Georgia Forestry Today - Jan/Feb 2012

A BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR THE FORESTRY INDUSTRY OF GEORGIA

Georgia

FORESTRY TODAY January | February 2012

Volume 8, Issue 1

Wood Takes the National Stage with ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition‘ See story on page 8

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January | February 2012

Georgia Forestry Today

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On the Cover:

GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY Printed in the usA

Publisher: A4 inc. eDiTOr-iN-ChieF Alva hopkins alvawork@gmail.com

Three wood species come together to build a memorial wall and seating area framing one end of the playset.

See story on page 8.

LAMAR CANTRELL

CANTRELL FOREST PRODUCTS INC.

We buy all types of timber.

Bio-fuel producer cantrellforest@earthlink.net 1433 Galilee Church Road Jefferson, GA 30549 Office: (706) 367-4813 Mobile: (706) 498-6243 Home: (706) 367-1521

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PrODuCTiON MANAger Pamela Petersen-Frey p.frey@a4inc.com

eDiTOriAl bOArD Wendy burnett Alva hopkins Jesse Johnson stacia Kelly sandi Martin brain stone steve McWilliams

GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY is published bi-monthly by A4 inc., 1154 lower birmingham road, Canton, georgia 30115. recipients include owners and subscribers of the georgia Forestry Commission, as well as suppliers and manufacturers of forestrelated products and services.

Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher, A4 inc., nor do they accept responsibility for errors of content or omission and, as a matter of policy, neither do they endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Part of this magazine may be reproduced with the written consent of the publisher. Correspondence regarding changes of address should be directed to A4 inc. at the address indicated above. Advertising material should be sent to A4 inc. at the e-mail address: pfrey@a4inc.com. Questions on advertising should be directed to the advertising director at the e-mail address provided above. editorial material should be sent to A4 inc. or to Alva hopkins.

GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY 1154 lower birmingham road, Canton, georgia 30115

January | February 2012

Volume 8, Issue 1

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

Georgia

FORESTRY TODAY P.08

Wood Takes the National Stage with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

P.21

Essential Tools for Georgia’s Forest Owners

P.11

Message from the Georgia Forestry Commission Director

P.24

P.12

GFC News

The Arrowhead Tree Breeding Center $483 Million Present Value to the Citizens of Georgia and the South

P.13

Commission Possible Agency Goals Work in the Dirt

P.30

Interview with Georgia Representative Chad Nimmer

P.16

A Heated Subject How is Climate Change Affecting the Way People Use the Outdoors?

P.34

Southern Timberland Market A Windshield Assessment (part 1 of 2)

P.20

Deer Vision Research Is Going High-tech New phase will use LCD screens to test what they see

P.36

Georgia Forestry News

P.38

Georgia Forestry Today Directory of Products & Services

Georgia Forestry Today

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January | February 2012

LiST of aDVerTiSerS American Forest Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

F&W Forestry service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Arborgen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

international Forest Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

beach Timber Company inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

landMark spatial solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

blanton’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

lanigan & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Canal Wood llC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Meeks Farm & Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . .inside Front Cover

Cantrell Forest Products inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

M & h Pinestraw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Dasher industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Morbark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Davis - garvin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Outdoor underwriters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

F2M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Plum Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Farm Credit Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Prudential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Flint equipment Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

smith, gambrell & russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Forest resource Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

uPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .back Cover

Forest resource services inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Weyerhaeuser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Forestar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Vulcan on board scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Forestry Fertilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Yancey brothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .inside back Cover

102 Dasher road • glennville, georgia 30427 WAlT DAsher (912) 654 2100 Mobile: (912) 282-4899

sPeCiAliziNg iN The PurChAse

Pager: (912) 486-9009 Fax: (912) 654-4976

OF PiNe AND hArDWOOD TiMber.

COMPleTe siTe PreP

OPerATiON FrOM lAND CleAriNg TO beDDiNg, rOAD CONsTruCTiON AND Tree PlANTiNg.

CAll us TODAY FOr All YOur TiMber MANAgeMeNT NeeDs.

Georgia Forestry Today

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n May 22, 2011, the city of Joplin, Missouri, was devastated when an eF-5 tornado ripped through the quiet Midwestern town. Cutting a swath six miles long and up to one mile wide, the tornado claimed 162 lives. At the center of the devastation: Cunningham Park. Within the park that day, hundreds of trees were lost and the existing playset and city pool were demolished. enter “extreme Makeover: home edition,” (eMhe) AbC’s popular home improvement television show known for helping families in great need. Producers

by the southeastern lumber Manufacturers Association (slMA), in 2010 to potentially partner on another home build. That opportunity reinforced existing communications groundwork that would result in a partnership to rebuild Joplin. sPAN donated southern pine framing for all seven homes via Missouri-based Meeks lumber, the official lumber company of the Joplin build. Volunteer builders, assisted by thousands of skilled labor volunteers, worked 24/7 to raise the framing and create the outline for seven new homes for seven very deserving Joplin families. “being on the build site was an exceptional experience,” said Kim Drew, program manager for sPAN and real Outdoor liv-

gram include retail partnerships, consumer marketing, industry research, and public relations.

As the program blossomed, the Western red Cedar lumber Association and California redwood Association joined forces with rOl, with the goal of speaking for the wood industry nationwide with one voice. National partnership successes include a strong wood presence at Deckexpo and the creation of wood marketing pieces for lumber retailers nationwide.

The real Outdoor living team pitched for the use of outdoor wood on the Joplin build, both to further aid Joplin residents and to complement the framing donation and increase the presence of real wood. be-

Wood Takes the National Stage with “extreme Makeover: home edition” story provided by real Outdoor living chose Joplin to launch the largest rebuilding effort in TV show history: seven homes for seven families in seven days, plus an overhaul of Cunningham Park. A daunting effort to be sure, but one which the producers knew they could accomplish, with the right partners on board.

Let’s Start at the Very Beginning Framing. The key element of any home, framing is the foundation on which the design and future strength of the home rest. For building seven homes within a few blocks, the right framing material would be integral to the success of both the homes and the overall project. When it came time to choose a framing material, eMhe producers chose real wood. eMhe producers first approached the southern Pine Awareness Network (sPAN), a southern pine marketing program managed 8

ing. “The first evening of the build, there was a one-hour window when the wood framing for all seven homes was finished—just a brief amount of time before the next building step commenced. We managed to get up into a cherry picker for an incredible shot, just as the sun was setting. it was wonderful to see the sun shining on the wood and realize that our simple donation was the foundation for a future for these families.”

How Else Can We Help?

Once the framing package was secured, real Outdoor living stepped in to determine additional donation and building opportunities. Created as a pressure-treated wood education program also managed by slMA, real Outdoor living in the last year has become a nationwide effort to promote the use of outdoor wood instead of alternative, nonnatural materials. Activities within the pro-

Two ‘firehouses’ honor Ladder Two and Ladder Four, both hit by the May 22 tornado, while flags represent the city of Joplin, the state of Missouri, and the USA. January | February 2012

Donated lumber was cut and built into trusses on-site to meet the specs for each home.

Georgia Forestry Today

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ginning with decks and front porches (already sponsored by a Joplin-based company), the conversation moved to gazebos, arbors, and finally, a playset for Cunningham Park.

The playset was commissioned by rOl from husband-wife team Mark and Theresa Clement who designed and built the playset.

Assisting them was a top-notch team of volunteer deck builders and remodelers from around the country. The entire team descended on Joplin for eight days in late October 2011, determined to build—and build well—the most amazing solid-wood playset.

Over seven days, the gigantic playset took shape in Cunningham Park. huge pilings were installed to ensure structural stability, and the wood framework rose from the ground, ready to provide much-needed play time to the children of Joplin. Throughout the playset can be found the wood trifecta of pressure-treated pine, California redwood, and Western red cedar integrated together, creating a beautiful, natural effect.

