NewYorll
Forest Owner
September - October 1981
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New York Forest Owner
Vol. 19, No.5
THE NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION
In This Issue Dues, New Members, Officers of the NYFOA P. 3 Notes from the NYFOA President; Woodland Management Workshop; New Reforestation Tax Incentives. P. 4-5 NYFOA Fall Meeting P.6 Paul Smith's College P. 7 Professional Forester Licensing Proposal, Dave Hanaburgh. P.8 Board Minutes, NYFOA can have 1200 members, Chemical Chimney Cleaners. P. 9 Fuel Prices May Provide Incentive to Woodlot Owners, Forest Bookshelf. P. 10 History of Gussie Gaskill's Woods. P. 11 Best Management's Practices, by Dave Taber, Estate Tax Reduction. P. 12 Ask a Forester, by Al Roberts.
Welcome Our New Members
Published by the
NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS Association
P. 2
ANNUAL DUES (Please underline choice) Junior Member (under 21) $ 3 Regular Member. $10 Family Membership $15 (husband, wife) Contributing Member $ 12-$ 29 Sustaining Member $ 30-$ 99 Supporting Member. $100-$499 Sponsoring Member $500 and up
Front Cover An aerial view of the Arnot Forest, Cornell University location of the annual Fall Meeting.
Joseph A. Buff 7195 Lakeshore Rd., RD#l Clay, NY 13041 Richard DoBell 3612 Wildwood Dr. Endwell, NY 13760 Paul R. English RD#2, Box 463 Greene, NY 13778 Robert A. Martin Ridge Rd., Box 368 Broadalbin, NY 12025 Timothy M. Stapley Box 25 Avon, NY 14414 Edward L. Tirrell, Jr. 724 Security Mutual Bldg. Binghamton, NY 13901 Cliff & Janice Westerling 44 Spring St. Norwood, NY 13668
Editor
Evelyn Stock 5756 Ike Dixon Rd. Camillus, NY 13031
OFFICERS President
Robert L. Edmonds RD 1, Box 99 Marathon, NY 13803
First Vice President
Robert Morrow FernowHall Ithaca, NY 14850
Second
Vice President
Paul Steinfeld Cottage School Pleasantville, NY 10570
Third Vice President
Robert Demeree 4 Northway Drive Cortland, NY 13045
George Mitchell New Membership Secretary George Mitchell of Old Forge has been appointed our new Membership Secretary. Henceforth any new memberships or changes of address are to be sent to him directly at the following address: New York Forest Owner, P.O. Box 69, Old Forge, NY 13420.
Treasurer Stuart McCarty 4300 East Avenue Rochester, NY 14618
Recording Secretary
J. Lewis DuMond 9 Grand St. Cobleskill, NY 12043
New York Forest Owner
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Woodland Management Workshop The following special program is being planned for the Fall at Onondaga Community College. Check your newspaper for more information or call the Division of Community Services, 469-7741, ext. 225. Woodland Management for smalllandowners will provide landowners with information on how they can get help in managing woodland property. This workshop is co-sponsored by: Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County Cornell Cooperative Extension Onondaga Community College SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry This program is planned to run from mid-September thru mid-October.
The New Reforestation Tax Incentives According to the Forest Industries Committee on Timber Valuation and Taxation (1250 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036) Public Law 96-451 allows individuals, corporations, partnerships and estates up to $10,000 of capitalized reforestation costs incurred after December 31, 1979 to be eligible for a ten percent investment tax credit (which is subtracted from the taxes owed). Costs incurred for site preparation, seeds or seedlings, wages paid to others and tools, under some circumstances, qualify under the new law. In addition, the forest owner is allowed a 7-year amortization which is subtracted from his gross income beginning on the first day of the last half of the taxable year during which the reforestation costs were incurred. These tax advantages are not available for expenditures which are reimbursed under the FIP program unless the taxpayer elects to include them as income. Christmas trees will probably not be allowed under this program either. Anyone wishing to obtain these incentives should contact their accountant or the I.R.S. for more complete information.
Jim Peek, Forester Environmental
Department of Conservation
NOTES FROM THE NYFOA PRESIDENT Dear Fellow Members, The New York Forest Owners Association is your organization. Your thoughts and ideas are important to having the association meet your needs路 and desires. We are very fortunate to have many volunteers as officers, directors, and in other capacities helping to make the group work for all of us. They are very responsive to your input. Let me encourage you to drop me a note with your suggestions. If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors, please don't by shy. Let me know. I will pass your name on to our nominating committee. New fresh ideas from people willing and able to actively contribute are always welcome.
Arnot Forest near Ithaca. The meeting is being planned by a real professional, Dr. Jim Lassoie of Cornell University. Jim is an active NYFOA member and serves on our Board of Directors. While you have your calendars out, also note that our annual spring meeting is scheduled to be held in Albany on April 10, 1982. We plan to take an in depth view of the Department of Environmental Conservation. The date was chosen so not to conflict with the maple sugaring season or the tree planting season. More details on both meetings will be coming your way by direct mailing to you, as well as via the Forest Owner. See you there. Bring a friend!
