood trees have a greater tendency to recover from partially destroyed crowns. However, hardwood trees with broken tops or branches over three inches in diameter should be considered for salvage during the next scheduled harvest. For pine, research has shown that loblolly and shortleaf pine trees bent less than 40 degrees from vertical can completely recover within two years. Trees bent 40 to 60 degrees recovered, but demonstrated varying amounts of crook and sweep. Only trees bent more than 60 degrees did not recover enough to make acceptable growing stock. Trees with broken tops but still having four or more living limbs remaining should survive until the next thinning operation. One of the lateral branches will become the terminal, and in eight to 10 years, the only sign will be a sharp crook in the bole at the point where the break occurred. However, these trees will experience growth losses. If three live limbs or less remain, the tree should be harvested as quickly as practical.

How many “good” trees per acre should I have in my stand before I start over?
For pine, stands less than five years old should have approximately 350 trees or more per acre. As pine trees get older, fewer trees per acre are needed. Pine stands five to 15 years old may need only 150 to 200 trees per acre. Older pine stands could produce saw timber if as little as 100 trees per acre remain. Trees should be well-distributed over the property, and should be undamaged enough to grow until final harvest. Holes created by downed or broken trees may need to be replanted. When inter-planting, remember to back away from the standing trees enough so that seedlings won’t be affected by the shade of the remaining trees. For hardwoods, similar numbers of residual good trees per acre are advisable. However, fewer numbers could be adequate depending on the species and soil conditions. A professional forester should evaluate your hardwood stands to determine what is necessary.

Will insects or disease be a problem to the remaining trees in my stand if left to grow?

Insects

Pine stands — Ips beetles are attracted to slash, damaged and downed trees. Drying of material reduces attraction to these beetles. Unsalvaged, downed trees should be cut from the root system to aid rapid drying. Black Turpentine Beetles (BTB) are also attracted to damaged trees and cut stumps. Close monitoring of pine stands should be conducted several times during the summer. These beetles usually attack only a few trees at a time. www.barkbeetles.org/southernbarkbeetles.cfm
(Ips and BTB)

Hardwood stands — Stressed trees are susceptible to a host of borers that are present in the forests at all times. Close monitoring of stands and removal of heavily attacked trees is recommended.
www.barkbeetles.org (Red Oak Borer)
www.forestpests.org (White Oak Borer, Two Lined Chestnut Borer)

Diseases

Pine stands — should have no problems.
Hardwood stands — Red oak trees stressed by crown breakage may be susceptible to hypoxylon canker, a sapwood decay fungus that causes rapid red oak mortality. A more serious, long-term effect of crown breakage is opening trees to various stem and heart rots, which, while not killing trees, reduces their value over time.
www.forestpests.org (Hypoxylon Canker)

More in-depth information on each of the above agents is available by clicking on the Insects and Diseases of Trees in the South link found on each page; and www.forestryimages.org provides pictures of insects, diseases and damage.

AFC County Foresters are available for consultations at any time.

Are seedlings available to replant my stand?
Yes, the AFC nursery has pine and hardwood seedlings for sale. These seedlings are sold “bare-root” and are between eight to 18 inches in length for pine, and eight to 30 inches in length for hardwoods. Tree planting season in Arkansas normally occurs between December 15 and March 31. A list of seedlings available and pricing is available online at www.arkansasforestry.org/seedlingsales_new.htm, or by contacting your local AFC office. Orders for the next planting season should be placed early (anytime after July 1) as certain species sell out quickly.

Will there be money available to help me replant my stand?
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA) or AFC office. Cost-share programs currently available for reforestation are the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Southern Pine Beetle Prevention and Restoration Program (SPBPRP). EQIP is administered through NRCS and provides payments to approved applicants at the rate of approximately 50 percent of total practice costs. Applicants can apply year-round, and applications are ranked annually (usually in the early spring each year.) EQIP can help replant both pine and hardwoods, help with fire lane construction, forest stand improvement and many other practices. SPBPRP is administered by the AFC who receives funding in the spring to disburse to eligible landowners. Payments are reimbursed at the rate of 40 to 75 percent to replant pine only, as well as other management practices on pine stands such as pre-commercial thinning. Applications are available at your local AFC office.

