The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

24
The New York FOREST OWNER A publication of the New York Forest Owners Association January/February 1996 Tree soldiers d:cmd against the dark 'YI edded by webs of leafle» limbs, Tiny shadows about their snowy feet I n Iine s that bear no retreat. The need of spring is in their hearts-; Limbs without leaves will green anew, But until the winter spends its- reign, Stark soldiers of night they will remain.

description

January/ February 1996 issue of the New York Forest Owner. Published by the New York Forest Owners Association; P.O. Box 541; Lima, NY 14485; (800)836-3566; www.nyfoa.org

Transcript of The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

Page 1: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

The New York

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

January/February 1996

Tree soldiers d:cmd against the dark

'YI edded by webs of leafle» limbs,

Tiny shadows about their snowy feet

I n Iine s that bear no retreat.

The need of spring is in their hearts-;

Limbs without leaves will green anew,

But until the winter spends its- reign,

Stark soldiers of night they will remain.

Page 2: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

THE NEW YORK

FOREST OWNERSASSOCIATION

VOL. 34, NO.1OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Bill Minerd, President

1123 Cold Springs RoadLiverpool, NY 13088; (315) 451-3712

Peter Levatich, Vice President158 Bailor RoadBrooktondale, NY 14817; (607) 539-7049

Robert M. Sand, Recording Secretary

300 Church Street

Odessa, NY 14869-9703; (607) 594-2130

Clara Minerd, Treasurer

1123 Cold Springs RoadLiverpool, NY 13088; (315) 451-3712

Deborah Gill, Administrative Secretary

P.O. Box 180Fairport, NY 14450; (716) 377-6060

1996Albert Brown, Stow; (716) 763-9067

Verner Hudson, Elbridge; (315) 689-3314

Peter Levatich, Brooktondale; (607) 539-7049

Don Wagner, Utica; (315) 733-7391

1997John T. Hastings, Queensbury; (518) 798-0248Charles Mowatt, Savona; (607) 583-7006

Norman Richards, Syracuse; (315) 472-3696Elizabeth Wagner, Utica; (315) 733-7391

1998Jill Cornell,Johnsonville; (518) 753·4336Elizabeth Densmore, Machias; (716) 942·6600Robert Sand, Odessa; (607) 594-2130

Bob Sykes, Elbridge; (315) 673-3691

AFFILIATE REPRESENTATIVES

Dick Mark, THRIFT; (315) 623·9476Donna RogIer, Catskill Forest Assoc.; (914) 586-3054

CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVESDon Huber, Allegheny Foothills; (716) 549·5025

Tom Hewitt, Cayuga; (315) 497-1266Barry Cornell, Capital District; (518) 797·3623

Bob Sykes, Central New York; (315) 673·3691Jeff Wiegert, Lower Hudson; (914) 831·3109

Bob Howard, NorthemAdirondack West; (315)262-2692Herb Boyce, Northern Adirondack East; (518) 946·7040

Donald Fraser, Niagara Frontier; (716) 773·7011

Ernst Spencer, SE Adirondack; (518) 792·1726Larry 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: NIGHT SOLDIERS, one of

a photographic series entitled"Winterscapes" by Patricia Kay © 1986.The poem is a collaboration by DorothyDarling. See page 14.

2 NY FOREST OWNER

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

Editorial Committee: BettyDensmore, Alan Knight, Jim Minor, Bob Sand,and Eileen VanWie.

Materials submitted for publication should be addressed to: R. 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 Mar/Apr is Feb 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.

The "Cow Shed"

Fillmore Glen State Park in Winter, site of the Cayuga Chapter'sCabin Fever Festival, see page 19.

Photo by A. Signor.

Table of ContentsPresident's Message, Bill Minerd 3The Seventh American Forest Congress •...........•••...........••.............. 4The Microburst Storm, M. Bridgen & T. Nelson 6Life Without Incentives, Mike Greason 8Chapters/Affiliates ......................•......•......•..•........••........•....•......•..... 12Letters ...............•.••.....................•.•.•......•....••••...............••..•••.........•.... 13WINTERSCAPES, Patricia Kay & Dorothy Darling ~ 14Future NY Market Trends, Lloyd Irland 16The Game of Logging, Donna Rogier 18Windstorms and Insects, Douglas Allen 20Stormy Weather, Jane S. Lord 22

NYFOA· 1-800-836-3566 • INFO JAN/FEB 1996

Page 3: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGEBy Bill Minerd

In the last message I mentioned that Ihad been invited to represent NYFOA at aSUNY!ESF conference to be held this pastNovember 13-14 in Syracuse. The title ofthe conference was: "The Empire Forest:Changes and Challenges" and was to fo-cus on the recent data reported in the 1993U.S. Forest Service Inventory. I was to par-ticipate as a respondent to an afternoon ses-sion on Forest Policy.

When Walt Aikman, program chair-man, approached me regarding this meet-ing, I readily accepted seeing this as an op-portunity to inform members of the forestindustry, faculty, and other attenders of theexistence of NYFOA. As background in-formation on this conference, Walt sent meabstracts that the afternoon presenters hadprepared and also a copy of "Forest Statis-tics for New York: 1980 and 1993" whereinthe Forest Service Inventory data is com-piled and compared. This is a daunting pub-lication packed with charts and tables whichdescribe statistically New York forest landsin detail that is, for the most part, over-whelming.

In the two weeks before the conference,I prepared a formal presentation, the firsthalf of which was devoted to NYFOA; andthe second addressing an issue that mayhave a profound impact on future forest-land policy.

I arrived at the Hotel Syracuse for theconference registration, signed in, and ex-plained to the program committee that I hadto go to my office for a couple of morningmeetings and would return before lunch.(Enter Stage left: FA1E) When I arrived atthe office my staff informed me that I hada call from my older brother Tim in Roch-ester. Something was wrong; I immediatelycalled him to hear that our mother was se-riously ill and not responding to therapy. Itwas the doctor's advice that the familycome to mother's side as soon as possible.A quick call to Clara and my children, arush to the hotel to explain thesituation ...Clara and I arrive in Rochesterearly that afternoon. I am pleased to tellyou that within a few days my mother re-covered but is still in guarded condition.

Well, the SUNY!ESF conference cameand went and my presentation was collect-ing dust in my briefcase. In reviewing thismaterial it came to mind that some of the

NY FOREST OWNER

information that I have collected regard-ing NYFOA members has never been pub-lished in the pages of THE FORESTOWNER. There has not been a recent fullmembership survey conducted; however,the Western Finger Lakes Chapter and theCentral New York Chapter have conductedsurveys, I put together a CNY chapter sur-vey about three years ago that was mod-eled on the survey conducted by WFL Thetwo surveys were completed by about twohundred members and give us a narrowview of some of the characteristics of ourmembers, This survey information was tobe the first part of my presentation:

Acres of forest Land OwnedAcres #Members

<50 4651-100 37

101-150 21151-200 10201-250 25

>500 5

* Age of Members?: 39%, <50 years;61% >50 years. Of the group >50 years,30% are retired and over the age of 60.

* What are the most important issuesrelated to forest ownership?: Taxes and landownership rights.

The pre-conference information pro-vided me with the facts that New York for-est lands have increased 23% since 1953with significant increases in volume in themajor species found in this state; that theannual net growth is three times the annualremoval; and that there are no major dis-eases endangering the forest. Overall, agood report card,

Our forest resources appear to be underreasonable management by land owners inthis state, If there is a threat to the forest itcomes from a slow "social shift"in the gen-eral publics' attitude of "best use" of for-estland. Three treasures of hominid thathave carried over into modern times are fire,stone, and wood. Throughout our historywood has been a resource that has providedshelter, heat, utensils, tools, and vessels toexplore our world. If we look around ourhomes today, we all have these woodentreasures. What most of our society has lostis the individual relationship and directdependance on forests and forest products.Like it or not, most of our children are

NYFOA ·1-800-836-3566 • INFO

taught in school that cutting trees is bad. Iwould, also, venture to guess that the ma-jority of the public believes that trees in thisstate are in danger of being overharvested.

Who will own the forest lands in thefuture? Our data regarding age of memberssuggest that in the near future 50% of ourmembers will turn over ownership due toretirements from active management ordeath. These l~nds in today's real estatemarket will most likely sell at a premium.Only wealthy people will have the abilityto purchase these lands. Where will thebuyers come from, most likely from majorcities where most of the nation's wealth isconcentrated? I am concerned that thesenew urban owners may have a much dif-ferent set of values regarding forest man-agement from that of the current owners.Will our news media be reporting that alocal citizen's group is blocking timberharvest on "your" land because the harvestis destroying "their" environment?Will thebest use of forestland be a "view shed"?Will local ordinances become so restrictiveand costly that your timber harvest willhave little or no economic value? Theseconditions have happened and may worsen.

This brings me to the last point of mypresentation, the education of the publicand NYFOA membership where qualityforest management will yield benefits toowners and the public at large. Educationis one of the prime objectives ofNYFOAwhich can help lead this state to rationalpolicy decisions on protecting the envi-ronment, preserving land owners' "rightto harvest", and set the standards for thebest use of our forestlands.

I will end by thanking Dick Fox forstanding-in for me at the conference andrepresenting NYFOA.

JAN/FEB 1996 • 3

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THE SEVENTH AMERICAN FOREST CONGRESS.

many voices, a common visionIntroduction

The Seventh American Forest Congress builds on a rich history as reported in THEFOREST OWNER, NovlDec 1995. This particular congress was prompted by a recog-nition that current methods for making decisions on forest issues are not producingsatisfactory results. America's forests are being subjected to increased and conflictingdemands, a variety of regulations and inconsistent judicial rulings, and poor manage-ment. There is no set of guiding principles to lead away from these conflicts and to-wards a vision that is aligned with the needs of the American public.

The Seventh American Forest Congress is scheduled for February 21-24, 1996 InWashington, D.C.