Please mark your calendar for the October 10, 1981 Fall Meeting at the
Sincerely, Bob Edmonds
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New York Forest Owner
NYFOA Fall Meeting October 9-10, 1981 Dear NYFOA Member: The 1981 NYFOA Fall Meeting will be held October 9-10, 1981 at Arnot Teaching and Research Forest in Van Etten, New York. The Arnot Forest was acquired in 1927 for Cornell's Department of Forestry. Since much of the area was heavily farmed up until the 1930's, the Arnot Forest is similar to many lands owned by NYFOA members. The Arnot's long history as a research and demonstration area and its rustic camp facilities make for an ideal location for the Fall Meeting. We have planned a two-day event this year (see agenda). Although the main program is scheduled for October 10, some members may wish to attend the optional evening session on October 9. From 7:00-9:00' p.m. we will hold a forestry film festival which will include a slide talk by Alan Knight on the last two NYFOA European Tours. However, those wishing to stay overnight should make motel reservations immediately as a Cornell-Harvard football game on October 10 already has filled most Ithaca area motels. I strongly suggest that members wishing to stay overnight contact the following county Chambers of Commerce for assistance in locating a motel. 1. Chemung County Chamber of Commerce 224 William Street Elmira, New York 14901 607/734-5137 (Elmira is about 20 miles from the Arnot Forest) 2. Schuyler County Chamber of Commerce 100 N. Franklin Street Watkins Glen, New York 14891 607/535-4300 (Watkins Glen is about 16 miles from the Arnot Forest) 3. Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce 122 W. Court Street Ithaca, New York 14850 607/273-7080 (Ithaca is about 20 miles from the Arnot Forest) The 1981 Fall Meeting should be an interesting one. For early risers, we will be having an optional breakfast at the Arnot Camp the morning of October 10, complete with Arnot Maple Syrup. Besides the presentations and field trip we have invited numerous public and private organizations and agencies that provide specific types of assistance to private, nonindustrial woodland owners. There will be time during the evening session for members to examine this "Resource Information Fair." I hope to see many of you at the 1981 Fall Meeting. You will be receiving a complete registration packet from me in early September. Best regards, Jim Lassoie •• •Bob Sand has taken over the job of maintaining NYFOA Archives. Please bring any material you have that should be kept in the Archives.
New York Forest Owner
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1981 NYFOA Fall Meeting Theme:
Managing Your Woodlands: Satisfaction Guaranteed!
Chairman:
Dr. James P. Lassoie 106 Fernow Hall Cornell University Ithaca, New York 14853 607/256-2114
Location:
Arnot Teaching and Research Forest Van Etten, New York
Date:
October 9-10, 1981
Cost:
$10.00
AGENDA: October 3:00 6:00 7:00 9:00
9 p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m.
Board of Director's Meeting Meeting Registration Forestry Film Festival Adjourn
October 8:30 9:30 10:00 10:15 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:15 1:00
10 a.m. a.m. a.m. a.m. a.m. a.m. a.m. p.m. p.m.
Breakfast at the Arnot ($4.00 extra) Meeting Registration (coffee and donuts) Welcome and a Brief History of the Arnot Forest Where Did Your Woodlands Come From? Fiber and Nonfiber Management Options on Your Land Coffee Break Developing a Management Plan to Safisfy Your Needs Lunch Arnot Forest Tour Stop #1: Stop #2: Stop #3:
4:00 p.m. NOTE:
L Old Cemetery 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 3.
Maple Succession and Thinning Demonstration Conifer Plantation - Spacing Research Demonstration Recently Selectively Harvested Area Wildlife Research and Demonstration Area Old Home Site Old Field Succession and Unthinned Maple Stand
Adjourn
Complete preregistration materials will be mailed to NYFOA"Members in early September.
New York Forest Owner
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Bill Rutherford, sion.
Head of Forestry Divi-
PAUL SMITH'S COLLEGE By Evelyn Stock, Editor
Paul Smith's is one of nineteen colleges in New York State that take part in an elderhostel program of summer vacations on campus. One of the projects they offered was aqua exercise with an instructor and heated pool - just what I .wanted - so I spent a week there and found it to be a great forestry experience as well as an interesting vacation. On my second day I met Bill Rutherford, head of the forestry division of the college, a tall, pleasant southern gentleman. Very enthusiastic about the work they do at the college, he took me around their 20,000 acres of forest land to see the results of 100 years of forestry. There has been intensive forestry for the last 34 years. Paul Smith came to the area in the late 1860's and before 1900 had acquired the land in Harrietstown and another nearby town, twenty-two miles from Lake Placid. By 1880 he was managing the lands for timber, had built his own sawmill and a hotel for vacationers. The preservation of the forest was always important to Paul. One example of this was a rule in which he had a provision for setback which prevented logging around the water courses. Paul also sold some camp areas to the very wealthy people of 1880.