Can I deduct my loss off my taxes?
Contact a tax consultant or accountant that is knowledgeable about timber taxation rules. Forest landowners may be shocked to find out how little can be deducted when timber is destroyed or damaged due to a storm. Deductible loss is the allowable basis (value invested) in the timber minus any insurance or other compensation received. Establishing basis may help you recover reforestation costs in younger plantations destroyed. A consulting forester can help you determine the amount of basis a forest has. If the forest landowner does not have a basis, the reportable loss is zero. If your county has been declared a federal disaster area, forest landowners may elect to apply any casualty loss to the prior year’s tax return. For example,
the loss can be applied to the 2008 tax return, instead of waiting to file the loss on the 2009 return. More information can be found online at: www.arkansasforestry.org/manage/Taxtips.html

Who can I get to determine the volume loss in dollars so I can report it on my taxes?
A consulting forester or other professional forester would need to furnish this information.
Contact: Christina Fowler, (501) 944-2176, christina.fowler@arkansas.gov

The Arkansas Forestry Commission offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability and is an
Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Decision to Cut- A Cautionary Tale From Forest Scientists About Diameter-Based Harvests

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:58:00 +0000

There's a story that goes something like this:

A guy owns a thriving piece of forestland and it's his pride and joy. It's part personal satisfaction, part personal investment, part personal legacy. His forest is ample and stocked with high-quality trees- valuable, beautiful, the whole works- problem is, the owner has decided that he's OK with some level of harvesting on his land, but he's not really sure which trees should stay or go.

He's had lump-sum cash offers from local loggers and timber buyers that sparkle with dollar signs; he's fielded other offers that seem lucrative but a little less clear about how much they'll pay him for his timber. The landowner's intuition tells him that maybe the lump-sum offer is on the low side and he'd have a better opportunity to track his trees and mill receipts if he opts to sign with the gentleman who offered him the mill-tally sale. Money aside for a moment, each offer the landowner considers seems to be based upon a technique called 'select cut' or 'ten inches and up' or some other reference to cutting all trees of a certain diameter or larger. Well, the landowner feels this language sounds reasonable. Doesn't logic say that the largest volume of wood available to go to the mill should result from the harvest of the largest trees? Indeed it does.

Moreover the operator has represented himself as a professional and appears to have a plan to take down the stems quickly, in accordance with the required or recommended standards to protect water quality. Things look great!

The landowner decides to work with the guy who recommended 'ten inches and up' and payment as a percentage of mill receipts. Contract signed. Logs at the landing. Wood trucked to the mill. A sense of pride for having supported the local forest products business. A lot of people in the area work there. And to boot- checks from the logger start to roll in. All is well.

But let's pause for a moment and ask a necessary question- what has the landowner actually done to his woodland? Is it better off? Or worse? Science suggests that if he owns non-plantation forest and uses diameter-limit cutting, like choosing only trees of a certain size or larger to cut, that he may be degrading the value of his woodland over time.

Another analogy to describe this sort of land-management decision: Imagine a table covered in quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. They represent good-quality large, medium, and small trees, respectively, within a property. Diameter-limit cutting is like taking all of the quarters and some of the dimes during the first harvest, leaving only some dimes, nickels and pennies to grow. A number of rejected stems are left behind because they have defects that mills won't pay much for, if anything at all. The best stems are taken. The worst-quality and smaller trees stay put and are reliable indicators of the probable quality of the future forest. If a second diameter-limit harvest occurs on the property, imagine that the remaining dimes and most of the nickels (on our hypothetical table) are removed- leaving the landowner with only pennies.

Landowners can avoid the pitfalls of vague, overly simplistic, or unscientific harvesting techniques by asking questions of their agent, operator, or offeror. Why have you picked this method of harvest? What methods are you using to select trees? What will comprise my future forest? It is useful to ask questions before any sale because it can take generations for forest restoration to blunt the effects of high-grading.

There are many different scientific methods available to landowners interested in managing their lands for occasional or sustained wood production. A professional forester can help woodland owners find the best paths forward which avoid long-term losses in forest value and productivity.

Scientists within and affiliated with the US Forest Service, the largest forest research agency in the world, have conducted multiple studies examining how diameter-limit cutting and other versions of 'high-grading' degrade forests. They've put some of their findings in a brief publication directed at woodland owners; it's recommended reading for anyone who already has or is considering harvesting timber on private land.

Click here to read 'Diameter-Limit Cutting and Silviculture in Northeastern Forests: A Primer for Landowners, Practitioners, and Policymakers'

Obama + Forest Policy = ?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:47:00 +0000

In the latest issue of The Forestry Source, author Steve Wilent tries to suss out how the incoming President and his picks for Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior will affect forest policy, on-the-ground management, and the pressing environmental issues we face...

