Bulletin Board
Check our Events Calendar for information about Forest Stewardship Program, Extension, and other natural resource events.
If you know of a natural resource workshop, event, or news story that should be included here, please send an email with the name of the event, date, location, and contact phone or email to cdemers@ufl.edu.
- Events Calendar
- Thanks 2007-2008 Florida Forest Stewardship Program Sponsors
- Natural Resources News Briefs:
- timber price update
- sign-up July 30, 2008 for southern pine beetle prevention program
- American Tree Farm System Endorsed by Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC)
- 2008 Farm Bill passed, new conservation tax provisions pass
- Florida Farm Bureau helping to provide carbon credit services
- what's killing red bays
- Forest Stewardship Workshop and Tour Materials Available (some in limited supply)
- Ties to the Land: Your Family Forest Heritage
- Cover Your A$$ets: Estate Planning, Conservation Planning and Income Options
- Master Tree Farmer, Master Tree Farmer II and Master Wildlifer videos and materials available
- Additional Resources
There is a new resource for families facing the challenge of passing their properties and land-based businesses from one generation to the next. The Ties to the Land website will help guide family landowners through ownership transition. Developed to address the needs of forest landowners, the site has relevance for families with agricultural or other land-based businesses as well. The website includes streaming video clips, excerpts from the Ties to the Land workbook, a calendar of events and links to other relevant sites. The site will be expanded, and new features added, to meet users’ emerging needs.
http://www.familybusinessonline.org/resources/ttl/home.htm
Cover Your A$$ets: Estate Planning, Conservation Planning and Income Options for Forestland Owners, Award Winning 2-DVD/1-CD set now available from UF/IFAS Extension Bookstore
Whether
you own 25 acres or 2,500, Cover Your A$$ets is an indispensable
guide for anyone who owns forest or agricultural land and wishes
to
see it maintained for future generations.
Forestland ownership and management can be a real challenge in the face of a changing forest product market and the land boom overtaking many areas of the South. It takes careful planning and active management to keep forest property economically viable today and in a productive and healthy condition for generations to come.
Cover Your A$$ets is an award winning resource that provides property owners and county officials with
the
tools they need to help maintain private ownership and active management
of
forestland properties in a valuable and sustainable manner. Presented
over two
DVDs by some of the leading authorities on forestry, land management
and
financial planning, the program covers topics such as:
• Estate Planning • Starting a Pine Straw Enterprise
• Conservation Easements • Hunting Leases for Revenue
• Wildlife Management Assistance • Silvopasture
• Rural Lands Stewardship • Ecotourism
A supplementary CD provides information
about the project, presenter bios
and abstracts, and other publications and Web links for each topic
covered on
the DVDs. Watch sample
video clips on Southern Regional Extension Forestry Site.
Thanks 2007-2008 Florida Forest Stewardship Program Sponsors*
Blanton's
Longleaf Container Nursery |
Forestland
Management, Inc. Ray Horne 14616 SW 151st Ave Brooker, FL 32622 352-485-1924 rhorne1964@earthlink.net |
Environmental
Services, Inc. |
International
Forest Company |
F&W
Forestry Services, Inc. |
Jowett & Wood
Consulting Foresters, Inc. |
Farm Credit of North Florida |
Manning Forestry |
Farm Credit of Northwest Florida Mr. Stephen Roach |
Marden
Industries, Inc. Mr. Dan Darby PO Box 796 Mulberry, FL 33860-0796 (800) 881-0388 ext.33 mardenind@mindspring.com |
| Florida Farm
Bureau Federation Mr. Kevin Morgan PO Box 147030 Gainesville, FL 32614-7030 (352) 374-1537 Kevin.morgan@ffbf.org |
Southern
Forestry Consultants, Inc. |
Florida
Forestry Association |
Suwannee Lumber Company Mr. Anthony Boggess PO Box 5090 Cross City, FL 32628 (352) 498-3363 boggess1@windstream.net |
*If your organization or business would like to be added to this list,
please contact Chris Demers at (352) 846-2375, cdemers@ufl.edu.
Workshop and Tour Materials
Available (hard copies in limited supply)
Electronic download:
Landowner's Guide to Common Shrub, Forbs and Grasses of North Florida (pdf)
Forest Fertilization Videoconference Program Materials
For purchase:
Cover Your A$$ets: Estate Planning, Conservation Planning and Income Options for Forestland Owners
Hard copies of materials from these programs are available, free of charge while supplies last:
- Property Tour at Glendale Nature Preserve in Walton County, fall 2004
- Workshop: Vegetation Management - Using Herbicides to Reach Multiple Objectives, spring 2005 (one left)
- Property tour at Alford Arm Greenway in Leon County, fall 2005
- Property Tour at Windy Hill Ranch in Walton County, spring 2006
- Property Tour at Dingmon Tract in Putnam County, spring 2006
- Silvopasture Tour at George Owens Farm in Washington County, spring 2006
- Workshop: Beyond Food Plots - Enhancing Wildlife Habitat on Your Forest Property, spring 2006
- Workshop: Marketing Your Forest Products, summer 2006
- Property Tour at Kent-Carroll Forests in Holmes County, fall 2006
- Property Tour at Wylly Coyote Preserve in Levy County, spring 2007
- Property Tour at Cognito Farm in Bradford County, fall 2007
- Workshop: Invasive Exotic Plants and Their Control, winter 2008
- Property Tour at South Prong Plantation, Baker County, spring 2008
- Property Tour at Gould Tree Farm, Washington County, spring 2008
- Workshop: Marketing Your Forest Products - Tried and True and Some Things New, spring 2008
If you are interested in receiving a copy of any of these, contact Chris Demers at (352) 846-2375 or email your mailing address to him at cdemers@ufl.edu.
