March/April1997

The New York

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

Amphibians & NY's Forest EcosystemFostering Our Private Forest Richness

NYFOA's Spring Meeting

THE NEW YORK

FOREST OWNERSASSOCIATION

VOL. 35, NO.2

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Jill Cornell, Acting President703 Johnsonville Rd.Johnsonville, NY 12094; 5181753·4336

Robert M. Sand, Recording Secretary

300 Church Street

Odessa, NY 14869·9703; 607/594·2130

Mary Richardson, Acting Treasurer

150 Chatfield Road

Elbridge, NY 13060; 3151689·6890

Deborah Gill, Administrative SecretaryP.O. Box 180

Fairport, NY 14450; 716/377·6060

1997John T. Hastings, Queensbury; 5181798·0248

Charles Mowatt, Savona; 607/583·7006Norman Richards, Syracuse; 315/472·3696

Elizabeth Wagner, Utica; 3151733·7391

1998Jill Cornell, Johnsonville; 5181753·4336Elizabeth Densmore, Machias; 716/942·6600Robert Sand, Odessa; 607/594-2130

Bob Sykes, Elbridge; 315/673·3691

1999Harry Dieter, Honeoye Falls, 716/533·2085Thomas Ellison, Manlius, 315/682·9376

Richard Fox, Moravia; 315/497·1078David Swanson, Mount Morris, 716/658·4601

AFFILIATE REPRESENTATIVESDick Mark, TIIRIFT; 315/623·9476

Donna RogIer, Catskill ForestAssoc.; 914/586·3054

CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVESDon Huber, Allegheny Foothills; 716/549·5025

Tom Hewitt, Cayuga; 315/497·1266Ronald W. Pedersen, Capital District; 518n85·6061

Tom Graber, Central New York; 315/255·3662Jeff Wiegert, Lower Hudson; 914/831·3109

Don O'Shea, Northern Adirondack, 315/393·5137Rita Hammond, Niagara Frontier; 716/652·2857

James Durller, SE Adirondack; 5181747·5958

Larry Lepak, Southern Tier; 607/656·8504

Don Schaufler, Tioga, 607/589·6095Eileen VanWie, Western Finger Lakes; 716/367·2849

All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced with-out prior written permission from the publisher. NYFOA

does not necessarily support or approve procedures, prod-

ucts, or opinions presented by authors or advertisers.

COVER:VERNAL POOLS -Photo cour-tesy of TerrestrialEnvironmental Special-ists, Inc., 23 County Rte 6, Phoenix, NY13135

2 NY FOREST OWNER

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

Editorial Committee: Betty Densmore, Chair, Alan Knight, Mary McCarty, Jim Minor,Bob Sand, and Eileen VanWie.

!Materials submitted for publication should be addressed to: R,J. Fox, Editor, R.D. 3, Box88, Moravia, New York 13118. Articles, artwork and photos are invited and are normallyreturned after use. The deadline for submission for May/Lun is April 1.Please address all membership fees and change of address requests to P.O. Box180, Fairport, N.Y. 14450. Cost of individual membership subscription is $20.

AMPHIBIANS AND NY'S FOREST ECOSYSTEMS

''Spring Peeper" (See page 4)

Table of Contents

NYFOA'S Board of Directors and Its Leadership, R.1. Fox 3Amphibians and NY's Forest Ecosystems, Glenn Johnson .4In Praise of Aspen, Jim Engel 6A Maple Mini Mystery, Gene Bryant 8Indian Sugar, James H. Wait 8Is It Spring Yet?, John S. Braubitz 9Fostering Our Private Forest Richness, Norman Richards 10Forest Community Profiles, R.1. Fox 12Letters 13New York City's Watershed Agreement, Henry S. Kernan 14NYFOA's SPRING MEETING 15Nominations, Bob Sand, Chairman 16The Sustainable Forestry Inlttative=', Rene H. Germain 17Have You Checked Your Assessment Lately?, David Colligan 18Scale Insects with a Hard Covering, Douglas Allen 20Ladybug, Ladybug , Jane Sorensen Lord 22

NYFOA • 1·80(}"836·3566 • INFO MARIAPR 1997

NYFOA'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND ITS LEADERSHIP

By RJ. Foxhe formation of the New York For-est Owners Association some 35years ago was determined by New

York's Natural State and the people whoown it and/or felt responsible for its qual-ity. The accompanying issues, which out-number the trees, often appeared to behung-up "widow-makers", petrified or oth-erwise not harvestable.

Some ten years ago, NYFOA and theNew York State Department of Environ-mental Conservation engaged the problemswith an energetic determination to resolvethe more prominent aspects, each in theirown way. DEC proceeded, as in the man-ner of all governments, to establish a "bu-reau" (such as, the Empire State ForestSystem) and to offer programs (such asthose of the 1946 Forest Practice Act andadditionally, more recently, the StewardshipIncentive Program.) NYFOA in the com-petitive climate, formed local chapters andsought affiliation with other groups of likeidentity and resolved to spread the word ofgood forestry through local meetings andthe NY FOREST OWNER.

The old guard in NYFOA, as repre-sen ted during the leadership of StuartMcCarty prevailed upon the founder of theWestern Finger Lakes Chapter, John

.---------_ ..KNOWING NOT KNOWING

Sound of nounsat the edge of a forest.

Early wordscrying lion or fire

..saying sunmoon or rain

and later much latercame the questions.

-Wayne Oakes

From a collection of poetry: OCCUR ByWayne Oakes ©1995. Published by SpuytenDuyvil, PO Box 1852, Cathedral Sta. NewYork, NY 10025

NY FOREST OWNER

Marchant, to lend his considerable talentsto the role of Executive Director of NY-FOA. John, serving in a volunteer capac-ity, worked with remarkable effectivenessto bring any and all approaches to the is-sues into some common or shared "in-bas-ket" of everyone in the state and to somemeasure, the nation. John's most notableaccomplishment was the cooperative cre-ation in New York of an individual ap-proach-the Master Forest Owner/CO-VERTS Volunteer. Critical cooperationamong Cornell Cooperative Extension,DEC, the Ruffed Grouse Society, the WildTurkey Federation, and NYFOA has pro-duced some 113 of these individuals in 42counties to help "resolve issues" and pro-mote good forestry on their neighbor's land.

This harmoniously forged coalition wasinherited by Don Wagner, NYFOA Presi-dent for 1993-1995. Don made a specialeffort to develop an esprit de corps whilecharging committees with developing501 (c)3 capabilities, fixing a very weaktreasury, and some way of providing a per-manent Executive Director. Although therewas voted an increase in the dues whichrelieved the concern for the treasury andmany changes were made in the structureand operations ofNYFOA, the committeesfailed to do much more than define the is-sues. Meanwhile the increase in dues cre-ated some new problems.

Both Don Wagner and John Marchantpursued numerous outreach efforts and ad-ditional cooperative ventures with othergroups with varying degrees of success(e.g., the USDA Forest Owner Survey.) Un-der their combined leadership and with thehelp of some special Tree Farm and Stew-ardship Incentive Program funding, mem-bership attained nearly 2000.

Despite the loss of John Marchant asNYFOA's·Executive Director, Bill Minerdtook on the Presidency and brought the is-sues to the table with a focused effort toresolve them. Because of the genuine andunanimous sentiment of the Board of Di-rectors that NYFOA is a charitable andeducational organization (501 (c)3 elegible),a special cooperative arrangement withSUNY's College of Environmental Scienceand Forestry resulted in the formation of aFoundation to provide scholarships (TheNYFOA Endowment Fund). This shouldstrengthen the ties with SUNY-ESE

NYFOA • 1·80G-836·3566 • INFO

As a consequence to a different ex-pressed assessment of the value of DEC'sUtilization & Marketing and Service For-esters, the Empire State Forest Products As-sociation (ESFPA) and NYFOA agreed todisagree and NYFOA declined to renew itsmembership with ESFPA. However,NYFOA's Board has agreed to cosponsorthe American Tree Farm System (under theleadership ofJ ack Hamilton as Chair oftheNY Tree Farm Committee) which is an im-portant landowner program by the indus-try and significantly supported by ESFPA.At a recent meeting ofESFPA, Bill Minerdwas invited to present some information onNYFOA. This meeting resulted in prelimi-nary discussions of a jointly sponsored"Educational Foundation" (another 501(c)3entity.)

It was decided at the January 25, 1997Board Meeting (the 208th since the found-ing ofNYFOA) to send five people to theNew York Section of the Society ofAmeri-can Foresters Meeting in Syracuse. Theagenda of this meeting, ETHICS and "TheMaine Referendum: Lessons for NewYork", was important to NY forestry andparticularly to forest landowners. There willbe reports appearing in the subsequent is-sues of the NY FOREST OWNER.

A special vote was taken at this lastmeeting. The Board agreed to fund the pur-chase of a computer and the necessary ac-cessories required to produce the magazinewith all graphics and photos in digitizedpre-press form!

NOTICEThe Board of Directors has proposed achange in the Bylaws to be voted on atthe upcoming Spring Meeting April 26,1997:

Current-CHAPTERS:2. . . .in timely manner and pro-vide periodic financial statements.

Proposed-CHAPTERS:2. ...in timely manner and re-quired to furnish an annual financialreport on or before January 15th ofeach calendar year.

MARIAPR 3

AMPHIBIANS & NY'S FOREST ECOSYSTEMSBy Glenn Johnson

mphibians are backboned animals'" characterized by a larval or tad-Jt. pole stage that metamorphoses

into an adult, a body temperature thatmatches their surroundings, and smoothskin that must be kept moist. As a groupthey are truly transitional between dry landand wetland habitats and many spend partof their life in each. In fact, the word" am-phibian" is Greek for "double life". Biolo-gists divide modern amphibians into threebroad groups. One group, called caecilians,is found only in the tropics. The other two,the frogs and the salamanders, are familiarto anyone who hikes in the woods and wet-lands of New York.

In 1989, professional herpetologists (sci-entists who study amphibians and reptiles)gathered for a worldwide meeting, held thatyear in Canterbury, England. After a num-ber of presentations on amphibian studies,it became apparent that many well-studiedpopulations appeared to be declining in lo-cations scattered all over the planet. Thebest information comes from western NorthAmerica, Central America and Australia.Many factors have been implicated to ex-plain this phenomenon, including increasesin ultraviolet radiation, acid rain, habitatloss and fragmentation, and introduction ofexotic species. The issue of whether am-phibian decline is a global phenomenon re-sulting from many environmental distur-bances or simply natural fluctuations ofpopulation size has not been resolved. Herein New York, Dr. Richard Wyman and hiscolleagues are investigating aspects of thisproblem at the Edmund Niles Hyuck Pre-serve in Rensselaerville.

KINDS OF FOREST AMPHIBIANS INNEW YORK

New York is home to 18 species of sala-manders. Two of them, the hellbender andthe mudpuppy, are totally aquatic and tendto be found in large bodies of water. Theremainder may be found in forested habi-tats. Some, such as the two-lined, spring,red, and dusky salamanders are intimatelytied to woodland streams and creeks andare usually found in or near them. Others,such as the spotted and tiger salamanders,use small ponds for breeding and wanderextensively in mature hardwood forests.The red-spotted newt lives in ponds asadults, but the orange or red juveniles,called efts, are forest animals.

