The New York
Forest Owner A PUBLICATION
OF
THE NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION
January/February 2007
Member Profile: John Sullivan Volume 45 Number 1
www.nyfoa.org
THE NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION Officers & Directors Alan White, President 22 Bruce Scudder Rd. Halcott Center, NY 12430; (845) 254-6031 Geff Yancey, Vice President 32 Oliver Street Rochester, NY 14607; (585) 271-4567 Kelly Smallidge, Secretary 611 County Rd 13 Van Etten, NY 14889; (607) 589-7530
In This Issue ... F E D ROM THE
XECUTIVE
IRECTOR
MARY JEANNE PACKER .................................................................................... 3
GROWING AMERICAN LINDEN FROM SEED
JIM ENGEL ..................................................................................................... 5
ASK A PROFESSIONAL
PETER SMALLIDGE ..............................................................................................6
TIMBER SURVEY .............................................................................................. 8 NYFOA ANNUAL MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT ....................................... 8 KID’S CORNER–THE WINTER FOREST REBECCA HARGRAVE ..........................................................................................9
WILD THINGS IN YOUR WOODLAND
KRISTI SULLIVAN .......................................................................................... 10
Steve Teuscher, Treasurer 1392 Lillibridge Rd Portville, NY 14770; (716) 933-0370
STORIES FROM
Peter Smallidge, Chair Editorial Committee and Ex-Officio Board Member Cornell University, Fernow Hall Ithaca, NY 14853; (607) 592 3640
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT NEW YORK’S CONSERVATION EASEMENT TAX CREDIT
2007 Renee Bouplon, Hudson, (518) 822-0613 Charles Bove, Bethpage, (914) 644-2330 Bob Malmsheimer, Cazenovia, (315) 470-6909 Geff Yancey, Rochester, (585) 271-4567 2008 Dan Cleveland, Erin, (607) 732-7884 Cindy King, Amsterdam, (518) 842-3556 Gene Reinshagen, Painted Post, (607) 796-6202 Kelly Smallidge, Van Etten, (607) 589-7530 2009 Harry Dieter, Honeoye Falls, (585) 533-2085 Steve Teuscher, Portville, (716) 933-0370 Alan White, Halcott Center, (845) 254-6031 Frank Winkler, Andes, (845)676-4825
THE
WOODS: MFO PROGRAM NEWS
DAVID WHALEN ............................................................................................ 12 HENRIETTA JORDAN ....................................................................................... 14
CHESTNUT...ELM...WILL ASH BE NEXT??
KIM ADAMS ................................................................................................... 16
NYFOA GENERAL DIRECTOR CANDIDATES - ELECTION FORM .......... 18 NEW YORK FARM SHOW ............................................................................. 19 KNOW YOUR TREES – SHAGBARK HICKORY ................................................. 20 MEMBER PROFILE – JOHN SULLIVAN ALEXANDRA SILVA .......................................................................................... 21
Chapter-Designated Directors Dick Patton, Allegheny Foothills; (716) 761-6333 Carl Wiedemann, Capital District; (518) 280-8892 John Druke, Central New York; (315) 656-2313 Anne Osborn, Lower Hudson; (845) 424-3683 Steve Graham, Northern Adirondack; (315)788-0281 Bob Preston, Niagara Frontier; (716) 632-5862 Bob Manning, Southern Adirondack; (518) 251-4638 Dana Benjamin, Southern Tier; (607) 723-2958 Dick Harrington, Southern Finger Lakes; (607) 657-4480 Mike Seager, Western Finger Lakes; (585) 414-6511 Mary Jeanne Packer, Executive Director PO Box 210, 124 E. 4th Street Watkins Glen, NY 14891; (607) 535-9790 mjpacker@nyfoa.org Liana Gooding, Office Administrator P.O. Box 541 Lima, N.Y 14485; (800) 836-3566 lgooding@nyfoa.org
The New York Forest Owners Association is a 501(c)3 foundation and tax deductible donations to this organization will advance NYFOA’s educational mission. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. NYFOA does not necessarily support or approve procedures, products, or opinions presented by authors or advertisers. © 2007 New York Forest Owners Association
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VOLUME 44, NUMBER 1 The New York Forest Owner is a bi-monthly publication of The New York Forest Owners Association, P.O. Box 541, Lima, N.Y 14485. Materials submitted for publication should be sent to: Mary Beth Malmsheimer, Editor, The New York Forest Owner, 134 Lincklaen Street, Cazenovia, New York 13035. Materials may also be e-mailed to mmalmshe@syr.edu. Articles, artwork and photos are invited and if requested, are returned after use. The deadline for submission for the March/ April issue is February 1, 2007. Please address all membership fees and change of address requests to P.O. Box 541, Lima, N.Y. 14485. 1-800-836-3566. Cost of family membership/subscription is $35. This magazine is printed on Accent Opaque paper produced at International Paper’s Ticonderoga, New York, mill from working Adirondack forests, managed responsibly in accordance with the principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
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COVER:
Photo shows John Sullivan demonstrating the workings of his portable sawmill to fellow woodsmen at his residence in Warren County. Often, he uses the sawmill to produce rustic furniture. For complete member profile, turn to page 21. Photo courtesy of John Sullivan.
The New York Forest Owner 45:1
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January/February 2007
Executive Director
From The
Get ready for NYFOA’s 45th Annual Membership Meeting! The meeting will take place in conjunction with the New York Farm Show at the State Fairgrounds in Syracuse beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 24. Registration is free, as is admission to the Farm Show – watch for tickets in your mail. This is a benefit of NYFOA membership. Three great days of forestry workshops are planned as part of the Farm Show. See stories on pages 8, 18, and 19. In this edition of The Forest Owner, we are continuing the Stories from the Woods column. This section (pages 12-13) is devoted to providing updates on NYFOA’s partner the NY Master Forest Owner (MFO) Volunteer Program activities. David Whalen, a Jefferson County MFO, offers his perspective on the program in this edition’s column, “our goal [as MFO volunteers] is to share the science-based knowledge taught to us by Cornell Cooperative Extension. In doing this, I have a lot of fun and learn more about forestry from my interactions with fellow landowners and woods walks.” If you would like to become a MFO, contact the MFO program director, Gary Goff. Thanks to the leadership of Bob Coupal, a volunteer from NYFOA’s Northern Adirondack Chapter, the new Northern NY Forest Products Utilization Database and Website project is underway. This initiative was funded by a grant to NYFOA from the Northern Forest Partnership Program and is supported by NYS DEC and Cornell
Cooperative Extension. NYFOA will be developing and promoting a new website, www.nyforestlink.org, to connect private non-industrial forest owners with individuals and businesses that seek access to a variety of primary forest products ranging from sawlogs and firewood to non-timber forest products such as maple sap and wild edibles. If you are interested in including the products in your forest on the site, download a listing form or complete the form on-line.
Please share this magazine with a neighbor and urge them to join NYFOA. By gaining more members, NYFOA’s voice will become stronger! It’s not too soon to mark your calendars for 2007 Forestry Awareness Day to be held at the State Capitol on March 19. This year’s format will allow more time for legislative visits by forest landowners and still include the popular morning issues briefing. Please consider attending this important event to discuss forestry concerns with your local senators and assembly people. Thanks to NYFOA member Hugh Canham for chairing the Forestry Awareness Day committee and the Empire State Forest Products Association for providing logistical support. –Mary Jeanne Packer Executive Director
Join!