Local roundtables or conferences will be held in each state to solicit state-specificinformation that will form the basis for the national discussion. The recent 2-day con-ference in Syracuse, one of several in New York, focused on the US Forest Surveywhich was completed in 1993 (sample of data, Fig. 1). The interactions of the variouspresenters, panelists, and attenders have been summarized for the Washington Con-gress by the Faculty of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry:

Figure 1Private Forest Landowners,

Numbers and Acres, by Size- Class

Acres Owned Number of TolalAcresOwners

1-9 247,000 843,000

10-49 158,800 3,596,000

50-99 37,200 2,562,000

100-499 30,800 4,840,000

500-999 1,200 842,000

1,000+ 500 1,884,000

All size classes 475,400 14,367,000

As compiled by the U.S.Forest Service Survey for 1993.

EMPIRE FOREST VISIONSSummary Contribution to the Seventh American Forest Congress

based on discussion sessions at

THE EMPIRE FOREST: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES CONFERENCENovember 13 -14, 1995

VISIONIn a generation or two our forest will be:

Sustainable: a place where society'S biophysical and socioeconomic needs are in long-term harmony with natural processes.Diverse: made up of a wide range of land ownerships, goals, and management practices.Inclusive: where people's ideas, communities, homes, and property are part of the physical and political landscape.

PRINCIPLESOur vision should be guided by:

A commitment to democratic deliberation: forestry opportunities and problems must be confronted and defined by an in-formed, critically thinking, and active set of stake holders who will be given the time and support needed to forge lasting networks ofresponsible action.

A respect for posterity: forest stewardship must be embraced as a fundamental basis for ensuring the long-term production andprotection of both market and non- market forest values.

A balance of rights and responsibilities: property owners have rights to practice forestry, and these rights and their relatedresponsibilities must be as clearly stated, understood, and respected.

NEXT STEPSTo move forward, individuals and organizations must embrace:

Education: we will use new technologies and delivery systems - from high technology and field trips to teacher training - toreach school children, non-industrial private forest landowners, governmental agency personnel, urban populations, decision makers,and foresters to educate future decision makers and address the societal changes necessary to sustain forests for future generations.

Partnerships: we will foster and promote broad understanding, consensus, and cooperation between a wide range of stakehold-ers including not-for-profit land conservation organizations, non-industrial private forest landowners, government agencies, colleges anduniversities, local communities, recreational users, and industry.

Knowledge: we will encourage the creation, testing, and sharing of new knowledge, and seek to apply what we have learnedthrough responsible decision making processes that recognize our scientific and institutional limitations.

UNRESOLVED ISSUESPrivate property rights: what are they, what are their limits, and what will they be in the future?How can we balance local interest and needs with national environmental and natural resource priorities?Property taxes are a liability for landowners: what incentives can be created to keep forest land?What framework can be developed for compensating landowners for non-commercial values vested in their land?

4 NYFOA ·1-800-836-3566 • INFONY FOREST OWNER JAN/FEB 1996

Page 5: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

TIMBER TAXESBy David J. Colligan

A reader of THE FOREST OWNERwrote to the editor recently and requestedthat more articles be devoted to the subjectof timber taxes. Since there are a variety oftax laws that apply to timber, your authordecided to write about the proposed newcapital gains tax and how it affects forestowners. However, due to the current messin Washington, at the time this article goesto publication, your author chooses not tolook like a fool by writing about the capi-tal gains law as it exists now or might existin the future when by the time you readthis, the law could be completely different.

In lieu of writing about hot new tax top-ics.jhis article will remind you that recordkeeping and timber lot management mustgo hand in hand. As forest owners, thereare a myriad of expenses associated withthe ownership and cultivation of a forestcrop. The expenses include consulting for-ester fees, professional advisors' fees, travelexpenses, work shop registrations, purchaseof tools and equipment, TSI expenses, la-bor expenses, and other expenses that aregenerally grouped together as "operating"expenses. Some forest owners also paymortgage payments and separate insurancepayments for their forest land. These ex-penses combined with property taxes aregenerally referred to as "carrying costs".

Both operating and carrying costs thatare considered to be "ordinary and neces-sary" expenses of managing, maintainingand protecting, and conserving forest landmay be eligible for deduction in the cur-rent year, even if the woodland has pro-duced no income during that year.

Rules on whether current deductions canbe taken for expenses related to woodlandmanagement are very complex and youshould consult your tax advisor as to de-ductibility. The general rule is that currentdeductions related to woodland owners arepermitted only if the taxpayer can show thatthe activity is either business or an invest-ment that was entered into for the purposeof making a profit. Otherwise, the expensesare considered a "hobby" and can only bededucted to the extent of income. Underthe "hobby farm" rules developed by theInternal Revenue Code under Paragraph183, there must be a demonstrative profitmotive in the enterprise. The term "profit"includes appreciation of the value of theassets or, in the case of growing timber, an

NY FOREST OWNER

increase in the potential for appreciationcaused by tree growth.

Under the passive loss rules, each tax-payer associated with the enterprise mustdetermine whether they are a material par-ticipant or a non-material participant/pas-sive owner. The passive loss rules greatlyrestrict deductible expenses since you musthave passive income in order to deduct pas-sive expenses (loss). Check with your taxadvisor regarding all of the above rules usedto determine these classifications.

Different rules apply to owners of tim-berland who are owning it for "investment"purposes only. Passive loss rules do notapply, but there are certain limitations re-garding the deductibility of mortgage in-terest and there are no deductions allowedif the taxpayer has not itemized his or herdeductions on their tax return.

The last method to recover your man-agement expenses is to capitalize the ex-penses on this year's return with the un-derstanding that they are not deductibleuntil such time as there is income gener-ated by the investment upon which the de-ductions can be taken. It is very importantto understand that capitalized expensesmust be declared on the current year's taxreturn to be deducted on a future tax re-turn. Therefore, those deductions not de-clared will be lost!

In conclusion, it is very important thatyou begin to compile the necessary docu-mentation for taking timber related de-ductions on your 1995 tax return rightnow. Receipts for any expenses related toyour woodlot should be gathered, segre-gated, and filed. It is also very importantthat the hours spent working on yourwoodlot be compiled and kept as a regularbusiness record. It is much easier to recon-struct time spent on your woodlot in 1995in diary form at this time than it is to goback, when you are audited several yearslater, to reconstruct work including: sitepreparation, planting, pruning, timber standimprovement (TSI), cultivating, insect con-trol, property boundary inspections, andother related property management taskscompleted in the past year. Your taxpreparer will guide you as to how you canhandle woodlot deductions on your 1995return.Dave Colligan is a practicing attorney witha Buffalo law firm and serves NYFOA asour legislative liason.

NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 -INFO

Quilt Raffle Winner

Barry Cornell of the Capital DistrictChapter, NYFOA, presents quilt to Su-san Mitchell of Averill Park. She boughtwinning the ticket at Woodsman's FieldDays in Boonville.

Photo by Jill Cornell.

Weed Control Takes75% Less

Timewith

Supertube™

"Seedlingsare easyto find,and are

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JAN/FEB 1996 • 5

Page 6: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

How The 1995 Microburst Storm Changedthe Structure of the Dubuar Forest.

By Michael R. Bridgen and Tom Nelson

INTRODUCTIONOn July 15, 1995, weather patterns com-

bined to produce a brief series of stormsacross northern New York. The storms trav-elled eastwardly from southern Ontario,causing severe damage across northernNew York and the Adirondack Mountains.About one million acres of land were af-fected by the "micro burst" storm.

The James F. Dubuar Memorial Forestwas one area damaged by the storm. TheDubuar Forest lays within the AdirondackPark and is adjacent to the Five Ponds Wil-dernessArea, an area severely damaged bythe storm [see NYFO NID 95, 4]. It is aneducational and demonstration forest man-aged by SUNY's College of Environmen-tal Science and Forestry. It serves as theprimary location for the forest technologyprogram, commonly called the RangerSchool, and has been intensively managedfor forest products since the early 1900s.

Location of the Dubuar Forest

To CanadaTo Potsdam

Blue MOWlt •••••

Lakr

".....

N

tAn analysis of the Dubuar Forest began

shortly after the forest roads were cleared.Of its 2800 acres, severe damage was iden-tified on about 350 acres. About 100 acreswere totally flattened by the storm, includ-ing about 40 acres of white pine stands and60 acres of hardwoods. Much of the rest ofthe forest suffered some damage, includ-ing branch and top breakage, uprooting,and knockdown of individual trees orpatches of trees. Following the initial analy-sis, a salvage operation was initiated to re-move large amounts of damaged timber and

6 NY FOREST OWNER

restore the Forest to an operable condition.Harvesting prescriptions were establishedfor various stands throughout the Forest,allowing for rapid and efficient cleanup, aswell as maintaining forest productivity andfuture educational opportunities. The sal-vage operation was facilitated by a goodroad system throughout the Forest, and

were destroyed on the Ranger School andDubuar Forest.

The term "a lot" is a relative term. Forthe crew who cleaned up the campus, for-est roads, and general mess, there were alot of trees. And when you drive by the for-est and see all of the "holes" in the forestcanopy, it appears to be a lot of trees.

Figure 1. Percent of white pine, Norway spruce, and other softwoods onthe Dubuar Forest destroyed by the microburst storm ofJuly 15, 1995

20~---------------------------------------------18+-----~r-------~r_-------------------------16 +----..-l-14-t-------l12 -t--------l10+-------18+-----16 -t------l4-t------l2-t------l

Percent ofTotal Trees

o White Pine • Norway Spruce • Other Conifers

good spacing between trees.Wind storms are natural components, or

events, within forest ecosystems. The for-est will respond as it must to any naturaldisturbance. And storms may have benefi-cial effects upon a forest, as perceived byhumans. For example, they may destroyolder, dying, or decaying trees, and pro-vide opportunities for new stand establish-ment, or regeneration. Individual trees mayrespond to openings in the stand, with in-creased growth rates, especially in diam-eter growth. Species composition maychange, including wildlife and non-woodyplant populations. Regardless of whatchanges do occur, they will affect forestgrowth, development and use, perhaps fordecades or longer.

