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Timber management, as most all forest landowners know, requires ample amounts of patience and optimism. Forest landowners’ manage their forests through droughts, fire seasons, and down timber markets. Therefore, once a landowner has successfully navigated these and other risks, they must be prepared to make full use of the opportunities that go with performing a harvest, especially the initial thinning. In order to prepare a list of things non-industrial landowners may want to consider prior to performing a first thinning, I contacted several of my peers who are actively involved in the day to day timber harvesting side of the forest industry.
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FORESTRY TODAYGeorgia
Volume 8, Issue 2
March | April 2012
A B I M O N T H L Y M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E F O R E S T R Y C O M M U N I T Y O F G E O R G I A
First things FirstSee story on page 8
4 March | April 2012
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY is published bi-monthly by A4 Inc., 1154 LowerBirmingham Road, Canton, Georgia 30115. Recipients include owners and subscribersof the Georgia Forestry Commission, as well as suppliers and manufacturers of forest-related products and services.
Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher, A4Inc., nor do they accept responsibility for errors of content or omission and, as a matterof policy, neither do they endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Partof this magazine may be reproduced with the written consent of the publisher. Corre-spondence regarding changes of address should be directed to A4 Inc. at the addressindicated above. Advertising material should be sent to A4 Inc. at the e-mail address:[email protected]. Questions on advertising should be directed to the advertising di-rector at the e-mail address provided above. Editorial material should be sent to A4Inc. or to Alva Hopkins.
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY1154 Lower Birmingham Road, Canton, Georgia 30115
On the Cover:
Landowners must be prepared to makefull use of the opportunities that go withperforming a harvest, especially the initialthinning or as it is commonly referred toa ‘first thinning.’ See story on page 8.
C A n t r E L L F O r E s t
P r O D U C t s i n C .We buy all types of timber.
Bio-fuel producer
[email protected] Galilee Church RoadJefferson, GA 30549
Office: (706) 367-4813 Mobile: (706) 498-6243Home: (706) 367-1521
LAMARCANTRELL
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAYPrinted in the USA
PUBLISHER:A4 Inc.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAlva Hopkins
PRODUCTION MANAGERPamela [email protected]
EDITORIAL BOARDWendy BurnettAlva HopkinsJesse JohnsonStasia KellySandi MartinBrian Stone
Steve McWilliams
5Georgia Forestry Today
FORESTRY TODAYGeorgia
Volume 8, Issue 2 March | April 2012
P.08 First Things First
P.11 Message from the Georgia
Forestry Commission Director
P.12 GFC News
P.13 Timber Sale Tales
How to Make Sure Yours Has a
Happy Ending
P.16 Warnell Alumnus on the Job
P.20 Southern Timberland Market
A Windshield Assessment
(part 2 of 2)
P.22 Coming Soon: New Design Values for
Pine Lumber
Shifts in the resource mix suggest
changes are needed.
P.24 Changes in Timberland Ownership
P.26 Background Check: Softwood
Lumber Check-off
P.28 Georgia Forestry News
P.30 Georgia Forestry Today
Directory of Products & Services
7Georgia Forestry Today
LiST of ADVErTiSErSAmerican Forest Management ................................................30 International Forest Company..................................................6
Arborgen ................................................................................25 Landmark Spatial Solutions ....................................................19
Beach Timber Company Inc...................................................30 Lanigan & Associates..............................................................27
Blanton’s.................................................................................19 Meeks Farm & Nursery.................................Inside Front Cover
Canal Wood LLC ...................................................................30 M&H Pinestraw.....................................................................27
Cantrell Forest Products Inc. ....................................................4 MorBark.................................................................................30
Davis - Garvin........................................................................23 Outdoor Underweiters ...........................................................23
F2M.........................................................................................4 Plum Creek ..............................................................................5
Farm Credit Association ...........................................................6 Prudential...............................................................................22
Flint Equipment Company ....................................................30 Rayonier...................................................................................7
Forest Resource Consultants...................................................19 Smith, Gambrell & Russell.....................................................27
Forest Resource Services Inc. ..................................................30 UPC.........................................................................Back Cover
Forestar ....................................................................................3 Vulcan on Board Scales.............................................................4
F&W Forestry Service ............................................................23 Weyerhaeuser .........................................................................10
Gillis Brothers ........................................................................30 Yancey Brothers..............................................Inside Back Cover
Hipp Enterprises ....................................................................24
s a landowner, youhave patientlywaited for your treesto be ready for athinning. It doesn’tseem like that longago you re-planted
the back 40 acres. Fifteen years ago, youwere dropping your daughter off at pre-kand just the other day you dropped her offat college. A subtle smile crosses your face asyou think how thankful you are that you andyour wife decided to invest in a real growingstock as opposed to the ‘can’t miss’ technol-ogy stock your friend suggested.