NYFOA is a not-forprofit group of NY State landowners promoting stewardship of private forests for the benefit of current and future generations. Through local chapters and statewide activities, NYFOA helps woodland owners to become responsible stewards and interested publics to appreciate the importance of New York’s forests. Join NYFOA today and begin to receive its many benefits including: six issues of The New York Forest Owner, woodswalks, chapter meetings, and statewide meetings. ( ) I/We own ______acres of woodland. ( ) I/We do not own woodland but support the Association’s objectives. Name: ________________________ Address: ______________________ City: _________________________ State/ Zip: ____________________ Telephone: ____________________ Email: _______________________ County of Residence: ___________ County of Woodlot: _____________ Referred by: ___________________ Regular Annual Dues: ( ) Student $10 (Please provide copy of student ID)
( ) Individual ( ) Family
$30 $35
Multi-Year Dues: ( ) Individual 2-yr $55 3-yr $80 ( ) Family 2-yr $65 3-yr $95 Additional Contribution: ( ) Contributor $50-$99 ( ) Sponsor $100-$249 ( ) Benefactor $250-$499 ( ) Steward $500 or more NYFOA is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) taxexempt organization and as such your contribution my be tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Form of Payment: " Check " Credit Card Credit Card No. __________________________________ Expiration Date ____________________
The mission of the New York Forest Owners Association (NYFOA) is to promote sustainable forestry practices and improved stewardship on privately owned woodlands in New York State. NYFOA is a not-for-profit group of landowners and others interested in the thoughtful management of private forests for the benefit of current and future generations.
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Signature: _________________________
Make check payable to NYFOA. Send the completed form to: NYFOA P.O. Box 541 Lima, New York 14485 1-800-836-3566 www.nyfoa.org 3
NYFOA Southern Adirondack Chapter Woodswalk The SAC conducted a woodswalk on November 4th at the Robert J. Sweet, Inc. Sawmill in Warrensburg. There were more than 30 members in attendance. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was the saw sharpening room and the discussion of how the bandsaw blades are sharpened and repaired. The bottom right picture shows how the lumber is stacked for drying in the kiln which is in the background. Photos courtesy of Robert Manning.
Attention forest landowners in the following counties: Clinton Essex Franklin
Fulton Hamilton Herkimer
Jefferson Lewis Oneida
New York State Maple Oswego St. Lawrence Warren
A new on-line database and website for linking forest products sellers and buyers in northern New York is now being developed. This is a project of NYFOA in cooperation with NYS-DEC and Cornell Cooperative Extension funded by a grant from the Northern Forest Partnership Program of the North East State Foresters Association. If you would like to list products available (timber, firewood, or non-timber such as mushrooms or boughs/cones) for sale on your land, please go on-line and complete a simple listing form or request a hardcopy from the NYFOA office (PO Box 541, Lima, NY 14485). www.nyforestlink.org
The production of maple syrup, and associated value-added products, is an important agricultural industry in New York State. Maple production contributes to local rural economies and provides supplemental income to farmers and forest land owners. In 2005, there were 1,485 producers with 100 or more taps. New York State maple production, valued at nearly $7.2 million in 2004, represents about one-sixth of the total production in the U.S. New York is the third largest maple producer in the nation behind Vermont and Maine. The mission of the New York State Maple Producers Association is to support the maple products industry in New York State and promote its long-term viability.
Do you own a sugarbush? Join NYSMPA today. Working together we can make things happen.
.EW 9ORK 3TATE -APLE 0RODUCERS !SSOCIATION )NC WWW NYSMAPLE COM
Would you like to receive updates via email on emerging forestry issues and opportunities for forest owners? If so, please make sure we have your current email address. Contact Liana in the NYFOA office: lgooding@nyfoa.org
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The New York Forest Owner 45:1
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January/February 2007
Growing American Linden from Seed JIM ENGEL
A
merican Linden (Tilia americana) also commonly referred to as Basswood is a fast growing forest species of New York State. American linden is an important timber producing tree as its tendency to self prune its lower limbs produces a straight-grained knot free lumber that has many uses. The lumber is light, fairly strong and easily worked without splintering or splitting. The characteristics of the wood make it the wood of choice for woodcarving, woodturning and detailed wood parts. Linden grows across a large area of the eastern United States extending well into the South and Midwest. Linden makes up a small percentage of the canopy trees of many forest types in the northeast but is seldom found in high percentages or pure stands. Linden develops best on deep moist, well-drained fertile soils but can be found on a range of sites from dry, gravelly uplands to heavy clay soils. In New York State Linden trees flower in early June. When Linden is in bloom you will be attracted to the tree as much by sound as by the fragrant blossoms. Swarms of bees and other insects drawn to the nectar of the blossoms will create a loud buzzing sound that is hard to ignore. The fruit of Linden is a small hard round nut or kernel, about the size of a pea. The fruit consists of a seed coat, a woody pericarp or seed covering enclosing the endosperm and a single embryo. The fruits hang in a cluster from the tips of young branches. Each fruit is attached to a long narrow bract, which acts as a sail and aids in wind dispersal of the seed. Seed is dispersed primarily by wind but is not carried very far from the parent plant because of the size and weight of the seed. Seed is also dispersed by birds and small mammals. Linden trees usually produce some seed every year, but large seed crops are produced every two to three years. The year (2006) being a very good seed crop year.
www.nyfoa.org
Not all seed collected from a tree will be viable and have the potential to germinate. Often Linden seed will be infertile or be infested with a seed weevil that feeds on the endosperm of the seed. This larval feeding destroys the embryo. Pay close attention to the seed covering, a small hole in the seed covering is a good indication of weevil damage. Unfertilized seed will look the same as fertilized seed but the pericarp will be hollow instead of containing an embryo. A float test in water can help separate out infertile seeds, which float, from fertile seeds which should sink. Linden seed typically will take two or more years for germination to begin and complete germination will be distributed over two to three and as many as five years. Linden seed exhibit delayed germination because of several factors. The outer seed coat is impermeable to water which is necessary for germination. The hard pericarp prevents the embryo from expanding and the embryo itself exhibits dormancy that delays germination. Early harvest of the seed before it turns brown is the most reliable method to shorten the time period to germination. Collect the seed from the tree just as the seed begins to change from green to yellow and immediately place the seed in a moist soil mix. Placing the seed in a blender or food processor to remove the seed coat has also helped to speed up germination. For anyone wanting to grow Linden there are three easy steps. First collect the seed when mature, second, place the seed in a moist potting mix to maintain seed moisture until planted, and third plant the seed in the soil or seed beds, then wait two or more years for germination. As insurance against poor germination or infertile seeds, collect and sow a surplus of seed. American Linden seedlings will grow
in full sun to partial shade. Linden seedlings will establish in old fields with a mix of young shrubs and saplings, or second growth woodland that has sufficient light and canopy openings. The seedlings will require some shading during the early establishment years but will then tolerate full sun. Linden trees growing in the open are vigorous root sprouters and will often develop multiple stems. In full sun Linden develops a broad rounded open canopy with heavy low branching. When growing in a woodland setting, Linden will race for the sunlight and develop a tall, straight, limb free trunk and canopy 70 to 80 feet high. Growing Linden from seed is an easy process but requires a fair amount of patience. Jim Engel is owner of White Oak Nursery a native plant nursery located in Canandaigua, NY. He is an expert plant propagator and is involved in native plant conservation and restoration activities. www.whiteoaknursery.biz
Bruce E. Robinson, Inc. Forestry Consultants • Forest product marking & marketing • Timber appraisals • Access road design & supervision • Boundary maintenance • Forest management planning • Forest recreation planning • Wildlife management • Forest taxation planning • Tree farm management • Tree planting & tree shelters • Urban forestry & community management
1894 Camp Street Ext. Jamestown, NY 14701-9239 E-mail: ber01@alltel.net Phone: 716-665-5477 Fax: 716-664-5866 5
Ask A Professional PETER SMALLIDGE
Peter Smallidge
Landowner questions are addressed by foresters and other natural resources professionals. Landowners should be careful when interpreting answers and applying this general advice to their property because landowner objectives and property conditions will affect specific management options. When in doubt, check with your regional DEC office or other service providers. Landowners are also encouraged to be active participants in Cornell Cooperative Extension and NYFOA programs to gain additional, often site-specific, answers to questions. To submit a question, email to Peter Smallidge at pjs23@cornell.edu with an explicit mention of “Ask a Professional.” Additional reading on various topics is available at www.forestconnect.info
Question: This fall I noticed several instances where ATV riders came onto my property without permission. What are my options to control unauthorized access?