From the January 2009 issue of The Forestry Source:

Forest Policy under Obama: Practical or Ideological?

Colorado Senator Ken Salazar Nominated for Secretary of the Interior

by Steve Wilent

In the brief interludes between news stories about the nation’s financial troubles and political corruption in Illinois, by mid-December President-Elect Barack Obama had announced more than half of his appointees to senior cabinet- level positions. Freshman senator Ken Salazar, a Colorado Democrat and member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, was nominated for secretary of the interior. Salazar previously served as executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and as chief legal counsel to Governor Roy Romer. Salazar, a staunch Obama supporter during the campaign, has been an outspoken proponent of developing biofuels and other alternative forms of energy. In a June 2008 speech on energy policy, he said the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and the 2008 Farm Bill provide key incentives for biofuels development and production: “Why is this so important? Because cellulosic biofuels have the potential to displace three billion barrels of oil annually, equivalent to 60 percent of our country’s yearly consumption of oil in the transportation sector, without affecting our need for food, feed, or fiber. Three billion barrels of oil a year.” In December, Salazar urged President-Elect Obama to make the nation’s energy infrastructure a priority in the economic stimulus measures Obama has said the new administration will propose. “When Congress reconvenes in January, we must immediately pass a strong economic recovery package that gets our economy back on track in the near-term, while also taking advantage of new opportunities that will drive economic growth down the road,” said Salazar. “Investing in efforts to modernize our energy grid and develop new, clean energy technologies is a great way to accomplish both of these goals. By making these investments, we will create jobs, reduce energy costs for consumers, and lay the foundation for America’s economic future.”

Dave Tenny, president of the National Alliance of Forestland Owners (NAFO), said Salazar would be a good fit with the Interior Department. “NAFO is encouraged by the selection of Senator Salazar. He has already demonstrated his interest in issues that affect forest landowners and has been a leader in the development of renewable fuels and renewable energy. We have every reason to believe that we will be able to work well with him, and we are ready to roll up our sleeves and do just that,” he said. At the time of this writing, the Associated Press reported that Obama has selected former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as secretary of agriculture. Political observers have suggested that, as a whole, some of Obama’s nominees are less ideological than practical, such as Steven Chu, the Nobel Prize–winning physicist and director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, for secretary of energy. As of this writing, no nominees for deputy secretary and other subcabinetand agency-level positions had been named; many of these positions may not be filled until well after President Obama takes office. What do we know about Obama’s and his nominees’ stands on issues related to forestry and natural resources? A handful of foresters who have their eyes on the political scene recently offered
their perspectives.

Jay O’Laughlin, 2008 policy chair for the Inland Empire SAF chapter and professor of forest resources at the University of Idaho’s College of Natural Resources, notes that the Obama transition team has selected several previous Clinton administration officials, such as Carol Browner, former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, who will serve as assistant to the president for energy and climate change, otherwise known as the energy and environment “czarina.” O’Laughlin, who also directs the college’s Policy Analysis Group, suggests that Obama might select James R. Lyons, who served in the Clinton administration as under secretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment, to serve once again in the same capacity. Mark Rey held the position in the Bush administration. Lyons, currently a lecturer and research scholar at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, helped draft the controversial Roadless Area Conservation Rule adopted in the waning days of the Clinton administration in 2001. The so-called Clinton roadless rule was repealed during the Bush administration, but sources within the Obama transition team have indicated that they may support the reinstatement of the rule. “Since the under secretary of agriculture position was created during the Reagan administration, my observation has been that the position has been used as a political football,” said O’Laughlin. “It’s gone from folks who came out of the timber industry to folks who came out of the environmental community, and back again. So if the ball bounces the same way, we can expect someone with an environmental background to take that position. That’s of some concern to us here in Idaho, as it is to every state that has national forests.” O’Laughlin said he is optimistic that the Obama administration will recognize the value of forests in carbon management. “I believe that energy and carbon management have the potential to change the way people view forests and forestry,” he said. “I think they’ll recognize that they don’t need to build a machine to take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They already have one— it’s called a tree.”