The redback salamander is by far the mostabundant salamander in New York forests.Sometimes it seems that every other log orrock on the forest floor harbors a redback

4 NY FOREST OWNER

Red Eft; land stage of Eastern Newt. Photo be Glenn Johnson

salamander. These small (up to four inchesminus the tail) creatures come in two colorvarieties. Most common is the typical red-backed form with the prominent red stripeon the back from head to tail bordered bydark sides. The lead-backed form lacks thisstripe. Both have a distinct salt-and-pep-per mottling on the belly. Like other sala-manders in its family, it lacks lungs andbreathes through its skin and must remainin moist places. During dry spells theymove deeper into the soil and leaf litter andare difficult to find. Redbacks lay their eggson land; and metamorphosis from the larvato the adult occurs directly in the egg, free-ing them of the aquatic existence that otheramphibians require.

While it is possible to find any of NewYork's 16 frog and toad species in a for-ested situation, the majority are associatedwith ponds, lakes and wetlands. Leopardand pickerel frogs tend to be terrestrial, in-habiting grassy forest edges near water.Bullfrogs, green frogs and mink frogs areusually always found in water or foragingalong the shoreline. The common forestfrogs include the American toad, woodfrog, gray tree frog and spring peeper. Allrequire water for breeding and they tend toprefer small, temporary water bodies calledvernal pools.

ECOLOGICAL ROLESOF AMPHIBIANS

A study in a New Hampshire woodlandfound that redback salamanders were themost numerous vertebrate animal in theNorthern Hardwood Forest. In fact, despite

NYFOA • 1·800.836·3566 • INFO

their small size, their combined weight wasdouble that of all the breeding birds andabout equal to that of small mammals. Thisfact points to the incredible ecological im-portance of this tiny amphibian in the flowof energy from one food chain to another.Because these salamanders are cold-blooded and do not have to use the energyin their food to maintain a high body tem-perature, they can be small, much smallerthan the smallest bird or mammal. This isbecause a small animal has a high ratio ofbody surface to body volume and since heatis lost at the surface of an animal, a smallanimal loses heat quickly. It is not efficientfor a warm-blooded animal to be too smallbecause heat would be lost quicker than itcould be replenished. Small salamanderscan therefore eat prey too small for birdsand mammals, in fact they are the lions andtigers of the decomposing food web. Theythemselves are a major part of the diet ofbirds and mammals and serve to repack-age energy into a form that would other-wise be unavailable to these larger preda-tors.

Another way amphibians positively affectenergy flow in forested ecosystems has todo with their life history pattern, where thetadpole or larval stages live in a completel ydifferent environment than the adults. Thishas two important ecological conse-quences. The first is that the adults and lar-vae do not compete for the same food re-sources and so contribute to two differentfood chains. The second is that amphibianlarvae are a significant source of energyflow and nutrient transport from aquatic

MARIAPR 1997

American Toad tadpoles in a vernal pool (Bergan Swamp). Photo by Marcelo del Puerto

and wetland habitats to forested ones. Thelarvae harvest energy fixed in highly pro-ductive aquatic environments and whenthey metamorphose into adults, export thisenergy in the tissues of their own bodiesinto forests.

For many folks, it may be difficult to makethe connection between declining amphib-ians and forest health. Amphibians areamong the most sensitive animals to envi-ronmental changes primarily due to thenature of their skin, which is very absorp-tive to pollutants and in close contact withtheir environment, and because they usu-ally need two very different kinds of habi-tats to complete their life cycle. They canbe thought of as the proverbial "canary inthe coal mine" and act as barometers of thehealth of our environment. As such, theydeserve our best conservation efforts.

VERNAL POOLSVernal pools are small isolated depres-

sions in the landscape that fill with waterfor only part of a growing season, typicallyin the spring and early summer. They mayrange in size from a small puddle to a smallpond. A characteristic of vernal pools isthey contain organisms that occur nowhereelse, primarily because the certain condi-tions of a vernal pool occur nowhere else.One important animal of these pools arefairy shrimp, a tiny crustacean that filtersbits of organic matter from the water. They,in turn, are very important as food for lar-val amphibians.

In forested areas, these unique habitats arecritically important to amphibians that needa place to lay their eggs free of fish. Fishand other predatory animals found in es-

NY FOREST OWNER

tablished water bodies prey upon the eggsand larvae of frogs and salamanders, andin some cases may prevent populations ofamphibians from reproducing successfully.Species for which vernal pools are particu-larly important are spotted, marbled, andJefferson's salamanders and wood frogs.Toads and spring peepers also use them,but will also deposit eggs in other aquatichabitats.

In general, adult amphibians do not wan-der over large areas. Some individuals ofsuch species as spotted and tiger sala-manders return year after year to the samevernal pool for breeding. If these poolswere eliminated, successful reproductionmight also be eliminated. Others, such as

the American toad are more opportunistic.I have observed toad tadpoles living in wa-ter-filled ruts and tire tracks of forest roadsand skid trails.

NEW YORK STATE AMPHIBIANAND REPTILE ATLAS PROJECT

In 1990, the Department of Environ men-tal Conservation (DEC) initiated a projectto map out the abundance and distributionof all of the state's amphibians and reptiles.The project, officially called the New YorkState Amphibian and ReptileAtlas Project,depends primarily upon interested volun-teers who send in information detailing ob-servations of amphibians and reptiles. Ifyou have any interest in participating in thisworthwhile project, please contact the DECat 108 Game Farm Road, Wildlife Re-sources Center, Delmar,N.Y. 12054 or con-tact this author at 1 Forestry Drive, SUNY-College of Environmental Science and For-estry, Syracuse, NY 13210 or call (315)470-6948. You will be provided with cardsfor entering the information, detailed in-structions on how to participate, a list ofknown New York amphibians and reptiles,and participants will receive a periodicalnewsletter. The eventual goal of the projectis to produce a book of maps and other in-formation and make it available to the gen-eral public. A

Dr. Glenn Johnson has done research onthe red-shouldered hawk (with ProfessorChambers) and the eastern massasaugarattlesnake (with Professor Leopold) atSUNY-ESFwhere he currently teaches Her-petology.

Eastern Spadefoot ToadEastern American ToadFowler's ToadNorthern Cricket FrogNorthern Gray TreefrogCope's Gray TreefrogNorthern Spring PeeperUpland Chorus FrogWestern Chorus FrogBullfrogGreen FrogMink FrogWood FrogNorthern Leopard FrogSouthern Leopard FrogPickerel Frog

AMPHIBIAN SPECIES FOUND WITHIN NEW YORK

MARiAPR 5

Eastern HellbenderMudpuppyMarbled SalamanderJefferson SalamanderBlue-spotted SalamanderJefferson Salamander Complex(hybrid)Spotted SalamanderEastern Tiger SalamanderRed-spotted NewtNorthern Dusky SalamanderMountain Dusky SalamanderRedback SalamanderNorthern Slimy SalamanderWehrle's SalamanderFour-toed SalamanderNorthern Spring SalamanderNorthern Red SalamanderNorthern Two-lined SalamanderLongtail Salamander

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

IN PRAISE OF ASPENBy Jim Engel

tr oresters have been unsuccessfully

J searching since the dawn of mod-

ern forestry, if not longer, for methods to

economically regenerate oak in secondgrowth or mature hardwood forests so asto permanently maintain a forest in oak suc-cession. The key word here is economically.With a great deal of effort, manpower andusually investment of money one canachieve a fair amount of success regener-ating individual oak trees, but each healthytree usually means considerable personalattention and care. Who can predict that theinvestment in money, labor and love de-voted to a particular tree will payoff in thefifty to one-hundred years it may take toreach harvest size.

Nature has designed each forest spe-cies to survive and flourish under certaingrowing conditions and in certain environ-ments that each is best suited to; and everyforest species we have today is testamentto the effectiveness to that natural design.One is destined for failure or a hard wonvictory, if natural design is overlooked in

Bruce E.Robinson,

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managing the forest. I have found by trialand error that observing, understanding andthen harnessing the natural processes offorest succession have worked very effec-tively and economically in encouraging theregrowth of valuable hardwood trees on myproperty.

The oak forests that are commonthroughout many areas of the state at thismoment in time are a snapshot of forestsuccession. Most of us probably take theseoak forests for granted and expect that theywill remain basically unchanged. Theseforests won't change visibly that much inour life time, especially to the untrainedeye, but a careful look at the seedlingsgrowing in the leaf litter and undergrowthwill reveal the future makeup of the forestwhich most likely will consist of a beech!maple climax forest, unless the hand of theforester intervenes to retard this steadycourse.

Most of the oak forests that we see to-day owe their existence to the demise oftheir kin, the American chestnut. With theextensive die-off of the chestnut at the be-ginning of the century, the shade intolerantseedlings of oak were allowed to take theirplace in the canopy. The other factor thatplayed a role in the stands of oak today isthe abandonment oflarge acreages of mar-ginal farm land. This abandoned land wasideal for the process of natural successionto prepare the way for each wave of plantcommunity which eventually led to themature forests of oak, ash, maple, beechand cherry that surround us today.

I often pondered how these stands ofoak, cherry, maple and hickory grew to tim-ber size with straight clear trunks withoutthe help of a forest owner or silviculturistto nurture them along by planting, pruningand thinning and why one tree would growarrow straight and another tree would showthe rotting stubs from long dead branches.The wolf trees that grew in the hedge rowsand old pastures with their broad spread-ing crowns, large massive branches and nu-merous exposed decaying knots are readilydiscernible amongst the younger toweringstraight trunked hardwoods. What condi-tions were present that allowed theseyounger trees to develop with clear buttlogs, few branches and narrow crowns?

Why do some trees show numerouslarge overgrown knots beneath their bark

NYFOA • 1-800-836-3566 • INFO

and others have smooth clear trunks forthirty to forty feet? Why do some trees haveforked trunks ten feet off the ground andothers have a single trunk their entire heightwith hardly a stray branch to mar their per-fect growth? The answer to these questionsare numerous and varied. Part of the an-swer is inheritable traits or the trees geneticcharacteristics that predisposes a particu-lar tree species or individual tree to a cer-tain growth pattern and branching habit.But I believe the greatest factor affectingindividual tree growth and branching pat-tern is its surrounding environment and thisis where the landowner or forester can havethe greatest impact on the growth of the treewith the least investment of time and ef-fort.

I can usually read the evolution of aforest by the branching pattern of the indi-vidual trees in the forest. The size, shapeand branching pattern of the trees can tellrather clearly which trees grew first, howthe trees developed, their density, rate ofgrowth and species composition. A groupof even-aged oak saplings growing in theopen will show relatively large two to fouryear-old branches that grow vigorously forthe first few years arid then quickly declineand die when overgrown by other branches.These branches can achieve a relativelylarge diameter and require a couple of de-cades or more of annual growth to heal andcover over the knot created by the deadbranch. Trees growing in this environmentare also prone to trunk forking and shortintervals between branches. As any goodforester knows, these defects can have along term negative impact on the economicvalue of the logs that come from that tree.If the defects are numerous and severe, thedevaluing impact on the log may be per-manent or require so many years of growthto cover over the defect that retaining thetree in the stand is unrealistic .

Now enters the hero of this story, thewhite knight of the forest or maybe thewhite tree of the forest, theAspen. Whaaat!Aspen! Ugh! Aspen! That can't be right. Iam going to suggest that the best way togrow a good stand of veneer grade hard-woods on open land with minimal effortand cost is to plant or encourage Aspen.Don't take my word for it, go out into yourwoodlot or your neighbor's and look foryourself. By observing the growth of trees

MARIAPR 1997

in different habitats and environments, Ihave found that the best type of environ-ment for growing sun-loving hardwoodspecies is a young to medium age stand ofpioneer tree species which create an idealenvironment for hardwood saplings to ger-minate and grow up through the pioneerspecies.