RESULTSThe storm brought down a lot of trees!

We have calculated that about 30,000 trees

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But from the standpoint of the forest, itreally wasn't a lot of trees. Only about 9percent of the total trees on the forest weredestroyed. Since most of these trees werein larger diameter classes, about 12% of thetotal canopy was "opened up". Many of thedestroyed trees were found in specific com-partments where the greatest damage oc-curred. Although storm damage has beenfound throughout the Forest, most of it waslocalized on certain slopes arid aspects, dueto the direction of the storm.

Certain species were hit harder than oth-ers. Among conifers, white pine was themost damaged (Figure 1). Hardwoods hadslightly greater losses, especially in blackcherry (Figure 2).

Two plantation white pine stands weredestroyed. These included some very largetrees. The average diameter of the felledwhite pine trees was over 17 inches, com-pared to 12 inches for the surviving trees.

JAN/FEB 1996

Page 7: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

We also lost a lot of black cherry trees, es-pecially around Cathedral Rock, near thecenter of the Forest. The cherry had beenmanaged for sawtimber production and hadreached pretty good sizes. Unfortunately,the storm grabbed hold of the biggestcrowns and pushed these trees over. In thehardwood stands, the biggest trees hap-pened to be black cherry.

stroyed. Some of you may be familiar withthe oldest red pine timber stand north ofthe Reservoir, along the old "north bound-ary" of the forest. There was very little dam-age in this stand, even though its neighbor-ing white pine stand was totally destroyed.Perhaps this species managed to escape thestorm because of chance geographic fac-tors. Perhaps its branching pattern allowed

Figure 2. Percent of black cherry, red maple, and other hardwoods onthe Dubuar Forest destroyed by the microburst storm of July15, 1995.

Percent ofTotal Trees

20~---------------------------------------------

10+------!

5+-----i

o+-------L---------

o Black Cherry • Red Maple • Other Hardwoods

From a silviculture point-of-view, the stormacted very similarly to a "thinning-from-above" operation, or crown thinning opera-tion. It reduced the average diameter of theforest trees from 11.1 inches to 11.0 inches.This doesn't seem like much, but in orderto get that much change, the average de-stroyed tree had a diameter of 12.5 inches.Figure 3 shows how the diameter distribu-tion of trees changed on the Dubuar Forestfollowing the storm.

The reduction of overall stocking of theForest is similar to what we might get fol-lowing a planned thinning operation:

Stems Basalper Acre Area (ftz/acre)

Before Storm 124After Storm 115

9382

You might be interested to know aboutone "survivor" species. Red pine fared quitewell during this weather "event". Althoughred pine makes up over seventeen percentof the total number of trees on the Forest,and most of them are quite old, only threepercent of the red pine timber was de-

NY FOREST OWNER

less resistance to the wind. Or perhaps be-cause it grows on drier sites, its root sys-tems had greater resistance. Whatever thereason, we have to consider red pine amost suitable alternative to plantingwhite pine again.

Plans for regenerating the Forest arebeing made now. New age classes will be-come established. The severely damagedpine stands will probably be replanted tosoftwoods. The better hardwood sites havebeen completely clearcut to allow fasterregeneration of black cherry, Other siteswill be examined, one-by-one, to determinewhat best can be done with them. We can'twork miracles and bring the former forestback. But we can set into motion a seriesof planned events, combining technical, fi-nancial and labor resources, which will al-low the eventual regeneration of a new for-est for future Ranger School students.

Dr. Bridgen is an assistant professor offor-estry at the Ranger Schoo!. Tom Nelson isa former Ranger School student from EastAmherst, NY.

Figure 3. Diameter distribution of trees within the James F. DubuarMemorial Forest both before and after the July 15, 1995Microburst storm.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 18 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 28 27

Diameter Class (Inches)

o After Storm

• Before Storm

NYFOA • 1-800-836-3566 -INFO JANIFEB 1996 • 7

Stems per Acre

Page 8: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

LIFE WITHOUT INCENTIVESBy Michael Greason

To one who has spent a career trying toencourage forest landowners to managetheir tree resources, cost sharing programshave been a good tool to serve as the cata-lyst that put management on the land. As Isee the funding diminish for StewardshipIncentives Program (SIP), Forestry Incen-tives Program (FIP) , and other cost shar-ing incentives, I worry about the future offorestry. SIP was the most exciting publicforestry program I have seen in thirty-fiveyears; it was tailored for our state. Conse-quently, demand far exceeded funding al-locations and many, many landowners be-came closer to their land. But now it ap-pears we will have to try another way ofcapturing landowner interest.

We in public forestry realize we cannotreturn to the "good old days" when wewould mark timber for Clients. We recog-nize that as a role for the private sector. Yetthe New York Society of American Forest-ers has become involved in studying cut-ting practices; because the profession hasa concern that some foresters may behigh grading woodlots. This practice (tak-ing the best and leaving the rest) may pro-vide a higher short term return in commis-sion fees to the forester and bid stumpageprices to the owner, or the forester believesthis is what the owner wants, or possiblyfor some other reason. With the forestryprofession looking inwardly at itself withcritical overtones, there appears to be a rolefor public forestry in providing unbiasedinformation.

Shortages in public forestry staffing ledto the inception of the Master Forest Owner(MFO) program. Trained volunteers,MFO's, meet with landowners and partici-pate in events to share information and toencourage forest owners to contact a for-ester. The enlightened landowner is betterready to meet with a forester because morethought process has gone into thinkingabout land management goals and oppor-tunities. The MFOs introduce these peopleto the New York Forest Owners Associa-tion (NYFOA), Tree Farm and other orga-nizations involved in forestry. And an edu-cation process is started that helps the land-owner guide the management of the prop-erty.

NYFOA, and its affiliates and chapters,further the education process. What evolvesis a group of very good land stewards who

8 NY FOREST OWNER

gain more benefits from their land. Unfor-tunately this approach is successful withabout four tenths of one per cent of NewYork's forest owners. Obviously we needto do better.

Public forestry has been long recognizedas a source of unbiased information. TheDepartment of Environmental Conserva-tion service forester has no vested interestin any individual property. Being salariedby the state, this forester does not dependon commissions or fees for livelihood. Thisindividual fits in between the MFO and theprivate consultant or industrial forester.Forest resources, landowners and privateforesters are well served through this. Theprivate forester gains efficiency and cred-ibility dealing with an informed landownerwho may be referred.

One on one contact with a service for-ester has been traditionally triggered by aninterest in having timber marked for freeor cost sharing incentives. As the programschange, what will inspire a landowner tomake contact?

Public forestry has beenlong recognized as a source

of unbiased information.

One tool can be a management plan.Many consultants tell us landowners willnot pay for a plan unless it is to gain a 480-a property tax exemption or SIP payments.The service forester can meet with a land-owner, discuss the resource as it relates tomanagement options, make a written docu-ment that gives the landowner a relativelybrief record of that meeting. This would notconflict with the owner hiring a consultantfor a 480-a detailed plan; yet it would haveenough detail to guide the owner in mak-ing sound decisions in selecting a consult-ant and directing the management process.But is this service alone enough to stimu-late landowners to contact the service for-ester? Or will more landowners simply waitfor that logger with. a fist full of dollars toappear at the kitchen door?

Another tool is having service forestersavailable for presentations for conveyingall sorts of forestry information to all sortsof audiences. Many of the service forest-ers have participated in workshops, semi-nars, and woods walks for NYFOA, TreeFarm, absentee landowners and so forth.

NYFOA· 1-800·836·3566 • INFO

Many have also worked with the news me-dia. These are functions that can be costlyfor the private sector and may not result inincreased business. In some instances, au-diences may perceive, unfairly, that the in-dividual is only on a sales pitch. Yet, ifsomeone from the private sector is involvedin a program with participation from thepublic sector, that individual immediatelygains credibility from the audience.

We, as a society, are harshly critical ofdeveloping nations for our perception oftheir exploitation of their forest resources.And then we seem reluctant to spend lessthan a dollar per taxpayer to encourage bet-ter management of our own resources thathistorically had been over-exploited. Ser-vice forestry is an encouragement approachrather than regulation. It has been a proven,low cost means of educating landowners.Cost sharing is not akin to welfare. In-stead it is an incentive for forest owners toinvest in practices that provide immediateand long term benefits to society. In a ma-jority of the cases, it is a future owner thatreaps the economic benefits from costshared practices. When most land transfers,there is seldom a serious look at whetherthe forest on that land is thinned stands ofhigh value timber species growing at maxi-mum rates; or a slow growing woods ofpoor quality, low value types; or a recentlyhigh graded forest with serious manage-ment problems and limited economic po-tential. This is why woods are so often ham-mered just before the land is sold. And inour society, we seem to overlook this infavor of criticizing somebody else who iscutting a tropical rain forest in hopes ofraising a farm crop upon which to subsist.

If service forestry survives this era ofgovernment downsizing and privatization,we are going to have to ask ourselves whattools will motivate effectively landownersto become involved actively in the manage-ment of their land. Any ideas? Please sharethem with me: Michael Greason, NYSDEC, 50 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12233-4253.

Mike is anAssociate Forester for NYS DECDivision of Lands and Forests in the Cen-tral Office in Albany and 1993 winner ofNYFOA's Heiberg Award.A version of this article will appear in aforthcoming issue of THE NATIONALWOODLANDS.

JAN/FEB 1996

Page 9: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

PUBLICATIONS FROM THEUS FOREST SERVICE

The us Forest Service has recently com-pleted the Final Environmental ImpactStatement (PElS) on Gypsy Moth Man-agement in the United States: a coopera-tive approach (November 1995). VolumeI is a 28 page Summary of the 6 alterna-tives considered and evaluated in the otherfour volumes: 300 page Vol II, the FinalEIS; 250 page Vol III, APPENDIX F, Hu-man Health RiskAssessment; 350 page VolIV,APPENDIX G, Ecological Risk Assess-ment; and the 50 page Vol V, APPENDIXH, Comments on the Draft EnvironmentalImpact Statement and Responses.