Playset design elements include balance beams, balconies, firehouses and fire poles, a secret cove, several slides of varying lengths, a mini-façade remembering Joplin days gone by, and a memorial wall featuring six-by-sixes signed by thousands of the eMhe volunteers. Many walkways and elements within the playset are named for streets and buildings in Joplin that took a hit on that awful day in May. An adjacent redwood structure includes swings and slides on a smaller scale for younger siblings not quite ready for the big playset.

The night of the ‘reveal’ (when the playset was unveiled for the children of the seven families in the new homes), children screamed with glee as they exited the eMhe buses and raced toward the playset. Climbing all over every square inch of it, they declared it was “the coolest thing ever!” and that they were “never, ever leaving!” One girl remarked to her mother, “This playground is all wood, which means we won’t burn our hands anymore when it’s hot!”

Volunteer builders create wall framing from donated lumber while wearing the recognizable “Extreme Makeover:Home Edition” blue volunteer T-shirts. everyone involved in the rOl donation to eMhe and Joplin sees the partnership for what it is: a wonderful chance to give back to a community in great need, while showcasing the natural, authentic beauty of building with real wood on a nationwide television stage. The depth and scope of this project allowed wood to be shown performing in ways not possible by other materials.

Throughout the build, members of the rOl team reinforced the environmental, lifecycle assessment-based benefits of using real wood.

The Joplin episode of “extreme Makeover: home edition” is scheduled to air on Friday, January 13, 2012, at 8 p.m. The show marks the 200th episode, and the series finale. v

For more information: http://www.joinextreme.com/joplin http://www.realoutdoorliving.com/e xtreme-makeover-home-editionjoplin.shtml 10

January | February 2012

Message from the Director Dear gFT reader, he start of a new year is always exciting. it’s a worthwhile challenge to envision the months ahead and chart the events and ideas on which we’ll build our monthly to-do lists. if your PDA or datebook is anything like mine, it’s already surprisingly full. And if 2012 is anything like last year, we’d better hold on tight; the rocket ride has begun!

At the georgia Forestry Commission, our calendar is packed with rich opportunities for our customers to grow, learn and prosper this year. As our mission statement declares (and as you’ll read about in this issue’s gFC feature profile on page 14), the gFC provides “leadership, service, and education in the protection and conservation of georgia’s forest resources.” subjects we'll be addressing head-on this year include:

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Certification Processes The ‘green’ building and energy movements are affecting all forestry industry sectors and understanding the implications is mandatory. grants are being finalized to enable gFC to present education seminars covering major certification programs, including those by American Tree Farm, the Forest stewardship Council, and the sustainable Forestry initiative. Programs are planned throughout the state, with representatives from each of the initiatives on hand to answer questions. When scheduled, a list of seminars will be posted at gaTrees.org.

Timber Sales From planning a harvest, writing a contract, hiring loggers and observing property lines to protecting waterways, rebuilding roads and conducting clean-up, timber sales inGeorgia Forestry Today

volve a variety of specific processes that demand accuracy. because many landowners can profit from investing in the services of a consulting forester, in 2012, the georgia Forestry Commission and the Association of Consulting Foresters will present workshops for landowners and interested members of the forestry community to help increase awareness and reduce misunderstandings among parties involved in harvesting timber.

When a statewide seminar schedule is finalized, it will be posted at gaTrees.org. The brochure, “selling Your Timber,” which covers timber sale guidelines, is also available at gaTrees.org by clicking on ‘resources’ and ‘Publications.’

Robert Farris pleting CWPPs this year for 143 georgia counties identified in the southern Wildfire risk Assessment as having at least a moderate risk of wildfire. CWPPs educate local governments and communities about the threat of wildfire and help the georgia emergency Management Agency mitigate the hazards of wildfire and natural disasters. residents in communities with CWPPs already in place that are at the highest risk of wildfire will also be hearing more about the Firewise Communities usA program, which helps property owners take various proactive steps against the threat of wildfire.

Cost-share Programs The gFC helps administer and provide technical advice on a variety of u.s. Forest service, Natural resource Conservation service, and Farm services Agency incentive programs for all phases of forest management.

Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) gFC's Protection Department will be com-

As we all look for ways to improve on the things we do day in and day out in 2012, i hope you will think of your partners at the gFC for ‘all things forestry.’ We are proud to be a resource to you, and thank you for your continued confidence and trust. happy New Year! sincerely, Robert Farris v 11

GFC News Firewise Communities in Georgia grew by 50 percent in 2011, bringing the state's total to 19. six communities earned Firewise Communities status in georgia last year for adopting practices that aid in protection from wildfire. ey include the city of Argyle in Clinch County, and georgia bend and st. george in Charlton County. Towns County’s leisure Woods and Woodlake communities, and Deerlick Astronomy Village in Taliaferro County were also recognized. e georgia Forestry Commission and the u.s. Fish and Wildlife service are part of Firewise’s national, multi-agency effort designed to reach beyond fire service by involving homeowners, community leaders, planners, and others in the effort to protect people, property, and natural resources from wildland fire risk - before fires occur. For more information visit www.georgiafirewise.org or gaTrees.org. e

GFC Rangers from the Coosa District helped bring a lot of Christmas cheer to Atlanta in December. gFC Professionals dug, lifted, and helped the georgia building Authority transport a 2500 pound eastern red cedar to the state capitol for display in the Capitol rotunda. The gFC also assisted with moving a massive tree from haralson County that was placed on the grounds of the governor's mansion. e

Just like the trees it celebrates, the social networking site, The Grove, is growing! since its founding in 2008, the Web site devoted to encouraging georgians to plant trees and help protect the urban tree canopy, has grown by 50 percent. inside The grove, users have the ability to create photo ‘groves’ of trees they have planted to commemorate special events and join tree groups that create change in their communities. The site recently went nationwide and is averaging more than 1,000 unique visitors every two weeks.

Facebook serves as a major source of Web site traffic. georgia, Florida, and California are the leading states from which visitors are coming to the site, with Texas, Tennessee, and New York following closely behind. www.georgiagrove.org. e 12

January | February 2012

COMMISSION POSSIBLE: Agency Goals Work in the Dirt

By Stasia Kelly

Creating business mission statements can take a toll on even the most dedicated leaders.

A survey of these framed proclamations often reveals flowery language, with blatantly run-on sentences that try to say too much without saying much of anything. Yet, the exercise is critical for the strong performance of any organization. seven years ago, the georgia Forestry Commission established a mission statement that, quite simply, cuts to the chase: To provide leadership, service, and education in the protection and conservation of georgia’s forest resources. gFC professionals fulfill these goals by providing a wide variety of services, from wildfire suppression and emergency command expertise to seedling production, landowner forest management assistance, and marketing of our state’s vast forest resources and nature services.

How are we doing?

A litany of statistics could well be inserted here: number of wildfires suppressed statewide, miles of firebreaks harrowed and plowed, acres of timber under stewardship Plans, hours of educational sessions presented and percentage of annual improvement in seedling quality.

Add cutbacks and declining resources to the list and there’s plenty of proof that the gFC is doing more with less these days. ultimately, it is our customers who tell us how we’re doing, and they are our most important barometer for success. Customers from Georgia Forestry Today

Amos Ryce III enjoys managing his Gray, Georgia, timberland, which he calls, “a work in progress.”

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ringgold to Valdosta and Carrolton to savannah have unique sets of challenges, and if we’re not contributing to their success, then we’re not succeeding either. As evidenced by the gFC’s Customer service Agency of the Year award in 2009, our professionals take pride in exceeding customer expectations. each person, family or business has a legacy, and building on those legacies is a responsibility we take seriously.

