June 2016
Positive outlook for forestry industry in Arkansas
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he Arkansas forestry industry continues to have encouraging developments including the reopening of a sawmill, a wood pellets facility moving to the state and a new pulp mill making Arkansas its home. The sawmill in Glenwood will reopen thanks to Caddo River Forest Products, an entity made up of Texas investors, who own timberland in south Arkansas. The organization will invest $50 million in the project. According to David Henderson, a member of Caddo River partnership, the mill will manufacture dimensional and specialty lumber by spring 2017. The mill is expected to create 136 full-time positions in south Arkansas and 200-300
indirect jobs, including loggers, landowners and transportation specialists. The Glenwood mill was built by GeorgiaPacific in the early 1970s and was later bought by Curt Bean Lumber. The mill closed in 2010. Privately held Highland Pellets of Boston is on schedule to begin manufacturing wood pellets by their target date of November 2016 in Pine Bluff. Highland Pellets Chairman Tom Reilley stated that 100% of the company’s production will be shipped to Europe and will make use of Arkansas’ excessive inventory of unused forest dregs, logging leftovers, imperfect commercial trees, dead wood and other trees that would otherwise go to waste.
Arkansas’ first biomass plant will employ 68 full time employees and will create over 250 indirect jobs according to Chairman Reilley. Sun Paper Industry of China announced in April that it would make Arkadelphia its home for their first North American pulp mill. This facility is estimated to cost between $1 billion and $1.3 billion to build and will create 250 jobs.
Forestry commission puts app to work
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etected in Arkansas in July 2014, emerald ash borer (EAB) has been a great nuisance for many landowners and foresters in Arkansas. EAB is native to Asia and was first discovered in the United States in 2002. Experts believe EAB moved throughout the U.S. hitchhiking on unprocessed logs, infested ash nursery stock and firewood.
“With this new tablet, I can take the stylus and map areas of concern while I am flying,” said Forest Health Specialist, Chandler Barton. “There are several different pests that affect Arkansas forests, so this software will help Arkansas landowners and foresters combat these destructive pests by knowing about them sooner.”
A new initiative by the Arkansas Forestry Commission (AFC) hopes to provide landowners with relief. The Commission has begun using an aerial survey system known as DMSM, (Digital Mobile SketchMapper) This program, operated on a tablet, allows AFC to map forest health disturbances from the air. This software was developed by Forest Service contractor Mason, Bruce and Girard, Inc. under the direction of the Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team.
AFC will be able to survey for bark beetle damages in pine trees, defoliators in pine or hardwood and most recently, ash tree mortality caused by EAB. AFC has completed two flights this year to look for ash tree mortality. These flights have revealed that the effects of emerald ash borer are most commonly found along the Ouachita River, in Ouachita County. Once EAB is thought to be in a certain location, ground crews will be called to explore the area to confirm if it is in fact EAB. Ground crews will look for the characteristic
signs and symptoms of EAB, which include increased woodpecker damage, bark splitting, serpentine galleries and D-shaped exit holes. AFC is in the process of ground-truthing the aerial survey findings. Ash trees are less than three percent of Arkansas’ forest population when you consider inventory data on stems larger than saplings. The devastation
AFC (See ‘App’ on page 2)
‘App’ cont’d.
that EAB has caused in the state is not yet known. However, with DMSM, the forestry commission will be able to collect data on the damages. Barton says that he sees this technology being a useful tool for finding Ips beetles in the state. Ips beetles respond to drought stressed pines and can cause considerable damage to AR pine stands. “This technology will help us get ahead of the game here and catch pests in the act before we get reports of dead trees on the ground,” Barton said. The AFC will be completing two types of flights including general surveillance and specific searches for certain known outbreaks. Currently, Barton is the only one in the state capable of using this system, but future funding will help share the technology with other agencies across the state.
Teacher conservation tour offers hands-on professional development
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ourteen teachers from 12 school districts and two organizations across the state earned 30 professional development hours while taking part in the Arkansas Forestry Association Education Foundation’s Teacher Conservation Tour (#TCT2016.) The week-long tour acquainted the group with a variety of different topics in the forestry industry. The week began in the classroom where the group learned forest history, tree cookie facts and tree identity. The days that followed consisted of a mill tours, a visit to an active logging site, a Tree Farm tour and a nursery tour.
County Forester Trey Franks helps teachers identify various trees on UAM’s campus during the Tree ID scavenger hunt.
If you feel EAB is affecting your ash trees, please contact the State Plant Board at EAB@aspb.ar.gov. For general forest insect and disease questions, Chandler Barton may be contacted at chandler.barton@arkansas. gov or by phone at (501) 296-1853.