Female gypsy moths produce a chemicalto attract males. Photo from Summary,

Vol I, Gypsy Moth Management.

FOREST STATISTICS FOR NEWYORK: 1980AND 1993 By Carol Alerichand David Drake compare tree statisticsfrom the US Forest Service's 3rd and 4thforest inventories for New York; county bycounty, region by region, species by spe-cies, and size by size. There are over twohundred pages oftables, charts, graphs, anddefinitions which describe New York's tim-ber and timberlands in statistical form basedon data compiled from 82,775 new photoprints and 6,452 previously sampledground plots; and remeasured and newground plots totaling 5,403.

Forest Management Update is a

NY FOREST OWNER

newsletter, the latest of which is numbered16 in the series, has 26 pages, and containsa somewhat detailed discussion of "Ref or-esting Abandoned Agricultural Land" andanother 8 topics of interest to " ...forestlandmanagers and others interested in the stew-ardship of the forest resource."

Two publications (4-color glossies)highly recommended for forest owners,Master Forest Owners (MFOs) and otherenvironmentalists are a 30 page publica-tion entitled, Riparian Forest Buffers andthe 68 page, Forested Wetlands.

The reader may obtain copies of theaforementioned publications (if available)and/or be added to the appropriate mailinglist by writing to the USDA Forest Service;5 Radnor Corporate Center; Radnor, PA19087-4585 or phone 610/975-4135 (PA)or 3041285-1592 (WV).

Forest Owners' Guide to the FederalIncome Tax, Agricultural Handbook No.708, October 1995. This 140 page docu-ment is an updated and expanded versionof Agriculture Handbook No. 681, July1989. It is for sale from Superintendent ofDocuments, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington,DC 20402-9328.

The spikes of sensitive or bead fern,Onoclea sensibilis, persist through theWinter. Photo by Scott Jackson, p. 29

Forested Wetlands.

NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 -INFO

Bruce E.Robinson,

Inc.FORESTRY

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

Tupper Lake, NY 12986

Tel/Fax: (518) 359-3089

JANiFEB 1996 •

Page 10: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

the

NATIONAt' WOODLANDOWNERS ASSOCIATION

JOIN TODAY AND RECEIVE:• NATIONAL WOODLANDS MAGAZINE (quarterly)• Eight issues of WOODLAND REPORT• Plus other benefits

MEMBERSHIPAPPLICATION

National Woodland Owners Association374 Maple Avenue East, Suite 21 0Vienna, VA 22180 (703) 255-2700

Name. _

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DUES: $15 FOR ONE YEAR, OR $28 FOR TWO YEARSPayable to NWOA or National Woodland Owners Association.

ARE YOU A WOODLAND OWNER?If yes, how many acres do you own? _

Have you participated in FIP or other incentive programs? yes no

Do you have a forest management plan for your property? yes no

yes no

The NATIONAL WOODLAND OWNERSASSOCIATION is a nationwide organization ofnon-industrial private woodland owners with officesin the Washington, D.C. area. Membership includeslandowners in all 50 states. NWOA is affiliated withstate and county woodland owner associationsthroughout the United States.

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Appraisals are available for anyone involved in agriculture,and not just for land and buildings, but for livestock, equipmentand personal property, too.

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Founded by non-industrial private woodland ownersin 1983, NWOA is independent of the forestproducts industry and forestry agencies. We workwith all organizations to promote non-industrialforestry and the best interests of woodland owners.Member of: National Council on Private Forests,Natural Resources Council of America, and NationalForestry Network.

Members receive 4 issues of NATIONALWOODLANDS MAGAZINE and 8 issues ofWOODLAND REPORT with late-breaking newsfrom Washington, D.C. and state capitals. Anintroductory visit from a certified professionalforester is available in most states (for holdings of 20acres or larger), plus other member benefits.

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10 NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 -INFO JAN/FEB 1996

Page 11: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

TREESHELTERFEEDBACKIn a recent conversation with John

Solan, manager of the NYS Saratoga TreeNursery, some observations of Nurserymenfrom the midwest were relayed, in regardsto the use of tree shelters. It should be keptin mind that these are observations, NOTformal research, are related to midwestweather and growing conditions, and re-late primarily to their use in seed orchardsand other high quality hardwoods.

1) Gypsy moth, forest tent caterpillars,etc. get trapped inside and the resultant de-foliation goes undetected.

2) Birds often get trapped inside whichrequires netting over the top to prevent this.

3) The tree shelters do not seem to breakdown as expected and can result in girdlinga tree when a solid tube is used.

4) The main stem is not developing theneeded strength and rigidity to support thefuture top growth above the tree shelter,resulting in breakage from wind, ice, etc.

The above was excerpted from SEAdirondack Chapter, NYFOA Newsletter,John Hastings, Editor.

The following was excerpted from an ar-ticle, Tree Shelters Revisited by DaveRiordan, in the newsletter of NYFOA 's Af-filiate, the Catskill Forest Association:

The Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia,PA sponsored a tree shelter conference inJune, 1995. Forestry professionals fromaround the country gathered to dig deeplyinto the subject. Developed in Englandmore than 15 years ago, these plastic tubeshave been on the u.S. market for ten years.They are installed over newly planted orregenerated seedlings and encourage opti-mum growth by creating a more flexibleenvironment.

A tree shelter also acts as a barrier that

Nolan'.Sporting Supplle.

Outdoor EquIpment SpecIalIst

37 • 47 Genesee StreetAuburn, NY 13021

315/252·7249

NY FOREST OWNER

prevents damage from gnawing rodents andbrowsing deer. They are effectively usedin wildlife habitat restoration. Increasedbiodiversity can be realized in areas of highcompetition and limited seed source. Dur-ing intensive tree planting with high unitvalue, e.g. black walnut seedlings, they arerecommended to increase the chance ofsurvival.

A shelter is a tool not a panacea. Thereare limits to their use. Cost is a consider-ation.At almost $1.00 per foot for the wholesystem, using the recommended five footshelter on 100 seedlings adds $500 to theplanting costs. Of course, if you do not usethem, your seedlings will be nipped in thebud over and over again and your initialinvestment in seedlings and labor will belost.

Besides protection from maraudingbeasts, some benefits you may notice in-clude increased growth in the short termand higher survival rates. Their benefitsafter five years are unknown.

Maintenance is essential.H you are unwillingor unable to do it,

do not use shelters at all,

RECOMMENDATIONSFOR SUCCESS:

1) Maintenance is essential. If you areunwilling or unable to do it, do not use shel-ters at all.

2) Tree shelters are very species limitedand are not recommended for evergreens.When planting deciduous trees use the big-gest seedling you can. Even if you have tothrowaway half of your planting stock, theseedlings are the least expensive and mostimportant part of the planting. Approxi-mately 40 to 60 days before soil tempera-tures are expected to reach 40 degrees, nurs-ery grown seedlings should have their rootsundercut to increase the number of lateralroots. This should coincide with the seed-lings' 3rd flush of growth in their first year,and 2nd flush in their second year.

3) Competing brush and weeds need tobe controlled from planting time throughthe 6th year.

4) Do not be too quick to remove theshelters. Allow stems to strengthen whilestill protected.

5) If you are trying to establish oaks,plant 3-6 sprouting acorns per tube in min-erai soil. Competition will ensure that thegenetically superior seedling survives.

6) Bird nets are important and shouldbe used. However, if they are not removedin a timely fashion, they will deform theterminal leader.

7) On shallow, rocky, or clay sites youwill experience heavy heaving and downedtubes. By placing the stakes to the recom-mended depth you can insure appropriateinstallation, and reduce the number of fall-ing shelters.

Maintenance concerns are the most im-portant and the most overlooked. If thewhole tree shelter system (shelter, stake,and securing tie) is not installed properly,or under inappropriate circumstances, shel-ters may create more problems than theysolve. Lack of maintenance also causesmore problems than if the trees were un-protected. In areas of early frost, seedlingsare likely to die back heavily because theydon't harden off unless the shelters areraised up in late summer and put back inplace as winter approaches. They also mustbe cleaned every spring.

Unfortunately, they have not lived up toall their expectations. Stakes that are cur-rently available are not consistently manu-factured or of sufficient quality. Shelters donot always degrade as publicized due tovarying levels of ultra-violet inhibitors.

As long as there is no browsing prob-lem, trees grown without shelters do as wellas protected trees after five years. If thereis adequate advanced regeneration abovebrowse height, there is no need to use shel-ters.

-- VOSS SignsUept. NYF.Box 553. Manlius. N.Y. 13104

Ph. (315) 882-&118/Mon .. F"I1. 9-51

JANlFJ:B1996 • 11NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 • INFO

Page 12: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

CHAPTERS/AFFILIATESSOUTHEASTERN ADIRONDACK

Although most of Hamilton County con-sists of Forest Preserve lands of theAdirondack Park, there are some privatelandowners that are actively managing theirwoodlot. Jack and Joan Leadley of Specu-lator are one such example. October 7thover 40 NY Forest Owners braved the rainto visit the real Visitor Interpretive Centerof the Adirondacks, the Leadley Tree Farm!

One of the highlights of the woodswalkwas the bark shanty that Jack built a fewyears ago. Butted against a huge boulder,the shanty is a near replica of whatAdirondack trappers may have built andused 100-150 years ago with native sprucebark and deer skins.

Next on the tour was a walk throughJack's workshop where he makes snow-shoes, packbaskets, and Adirondack chairsof yellow birch. Here, Jack showed howhe makes packbaskets from the poundingof the black ash to the final details. To at-test to the quality of the packbasket he willsit on it, with the packbasket.onits.side!Try that with yours and see what happens!!

Finally, a tour of the sugar house, wheresap from over 2000 taps is reduced to a fewhundred gallons of Adirondack maplesyrup, or molded into sugar. The tour con-cluded with a stop at the pond and a hike tothe "back forty".