Timber management, as most all forestlandowners know, requires ample amountsof patience and optimism. Forest landown-ers’ manage their forests through droughts,fire seasons, and down timber markets.Therefore, once a landowner has successfullynavigated these and other risks, they must beprepared to make full use of the opportuni-ties that go with performing a harvest, espe-cially the initial thinning or as it iscommonly referred to, ‘first thinning.’
8 March | April 2012
By Jesse Johnson, RF | Southern Land Exchange
view of what landowners should considersince they oversee companies that are imple-menting the harvests. Also, for each one ofthem, first thinning harvests comprise a largepercentage of their businesses. • Chris Beck, RF ~ Louisiana Pacific,Athens, Georgia. Procurement Manager
• Kent Huff ~ Midway Forest ProductsInc.; Lincolnton, Georgia. ProcurementForester
• Jason Simmons ~ Middle Georgia Tim-ber; Madison, Georgia. Co-Owner/Pro-curement Forester
• Clark Snipes ~ Georgia Forest Products;Americus, Georgia. ProcurementForester
Following is a list of items I developed afterspeaking with these forestry professionals.
Mangement/Harvest Plan ~ The mostcommon response was the need forlandowners to have well thought out objec-tives for the property. Preparing a clear andconcise management plan requires the
For a quick refresher, in Georgia the av-erage planted pine stand typically receives itsfirst thinning when the trees are 13 to 18years old. It is common practice in Georgiafor landowners who are interested in growingtimber for solid wood products such as lum-ber or plywood, as well as those who are in-terested in improving wildlife habitat, toimplement thinnings on their forestland.
A properly implemented first thinningprovides the landowner with intermediatecash flow, an increase in both solid woodproduction and wildlife forage while reduc-ing the risk of pine beetle attacks.
In order to prepare a list of things non-industrial landowners may want to considerprior to performing a first thinning, I con-tacted several of my peers who are activelyinvolved in the day to day timber harvestingside of the forest industry. I felt that theseforestry professionals may have a unique
First Things Firstlandowner to carefully formulate their goalsfor the property. A properly constructedmanagement plan addresses how each standof timber is to be managed. Therefore, whenit comes time to perform the initial thinning,the logger and landowner will both be on thesame page regarding the expectations of theharvest, which will lead to a better experiencefor both the landowner and harvester.
“I purchase a fair amount of timberfrom landowners who have not taken thetime to sort out what their objectives are fortheir property. Often the majority of my ini-tial visit is spent finding out what their maingoals are for the property. Helping them an-swer these questions ultimately leads to amore satisfied customer.” -Chris Beck.
“I cut primarily for private landownersand most of the time I help them figure outtheir future plans for the property by askinga lot of questions. Most small landowners
don’t think about residual tree counts andbasal area until it is time to start cutting.”~Jason Simmons
Again, management plans are simply alandowner’s game plan for their property.Just like a game plan, a management planwill change as conditions in the field change.However, it is always better to approach anyharvest or other forestry activity with a wellthought out plan that highlights where youare going and how you are getting there.
Contracts ~ Another, common response wasthat landowners should only enter into writ-ten timber agreements. A written contractprovides the landowner with an agreementbetween them and the timber buyer thatspells out the details of the harvest. For in-stance, some of the basics that are commonlyincluded in timber contracts are: prices to bepaid for the various timber products, residualtree count or basal area, performance deposit,and the length of the contract. Again, this isonly a partial list of items often included intimber contracts.