Paul's First Farming Paul often told of his first attempt at farming at St. Regis Lake. He thought that for a starter he would use about three acres. He had that much cleared off, broken up, and even had it fenced in. He carefully sowed it to rye. All that came up was huckleberries so that ended his farming. Around 1900 he acquired water rights and built the Paul Smiths Electric Co. which was operated until the 1960's when it was sold to Niagara Mohawk. .
Paul Smith also began a program of planting conifers around 1960 with the cooperation and advice of Cliff Pettis who was the first state forester. By World War I all of their forest lands had been lightly cut. Since that time there have been additional cuts some four or five times and they still support good stock. Paul Smith's son Phelps Smith left the property to be used for a college of applied sciences to help those living in the Adirondacks. The Board of Trustees, which had been set up, argued among themselves for years as to a course of action, but finally decided on a two year course in three areas - Forest Technology, Hotel Management, and Surveying. The first classes were held in 1946. Since then the Forestry Department has aimed at training students as well as harvesting the forest as it matured. After World War II there were 55,000 acres. Some have been sold and now there are about 26,000 acres. The enrollment in the forestry division has grown and Bill proudly says that it is now the largest forest technician program in North America. Every year 15-20 graduates go into logging; 15-25 go into manufacturing or marketing and probably 100 go into land management activities dealing with the growing of timber or utilization of land. Jobs in tree services and in surveying have been the largest block. I asked Billhow he felt about licensing foresters. He is not for it but said he could live with it. "Licensing is for the protection of the public - these people who are for licensing want it not for the protection of the public but to enhance their own reputations. The state says that a license is given as a result of an examination. The forestry college and other forestry schools might feel that if their students get a degree in forestry they should automatically get their license." I heard about a portable sawmill and looked up Gould Hoyt, another faculty member. You may know of him - he is the man who conducts the woodsmen's contests at the field days in Boonville each August. He has charge of the portable sawmill. On the way to the sawmill we stopped to feed some horses in a picturesque log stable. The horses are used in connection with their timber harvesting. Many people feel that they are less harmful to the trees than trucks. The
portable sawmill seems to be a novelty in the woods but invaluable. Paul Smith's forests are beautiful. We have been invited to have a woods walk there and perhaps next year we can. We also took a Botany course. The instructor took us all over the Adirondacks in a slide presentation explaining the different kinds of trees and plants that were there. It intrigued me that the Alpine level birches and willows grow only 4-5 inches high. Another faculty member - Bill LaBounty - taught us a course in the geology of the national parks. His slides were so good they made us feel as though we were going down the raft ourselves in Yellowstone Park and going right into the crater of Mt. St. Helens. He had slides of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and many more. We felt as though we had had a world tour without the hassle. To any of you who might be interested in the Elderhostel program, the address for information is: Elderhostel, 100 Boylston Street, Suite 200, Boston, Massachusetts 02116.
This article is only a synopsis of the richly interesting story of Paul Smith's College. If you would care to know more about it, the people at Paul Smith's would be glad to tell you. The address is Paul Smith's College, Paul Smiths, New York 12970.
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New York Forest Owner
Upcoming Events
CORRECTION 10 of the July-August issue there was an article by Dave
Log Scaling and Grading Workshop
Hanaburgh about the Professional Forester Licensing Proposal. A gremlin went to work on that article, and as a result, we' are republishing the correct version with our apologies to Dave.
On Saturday, September 19, '1981 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. a log scaling and grading workshop will be held at the Boonville plant of Ethan Allen, Inc., Boonville, New York.
On page
The Professional Forester Licensing Proposal At the 1981 Annual Meeting of the N.Y.F.O.A. a proponent of the licensing of professional foresters presented an appeal to the membership to support such a bill. At a N.Y.F.O.A. Directors meeting on May 16, the Directors requested some contrary thoughts on the subject. It seems a little ridiculous for members of a profession to portray themselves as a "clear and present danger to the Public". This, in effect, is what the proponents of the Bill are doing. In New York State a trade or profession is licensed if it is a "clear and present danger" to the Public. This is a "Public", not a "Professional" determination. A License is a permit to practice. It will not prevent practice without a permit. Competence 'must be determined by professionals and their employers. The Society of American Foresters accredits professional education, operates under a professional code of ethics, and monitors professional conduct through its ethics committee. Are the same people going to do any better on a licensing Commission?
Elements in the Profession have been trying for over 30 years to get a licensing Bill in New York. The Public has not been interested. The last professional forester who caused a public scandal was Fernow, whose activities at the turn . of the century generated the "Forever Wild" policy for the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. Under the proposed licensing bill only one forester of an organization would have to be licensed. That is not very many or a very high percentage of qualified professional foresters. What is a Professional Forester? Can the practice be adequately defined and limited? To the "Public" the forester is a romantic "Ranger" or a devil "Logger". Neither of these would be licensed under the proposed bill. The Licensing Process (Administration, Qualification, Supervision, Control) is a Bureaucratic encumbrance to professional practice that must be maintained at considerable inconvenience and expense to the individual, the profession and the government. Perhaps what these people really want is a Copyright on the term "Professional Forester" or just "Forester". David H. Hanaburgh Consulting Forester May 1981
Fishing Two ardent fishermen met on their vacation and began swapping stories about the different places they had fished, the kind of tackle used, the best bait, and finally about some of the fish they had caught. One of them told of a vicious battle he once had with a 300-pound salmon. The other man listened attentively, and he frankly admitted he had never caught anything quite that big. However, he told about the time his hook snagged a lantern from the depths of a
lake. The lantern carried a tag proving it was lost back in 1912. But the strangest thing of all was the fact that it was a waterproof lantern and the light was still lit. For a long time the first man said nothing. Then he took one long last draw on his cigarette before rubbing it out in the ashtray. "I'll tell you what I'll do," he said slowly, "I'll take 200 pounds off my fish if you'll put out the light in your lantern."
