September 3, 2010
E-Forester Archives? More than a few folks have asked if The E-Forester is archived on the SAF website. It is not, primarily because links to news articles change quickly. However, if you're looking for something from a past issue, contact me and I'll do my best to get you what you need.
I. Featured News
1. Maine Offers Visitors “Firewood Exchange” to Keep Bugs Out of State2. The Man Who Bends Trees
3. Billionaire Funding Climate Change Study on Trees
4. Urban Forestry News
5. Florida Supreme Court May Hear Biomass Case
Federal Lands Management
6. Montana, Colorado, and Idaho Universities Partner on Study of Fire and Climate Change
7. Study: Angora Fire Effect on Tahoe Minimal
8. Big, but Illegal, Harvest
Forest Products Industry
9. Santa Cruz Mountains Lures Cash for Trapping Carbon
10. Logging in the US - Industry Risk Rating Report
11. For Fun and Profit
II. Publications, Resources, and Items of Interest
1. New Pacific Northwest Research Station Publications2. Updated Standard Provides New Guidance for Using Forests to Address Climate Change
3. Forest Pathology Addresses White Pine Blister Rust Management
III. Science and Technology
1. Researchers: Development Affects Bird Flight Patterns and Populations2. Map Shows Southern US Protected Areas at Risk Due to Suburban Sprawl
3. Fuel Treatments Reduce Wildfire Severity, Tree Mortality in Washington Forests
IV. SAF News
1. 2010 SAF National Elections2. Poster Symposium Sponsored by the SAF Science Fund
3. Make a Lasting Impression on the Home of Forestry
4. NEW SAF Cap Available at the SAF Store
I. Featured News
All of these items and more appear in the "Featured News" section on the SAF home page1. Maine Offers Visitors “Firewood Exchange” to Keep Bugs Out of State
Fosters Daily Democrat (Maine, September 2) - Maine forestry officials have announced ramped-up measures to protect the state from the Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer, two tree-damaging pests that have yet to spread into Maine—and that's exactly how forestry officials would like to keep it. Officials are planning a Labor Day weekend effort that will have rangers stationed at a rest area on I-95 in York to prevent firewood from being brought into the state.
Wisconsin Builder (September 2) - Whole Trees LLC, a design-build and architecture firm operating on 134 forested acres 10 miles south of La Crosse, specializes in using unmilled wood to create rounded, solid structures.
“Unmilled timber is very strong,” said Roald Gundersen, the company’s chief executive officer. “It retains the natural strength from a tree’s long growth period. Milled lumber violates a tree’s concentric and continuous fibers, removing the strongest outer layers of the tree, which are naturally pretensioned to resist the elements.”
3. Billionaire Funding Climate Change Study on Trees
An unconventional experiment is taking place high above the ground in the branches of giant sequoias in the Whitaker Forest near Kings Canyon National Park. Researchers from University of California–Berkeley, Davis, and Humboldt State have come together to study the giants. They are taking careful measurements and using special cameras to take photos of the branches high up in these trees. They will count the leaves and measure the branches. They are hoping to determine whether global warming is having an impact on redwood groves.
Bay Area billionaire Ken Fisher, who studied forestry and economics at Humboldt State, is funding the project and he has offered to match contributions up to $500,000.
DC Area’s Love-Hate Relationship with Trees Can Split Neighbors
Washington Post (September 2) - After recent storms sent trees into power lines and darkened DC-area homes, residents were reminded of the passionately splintered attitudes that urban dwellers have toward the leafy beings that grace their streets and cul-de-sacs.
Live Oaks Outgrowing Small Lots
Bradenton.com (Florida, September 1) - The Manatee County Natural Resources Department has recommended a change in the land development code to require the use of small trees like hollies instead of live oaks and other large trees on single-family lots less than 60 feet wide. The plan has drawn impassioned opposition from developers and nursery owners.
Richmond Rethinks Its Tree Policies
Richmond Times Dispatch (August 30) - Richmond has a new attitude toward its trees. City officials say they will establish a formal policy to be sure that trees are protected from harm in any city construction project.
5. Florida Supreme Court May Hear Biomass Case
The Alligator (Florida, September 1) - The fate of a planned biomass power plant that will create electricity by incinerating wood waste may be left to the state’s Supreme Court. Gainesville citizens have filed a motion to appeal the 3-2 decision of the Public Service Commission to allow the building of a biomass plant in northwest Gainesville on the grounds that the project could potentially bankrupt the city and harm the environment. Construction on the plant, which will be built and run by American Renewables, is scheduled to begin in December, but it the plant must clear challenges from residents.
Federal Lands Management
6. Montana, Colorado, and Idaho Universities Partner on Study of Fire and Climate Change
Faculty at Montana State University, the University of Colorado, the University of Idaho, and collaborators at the US Forest Service received a $3.85 million grant to study fire and climate change in sensitive forests in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The proposed studies, to be conducted in the United States and abroad, will help inform fire management decisions and educate the next generation of fire scientists and managers worldwide.
The National Science Foundation is funding the project through their Partnerships in International Research and Education (PIRE) program.
7. Study: Angora Fire Effect on Tahoe Minimal
Reno-Gazette Journal (September 1) - Efforts to battle the impacts on Lake Tahoe from the 2007 Angora Fire appear to be working, according to an annual report released by University of California–Davis scientists who track the lake's health. According to this report, proactive steps taken by the US Forest Service to reseed the land charred by the Angora Fire, which burned 254 homes and blackened 3,000 acres outside South Lake Tahoe, helped stave off erosion that could have clouded the lake.
Longmont Times-Call (Colorado, September 1) - Two days of searching the rugged Boulder County foothills has yielded approximately $1 million worth of illegal marijuana plants. A day after deputies and other law enforcement officials raided a growing operation with approximately 3,500 plants, they made an even bigger find —about 4,000 more plants. All of the plants were on land in the Arapahoe National Forest.