Answer:
A primary reason why many people own forest land is to enjoy the privacy it affords and as a way to protect the natural resources. In other cases, landowners have invested in efforts to reforest or stabilize soils that would be harmed by uncontrolled vehicle access. Intrusion by ATVs conflicts with these and other ownership values. The increased parcelization of rural property, and other factors, has resulted in more people living in “the country” and many of those people own off-road vehicles. State governments are coming under increasing pressure to provide access to public lands where ATV users can recreate. Dealing with ATV users can be complicated and onerous. A good starting point is to get to know your neighbors, and let them get to know you. Introduce yourself, explain why you own your land, and discuss activities that are inconsistent with your objectives. Learn about your neighbors and their interests.
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If you don’t have ATV access onto your property, work to prevent it by preventing trails or maintaining barriers to existing trails. By simply knowing your neighbors you each become a real person to the other and you may eliminate or greatly reduce ATV activity on your property. If they own ATVs, ask where
they ride. Find out if they use public ATV areas, if any are available. Be prepared to discuss your views of ATV use on your property. If you trust your neighbor, consider exchanging the right to their restricted ATV access to your property if they help prevent others from using ATVs on your property.
If your neighbors are using an ATV to skid logs, help them learn about the best management practices that protect the soil, residual trees and seedlings, and that keep them safe.
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On the positive side of this issue, recognize the ATV as a tool which is useful to many forest owner activities. NYS laws govern the ownership and operation of ATV (http:// www.nydmv.state.ny.us/broch/ c29.htm). First, many forest owners have an ATV which they or family members use for recreation. Second, if the forest owner doesn’t have an ATV, a neighbor might and could loan the ATV to help with projects, such as stand improvement cutting for firewood that would benefit by the horsepower provided by an ATV. By involving your neighbor in the solution and helping them appreciate your needs, many problems will be averted or resolved. Sometimes, you will not know your neighbors or they won’t be the people operating ATVs on your property. There are some legal steps and some preventative steps you can take. On the legal side, consider legally posting your property (http://www.dec.state.ny.us/ website/dfwmr/sportsed/posting.html). In NY, posting will not alter your liability but will allow you to take immediate legal action against trespassers if you catch them. Some state agency conservation law enforcement officers have ATV squads to aid in apprehension of ATV trespassers. The unfortunate reality, however, is the potential for retribution if you press charges, especially if you are absentee on the property. Discuss these and other questions you have with the law enforcement officers when you are deciding how to handle ATV trespass problems. Preventative steps warrant special caution on the part of the forest owner because some activities may increase your personal liability. Before you take any action, check with your local conservation officer or legal counsel for assistance and guidance (http:// www.forestrylaw.com/issues1.htm). Steps might include closing gates when ATV use is most common, redirecting ATV traffic away from sensitive areas, or creating barriers to access along established routes. Any effort to create
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An ATV can be a valuable tool for many forest owning activities. If you develop a favorable relationship with your neighbors, you might be able to use their ATV to make your jobs easier.
traps or other structures intended to or capable of causing personal injury or equipment damage will make the landowner liable for injuries incurred by the intruder. Don’t do it. Finally, if the problem is widespread in your area, you might work with other landowners to develop a communitybased solution. Cooperative Extension has a history of working with community groups to solve problems. One solution might be to contact the local ATV dealers to help create an ATV users club that has access to some areas and who patrols other areas to constraint unauthorized use. Alternatively, the community might work with elected officials to create areas for authorized ATV use on public land or to create new laws that restrict ATV use. This response was adapted from a FAQ developed for the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry web page. Peter J. Smallidge, NYS Extension Forester and Director, Arnot Teaching and Research Forest, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY. pjs23@cornell.edu; 116 Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853. To learn about other frequently asked questions visit http:// www.na.fs.fed.us/stewardship/faq/index.html
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NYFOA Awards
Timber Survey Despite new legislation in 2003, timber theft remains a problem in New York State. Several organizations are partnering to better understand the specifics of timber theft cases. Findings of the survey will be useful to groups supporting sustainable forest management. If you know of illegal timber harvesting incidents in New York State please take a few minutes to complete this brief survey. Individual answers will remain confidential. You may download a copy of the survey by visiting www.nyfoa.org or request a hard copy of the survey from Liana Gooding at P.O. Box 541, Lima, New York 14485, or by calling 1-800836-3566. Organizations partnering on this survey include New York Society of American Foresters, Audubon New York, New York Forest Owners Association, Catskill Forest Association, Watershed Agricultural Council, Catskill Landowners Association, T.H.R.I.F.T., Adirondack Landowners Association, New York State Institute of Consulting Foresters, New York State Timber Producers, Empire State Forest Products Association, Northeastern Loggers Association, New York Tree Farm System, Farm Bureau, Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Cooperating organizations will receive a copy of the report. Survey results will begin to be compiled at the end of January 2007. Your prompt response will be greatly appreciated.
45th Annual NYFOA Meeting The New York Forest Owners Association is holding its annual membership meeting, in conjunction with the three-day New York Farm Show, on Saturday February 24, 2007, at the New York Fairgrounds in Syracuse. The annual meeting will begin at 1:00 pm and be held in the Martha Eddy Room, of the Arts and Home Building. At the meeting the Heiburg Memorial Award, the Outstanding Service Award, and NYFOA's Chapter activity awards will all be presented (see sidebar).
At the annual membership meeting each year, NYFOA presents several awards: The Heiberg Memorial Award recognizes outstanding contributions to forestry and conservation in New York. In honor of Professor Svend Heiberg, a renowned Professor of Silviculture who proposed establishment of a landowner group, which was to become NYFOA. The NYFOA Outstanding Service Award recognizes outstanding service to the NYFOA membership and furtherance of NYFOA's mission. NYFOA's Chapter Activity Award thanks a volunteer individual or couple from each chapter for helping the Chapter to operate in reaching members and other private forest owner outreach in the area. Each Chapter is urged to name one volunteer individual or couple each year for recognition by the state membership at the annual meeting in 2007. This is not a competitive award. NYFOA wants to recognize some one from each chapter each year. Please send the name of your “Chapter Activity” awardee, and any suggestions on individuals for the statewide awards to Mary Jeanne Packer by January 30, 2007. Mary Jeanne Packer New York Forest Owners Association PO Box 210, 124 E. 4th St. Watkins Glen, NY 14891 Email: mjpacker@nyfoa.org (607)535-9790, fax (607)535-9794
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For more information, contact Liana Gooding at 1-800-836-3566 8 Stonehurst Drive Queensbury, NY 12804 (518) 793-3545 or 1-800-862-3451
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January/February 2007
Kid's Corner
Do you have a photo of you and your kids or grandkids in your forest? If so, The New York Forest Owner would like to see it! Send an electronic or hard copy to Forest Owner editor, MaryBeth Malmsheimer, (address on page 22) and it may end up on this page!