Aspen are pioneers of the forest bothin time and space. Aspen lead the way inthe advance of the forest from herbaceousplants and brush to trees and also lead thetrees in their rush towards the sun. Aspenare notorious for their invasion of openspaces and their rapid colonization of theseareas which makes them invaluable in com-peting with the grasses and other plantswhich compete very effectively with theother tree seedlings that you want to en-courage. Aspen grow tall and straight andare relatively short-lived, so they generallydie just as the highly valued species areready to take their place in the forestcanopy.

It seems that the majority of valuablehardwood species require planting siteswith moderate to full sunlight exposure toeffectively survive, grow and compete withthe surrounding vegetation. White oak, Red

oak, Black cherry, Walnut, Basswood, Tu-lip tree, Hickory, and Ash all require mod-erate amounts of sunshine for their seed-lings to survive and all do great under acanopy of Aspen. Aspen trees filter outenough sunlight to effectively inhibit thegrowth of more sun loving plants like thegrasses and forbs but allow enough sun-light to reach the ground for the seed ofhardwood species to germinate and grow.

It is the way that hardwood seedlingsgrow in this environment that make thevaluable sawlogs in the distant future. Theseedlings growing beneath Aspen areforced to reach for the sunlight. The tree toconserve energy and maximize sunlightcollection continually reallocates its energyinto new vigorous terminal growth to reachfor the sunlight that it needs for its survival.Whatever the mechanism within the plantthat makes this happen it is a matter of sur-vival for the tree. If it fails to compete forthe light and win, it will eventually die.

Lateral branches that do develop alongthe trunk of the tree are very small and asthe tree's leader continues to grow taller,energy to these lateral branches is termi-nated by mechanisms within the tree. Asthese branches die, they become brittle and

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quickly decay allowing them to easily breakoff from wind, snow or neighboring trees.

This pattern of seedling growth createsa slender straight trunk with no branchesor knots for many feet up from the base ofthe tree. The new wood added to the tree'sdiameter each year will be clear from anydefect and will bring the highest price atharvest. Your investment in time and moneyto achieve this is almost nil. I usually spenda little time breaking off the dead lateralbranches by hand or cutting out an occa-sional double leader.

One question remains, is this processcompletely up to nature or can good stew-ardship speed up this natural process? Twobenefits of aspen are, they are ubiquitousand easy to transplant and grow. You neednot buy seedlings but simply dig them upfrom somewhere and transplant them orcreate a patch of bare ground near a standof Aspen that will quickly sprout numer-ous seedlings. So stop breaking your backand put nature to work for you. .•.

Jim Engel owns a woodlot in LivingstonCounty and operates a shade tree and or-namental nursery.

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MARIAPR

A lMAPLE lMINI lMYSTERYBy Gene Bryant

ew springs ago, while emptyingap buckets, I noticed a fresh layerf small bark chips scattered on

new snow beneath a prime specimen ofAcer saccharum. Looking up, I saw thatfive or six feet of an upper branch had beengnawed bare to white wood and the edgeof the wound was dripping sap. Somewhatsurprised, I began more closely to exam-ine all of the other hard maples in the areaand found more scattered damage-onerelatively young and vigorous tree, but stilltoo small to tap, had been particularly hardhit with nearly half of its top chewed up,but no perpetrator in sight. I realized, how-ever, that I had some serious local compe-tition in the maple sugar business.

It's an intensely busy time for the sugarmaker, but every few minutes that couldbe spared were devoted to stalking the elu-sive maple muncher. Porcupine was thepresumed suspect, although the facts didn'tadd up. Porcupines are slow and incautious;besides I had already taken firm measuresto control the local population of the spinyrodents after finding too many young pines

By James H.Waitative Americans of the northeastwelcomed the return of springwith festive celebrations. Early

spring was called "sugar month" or "Maplemoon." One ancient Iroquois religious fes-tival was dedicated to the maple tree andincluded a "Maple Dance." Another spe-cial dance (a fusion of work and religiouscustom) was done at the tapping of thetrees, "the performance of which will, it ishoped, bring on warmer weather and causethe sap to flow."

How did the Indian boil the sap beforethe coming of white men with their metal-lic vessels? Indian pots were of birch bark,hollowed out logs, or of clay (formed overwooden molds) fired to a usable hardness.Larger vessels used in sugar manufacturewere suspended by grape vines which,where exposed to the fire, were coveredwith moist clay. Sap was boiled by heatedstones which were placed in the vesselswith sticks or wooden tongs. This processwas awkward and tedious, but it worked.

Another resourceful method of convert-ing sap into syrup without metal was to al-low sap to freeze overnight on successive

8 NY FOREST OWNER

with scabs of bark missing, as if some ar-boreal gourmet had sampled each tasty dishin a smorgasbord.

Finally, while quietly moving through theforest, I caught a glimpse of one of the chip-pers at work; its coat a perfect camouflageagainst the rock maple bark. What gave thegray squirrel away was its tail blowing inthe wind as it nibbled contentedly on thesweet inner bark. To make the story short,firm measures were used here also to limitthe damage, which was generally light andscattered. For some reason the squirrels -have simply hammered on a few individualtrees. Besides the young tree (that neverreally recovered) the active little rodentshave, over the course of several springs,and despite my best efforts, taken out al-most the entire top of a large maple andformerly productive maple.

This may also be an explanation for therotten limb and prematurely hollow trunkphenomenon that is not uncommon withsugar maples-an upper branch is probablygirdled, then it dies back and carries the rotback down into the stem. It also may be asolution to the question of who first dis-

INDIAN SUGARfreezing to "change its color, and becomebrown and very sweet."

Reeds, "shingles" or concave pieces ofbark were used as ducts to direct the sapflowing from the bottom of the "Vs" cut inthe tree into gathering vessels made of birchbark. The bark was peeled in early springand cut and folded into sap dishes or pansmeasuring 20 inches long, 7 to 10 incheswide, and 8 inches deep. Ends were foldedand stitched along edges with thin strips ofbasswood bark or spruce root.

Next, sap carrying vessels were made alsofrom birch bark. The bark was cut, foldedand seamed with pine resin to avoid leak-age. The top of the rim was reinforced witha thin strip of wood and again stitched withbasswood or spruce root. A cord across thetop served as a handle. Two bucketsr l to 2gallons each) were attached to the cord bywooden hooks suspended from a shoulderyoke.

Prior to boiling, the sap was stored in res-ervoirs of moose skin containing up to 100gallons.

In these times of high technology in thesugar bush, it is well to remember that

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covered the technique of opening up thebark of hard maples for their sweet sap.Native Americans may have observed thesquirrels, tasted the dripping juice-and therest of the story is fairly well known.

I've never yet seen a red squirrel chewingon a sugar maple, and I've yet to see a graybother with a single red maple. They seemto have an unerring sense of when the sapis running. There are some fairly extensivered oak groves towards the top of the hill,and I've followed the gray's trail as theytroop down for their spring treat. It couldbe an interesting spring, since the acorncrop was so poor in 1995. .•.This article is reprintedjrom the Newslet-ter of the Small Woodland Owners Asso-ciation of Maine (SWOAM NEWS, Mar'96.) For more information on red squirreisand their consumption of sugar maple sap,see NY FOREST OWNER MARIAPR '95.

Elm bark sap dish

maple syrup extraction originated with na-tive Americans.

Although it can be somewhat time-con-suming, anyone can make maple syrup athome, even if you have access to only oneor two sugar maple trees. Now is the timeto start lining up the necessary equipment.An early run of sap can occur by late Feb-ruary. It may then stop, only to start upagain in early March.

Four excellent "low technology" sourcesof how-to-do-it information include: TheMaple Sugar Book by Helen and ScottNearing, Social Science Institute,Harborside, Maine 1970; BackyardSugarin' by Rink Mann, CountrymanPress, P.O.Box 175, Woodstock, VT05091,199; Making Maple Syrup by Noel Perrin,Garden Way Publishing, Charlotte, VT,1980; and Sugaring Time by KathrynLasky, MacMillan Publishing Co., NY,1983 (especially good for children). .•.Jim Wait, a former Executive Director ofSmall Woodland Owners Association ofMaine (SWOAM), was previously First VicePresident of the Massachusetts Archeologi-cal Society. This article was reprintedjromSWOAM NEWS, Feb 1996.

MARIAPR 1997

•

IS IT SPRING YET?By John S. Braubitz

his morning my wife looked outthe window and jokingly said, "Isit spring yet T' I replied, "not un-

til March 20." The answer was correct, butthe date, March 20, did not produce a men-tal image of spring. I paused, took a deepbreath, and mentally reviewed some of mypast "first days of spring". I can vividlyremember March 20,1971, getting up in themorning to 5 ft. of snow. Even April 1, theopening day of trout season, brings flashbacks of frozen rod tips and Tundra tem-peratures.

So when is it really spring? After pon-dering this question for some time I cameto the conclusion that, for me, Spring ar-rives with a phone call from my father(from Pennsylvania) asking, "Have you hadany Spring Dandelion? Your mother andI just finished eating our second pick-ing." When this occurs I feel a specialexcitement, I know Spring flowers andother Spring herbs will soon be here. Evenat an early age I learned to love Dande-lion. We enjoyed the tender greens mygrandmother gathered as a Spring ritual.Later the bright yellow flowers fascinatedme. I picked hundreds and was neverscolded or reprimanded. In the lower pas-tures there were millions of those yellowflowers and nobody worried they would notcome back next year. This was a childhoodfantasy come true.

Common Dandelion (Taxaxacumofficinale) is native to Europe and adjacentAsia.It has followed man to almost everyinhabited corner of the United States andCanada.This plant is a survivor; it seemsthat no matter what we use to combat theDandelion, it returns the following Spring.Herbs, like Dandelion, were very essentialin pre-supermarket times because our an-cestors were in need of vitamins and min-erals in early Spring, before the gardensbegan to produce.

100 grams of Dandelion greens contain:Vitamin A 14,000 R.E. UnitsThiamine 0.19 milligramsRiboflavin 0.26 milligramsVitamin C 35.0 milligramsCalcium 198 milligramsPotassium 397 milligrams

NY FOREST OWNER

The lowly Dandelion was highly regardedas a tonic and a general remedy by earlypioneers and before we used Vitamin pills.

Sorne people eat the roots as a vegetable;they also make a coffee from the roots af-ter roasting them. My family only ate theroots in the Spring and occasionally madewine.

RECIPES

WINE (Recipe from:Stalking the Wild As-paragus, By EuellGibbons):

(A) Place in crockDandelion

flowerswithoutgreensepals!

(B) Cover and allow to steep three days.(C) Strain through cheese cloth.(D) Add 2 oranges and 1 lemon.(E) Add 3 pounds of sugar.(F) Boil for about 20 minutes ..(G) Add about 112cake of yeast.(H) Cover crock for 6 days.(I) Strain off wine into jugs.(J) Place balloon over top.(K) Keep in dark for 1 month.(L) Decant.(M) Store for special occasions.

DRESSING (Pennsylvania DandelionDressing- Family Recipe):

(A) (1) Take 6-8 slices of bacon

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(2) Fry until crisp in frying pan.(B) (1) Pour off 90% of excess fat.

(2) Cut bacon into small strips andplace in frying pan.

(C) Allow pan to cool.(D) Take: 2 cups of water

114 cup of vinegar2 eggs (if you do not use yolks,

substitute 3 egg whites for each whole egg,or leave out egg and add flour until itreaches the desired texture.)