Here is an opportunity to gain an understanding of the role of harvesting in the management of the hardwood forest, the fundamentals and techniques of log scaling and grading, the variations in the log rules used in New York, and the effects of log grade on lumber grade. Participants will scale and grade a number of hardwood logs, several of which will then be sawn to determine the actual lumber scale and grade recovery from each log. Registration fee is $15.00 per person which includes a lunch and a morning coffee break. This workshop is being cosponsored by the Schools of Forestry and Continuing Education at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse; NY and the New York State Timber Producers' Association, Old Forge, NY. For further information and reglstration forms, contact: Dean, School of Continuing Education, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210. * •••••••
September 27-30 SAF Annual Meeting The Society of American Foresters' Annual Meeting will be September 27-30 at the SheratonTwin Towers, Orlando, Florida on "Increasing Forest Productivity." For more information, write Edward F. Robie, Convention Representative, Society of American Foresters, 5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, ME 20014, (301)-897-8720) .
October 9 - NYFOA Director's Meeting, 3p.m.
Arnot Forest,
October 10 - NYFOA Fall Meeting at Arnot Forest
November 21 - NYFOA Directors meeting at Cortland.
New York Forest Owner
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Minutes of the 124th Board Meeting NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION
Cortland, New York July II, 1981 Robert Edmonds, President, presided. Th~ following were present: Lewis DuMond Robert Demeree David Hanaburgh Robert Edmonds Stuart McCarty Mary McCarty Robert Morrow George Mitchell AI Roberts Emiel Palmer Howard Ward Evelyn Stock Peter Levatish Arthur Eschner's resignation was accepted with regret. He stated that he is unable to attend the Board meetings at this time. It was suggested that J. Claude Lecours of Old Forge be appointed in his place. Upon motion the reading of the minutes of the 123rd Board meeting was dispensed with. Upon motion it was voted that the minutes of the Annual Meeting be corrected under the request for our support of a bill for the licensing of professional foresters from "voted" to "indicated" by those present that we support the bill. Robert Demeree reported that he has contacted the Department of Environmental Conservation and that they are agreeable to having the 1982 Annual Meeting at their office, 50 Wolf Road., Albany. It was decided that new stationery be printed as soon as the names of the directors are verified. Treasurer McCarty submitted his report as of June 30, 1981. It showed a net worth of $7503.17. However, there are bills of $1160.00 which had not been received at the time of the report. After discussion it was voted to increase the budget for the Membership secretary to $800.00. This was upon motion of Demeree, seconded by Mary McCarty. Upon motion of Mitchell, seconded by Demeree, it was voted that the editor of the Forest Owner be reimbursed for actual mileage at .20¢ per mile with a maximum of $400.00 per year. Palmer suggested that the Membership Committee consider a dues increase and to report at the next meeting.
Treasurer McCarty reported that he has filed the I.R.S. form, and applied for New York sales tax certificate for which he is awaiting a reply. Robert Morrow reported for the Education Committee stating that they are making plans for the Fall meeting. This is to be at the Arnot Forest. President Edmonds reported that he is appointing the following to the Trust Management Board: Paul Steinfeld Expiring 1983 Lloyd Strombeck Expiring 1984 AI Roberts Expiring 1985 Upon motion of Hanaburgh, seconded by Palmer, the Treasurer was authorized to expend up to $50.00 to sponsor a New York State 4-H Forestry team going to West Virginia for a National 4-H Forestry Invitational in August 1981. This is to be subject to the approval of the Chairman of the Education Committee, Robert Morrow. It was voted to print another 1000 membership brochures at this time. The next meeting is to be in Cortland, N.Y., August 27, 1981, at 2 p.m. Meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted,
J. Lewis DuMond Secretary
More on Chemical Chimney Cleaners After testing six chemical chimney cleaners used with wood-burning stoves, Jay Shelton, principal author of the "Woodburners' Encyclopedia" concluded that "the particular brands of chemical cleaners we tested did not exhibit any substantial effectiveness in our tests," and went on to state that "temperature is more important than using chemicals: smaller, hotter fire's tend to be cleaner burning." The particular chemicals tested were Chimney Sweep Soot Destroyer, Red Devil Soot Remover, Red Devil Creosote Destroyer, Safe-T-Flue, Kathite-H, and CleansUP. The complete report can be ordered from Shelton Energy Research, P.O. Box 5235, Santa Fe, NM 87502, at a cost of $11 (postage pd.).
