June 14, 2013
E-Forester Archives? More than a few folks have asked if The E-Forester is archived on the SAF website. It is not, primarily because links to news articles change quickly. However, if you're looking for something from a past issue, contact me and I'll do my best to get you what you need.
I. Featured News
1. Crews Plant Tree Seedlings in Burned Area of Bitterroot Forest
2. Economic Development Project Focuses on ESF Willow Development
3. Delimbinator Makes Its West Coast Debut
4. Mill Delay Sets Back Thinning
5. Wildfire News
Forest Products Industry
6. Mississippi Homebuilders, Foresters Optimistic about 2013
7. China’s Imports and US Exports
8. Biomass News
Federal Lands Management
9. Forests on Reservations Underfunded, Report Says
10. New Jersey: Is Logging in the Pinelands Drawing Near?
11. Bill Targeting Green Building Projects Overhauled
12. Protest Lawsuit Bill Advances: One of Two Measures Aimed at Allowing Action against Anti-Logging Demonstrators Passes the House
13. Alpine Lakes Bill to Get Hearing
II. Publications, Resources, and Items of Interest
1. University of Minnesota Issues Emerald Ash Borer Community Preparedness Manual e
2. Spring 2013 Issue of NewsLine Now Available
3. Invasion of the Beetles, and a Rancher’s Revenge
III. Science and Technology
1. Forest Mapping Study May Help Managers Identify Regions with Multiple Threat Potential, Including Wildfires
2. The Timber Tower Research Project: Re-Imagining the Skyscraper
3. Satellite Spots "Hidden" Fires in Amazon that Outdo Deforestation
IV. SAF News
1. Registration for 2013 SAF National Convention Now Open
2. Germany Study Tour
3. Receive a $20 Discount and Help New Members Save 30 Percent on Membership for the Next Five Years
4. All New Benefit for SAF Members—AchieveLinks!
5. Upcoming SAF Meetings
6. SAF's Regional Applied Journals to Merge with Forest Science
I. Featured News
All of these items and more appear in the "Featured News" section on the SAF home page
1. Crews Plant Tree Seedlings in Burned Area of Bitterroot Forest
Billings Gazette.com (June 10) — Last week, a group of men planted 15,000 containerized lodgepole seedlings on a snow-covered 60-acre plot near Gird Point in the Sapphire Mountains.
This same crew has spent the past month working along the mountainsides above Laird, South St. Clair, and Rye creeks to reforest 1,548 acres that burned over in 2011.
Last year, the Bitterroot National Forest planted 801 acres, including 14,000 whitebark pine. The year before, 536 acres were reforested.
Most of the planting work is done on land that previously burned.
2. Economic Development Project Focuses on ESF Willow Development
The Central New York Regional Economic Development Council has announced that the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry is launching an outreach and training program to develop commercial-scale production of willow biomass as a renewable, sustainable energy source. The program is moving forward on the strength of $397,000 awarded through Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's Regional Council Initiative.
The training program, which is receiving the funds from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, will support the transfer of technical knowledge from producers who have grown willow on an experimental basis around New York state and developed best practices for the production, harvest, and postharvest handling of willow.
3. Delimbinator Makes Its West Coast Debut
Plumas News.com (June 13) — Forest Service personnel and timber industry leaders gathered June 5 just north of Graeagle, California, to get their first look at the "delimbinator" — a device that can de-limb a grapple full of logs at one time.
According to Greenville logger Randy Pew, this is the first machine of its kind to operate west of the Mississippi and it is pivotal to the success of his family’s latest business venture.
4. Mill Delay Sets Back Thinning
Arizona Daily Sun.com (June 9) — It was this month that a Montana-based company had planned to break ground on a $200 million mill in Winslow as part of the biggest forest restoration project in the United States.
The mill is projected to employ 500 people directly, not counting truck drivers, loggers, or other affiliated workers.
And the scope of the work is massive: More than 920 square miles over four national forests.
But construction on the mill isn't starting this month, and the project's future is unclear.
National Fire News
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, as of June 12, wildland fire activity has picked up, with eight new large fires reported throughout Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Homes Burned Near Colorado Springs Could Approach 100
Associated Press (June 12) — A pair of US Defense Department cargo planes was mobilized on June 12 to help battle wildfires in Colorado and elsewhere in the West as crews surveyed the damage from a large blaze burning near Colorado Springs that already has destroyed dozens of homes.