1-2 tablespoons of flour1-2 tablespoons of sugarAdd salt to taste

(E) Yeast mixture in pan on low heat, stir-ring it until it reaches desired consistencyor thickness. (Adjust the ratio of vinegarand sugar to taste, and regulate theamount of flour for thin, medium, orthick dressing.)

(F) Turn off heat when dressing is fin-ished.

(G) Add greens (Do not boil greens-Addthem uncooked.) I recommend thatyou pick the dandelions before theyflower.(H) Allow the greens to sit in hot dressingfor a few minutes and then serve.This Dandelion dressing is good served asis or over mashed or baked potatoes.

I know dandelion for some people is apejorative word, and they think of that plantas some lawn weed. Emerson's definitionofa weed was, "... aplant whose virtue hadnot yet been discovered." They say spendtime and money trying to exterminate itfrom their property with digging devicesand poisons.

Maybe the answer is not to use resourcesand time to destroy it but to learn toappre-ciate it.

But as for me, I will again be looking for-ward with a great deal of anticipation tothe arrival of Spring and that special Springdinner that reminds me of its arrival: sa-vory fresh Dandelion greens with warmdressing over a baked potato and fresh-caught trout. A

John Braubitz is a regular contributor tothe NY FOREST OWNER and Professorin the Science Department of CayugaCounty Community College.

MARIAPR 9

FOSTERING OUR PRIVATE FOREST RICHNESSBy Norman Richards

he January 1997 NY FORESTOWNER had an item attributed tothe Catskill Forest Association's

President Jack McShane attributing to mea "hypothetical" of five landowners withone thousand acres each fostering biodiver-sity by each doing something different withtheir forests. But like the party game"gossipwith a message whispered fromone person to another around a circle, whenthis item came around to the NY FORESTOWNER, it made little sense and somewhatcontradicts what I had in mind. So, I'll tryto explain better the thoughts behind mycasual commen ts Jack picked up.

While the Forest Owner item was labled"Biodiversity", my concern is broader.What I like to call forest resource richnessincludes non-human biotic diversity in itsvarious dimensions-- genetic diversity ofindividuals, diversity of categories such asspecies and ecotypes, and habitat diversityat various scales. But it also includes useof forest landscapes by people--diverse in-dividuals and groups using and valuing landresources in many different ways. I see nosimple formulas for optimum forest re-source richness. Rather, it is an ever-chang-ing process of seeking balances among di-verse human aspirations including sharingthe richness of the earth with many otherorganisms.

What I want to consider here is how for-est resource richness can best be fosteredin our diverse mix of non-industrial privateownerships that make up most of NewYork's forest resources. To what extent canrichness be promoted by outside agendasattempting to define what our forest re-sources should be, or is it better fosteredby encouraging the diversity offorest own-ers to "do their own thing"--within some

10 NY FOREST OWNER

limits--according to their own resourcesand objectives?

Resource richness should be consideredat various scales both within and amongproperties. A major flaw of the "hypotheti-cal" in the January NY FOREST OWNERis the assumption that the 1,000 acre prop-erties--unusually large among New York'sprivate holdings--each followed a singularmanagement track. Variations in site andhistory conditions within most forests fa-vor some diversity of management re-sponses. All but very small forests gener-ally are divided into stands for differingmanagement. Property sizes are a factorin potential richness of our forest resources.

The 1993 estimate for pri vate forests inNew York was about 475,000 owners of atleast an acre of 14.4 million acres of "com-mercial" forestland. This is forest pre-sumed to have some potential for timberproduction as the most common source offorest income, along with various other usesand values. However, about half of theseforest holdings are less than 10 acres, rais-ing the question of how small can a forestbe? Such small wooded lots generally canprovide only a few of the values we asso-ciate with more extensive forest areas. Also,as most result from parcelization of largerproperties, they are somewhat in opposi-tion to more extensive forest values. About159,000 owners have 10 to 49 forestacres.totaling 3.6 million acres. These prop-erties can provide more forest values in-

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eluding some timber harvest or a bit of wildforest environment, but they often are dis-counted as a forest resource. For example,they are too small to qualify under NewYork's current forest tax law [RPTL Sec-tion 480a].

The 69,000 owners of 50 to 1000 acresofforest totaling about 8 million acres prob-ably are the key group in the richness ofour private forest resources both within andamong individual properties. They are theforest owners toward which state and fed-eral programs in New York are most di-rected; the primary group for landownerorganizations such as the Catskill ForestAssociation and NYFOA to try to reach;and probably offer the most potential forconsulting forestry activity--all such effortscurrently reaching a fraction of these own-ers. The larger forest properties, most likelyto have professional management for par-ticular objectives, have more potential forrichness within but also may have largersubunits of singular management.

Virtually all forest holdings should beconsidered "managed" in that actions aretaken toward owners' values and objectives.It makes little sense to say that land is"unman aged" or that owners are "doingnothing" with their woodlands. Holdingland, paying taxes and dealing with otherhassles ofland ownership are concrete man-agement actions. In many areas of NewYork, resisting or delaying parcelization isa significant action in maintaining forestvalues.

What is "proper" or "good" managementof private woodlands and who is to judgethis? Any plan of action a forest ownerfollows is a "management plan", andwhether it is good or poor depends on whois making the evaluation. Plans may linkto providing SIP or other public subsidiesto owners for planting or thinning effortsthat benefit the owners but may have ques-tionable public benefits beyond helping tosupport a public forestry agency. Plans tokeep a forest free of any stand treatmentsor other human disturbances may be goodfor some values. Cutting large, poor-tim-ber trees to improve timber production maybe poor for flying squirrels. Conservativeforest harvests periodically removing indi-vidual trees may reduce tree species diver-sity over time, but may increase diversityof some other organisms. Thinnings may

MARIAPR 1997

increase growth of individual trees, but alsothe chance of windthrow damage.

A "high-grading" harvest of all saleabletimber may be a logical plan for landown-ers with debts having high interest ratestheir forest growth can't possibly match.Such high-grading cannot be repeated formany years, but forests regrow if given achance. For less-desperate owners seek-ing decent returns on their forest capital,some high-grading when the market is goodmay be a well-thought-out plan based onthe reality that both land taxes and real es-tate markets rarely reflect timber values inNew York. On the other hand, owners fail-ing to get top dollar from timber sales maybe unfortunate and should concern owneradvocates, but is a "social problem" onlyto the extent that people often miss oppor-tunities. Under the current, timber-focusedNY forest tax law, management plans mustaim to cash in significant merchantable tim-ber volumes so they tend to favorhighgrading. Also local ordinances thatrestrict clearcutting as a regeneration alter-native commonly encourage high-gradingunder the "selective harvest" euphemism.

"High-grading" often is targeted by sil-viculturists and other professionals whodecry the "short-sightedness" or "greed" offorest owners who cash in timber values tomeet current objectives rather than deferreturns or reinvest them in forest treatmentsfor "good stewardship" or "sustainable for-estry". One can get cynical in noting thatmost professional critics of short-sightedforest owners are salaried people whosework success depends greatly on what theydo in the short-run, and also many havemade no personal commitment to forestownership. Similar observations might bemade of many critics of all timber harvest,who are well supported by other currenthuman uses of the earth.

More positively, one may applaud anyforest owner altruism, including deferringpresent personal gains to benefit others inthe future, but question whether forest

NY FOREST OWNER

ownership should require greater altruismthan does the use of most other forms ofpersonal assets. Is there a unique charac-ter of forest ownership that should make itexception ally responsible for "public inter-ests". Most New York forest owners al-ready forego more lucrative alternatives inkeeping their land, are personall y subsidiz-ing non-market values involving publicbenefits, and through land-based taxes aredisproportionately supporting local schoolsystems. If greater altruism is mandated,rather than voluntary, ownership of forestproperties larger than wooded building lotswill be increasingly limited to the well-offwho can afford the extra costs.

There are bio-economic constraints toaltruism in forest ownership. It is easiestto be altruistic in sharing the benefits ofhighly productive forests. But much ofNew York's private forest resource hasmediocre productivity as a result of limit-ing site and stand conditions, so develop-ment of quality trees is slow; and naturalhazards add uncertainty. In light of rela-tively high costs of owning forest land,profitability of timber growing is marginalin much of our forest. Even conservativeharvests from good sites are likely to re-quire 15 to 25 years between significantharvests, so only large forest properties canprovide continuous income. Smaller prop-erties may support only a few profitableharvests over an ownership generation, re-quiring forest values to be supported byother means in the intervening periods.

What are reasonable limits to forestowners doing their own thing? A generalanswer is that our actions should not havesignificant adverse impacts on the well-being of others. But what are the limits ofthis specifically? It seems logical thatowner actions should not cause increasedsedimentation in streams, or otherwisephysically damage other private or publicproperty. But does a neighbor's ugly "com-mercial clearcut" leaving low-grade anddamaged trees really hurt me or wider "pub-lic interests"? What about neighbors' noisysnowmobiles or shooting frenzies intrud-ing on the quiet of my woodland, or a re-grown hillside woods viewed from a pub-lic road being interrupted by a salvagedswath of blow down trees, a clearcut regen-eration patch, or a new house and roadway?A long-known addage of democracy is" toprotect our rights to do things we think ap-propriate we must protect the rights of oth-ers to do things we may not like". A corol-

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. ..lary is that the democratic process can beswayed by effectively promoted specialinterests in the name of public benefits, andit is often difficult to determine what con-straints on our rights really are in broaderpublic interest.

In summary, here is my hypothesis thatgot lost in translation to the January For-est Owner. For most of the private forestresources of New York, the greatest re-source richness may result from large num-bers of forest owners "doing their ownthing" according to individual values andresources. As long as lands are maintainedin forest use--including regeneration phaseswhen desired--and physical damage toother people and resources is avoided, theremay be little real damage to "public inter-ests" even though individuals and interestgroups may not be happy with what is done.My hypothesis is offered to stir debatewhile I'm still pondering how much of it Iaccept myself.

But I do think forest owner organiza-tions and advocates should focus on ownerinterests, seeking to open eyes and oppor-tunities to the rich range of alternative val-ues that can come from forest ownership.We should relate to but be cautious aboutall special interests pushing agendas onforest owners through "stewardship""biodiversity" and other value-loaded con-cepts. I would hope forest owner altruismand ethical concerns are encouraged asmatters of personal choice, but I questiongreater imposed ethical burdens on privateforests than those demanded of other typesof personal assets. And finally, we need tobe more critical of public policies that mayconstrain resource richness of our privateforests. .•.

Norman Richards is Professor in Forestryat SUNY College of Environmental Scienceand Forestry.

Nolan'.Sporting Supplle.

Outdoor EquIpment Speclol/st

37 - 47 Genesee StreetAuburn, NY 13021

315/252-7249

MARIAPR 11

Forest Community Profiles -ALEC C. PROSKINEBy RJ. Fox

.9llec Proskine was born 82 yearsago on the banks of the WestBranch of New York's Delaware

River at South Kortright, where his fatherwas postmaster for 34 years and a sawmillowner and his grandfather, a hotel ownerand log rafter. In 1936, Alec completed thecourse of study at the College of Forestryat Syracuse (now SUNY-ESF) and wasawarded a BS in forestry. With early 4H-youth experiences planting larch, at age 12,in 1926 and treating blister rust on whitepine, in 1929 and the legacy of two gen-erations; it is not surprising that his formaleducation resulted in earning a degree inforestry.