REBECCA HARGRAVE
James A. Hart submitted this photograph. The picture shows James teaching his grandchildren how to tell the age of a Norway Spruce.
The Winter Forest Even though our trees aren’t that active in the wintertime, there still are many activities we can engage in. Pick a calm winter day to take a hike and have some fun with trees. Materials 5 blank pieces of paper 5 different colored crayons or pencils A Tree ID book Kitchen Shears or Pruners (and an adult) Your Five Senses Activity One — Bark Rubbings Each species of tree looks different from another, and one of the easiest ways to tell trees apart in the winter is by their bark. Beech are smooth and gray, black cherries are flakey and dark. How many different types of bark do you see on your hike? Feel each bark. Do they feel rough, smooth, hard or soft? Make a bark rubbing of five different trees: Take a piece of blank paper and lay it on the bark — using the side of a crayon, gently rub over the paper to pick up the texture of the bark. Compare your paper to the bark, does it look similar? Compare all your rubbings, can you pick out exfoliating
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(birch), scaly (tamarack), or platy bark (red oak)? Or bark that has parallel (basswood) or interlacing ridges (ash)? If you know the species of the tree, write it on your rubbing; you can even add the rubbings to your leaf collection. Activity Two — Twig Tasting Many trees and shrubs are known for their edible qualities; maple syrup from sugar maples, nuts from hickories, and fruits from cherries. But, did you know that the twigs and stems of some of our trees and shrubs can be as flavorful? The best example is the black (sweet) and yellow birches: have an adult use the shears, cut off a 4-5 inch piece of a small twig and chew on it. What do you taste? It should be a nice wintergreen flavor. In fact often wintergreen oil is processed from the bark of these birches. You can chew on it or make a tea from it by steeping the twigs in hot water. Try chewing on a cherry, you won’t get a cherry flavor, but one that is distinct to the cherry group. Try to describe this flavor. Just a taste is all you’ll need of cherry! A couple other twigs to chew on are sassafras and juniper. You can also make teas from the twigs of spicebush, juniper, pine and hemlock.
Activity Three — Tree Aromatherapy The winter woodland is filled with many smells and many come from trees. Some trees known for smelling good in the winter are balsam fir, juniper, white pine, and spruce. Compare the different scents of the needles. Do any smell sweet or like citrus or musk? See how many different scents you can pick up from each tree. Activity Four — Sounds of the Winter Woods We often think of winter as a time of year when everything is asleep, but we know that’s not true. While on your hike find a good spot to sit, close your eyes and listen. Spend five minutes listening to the sounds of birds singing, animals moving, and trees swaying. What else do you hear? Do you think any of these sounds only happen in the winter? Make a list of all the sounds you hear on your hike today, and try your hike again in a couple of weeks, you can keep track of the changes the forest makes through the seasons just by listening. Don’t let the winter chill keep you indoors, get out there and enjoy the forest! Rebecca Hargrave is the Community Horticulture and Natural Resources Educator at Cornell University Cooperative Extension in Chenango County.
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Wild Things in Your Woodlands KRISTI SULLIVAN
COTTONTAIL RABBIT Two species of cottontails are present in New York and both are very similar in appearance. The first is the Eastern cottontail (Silvilagus floridanus), which is abundant throughout much of New York State except the central Adirondacks. In contrast, the New England cottontail (Silvilagus transitionalis) is uncommon and occurs only east of the Hudson River. The New England cottontail is a species of special concern in New York State because its distribution and abundance have declined significantly over the last 40 years. Both of these rabbits are mostly gray-brown in color, with white undersides and a small white tail that looks like a cotton ball and is most visible as they bound away. They are about 14 ½ to 18 inches in length, and weigh about two to three pounds.
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s you walk along a woods edge in the winter, the sights and sounds of wildlife activity are not as obvious as in other seasons. The tracks of the cottontail rabbit, or the occasional glimpse of a rabbit bounding for cover, remind us that some of New York's mammals are still active. The woods are quiet and peaceful during winter, and the lure of finding tracks, scat, or other signs of wildlife is added incentive to venture outdoors and enjoy what nature has to offer. Like tracks and droppings, shrubs and seedlings with cleanly nipped twigs about 2 feet off the ground are evidence that rabbits are nearby. Rabbits are herbivores, feeding on bark and twigs of species such as sumac, oak, dogwood, maple, willow, apple, and raspberry during the winter. In the spring and summer rabbits feed on goldenrod, clover, chickweed, dandelions, and many other plants, 10
eating the more succulent vegetation parts such as leaves, shoots and flowers. Rabbits are crepuscular, meaning that they feed most actively at dawn and dusk. As the weather starts to warm in late February or March, rabbits entertain us with their wild, leaping courtship antics prior to breeding. Breeding starts in February and continues into September. After a gestation period of about 28 days, from three to seven young are born. The young, hairless with eyes closed, are born in a nest consisting of a shallow depression in the ground lined with hair pulled from the female's belly and dead grasses. They nurse and require parental care for about 20 days after birth. A mature, healthy female can have as many as five litters per breeding season. Although a single female could contribute as many as 35 young to the population each year, only about 20 -
25 percent of the young survive a full year. Predators, weather, disease, parasites, and social factors keep populations in check. Male cottontails are territorial and dominant males maintain territories of about eight to 25 acres. Other males can remain in the area as long as they remain subordinate, and respect the social hierarchy. Females defend a territory of about two acres in the nesting season. When local densities are high, frequent social interactions can increase stress and lead to reductions in litter sizes and survival rates. Creating habitat for rabbits is relatively easy. Rabbits need nesting cover in the spring and summer, and food and escape cover throughout the winter. By leaving the tops of trees cut for firewood or during a timber harvest, you can provide food at ground level as well as cover. Crooked
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or forked evergreens can be partially cut through and toppled over to provide "living brush piles". After the holidays, consider placing your Christmas tree out in the woods instead of sending it to the landfill. Create clusters of old Christmas trees by overlapping this year's tree with last year's tree. You can also create brush piles by placing large rocks or logs on the ground, and adding progressively smaller pieces of wood as you build up. By criss-crossing larger logs on the bottom, you create hiding spaces and prevent the pile from decaying to quickly. Old rock walls and stumps left in the ground are also beneficial. With just a few small habitat improvement projects, you can satisfy the food and cover needs for cottontail rabbits and enjoy both the springtime antics and the winter signs that are the hallmark of the this animal. Kristi Sullivan coordinates the Conservation Education Program at Cornell's Arnot Forest. More information on managing habitat for wildlife, as well as upcoming educational programs at the Arnot Forest can be found by visiting the Arnot Conservation Education Program web site at www.dnr.cornell.edu/arnot/acep/
NEWS &
NOTES Concerned about development and access to private lands in the Northern Forest? UVM, UNH, UMaine, and Cornell are cooperatively conducting a study to better understand changes in land tenure and access to private lands throughout the Northern Forest. If you own land, recreate on private land, or care about the future of the Northern Forest, your input is needed! Visit www.uvm.edu/tourismresearch/survey.htm to share your concerns and suggestions. If you have questions about the study, feel free to contact Shawn Geoffroy at the Vermont Tourism Data Center, Telephone: (802) 6560623, E-mail: tourismresearch@uvm.edu, Website: www.uvm.edu/ tourismresearch
NYFOA POSTED SIGN ORDER FORM
POSTED PRIVATE PROPERTY – No Trespassing – Hunting, Fishing or Entry by Written Permission Only
Name & Address - Owner or Lessee
Use this form to order the sign shown above. The signs are orange with black printing. SIGN MATERIAL
COST PER SIGN
NUMBER ORDERED*
COST
Plastic (.024 gauge)
$.45
_________
$_______
Aluminum (.012 gauge)
$.70
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$_______
Add Name and Address to Sign $5.00 Set up cost per address Plus $.05 per sign _________
$5.00 ________
Handling Cost $5.00 per order
$5.00
Shipping Cost**
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TOTAL COST OF ORDER
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Please specify Name and Address to be printed on signs: Name:________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________ Limited to two lines of type (abbreviate where possible). Type is about 5/16 inches high.