Stronger Seedlings Mean Better Results One might say that Pete Peebles has pine sap running through his blood. The Pitts, georgia, landowner’s father was in the turpentine business, but Peebles says after helping with way too many handplanted seedlings as a boy, he was determined to get out of the woods. “i swore i’d never come back to Pitts,” he remembered. “i wanted to get away from that dibble and that mule and wagon!”

direction on timber management, prescribed fire, and numerous other topics. best of all, he said, he’s got the experience now to assess success, especially when it concerns the improved seedlings from the gFC that have been used on his land for more than seven decades.

“We’re getting an increased rate of growth," Peebles said.

“Twenty years ago we’d have to go out and clear cut an entire stand because of Fusiform rust. They’ve achieved resistance to that disease, so now the amount we have to remove is insignificant." Peebles added that today he thins 12-year-old timber, as opposed to 18-20 year old timber in years past. “it’s slow initially with the longleaf,” he said, “but by age 20, the growth catches up to that of slash. My fields have had amazing growth rates.”

While Peebles’ opinion on gFC seedlings is strong, his feelings about the agency, and especially its reforestation department, run even deeper. “it is absolutely critical to the future of georgia forestry to have the commission as a superior seedling source. Those improved seeds are a direct result of the research and development over the past 60-plus years. And i think we’ve barely scratched the surface of what we know about our timber source.”

“I had no experience living in the country!”

Timber producers including Pete Peebles tout the quality and growth rates of the Georgia Forestry Commission’s genetically improved seedlings. but as often happens, college and a stint in the army convinced Peebles that “Pitts wasn’t so bad after all.” he’s since chalked up 44 years in the timber business and currently owns and manages 11,000 acres of forest land for Peebles Timber inc. “i remember my dad buying seedlings from the Forestry Commission when i was eight years old,” he said. “My father was always trying to make things better.”

Clearly the young Peebles adopted that mind-set. in the 1950s he took advantage of a new CrP program to plant trees and put resources into bigger equipment for the farm. he has been a regular attendee at gFC-sponsored seminars and prudently followed 14

Amos ryce iii is the son of a Methodist minister, who was born in Atlanta and followed his career through a series of urban locales including Augusta, georgia, gary, indiana and st. louis, Missouri, before moving to New York City as an adult. his family owned cropland in gray, georgia, which started to be managed for timber in the early 1990s. he had visited there often as a child, but it wasn't until circumstances changed in 1994 that he decided to move to the property and undertake managing it. “i had been helping my cousin, who lived here, to manage the property from New York,” he said. “i was in contact with the georgia Forestry Commission and the soil Conservation service” (now Natural resource Conservation service, NrCs) “and they were very helpful about giving me advice.” After ryce’s cousin died in the fall of 1994, ryce decided his job in New York took a backseat to ‘keeping the ball rolling,’ and he moved from absentee to onsite land manager.

“Timber production and wildlife habitat are our main goals,” said ryce, summarizing a Forest stewardship Plan that was recently revised by gFC’s John sunday. The plan calls for thinning, annual prescribed burning, and chemical releases on three tracts of natural loblolly pine totaling 149 acres. Thirty-six acres are in hardwood. “i thought i was doing things correctly, but John sunday made me realize i wasn’t!” said ryce. “he is very, very smart, and with just one visual inspection of the property was able to give me facts about it that just astonished me. he's been tremendously helpful.” sunday has encouraged ryce to take advantage of all programs available to assist him with land management, including those January | February 2012

sponsored by NrCs. last fall, ryce received that agency’s “2011 Conservationist of the Year” for Jones County designation. The award recognized his use of conservation practices such as timber thinning, firebreaks, prescribed burning, and invasives control through the environmental Quality incentive Program (eQiP) and American recovery and reinvestment Act. “While i'm proud of what i’ve been able to accomplish, i consider this a work in progress,” said ryce. “Managing this property has become my full time job and i can see the improvements.”

When asked about what he’s most proud of, ryce said, “That i’ve been able to hang in here with limited resources. All expenses are out of pocket, with some cost-share assistance. but i wouldn’t have been able to accomplish near what i have without the gFC participation. They’re just great, knowledgeable people.”

Feeding the Future of Energy in 2010, georgia’s forest industry supported almost $23.6 billion in output in georgia. it generated nearly $14.5 billion in revenue, directly employed 43,425 people, and paid over $2.6 billion in wages and benefits to its employees. To keep those numbers growing, the georgia Forestry Commission’s Marketing and utilization arm is continuously seeking potential customers for the state's forest industry. biomass as a source of sustainable energy has been widely touted as the wave of the future for georgia forest landowners, and mid-May, 2011 saw a landmark event in that field. georgia biomass llC, opened the world's largest wood fuel pellet plant outside Waycross, georgia. The plant is a venture of major german utility rWe and its renewable subsidiary, rWe innogy.

“The georgia Forestry Commission was very helpful in providing rWe with information about forests in georgia,” said sam Kang, georgia biomass Chief Financial and Operational Officer.

“The information provided was instrumental in helping us select a suitable site in georgia. equally important, the georgia Forestry Commission provided us with key material to help us understand and demonstrate that our pellets came from sustainable sources.”

Kang termed state agency-provided data “credible,” and said the three-trees-planted-for-every-one-harvested statistic made a difference for rWe. “We’ve flown hundreds of miles in the helicopter and driven many miles on the ground, and it’s rows and rows of trees,” said Kang of georgia’s 25 million acres of forestland. “seeing is believing.”

The facility is now taking in about 250 loads of logs daily, or more than one million metric tons annually. The wood pellets produced are being shipped to a biomass-fired power plant in the united Kingdom, and are being used for co-firing in the Netherlands.

“So far so good,” said Kang.

“The Commission provided a good service for us.”

As 2012 gets underway, gFC Professionals are assessing their success in fulfilling the agency’s mission statement daily. We understand that today’s actions are critical to tomorrow’s gains. Only with regular and conscience attention to the framed words on the wall can we realize our ultimate goals for our customers, colleagues, families, and every fellow georgian: GFC Vision: Healthy, sustainable forests providing clean air, clean water, and abundant products for future generations. v

Georgia's rich and ready supply of wood led to ribbon cutting ceremonies for Georgia Biomass, LLC's wood pellet plant in Waycross.

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January | February 2012

A Heated Subject ~ How is Climate Change Affecting the Way People Use the Outdoors? by sandi Martin, Media relations, Warnell school of Forestry and Natural resources

t was one of those local stories meant to amuse the populace, but instead made national news and became fodder for comedians. The Athens banner-herald’s headline blared, “Man says it’s too hot to fish.” Just a few paragraphs long and buried inside the paper, the quirky story struck a nerve across the country. For many, it was something to laugh about, especially when producers from Comedy Central’s “The Colbert report” came looking for an interview. but behind bobby Kirk’s homespun wisdom, there was truth. This past summer, temperatures were scorching. it was too hot to fish. is climate change affecting the way people spend their time outdoors?

Warnell researchers want to know. The school has several climate change projects in the works, and a handful are now looking at what global warming is doing to natural lands. One focuses on how lower stream levels affect trout fishing. Another looks at how forests can help reduce a community’s vulnerability to rising heat. Although climate change continues to be a polarizing political topic, it is widely accepted in the scientific community. global warming, researchers say, has far-reaching effects that can harm more than just the obvious, like melting glaciers. it could have a widespread impact, said Dr. Neelam Poudyal, assistant professor of Natural resources recreation and Tourism. but some scientists are now looking into the less tangible effects climate change could have—like how it can change the way people use the outdoors. “understanding how recreationists perceive climate change phenomenon, and likely adjust their outdoor pursuits to expected change in climate condition and outdoor resources will be important in managing outdoor resources and predicting its economic and social impact,” Poudyal said. “For example, how rural communities in North georgia will be impacted by potential decline in trout fishing.”