NYFOA members inspect the craftsmanshipof Jack Leadley's Bark Shanty.

Photo by Patricia Kay.

12 NY FOREST OWNER

The SEA Chapter, along with theAdirondack Mountain Club and CrandallLibrary will co-sponsor a lecture and slidepresentation about the book, The NorthernForest by David Dobbs and Richard Ober[see Book Review, NYFO JtA 95, 11].David Dobbs will make the presentationWednesday, February 7th at 7-8:45 PMin the auditorium of Crandall Public Li-brary, 251 Glen Street, Glens Falls. In caseof inclement weather, an alternate date willbe February 14th.

The book, The Northern Forest, profilesseveral people of the Maine, Vermont, NewHampshire, and New York region. Thesepeople - mill workers, duck hunters, land-owners, foresters, loggers, and biologists -try to respond to the need to balance theuse and conservation of this 26 million acreforest. What the authors found convincedthem that, "truly saving the NorthernForest will mean cnltivating the knowl-edge and care residing in the people wholive there, and who struggle each day touse these lands well."

For more information contact BruceCole at 518/792-6508.

WESTERN FINGER LAKESTHANK YOU! To all the WFL mem-

bers for the participation and hard workproduced in 1995.

Also, a special thanks to consulting for-ester, Art Brooks and Ron Pederson foran excellent workshop on Timber Theftwhich was given at our November meet-ing. Many hours went into the extensiveresearch that Art has done and the slidepresentation that Ron helped to develop. Wewere also favored to have representativesfrom the Central New York and AlleghenyChapters to attend this meeting.

Don't forget to mark your calendars forJanuary 17, 1996. Dave and BethBuckley will present one of their new slideshows at our general meeting. Check yournewsletter for details.

ALLEGHENY FOOTHILLSThis year's walnut harvest netted the

APC a rewarding grand total of $980.00Many people in the chapter worked hardto collect hundreds of bushels of walnuts.The Mowatts (Charlie & Marian) collected

NYFOA ·1-800-836·3566 • INFO

200 bushels! Others who collected largeamounts: Bob & Helen Nagle, Bud &Marie Larsen, Joann & Mark Kurtis,Don & Jan Lawson, and Betty Densmore.A really magnificent effort!

In September we toured the Mowattfamily homestead in Franklinville to exam-ine a woodlot after harvest. There were alsodemonstrations of the Farmi Winch by BillyMorris; and there was a chain saw mainte-nance and saw sharpening seminar byChris Rogosienski. In October we enjoyedan orienteering course at the Kurtises'property in Rushford. Our November event,a presentation by Bruce Robinson & Son,on Enhancing Wildlife on Your Land, washeld at Little Valley.

The steering committee has plannedmany interesting events for 1996, begin-ning with our annual Rural LandownersSeminar, which we offer with other inter-ested organizations to western New Yorklandowners.

CAYUGA CHAPTER

Two members of the Cayuga Chapter, JayFuller; (I), and Lfee Signor recieve CayugaCounty's Soil and Water ConservationDistrict's 1995 Conservationist of the YearAward.

JAN/FEB 1996

Page 13: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

LETTERSNYFOA IS Display

I was very happy to see a picture of theNYFOA tabletop display gracing the coverof the November-December, 1995 issue ofTHE NY FOREST OWNER. During thispast summer, the display appeared at elevenevents, including two county fairs, two log-ger seminars, two NYFOA Annual meet-ings, Empire Farm Days, CNY's FamilyForest Fair, and the Catskill Forest Asso-ciation Annual Meeting. It seems to bestanding the gaff fairly well.

Any chapter or affiliate having use forthe display should contact me to arrangefor reservation and delivery. (It fits in theback seat of our Subaru sedan.)

I must point out an error on page twowhich credits the WFL Chapter for fund-ing the display board. In fact, it was theAllegheny Foothills Chapter that providedfinancial support for the promotional dis-play. Memorial donations toAFC, made inthe name of Karen Anderson, provided themoney. Karen was a much loved memberof NYFOA and a driving force behind theAllegheny Foothills Chapter.

Please also acknowledge the change inleadership (Chapter Representative) of theAllegheny Foothills Chapter. Our new, dy-namic, and organized Chair isDon Huber.His address is 9308 Ryther Road, AngolaNY 14006. Phone 716/549-5025. -CharlieMowatt, Savona

ERRATAPage 20 of the NovemberlDecember is-

sue of the NY FOREST OWNER, the cap-tions to the three pictures accompanyingthe article, NY's Corps of Master ForestOwner ..., were all interchanged. The cap"tion: "David Swaciak ... leads afield exer-cise...", belongs with the bottom photo. Thecaption: "Henry Huizinga ...addresses the1995 class ...", belongs with the top photo.

The caption: "Ron Pederson addresses the1995 class ... ", belongs with the centerphoto.

Recycling XmasA friend of mine uses chips from a lo-

cal Christmas tree recycling project tomulch plants on his property. How muchrisk, if any, is there of introducing diseasesand insect pests by this practice? - JohnBraubitz; Owasco.

Positions of PrincipleI heard that people are more opposed to

fur than leather; because it's safer to ha-rass rich women than motorcycle gangs. -"Molly" Doolittle, Moravia.

Philosophythe dogs barkingup the wrong treesmell the scentof the animalthat climbed the tree

the tree the animaljumped tothe one with no scentbecomes the right tree

both trees are rightboth trees are wrongand the dogs bark on- Wayne Oakes, Vequita, NM

I REMEMBERByR.D. Wade

Shades of "Penrod and Sam", (a BoothTarkington novel).

I had a neighbor that, together withmyself, were quite a bit the same - like set-ting the chicken house on fire. Well, notactually, as the floor was of cement, so thechaff that we fired up burned itself out be-fore the building caught. My friend alwaysgot away, while my mother caught me.

Another time we were coming down

Congress Street from school, that was onChurch Street. There were several boardwalks yet in the viIIage at that time. Mostlyhemlock boards laid across two by fours.Always plenty of knot holes in the boards,which were a temptation for young boys(only!) to practice their aim, if you realizemy meaning. Possibly the people living at18 Congress Street had witnessed formerperformances and had advised my mother.Clifford Perkins and I had not noticed thatshe was hiding behind a large maple tree.Firing practice had only nicely started whenI was grabbed by the left em and marchedswiftly home. My buddy got away free, asusual. Probably that accounts for my leftear being a bit more prominent than theright one. It seemed to be my mother's fa-vorite handle. I deserved worse.

This is excerptedfrom a column of the sametitle as sporadically printed in Roland DayWade's home town newspaper,IheMoravia-Republican Register, which isowned and published by the same peoplethat print the NY FOREST OWNER. At over90, Roland no longer smokes in chickenhouses or exhibits some other habits of hisearlier years.

THE FLAGNew York State's deer management

team has developed a new vehicle to in-form and educate New Yorkers about deerand deer management issues in the state:a semi-annual newsletter entitled THEFLAG and devoted entirely to deer. Com-ments, questions, or ideas for future ar-ticles can be directed to the deer biolo-gist in the DEC region in which you liveor to the Big Game Unit, Wildlife Re-sources Center, 108 Game Farm Road,Delmar, NY 12054-9767 (and have yourname and address added to the mailinglist).

L

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NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 -INFO JAN/FEB 1996 • 13

Page 14: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

WINTERSCAPES: By Patricia Kay & Dorothy Darling

Horseshoe Falls, OntarioBush and tree are enshrined and held fast,

Swaddled in garments of cold whiteness,Still and restrained, frozen captives, lost

To the sway of wind and the warmth of sun.

They intermingle in forced togetherness,Clasped in winter's unrelenting arms;

Heavy ladden, they bow to the plungingWaters that are struck stiff and still--

No longer a jubilant flow over the edge;Gone the exuberance of the downward journey;

The shore captives wear a mien of empathyAs clustered they stand, appearing to lean

That they might join in the daring dreamOf freedom that all captivity envisions.

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

Photo by

Patricia Kay

© 1986

Poem by

Dorothy Darling

JAN/FEB 1996

Page 15: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

about WINTERS CAPEReaders of the NY FOREST OWNER are

fortunate to have among the members of theNYFOA and contributors to the magazine,two people, who with the enthusiastic sup-port of NYFOA's Editorial Committee,present a joint artistic production of photo-graphs and poems. The titled photographscurrently number seven and constitute anoriginal series entitled, WINTERSCAPES.

The photographs are generously pro-vided by a professional photographer,Patricia Kay, who lives in Galway. Patriciais a member of the Southeastern AdirondackChapter and is the source for those greatphotographs of SEA Chapter activities. Inthe Mar/Apr issue of this year's FORESTOWNER, Patricia Kay wrote an inspiringarticle, "The Tao of Woodstacking" whichwas accompanied with two similarly inspir-ing photographs.

Regarding the series of artistic photo-graphs, WINTERSCAPES, Patricia says, "I

pretty much have stopped working on it al-though I still find myself attracted to thepeace and silence and beauty of winter.Those are the qualities I have attempted toexpress in my photographs. I moved toGalway in the winter of 1984/85. I was fromCalifornia and snow just wasn't in my vo-cabulary. It was the newness of the season,the way that snow covered everything mak-ing life seem renewable that drove me intothe sometimes harsh conditions just to cap-ture it forever on film. Photographing inthe winter was also a technical learningexperience: things like making the snowappear white on film and keeping my bat-teries warm enough tojunction. Also keep-ing myself warm while making exposuresthat sometimes lasted minutes."

Patricia suggested that perhaps a poemto accompany the photographs would en-hance their appeal to the reader.

Dorothy Darling is known to readers ofthe FOREST OWNER since the issue of Jan!Feb 1994 where is found the first of sevenpoems she has providedfor our enjoyment.Dorothy has lived most of her life in theSchuyler County area where for twentyyears she served in the offices of Cotton-Hanlon's Lumber facility, as well as did herhusband. Dorothy and Betty Lou Sand, wifeof staunch NYFOA supporter Bob Sand,were traveling companions in the earlyeighties to Ireland. Active in the SchuylerCounty Peace Group and the Odessa Meth-odist Church she visited the former SovietUnion and subsequently described her ex-periences to groups in the area. Dorothy iscurrently engaged in the writing of herfourth novel.