His work experience as a professionalforester occurred mostly in New York butdoes include some experience in Califor-nia where he managed a redwood outdoorfurniture factory and in New Hampshireemployment with the U.S. Forest Serviceon timber salvage and fire control after thehurricane of 1938. In New York and Penn-sylvania, he served as a supervisor in vari-ous secondary forest products industries.Alec may be more generally recognizedprofessionally as a timber appraiser and realestate broker, an occupation which spannedsome 50 years.

However, the activities for which NY-FOA and the forest community may rec-ognize Alec are his "hobbies." First ofwhich began as a childhood fascinationwith the Delaware River. At a very earlyage, he constructed his first water-goingvessel of packing crates and that was thebeginning of a life-long marriage to canoe-ing and white water in all of New York andsignificant waters of Canada and otherstates. These adventures inspired Alec toauthor two books (guide-oriented): Adiron-dack Canoe Waters: South and West Flows(published by the Adirondack MountainClub, RR 3 Box 3055, Lake George, NY12845) and No Two Rivers Alik~

Canoeable Rivers in New York State, re-vised from an earlier edition (presentlypublished by Purple Mountain Press, Ltd,PO Box E3 Fleichmanns, NY 12430; call914/254-4062.) This last work has, in ad-dition to the hard data of access, distance,gradients and ratings, a special quality ofpersonalizing the stream by providing somedetail of history, anecdote or personal ex-perience. Therefore, a reading of No TwoRivers Alike ... gives an earthy preview ofthe watercourse and the subsequent adven-ture the reader may take by travel on thewater. 56 canoeable rivers are reviewed,most of which are accompanied with aphoto. The book's practical suggestions formanaging a canoe: launching and landing,maneuvering, transporting and portage andthe required accessories are based uponyears of experience dedicated to both thepleasure and the practice; and the lessonsare capably illustrated with photos and dia-grams. Alec writes for both the novice andthe expert, hence the book is a pleasure toread, even if one does not canoe-the wa-tercourse takes on a definition from thiscanoeist which imparts a value appreci-ated by the reader who may never do nomore than wade.

Another hobby which Alec has is repre-sented by his passion in photography. Inparticular-flare photography-the takingof pictures into the sun. He beguiled mem-bers ofNYFOA at their 1987 Fall Meetingat the Casowasco Conference Center onOwasco Lake in Cayuga County with aslide show (or light show) of some of hisbest work out of a collection of shots num-bering 5000.

In addition to a penchant for collecting(canoes, some 200 jackknifes, a similarnumber of canes, and the start of a collec-tion of turquoise, to be aggressively pur-sued in his next life,) Alec decided to builda three-story home overlooking the Gulf ofMexico using 16-18 foot 12" by 12" (the

LAND VEST-Timberland Management -Land Use Planning-Forest Land Marketing & Sales -Real Estate Asset Planning

-Appraisal & Conservation Service

Adirondack Office64 Park Street, Tupper Lake, NY 1298658/359-2385; e-mail: KIDBURPS@aol.com

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Alec C. Proskine

outer face is not sawn) cypress logs, noto-rious for their long life, "the wood eternal."The residence is known locally (in the pan-handle, Carrabelle, FL) and by friends asthe "Cypress Cathedral." This accomplish-ment prompted another book that deals withlog homes which Alec currently is writing.

Alec Proskine has served his commu-nity as a past President of TrumansburgRotary (he is a Paul Harris Fellow), VicePresident of the Louis Agassiz FuertesCouncil ofthe Boy Scouts of America; pastPresident of the Finger Lakes Chapter Ad-irondack Mountain Club; past PresidentCayuga Trail Club; Life member NatureConservancy; and past Director of NY-FOA.

Finally, Alec has known great satisfac-tion for nearly twenty camperships he es-tablished for young people residing in thecommunities of Jacksonville, Mecklenburgand Trumansburg. The funding is from afoundation created by Alec for that purpose.The applicants enjoy the campsites at theCasowasco Conference Center and haveexpressed their pleasure of the experiencein letters to Alec.

Of an original land holding of some 200acres, Alec in 1986 gave a 95 acre parcelto SUNY-ESF, but still manages a coniferplantation and Christmas trees.

Alec is the father of three children, grand-father of 7 and great grandfather of 4. .A.This is the first in a series of articles whichwill profile individuals of the forest com-munity from both the past and present ..

MARIAPR 1997

FORESTRY PROCEDUREEvery new forester must learn early that

it is never good taste to designate the sum

of two quantities in the form

(1) 1+ 1= 2Anyone who has made a study of basic

calculus is aware that (a) 1 = In eand that (b) 1 = sin? x + cos' x.Further (c)

n=O

Therefore, Eq(1) can be expressed more

scientifically asx

(2) In e + (sin? x + cos' x) = LI/2nn=O

This may be further simplified by use ofthe relations

(d) 1 = co shy 'i l-fanh'y and(e) e = lim(1 + lIz)z.

z x

Eq(2) may therefore be rewritten

(3) In[lim(1 + l/z)'] + (sin'x + cos'r) =Z X x

~ coshy 'i I-tanh2y£..J 2"n=O

At this point, it should be obvious that

Eq(3) is much clearer and more easily un-

derstood than Eq(I). Other methods of asimilar nature could be used to clarify

Eq(I), but these are easily discovered once

the reader grasps the underl ying principles.-adapted from Ian Thomas, U. of Texas

NY FOREST OWNER

LETTERSHERE'S AN IDEA

The water boiled from sap when makingsyrup should be collected and bottled andsold as a high quality "maple water". Con-sider 40 gallons of water to each gallon ofsyrup!

-Dick Fox, Moravia

CONSULTANT FORESTRYAbout twenty years ago I bought some

wooded land in New York to be managedfor timber production. I took advice from aconsulting forester in choosing the land andin all stages of management since then. Iwas led to believe that with a mixed age,mixed species plan I could expect to have aharvest every eight to twelve years. In sodoing, aided by judicious timber stand im-provement, I could expect the stands andprofits to improve over my lifetime so thatI could make a reasonable profit now andthen hand over a healthy property to myfamily later.

I explained the above to my consultingforester and we had timber sales, improve-ment sales I think he called them, on about400 acres. When the state forester saw oneof the sales, he said that it had been carriedout rather badly and that I would be luckyto have another sale in twenty years. Whenhe saw another sale, he said that it had beencarried out well. Somehow I never askedabout the other sales. I continued to workwith the forester until he showed no inter-est in continuing the relationship and then Iconsulted with a new private forester. Thenew man informed me that I could not ex-pect to have a sale on the two properties hehad looked at, for about fifteen years orabout thirty years after the first sale. Hisstrong opinion was that the first sale hadbeen carried out very badly indeed. Thebetter growing species had been cut. Thedominant trees of better species had beencut; the better of the forked stems had beentaken, etc. It rather perplexed me that he

had the same things to say that the stateforester had said.

The management plans drawn up by thefirst forester do not include provisions fortimber harvests in the next ten years so Iassume the second forester is correct in hisanalysis. Because Ihave been in the RTPLSection 480a program and also have com-plete records from the timber sales, Ihavea great deal of information about the stateof my stands before and after the sales.Iam puzzled now. Iam not sure who to

trust and how to get good managementadvice. Although I suspect my land hasbeen gravely mismanaged in spite of allmy efforts, I do not know whether I canexpect any redress of grievances.Iwould be curious to learn of any other

landowners with similar problems andwhat might be done to avoid them.

-Name Withheld

INDUSTRIAL CONSULTINGFORESTERS & DEC

I am rather curious as to the NYFOA view-point on DEC's move to advertise indus-trial (that is employed by Forest Industry)foresters as a type of consultant.

-Roy D. Hopke, NYFOA email

Some of the issues associated withprofessional foresters and theirservice toprivate forest owners willbe addressed in forthcoming issuesof the NY FOREST OWNER.

-Editor

TRUTH JUST IS,BUT ERROR MUST HAVE

REASONS-Stephen Jay Gould

NYS Cooperating ConsultantMember: NYICF, ACF, SAF

CONSULTING FORESTER. NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

VINCENT P. CHEBETAR, JR. ACF

Assisting Woodland Owners Since 1967

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996 Arnett Blvd.Rochester, NY 14619(716) 235-7341

NEW YORK CITY'S WATERSHED AGREEMENT... Some Observations

By Henry S. Kernany a dozen or more measures NewYork City's Catskill-Delawarewatersheds are extraordinary.

Here is a semi-wilderness, a million acresof rounded mountains and deep coves,heavily forested, sparsely settled, and al-most within sight of half the state's popu-lation. Europeans first saw the Catskillswhile still mistaking the Hudson for anorthwest passage to the Orient. Duringthe centuries since that sighting, thesehighlands have retained their place largelyabove and apart from the swirl of com-merce and industry, with their forests in-tact, the most beneficial cover a watershedcan have. Their daily yield of water is 1.2billion gallons!

These watersheds are exceptional inthat they deliver potable water unfiltered.To do otherwise would involve enormousexpense. The City, state, and federal gov-ernment have therefore signed aWatershedAgreement that commits $1.4 billion tomaintain the flow and quality of that wa-ter. Such monetary attention indicates boththe importance of watersheds and the con-cerns with their problems.

One of those problems is the ownershippattern of the forests upon which the steadyflow and clarity of the water depends. Theyare mostly private, in parcels under 50acres, and those parcels must number inthe tens of thousands. New York City owns62,023 acres and the state some 200,000acres (mostly within the Catskill Preserve.)Private forest and near-forest land prob-ably comes to at least half-a-million acresmore. All of those forest lands are a negli-

gible source of non-point pollution.Nevertheless, those who drew up and

signed the Watershed Agreement have al-located $260 million to buying "environ-mentally sensitive, vacant land," by whichthey mean forest. Their eyes are on355,050 acres. The program is thus set-to change drastically the ownership of for-est land in the Catskill-Delaware water-sheds.

The advantages of such changes are notapparent. They will not cause more wateryield or less pollution. The opportunitycosts of spending such money on land pur-chase instead of upon school and street re-pair are high. There will be costs of ad-ministration and protection, and of changein the real property tax. The City will nolonger receive its water without expensefrom private land.

The distrust of private ownership comesin part from the possibility of loss of for-est to uses less favorable to watershed val-ues. High real property taxes are believedto bring about such conversions and to dis-courage investment in long-term forestmanagement, careful harvesting of timberand restraint directed to matching harvest-ing to the productive potential of the site.The City wishes to retain a vibranteconomy in the watersheds, based uponagriculture and forestry, and sees in suchmanagement a means for doing so. Nev-ertheless, the Watershed Agreement doesnot consider lowering real property taxeson forest land in the watersheds.

Taxes are high in those forty-two wa-tershed towns, higher than in other partsof the state, and much higher than else-

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. INVENTORIES

TIMBER SALES

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In NEWYORKRESOURCES CONSULTING

(814)367-5915 (716)593-5075e-mail: bgkelly@buffnet.net

Fax (814) 367-5919Society of American Foresters - Pennsylvania Forestry Association

NY Cooperating Consulting Forester - Member NY Forest Owners Association

In PENNSYLVANIAMIKE HALE

Westfield. PA Wellsville, NY

14 NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

where in the country, where they are typi-cally between two and three dollars peracre per year. Town of Woodstock forestowners pay $33.02 and those of Denning,$25.98.

Taxes are high because land values arehigh; the tax base other than land is smalland public services are expensive, Thereare outdoor opportunities within a fewhours drive of one of the world's largestand most affluent metropolitan areas. Theydrive up the price of land. Mountain roadsare expensive to build, to maintain, and tokeep clear of snow. Villages are far apart.