Mailing Address (UPS Shipping Address if different from mailing address) Name:______________________________________ Address: ___________________________________ ___________________________________________
Make checks payable to NYFOA. Mail form to NYFOA at PO Box 541, Lima, NY 14485. For more information call 1-800-836-3566 * Minimum order is 50 signs with additional signs in increments of 25. ** Shipping Costs: 50 signs, $4.50; 75 signs, $4.75; 100 signs, $5.25; 100+ signs, add $.75 for each 50 signs over 100 (150 would cost $5.25 plus $.75 for the additional 50 for a total of $6.00).
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Stories
from the Woods DAVID WHALEN
The goal of the MFO/COVERTS Program is to provide private forest owners with the information and encouragement necessary to manage their forests to enhance ownership satisfaction.
This “stories from the woods” article is the second in a series written by Master Forest Owner Volunteers telling of one of their visits. The volunteers truly enjoy the interactions with the forest owners they visit. We hope you too enjoy the stories and learn a bit from them also! I had met local forest owner Ted Brockett, at the Farm Pride store in Bellville, NY. While we enjoyed coffee, a breakfast ‘Jimbo’ and conversation, I mentioned the
The frost crack in this apple tree originated from a wound that occurred many years ago. (Photo courtesy of Colorado State Univ. Coop. Extension)
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Master Forest Owner (MFO) Volunteer program and explained how it worked and that I was a volunteer. Ted explained he had just been contacted by a local logger and agreed to have his trees marked for possible cutting using the “18-inch and up” diameter-limit cutting method. Ted invited me to do a woods walk with him. The 25-acre woodlot consisted mostly of clean, towering hard maple in the 14 to 25 inch DBH (diameter breast height) range with fewer cherry, oak, hemlock, hickory, beech, ash and tulip poplar. Tucked in the back of this woodlot was a 5-acre mixture of mature hemlock, ash, hickory and oak bordered by a scenic section of South Sandy Creek. Ted explained he would like to manage his timber harvest to insure both maximum value and future growth for his woodlot while retaining the natural beauty of his forest. It appeared that the previous logging job many years ago, as was the norm for the time, had strictly followed the diameterlimit cutting method — which takes the best and leaves the rest — and had left many just undersized trees, which now had reached their financial maturity level. However, we also saw examples in Ted’s forest where a low-value competing tree was left
at the last cutting to the detriment of a more valued tree and if cut as marked this would be happening again! We discussed how the growth of high value trees could be significantly increased if they were fully released by harvesting the lower value trees whose crowns were growing in direct competition. For example, provided a tree has not reached biological maturity and is on a good growing site, an 18inch tree left to grow for 10 more years would grow to 20 inches DBH. This extra DBH calculates to a 27% increase (a relatively conservative estimate) in board foot yield! If the log quality grade also improved with size (a good possibility), then the dollar value of the tree would increase perhaps up to 50%. At this point Ted’s wheels were turning in full gear as he deduced that a diameter-limit cut would result in cutting trees prematurely from a financial standpoint. I further explained that diameter limit cuts tends to take the best trees and leave the ones that for a variety of reasons are not doing so well and are not likely to respond well to being released from competition. To cut the “winners” and leave the “losers” is a high-grade harvest that severely lessens the future productivity of a woodlot. The bottom line regarding Ted’s situation, as I explained to him, was that he would benefit from further
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MFO volunteer Dave Whalen is pointing out a severe defect (due to skidder damage or fire?) in the butt log of a sugar maple. The cavity makes it a prime tree to cull from this stand if sawtimber is an ownership objective and it is crowding out other valuable trees. Otherwise, it has potential value as a den tree for wildlife.
For more information on: The MFO Volunteer Program— contact your county Cornell Cooperative Extension Office or www.cornellmfo.info Contacting a forester—contact your regional NYS DEC office or http://www.dec.state.ny.us/ website/dlf/lfoffice.html Diameter-Limit Cutting— http:// www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/info/ pubs/index.htm (pdf file available) Crop Tree Management— http:// www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/info/ pubs/index.htm (pdf file available) Frost Cracks — http:// plantclinic.cornell.edu/ FactSheets/winterinjury/ winterinjury.htm
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investigation into crop tree management and selling using the bidding process and that a forester was the best qualified to putting the sale out to bid to get offers from several different timber harvesters. There was a lot of current value in the woodlot and it was very unlikely that a diameter-limit cut was going to help him achieve his management objective. Because Ted is of the nature to be involved in the actual management of his woodlot, I also left him with some information on Crop Tree Management. We met a few days later after Ted had read the material I gave him. He was pretty well convinced that he could get some utility out of crop tree management. I then provided Ted with the DEC co-operative foresters list. He is now much more confident that he will be able to put together a forest management plan that will better maintain his current forest diversity and natural beauty over the diameter-limit harvest plan used as a basis for marking the trees. Our goal as MFOs is to share the scientific-based knowledge taught to us by Cornell Cooperative Extension. In doing this I have a lot of fun and learn more about forestry from my interactions with fellow landowners on woods walks. As another example during my walk with Ted, he asked me what caused bark splits on some of the maple trunks? I had no idea, so I asked Gary Goff at Cornell and found that the splits are likely “frost cracks” caused by freezing of bark, commonly over previous wounds. Smooth barked trees are particularly susceptible to the
The white ash on the left and the sugar maple on the right are competing for growing space for their crowns. A couple of options here might be to release the more valuable sawtimber sugar maple by cutting the ash, or leave them both and release both crowns by cutting adjacent trees.
problem after a quick nighttime drop in temperature in late winter after sap had flowed during the day. The splits typically remain on the tree trunks and may get worse over time because the callas and healthy bark continues to expand and contract at different rates. Over time disease, fungi, insects, and animals may invade and widen the wound. I am glad to be involved in the Master Forest Owner program because I find the woods walks are helpful to the landowners and equally as valuable to me. David Whalen, is an ‘04 MFO volunteer from Jefferson County.