Colorado State Forest Service Says Current Wildfires Demonstrate How Rapidly Fire Danger Can Increase
Colorado State.edu (June 12) — With several wildfires burning thousands of acres and many homes, Coloradans are reminded of just how quickly fire conditions can change. As the state enters a period of hot, dry weather, foresters warn that it takes a very short time for downed wood to dry out and turn green grasses yellow—making the landscape susceptible to large wildfires.
Hathaway Fire Burn Area Grows to 2,850 Acres
My Desert.com (June 12) — The size of the Hathaway Fire, which has been burning west of the Coachella Valley since Sunday, has grown from 2,372 acres to 2,850 acres.
As of 8:00 am on June 12, firefighters had contained 30 percent of the wildfire, according to the US Forest Service.
US Forest Service Smokejumper Killed in California
Firehouse.com (June 11) — A 28-year-old US Forest Service firefighter was killed battling a wildfire in the Modoc National Forest in California.
Luke Sheehy, of Susanville, California, was a member of the California Smokejumpers, based in Redding, the US Forest Service said in a statement released June 11.
Forest Products Industry
6. Mississippi Homebuilders, Foresters Optimistic about 2013
MSBusiness.com (June 7) — While there is still a long way to go to full recovery, two Mississippi industries—homebuilding and forestry—are expecting another bounce-back year in 2013.
According to the latest Residential Price Index from Oxford-based FNC Inc., US home prices in March increased for the 13th consecutive time despite job market weakness and modest economic growth.
Similarly, the state has seen increased mill activity, including several mills that have reopened, have announced plans to begin cutting logs, or are increasing operations.
7. China's Imports and US Exports
China Imports 10 Percent More Logs and Lumber in First Quarter of 2013
Troy Media.com (June 8) — China's hunger for wood was less acute in 2012 than in the previous year.
During the first four months of 2013, import volumes of both logs and lumber picked up and were 12 percent and 19 percent higher, respectively, than in the first quarter of 2012.
Hardwood Exports Taper Off with Price Increases
Woodworking Network.com (June 4) — US hardwood lumber exports totaled 114 million board feet in March—the latest month with available data—which was 3 percent below February. Combined exports to non-Chinese destinations in March climbed 6 percent over February, but exports to China declined 15 percent, as some buyers did not immediately re-enter the market after Lunar New Year. Exporters reported decent business in May, though still-limited supplies of many items and increased buyer resistance to price increases constrained sales growth.
North Carolina Ports Gains State Approval for Pellet Export Project
Biomass magazine.com (June 12) — The North Carolina Council of State approved recently approved a lease agreement that gives the North Carolina State Ports Authority the go-ahead to enter the highly competitive wood pellet industry.
The agreement between the Ports and Enviva Holdings LP could allow for construction of a wood pellet export facility at the Port of Wilmington. The agreement could bring an estimated $2 million annual investment and at least $1.25 million in annual revenue. If built, the facility would receive, store, and load wood pellets for export to Europe, where they would be used as a renewable energy source.
Senate Passes Farm Bill with Mandatory Energy Title Funds
Biomass magazine.com (June 11) — In a vote of 66–27, the US Senate passed its version of a new Farm Bill, leaving the agricultural energy industry satisfied with the inclusion of mandatory funding for energy title programs.
Cool Planet Announces $29.9 Million in Funding
Biomass magazine.com (June 10) — Cool Planet Energy Systems has announced it closed on $29.9 million of its anticipated $100 million D series financing that will fund construction of its first commercial production facility. Cool Planet is currently operating a pilot facility in Camarillo, California. This next round of funding represents an important next step in commercializing a facility that will enable the company to deliver on its promise of carbon-negative biofuel with industry-leading economics.
Biomass Power Plant Operator Fined in Pollution Settlement
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.com (June 4) — The operator of a biomass power plant on the Mississippi River in Cassville will pay $150,000 to settle air pollution violations at the plant in recent years.
State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced the fine after a stipulation to settle air pollution violations by the Department of Natural Resources. The operator of the plant, DTE Stoneman LLC, and the Department of Justice signed the agreement in Grant County circuit court.
Federal Lands Management
9. Forests on Reservations Underfunded, Report Says
Bend Bulletin.com (June 14) - Forests held in trust for Indian tribes across the nation are woefully underfunded by the federal government, according to a report issued Thursday by a panel of experts.
The congressionally mandated report for the Intertribal Timber Council was released at the group’s annual meeting on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin.
It found that tribal forests covering about 28,000 square miles nationwide receive about half of the funding per acre provided to national forests for wildfire prevention, and about one-third of national forests’ funding rate for forest management.
10. New Jersey: Is Logging in the Pinelands Drawing Near?
Philly.com (June 12) — In New Jersey, a bill (A 2837) that would allow the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a harvest program on state-owned lands recently won bipartisan approval from a legislative committee.