Poudyal and two other Warnell professors are working on three different climate change projects:

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population growth and climate change might intersect to stress our natural lands, particularly with respect to the multiple ways in which humans benefit from intact natural systems. They will use spatial statistics and mapping tools in a geographic information system (gis) to identify areas where projected future impacts to natural resources —such as intact forests, biodiversity, and water availability—will show the greatest change from current conditions. These data will be intersected with human population growth projections to identify ‘footprints on the land’ where human impacts resulting from changes to our natural resource base will be the highest. This unprecedented nationwide analysis is made possible by the 2010 Forest and rangeland renewable resources Planning Act Assessment, conducted by the Forest service and partner scientists, which reports on the status and trends of renewable resources nationwide. Nibbelink said the study should increase understanding of how natural lands in the nation are likely to be affected by both human pressures and global climate change. experts are predicting that by the year 2060, urban land use will likely increase by 70 million acres, resulting in a loss of forest, cropland, pasture, and rangeland. Poudyal and Nibbelink hope to identify the ‘potential hotspots’ that will be affected, including possible water shortages and species at risk of extinction.

• Poudyal is teaming up with Dr. Nate Nibbelink, associate professor in gis and spatial ecology, on a u.s. Forest service project to identify ‘hotspots’ of change—where the multiple impacts of human Georgia Forestry Today

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• Dr. Jeff hepinstall-Cymerman, a landscape ecologist in Warnell, and Poudyal have started a project that will examine how forest resources could be used to offset a community’s vulnerability to heat effects, such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion, which are likely to increase as temperatures rise. Also funded by the Forest service, this project will develop a social vulnerability index specific to heat effects that can be calculated for different communities. it will also complement existing research on the driving factors of heat effects by evaluating how forest resources under various levels of canopy coverage and health condition can moderate those effects. The pair will also compare different species—such as hardwood, pine, etc.

—and management regimes to see how they contribute.

• Poudyal is currently working on a survey of trout anglers in georgia with funding and logistic support from the Forest service and the georgia Department of Natural resources’ Wildlife resource Division. scientists just don’t know how climate change is affecting nature-based activities, he said, but the very people affected might not know much about it either. The survey aims to find out how much anglers know about climate change, how they perceive its potential threats to their angling, and how they might react to the expected change in resource conditions due to climate change. Previous studies have shown that an increase in stream temperature can cause a substantial loss of trout habitat.

2003. Climate research has projected that temperatures across North America could increase between 1.8 and 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit during the first half of the twenty-first century, and many southeastern u.s. urban areas could see temperatures rise more than nine degrees over the same period.

• if projections are true and urban areas increase their footprints by 70 million acres by 2060, it could mean an eight percent loss of forestland in the south alone. The southern u.s. could lose another two percent of rangeland area, while northern states could lose up to seven percent of food-producing cropland.

• Many North georgia streams have already been found to have suffered a significant number of high water temperature and trout mortality cases in recent years. because those streams lie in the southernmost edge of trout habitats, the heat effects usually happen early. but the impacts of those heat effects depend on several factors, including how anglers react to changing resource conditions.

Will they keep fishing there, or move toward headwaters or even other states? Or will they wait until the water gets cooler? some anglers may give up on trout and start fishing for other species or seek alternative outdoor pursuits, Poudyal theorizes.

The Warnell team’s research results could be useful in guiding future planning and management of recreational fishery and other land management decisions. “Policy makers are interested in knowing how factors that are beyond individual’s control should be better managed to cope with the negative outcome of climate change, such as the heat effects,” Poudyal said. “if we find evidence that two otherwise identical communities may experience or have the ability to withstand different levels of heat stress simply because of the difference in the way forests and other green vegetation are managed, appropriate intervention programs such as urban forestry, community green areas, and other public forest reserves can be favorable policy options.” v

“Our research will combine ecological and social data to provide meaningful planning tools for managers to use public lands to help mitigate the likely effects of climate change on natural and social systems,” said hepinstall-Cymerman. There has already been a great deal of research conducted on topics that relate to these projects, all with interesting results that are helping Warnell’s team shape their studies. And global warming is proving to be a worrisome phenomenon: • The number one cause of weather-related deaths is heat related, with 3,442 people dying from this cause between 1999 and 18

January | February 2012

Georgia Forestry Today

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Deer Vision research is going high-tech New phase will use lCD screens to test what they see he light goes on, the trap doors open, and the curious deer in the pen wanders over. Which one will he choose? Choose right, and he gets a food treat.

Choose wrong, and the doors close, denying him something tasty. it may seem like a mean little game, but Warnell researchers are doing this to learn a lot about how deer see. Discovering the intricacies of deer vision has widespread implications, affecting everything from how people hunt to how car makers design headlights.

At Warnell, deer vision research is getting even more high-tech, moving on to using lCD monitors that will display a modified color blindness test. These computergenerated images will be similar to the pseudoisochromatic plate tests administered to humans to test for color blindness. The premise will stay the same – the deer has two choices when these images are displayed.

One image will have a section of colored circles amongst gray circles, while the other image will only have gray circles. if the deer cannot discriminate that specific color, both screens should appear the same. if she (they are all does) moves toward the image with the color incorporated, she will receive a food reward. if she chooses wrong, the door will close once she crosses an invisible infrared beam that lets researchers know if the correct decision was made, and therefore what the deer saw. This latest phase is part of a larger, ongoing deer vision project funded by the georgia Department of Transportation and started several years ago by Drs. bob Warren and Karl Miller who started looking for ways to cut down on the number of deer-automobile collisions on georgia roads. “There are about 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions each year nationwide, and understanding how deer see may allow us to develop some alternative methods to reduce this number,” Warren said. “but the potential for reducing collisions is only one application of this research,” Miller added. “For example, consider the implications for the hunting camouflage industry.”

T

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M.s. student elizabeth Miller, under their supervision, is conducting the current phase of this project and has installed the lCD monitors in certain pens at Warnell’s Deer barn. The initial phase was conducted by graduate student bradley Cohen who designed the device and used simple leD lights to confirm previous physiologically based studies. “brad’s research further confirms that deer can only perceive color through two different cone photopigments, unlike human ability to see through three.

That means they don’t see the color spectrum the same way we do,” she said. “We theorize

that deer see color similar to humans with protanopic red-green colorblindness. ” by retrofitting the stalls with the lCD screens, Miller will investigate how well deer see color, and how well they distinguish certain colors from others. she’ll also be testing color discrimination within patterns. The applications of this research are far-reaching.

Their results could lead to the development of new color patterns for camouflage, strategic color patterns for roadside fencing, and strategic color patterns for fencing around gardens, landscaping, and food plots. v January | February 2012

essential Tools for georgia’s Forest Owners

by Amanda Cooke, American Tree Farm system

orests are under siege from a variety of threats. invasive species, insects, and diseases threaten about 58 million acres of forestland in the united states.

Farm bill conservation programs provide tools that forest owners can use to leverage their own time, energy, and investments to combat these threats, ensuring that their forestland stays healthy and productive.

F

Georgia Forestry Today

e Traylor family on their family tree farm in Sandersville, Georgia.

Photo Credit: e Traylor Family 21

Family forest owners from across the country use Farm bill programs for forest stand improvement and thinning projects, prescribed burns, erosion control, tree planting, and many other management practices. Comprising only a small percentage of total Farm bill funds, conservation programs are some of the most effective tools available for private landowners to improve forest management.

John and Karen Traylor purchased their tree farm near sandersville, georgia in 1972.

When the Traylors bought the property, there was just one remaining virgin long leaf pine. This tree was “one of the prettiest i’ve ever seen in my life,” John said of the nearly 300 year old pine.

When the tree was hit several times by lightening and died, John and Karen resolved to restore the longleaf pine on their 400-acre property.