Sponsors of the MFO Program include: The Ruffed Grouse Society, NY Forest Owners Association, NYS-DEC Div. of Lands & Forests, The Robert H. Wentorf, Jr. Foundation, USDA Renewable Resources Extension Program, and Cornell Cooperative Extension
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Frequently Asked Questions About NY’s Conservation Easement Tax Credit HENRIETTA JORDAN
I
n 2006, New York State enacted a new conservation easement tax credit (CETC). The CETC offers taxpayers whose land is restricted by a conservation easement an annual New York State income tax credit of up to 25% of the school district, county, and town real estate taxes paid on the restricted land, up to an annual maximum of $5,000 per taxpayer. Landowners will be able to claim this credit for the taxes they paid in calendar year 2006 when they file their 2006 New York State income tax forms and annually thereafter. What’s a tax credit? Unlike a tax deduction, which is an adjustment to taxable income, a tax credit offsets a taxpayer’s tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Having a tax credit is as if someone were writing a check for part of your taxes. The CETC is a refundable income tax credit, which means that if a landowner’s tax credit exceeds the amount he or she owes in state income taxes, the landowner gets a check for the difference. Who is eligible for the CETC? The Conservation Easement Tax Credit is available to individual landowners and also to estates and trusts (including beneficiaries of an estate or trust), partners in a partnership (including a limited liability corporation that is treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes), and business corporations taxed under Article 9-A of the Tax Law. It is not available to Subchapter S corporations, not-for-profit corporations, or other kinds of corporations. Are landowners who do not reside in New York State eligible for the CETC? Yes, as long as the land restricted by the conservation easement is located in New York State.
Easement Tax Credit, you will receive 25% of the county, town, and school district property taxes paid on your easement-restricted land, up to an annual maximum of $5,000. Note that village and city taxes cannot be used to compute the credit; nor can special assessments for water, sewer, or fire protection, etc. What qualifies as a conservation easement? To qualify a landowner for the Conservation Easement Tax Credit, an easement must meet several requirements: • It must be a perpetual and permanent conservation easement as defined in Article 49 of New York’s Environmental Conservation Law. • The land subject to the easement must be located in New York State. • The easement must be held by a public or private conservation agency. - Public conservation agencies include any agency of federal, state, and local governments. - Private conservation agencies include non-profit land trusts and any other nonprofit organizations whose charitable purposes include the protection of open space, scenic, natural, agricultural, or historic resources, and that have the power to acquire interests in real property. • The easement must serve to protect open
space, biodiversity, or scenic, natural, agricultural, watershed, or historic preservation resources by limiting or restricting development, management, and/or use of the property. • The easement must be filed with the Department of Environmental Conservation. • The easement must comply with Section 170 (h) of the Internal Revenue Code; i.e. it was donated or partially donated (sold for less than fair market value) to a public or private conservation agency. Does it matter when the easement was created? No. The Conservation Easement Tax Credit applies to all conservation easements, regardless of when they were created, provided that they meet the criteria listed above. Are there easements that don’t qualify for the credit? Yes. The Conservation Easement Tax Credit does not apply to non-conservation easements, such as utility or transportation rights of way, etc. Nor does it apply to conservation easements that were created for the purpose of obtaining subdivision or building permits or to easements that were required as mitigation. (These easements do not comply with IRC Section 170 (h)). Similarly, deed restrictions that do not conform to the definition of “conservation easement” in Article 49, Title 3 do not qualify for the credit, even if they have a conservation purpose. What if there is more than one easement on my land? You can claim a tax credit for each of the easements on your land, up to a total of $5,000 per year for all of them.
tupperlake@fountainforestry.com lakegeorge@fountainforestry.com
How much will I get under the CETC? If you are eligible for the Conservation 14
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How does a landowner claim the CETC? The landowner claims the Conservation Easement Tax Credit when filing his or her state income tax returns. The landowner will file the new Form IT-242 or CT242 with his or her usual state income tax forms.
your assessment that applies to the land only. Then you can calculate how much of your taxes were paid on only the easement-restricted land. No structures—not even structures with historic value—are eligible for the conservation easement tax credit.
What if the land is owned by more than one person, partnership, or corporation? Can they all claim the credit? Yes, but each individual, partnership, or corporation can only claim credit for taxes it has actually paid, up to a maximum of $5,000 a year.
Can a landowner get the CETC if he or she is also receiving the Farmer’s School Tax Credit or other property tax credits? Yes, but only for that portion of the property taxes on the easement-restricted land that is not rebated by the other tax credits. The tax forms for claiming the credit (IT-242 and CT-242) and accompanying instructions will help you determine whether there is any unrebated portion.
What if the easement covers only part of my land? How do I allocate the taxes? The credit applies only to that portion of your land that is protected by the easement. Ask your local assessor to calculate the fraction of your assessment that applies to your land (and not to buildings and other structures). Then calculate the fraction of the land that is protected by the easement. Multiplying these numbers times the total property taxes will give you the allocated taxes. What if the easement-restricted land has buildings or other structures on it? Can I claim credit for taxes paid on them? No, the credit applies only to the land protected by a conservation easement. Ask your assessor to calculate the percentage of
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Can a landowner get the CETC if the property is enrolled in an agricultural or forestry assessment program? Yes. Conservation easement properties that are enrolled in agricultural or forestry assessment programs are eligible for the tax credit. What happens when I sell my land? Will I still be able to claim the CETC? No. Entitlement to the conservation tax credit runs with the land. That is, the new owner will be able to apply for it provided he or she meets the eligibility criteria.
Where can I get more information? Contact the Land Trust Alliance (tel: 518587-0774 or e-mail: northeast@lta.org). Important Note: The information about the New York State Conservation Easement Tax Credit contained in this document is furnished as a tool to assist land trusts and landowners. It is provided with the understanding that the Land Trust Alliance is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, tax, or other counsel. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. This document is not a substitute for legal, accounting, or tax advice and should not be relied on as such. Henrietta Jordan’s is the Northeast Policy & Assessments Manager for the Land Trust Alliance. She is based out of their Saratoga Springs, NY office.