To proponents, the bill would produce healthier forests and a better habitat for the plants and animals that live there. To critics, allowing commercial interests to log parks and forests is a violation of the public trust under which those open spaces were set aside.
11. Bill Targeting Green Building Projects Overhauled
WRAL.com (North Carolina, June 11) — Legislation that would have precluded the use of LEED certification for state-funded buildings was rewritten in the Senate earlier this week to permit such green building projects only if they cut long-term energy costs and permit North Carolina building materials in construction.
More:
States Fight Green-Building Leader over Local Wood
NWI.com (June 9) — LEED has been at the forefront of an explosion in energy-efficient, environmentally conscious construction over the past decade. Administered by the nonprofit US Green Building Council, the LEED program puts its stamp on an estimated 1.5 million square feet of new construction worldwide each day. But the program is facing an outcry from a growing number of governors and legislatures who say LEED uses unfair standards that effectively keep their states' timber growers out of the booming green-building market.
12. Protest Lawsuit Bill Advances: One of Two Measures Aimed at Allowing Action against Anti-Logging Demonstrators Passes the House
Register-Guard.com (June 11) — Two bills designed to curb protests by environmental activists who interfere with logging in state forests appear headed to opposite fates this legislative session.
On a 25-3 vote, the Oregon Senate recently approved House Bill 2596, which clarifies that private companies contracted to log or otherwise manage state forestland can sue activists for financial damages related to any work disruption or equipment sabotage caused by such protests. Under current law, civil lawsuits can and have been filed against protesters, but backers say the explicit "cause of action" created by HB 2596 would put that recourse on firmer legal ground.
A more controversial companion measure, however, House Bill 2595, died in the Senate Judiciary Committee in late May.
13. Alpine Lakes Bill to Get Hearing
Seattle PI.com (June 11) — A long-stalled bipartisan proposal to protect a popular recreation river in east King County, and its wild tributary, will finally get a hearing in the US House of Representatives, which has failed to act on the legislation even though Republican Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) is a prime sponsor.
The proposal, sponsored in the House by Reichert and Rep. Suzan DelBene,(D-WA), would put the Middle Fork-Snoqualmie River under protection of the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. It would add about 22,000 acres, mainly the Pratt River, to the existing Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, the "land of 600 lakes" between Stevens and Snoqualmie Passes.
II. Publications, Resources, and Items of Interest
1. University of Minnesota Issues Emerald Ash Borer Community Preparedness Manual
University of Minnesota Forest Resources Extension (June 2013) — A large percentage of urban and community trees are ash species, which are vulnerable to emerald ash borer. Well-planned response efforts can slow its spread and reduce the impact on urban and community forests. Its new EAB Community Preparedness materials can help communities plan ahead to reduce costs and losses from this invasive pest.
2. Spring 2013 Issue of NewsLine Now Available
Forest Products Laboratory (June 10) — The Spring 2013 issue of NewsLine, the quarterly newsletter of the US Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, is now available.
In this issue you'll learn how the Forest Service is studying cross-laminated timbers in use, see the winning Carbon Challenge building designs, learn about carbon storage and climate change, get a look at the latest life-sized bridge tests, and much more.
Also, you can get news about Forest Products Laboratory and the world of wood from our new online news feed, Lab Notes.
3. Invasion of the Beetles, and a Rancher's Revenge
New York Times.com (June 8) — Four years ago, the trees on Larry Lipson's property in western Montana began to die. Not just one or two, but 10,000 of them. The culprit was the mountain pine beetle, which has ravaged 23 million acres of forests in the United States since 2000.
But, while other landowners burned the wood or sent it to mills to be mulched into sawdust, Mr. Lipson, a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, was eager to find a better use.
III. Science and Technology
1. Forest Mapping Study May Help Managers Identify Regions with Multiple Threat Potential, Including Wildfires
US Forest Service (June 11) — A recent study in the Journal of Forestry now offers managers a tool to help them identify regions exposed to multiple forest threats. The tool uses a novel 15-mile radius neighborhood analysis to highlight locations where threats are more concentrated relative to other areas, and identifies where multiple threats may intersect. It is a technique that may have never been used before to describe forest threats, according to the researchers.
To read the abstract for this article from the Journal of Forestry, click here.
2. The Timber Tower Research Project: Re-Imagining the Skyscraper
Arch Daily.com (June 6) — SOM has come up with a structural system for skyscrapers that uses mass timber as the main structural material and minimizes the embodied carbon footprint of the building. The firm believes that their proposal is technically feasible from the standpoint of structural engineering, architecture, interior layouts, and building services and would revolutionize the traditional skyscraper as we know it.