“A written contract helps protect theland owner by allowing for recourse if loggeraccidentally tears down a fence or doesn’t re-pair a road.” ~Jason Simmons
“Some people still work off hand shakedeals but I don’t recommend this for the av-erage landowner. It is not uncommon fortimber buyers to have several tracts beingharvested at one time and a written contractis always the best way to avoid any confusionbetween the buyer and the landowner.”~Clark Snipes
“In my opinion it is always in thelandowner’s best interest to have timberagreements in writing.” ~Kent Huff.
Landowners should know that there isno industry standard timber harvesting con-tract as there are real estate contracts.Landowners who are not familiar with sellingtimber should seek advice from a profes-sional forester who is familiar with the tim-ber sales process.
9Georgia Forestry Today
Landowners can gain valuable informationfrom talking to the registered forester on theground. (Pictured l-r, Jason Simmons, Procure-ment Forester; Richard Curtis, Landowner;Jesse Johnson, Registered Forester.)
10 March | April 2012
Loading Dock Locations ~ One of themore specific recommendations was thatlandowners be open to working with the log-ger when selecting loading dock locations.
“In this environment of high fuel priceswe need to operate as efficiently as possible.A large part of keeping costs down is havingwell located docks that allow us to have rea-sonable skidding distances.” ~Chris Beck
“First I always look for the previousdock locations. These areas have experiencedthe most compaction, and the tree growth isusually worse than the rest of the stand. Byutilizing the previous docks the landownerkeeps the compaction to one area of thestand.” ~Jason Simmons
A general rule of thumb is thatlandowners should plan on at least one load-ing dock per 30 acres of first thinning.
Following the harvest, loading docks aregreat places to locate food plots and otherwildlife openings. These areas will requiretillage in order to offset the compaction fromthe harvest. However, with a little effortthese areas can be turned in to excellent foodfactories for the local wildlife.
Debris ~ Prior to thinning, most landown-ers are not sure what they want to do withthe logging debris. Do they pile or spread?
Upon reaching the loading dock thetrees are limbed and topped which tends toleave behind quite a lot of residual debris.Often prior to the loggers asking landownershave given little consideration of what theywant to do with the debris. The debris canbe either piled at the dock or spread backthroughout the stand.
“For the majority of landowners I rec-ommend spreading the debris back out overthe stand to replace the nutrients and pre-
vent erosion. However, we will work withlandowners who want to pile the debris inorder to burn them. But this is somethingwe need to know before starting the har-vest.” ~Kent Huff
“I recommend spreading the debrisback out over the stand. I also recommendthat landowner consider waiting a couple ofyears before they perform a controlled burn.The freshly added debris can result in a hot-ter fire which can lead to increase in treemortality.” ~Jason Simmons
The consensus answer was thatlandowners spread the debris back over thestand. Again, spreading the debris replacesthe nutrients and prevents erosion. Spread-ing of the debris is done with the skidder;the grapple is filled with debris at the loadingdock and then spread out as they go to getanother load of trees.
References ~ The final and most importantof all is references. Landowners should at-tempt to get at least three references for eachtimber buyer before sending out bids or en-tering into negotiations. A reputable timberbuyer should be able to provide you withseveral satisfied landowners whom they haveworked with in the past.
"Often landowners that are not familiarwith timber harvesting will have questionsabout what the harvest will look like.Landowners should ask to go see some of acompany’s previous thinning jobs and speakwith those landowners too.” ~Chris Beck.
“In the timber buying business as withmost, a company’s best or worst advertise-ment is word of mouth. A reputable com-pany should have a list of several otherlandowners who you can speak with for areference. My company works hard to do a
quality job for landowners, and I am happyto provide prospective clients with the con-tact information of several other landownerswe have cut for.” ~Clark Snipes
Unfortunately, most forest landownershave heard stories about others who onlyfound out after the fact that they chose towork with an unethical timber buyer or otherforestry contractor. The majority of the timethis can be prevented by seeking opinionsfrom other forestry professionals, landownersor other individuals in the area. As the oldsaying goes, an ounce of prevention is wortha pound of cure. It is always best to do theproper research before you let any contractorsperform work on your property.