Dorothy has graciously created a poemfor each of the titled photographs.

The NY FOREST OWNER will presentthe pair, photograph and poem, as coversor within the body of the magazine this win-ter or next. For comments, you may writethe editor, or Patricia Kay; 6051 GreensComer Road; Galway, NY 12074 or Dor-othy S. Darling; PO Box 294; Odessa, NY14869.

WINTER FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY7Th Cabin Fever Festival

Sponsored by NYFOA's Cayuga Chapter; 10 AM, Sat & Sun, Feb. 10 & 11Fillmore Glen State Park, Moravia, NY

Constructed from logs on site & sold to the highest bidder amongthe 2-3 thousand attenders.

Many enjoy the sleigh and wagon rides.

NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 -INFO JANIFEB 1996 • 15

Page 16: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

FUTURE TRENDS IN DEMAND FORNEW YORK STATE WOOD PRODUCTS

By Lloyd C. IrlandA discussion of demand is customary

in any review of a state's forest resourcesoutlook. Demand forecasting is an inexactscience at best, but a few observations aboutthe outlook may be useful. Wood productsmarkets include consumer goods, industrialcomponents and intermediate goods, andcommodity raw materials. Buyers in eachcategory have different kinds of compet-ing alternatives to wood, different degreesof price sensitivity, and very different buy-ing influences. Irland and Whaley (1992)suggest that for the Northeast as a whole,wood harvests could rise by 50% from 1987to 2040. But by itself, this may not tell usmuch.

Figure 2

u.s. Exports of Hardwood Products by Commodity

1,400

1,200OJ::)-

1,0000>l/)

800«u,

.600c:

°2 400

~200

'l0od ChipsL~ __-'_ _ __ .:"

."".....---.....-~==~..............-~_ c-------- "Yeneer Plywood

L..i=~=~=:=~-:.-•• _ ••• =Iiiiii=:::;;;;;;;;;;;;=:f~ F I0°ri ng0198586 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 Moulding

COMPETITIVE PICTUREFirst, there is no such thing as the de-

mand for New York's wood products. In-stead, there are markets for timberland, logsand chips, market pulp, lumber, furniture,and what not. Few consumers, if any, everlook at a pine board to see whether it wassawn in New York, Quebec, or Maine. Oreven New Zealand, for that matter. Indus-trial users pay a good deal of attention totechnical specs and supplier reliability.

Most wood products serve mature mar-kets. Market growth is slow, and some mar-kets are in declining stages as new com-peting products or production regions takeshare from established areas.

Source: Compiled by FASfrom official statistics of us Dept. of Commerce. Furniture (SIC251)from US. Industrial Outlook, 1994.

turallumber, or structural panels;-- a large and growing inventory of

standing timber does not by itself attractmanufacturing capacity to process thewood;

-- New York is positioned to serve amarket of 77 million people. Yet large con-centrations of consumers in northeast metroarea markets do not confer a competitiveadvantage in mass-market consumer goods.

Competing U.S. sources of softwoodlumber are declining except for the South.For one example, the production of U.S.ponderosa pine in the West has declined bymore than the total continental productionof eastern white pine (Fig. 1). This is onefactor responsible for high prices for whitepine lumber, but also for increased interestin fiber-formed doors, nonwood windowstock, and in veneering.

Hardwood log production in the tropicshas declined in one major region after an-other; and prices of lumber, veneer, andplywood are not only rising but becomingmore volatile. Leading export customersare buying more and more temperate hard-wood as a result.

Second, New York's market share is ex-tremely small for most wood products, inthe area of 1 to 5%. This compares to its7% share of the U.S. population, and to its3% share of the U.S. commercial forestlandarea. So New York is a major consumer ofwood products and will continue to be soin the future.

In all of these products, the state's out-look hinges on New York's competitiveposition - its ability to deliver quality goods,

4.5 .------------------, on time, at competitive prices. Who is the

4.0 ~ competition? This depends on the product.3.5 ~ ~ For coated papers, it might be Maine or3.0 ~ Michigan, with emerging competitors in

Canada and Georgia. For furniture, it mightbe North Carolina or Taiwan. For turneryproducts, it is increasingly Malaysia. Now,evaluating a state's competitive position isdifficult in a complex and many-facetedindustry and is really not the prime focus

'-:-:::':=~;--;~~:;--;:!-;::-~::::--::'-=----;:';;---;:'-::;--;~for this paper.A few more observations about competi-

tiveness:-- the northeast is basically noncompeti-

tive in commodity products, whether thesebe market pulp, furniture, softwood struc-

NYFOA ·1·800·836·3566 ·INFO

Figure 1Ponderosa Pine Lumber Production

_ 2.5.0CD 2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0 198586 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94

Decline in Ponderosa exceedsEastern White Pine output

Source: WWPA 1993 Yearbook, p. 27

JAN/FEB 1996NY FOREST OWNER16

Page 17: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

us. Imports Selected Wood Products

Figure 3

7 ,----------------------------------

6

5

4co

3

2

_________ -----'--- 11------- - .•..........________------- ....8•.------------_ ...-:::.-------- -----.-:::. .

o198384 85 86 87 88 89 90 91

1. Wood Furniture2. Softwood Lumber3. Hardwood Lumber4. Hardwood Floording5. Softwood Moulding6. Hardwood Moulding7. Hardwood Veneer8. Hardwood Plywood9. Particleboard

----10. OSB/Waferboard·------11. Other Wood Products

EXPORTS AND IMPORTSThe globalizing wood economy is here.

On the export side, world trends and favor-able exchange rates have fostered impres-sive export growth for hardwood products.Encouragingly, exports of hardwood lum-ber and furniture outpaced logs in dollarterms (Fig. 2). Logs, chips, and veneer arevery similar both in dollar value and trend,while other value-added items are verysmall. For softwoods, export values aredominated by logs but lumber has steadilybeen increasing.

Wood product imports are dominated bysoftwood lumber and by furniture. Higherlumber prices and increased imports haveplayed a major role in the deterioration ofthe nation's wood product trade balance.Imports of an assortment of value addeditems are comparatively small and displayno spectacular trend (Fig. 3).

Worldwide, demand for wood is likelyto grow. The FAO predicts that world pa-per and board consumption will rise by90% from 1993 to 2010 (Pulp and Paper,Nov 1995). The increased consumption isequal to double the present North Ameri-

NY FOREST OWNER

Source: Nolley, Res.Note NE-358, p. 28-30; and WP-I-95,

Apr. 95, p. 79.

can usage. I suspect that paper demandforecasts are usually on the high side, buteven with a healthy discount for skepticism,this increase is prodigious. For industrialsoftwood round wood, Apsey and Reed(1994) expect demand to rise by 1.5% peryear, which means roughly a 60% increasefrom 1992-2020. This will lead to a theo-retical "supply gap" of 30%.

What place New York's forest will findin this dynamic picture is difficult to seewith any precision (see, e.g., Canham andSmith, 1994; Yellow Wood Assoc., 1991;and ESFPA, 1995). Competition willclearly intensify. The question is, whowants and needs a location like New York?The answer will differ from product toproduct. We can be certain, though, thatadaptability and innovation will be the keysto survival and growth.

REFERENCESAPSEY, M. and L. REED. 1994 World

timber resources outlook: current percep-tions. Vancouver, BC: Council of ForestIndustries. processed.

CANHAM, H.O., and W.B. SMITH.

NYFOA -1-800-836-3566~ INFO

1994. Western New York Forest IndustryInitiative. Final Report. SUNYIESF.

EMPIRE STATE FOREST PRODUCTSASSOCIATION. 1995. New York's ForestProducts Industry. Albany.

IRLAND, L.C., and R. WHALEY. 1992Northern forest outlook: a working sketchof regional forest conditions in 2040 in T.A.Lepisto, ed.: Sustaining Ecosystems, Eco-nomics, and a Way of Life in the NorthernForest. Washington, DC: The WildernessSociety.

PULP AND PAPER. 1995. Table show-ing FOA projections. Nov 1995. p.21.

YELLOW WOOD ASSOCIATES.1991. A wood products development strat-egy for northern New York. Saranac Lake,NY: Adirondack North Country Assn.This article was condensed by Lloyd C.Irland of The Irland Group from his pre-sentation at the conference: The EmpireForest: Changes and Challenges, Novem-ber 13-14, Syracuse, NY

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JAN/FEB 1996 • 17

Page 18: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

GAME OF LOGGINGGood for the Landowner, Good for the Woodlot

By Donna RogierSoren Eriksson's Game of Logging for

Landowners came to New York on Novem-ber 5 and 7. The Catskill Forest Associa-tion hosted the first of these workshops inthe state. Adapted from the original Gameof Logging (GaL) aimed at professionaltimber harvesters, the landowner versionrecognizes that this group may spend asmuch time operating a chain saw as pro-fessional loggers. More than just how tocut down trees, the Game of Logging bringstogether all of the elements of responsibleforestry - chainsaw safety and maintenance,use of safety equipment, harvesting tech-niques, site planning, and forest steward-ship. Directional felling skills, which en-able the feller to precisely drop trees intoselected spaces, are stressed. Use of thistechnique helps to minimize damage tosurrounding trees, taking into account thelong term consequences when making fell-ing decisions. The entire program is con-ducted in four levels. Levels 1 and 2 areusually done on consecutive days, followedby Levels 3 and 4 at later dates. This al-lows participants to practice and gain con-fidence with the technique learned at thefirst levels. At each level participants aregraded and awarded points based on per-formance, thus competing against each

Donna Rogler lining up face cut (observer - Bob Shubin).

other for prizes such as hard hats and chaps.Penalties are assessed for safety violations.