At present New York City should haveno interest in lowering real property taxeson forest land. The $260 million will pur-chase more land if the taxes are high thanifIow. No doubt taxes levied upon 400,000or so acres of forest will make a differ-ence. When that occurs, the amount offorest land left in private hands may be sosmall that its taxation will no longer be apublic issue.

In the meantime high taxes or low, pub-lic or private, the forests keep on growing.Their soils keep on absorbing water, andcrowns keep on evaporating and transpir-ing water back into the atmosphere. Theirroots keep on absorbing nutrients thatwould otherwise lower the quality of thewater yield. Hardwoods are better for awatershed than conifers because they in-tercept and transpire less water and theyfilter out more nutrients. Thus control overthe stocking and composition of the forestcan influence the value of the watershed."Henry Kernan is a consulting forester inWorld Forestry, a Master Forest Owner.and a regular contributor to the NY FOR-EST OWNER. He offers free white spruceseedlings to all, May 3, 1997 at his prop-erty at 300B County Rte 40, So. Worcester

30+ Years Experience

ROBERT DEMEREEProfessional Forestry .Consultant

Timber Sales- Management PlanningTax Law • Tree Planting

3987 Northway DriveCortland, NY 13045-9317

Telephone:(607) 753-0497

MARIAPR 1997

NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION

35th ANNUAL SPRING MEETINGSaturday, April 26, 1997

Meeting Site: Marshall Hall, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Syracuse, NY

PROGRAM8:30 Registration

9:30 Welcome -Jill Cornell, Short Meeting

10:15 Panel Discussion: Forest Tax Law - Amendment of Section 480a."The Good, The Bad, And Can It Fly?"-Dr. Hugh Canham, SUNY-ESF-Mike Greason, DEC Bureau of Private Land Services-Fran Sheehan, Special Assist. to DEC Commissioner Cahill

11:30 "Challenges and Opportunities for Private Landowners - Now to 2007"-Dr. Peter Smallidge, Cornell University Dept. of Natural Resurces

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Awards, Bob Sand, Chairman, Awards Committee

1:30 "Wolves in New York?" -Dr. Rainer Brocke, SUNY-ESF

2:10 "Recreation Leases on Private Land" -Richard Nason, Finch Pruyn, Inc.

3:00 Adjourn

DETACH COMPLETE MAIL BEFORE APRIL 15 1997------------------------------------~----REGISTRATION FORM NYFOA 35TH ANNUAL SPRING MEETING

Name(s):

Address:

City ------------------ State ------- Zip

Chapter! Affiliation

Please find my check for registration(s) at $16 each, total enclosed: $-----

Send registration to: Debbie GillPO Box 180Fairport, NY 14450

NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA • 1-800-836-3566 • INFO MARIAPR 15

NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.Nominations for Directors of the Association BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

TO ELECT: Four (4) Directors for Three (3) Year Terms: (1997-2000)HUGH O. CANHAM is a forester (SUNY/CESF '60, PhD '71) and a Professor of Forest and Resource Econom-ics on the SUNY-ESF Faculty of Forestry. A member of SAF, he has been an active meeting speaker throughoutNew York and on the national scene. He has been a frequent program participant at many NYFOA functions andmeetings. Dr. Canham has written many articles and is widely published. He owns a 198 acre tree farm in the Townof Butternuts, Otsego County. The Canhams reside at:105 Primrose Lane, NO. SYRACUSE, 13212 Phone: 315/457-4972 (Office: 315/470-6694)

JOHN T. HASTINGS is a forester (SUNY/CESF '70) and works for NYS PEC out of the Warrensburg Office.Several years ago, New York recognized John as the Outstanding Tree Farm Inspecting Forester. Since 1984, hehas owned and with his family has managed a 30 acre Tree Farm in Washington County. John continues to servethe Southeastern Adirondack Chapter as its Newsletter Editor. He has completed one term as a NYFOA BoardDirector. John is a member of SAF and is a Civil War history buff.The Hastings reside at:974 West Mountain Road, QUEENSBURY, 12804 Phone: 5181798-0248

RONALD W. PETERSEN has a BS & MS (Agr, and Land Economics) from Cornell University and is a NYFOACharter member. He retired at the end of '94, after a 31 year career is State Government that began in the Ex.Chamber under Gov. Rockefeller, then as a Deputy Comm. with NYS DEC and, later, on the NYS Senate Staffwith Senators Anderson & Marino. Ron owns a 213 acre Tree Farm in the Town of Sanford, Broome County andis a MFO '93. He and his wife, Peggy, reside at:22 Vandenburg Lane, LATHAM 12110 Phone: 5181785-6061

ELIZABETH WAGNER is a homemaker and an independent contractor for a veterinarian clinic involved solelywith race horses. Betty has completed one term as a NYFOA Board Director and is a Master quilter. She donateda quilt to be raffled in 1993, the proceeds of which went to the Central New York Chapter. This generosity wasrepeated in 1994, proceeds for a 501(c)3Account for NYFOA. Betty and Don Wagner (NYFOA's Pres. 1993-'95)were the recipients of the NYFOA 1995 OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD. The Wagners actively manage twoCertified Tree Farms. They reside at:5330 Graham Road, UTICA, 13502 Phone: 3151733-7391I· ,t, ,f, t, ,f·., .•..•. t, 'J' •..•. ". t""f· t" "t" of· t" ·1· t" "t" .• · t""f· t" "t" .• · t" ., .•..•.•.•..•.•.. , ..•. t- -I' '--I" .• -t" ·f· t" ., ..• "t""f· t, "t" .• , t, ,t- t" "t" .• "t" -f· •..•..• ,t, -f _ t- -t- .• ,,-',. ',-I, .• · t""f· t, "t· .•· t" ,f· t, ,t' .• · t""f· t" -t- .• -,-, _'--1-" -t" ,f, t" "t" 'f "t""f· t" "t" .•. , .•. t" -t-, 'f

TERM: 3 Years 1997-2000

BALLOT: VOTE FOR FOUR (4) DIRECTORS

HUGH O. CANHAM __ JOHN T. HASTINGS __ RONALD W. PEDERSEN __

ELIZABETH WAGNER __

NAME ~ADDRESS _

Make a copy if entitled to a second vote (Family Memberships)

See you in SYRACUSE on April 26, 1997 for NYFOA's 35th Annual Spring Meeting-Bob Sand, Chair., Nominating Committee

16 • NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA • 1·806.836.3566 • INFO MARIAPR 1997

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative'?' isMoving Forward in New York

By Rene H. Germainecen tly there has been a great dealof discussion about sustainableforestry across the State of New

York. Among the primary reasons for thisphenomenon is the implementation of theSustainable Forestry Initiative.

What is the SFJSM?The SFl is a commitment by the forest

industry nationwide to sustainable forestrypractices that allow for the growing, nur-turing and harvesting of trees while con-serving soil and water quality, as well aswildlife and fish habitat.

The initiative is a program of the Ameri-can Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA)whose members account for a large percent-age of the nation's paper and solid woodproduction and most of the nation's com-mercial forests. Here in New York, the pro-gram is being administered by the EmpireState Forest Products Association.

What policies will SFI companies beimplementing?

- Participating companies and organiza-tions consist of all AF&PA members withforestry presence in the state. In order tomaintain their membership in AF&AP, thecompanies must agree to promote and ad-here to the following guidelines:

1. Meet the needs of the present withoutcompromising the future generations to usethe forest.

2. Promote environmentally and eco-nomically responsible management prac-tices.

3. Improve long-term forest health andproductivity by protecting against fire, pestsand diseases.

4. Manage forests of biological, geologi-cal or historical significance to preservetheir special qualities.

5. Continuously improve forest manage-ment and regularly track progress towardachieving the goal of sustainable forestry.

What is the SFI doing in New York?Given there are only eightAF&PA-mem-

ber companies in the state, who in turn con-

NY FOREST OWNER

trol only approximately 3-4% of the state's17.3 million acres of private forestland, theprogram's overall success hinges on its abil-ity to solicit the support and involvementfrom the balance of the state's forest indus-try, as well as nonindustrial forestland own-ers.As New York state's SFl coordinator,under the direction of the New York SFlCommittee, I am currently working to pro-mote awareness among non-AF&PA for-est products companies, loggers and largeand small landowners of this commitmentto forest stewardship.

Current efforts are being centered on anoutreach campaign to all primary forestproducts industries of the state. Through-out the Fall of 1996, regional forums wereconducted to provide non-AF&PA mem-ber companies with information on the pro-gram. Complementing the regional forumsis the implementation of the Basic DataSurvey which is currently being sent to all450 primary forest industries in the state.The three page survey is designed to pro-vide reliable base line data by which tomeasure future progress in sustainable for-est practices on industrial forest lands, pro-curement policies, as well as outreach tononindustrial forest landowners. The sur-vey is being distributed with an accompa-nying cover letter, the NYSFl informationsheet and the SFl informational brochure.If nothing else, this will ensure that all for-est industry members of the state are ex-posed to the literature on the SFl, as wellas the program's importance to the futureeconomic viability of the forest productsindustry.

We are fortunate here in New York, as oneof the primary objectives of the SFl, log-ger training, has been previously institu-tionalized through New York Logger Train-ing, Inc. The SFI has consequently servedas both a motivational and financial cata-lyst for the Trained Logger Certificationprogram. To date, over 100 loggers havecompleted all three components of the pro-gram. The components are:

1) chainsaw safety & productivity train-ing,

2) forest ecology and Best ManagementPractices (BMPs),

NYFOA • 1·800-836·3566 • INFO

3) CPR and First Aid.

Equally important, an additional 800 log-gers are currently enrolled in the program.Needless to say, we are extremely encour-aged by our progress in this sector.

The SFl is an ambitious, long-term com-mitment to sustainable forestry. This is thefirst time an attempt has been made to quan-tify and document the progress of landdwn-ers, loggers and industry in providing foradequate reforestation, clean water, wIld-life habitat, recreation and aesthetics. Theinformation will form the basis of an an-nual progress report that will reveal areasof collective progress, as well as areas re-quiring additional focus and work by all.

For more information contact: ReneGermain, New York SFl Coordinator, 211Marshall Hall, SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY13210; Phone: 315/470-6698; Fax: 315/470-6956;e-mail: rhgermai@mailbox.syr.edu.

Fountain Forestry

Quality Managementof

Land and Timber- Forest Management-limber Sales- Forest Investment Consu~ing-limber Appraisal and Valuation- Forest Taxation- Forest Practices and Wetland Laws- Land Use Planning- Conservation Easements- Land Sales and Brokerage- Mapping and Remote Sensing- Wildlife and Recreation- Accounting Services

FOUNTAIN FORESTRY, INC.21 Cliff Avenue, P.O. Box 1002

Tupper Lake, NY 12986

Tel/Fax: (518) 359-3089

MARIAPR 17

HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR ASSESSMENT LATELY?

By David J. Colligan

Bdividuals today are being taxed

rom. all angles. We are required topay income taxes, property taxes,

mortgage taxes, sales taxes, "sin" taxes andthe list goes on and on. Most people be-lieve that they are powerless to affect theamount of taxes they pay. This article willdiscuss some basic considerations as tohow an individual can reduce the amountof taxes paid. This can be done by check-ing the assessed value of your home andchallenging that assessment if it is toohigh.