NYFOA Can Have 1200 Members Dear Readers, Our Annual Fall Meeting - this year it is at Arnot Forest - starts off a new season for the NYFOA. Let's make this the best year ever. There are supposed to be 255,000 people with forests in this state. How many of them can you tell about the New York Forest Owners Association? Before the Fall Meeting each of us could try to get five new members. Invite people to the Fall Meeting. Loan your Forest Owner to someone. We have at least one new member because one was left in a barbershop. Not many of us can help mankind as Jonas Salk did by finding a cure for a dread disease, or be a second Michelangelo, but we can help assure future generations of enough good lumber and firewood through education for good management, which might be less dramatic but every bit as real. In many countries of the world every scrap of wood and trees is burned for heat and cooking. It is easy to see the fallacy of this type of behavior, which we cannot help directly, but we can do something here. We can spread the word that the NYFOA can help our members find the best management practices for their woodlot and enjoy the comradeship with other members at the same time. To do this we need more members. So come to the Fall meeting, interest everyone you can. Talk about it to many people. Some may not have a forest, but would tell someone who does. Perhaps even send notes to your hometown paper. If you know of a problem concerning a forest let us know about it. We will help with it. If there is some topic you would like covered in the Forest Owner let me know. Attached are two news notes from the American Pulpwood Highlights. I wonder if either of these disasters was caused by uninformed forest owners. 1. Georgia Pacific recently closed a five year old plywood mill in McAdam, New Brunswick due partly to unfavorable market conditions, and partly to a shortage of veneer quality logs. A total of 250 workers were laid off. 2. FIRE DAMAGE: Over 71,000 fires burned almost 1.5 million acres in the south from January 1 to May 1, 1981. -Evelyn Stock
Editor
New York Forest Owner
Fuel Prices May Provide Incentive to Woodlot Owners The Tug Hill Commission has released a report showing that rising fuel prices may provide an incentive to woodlot owners to manage their forests. Rising fuel prices have led some area industries to look at wood as an industrial fuel, just as many homeowners have turned to firewood. The resulting increased demand on area forests, however, has also increased concerns that some abusive logging practices of the past will continue. The study just released claims that this demand could instead foster good, long-term forest management if landowners take action together. Prepared with the advice of local forest landowners, town officers, and state and private foresters, the report notes that few landowners are aware of how the value of otherwise "junk" wood has been increased by the wood-for-fuel market. Landowners could join together in a cooperative to gain access to these new markets. Their increased profits could be used to pay for careful management to optimize the long-term value of their forests to them and the local economy, according to the report. Releasing the report, Tug Hill Com-
mission Chairman Dr. Richard E. Mark noted, "Our past research has shown that as much as half of Tug Hill forests have little value for traditional products. What has been needed is a market for that low grade wood and a means of carefully harvesting it to reduce landowner fears of logging and to meet other landowner objectives in owning a woodlot, such as encouraging wildlife. A forestry cooperative holds out promise of such an approach." Mark added, "If landowners don't act, the alternative could be further helter-skelter abuse of our forests, or cumbersome and unwanted government regulation." The study indicates that less than 10 percent of timber harvesting is currently being managed by professional foresters. While the Department of Environmental Conservation is providing most of the management advice which woodlot owners now receive, the report concludes that more is needed and recommends that management assistance at DEC keep pace with increasing demands on private forest lands. The Commission staff is now working
Page 9 with a steering committee made up of landowners and local government officials to explore' the possibility of establishing a forestry cooperative that would produce wood fuel and provide professional forest management assistance at cost to members. The feasibility study is being carried out by the Commission, DEC, the State Energy Office, the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Cornell University, and the Economic Development Administration Technical Assistance Center at Plattsburgh. It will be completed in June. Landowners and others interested in the project can contact the Commission at its Watertown office. Now on to wood chips and the use of firewood which seems to be the topiC of the day among foresters and loggers. We talked with Joe Kwasniewski, who along with his brothers Chet and Hank, are the number one authorities of the Tug Hill woodland. Joe is spending considerable time at his West Virginia operation where he is getting out a lot of fine oak for export to the British Isles. He feels, though, that the demand for firewood is probably at its peak, that oil prices will soon come down. Joe also pointed out that a load of cull firewood from the Hill delivered to Rome brings about the same price as a load of good saw logs to Ethan Allen in Boonville. We asked him what he thought about a forest product marketing co-op and he said a co-op will go or fail with the manager and the Board of Directors you get good people on the Board, who' are good businessmen and managers then the Board will go - otherwise forget it and don't forget the dollar is the' bottom line on the whole thing. We also talked with Al Stringham, a man with a sharp mind who owns considerable farm and forest land just northwest of Boonville and up on Dutch Hill. Al insists that the people owning forest lands would like to get some return on their investments just as soon as they can, be it firewood or wood chips, etc. They have waited a long time and paid a lot of taxes. Returns now on their land are of the utmost importance. He is strongly in favor of hiring a professional forester when setting up a management plan for marketing the woodlots for trees to be sold. He says their fee will be returned to the landowner many times. The main problem will be marketing and supervision of tree. removal. He indicated he had 30 bidders for some of the woodland he wished to sell
and that bids ranged all the way from $900 to $2700. Trees to be removed
were marked at eye height and again at the base of the stump for identification. Meantime the Watertown Times came out with an editorial entitled "Wood Chip Shortage." Here they were apparently mixed up in their nomenclature because there is no wood chip shortage - what they actually meant is that there is rapidly becoming a shortage of mill waste - i.e. sawdust, bark, and other waste wood. Another
interesting statement of fact was the study made on the Tug Hill forest where a growth rate in an unthinned stand was 1.1 percent a year. This went to a 4.8 percent growth rate after the cull wood-was removed (45 percent). This statement came out at the recent Tug Hill Committee in Boonville. -Boonville
meeting Herald
FOREST
Bookshelf 81-R-38
Book Review: The Nation's Unused Wood Offers Vast Potential Energy and Product Benefits - Reviews a General Accounting Office report on use of wood residues as an energy source. American Pulpwood Association, 1619 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.