3. Satellite Spots "Hidden" Fires in Amazon that Outdo Deforestation
NBC News.com (June 10) — A new satellite imaging technique has allowed scientists to see Amazonian fires burning beneath the jungle canopy, called "understory fires," which were previously difficult to detect. These fires destroy several times more forest than is taken out by deforestation each year, according to a new study, published recently in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
IV. SAF News
1. Registration for 2013 SAF National Convention Now Open
2013 SAF National Convention
Charleston, South Carolina
October 23–27
To register or for information regarding the meeting program, travel, and more, visit the SAF website.
Join your fellow foresters July 24-August 5, 2014 (post tour August 6-8) on a study tour to Germany and participate in once-in-a-lifetime visits to private estates and castles, including a visit to Carl Alwin Schenck's hometown during festival days!
For information regarding the tour itinerary, costs, and registration contact John Palmer.
3. Receive a $20 Discount and Help New Members Save 30 Percent on Membership for the Next Five Years
When you recruit a member you can save money on membership dues. For every new or reinstating member recruited, you receive $20 off your national membership dues over the next 5 years of membership. And the person you recruit will receive a 30 percent discount.
To receive your discount, make sure those you recruit list you as the sponsor/member referral and help them sign up by downloading and submitting an application or calling (866) 897-8720 x110.
Also, don’t hesitate to request special recruitment cards to pass out to potential members!
Note: These discounts apply only if both the recruiting member and recruited member maintain their membership for 5 consecutive years.
Student memberships are not eligible for this program.
4. All New Benefit for SAF Members—AchieveLinks!
SAF members: Be sure to sign up at AchieveLinks to begin online shopping with more than 800 retailers including: Cabelas, BassPro, Gander Mountain, The North Face, REI, Timberland, Sportsman Guide, Caterpillar, Mountain Hardwear, Columbia, and many more.
The more SAF members who use the service, the more benefits SAF and its members receive. As individuals shop, they can get discounts and build up rewards they can use to pay for items from retailers.
Have questions? See more details on the SAF website.
Save Up to 55 Percent with the New SAF Prescription Discount Card
Attention foresters: Whether you have employer insurance or you're a one-man forestry shop, SAF's new discount prescription card can help you save big money.
The card applies to the purchase of both name-brand and generic prescriptions, and is accepted at 60,000 stores nationwide, including Walgreens, Target, CVS, Wal-Mart, and more.
For more information, visit the My Free Prescription Card website or request your prescription discount card at membership@safnet.org.
Register Now for the North American Forest Ecology Workshop
Please join fellow researchers and land managers to discuss basic and applied ecological research in forests throughout North America. The workshop will be held June 16-20, 2013, in Bloomington, Indiana. More than 120 plenary and concurrent presentations will be given in a variety of sessions including impacts of invasive plants on the eastern forest, natural and silvicultural effects on stand development, and restoring forest ecosystems using fire and fire surrogate approaches. The program is expected to qualify for 11.0-16.0 hours of Category 1 CF credits.
To register, or for more information, visit the NAFEW website.
Northern and Southern California Society of American Foresters
2013 Summer Meeting
Challenges of Working Forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Davenport, California, August 23–24, 2013
The 2013 SAF Summer Meeting is a combined effort of the Northern and Southern California societies. Our 2013 endeavor focuses on management challenges in the Santa Cruz Mountains—an area that operates under Forest Practice Special Rules—and the importance of working forests. We will meet in the gorgeous Santa Cruz coast area during the warmest time of the year.
For more information, contact Jan Bray at (800) 738-8733.
6. SAF's Regional Applied Journals to Merge with Forest Science
Beginning in 2014, the Northern, Southern, and Western Journals of Applied Forestry will be integrated into Forest Science.
For more information, visit the SAF website.
Journal of Forestry May 2013 Issue Now Online
SAF — We've built an expanded table of contents for the May 2013 issue of the Journal of Forestry to help you zero in on the research, practices, and techniques that will help you succeed in your forest management goals. Quickly scan the titles and abstracts of the articles appearing within the latest issue, browse the management and policy implications to discover which have direct implications to your work, then follow the links to the full text of the articles online.
Full access to the online edition is included with SAF membership at the GOLD and PLATINUM levels. Haven't used the online edition? Register here or contact Matthew Walls for assistance.
About The E-Forester:
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Copyright 2013 Society of American Foresters
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5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814-2198
P: 301.897.8720 - toll free: 866.897.8720 - Email: membership@safnet.org - Contact Us