What is a conservation easement? A conservation easement is a tool that allows a landowner to permanently protect his/her land through a legal agreement, written in the form of a deed. Through the conservation easement, a landowner donates the majority, or entirety, of the property's development rights to a qualified nonprofit land trust or governmental entity. The landowner retains ownership of the property and may sell, lease, bequeath or mortgage land protected by a conservation easement. The terms of the easement are tailored to the landowner's vision, the conservation attributes of the property being protected and the mission and goals of the easement holder. For donated easements, landowners often qualify for significant state and federal income tax deductions. A landowner may be able to deduct the value of the easement against 30 percent (and some cases 50 percent) of their adjusted gross income for up to six years, beginning in the year the easement is donated. Currently, there are enhanced tax incentives for easements donated in 2006 and 2007 in which landowners may be able to deduct 50 percent (and some cases 100 percent) of their adjusted gross income for up to 16 years. For more information on conservation easements or to locate a land trust in your area, contact the Land Trust Alliance at 518587-0774 or email: northeast@lta.org
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Chestnut … Elm … Will Ash be next?? KIM ADAMS
A
bout a decade ago there were a lot of sickly looking or even dead ash trees in the Detroit, Michigan area. Ash is susceptible to a number of insects and diseases, some not easily diagnosed. Ash yellows, caused by a tiny organism called a phytoplasma, produces symptoms similar to those observed and, in the early 90s, widespread ash decline occurred across the Upper Midwest and Northeast. Multiple stressing factors were blamed. Not until 2002 was a beetle native to eastern Asia identified as the culprit. We know now it arrived at least ten years before being detected. Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, probably entered the country in ash used in shipping crates or pallets. It infests only ash, Fraxinus spp., and resistance has not been observed in any of our native species. Although it seems counterintuitive for a forest insect to become established in an urban area, it is these areas along our coasts and the Great Lakes that receive goods transported from around the world. Organisms that infest solid wood packing material constitute an ongoing threat for introduction of nonindigenous and potentially invasive insect pests. At least eleven forest insects identified in the United States and Canada since 1990 are believed to have arrived this way. Roughly one half inch long, the shiny, emerald green insect belongs to a group of beetles known as metallic wood-borers (Fig. 1). Adults emerge from the trees they fed in
Figure 1. Emerald ash borer adult
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primarily during June and July. Emergence produces one sure sign of infestation, a small, one-eighth inch hole flattened on one side, or D-shaped. Sun loving, the beetles feed on ash foliage for a week or more before mating and laying eggs. Females produce fifty or more eggs, and lay them individually in bark cracks and crevices. They hatch within two weeks. Immature beetles or larvae are called flatheaded borers distinguishing them from roundheaded borers, cylindrical larvae of a different beetle group that often utilize the same food resource. The insect during this stage is flattened, whitish, and with distinct segmentation, tapeworm-like (Fig. 2). They feed on inner bark or phloem tissue. Phloem is living tissue responsible for moving the products of photosynthesis around the tree. Larval feeding tunnels called galleries curve and wind under the bark much like mountain roads until the tree’s translocation system is effectively severed (Fig. 3). When the tree is girdled, it dies, often in as little as two or three years following the first beetle bite. On all but the smallest trees, beetles initially infest the upper portion of the tree within the canopy where evidence is very difficult to see. While the ash is vigorous, it responds by producing callus. This pushes the bark out causing vertical splits. Following heavier attack, branches die back and as they do, buds may break further down the trunk and at the base producing dense clusters of leafy branches. There will be no sawdust because larvae pack their excrement mixed with sawdust-like wood chips behind them in the gallery. Woodpeckers are efficient predators of all insects feeding under the bark. Increased woodpecker activity should precipitate inspection of unhealthy looking ash. A year after attack the first generation
Figure 2. Emerald ash borer larva.
of beetles exit through their D-shaped emergence holes. Within a year or two, in all likelihood, the tree will be dead (Fig. 4). In the core area, that region of southeastern Michigan where the beetle was first discovered, 20 million trees are dead. For those who remember the now eclipsed Asian longhorn beetle and the alarm expressed by residents of New York City and Chicago at the prospect of losing cherished trees, that eradication effort has involved the removal of about 20,000 infested and high-risk trees thus far and has great hopes for success. The 290,000 ash trees removed since 2002 in the fight against emerald ash borer represent only a dent in the infestaton. North central Illinois, southern Indiana perhaps into Kentucky and eastern Ohio currently delimit emerald ash borer front lines. On December 1, 2006, the federal quarantine expanded to cover the entire states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois in addition to the already covered lower peninsula of Michigan. Maryland, which received the beetle in nursery stock shipped illegally from Michigan in 2003, is not currently under quarantine. This fall, however, after an eradication effort and two years without a beetle find, that state found three sites with emergence holes and plans a second eradication effort to include
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Figure 3. Serpentine larval galleries.
a one and one-half to two mile radius around the confirmed sites. The more likely avenues of beetle movement in addition to nursery stock, include green lumber and firewood. Because of difficulties with identification, movement of all hardwood firewood is regulated as are wood chips, whether composted or not. States with infestations, as well as a couple not yet infested, are conducting surveys for the insect. Visual inspections
have proved ineffectual and states have turned to a system of trap trees for detection. Last year, New York used trap trees at about thirty sites. Emerald ash borer prefers to attack stressed trees, attracted by the chemicals produced, but will readily attack healthy ones as populations build. The creation of a trap tree involves girdling a healthy ash in the spring. Green ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, is used most often. This provides the beetle with ideal host material. Tree placement occurs on a grid with about seven trees per township or thirty-six square miles. Trap density is increased around higher risk areas such as sawmills, campgrounds, and tree nurseries. Trees are peeled during the winter and examined for evidence of beetle larvae or galleries. The procedure works. It has resulted in the identification of well over sixty infested sites or outliers outside the core area. The trap tree method is also problematic. Suitable host material is not always available. With 10,000 trap trees in both Michigan and Ohio, however, of far greater concern is the time and cost. Protocol calls for the removal, chipping and burning of all ash within half a mile of any identified beetle tree. Costs per site are between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Only eight outlying sites have been treated to date, leaving dozens of these infestations untreated and growing. The beetle flies much farther than the half-mile treatment boundary although it probably will not if suitable host material remains nearer. As the circle enlarges, the costs, already too great, become unimaginable. Failure of
eradication efforts however, leads to mounting removal expenses. The threat to our ash resource cannot be overstated. Research is underway to identify effective lures to simplify detection. Control agents from areas where the insect is native have been identified. Resistance mechanisms are being investigated. All of these will take time to develop and incorporate into a management program. For now, when the beetle arrives, the landowner has few options. Individual, high value trees can be protected with an insecticide. These treatments have to be repeated regularly and should a beetle tree be located within a designated area and an eradication cut performed, the treated tree would be removed. Removal and utilization of ash, particularly larger diameter ash from woodlots retards population buildup because the larger the tree, the more beetles that tree is capable of feeding. Ash value, already diminished, will probably continue to shrink. The picture is bleak. Emerald ash borer continues to devastate ash in this country and it is headed our way. For the reader interested in additional information, the websites at www.emeraldashborer.info/ and na.fs.fed.us/fhp/eab/index.shtm provide links to information put out by states with infestations. Kim Adams is an Extension Specialist at the SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry. She wishes to thank Therese Poland of the USFS for all her help and for supplying images.
email halefor@verizon.net
Figure 4. Ash dieback due to emerald ash borer infestation
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NYFOA STORE Show your support for the Association! All items display the NYFOA logo. 1. Sweatshirt………………….....$20.00 Green M, L, XL Grey M, L, XL 2. Long Sleeve T-Shirt………...$14.00 Green M, L, XL Grey M, L, XL 3. Short Sleeve T-Shirt………...$10.00 Green M, L, XL Grey M, L, XL All shirts are heavy weight cotton with white lettering on the green and green lettering on the grey. 4. Baseball Style Cap………..…$14.00 Tan/Green Brim, one size 5. NYFOA Member Sign…….…$ 2.00 12x12 Heavy Gauge Plastic Yellow with green lettering 6. Mugs………………………..…$ 4.00 White with green lettering 7. Cutting Boards…………...….$ 5.00 Wood, 5 ½ x7 inches Item# Description
Size Qty Price Total
Shipping and handling:
$5.00
Total:
Name:___________________________ Address:_________________________ City:____________________________ State / Zip: ______________________ Telephone: ______________________ Form of Payment: " Check " Credit Card Credit Card No. __________________________________ Expiration Date ____________________ Signature: _________________________ Make check payable to NYFOA. Send the completed form to: NYFOA, P.O. Box 541, Lima, New York 14485. Questions? Call 800-836-3566
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New York Farm Show The New York Farm Show exhibits include equipment used by woodlot owners, chainsaws, wood splitters, and wood harvesters in addition to equipment used by agricultural producers. The Farm Show takes place at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY. Free seminars and a forestry education booth are being co-sponsored by NYFOA, the Department of Environmental Conservation, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Hours for the forestry information booth: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm February 22, 23,and 24 in the International Building. All seminar presentations will take place in the DEC Log Cabin. Thursday, February 22 1:00 pm 2:00 pm 3:00 pm Friday, February 23
10:00 11:00 1:00 2:00 3:00
am am pm pm pm
Saturday, February 24 10:00 am 11:00 am 1:00 pm
Schedule of Seminars Timber Value: The Timber Market Present and Future Options for the Forest Tent Caterpillar Outbreak Tax Relief: Section 480-a, The Forest Tax Law Improving Maple Sap Quality through Forestry Selling Your Timber: Getting it Right the First Time How to Improve Timber Health and Productivity Alert: Threats to the Health of Our Forests, New and Old Restoring the American Chestnut Wood and Willow Energy Crops: Bioenergy and Bioproduct Feedstocks Update: Real Property Tax Law and Other Issues Affecting Your Forest Wild Edible Plants and Mushrooms
There is no registration fee. Free admission tickets to the Farm Show will be mailed to NYFOA members.