Level 1 began at Sheldon Hill Forestryin Boiceville. Sheldon Hill is a dealer forHusqvarna, a national sponsor of the Gameof Logging. Soren Eriksson personally con-ducted the workshop assisted by Pennsyl-vania GaL satellite instructor DanHartranft. Participants listened to the 58year old guru of logging as he stressed the

18 NY FOREST OWNER

George White goes for the plunge cut.

NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 -INFO

importance of personal protective equip-ment when working with a chainsaw.When asked if anyone had chainsaw scars,several participants raised their hands.Soren went over each piece of equipment- hard hat, ear and eye protection, leg pro-tection, gloves, and safety boots showingwhere possible how a piece of equipmentwould prevent injury. Participants withchainsaws were led through a maintenanceroutine, including proper chain filing, barand sprocket maintenance, and carburetoradjustment.

After a great lunch provided by SheldonHill, the group traveled to the field site,theAshokan Field Campus of SUNY /NewPaltz. The Field Campus has a sugar bushthat is being invaded by red maple and-white ash and proved to be a good site forthe exercises. Our objectives in the sugarbush were to remove the large red mapleand white ash and not damage the smallsugar maples in the understory.

Soren began the afternoon activitieswith a discussion of proper hinges, facenotches, plunge cuts, felling wedges, and"reading" tree information before felling.This was followed by a demonstration ofthe controlled felling technique. The par-ticipants then broke into two groups.A treewith a three foot high stump was provided

JAN/FEB 1996

Page 19: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

Spring pole cutting demonstration.

for each group to practice plunge or bore would fall using Soren's "Pro Sight".Eachcutting technique which involves starting participant used this sighting card andthe back cut or felling cut just behind the placed a stake where they judged the tophinge.This cut was only a part of the 64 of the selected tree would come to rest.point exercise which also included the five Soren then felled the tree and points werecheck points on the saw, identifying the awarded to those participants whose stakessections of saw chain on the bar, and hav- were within a three foot radius of the top.ing all safety gear in place. The workshop ended with the awarding

Level 2 began with a discussion of the of prizes for the highest point totals. Thecomponents of the felling exercise, worth overall winner was Chris Joyce of40 points. Each person fells a tree using Apalachin with 103 points. His prize was athe knowledge and skills acquired in Level Peltor Helmet System, a hardhat with face1. Participants first decide where they are and ear protection. Other winners were Bobgoing to put their tree. They are graded on Shubin, Joe D' Auria, and Woody Woo-five factors: 1) sizing up the tree - forward druff. They each received leg protectionand backward lean, side lean, and weight in the form of chaps or pants.All had Sorendistribution; 2) assessing hazards around autograph their prizes.the tree; 3) planning an escape route; 4) de- The workshop fee is $133.00 per per-termining hinge width; and 5) specifying a son per level. While $266 for a two daycutting plan, including aiming the face cut, workshop may seem high, it is a very goodplacement of plunge cut, and use of a investment when compared to the cost of awedge, if necessary. chainsaw injury. One participant signed up

Day two began noisily with participants for Levell only, but showed up for Level 2tuning their carburetors and sharpening when he realized the value of the workshop.chains. Soren then provided a demonstra- Level 3 is tentatively scheduled for thetion on cutting a spring pole, a bent sap- first week of April, with Level 4 scheduledling under pressure, which can be very dan- for sometime in May. Soren has indicatedgerous, if cut improperly. Breaking into that if there is enough interest, he will re-small groups again, the felling exercise con- peat Levels 1 and 2 during one of those twotinued with each person getting a turn at workshops. The workshops will be openfelling a tree. Points were awarded for the to landowners, foresters, and loggers. If youfive factors listed above and for hitting the are interested in participating in an upcom-selected target. Points were deducted for ing Game of Logging, please contact thehaving less than determined minimum Catskill Forest Association at 914/586-

hinge, for stump pulls of more than three 3054.inches, and for missing the target. Ten pointpenalties were assessed for each safety vio-lation.

The final exercise of the workshop in-volved estimating where the top of a tree

Donna Rogier is the Director of Educationfor the NYFOA Affiliate, the Catskill ForestAssociation

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

LOGGINGSAFETY

OPTIONSBy David W. Taber

New Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA) Safety and HealthStandards for Logging, February 9, 1995may stimulate the need to get additionalinformation. A few sources of information,programs, and/or services that may be use-ful are as follows:

1) New York Logger Training, Inc.Empire State Forest Products Assn.(ESFPA)Kevin S. King, Executive Y.P.123 State Street; Albany, NY 12207518/463-1297; Fax518/426-9502

2) Utilization & Marketing Section, DECAttn: Tom Martin or Bruce WilliamsonDivision of Lands $ Forests50 Wolf Road; Albany NY 13309518/457-7431

3) NY Lumbermens' Insurance Trust Fundclo W.J. Cox Associates, Inc.6480 Main St.; Williamsville, NY 14221716/631-8562; Fax716/633-1048

4) The Game of LoggingSoren Eriksson Training ProgramAttn: Dan Hartranft717/326-0300

5) Northeastern Loggers Assn., Inc.Jeff Worrall, Training DirectorPO Box 69; Old Forge, NY 13420-0069315/369-3078; Fax315/369-3736

6) Guide to OSHA Standards-$10American Pulpwood Association, Inc.1025 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 1020;Washington, DC 20005202/347-2900; Fax2021783-2685

7) Federal Register; Oct. 12, 1994 Part IIDepartment of Labor, OSHA29 CFR Parts 1910 and 1928Logging Operations; Final Rule

David Taber is a Senior Extension Associ-ate in the Department of Natural Resourceswith Cornell University Cooperative Exten-sion.

JAN/FEB 1996 • 19

Page 20: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

Adirondack Windstorms and InsectsBy Douglas Allen

Severe wind storms of the kind thatmarched through the Adirondacks on July15, 1995 are not unknown to this region ofNew York. For most people of the presentgeneration, prior to this summer, memo-ries focused on the "great blow" of 1950.However, this and the most recent episodewere merely the latest in a series of similarevents that have been recorded in this areaperiodically since the late 1700s. In an an-thropomorphic sense, these storms prob-ably were viewed as little more than curi-osities prior to the time people settled anddeveloped the north country. Today, how-ever, they can be devastating to both peopleand property.

An interesting question arises concern-ing the impact of these natural events on"forest health". The general public tendsto view the aftermath as all "bad news";understandably, because attitudes areformed by immediate concerns aboutsafety, property damage and downed powerlines, with little thought to the beneficialecological consequences. However, peopleshould realize that these natural events arepartially responsible for the pattern, distri-bution and diversity of vegetation that ex-ists in the Adirondacks.

On private lands, there may be interestin salvaging downed material to recover po-tential loss of wood products. Also, thereshould be a concern about the sanitationbenefits that can accrue from early removalof downed or damaged trees. In this typeof situation, the forest owner's objectiveusually is a combination of sanitation/sal-vage; the former to prevent a buildup ofpotential insect pests, the latter to recoupfinancial losses.

Of primary concern is the extent towhich insects such as wood borers and barkbeetles will exploit the abundant source ofhost material produced by the storm. In a"forest health" sense, these organisms willplay an important role in the decomposi-tion of this woody material and recyclingof nutrients to the forest ecosystem.

A study by entomologists from the NewYork State Museum and Science Serviceand State Conservation Department follow-ing the storm of November, 1950 suggeststhat populations of certain insects are likelyto build up in downed material, but theyare unlikely to invade adjacent healthytrees. If the landowner wants to salvagewood in order to minimize insect-causeddamage that is likely to reduce or negate

20 NY FOREST OWNER

I

\

the economic value of storm damaged trees,however, there lli a sense of urgency.

Susceptibility to secondary insects (i.e.,species requiring stressed or damaged trees,or freshly cut wood) is of more immediateconcern in the current situation comparedto the 1950 storm because of timing. Treesdowned or damaged in July were suscep-tible to invasion this summer, probablywithin a few days or weeks depending onthe host and insect species involved. Treesdamaged by a storm in November, how-ever, would not be invaded until spring.

Two groups of beetles are the major con-cern; woodborers (both roundheaded bor-ers and ambrosia beetles) and inner bark

NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Photo by Doug Allen

borers (bark beetles). Conifers (needlebearing trees) are susceptible to bothgroups, but ambrosia beetles are the pri-mary potential source of degrade for hard-woods.

Suitable host material takes one of twoforms; i) downed or severely damagedstanding trees and ii) individuals that sur-vived damage, and appeared healthy thissummer, but actually could have been seri-ously stressed by physical injuries that oc-curred to root systems when they were"rocked" severely in high winds.

CONIFERSWe are fortunate in the northeastern

JAN/FEB 1996

Page 21: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

United States because, as a rule, the barkbeetles associated with conifers are not asaggressive as their counterparts in the southor west. This means that generally a treemust be severely damaged or stressed insome other way before beetles are able toinvade. It is a certainty that next summer inthe Adirondacks bark beetle populationswill build up in windblown spruce and pine.Also, in many situations it is probable thatwhen these insects emerge from downedmaterial they will be able to successfullyestablish in standing, stressed hosts on theperiphery of blowdowns. However, it isvery unlikely that emerging populationswill infest healthy trees in nearby stands.From a sanitation standpoint, under theseconditions it may be important to removeinfested material this fall, winter or as earlyas possible in the spring to destroy beetlebroods before they complete development.

NY FOREST OWNER

Photo by Doug Allen

This reduces the likelihood that stressedtrees adjacent to blowdowns will be at-tacked by emerging beetles next summer.In terms of salvage, early removal will pre-vent degrade from the blue stain fungus thataccompanies bark beetle attack. These in-sects remain under the bark and do not boreholes in the wood.