BASIC CONSIDERATIONSThe assessed value of property is de-

termined by the local assessor. The asses-sor has his/her own method for determin-ing what (s)he feels is the value of yourproperty for tax purposes. This value maybe incorrect and reflect a total value whichyour property does not necessarily have.One reason for this is that assessments canoften be several years old. As a result, theassessment does not necessarily reflectchanging market conditions or the condi-tion of your property.

How can you tell if your property isover-assessed? One way is to watch forsales of similar property in your area. Thislends some guidance as to prevailing prop-erty values in your neighborhood or com-munity. The second option would be tohave the property appraised by a profes-sional appraiser. It should be noted how-ever, that this can be an expensive process.

You can find out the assessed value of

your property from the local assessor's of-fice. The local assessor is required to filea tax assessment roll with the town clerkevery year. For most towns this occurs onMay 1st; this date is considered the taxrecord date. There are two procedureswhich can be pursued to challenge yourassessment if you believe the assessmentis overvalued. First is an Article 7 reviewunder New York's Real Property Tax Law.The second procedure is a Small ClaimsHearing.

I FEEL MY ASSESSMENT ISWRONG, WHAT CAN I DO NOW?

You have decided to take action andchallenge your assessment. What do youdo now? Some property owners will seekto pursue the procedures outlined in Ar-ticle 7 of New York's Real Property TaxLaw. This is potentially a two-step pro-cess. The first step is an administrativeruling and the second step involves judi-cial intervention. This section outlines thetwo step process.

First, a complaint must be filed withthe Board of Assessment Review. Thismust be done by the 4th Tuesday inMay and should be based upon thegrounds that the current assessment is ex-cessive, unequal or even unlawful. TheBoard of Assessment Review meets on the4th Tuesday of May to listen to the com-plaints. The Board will entertain testi-mony from the taxpayer and the assessor;and each side offers proof regarding theirrespective positions. The Board then

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makes a final determination of the assessedvalue. If the Board rules in your favor,the process is over and your assessmentwill be reduced. On the other hand, whatoccurs if you are dissatisfied with theBoard's determination?

By the first day of July, the assessor willcomplete the final tax assessment roll. Anotice of its completion will then be pub-lished. The landowner who is unhappywith the Board's determination may com-mence an action in the state Supreme Courtby filing a petition within thirty days afterthe completion of the final assessment roll.The petition will not be considered if it isfiled more than thirty days after the finalassessment roll is completed. The peti-tion should be filed in the county in whichthe property is located. An attorney shouldbe retained as tax challenge petitions arevery technical.

After the commencement of the pro-ceeding, ajudicial conference is scheduledat which the judge will attempt to facili-tate a settlement. If a settlement is notreached, the judge will require both sidesto obtain an appraisal and file it with thecourt before trial. During the course ofthe proceeding, the assessment is pre-sumed to be correct. In order to prevail,the property owner must prove by substan-tial evidence that the current assessmentis incorrect. Therefore, the burden of proofis on the property owner and not the as-sessor. The judge is the final arbiter ofthe value of the property if a settlementwas not reached.

It should be noted that tax assessmentcases at the Supreme Court level can takeseveral years until the issue is finally de-termined. Therefore, the property ownermust decide whether to pay the taxes inthe interim. If the taxes are not paid, theproperty could become subject to a taxforeclosure sale. In addition, each year'stax assessment roll will constitute a newcause of action. Consequently, petitionsmust be filed every year that the propertyowner seeks to challenge the assessment,even if a previous challenge is still pend-ing.

IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY?A second procedure exists to challenge

a property tax assessment. This is throughthe use of the Small Claims AssessmentHearing. The Small Claims option is avail-

MARIAPR 1??7

able if a property owner received only apartial reduction in the tax assessment orno reduction at all in the assessment. Thisoption would be pursued in place of theappeal to the Supreme Court. There aretwo prerequisites to utilizing the SmallClaims procedure. First, you must be theowner or occupier of a one, two or threefamily home or the owner or occupier of afarm with an assigned homestead lot. Thesecond prerequisite is that the reductionin taxes sought to be paid cannot exceedSeven Hundred and Fifty Dollars($750.00).

The Small Claims procedure requiresa filing fee of twenty-five ($25.00) dollarsand the filing of a petition. The petitiongenerally must be filed within thirty daysafter the final tax roll is adopted and filed.Some jurisdictions also require that a pe-tition be filed with the school districtwithin a specified time period. The fail-ure to do either of these could result in thedismissal of your case. The petition whichmust be filed is a standard form which maybe obtained from places such as theassessor's office, the County Real Prop-erty Tax Service and the State Board ofEqualization. New York State has a pub-lication entitled "How to File a Complainton Your Assessment" which is a useful toolfor the mechanical and technical aspectsof the assessment review process.

The Small Claims Hearing is informal.Generally, the property owner presents his/her case first. The assessor or its repre-sentative then has an opportunity to askquestions. The town will then have an op-portunity to present its case after whichthe property owner is allowed to questionthe town's representatives. The hearingusually lasts fifteen to twenty minutes.

There are several tips which can be fol-lowed to help improve your presentation.First, attach your exhibits, analysis and anyother data you will utilize to the petition.If the material is lengthy, highlight themost important information so the hear-ing officer can easily scan the informationbefore and after the hearing. Also, copiesof all material should be brought to thehearing in case additional copies areneeded. After the hearing is scheduled,submit a written request for all appraisalsand other data which the assessor will usein defending his/her assessment. The in-formation should probably be received fiveto seven days before the hearing. The re-quest should be made in writing andmailed to the hearing officer, the assessorand the town, village or city attorney. Fi-

NY FOREST OWNER

nally, and most importantly, ensure thatyour presentation is professional and fac-tual, generally lasting no more than tenminutes. The hearing officer is more likelyto respond favorably to this type of pre-sentation than one that is overladen withemotions.

CONCLUSIONMany people are afraid to challenge

their property tax assessments. As a re-sult, they resign themselves to a lifetimeof paying inflated property taxes. Thisdoes not have to be the case. Proceduresexist to challenge a potentially faulty as-sessment. These procedures exist becausethe ultimate goal is equitable and accu-rate taxation. The procedure can belengthy and there are costs associated withchallenging the assessment. Therefore, aproperty owner should ensure that theproperty is over-assessed and that the taxsavings will exceed any costs before a re-view is sought. Hopefully this article hastaken some of the fear out of challengingan overvalued tax assessment.

In addition, there are very technicalrules and stringent time deadlines whichmust be complied with when challeng-ing an assessment. The time guidelinesdiscussed herein are relatively standard,but deadlines in your individual com-munity may vary. You should verify thenecessary filing deadlines in your com-munity if you seek to challenge yourassessment. .•.

Dave Colligan, a member of NYFOA'sNiagara Frontier Chapter, is a practicingattorney with a Buffalo law firm (Watson,Bennett, Colligan, Johnson & Schechter;600 Fleet Bank Buiding, 12 FountainPlaza, Buffalo 14202) and regularly pro-vides articles on legal matters of interestto forest owners.

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Joel FiskeProfessional Consultant Forester

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AdirondackForestrY Inc.

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E-Mail: CDALEBIKE @ ao I.com

MARIAPR 19

SCALE INSECTS WITH A HARD COVERINGBy Douglas C. Allen

e insect world is divided taxo-omically into approximately 31ifferent Orders or groups of in-

sects that share certain general character-istics, such as type of mouthparts, wingstructure and kind of metamorphosis. Thelatter refers to the manner in which an in-sect changes form as it grows. The OrderHomoptera [home-op-terra] contains a verydiverse group of sucking insects likeaphids, adelgids, mealybugs, cicadas, leaf-hoppers, and scales. The most distinguish-ing feature of families that constitute thisgroup is the presence of piercing-suckingmouthparts. Also, these insects undergo anincomplete metamorphosis which is de-fined by only three life stages (egg, nymphand adult). The more advanced insectgroups like moths, beetles, wasps, and flieshave four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, adult.Two of the most important types of ho-mopteran pests of ornamental and shadetrees are the soft scales, described in theNov.!Dec. issue of the NY FORESTOWNER, and a group known collectivelyas armored scales.

Importance - armored scales includemany species that are serious pests of agri-cultural crops as well as trees and shrubs.Rarely do they kill woody plants, but theirfeeding can detract from the appearance ofa tree by altering foliage color, reducingfoliage density and occasionally killing in-dividual branches within the crown.

The presence of an armored scale infes-

pierCing-suckingmouthparts(stylets)

I

eggs beneath _

wax-like secretion

A

tation often goes undetected due to theinsect's small size, their unusual appearanceand the secretive nature of some species.

General Appearance - armored scalesare highly specialized and. like the softscales, do not resemble typical insects.Adult females are wingless and legless.Males (rarely seen by the casual observer)of some species lack mouthparts altogetherand have a single pair of legs. In other spe-cies they are wingless and resemble asmaller version of the female. A single pairof wings is unusual as most adult insects(except wingless forms and true flies whichalso have only one pair) possess two pairsof wings. After settling down to feed, ar-mored scales cover their body with secre-tion which, combined with caste nymphalskins, imparts a very characteristic appear-ance to each species. The covering protectsthe insect and its eggs. Winged males lackthis covering and appear like a more con-ventional insect.

The first nymphal stage (the form thathatches from the egg) has legs and often isreferred to as a "crawler". Other thanwinged males, it is the only stage capableof active dispersal. Once it locates a suit-able feeding site on the host plant, thecrawler settles down permanently and in-serts its mouthparts into plant tissue. Of allthe life stages, the crawler is most vulner-able to mortality. It is very susceptible tolow humidity, temperature extremes, exces-sive rain, and lack of suitable sites for set-tling on the host. As it feeds, the scale ex-

-- wax-like secretion

Fig. 1. A, ventral or bottom view of female oystershell scale; B, dorsal or top view.

B

20 NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA - 1-80~836-3S66 - INFO

Fig. 2. Pine needle scalescretes a waxlike material that covers itsbody and, in the case of the female, even-tually this structure is enlarged to form acovering which protects the eggs (Fig. 1).

Biol0I:Y - many armored scales that areimportant pests of trees and ornamentalsoverwinter as eggs beneath the waxy cov-ering. Eggs hatch from May to early June,depending on geographic location. Two ormore generations a year often occur insouthern parts of a species' distribution.

Scales feed by inserting their threadlikemouth parts into plant tissue and extract-ing plant juices that contain the productsof photosynthesis.

Pine needle scale - this is certainly themost common armored scale infestingpines, most especially Scots and mugho,and it is very familiar to Christmas treegrowers. The waxlike covering is brightwhite and very distinct on the green back-ground of host needles (Fig. 2). It is a com-mon pest of ornamental pines throughoutthe United States and Canada. The tan col-ored "head" of the scale is actually the casteskin of the first nymphal stage (crawler).The purplish body of the female resides be-neath the waxlike covering immediatelybehind this structure (see Fig. ·1).

High populations give host foliage awhitewashed appearance. Heavy and pro-

MARIAPR 1997

longed infestations may cause foliage toturn yellow or brown and needles may dropprematurely.

Oystershell scale - of all the armoredscales, this species is probably the one mostfrequently encountered on broadleavedtrees and shrubs throughout North America.

It has over 100 known host plants. Heavyinfestations are especially commonplace onash, beech, apple, aspen, and maple. Thestraight to slightly curved (oystershell-like)covering varies from chestnut to darkbrown or may even have a distinctly gray-ish or black caste as it ages, depending onthe host. This scale usually attaches tosmooth bark, not foliage (Fig. 3). The bodyof the adult female is whitish and visibleonly if the covering is removed.