Through technical assistance from the longleaf Alliance and financial assistance 22

provided by the Farm bill’s Wildlife habitat incentives Program (WhiP), the Traylors planted 80 acres of new longleaf forest over the last five years. These new longleaf pines are especially important because the tree farm’s soil is extremely sandy; with such sandy soil, water goes straight through to recharge the cretaceous aquifer. The Traylors’ restored longleaf forest helps protect the water quality in the aquifer, while providing superb wildlife habitat for the endangered gopher tortoise.

The Traylor family devotes particular attention to the gopher tortoise and other wildlife on their tree farm. using WhiP, they have planted wild plums, crab apples, and persimmon trees that have helped diversify wildlife. The forest now has abundant populations of quail, wild turkey, deer, ducks, and songbirds. For all their efforts, John and Karen were named 2009 conservationists of the year by their local soil and water conservation commission.

“A lot of people think forest management is a one-man show. it’s not. i definitely put in my own sweat, labor and money, but i’ve gotten a lot of help, too. i couldn’t have done it without some financial help and all of the technical advice i’ve gotten from Natural resources Conservation service and forestry associations,” John said.

Activities eligible for WhiP assistance include but are not limited to habitat management, riparian forest buffers, tree plantings, and wetlands creation, restoration, and enhancement. You can learn more about Farm bill conservation programs and enrollment deadlines, some of which have already passed, through the georgia Natural resources Conservation service at www.ga.nrcs.usda.gov. here is more information about eligible activities on your land and some success stories from landowners in other parts of the country:

What do you want to do? Restore wetlands and prevent erosion?

Which activities are eligible?

Wetlands creation, restoration, enhancement, riparian forest buffers, tree plantings, windbreaks, integrated Pest Management, road closures, and more.

The Farm Bill program for you: Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) New York forest owner richard hilary has 130 acres of important wood duck habitat and migratory corridors. Through the Farm bill’s WrP, hilary put his land under conservation easement, protecting it from development. Natural resources Conservation service staff offered technical and financial assistance for restoring several ponds on the site and reseeding areas with the proper mix of forage for wood ducks. The species has made a huge comeback thanks to these conservation efforts.

What do you want to do? Improve forest health, access, and management Which activities are eligible? Prescribed burns, integrated pest management, access roads, forest stand improvements, pruning, multi-story cropping, and more.

The Farm Bill program for you: Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Pennsylvanians harry and Joyce Pionkes’ tree farm was devastated by gypsy moths—more than 100 acres of their forest was wiped out.

Through their participation in CsP, which leveraged their own investment, harry and Joyce are reestablishing and diversifying their forest. rather than just oak, the woods are now host to white, red, and Virginia pines, as well as hickories and hazelnuts. Diversifying tree species is one of the best preventive measures to reduce damage of an infestation.

What do you want to do? Walk in your woods, appreciate the beauty of your woods?

Which activities are eligible? Forest stand January | February 2012

improvements, tree/shrub establishment, forest trails, and more.

The Farm bill program for you: environmental Quality incentives Program (eQiP). ginny and Tom Chrisenton moved to lyndeborough, New hampshire because they loved the rural setting—the forests, the farms, and the lifestyle. Their land has always been free and open to the public to enjoy, and they used eQiP to improve public access. Tom and ginny created more than ten miles of trails on their land that visitors to the wildlife refuge regularly use. They also restored ponds and created wildlife openings on 35 acres that have provided additional habitat for species that live in the refuge.

Farm bill programs offer the kind of cost-share and technical assistance programs that help keep family forests healthy and productive. given the failure of the Congressional ‘supercommittee’ in November, the future of these Farm bill programs remains uncertain. While it’s true that everyone must share the deficit burden, forest owners must speak up and advocate for the importance of these programs.

You can visit www.familyforestaction. org to join the American Tree Farm system’s grassroots action network, sign up for our March 2012 fly-in, and share your story with Congress. v

Georgia Forestry Today

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Pollen collected from superior parent trees is injected into the pollination bags covering the female flowers.

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January | February 2012

the

Arrowhead Tree Breeding Center by steve McKeand and russ Pohl

$483 Million Present Value to the Citizens of Georgia and the South he Georgia Forestry Commission’s (GFC) Arrowhead Seed Orchard near Cochran, Georgia, has been a key facility for the state’s tree breeding and seed production programs for decades. Because of the Arrowhead Seed Orchard as well as other orchards and tree improvement programs in the region, forest landowners in Georgia can access genetically improved seedlings that are disease resistant, grow fast, and produce high quality timber.

Georgia Forestry Today

The NC State University Cooperative Tree Improvement Program (www.TreeImprovement.org) was established in 1956 with the goal to genetically improve southern pines to increase productivity and value of southern forests. State forestry agencies, forest landowners, and forestry companies are members of the Cooperative (Table 1) and provide support for tree breeding activities in Georgia and the southeastern US. 25

in 2008, the Cooperative made the decision to concentrate loblolly pine breeding efforts at a centralized facility to maximize breeding efficiency and to compensate for the loss of full members that have traditionally accomplished most of the breeding. Arrowhead was an ideal location, and the georgia Forestry Commission has provided land, labor, and mature trees for breeding (Figure 1 and 2).

The Cooperative is doing most of the field work with staff and contract labor, but the strong support of gFC has made the breeding Center possible.

The value of the work being done at the Arrowhead breeding Center is staggering.

The current focus is our new sawtimber elite Population for loblolly pine (Figure 3). The most valuable selections from the Cooperative’s breeding programs have been established at the breeding Center and are being bred to increase volume production, stem quality, disease resistance, and wood quality so that high-value sawtimber will be maximized. When the results of this breeding effort get into plantations and trees are eventually harvested, the increase value to forest landowners will be dramatic.

So how valuable is the Arrowhead Breeding Center? historically, about 900,000 acres of loblolly pine plantations are established in the south each year with seedlings derived from Cooperative members’ breeding efforts, so the impacts of our efforts at the breeding Center are multiplied many fold. even with breeding being a long-term investment, and with the very conservative estimates used in the

Cuttings from genetically superior trees are grafted in late February into the tops of mature trees at the Arrowhead Breeding Center to promote flowering. calculations below, the present value of our current activities at the Arrowhead breeding Center is at least $483 million. The calculations and assumptions used are very conservative and are shown in the box below.

The assumptions in our analyses can be modified to come up with other reasonable, but much higher estimates of the value of the Arrowhead breeding Center. even if the assumptions are modified to make them much more conservative, it is clear that the efforts by the georgia Forestry Commission and the NCsu Cooperative Tree improvement Cooperative will have enormous economic im-

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pact on the citizens of georgia and the southern us.

Tree improvement is a long-term investment, and the benefits from today’s breeding activities will not be realized for years to come. Fortunately, tree breeders in the past had the foresight to invest in aggressive tree improvement, and today’s landowners are reaping those benefits. Our children and grandchildren will be the primary beneficiaries of the activities at the Arrowhead breeding Center, so the value of this work is more important than ever!

At a time when the timber industry was only harvesting, Weyerhaeuser began to plant. For 75 years, we’ve been perfecting the seedlings that have reforested America and produced profits for generations of forest landowners.

:H\HUKDHXVHU 3DWHQWHG 3UHPLXP 6HHGOLQJV Southern Regeneration 800.344.0399 In Virginia & North Carolina 800.634.8975 in Florida, Georgia & South Carolina 800.635.0162 in Alabama, Mississippi & Tennessee 800.221.4898 in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma & Texas

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January | February 2012

Georgia Forestry Today

27

Assumptions and Calculations of Present Value Breeding of the Sawtimber Elite Population started in 2009 and it will take 12 years to complete the breeding and testing. While more than one breeding cycle will be possible, we evaluated the benefits from one Sawtimber Elite Population breeding cycle.

Seed orchards and propagation of trees from this breeding would start in 2021 (possibly earlier, but we are being conservative).