Forest Products Industry
9. Santa Cruz Mountains Lures Cash for Trapping Carbon
Mercury News.com (August 31) - PG&E is handing over tens of thousands of dollars to the nonprofit Sempervirens Fund to protect a 425-acre stand of redwoods once slated for logging deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The deal, expected to be completed next month, is part of the utility's efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions—in this case safeguarding trees for carbon absorption—and is helping to drive a new marketplace where people and business are offered an incentive to offset pollution.
10. Logging in the US - Industry Risk Rating Report
Companies and Markets.com - This Industry Risk Ratings report evaluates the inherent risks associated with logging in the US industry. The report looks at the operational risk associated with this industry, including the risk arising from within the industry itself (structural risk), the risks arising from the expected future performance of the industry (growth risk), and the risk arising from forces external to the industry (external sensitivity risk).
The Economist (August 26) – Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is promoting a Forest Jobs and Recreation Act that would mandate logging on 10,000 more acres of the state’s national forests each year. It would also designate some 600,000 acres as new federal wilderness areas. The legislation represents a somewhat grudging compromise between conservationists and industry. Such coalitions are not unusual in forests. When America first created forest reserves, more than a century ago, its goal was to create a sustainable supply of timber as well as to protect the woods and the fresh water reserves within them.
II. Publications, Resources, and Items of Interest
1. New Pacific Northwest Research Station Publications
The Mighty Oak Faces Challenges in the Pacific West (scroll to bottom of page)
Science Update (Issue 20)
Calculating the Green in Green: What's an Urban Tree Worth? (scroll to bottom of page)
Science Findings (Issue 126 - September 2010)
2. Updated Standard Provides New Guidance for Using Forests to Address Climate Change
The newest version of the Forest Project Protocol from the Climate Action Reserve, North America’s largest carbon offset registry, has been officially released for use in the carbon market. According to the Climate Action Reserve, significant updates in version 3.2 of the protocol include clarifications to the requirements for establishing a baseline for Improved Forest Management (IFM) projects and the introduction of guidelines for aggregating forest projects.
3. Forest Pathology Addresses White Pine Blister Rust Management
The August 2010 issue of Forest Pathology provides a synthesis of knowledge on C. ribicola, identifies policy and management actions to mitigate disease impacts, and reviews future issues facing white pine management such as climate change and new pathogen introductions. Through this comprehensive and scholarly review of the literature, researchers with the US Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station, and thirty-three contributing authors provide a scientific basis for protecting and sustaining white pine ecosystems.
Click here for more information or to read an abstract.
III. Science and Technology
1. Researchers: Development Affects Bird Flight Patterns and PopulationsIt may seem like birds have the freedom to fly wherever they like, but researchers at the University of Missouri have shown that what’s on the ground has a great effect on where a bird flies. According to the university, foresters and urban planners could use this information to improve bird habitats that would help maintain strong bird populations.
2. Map Shows Southern US Protected Areas at Risk Due to Suburban Sprawl
The World Resources Institute (WRI) has issued a new map showing suburban sprawl encroaching on protected areas in the Southern United States. The South currently contains approximately 39.5 million acres of protected areas—many of them forested—distributed throughout the region. In areas of rapid suburbanization, such as Atlanta, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia, these protected areas are responsible for preserving forestland that would otherwise be lost to suburban sprawl.
3. Fuel Treatments Reduce Wildfire Severity, Tree Mortality in Washington Forests
A study conducted by US Forest Service and University of Washington (UW) scientists has found that fuel treatments—even of only a few acres—can reduce fire severity and protect older trees desirable for their timber, wildlife, and carbon-storage value. The finding is part of a 3-year study of the 175,000-acre Tripod Fire and is published in the August issue of Canadian Journal of Forest Research.
Click here to view the article’s abstract online.
IV. SAF News
1. 2010 SAF National Elections
The 2010 national election ballot will be e-mailed to SAF members on October 1.
Biographical and campaign statements for all candidates are available in the September issue of The Forestry Source and on the SAF website.
2. Poster Symposium Sponsored by the SAF Science Fund
Poster Abstract Submission Deadline – Sunday, September 12.
You are invited to prepare a poster on one of the variety of the Science and Technical Program topics such as “Forest Biology and Management” and “Renewable Bioenergy.” The posters will be displayed in the Exhibit Hall where the presenters will have the opportunity to give a brief talk about their poster. It’s another great opportunity to learn valuable information and gain new ideas. Don’t miss it!
Submit poster proposals online and click on “Poster Submission.”
Student poster presenters will be awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and be featured in the Journal of Forestry.
3. Make a Lasting Impression on the Home of Forestry
Since 1977 the Gifford Pinchot Forestry Building in Bethesda, Maryland, has been home to the Society of American Foresters. It has been the stable foundation for the work of forestry and the changes in the profession. Its distinct design and rich history make it a treasure. However, time, weather, and use have taken their toll.
Now is your chance to return the love to this historic landmark and help renovate the building to face the challenges of the 21st century. By purchasing a paver, you can add your lasting message to this beloved campus with an 8” x 8” commemorative paver. Personalize your paver with a message or honor a loved one. Use up to four lines of text with up to 15 characters per line (including spaces) to create your legacy.
To purchase a paver or for more information, visit the SAF website.
4. NEW SAF Cap Available at the SAF Store
Cover up from the dog days of summer with SAF’s new low-profile, two-toned brushed twill cap. It’s a perfect complement to SAF’s polo shirt, and a great way to show your support of SAF and keep cool at the same time. Visit the SAF Store for these and other apparel selections to get you through the season.
About The E-Forester:
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