Sneak Peek: The Forestry Source, August 2019
July 31, 2019
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Two of the 2019 SAF National Convention technical field tours will include visits to cooperages and information about the process of making whiskey barrels. Photo courtesy of Louisville Tourism.
Goods from the Woods: A Preview of SAF’s 2019 Convention
You might not think of bourbon as a forest product, but makers of fine Kentucky bourbon depend on barrels made from white oak for aging their spirits. According to the Kentucky Distillers Association, the state’s distillers filled 1.7 million barrels with bourbon in 2018. At about 50 board feet per barrel, that translates to the use of 85 million board feet of high-quality oak lumber. Of course, Kentucky produces many other forest products, such as a variety of other hardwood lumber, railroad ties, and pulp and paper. So, Goods from the Woods, the theme of this year’s SAF 2019 National Convention, to be held in Louisville from October 30 to November 3, is a perfect fit for the event. In this article, general convention chair Rance Frye, CF, offers a preview of the convention program, as well as points of interest in the city of Louisville and beyond.
500 Years of Change: The 43rd Indian Timber Symposium
The Intertribal Timber Council and Seminole Tribe of Florida hosted its 43rd Annual National Indian Timber Symposium in June, and it was the first time the symposium was held in Florida. The location provided a valuable perspective on the roles of wildland and hydrology in the Southeast. The Seminole Tribe of Florida manages 92,000 acres across six reservations that are a mixture of agricultural and grazing lands and forestland that includes cypress, pine, and oak. Over the course of the four-day conference, attendees saw examples of how the Seminoles manage the Big Cypress Reservation and heard presentations on the indigenous use of fire, changes in fire management, and how hydrology has changed over time. Read this article to learn more about the inspiration for the symposium’s “500 Years of Change” theme and interesting takeaways from the workshops.
In or Out? Borderline Trees and Bias
Is a borderline tree in or out of your plot? In a typical timber cruise, you might have to make hundreds of calls about whether or not to include borderline trees in your sample plots. These decisions can have a big impact on your final cruise numbers. In this edition of Biometrics Bits, Zack Parisa examines some common shortcuts used to make in/out calls and quantify how they can bias your final inventory results.
Ethics in Wood Procurement
Imagine yourself getting a job as a procurement forester for a sawmill. Your task is finding enough woodlots, or tracts, to keep five independent logging contractors busy. That means 400 MBF, or 680 truckloads, per week. You find the landowners willing to sell; the sawmill provides the cash, and you negotiate the sale. What could go wrong?