As with most species of scales, heavy in-festations may result in discolored foliage,crown dieback or occasional death of abranch. A heavily infested branch or sec-tion of tree trunk that harbors a dense popu-lation often looks as if it is encrusted withcoral or a thin layer of rough cement. Malesof both species are wingless and have acovering which is similar in color to thatof the female but much smaller. The "ma-

Fig. 3. Oysters hell scales.

ture'' female scale (insect plus covering) ofboth species is 1/16" to 1/8" long (Fig. 3).

Pest mana~ement - direct control is notpractical under forest conditions but, for-tunately, infestations are usually restricted

© 1997 Treessentials Company, P.O. Box 7097, St. Paul, MN ))107

individual trees or small groups. However,control may be important when infestationsoccur in Christmas tree plantations or onornamentals.

Both species are subject to mortality frominsect parasites and predators, but gener-ally these natural enemies are unable tocontain populations when suitable hosts areavailable and environmental conditions fa-vor survival.

Dispersal is passive compared to manyinsects, because adult females are unableto fly and movement from plant to plantrelies mostly on wind that blows crawlersfrom one host to another. In dense plantingswhere branches from individual trees in-termingle, however, crawlers are very likelyto walk to adjacent plants. Therefore, care-ful spacing of susceptible landscape plantswill reduce the likelihood of this move-ment.

Several synthetic organic chemicals, hor-ticultural oils and insecticidal soaps areavailable for use, but several treatmentsmay be required and timing is critical. .•.

This is the 31st in the series of articles con-tributed by Dr. Allen, Professor of Ento-mology at SUNTIESF.

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LAD YB U G, LAD YB U G .By Jane Sorensen Lord, PhD, OTR, ND

Ikeep more than 25 herbs and aro-matic plants over winter in ourconservatory with ten casement

windows and three sealed skylights. Theplants go outside in summer. Some of themget sunk in their pots in the herb gardenswhile others grace covered porches in moreprotected and controllable sites.

I dig holes in the garden for the plantsafter they have weathered outside and putthe 10-12" pots in the ground. This keepsthe plants somewhat "bonsaied," whichmaintains a manageable size and permits areturn before frost in the fall-and I getfresh herbs all winter. Shortly before ourfrost date, after summering in the garden,each plant is lifted up and given a rootprune, then taken inside. I keep them anattractive 2-4" high. I have a rosemary, apomegranate, a pineapple sage, and a lemonverbena, to name several, which lived thisway for many years.

The more fragile herbs like bay, jasmine,scented geraniums and caramom stay moresheltered near the house. I let them growlarge enough (3' plus) that they can sit onthe floor of the narrow conservatory. Then,when you walk by and brush them, or shakethe leaves with your hands, the plants giveoff their aromatic scent. Very nice on afreezing cold day!

Even though all the plants are hosed offand inspected thoroughly before they arebrought indoors, some insect pests seem tomake the move inside each year. I can't useinsecticides indoors. I have 8 cats and Gor-don.A few years ago I discovered Tea TreeOil which when mixed with water andsprayed regularly, seems to keep some con-trol.

We had a very damp summer this pastyear, though, and a number of my plantswere distressed. The desert-thriving aloe

had a stubborn case of scales. So did myten year old bay tree. My patchouli hadwhite flies and I found aphids on a coupleof other plants. The bugs persisted insideeven after horticultural and tea tree oilsprays.

Fit to be tied, I was worried becausethere are so many types of plants crowdedinto the 10'x20' conservatory. What if theyall got sick and died? I contemplatedtriage, but the affected plants still lookedhealthy.

Then, one sunny October afternoon, thesolution literally flew in through the opencasement windows. Ladybugs! Hundredsand hundreds got in before I got all thewindows closed. They were crawling allover the windows, skylights and walls,bouncing off me in mid-flight. I haveliked ladybugs since I was a kid and stillthink of them as lucky. Heeding the oldsuperstition about not shooing them, butinstead waiting for the bugs to flyawayvoluntarily, I kept them from making theyellow spots Doug Allen [NYFO J/F'97 Jsays lady bugs make when brushed,threatened, harassed or annoyed.

I was tickled to see them. I had neverseen so many ladybugs at once. I didn'tknow if they came in to die, hide, hiber-nate or what. I prayed that some had anappetite and would rescue my affectedplants. And I figured even if the bugscame to die, I could just sweep up the car-casses from the tile floor and dump theminto the plant pots for a bit of nitrate.

As I write this, the lady bugs have beenhere a couple of months. Lots have died(?) in the corners of the room and on thewindow sills. Others seem to have hiber-nated, at least they are staying still on thesoil in plant pots and in cracks of plantshelves.

22 NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA • 1·800-836-3566 • INFO

Bay Tree

But the rest of the visiting ladybugs sawmy plants and said "home!" They ate theaphids first and are keeping the scale incheck so well that I don't have to spray. Ihaven't seen any more white flies. The ladybugs have done such a good job in the con-servatory that I have carried individuals outto plants in rooms throughout the house.

Most of the time the bugs seem to stay inthe plants. On warm days you see a few ofthem crawling on the sun warmed windowsand skylights. Watching the little spotteddomes, with feet not apparent, movingalong surfaces makes me smile, I hope theydon't all leave in the spring. I hope theystay in my plants and gardens keeping theplants pest free. Ladybugs are welcomehere anytime of the year.

And if next fall, ladybugs visit you, whynot stay calm and wait to see if they makeyour plants happy before you vacuum thelittle babies up and throw them away! .•.

Dr. Jane, a regular contributor; is a Mas-ter Forest Owner and Certified TreeFarmer. She has a private consulting prac-tice in Occupational Therapy andNaturopathic Medicine and teaches on thefaculty of Health at Indianapolis Univer-sity.

MARIAPR 1997

The MarketplaceATTENTION small woodlot owners/part time loggers - For FARMI winchesand VALB Y chippers, write Hewitt's Hill Haven, Locke, NY 13092 or call (315)497-1266 (Before 8AM or after 6PM).

MEADOWVIEW NURSERY: QUALITY FIELD GROWN SEEDLINGSAND TRANSPLANTS for reforestation and establishing wildlife habitat.SPECIALIZING IN NUT TREE & WETLAND VARIETIES. P.O. Box 241,Byron, NY 14422 (716) 548-2207 FAX (716) 548-9014.

FOR SALE: 170 acres Allegany County; 80 acres pine and hardwoods; deer,turkey, grouse; call Henry Hansen, evenings (716) 334-3569; Good project forinterested woodsman.

WHITE OAK NURSERY: DECIDUOUS SEEDLINGS, TUBE GROWNSEEDLINGS, WHIPS TO 5 FT, B&B STOCK including most commercialhardwoods and premier native shade trees and ornamental shrubs of the East. Forreforestation, naturalizing and landscaping. 8456 Harpers Ferry Rd., Springwater,NY Livingston County 14560716/669-2960

READY TO BUILD: 22.7 Acres, surveyed, good well, septic test approved, 15acres of beautiful woods, very private, shed and garden, 5 minutes fromCobleskill. Call 518/234-3984

FOR SALE: 611 acres mix woods with streams and over 4000 ft. frontage onprivate 3/4 mile-long lake, borders state land-Fulton County-l hour west ofAlbany-$115,000 R.R.STERGAS, Broker, 5181762-4484.

ADVERTISINGRATES

Per Insert:

Display: $210 - perfull page or 30 col. in.;$7 per col. in.Marketplace: $10minimum for 25 wordsor less, 1Oceach addi-tional word.Contact: R.J. Fox, Editor

RD 3, Box 88,Moravia, NY13118Fax/Phone:

(315) 497-1078

Circulation 1800.

FORECON INC.Forestry - Recreation - Ecology - Conservation

• Certified Appraiser on staff

Now With Three Offices to Better Serve Your Needs!!!Main Office 100 E. 2nd St., Jamestown ,NY (716) 664-560211 N. Main St., Suite 202, Cortland, NY (607) 753-3113314 E. Fourth St., Emporium, PA (814) 486-1276

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO MARIAPR 23

R.J. Fox, EditorRD#3, Box 88Moravia, NY 13118FaxlPhone (315) 497-1078richard_fox@nyforest.edu

SUSAN J- KEISTERForestry Consulting Services

-480A & SIP Management Plans-Forestry Inventory and Appraisals-Timber Sales-Cost Basis and Real Estate TaxManagement Advice

(716) 728-30447025 Harpers Ferry Road, Wayland,

NY 14572

lake GeorgeForestry

Complete Forestry Servicesincluding:

• Detailed ManagementPlans

• Timber Trespass• Timber Sales• Appraisals• Deed Research• Timber Inventory• Watershed Management• Boundary Line Location• Tax Savings PlansNo property is too small or toolarge to benefit from experiencedprofessional assistance when youare faced with important decisionsregarding its use.Contact Lake George Forestry to-day to arrange a free initial con-sultation.

Christian Gearwear, President

LAKE GEORGEFORESTRY, INC.

50 Hendrick StreetLake George, New York 12845

Tel: 518.668.26231.800·7734611

Fax: 518.668.2486

24 • NY FOREST OWNER

DEBBIE GILLEl"~~r()I 1'\1 ER c: t.;, •• :t~;~,',·)OC"I'IEW '(OPK FOH:~,;::> ,v\I,,' '\-.:;, •. '

PO [3CJ)< 180FAIHPOFn, 1'-1'( 14."150

NOTICE

9709

Non-Profit Org,U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMoravia, N.Y.

13118Permit No. 21

THE FOREST OWNER is mailedthird class and will not be forwarded;notify Administrative Secretary DebbieGill, PO Box 180, Fairport 14450 or call1/800/836/3566 with a change in ad-dress!

PONDS UNLIMITEDINVITES yOU ....

to think of all of the benefits youcould enjoy from having a pond ora lake on your own property. Thisidea could become a reality if theright conditions prevail. From ourexperience it normally requiresfavorable watershed conditions,good site conditions, owner-commitment to stewardship forenhancement of forest land values,appropriate engineering planningand design, and good constructionpractices.

PONDS UNLIMITED CANEVALUATE the site of yourchoice. We can provide all of theengineering services needed toplan, design and oversee theconstruction of a dam to create ahandsome pond or lake on suitableproperty. You can get additionalinformation by calling 315/422-

POND or sending a letter ofinquiry to:

PONDS UNLIMITED719 E. Genesee St.

Syracuse, NY 13210315/422-7663

FAX/476-3635

FOUNDED 1963

WOODLOTCALENDAR

MAR 5: WFL; 7:30PM; Old Growth For-ests; Highland Ave;716/367-2849 (eve.)

w8:30·5PM; Woodland Wkshop.; NYSFairgrnds; 315/255·3662

MAR 15: NFC;Maple Syrup BkfstlFundraiser; D. Colligan;716/832-3611.

MAR 20: CNY; 6:30PM; Potluck Sup-per; St. Pauls Church; Syr., 315/673·3691

APR 5-6: SEA; Upper Hudson Maple Pro-ducers Open House; 518/642-2856.

APR 15·18: CFA;"GAMEOFLOGGINGLevels 1·4";Soren Erikson; 914/586-3054

APR 19: CNY; 12:30 PM; Baillie Lum-ber Tour; Watyerloo; 315/255-3662

APR 26: NYFOA SPRING MEETING,Syracuse.

MAY 3: Free WS Seedlings; HenryKernan's;So. Worcester; 607/397-8805

JUN 14: CDC & SEA; FAMILY FOR-EST FAIR; 518/753-4336.

NYFOA - 1·800-836-3566 - INFO MARIAPR 1997