A Question of Active Management

Paul Adams, professor of forest engineering at Oregon State University and Oregon SAF policy chair, notes that several Obama appointees are from western states, but wonders about the priorities
of a president with roots in urban Chicago. “From a West Coast perspective, so much hinges on whether or not the Obama appointees are going to have sensitivity or even awareness of western concerns,” Adams said. “However, the appointments so far seem to be more moderate than some people expected. That may carry over into the agriculture appointment.” On the other hand, said Adams, former Clinton administration officials may favor passive, rather than active forest management. “Clinton’s appointees had a major impact [on forest management]— some had little interest in active management of federal forests, as shown by their public statements and agency policies,” he said. “It’s definitely on our radar screen.” Marlin Johnson, recently retired as assistant director of forestry for the Forest Service’s Southwestern Region, is now an independent consultant based in New Mexico. He is a member of the board
of directors of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees. “I haven’t heard anything to indicate that an Obama administration will be that much different in public land management than was the Clinton administration,” said Johnson. “I think they are going to get some fresh faces and take a fresh look, but I’m anticipating that they will move back toward a more ‘leave it alone’ approach or a ‘use prescribed fire only’ approach to maintaining good vegetative conditions in forests. For the last eight years, we’ve had a little bit more opportunity to look at what’s best for the land and society in terms of mechanical treatments or prescribed fire or both. I’m sure there are some environmental groups that will be listened to more closely by the coming administration.”

Bill Imbergamo, forest policy director at the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), also views ties to the Clinton administration as noteworthy. “In terms of the appointments we have seen so far, they have been people who tend to take a regulatory approach [to forest management], and many have a history from the Clinton administration, such as Browner, who will apparently have quite a bit of influence with the White House. We don’t know a lot about Nancy Sutley, who was named to head the CEQ,” Imbergamo said. Sutley, who will lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), currently serves as the deputy mayor for energy and environment for the City of Los Angeles.
She previously served as the deputy secretary for policy and intergovernmental relations within the California Environmental Protection Agency and, in the Clinton administration, served in senior positions within the US Environmental Protection Agency. “It’s certainly our hope that we won’t spend the next four to eight years in a reprise of all of the controversies that have occupied us for the last eight years,” said Imbergamo. “Replaying the golden oldies of controversies isn’t going to get the agencies very far, when there’s actually a fair amount of consensus that the biggest problems facing the agency are fire suppression and how it’s paid for, and taking care of a road system that was largely built with timber dollars but now is carrying recreational traffic. If were going to fight over the last 2.8 billion board feet of the timber sale program, well, that’s not a lot to fight over. There are larger, more expensive problems that the agency is facing, and I think all of the constituencies agree that they need to be fixed.”

Brett Smith, government affairs director at AF&PA, said Browner is likely to play a leading role in setting and implementing natural resources policy. “I think what you’ll see is that the people appointed at Energy and Interior will focus on specific tasks within those agencies, leaving Browner as the public face for the administration—as the organizer and coordinator of its climate and energy policies,”
Smith said. “Rather than leaving those policies to individual departments, the White House will have much more of a public role in these areas than we’ve seen with the current administration or even past administrations.” Imbergamo and Nadine Block, also a forest policy director at AF&PA, said they have met with members of the Obama transition team. “I was struck by the transition team’s openness,” said Imbergamo. “They said repeatedly that they are in listening mode, that they can’t move forward with anything concrete about what they plan to do, and that’s understandable. But they showed a willingness to hear what all stakeholders involved in the process have to say.” Block, who served as chair of SAF’s national Forest Policy Committee in 2008 said that AF&PA has highlighted the role forests can play in climate and energy initiatives, as well as in economic recovery.
“Of course, forestry fits with Obama’s focus on green jobs,” Block said. “There’s a lot that we can do, both in terms of the traditional forestry markets as well as new markets, such as biofuels and bioenergy, that can create jobs and help the economy.” SAF Executive Vice-President Michael Goergen said SAF would send information on a range of topics to key members of Obama administration. “Our nation’s forests not only provide solutions to some of our most pressing environmental concerns, but their sustainable management will also contribute to the creation of green jobs and add wealth to our nation,” he said.

Taxes and More Taxes. And Some Help Dealing With Them...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:32:00 +0000

Need some heavy winter reading? This latest publication from USFS Cooperative Forestry offers landowners and timber purveyors some smart hints on paying the right amount of tax to the IRS. This is a very useful collection of information - download it here.