AFA Calendar July 19 Forest Practices Committee Meeting AFA Office - Little Rock 9:30 a.m. August 6 Drew County Log-A-Load UAM - Gibson Center August 31 Executive Committee Meeting AFA Office - Little Rock 10 a.m. September 14 Program Committee Meeting AFA Office - Little Rock 10 a.m. September 24 River Valley Log-A-Load Boys and Girls Club - Russellville September 24 Bradley County Log-A-Load Immanuel Baptist Church - Warren October 4-6 AFA Annual Conference Fayetteville, AR
Weyerhaeuser and L. D. Long Inc. hosted the #TCT2016 on an active logging site near Monticello.
Chris Morton, Georgia-Pacific OSB Mill plant manager, gave the #TCT2016 a tour through the Fordyce facility. The group learned the process that goes into creating oriented strand board.
Second annual Tree Farm conference has record attendance he Arkansas Tree Farm Program state.
#TCT2016 toured Moro Big Pine in Hampton. The group learned how Potlach partners with state organizations to manage this forest.
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hosted its second annual Tree Farmer Conference on June 9th at the Clark County Fire Training Facility in Arkadelphia. Seventy-three people from five states were in attendance. The day started at 8:30 a.m. and consisted of educational programs. Jennifer Johnson, administrator of the Arkansas Tree Farm program, provided attendees with an update on the importance of the American Tree Farm System transitioning from a recognition program to a certification program and what this means for landowners. Johnson gave the premilinary audit report from the 2016 Arkansas Tree Farm audit, in which no major non-conformities were found in the
Mr. Allen Morgan with Hunter-Wasson Timber Services, LLC discussed important details that landowners should consider before harvesting trees from their property in his presentation, “Harvesting Considerations from a Loggers Perspective.” Extension forester, Dr. Kyle Cunningham, gave a presentation on, “Using Herbicides in Pine and Hardwood Management.” He discussed the most common herbicides used for both pine management and hardwood management. In her presentation, “Leasing Your Property (Continued on next page)
South Central Log A Load equals big success
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he South Central Log A Load chapter recently held their annual golf tournament and fish fry. The golf tournament, held in Glenwood on June 9, had a record of 31 teams play to raise funds for Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH).
On June 11, the South Central chapter held their annual auction and fish fry. The Arkansas Children’s Hospital helicopter made an appearance at the event. Attendees had the opportunity to tour the helicopter and learn more about the process of transporting patients. The South Central chapter raised over $100,000 for Arkansas Children’s Hospital from these events. Arkansas Log-A-Load For Kids has made a commitment to Arkansas Children’s Hospital to fund the emergency department and trauma center until 2017. Since 1993, Arkansas LogA-Load For Kids has raised over $8 million for ACH.
Kingwood Forestry Services enjoyed their day on the green raising money for ACH at Glenwood Golf Course.
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for Hunting,” Dr. Becky McPeake discussed the pros and cons for leasing woodlands for hunting purposes and what landowners need to think about if they are considering this venture. The Coley family from McRae, 2015 Tree Farmers of the Year, talked with conference participants about what their Tree Farm means to them and what challenges and successes they have seen in owning a Tree Farm.
Families experienced the ACH helicopter and learned about patient transport. A video of take-off can be found on the Log-A-Load Facebook page. Arkansas Log-A-Load For Kids funded a $1.5 million endowment for Angel One.
Much of the Ross Foundation management activities have a wildlife habitat focus, which were highlighted during the tour.
Registration open for 71st annual meeting
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he 71st AFA Annual Meeting is just a few months away. The planning committee has worked hard to plan an agenda that you won’t want to miss. This year’s meeting will cover a variety of topics including panels concerning forest and drinking water, the international presence that Arkansas’ forests have attracted and a Forest Biomass panel. Registration is available online at www.arkforests.org.
Check out the new Arkansas Tree Farm Facebook Page! www.facebook/ARTreeFarm/
Arkansas is home to more than 2,700 certified Tree Farms, which covers over 459,000 acres. To view the presentations from the 2016 conference, go to http://www.arkforests. org/?page=treefarm.
Attendees enjoyed a networking lunch provided by Farm Credit of Western Arkansas. After lunch, the group traveled to the Ross Foundation Tree Farm property. Mark Karnes, Director of Operations, conducted a tour described several demonstration areas, including the following: a prescribed fire for brush control and wildlife improvement, the process for selecting trees to harvest and wildlife management activities on the Ross Foundation.
Seventy-three attendees from five states heard presentations specific to landowners in the state. Conference attendees own more than 16,000 acres of certified Tree Farms.
The Ross Foundation hosted Tree Farmer Conference participants at their Demonstration Forest near Gurdon.