Natural Resources News Briefs
Timber Price Trends
View the 2nd Quarter
2008 timber price trend graph for Florida
-Averages are summarized from the Timber
Mart-South report.
Sign up July 30 for DOF's Southern Pine Beetle Prevention cost-share
Division of Forestry is re-offering the Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Cost-Share Program to eligible non-industrial private forest landowners. The program offers up to 50 percent cost reimbursement for pre-commercial thinning, prescribed burning and mechanical underbrush treatments in existing pine stands, and a $50-per-acre incentive payment for landowners who conduct a first pulpwood thinning. In addition, landowners may apply to receive up to 50 percent reimbursement for the cost of longleaf seedlings and $25 per acre in planting cost assistance to establish a longleaf pine plantation. The program is limited to 44 northern Florida counties located within the range of the southern pine beetle. Qualified landowners may apply for up to two approved practices per year. The minimum tract size requirement is 10 acres and funding requests may not exceed $10,000. For an application and more information on program requirements and procedures, forest lando! wners can visit their local Division of Forestry office or contact the county forester office in their area by visiting http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_management/fh_insects_spb_prevention_program.html. Applications will be available beginning July 30 and will be evaluated on a first-received, first-served basis.
American Tree Farm System Endorsed by Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC)
The American Tree Farm System® (ATFS) has been endorsed by the
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC). PEFC is an international, independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certification. ATFS is the oldest and largest forest conservation, certification, and advocacy program in the United States. The 67 year-old program is sponsored by the American Forest Foundation.
Family forest landowners welcomed the endorsement by PEFC for certifying sustainably produced wood, a step that will open the door to new green markets for wood that is sustainably produced on their land.
The Geneva-based Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) made the announcement after a 14-month rigorous review designed to provide assurance to purchasers that certified wood and paper products are in fact produced from sustainably managed forests.
2008 Farm Bill Passed
On June 18, Congress overrode the President's veto on H.R. 6124, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, ensuring that all parts of the Farm Bill are enacted into law. Here's a Summary of the 2008 Farm Bill Forestry Title.
New Tax provisions pass in the 2008 Farm Bill
The Farm Bill (H.R. 2419), enacted on May 22, 2008 renews a powerful tax incentive which has helped conserve a million or more acres of natural areas, farms, and ranches across the US. This is now retroactive to the beginning of the year and will last through 2009. The incentive, which applies to a landowner's federal income tax, will:
- Raise the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary conservation agreement from 30% of their income in any year to 50%;
- Allow farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100% of their income; and
- Increase the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from 5 to 15 years.
See the Private Landowner Network for more details.
Florida Farm Bureau to Help Provide Carbon Credit Services
Some Florida farmers, ranchers and private forest owners may be able to capitalize on a new partnership between the state’s largest general agricultural organization and the nation’s leading supplier of carbon credit aggregation services to agriculture.
The Florida Farm Bureau Federation and AgraGate Climate Credits Corp. have agreed to partner in providing carbon credits services to farmers, ranchers and private forest owners. Those interested in learning more can attend meetings that will be held throughout the year and around the state. For more info see http://floridafarmbureau.org/carbontrading
2008 Southern Pine Beetle Forcast
Jeffrey Eickwort, Forester, and Bud Mayfield, Forest Entomologist
Florida DACS Division of Forestry
A pheromone trap survey was conducted in March 2008 as part of an ongoing program to monitor the populations of Southern Pine Beetle (SPB) and its associated predators. The purpose is to provide an early-season prediction of the potential level of SPB activity in select Florida counties, and identify areas which may be at increased risk for an outbreak. The results of the 2008 survey indicate that SPB populations are low at all trap locations, which suggests that the risk of widespread SPB infestations in the surveyed counties is low. Full report here (pdf)
.
What's Killing the Red Bays? - Laurel Wilt Disease
Mortality of red bay trees (Persea
borbonia) in coastal locations in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
is spreading rapidly, resulting in the death of nearly all red bays
and sassafras trees in the infected areas. The cause of the disease
is a fungus (Ophiostoma sp.) vectored by an Asian ambrosia beetle
(Xyleborus
glabratus). Both the beetle and fungus are recent introductions into
the United States. The USDA Forest Service, Southern Region, has
a new page dedicated to this issue: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/laurelwilt/index.shtml
Silviculture BMP DVD Available
A 20 minute DVD is available which focuses on three BMP (Best Management Practices) categories. The new BMP DVD is the result of a year-long effort to capture on site field demonstrations for instructional purposes. It covers Special Management Zones, Wetlands and Waste Disposal. The DVD encourages loggers to consult the Florida BMP Manual for complete information on the remaining ten categories. Copies of the DVD can be obtained through the Florida Forestry Association (contact Debbie at 850.222.5646 or debbie@forestfla.org). The DVD is also available at Florida Master Logger workshops and select continuing ed workshops. Technical BMP questions should be directed to the Division’s Watershed Forester, Roy Lima, at 850-414-9934. More about Florida's Silviculture BMPs.
Additional Resources
The Florida Forest Steward Newsletter is a quarterly newsletter for Florida landowners and resource professionals.
Visit these external sites for more forestry news and updates.
- Southern Regional Extension Forestry
- Private Landowner Network
- Alabama Forest Owner's Association, Inc.
- Timber Mart-South (quarterly regional timber price trend summaries)