Slide Tapes Available URBAN CLIMATE slide-tape
show available for loan free of charge. This 13 minute show, prepared by the Dayton, Ohio Climate Project under the sponsorship of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation explores the possibilities of using natural resources including vegetation - to improve the urban environment. Please contact Ms. George Hopkins Stauffer, telephone (315) 470-6688, College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210.
CRAWLER TRACTOR OPERATIONS SAFETY slide series includes operators' safety, general safety precautions, starting precautions, safe operating procedures and tractor maintenance. Available from the American Pulpwood Association, 1619 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Please send $22.50 per series.
Page 10
New York Forest Owner
History of Gussie Gaskill's Woods The Town of Dryden, in which the Gaskill woods is located, is township no. 23 of the large tract of land which the New York State Legislature set aside in 1789 to be surveyed into townships, and divided into lots to be. granted to New York soldiers of the Revolution. The townships were about ten miles square and divided into one hundred lots about one mile square each. Dryden is still as it was in the original survey, except that in 1887, lots 94-100, in the southeast corner of the town,. were taken from Dryden and made a part of the Town of Caroline. Township no. 23 was surveyed in 1790, by John Konkle of Schoharie, and the lots were drawn by ballot in 1791. Lot no. 85, in which the Gaskill woods is located, went to Nicholas Fish, a major in the Revolutionary army. Many of the soldiers sold or traded their lots soon after they got them, but Nicholas Fish kept lot 85 for years. It was sold in parcels of 100 or 50 acres each between 1824 and 1843, by Fish or the executors of his estate. He died in June 1833. In Book V, p. 341, of Tompkins County Deeds, is a deed from Nicholas Fish to Asa Hurd, Feb. 22, 1833, which records the sale for $450 of subdivision lot no. 1 of Military lot no. 85, one hundred acres of land be the same more or less. Lot 85 had been divided into six subdivisions of one hundred acres, more or less, each, by a line down the middle north to south with three lots east and three west of that line divided by east and west lines. The subdivision Asa Hurd bought in 1833 was the northwest corner, no. 1. Aaron Bull bought no. 3, adjoining Hurd's on the south 'and 50 acres of no. 5, south of that. Kinner Hollister bought the 150 acres which were the southeast quarter section and included half of subdivision 4 and all of subdivision 6. Asa Hurd had come to this area around the turn of the century with Peleg Ellis, who had bought Military lot 84, adjoining 85 on the west. He had a farm he had got from Ellis in the valley south of the present Hurd Road. He soon sold the west half of the hundred acres he had bought from Fish. Did he clear the east 50 acres? Did he build a house up there? Does anyone know now? Or is there any way to find out? There was a house there in 1866, according to the atlas of Tompkins County
published that year. It was near the south line of the property, in from Hurd Road a quarter of a mile or so, and was occupied by W. Hurd, that is, Wesley Hurd, Asa Hurd's son. He had inherited the place from his father. In March 1873 Wesley Hurd paid the Bulls $1087.12 for something over 43 acres of land adjoining his on the south, thus completing the place as it is today. Tragedy struck the Wesley Hurd family that summer of 1873. Four children, two boys and two girls between 12 and 22 years of age, died of diphtheria. Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Hurd stayed on there for the next ten years. They sold the place in March 1883 to Josephus Hasbrouck for $1325, it being described in the deed as containing about one hundred and twenty acres of land, being the farm upon which the parties of the first part now reside, and being all the land owned by said parties of the first part in the Town of Dryden, and being about seventy acres of land got by said Wesley Hurd of his Father, and fifty acres of land got by said Hurd of John and Doc Bull. Wesley Hurd died in June of that year, 1883, after he had sold the place in March. He was 82 years old. Perhaps that explains the fact that the size of the place as given in that deed isn't exactly accurate. In 1962, 109 acres belonging to the Rose M. Wilson estate was advertised for sale for taxes. I bid it in at the sale in October of that year and paid the taxes due on it then, paid taxes on it in 1963, and in January 1964. Then I learned that J would get a deed to the place
when the period allowed for the owner to redeem it had expired, but that I had to notify the owner who had last paid the taxes that the period for redeeming it was coming to an end. Two sons of Rose M. Wilson had inherited the Hurd place when she died. One son lived near Syracuse and the other lived in Vermont. Probably neither one of them had ever seen the place. But now the lawyer in Moravia who was handling their mother's estate told them they would be foolish to let it go for taxes, so in March 1964 I got back all I had paid with 10 percent interest. I then wrote to the brother near Syracuse and asked him if they wanted to sell the place. I promptly got a reply from the lawyer saying they had a standing offer of $500 for it, but that they would be glad to have an offer from me. I talked to my lawyer about it and followed his advice, which was to offer $650 for it if they