State Foresters Point Presidential Transition Team Toward Plight of US Forests

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:00:00 +0000

A few days ago, the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) released a white paper on the group's website (www.stateforesters.org) entitled, 'FOUR ACTIONS TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE FORESTS - 2009 Presidential Transition White Paper.'

A laudable effort to focus the attention of the incoming administration of President-Elect Obama on the precarious future of America's forests, NASF's appeal uses candor and good reputation to effectively make the salient point- "We are currently experiencing unsustainable losses of forestlands and the benefits they provide to Americans." While of little surprise to many resource managers and organizations who carefully track loss and change of forests and other natural systems over time, the statement carries significant weight when made by the State Foresters. The big question is - will we see any significant movement on this critical item, or will it be squashed by the economic crisis? The coming months should reveal whether the new administration intends to address the paper's major issues:

Rapid loss of forestlands to development
Insect and disease outbreaks
Impacts of large-scale wildfires
Loss of forest industry and working forestlands

Seeking an integrated federal response to thwart long-lasting effects of these critical problems, the State Foresters offer 'FOUR REQUESTED ACTIONS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION':

FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE FORESTS
TARGETED FEDERAL FUNDING
FIRE SUPPRESSION FUNDING FIX
FOREST ENERGY AND CLIMATE INITIATIVES

Read the NASF White Paper here.

"Managing Your Woodlot" - The Complete Nine Part Series - available FREE on DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:32:00 +0000

Finally re-released on DVD, this classic nine-part series covers the basics

Developed through cooperative efforts of the USDA Forest Service, West Virginia University Extension, and the West Virginia Division of Forestry, the DVD is a series of video tutorials for landowners, teachers and others interested in environmentally responsible woodlot management. Originally produced during the VHS tape era and endorsed by NWOA, this product discusses a range of useful topics:

HOW IT GROWS
BUILDING ROADS
HELPING IT GROW
HARVESTING AND RENEWING IT
SELLING TIMBER
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
BEING A GOOD FOREST STEWARD
WATER IN THE FOREST
THE CHANGING FOREST - ECOLOGY AND SILVICULTURE

NWOA is offering this resource for FREE to interested landowners, educators, and others until the supply is exhausted. NWOA only asks that groups or individuals requesting copies of the DVD pay for the cost of postage.
Interested? Call us at 703.255.2700 or email us - info@woodlandowners.org

USDA ANNOUNCES FIRST NATIONAL SIGN-UP FOR NEW CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM

	Continuous Enrollment for Producers Begins Aug. 10

	WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2009 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin continuous sign-up for the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) on August 10 with the first signup period cutoff scheduled for September 30. CSP is a voluntary program that encourages agricultural and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation activities and adopt additional ones on their operations. "This program will help the Nation's agricultural and forestry producers reach greater levels of conservation performance, which will help protect our land and water," Merrigan said. "The conservation benefits derived from maintaining and enhancing natural resources will improve the quality of soil and water, assist in addressing global climate change, and encourage environmentally responsible energy production." The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) authorizes CSP. Congress renamed and revamped the former Conservation Security Program completely to improve its availability and appeal to agricultural and forestry producers. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers CSP. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland—a new land use for the program—and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. Eligible applicants may include individual landowners, legal entities, and Indian tribes. The program will be offered to producers in all 50 states, District of Columbia and the Pacific and Caribbean areas through continuous sign-ups. Agricultural and forestry producers must submit applications by Sept. 30 to be considered for funding in the first ranking period. Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment at 12,769,000 acres for each fiscal year nationwide. To apply for the newly revamped CSP, potential participants will be encouraged to use a self-screening checklist first to determine whether the new program is suitable for them or their operation. It will be available on NRCS Web sites and at NRCS field offices. After self-screening, the producer's current and proposed conservation practices are entered in the conservation measurement tool (CMT). This tool estimates the level of environmental performance to be achieved by a producer implementing and maintaining conservation activity. The conservation performance estimated by the CMT will be used to rank applications. States will determine their own priority resource concerns, one of the criteria that will be used to rank applications. States will establish ranking pools to rank applications with similar resource concerns. NRCS field staff also will conduct on-site field verifications of applicants' information obtained from the CMT. Once the potential participant has been field verified and approved for funding, he or she must develop a conservation stewardship plan. For information about CSP, including eligibility requirements, producers can visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp or visit their local NRCS field office. USDA is finalizing the program's policies and procedures. The CSP interim final rule, published in the Federal Register, is open for public comment through Sept. 28.

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