1890 E. Main Street, Falconer, NY 14733 716-664-5602 20½ Groton Avenue, Cortland, NY 13045 607-753-3113 90 East Front Street, Hancock, NY 13783 607-637-4466
Visit Our Website: www.foreconinc.com
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Know Your Trees
SHAGBARK HICKORY (Carya ovata K. Koch) Shagbark Hickory is the best known and most valuable of the hickories in this state. It is common in deep, moist soils throughout New York though rare in the higher Catskills and Adirondacks, and is not reported from the pine barrens of Long Island. In the forest it is a tall straight-branched tree but in open fields and along hedgerows where it often grows it usually forks near the ground into stout ascending limbs. The wood is very heavy, tough, elastic, close-grained, and is used chiefly for handles, vehicles, agricultural implements, and fuel. The fruit is important for wildlife. Bark—light gray in color, smooth and seamy, becoming shaggy with age and peeling off into long strips which are loose at both ends and attached in the
middle, thus giving rise to the name “shagbark hickory.” Twigs—covered with numerous light dots, extremely tough and pliable, reddish brown to gray in color. Winter buds—large, ovate, bluntpointed, with papery, dark brown, loose bud scales, the outer scales much darker, persistent through the winter; terminal bud usually more than ½ inch long. Leaves—alternate compound, from 8 to 14 inches long, with from 5 to 7 leaflets, the three upper ones being by far the largest. Fruit—a smooth, white, 4-angled nut, enclosed in a thick, round husk that splits into 4 sections as the nut falls
after heavy autumn frosts. Kernel— large, sweet. Outstanding features—large terminal bud; from 5 to 7 leaflets, outer 3 much larger; bark peeling in long plates.
Information originally appeared in “Know Your Trees” by J.A. Cope and Fred E. Winch, Jr. and is distributed through Cornell Cooperative Extension. It may also be accessed via their web site at http://bhort.bh.cornell.edu/tree/trees.htm
HERBICIDE APPLICATIONS
www.futureforestinc.com Phone: 585-374-2799 FAX: 585-374-2595
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Member Profile: John Sullivan ALEXANDRA SILVA
N
ot long after the world celebrated the beginning of the new millennium, John Sullivan’s Kipp Mountain Tree Farm in Chestertown marked 50 years of forest management and successful timber production. In that time there have been eight harvests of the 350 acre woodlot, a couple of thinnings, one white pine planting and recognition as New York’s 2006 Tree Farm of the year. The story started well over a century ago, in 1875, when Warren County was mainly farmland and John’s great-grandparents, Thomas and Mary Callahan, bought the land. After 35 years eking out a living on the area’s rocky soil, they quit farming and moved away; the fields began their reversion to woodland.
Now jump forward to the early 1950s, when John’s parents, Bob and Christina Sullivan, bought the land from other members of the family. “My father was a town and city boy,” says John, “but he figured if they were going to own the land they should make it productive, and that meant he needed to learn about woods. So he contacted the DEC and soon we were working with Phil Capone, then a service forester out of Warrensburg.” Under Capone’s guidance — and others over the next 20-some years — John and his father planted white pine seedlings, conducted other timber stand improvements and contracted for several limited harvests of white pine, hardwoods and hemlock. In 1975 his father turned the land over to John.
John Sullivan standing in front of his solar wood kiln. While empty at the moment, John has had mixed success with the kiln, stating that it works better during the summer months.
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Thinking it might be time for more formal management, John sought help in developing a forest management plan from the International Paper Company. At the time, IP and other large corporations maintained landowner assistance programs that would create management plans and provide other help to land owners in return for the right of first refusal on any harvests. John’s plan helped place the land under New York’s 480A forest management program, which provided John a substantial reduction in real property taxes of the forested acres. While he receives the tax break, John commits his land to forest production for the next 10 years. “Many people think this is too much of a commitment, but it works for me because I intend to keep the land in the family, as forest, forever.” Another management move made sense when, in 2002, the Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks launched its Sustainable Forestry program, through which participating landowners receive certification from the Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC certification confirms that the land is managed according to strict standards of sustainable growth and environmental responsibility. New York’s state forests, as well as International Paper and Finch, Pruyn and Company lands in the Adirondacks are FSC certified. John has worked with two foresters for most of the 30 years he has owned the Kipp Mountain Tree Farm: Steve Warne, now retired from DEC, and Chris Gearwar of Lake George Forestry. “The Tree Farm would not have been successful without those two men,” he says. Recent successes include a thinning of a 15-acre sugar maple stand that yielded a couple of years of firewood for two homes, and a 2006 harvest of a 20-acre white pine stand that yielded 113,000 board feet of pine, plus small amounts of other species. John lived in New Jersey and later for 30 years in the Washington, DC, area and came to live on his property continued on page 22
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Above: John Sullivan, along with Bert Morehouse and Joe Tennyson, during a NYFOA woods walk in 2005. Below: John Sullivan’s property includes part of Kipp Mountain, located at the north end of Loon Lake, depicted here.
Susan J. Keister, L.L.C. Forestry Consulting and Environmental Management Services Per diem based fee structure for bid sales = no commissions
full-time about 10 years ago. He had built a log cabin – with logs cut on his land – in 1981 and after many improvements made it our permanent home. John’s wife, Gretchen McHugh, is a photographer, writer, and treasurer of the Southern Adirondack Chapter of NYFOA, and a Tree Farmer in her own right. She owns a 118-acre woodlot in Washington County that includes a 200-year-old farmhouse, so the pair commute between the two properties. John has always considered owning the Kipp Mountain Tree Farm as a major influence in his life. “It is a never-ending challenge; you think you know something and then it wakes you up and reminds you that you’re just starting to learn.” John tries to spend some part of every day in the woods, which leads his neighbors to joke that he has a name for every tree. He concedes this may be true, but maintains that it isn’t just the trees that he enjoys, but the wildlife as well. While the tree farm grows white pine, red oak, white ash, hemlock, white cedar and several other species, it is also home to deer, bear, coyote, fox, fisher, the occasional moose and — to John’s surprise and delight one morning about 3 years ago — a cougar that he saw as it crossed the road. Alexandra Silva is a Forest Resources Extension Program Assistant at Cornell University, Department of Natural Resources, Ithaca, NY 14853.
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The New York Forest Owner 45:1
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January/February 2007
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IF YOU CARE ABOUT FARMS, YOU NEED TO BE, TOO.
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