Plantations from these seed orchards and propagation efforts would first be established in 2031 and would be planted for 20 years. Again, we are being very conservative; plantations would probably start in 2025 or earlier.

From the breeding that is accomplished in the Breeding Center, 900,000 acres of plantations would be established in the South each year for 20 years from 2031 to 2051 with seedlings developed from the Sawtimber Elite Population breeding. e additional value at time of planting* from Sawtimber Elite Population breeding is conservatively assumed to be $150 per acre. e net present value or NPV per plantation acre with genetically improved seedlings is estimated to be $50-$300 (See 2006 Journal of Forestry, Vol. 104, p.352-358 for details). We expect to substantially increase the percentage of sawtimber as well as the amount and quality of sawtimber from Sawtimber Elite Population breeding effort, so the estimate of $150 per acre is a very conservative estimate of the additional benefit of this breeding effort for most plantations.

Starting in 2031, each year, $135,000,000 of added benefit ($150/acre x 900,000 acres planted per year) is realized from these improved plantations. e value in 2031 of 20 years of $135,000,000 per year at six percent discount rate is: =$135,000,000 (1.0620-1)/[0.06 (1.0620)] = $1,548,439,365 in 2031 Discounted back 20 years to 2011, the value of the Breeding Center today is: $1,548,439,365 / (1.06)20= $483 Million (rounded) In Georgia, about 210,000 acres of loblolly pine are planted each year. If only the acres planted in Georgia are considered, the value of the Breeding Center today is $113 Million.

Our current budget for operating the ABC is about $25,000/year plus labor, or about $50,000/ year total. is is the additional cost to the Cooperative and does not include Georgia Forestry Commission costs. e Present Value of $50,000 per year for ten years (the time to complete the breeding and testing ) is: =$50,000 (1.0610-1) / [0.06 (1.0610)]= $368,000 e Benefit / Cost ratio for this additional investment to get the additional benefit in future plantations is: B/C = $483 Million / $368,000 = 1312 times. We are not sure there are other forestry investments that routinely come close to this! ________________ *is is present value when the plantation is established, not the value at the end of the rotation.

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January | February 2012

Table 1. Members of the NC State University Cooperative Tree Improvement Program. Full Members contribute directly to the breeding and ďŹ eld testing eďŹ&#x20AC;orts and have rights to access the genetically improved germplasm. Contributing Members have access to all the genetic information and become fully informed consumers of genetically improved seedlings.

Full Members

Contributing Members

ArborGen

American Forest Management Inc.

CellFor Inc.

Biofuels Center of North Carolina

Georgia Forestry Commission

Dougherty & Dougherty Forestry Services Inc.

Hancock Timber Resources Group

International Forest Company

North Carolina Forest Service

Jordan Lumber & Supply Company

Plum Creek Timber Company Inc.

Milliken Forestry Company

Rayonier, Incorporated

Molpus Timberlands Management LLC

TN Division of Forestry

NC State Natural Resource Foundation Inc.

Virginia Department of Forestry

Pacolet Milliken Enterprises

Westervelt Company

ProFor

Weyerhaeuser Company

Resource Management Service LLC Scotch Land Management LLC South Carolina Forestry Commission Timberland Investment Resources LLC Z.V. Pate Inc.

Steve McKeand, Professor of Forestry and Environmental Resources and Director, Cooperative Tree Improvement Program, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8002. E-mail: Steve_McKeand@ncsu.edu Russ Pohl, Chief of Reforestation, Georgia Forestry Commission, 5645 Riggins Mills Rd., Dry Branch, GA 31020-9699.

E-mail: rpohl@gfc.state.ga.us Georgia Forestry Today

29

Interview with Georgia Representative

By Alva Hopkins, Editor, Georgia Forestry Today and Jesse Johnson, Southern Land Exchange

On February 15, 2011, a special election was held for georgia house District 178 after the current representative, Mark Williams, resigned after being named commissioner of the georgia Department of Natural resources by then governor sonny Perdue. Five candidates made their bid for the vacated position, but Chad Nimmer won out with 51.6 percent of the votes.

Georgia Forestry Today sat down with Nimmer to discuss the election, his positions, and the 2012 legislative session.

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January | February 2012

GFT: How long have you worked in forestry? What made you decide to get into the field?

Nimmer: i’ve worked in forestry for 13 years, starting out at georgia Pacific and later moving on to Pierce Timber Company. i work as a procurement forester for Pierce, and i’m a part owner of suwannee Forest Products. i got involved with forestry the way a lot of us did—love for the outdoors. i feel blessed to have been raised in south georgia on a farm, and i was taught the key to sustainability is good stewardship of the land. i wanted to keep the land healthy for the future family i was planning on having.

GFT: What made you want to run for office?

Nimmer: When Mark [Williams] was appointed to the DNr board, it vacated a seat. honestly, the first thing that happened was that i started to get phone calls urging me to run. And at first i thought, “i can’t do it.” but i kept being urged by a base group of people that gave me a lot of support during the campaign. i stuck by them and ran my campaign a little differently. i didn’t straw poll my district. My base and i talked to a lot of people directly. it was honestly the hardest thing i’ve ever done—and that includes working on the farm.

GFT: You said you thought you couldn’t do it at first. What made you change your mind?

Nimmer: it was time. And i felt—and still feel—like i have something to offer. And i say that with complete humility. i want to offer any gifts i’ve been given to my community. i want to give back what others have given me. i was also encouraged by my wife of 14 and a half years. she and i agreed together we could do this, even with two kids. And now we have three. i think my wife worked harder during the election than i did.

GFT: How do you plan on managing work and serving your term in office?

Nimmer:

i work for a good company that understands how important this is. i told them, “i’m going to need help.”

When i’m away from the office, i get help. We have a lot of individuals helping out and folks at home making sure everything goes right. Our company has been growing, and i had a lot of people wanting to pick up the reigns while i am giving back to the community. The reality is, like i said, my wife and others are sacrificing their time and energy to allow me to do this.

Georgia Forestry Today

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Take today for example. i’m in Atlanta, and i’ve been on the phone with my truck drivers and logging crew foreman since 6:00 this morning. And it’s tough not being on site. but the landowners i work with have been great about knowing i’ll be absent. i haven’t had a single person who didn’t want my business because of me serving, and i’ve had a few of them thank me for doing it.

GFT: What's been the most eye-opening or surprising thing for you since taking office?

Nimmer: i’d have to say how things are from a reality standpoint and not how people view politics from the outside. For example, i’ve heard that politics will always corrupt a good person. Don’t believe it. if you have it in you to be corrupt, you’ll do it in any walk of life. i’ve been surprised by the genuine friendships that i’ve made. Most everyone has been friendly. They realized that i came in mid-session and realized that i was going to need help. Will i find a few people who aren’t genuine? Well, that’s life. but i have been very pleased with my new friendships.

We are messengers for our voters. i was also surprised how much it took to run a campaign, even a short one like mine. And i was surprised who came to the table to help me out with that. i’m fortunate Chad Nimmer, with his wife Amy and their two oldest children, at the Capitol building in Atlanta. that i realized i needed a campaign manager and pleased that i got a good one.

GFT: Do you have a directive for the session?

Nimmer: i keep trying to remind myself that i don’t know everything going on in south georgia. You know, you can ride past a managed forest on the side of a road, and if you aren’t in forestry, you probably have no clue how much work goes into the land.

There’s going to be plenty of industries and issues that i won’t have information on, but my goal is to get that info, and then share that info through my voice in Atlanta. if you look below i-16, i wonder how 32

many legislators have the true heartbeat of what is going on in the farm and forest sectors. i’d suspect not many. We have to get people in our industry more involved in government. i’m only one voice. i’m here to spread the message, but it’s going to take regular folk taking time to drive to meetings and places, especially Atlanta, where issues are going to be discussed.

GFT: Do you have any specific forestry-related issue on mind for the 2012 session?