would accept the offer within a week. Very soon the Wilsons' lawyer called me and said my offer was accepted and the place was mine. The sale was closed on Sept. 1, 1964 and I got a deed from each brother and an abstract of title. During that period after I paid the taxes in October 1962, I had gradually located the place. No one around had ever heard of Rose M. Wilson, but by reading deeds and getting help from Hollis Clark and Ed Howser, who owned woods adjoining it on the north and east, I learned where it was and quite a lot about it. The county Agricultural Agent, Howard Wilson, was very helpful. He advised me to sign up with the Conservation Department as a cooperator under the Forest Practice Act. This I did on Sept. 18, 1964, with Robert Demeree signing for the Department. The Conservation Department foresters from the Cortland office assigned to Tompkins County - Riordan, Kramer, Morris, Haischer - helped me in the years that followed with woodland improvement, a few acres a year, most years, and getting the boundaries marked. In 1966 I had the north line surveyed because, although it is the line between Military lots 75 and 85, no one knew just where it was. But when the surveyors got to the northeast corner, there was the stake from the original survey. Friends cut firewood for themselves and me up there, and it was a fine place to go walking. Taxes weren't much, and gradually the woods are getting better and better.
New York Forest Owner But in 1978 that all came to a jolting halt. Tompkins County land was reassessed at full market value and the assessment of my woods increased from $1620 to $29,300. I couldn't really protest because by that time land that close to Ithaca - approximately eight miles - was selling to developers for high prices. I thought for awhile I should sell part of it, keeping the north half where the big trees are. Or should I sell it all to someone who could keep it as woodland? Sign it up under 480?1 What to do? In the end, acting upon Bob Demeree's suggestion I asked A.W. Roberts to help me. He came, looked it over and told me there is a lot of valuable timber on it. In 1979 the woodland improvement was finished, with the cooperation of the county forester, 2 Carl Haischer. I have sold almost a thousand dollars worth of firewood to neighbors, and I know now that there is enough marketable timber that is increasing in value all the time on the place that I can afford to pay the taxes. Now I just want to keep it as a well-managed woods, harvesting timber when it is ready to be harvested, but not having it turned into a housing development. There is a lot of good land for good houses in Ellis Hollow, .and it seems to me a good idea to keep that 100 acres as woods. 'Real property tax law 480-A. 2N.Y. State Dept. of Environmental Conservation forester.
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Work Let me but do my work from day to day In field or forest, or desk or loom, Let me but find it in my heart to say When vagrant wishes beckon me to stray "This is my work; my blessing not my doom Of all who live, I am the one by whom This work can best be done in the right way." Then shall I see it not too great or small To suit my spirit and to prove my powers Then shall I cheerful greet the labouring hours And cheerful turn when the long shadows fall At eventide, to play and rest Because I know for me my work is best.
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Page 11 Dear Timber Harvester: Best Management Practices (BMP's) for logging are once again being stressed by the DEC. Norm VanValkenburgh, Director of the Division of Lands and Forests with his letter of July 2, 1981 released the DEC's officially adopted silvicultural Best Management Practices. BMP's are designed to safeguard water quality; and since "the greatest potential for water quality degredation by forestry activities in New York State is associated with timber harvesting," your logging roads, skid trails, log landings, and stream crossings are important. If you want a copy of the 13 page NYS DEC Silvicultural Best Management Practices, contact your local DEC forester or let me know. Recommended practices include: -Obtain Stream Protection Permit where required by New York State law. -Cross streams by the most direct route ... These and other stream crossing activities are aimed at preventing grease, oil, bark, wood, and soil sediment from contaminating streams. -Avoid cutting trees and destroying under-story vegetation growing within 10 feet of the stream bank, since trees help keep banks in place and maintain shade over the water. -Don't skid up and down the stream channel; and avoid skidding in intermittent stream locations. -Keep skidders back at least 50 feet from the water (of a stream); and for slopes over 10 percent keep skidders back at least 100 feet so skidders don't stir up the soil and start erosion. -On steep slopes (exceeding 30 percent), set back roads and skid trails at least 150 feet from streams, ponds, and marshes. -Remove logging debris that gets into water (and I might say intermittent stream bed). -Don't run ditch water directly into a stream but divert water in roadside ditches into woods. - Put landings on gently sloping ground that will give good drainage. My opinion Is that foresters, landowners, and loggers will be utilizing the DEC's newly released BMP's which were developed In response to requirements of a nationwide law, the Federal Clean Water Act of 1976 (PL-92-500, Section 208 dealing with nonpoint sources of pollution).