Two types of true woodborers com-monly are associated with coniferblowdowns in the northeast; roundheadedborers (also called long-homed beetles) andambrosia beetles. The principalroundheaded borers of concern belong toa group known as "sawyer beetles". Theirimmature stages (larvae) feed beneath barklike true bark beetles, but differ from thelatter in that they are much larger and ex-cavate large (diameter, length) overwinter-ing tunnels a few to several inches into thesapwood. These tunnels and the blue stain

NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 -INFO

that also accompanies these infestations,can seriously degrade lumber. Sawyerbeetle adults are active from May to Sep-tember. Therefore, it is likely that muchblowdown was infested during the summerof 1995.

Ambrosia beetles do not spend any timebeneath bark, but bore very small holes di-rectly into the wood. Adults inoculate theirgalleries with fungal spores, and beetles andlarvae feed on the fungus that eventuallygrows in the gallery system. Degrade re-sults from the "pin" holes and associateddark fungal stain that permeates wood ad-jacent to each gallery. Holes and stain ap-pear in lumber and veneer produced frominfested trees. Ambrosia beetles requireunseasoned (moist), sound wood. Gener-ally, in our region adults of the key speciesinvolved attack freshly cut logs orblowdown in spring and early summer. Itis unlikely that material damaged last Julywill be infested until spring 1996 whensalvage must be done early to minimizelosses.

HARDWOODSExperience suggests that the main thing

to be concerned about with hardwoodblowdown, especially sugar maple and yel-low birch, will be ambrosia beetle activitynext spring. As with conifers, it is unlikelythat this material currently is infested withambrosia beetles, but it will be a prime tar-get next spring when overwintering adultsemerge and seek new hosts. Here again, sal-vage must be done quickly to prevent de-grade. In the likelihood that some trees mayhave been infested by late emerging adultsthis summer, or that trees will be attackedtoo early for timely salvage next spring,when logs are brought out they should beprocessed quickly to minimize degrade.

This is the 24th in the series of articles con-tributed by Dr. Allen, Professor of ForestEntomology at SUNY/ESP.

30+ Years Experience

ROBERT DEMEREEProfessional Forestry Consultant

Timber Sales- Management PlanningTax Law • Tree Planting

3987 Northway DriveCortland, NY 13045-9317

Telephone:(607) 753-0497

JAN/FEB 1996 • 21

Page 22: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

And the wind in the Valley blows in a

circle, down, around, and up. It never stops,

you can always hear it and feel it. You can

see it in the tree tops and by the raptors

attracted to the wind currents.

The new weather phenomena I've ex-

perienced that seem to belong to the inland

are ice storms. In total awe, I have never

seen more beautiful weather creations than

the mountains with the trees glistening bril-

liantly like diamonds in the sun. (I know

this is horrible for the trees. And a walk in

the woods supports that; but it is breath-

taking.)

I don't know if the ice effect I have seen

in my garden is typical of being inland in a

valley, like the haze in fall that stays until

ten thirty in the morning, but many of my

plants froze before they browned.

Salad Burnet, Calendula, Sour Grass,

and a bunch of other plants are flash fro-

zen with their normal color green, not atall slimy. They are still good to eat. In fact,

I put some in baggies in the freezer. They

are much better than when I have frozen

them after a normal harvest.

Since they say you are not supposed to

mulch until plants are brown, I am a bit

confused. Maybe I don't have to mulch in

a valley? What a fine gift of weather thatwould be!

Stormy Weather.'.-~.'-r.'~By Jane Sorensen Lord,Phd, OTR, ND

Hollywood. Definitely Hollywood made

the picture Christmas cards that captured

snow with a shimmering brook running

through a sunny winter scene. Variations

of the pictures arrived in Cleveland each

year when I was a child. Everybody knew

that the sun goes behind the clouds and

stays there untilApril where we lived, walk-

ing distance from Lake Erie. Those sunny

scenes were faked. They were just the

streams of the Cleveland valley, photo-

graphed with big screen lights.

We moved to Greenwich, Connecticut

when I was thirteen and discovered the pic-

tures were real! The stream in our back-

yard bubbled and sparkled in brilliant snow

just like the picture Christmas cards! What

a difference the sun made coming out and

shining in the winter like that. You want to

go outside and you can feel the warmth sit-

ting on a window seat. And Azaleas stay in

bloom a long time indoors.

The winds were different too. In Cleve-

land the north wind ferociously picks up

the Lake and it becomes treacherous - Erie

is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and

kicks up fast! I've sailed out in calm and

two hours later could not see the beacon

guiding us to the river harbor. The waves

were higher than the spar on our small

Lightening.In Connecticut, Nor'easters blew down

trees creating power outs and making high

tides flood basements. So did the hurri-

canes, the most fascinating storms. For sev-

eral hours the trees and plants blew increas-

ingly to the left, stopped, then blew decreas-

ingly to the right. (For educational purposes

mother prepared window seats.)

The time Gordon and I stayed home in

Harriman to watch a hurricane was disap-

pointing. I had not thought about being inhilly terrain. The storm was also diffused

by our being inland seventy-five miles. It

was fully demonstrative in Greenwich.

I still can't tell weather inland. But near

the sea, I can look at the clouds and tell

how far away is a storm. On our Tree Farm

in the Schwangunk Valley, the weather

clues are still meaningless to me. Thunder

seems to start hours before it finally rains.

I've seen whole days where it looks to rain

any second. The same thunderheads would

come and go in an hour near the sea.

LANDOWNERSMaples, Cherry & Red Oak are in strong demand, if you are interested in

selling some of your standing Timber consider ...• Each tree to be sold is marked according to YOUR specifications.• We send notices to reputable log producers & exporters• Sealed bid opening determines the highest bidder• Payment is made in advance to any harvest operation• All harvest operations. are supervised by our foresters• We retain a security deposit until owner is completely satisfied.• Guaranteed to net YOU the highest price for your timber.

Write or Call For A Free PamphletRobert Synowiez - Professional Forestry Consultants

nf:,. ~!~p~rlg,od~0w,go.NY13827~ 607/687-0460

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

Dr. Jane, a regular contributor, is a Master

Forest Owner and certified Tree Farmer.

She has a private consulting practice in Oc-

cupational Therapy and Naturopathic

Medicine. She teaches on the Faculty of

Health at Indianapolis University.

JAN/FEB 1996

Page 23: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

·The MarketplaceATTENTION small woodlot owners/part time loggers - ForFARMI winches and VALBY chippers, write Hewitt's HillHaven, Locke, NY 13092 or call (315) 497-1266 (Before 8AMor after 6PM).

MEADOWVIEW NURSERYQUALITY FIELDGROWN SEEDLINGS AND TRANS-PLANTS 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 andhardwoods; deer, turkey, grouse; call Henry Hansen, evenings(716) 334-3569; Good project for interested woodsman.

For Sale-A well-managed timberland tract in Ellenburg, NYconsisting of 191 acres near Upper Chateauguy Lake. Asking$85,000. For more details contact Ben Hudson at WagnerWoodlands and Co., P.O. Box 128, Lyme, NH 03768 (603) 795-2165.

ADVERTISINGRATES

Per Insert:

Display: $210 - perfull page or 30 col. in.;$7 per col. in.

Marketplace: $10minimum for 25 wordsor less, 10c each ad-ditional word.Contact: R.J. Fox, Editor

RD 3, Box 88,Moravia, NY13118FaX/Phone:

(315) 497-1078

Circulation 1950.

FORECON, INC.

JAMESTOWN, NY OFFICE100 East Second StreetJamestown, New York 14701(716) 664-5602(716) 664-6648 Facsimile

SPECIALIZING IN,'CORTLAND, NY OFFICE11 North Main StreetSuite 202Cortland, NY 13045(607) 753-3113(607) 753-9170 Facsimile

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FOre~try - Recreation - Ecology - CONseNation

NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 -INFO JAN/FEB 1996 • 23

Page 24: The New York Forest Owner - Volume 34 Number 1

R.J. Fox, EditorRD#3,Box 88Moravia, NY 13118FaxIPhone (315) 497-1078

NOTICETHE FOREST OWNER is mailed

third class and will not be forwarded;notify Administrative Secretary DebbieGill, PO Box 180, Fairport 14450 or call11800/836/3566 with a change in ad-dress!

For Information OnWho does what: loggers, sawmillers,

foresters, merchants, gov't agencies ....Call our FREE information Database

and Debbie will get the answers for you.

INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS1-800-836-3566

NYFOA SPECIALSThe following promotional items especially designed for

NYFOA may be obtained from Deborah Gill, AdministrativeSecretary; PO Box 180, Fairport, NY 14450; (716) 377-6060or directly from and with support for your local chapter:

Shoulder Patches $2.00 50% Cotton T-Shirts $8.00Window Decals 0.50 100% Cotton T-Shirts 9.00Member Sign 2.00 Long-sleeved Shirts 13.00Pewter Lapel Pins 4.00 Sweatshirts 16.00

PLEASE PROVIDE SIZE & PHONE NO.

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

Non-ProfitOrq.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMoravia, N.Y.

13118Permit No. 21

FOUNDEU 1963

WOODLOTCALENDARJan 7: CDC; 1PM; Timber Theft; ByRon Pedersen; Town Library, Colonie;5181753-4336.

JAN 17: WFL; 7:30PM; Gen-eral Mtg.; Education Center, HighlandAve; 716/367-2849.

Jan 27: NFC; 10 AM; Woodski &snowshoe; Beaver Meadows; N. Java;716/832-3611

Feb 7: SAC; 7PM; THE NORTHERNFOREST - Lecture; Co-Author DavidDobbs; 5181792-6508

FEB 10,11:CAY; lOAM; CABIN FE-VER FESTIVAL; Fillmore Glen StatePark, Moravia, 315/497-1078.

Feb 17: CDC; 7:30PM; Timber Theft;Bob Allen; Columbia-Greene Commu-nity College;5181753-4336.

Feb 17: NFC; lOAM; TBA

Feb 21-24: SEVENTH AMERICANFOREST CONGRESS; Washington,DC; 203/432-5117

Apr 27: NYFOA SPRING MEETING,Marshall Hall SUNY IESF, Syracuse

JAN/FEB 1996