Nimmer: Not one specific issue. There are a few things i’ll be working on from last year.

For example, we’re working on cut-over law.

January | February 2012

There’s a debate on how exactly to define what a clearly-marked line is. i want to try to resolve that. beyond that, this is my first full session, so i’m still learning. i'm trying to be supportive, but i won’t be introducing any legislation this year. i’d like to work on tax breaks for reforestation for loss. And i’ll do anything to hinder legislation which could harm sustainability.

GFT: Any parting shot you'd like to give to our readers?

Nimmer:

We have to get like-minded people together with legislators. What we are passionate about isn’t necessarily going to be the same as the person across from the table from us. i think so many people fail to realize the economic importance of forestry in georgia. i know we have intra-industry division on certain issues, but we definitely need to set up goals as an industry as a whole.

And i think we need to get people out of Atlanta and touring the state to see some of our land first-hand. That takes volunteers, but it’s important. For example, i was once

Georgia Forestry Today

actually asked, “Why don’t you just chalk landlines like you do a football field?” People can understand what we do so much better when they see it firsthand. And they under-

stand the personal touch—they realize that there are guys out there on dozers being paid $14 an hour to risk their lives and save land and homes. v

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33

southern Timberland Market A Windshield Assessment (part 1 of 2)

by W. richard humphries, Forest resource Consultants inc.

T

he last decade has shown extraordinary instability in most investment sectors. Financial markets have been highly volatile. Precious metal prices, gold in particular, have been on an endless upward climb, while real estate markets expanded wildly then collapsed. historically, timberland has been recognized as a solid, stable, relatively predictable longterm investment, marginally affected by changes in value of other investments. While there have been periodic fluctuations in timberland prices over past decades, there has been a general upward trend in transaction prices, most often with less volatility relative to other investments.

The relationship of land price to stumpage prices was also relatively stable, staying in sync with one another. buyers and sellers were a relatively small number of traditional rural landowners, forest products companies, and investors familiar with rural land and timber production economics.

Many could buy, sell, and trade timberland with ease, comfort, and understanding, while avoiding the unfamiliar stock market or commercial and developed real estate market —investments perceived to be infinitely more risky.

Timber value and a history of rising prices has traditionally been a major influence on buyers’ perception of timberland value since potential timber revenue is obviously a major value consideration for the underlying land. simply put, land’s worth is derived from the long-term financial benefits that it could produce for its owner. in most timberland transactions, there has always been a strong correlation between crop or timber value and the underlying land component. land was worth what it would produce, mostly in terms of cash flow from crops, whether timber or corn. This fundamental was challenged, or simply forgotten, during the first decade of this century.

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The Price Run-up (2001-2007) The up and down ride that stock market investors have taken over the last decade has been as wild and tumultuous as any theme park roller coaster. After a couple of short downhill runs in the early part of the decade, many investors, particularly some baby boomers worried about protecting funds for approaching retirement, became uncomfortable with too much of their portfolios in the stock market. They began to seek alternative investments.

Warranted or not, this earlier stock market decline combined with the uncertainty brought on by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and unrest in the Middle east had an increased number of investors considering tangible assets as a means of portfolio diversification and wealth preservation.

There are only a few commonly available alternatives to traditional financial markets.

One alternative, which in hindsight may have been a good speculative play, is gold. however, gold was not being as heavily promoted then as today, and many people just did not see a notable utilitarian value in the metal. More investors began to view real estate as a logical solution since “it wouldn’t

completely disappear like 2001 dot-com stocks.”

While some investors turned to commercial and residential real estate, including vacation/resort homes, as a way to preserve wealth and/or generate a return on their money, others began to view southern timberland as an attractive alternative. in fact, a large number of small buyers entering the market, ‘consumers’ we’ll call them, had not previously been an influential part of the pool of buyers. With generally good economic conditions, many small business owners, medical professionals, and others were prospering. in particular, developers, building contractors, and others in related real estate fields were thriving due to explosive growth in the housing market. Many investors were generating significant profits from the sale of properties in urban, suburban, and second-home markets in coastal areas or other growth communities of the south, thereby accumulating significant levels of cash. Market access for buyers increased, and borrowing money to further leverage an investment was easy. The buyand-flip strategy of some buyers also spurred an increase in tax-deferred 1031 like-kind ex-

Figure 1: Dow Jones Industrial Average 2001 to 2011. Source: Yahoo Finance January | February 2012

changes, further fueling demand for real estate. These conditions all converged to generate a large number of capable buyers seeking rural timberland properties for recreation, short-term speculation, and long-term investment. everyone, it seemed, was making money, a respectable portion of which was being spent in the timberland market.

The southern timberland market can be generally segmented into two broad markets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the smaller tract market, which we refer to as the consumer market, and one characterized by larger purchases that we refer to as the commercial/institutional timberland market. Over the past decade, bareland prices (excluding timber value) between these two segments differed, but both followed parallel price trends as depicted in Figure 2. The consumer market price trend is based on 860 verified transactions less than 5,000 acres in size. Although these data are limited to georgia transactions, the price trend has been similar across most rural areas of the south. The commercial/institutional price trend is based on approximately 200 transactions greater than 5,000 acres in size from across the south. These transactions account for a total of almost 13 million acres and over $17 billion in gross sales over the decade.

As shown in Figure 2, land prices for consumer parcels began increasing around 2002. With a significant increase in demand across the south, some areas experienced as much as 15 to 25 percent price increases year-over-year for smaller timberland parcels.

Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, many banks were eager to lend money with very little cash required from borrowers. in many cases, lenders were focused solely on making loans, often relaxing loan-to-value ratios, reducing underwriting requirements, manipulating the appraisal process, and employing other practices to assure that loans could be made. such easy credit coupled with low interest rates and generally good economic conditions opened up markets for many people that had not normally been able to pursue relatively high-value assets such as timberland.

While consumer tract prices were beginning to rise at the beginning of the decade, larger commercial timber properties were generally stable due to massive forest industry consolidation and the related monetization (selloff ) of their timberland assets. however, observed land prices even for multi-parcel commercial timberlands began notable upward movement by 2004. Also during this time, many reiTs and institu-

Figure 2: Timberland (Bareland) Price Trends 2001 to 2011.

Georgia Forestry Today

tional investors were holding significant investment capital. A portion of this readily available cash, particularly among larger employee pension funds, was earmarked for timberland investment through various timberland investment management organizations (TiMOs). Thus, in addition to some forest product companies and timberland reiTs, most TiMOs were in the market and competing for mid-size to large timberland offerings. given the increase in buyer competition and the continual rise in consumer tract prices, many commercial investors were maintaining their competitiveness and supporting higher purchase prices by incorporating a retail consumer land sales strategy into their acquisition analysis. There were also established land dealers and many new land speculators entering the market eager to purchase large commercial timberland offerings with plans to subsequently divide and resell them in smaller tracts to consumers.

Thus, the higher demand and consequently the higher prices observed for small consumer tracts were impacting prices for larger commercial purchases.

There was an abundant supply of timberland available through early 2007 as well as a growing demand from an increasingly varied market pool of investors. Trading volume was high and land prices continued to climb higher. Commercial or institutional investors were extremely active buyers and sellers. Forest product companies were in the midst of consolidation and the resulting land selloff. speculators were selling properties to each other as well as occasionally selling to the consumer. With a high level of trading activity, new investment capital rolling in, and the short-term speculative mindset of buyers and sellers, traditional timberland valuation models took a back seat to creative strategies for acquisition pricing in an extremely bullish market that persisted from 2002 through early 2007. v Richard Humphries is Vice President and Senior Appraiser of Forest Resource Consultants Inc.(FRC) in Macon, Georgia. To contact him, phone (478) 745-4910 or e-mail rhumphries@frcemail.com. This article was originally published in Timber Mart-South, 3rd quarter, 2011.