DRY STREAM BEDS AND INTERMITTENT STREAMS have confused some loggers who thought the law did not apply when the stream bed was dry. But, according to Title 6, Environmental Conservation (Law), Chapter V, Resource Management Services, Part 608, Section 608.2 "No person ... shall change, modify or disturb the course of, or remove sand and gravel or other material from the bed or banks of any stream for which there has been adopted by the department or its predecessors the following classifications AA, AA(T), A, A(T), B, B(T), or C(T), without having applied for and obtained a written permit to do so from the designated permit-issuing agent." (NOW NOTE THE NEXT SENTENCE WHICH MAY APPLY TO DRY LAND.) "For the purposes of this Part the term 'bed' shall mean the maximum area covered by waters of the stream for no less than 15 consecutive days in any one year ... " So two important criteria which indicate that you need a stream crossing permit are: 1. the stream is classified as explained above, and 2. the stream "bed" which may be dry or wet is to be disturbed; or "the banks" defined as "that land area directly adjacent to the bed which is essential to maintaining the integrity thereof" willbe disturbed . David W. Taber Extension
Specialist
Wood Utilization
Estate Tax Reduction The Administration has endorsed a proposal to increase the amount excluded from the federal estate taxes from $175,000 to $600,000, and increase the annual gift tax exclusion from the present $3,000 to $10,000:
Gold.
• •
Captures the sunlight at the throat or on the wrist or in a loopy golden twist The golden flower on a dark fall day The daffodil on a day in May. Gold and red in a lovely dress Gold in a young girl's tress Gold in a wedding ring Gold to please them that sing Gold for some to toss and fling Gold Our pleasure.
-Evelyn Stock
Non profit org. bulk rate U.S. POSTAGE PAID Camillus, N.Y.
13031 Permit No.
Evelyn A. Stock Editor 5756 Ike Dixon Rd. Camillus, N.Y. 13031
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plot showed that it was still carrying 100 square feet of basal area and 25 cords of firewood per acre in pole sized trees. The basal area could be reduced to 70 sq. ft. yielding about five cords of wood per acre.
ASK A FORESTER
Woods Walk at Gussie Gaskill's by AI Roberts Thirty-five people, mostly our members, gathered at Gussie Gaskill's woods on June 20 in the Town of Dryden , Tompkins County. Bob Sand was there to officiate for the Woods Walk Committee, and A.W. Roberts led the group through the woods. Gussie led off the discussion with a very interesting account of the history of her 100 + acres starting with the first owner who received the land as a military grant after the American Revolution. She has promised to write an article for the Forest Owner telling how she dug up all the information. There are several distinctly different timber types on the property. The differences are caused partly by the slope, aspect and soil types of the land itself, but more than that, by the past uses of the land. The entire 100 acres had originally been cleared for agricultural use, but
over the years has again become a well stocked forest stand. The entire 100 acres except for a small swampy area, has received timber stand improvement in the fifteen years since Gussie acquired the property. The first stand we walked through was a pole stand of red and white oak. It had been thinned, removing mostly clump red maple. There is scattered dogwood in the understory which was left for aesthetic purposes. Gypsy moths (larvae) were active in the tops of the oaks. In the next stand we walked through there were rock piles, indicating that the land had been plowed for agricultural crops. It had been abandoned about 45 years ago as indicated by the six to ten inch trees which are now growing there. The third stand was at the top of a slope, on fairly shallow, dry soil and was pure oak. Oak can tolerate these sites in Tompkins County better than the Northern hardwoods such as beech, hard maple and birch. The stand had been thinned two years ago, but a prism
As we proceeded further and further away from the road the trees were bigger, possibly indicating earlier abandonment from grazing on the less accessible fields. The 25 acres farthest back from the road has beautiful oak sawtimber. Earlier abandonment and a moister site caused the bigger trees. The size of the trees would make one think the area had never been cleared. However, the presence of large aspen (16 to 17 inches) showed it must have been, as these are a pioneer species, only seeding in on open land. We measured a 24 inch tulip poplar on the property. We also measured a 27 inch red oak with 614 board feet. Bob Sand said the tulip was worth $52 and the oak $185. The oak was of veneer quality. He also said that he wouldn't cut an oak until it is too big for him to reach around and touch his fingertips. This is called the hug method of tree selection. A quick prism plot in the stand showed 12,000 board feet per acre. By using Bob's hug method we found that it really isn't ready for harvest, since most of the trees aren't quite big enough. We made a quick stop (it had started to rain) in a pure red maple stand which was about 25 years old. It had all seeded in at once when they stopped cutting hay on that particular field. It is fast growing and even aged, and though thinned only two years ago will need another thinning in the next couple of years. This will probably be done by marking the trees to be cut and selling them to a neighbor for firewood. The final harvest cut should be a clear cut.