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endowment Plans georgia Wood-to-energy Project to Test Model for Asset Creation by u.s. endowment for Forestry and Communities, greenville, south Carolina As vitally important as family-supporting jobs are—especially in this economy—can a private business be ‘designed’ to do more than provide jobs and generate profits for its owners? That’s the question that the u.s. endowment for Forestry and Communities (the endowment) hopes to answer with its investment in a wood-to-energy facility slated for east-central georgia.

The North star-Jefferson project is a partnership between the endowment and North star renewable Power. The 23 Megawatt plant proposed for construction near Wadley, georgia, would use a wellproven technology while testing a starkly different ownership model.

“The endowment would control up-to 40 percent of the facility through a whollyowned for-profit subsidiary (Community Wealth through Forestry inc. - CWF),” says endowment President Carlton Owen. “The intent is to test an ownership model that has

a for-profit business partnering with a community—with CWF initially providing the funding and vehicle for community interests.

This creates an entirely different mechanism that sees a significant portion of the profits from the business going directly to address one or more priority community needs in addition to the expected benefits that flow from a private business—jobs, taxes, purchases of goods and services, etc.”

As part of its Woody biomass Joint Venture fund with the usDA Forest service, the endowment has made a number of investments in emerging technologies – from more efficient and environmentally friendly wood stoves for small commercial buildings to companies working to ‘roast’ wood chips to create a high-energy fuel source that could substitute for coal in certain applications.

“Projects that we’ve funded to date have been in the areas of taking lab-proven projects closer to commercial status or developing

more efficient wood procurement means and models to fit the growing wood-to-energy market,” says Owen.

North star-Jefferson is in the final design and permitting phase. if all goes according to plan, the facility would be operational by late fall 2013. The plant is designed to be fueled primarily with wood waste (either mill residues or logging debris) and up-to 20 percent tire-derived fuel (a high-energy substance left after removing metal bands and grinding the residual from discarded tires).

The twin-fueling plan addresses two important needs. First, it provides a market for waste- or low-value wood providing another incentive for wood products plants as well as another economically-viable means for family forest owners to manage their lands. second, using discarded tires yields an environmentally-proven means to keep those tires from ending up in streams and landfills. v

us Forest service, Ad Council launch PsAs featuring Dr. seuss’ The lorax in an effort to encourage children to spend more time outdoors and reconnect with nature, the u.s. Forest service and the Ad Council today announced that they are joining universal Pictures to launch a series of public service advertisements featuring characters and footage from universal and illumination entertainment’s upcoming 3D-Cg feature Dr seuss’ The lorax. initially launched in 2009, the Discover the Forest campaign aims to encourage children and their families to get outside and experience the many benefits of nature. The goal of the campaign is to instill a life-long love for nature in chil-

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dren. Created pro bono by universal Pictures, the new english and spanish television, radio, and outdoor PsAs feature the lorax, a symbol of forest conservation, to encourage children to explore and enjoy nature everywhere and become lifelong stewards of the forest and its beauty.

More than 245 million Americans live within 100 miles from a national forest or grassland. however, children in the u.s. spend fifty percent less time outdoors than they did twenty years ago, according to the institute for social research at the university of Michigan. research shows that children who play outside have lower stress levels and more

active imaginations, become fitter and leaner, develop stronger immune systems, and are more likely to become environmentally conscious in the future. “if the parents or family members can help in getting them there, we promise to provide children with some of the most beautiful natural playgrounds you’ll find anywhere,” said u.s. Forest service Chief Tom Tidwell. “Our nation’s forests and grasslands offer kids adventure and exercise while instilling a lifelong appreciation for our great outdoors. We’re confident that the lorax will help bring many new faces into our forests.” v

January | February 2012

Forestry Calendar JANUARY 26 - 27

FEBRUARY 7 - 8

MARCH 13

Projects WeT, WilD and learning Tree Triple Facilitator Workshop Mansfield, georgia Charlie elliot Wildlife Center Contact: 404-362-6536

gFA legislative reception and Forestry Day at the Capitol Atlanta, georgia Omni hotel at CNN Center & The empire room of the sloppy Floyd building Contact: Judy Couch, Director of events, gFA (478) 992-8110 or judy@gfagrow.org

Course: Forest and hurricanes: impacts and Planning Considerations Athens, georgia Warnell school of Forestry and Natural resources Contact: ingvar elle, (706) 583-0566, ielle@warnell.uga.edu

FEBRUARY TBD 2012 Forest landowners Association regional Meeting Augusta, georgia

FEBRUARY 22 Trees and health: getting Kids Outdoors Jefferson, georgia The Jefferson Civic Center georgia urban Forest Council register: www.gufc.org

MARCH 29 longleaf Classic 2012 hawkinsville, georgia southern hill golf Club Contact: Carla rapp, Director of Forestry education, gFA 478-992-8110 or carla@gfagrow.org

New Faces on Georgia Forestry Commission’s Board of Directors Two prominent members of Georgia’s forestry community have been named to the Georgia Forestry Commission’s Board of Directors.

James l. Allen is co-owner of Pike Creek Turf Farms inc. and served as founder and senior partner of Allen, Pritchett, and basset Certified Public Accountants. A Tift County native who completed courses in business and forestry at Abraham baldwin Agriculture College and earned a bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Valdosta state College (now university), Allen holds extensive farming, timber, and water well-drilling business interests in south georgia. he is a member of the Forest landowners Association, the American Tree Farm system, and the georgia Forestry Association. Allen has held positions on numerous local and state committees, including governor zell Miller’s Commission on effectiveness and economy in government, the board of georgia’s Department of human resources, and Valdosta state university board of Trustees. he is a member of the Tift regional Medical Center Community board and the American institute of

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Certified Public Accountants, among others. Allen lives in Tifton with his wife, Quay. The couple has two children and five granddaughters. earl smith is a graduate of the university of georgia Warnell school of Forestry and Natural resources who brings to the board more than 40 years of experience in timberland management and procurement of raw materials. smith served as a Procurement Forester with st. regis Paper Company and had an extensive career with gilman Paper Company, from which he retired as Vice President of Forest resources for its building Products Division. smith has served on a myriad of community and industry boards and was President of the Florida Forestry Association and the georgia Forestry Association, from which he earned the Wise Owl outstanding service award. smith has held seats on ugA Warnell committees and is currently on the executive Committee of

the Forest landowners Association. he and his wife, Caroline Campbell, live in greensboro. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. “i’m looking forward to serving georgia’s forestry community through this board position,” said smith. “With my background in land management and fiber procurement, i believe i can bring insight that positively affects the management and utilization sides of our industry.”

“As a timberland owner with an accounting background, i am confident i can be of help to the board in many areas,” said James Allen. “it’s a real honor to serve the forestry industry in this way.” earl smith was appointed by georgia governor Nathan Deal to serve on the georgia Forestry Commission board of Directors until January 1, 2015, completing the term of Charles Williams, who resigned to seek public office. James Allen’s appointment is in effect through 2017.v

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GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY DIRECTORY OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES

BEACH TIMBER COMPANY INC. 128 Beach Timber Road Alma, Ga 31510 Office: (912) 632-2800 Gary Strickland Foresters We Buy Wood!

Owner bchtimco@accessatc.net Available

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FOREST RESOURCE SERVICES INC.

Buyers of Land and Timber in Georgia and the South Canal Wood LLC 601 North Belair Square, Suite 21 Evans, Georgia 30809 Phone: (800) 833-8178 E-mail: dollars4trees@canalwood.com

Specializing in Land and Timber Management & Sales

BOBBY D. BROWN Registered Forester GA Number: 2164 Licensed Realtor GA Number: 165520 20364 GA Hwy #3 Thomasville, GA 31792

(229) 227-1919 brown@ftrealty.com

January | February 2012

Georgia Forestry Today

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