In closing, landowners would be wise tofollow the advice of these forestry professionalswhen planning their first thinning. Georgia’sforest landowners can rest assured that there isa large network of reputable forestry profes-sionals available to help them implementsound stewardship practices on their property.
Below are several Web sites forlandowners who are looking to gain furtherinformation about the topics discussed inthis article:Georgia Forestry Commission:www.gfc.state.ga.usGeorgia Forestry Association: www.gfagrow.orgSociety of American Foresters:www.safnet.orgAssociation of Consulting Foresters:www.acf-foresters.orgWarnell School of Forestry
and Natural Resources:www.forestry.uga.edu v
he Georgia Forestry Commis-sion family has weathered a lotof change through the years, butthe change we experienced onthe last day of January is espe-cially notable. Thirty-four year
GFC veteran Alan Dozier handed the Chiefof Forest Protection reigns over to Frank Sor-rells, former Satilla District Manager.
Being part of Alan’s retirement celebra-tion at GFC’s Dry Branch aviation hangarwas a real privilege and something to behold.Gathered elbow to elbow were directors anddignitaries from more state, regional and fed-eral agencies, and organizations than I couldcount without losing count: Georgia Emer-gency Management Agency, U.S. Fish andWildlife Service, Department of Natural Re-sources, The Conservation Fund, Okefeno-kee National Wildlife Refuge, Tall TimbersResearch Center, Jones Ecological Centerand fire chiefs from five southern states. Sev-eral former Georgia Forestry CommissionDirectors joined us, as did a host of col-leagues and friends who enjoyed the retire-ment celebration that included a world classbarbecue lunch cooked up by our own RustyBrown. It was an amazing tribute that said alot about the relationships Alan establishedand nurtured during his tenure at the Geor-gia Forestry Commission.
Alan started his career as a patrolman inBurke County, worked as a forester, anequipment specialist, a Chief Ranger and As-sociate Chief, and Chief of Protection. Inevery position he held, in every corner of thestate, Alan planted the seeds of relationship.Through the years, those ‘seedlings’ havegrown into vigorous partnerships that areserving the state in big ways.
There’s not enough space here to listevery collaboration initiated by Alan, butwithout doubt, the Georgia Forestry Com-mission is in a better position to serve theresidents of Georgia today because of hiscommitment to partnerships. Systems are in
place for the GFC and GEMA to readily joinforces in response to floods, tornadoes, andice storms in Georgia and the Southeast. Wehave a nationally certified and widely recog-nized Incident Management Team which hasbeen deployed to the Olympics, G-8 Sum-mit, Hurricane Katrina, and numerousweather and emergency events. We workclosely with the Environmental ProtectionDivision to manage air quality and smokeand retain our right to prescribed burning.Relationships fostered by Alan helped build
the Prescribed Fire Council and developGeorgia’s Prescribed Burn Manager Program.We have a healthy partnership with GOAL,the Greater Okefenokee Association ofLandowners, which has helped in a myriadof ways with fire issues around the swamp.And then there are regional, national, andeven international level partnerships thatAlan founded. He established the first South-ern Regional Arson Task Force and chairedthe Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment steer-ing committee for the Southern Group ofState Foresters, a program now being repli-cated nationwide. He has held numerous in-dustry chairmanships and earned theNational Silver Smokey award for Outstand-ing Service in Wildfire Prevention. I am re-ally hoping the Dozier home has a lot of
extra shelf and wall space!The best part of this story is not that
Alan will get to spend a lot more time fishingnow, but that the Georgia Forestry Commis-sion will continue to benefit from and buildon these relationships.
Taking the helm of our Forest Protec-tion department is a man who has a lot ofservice hours fighting fire, running ’dozers,managing logistics and leading teams. FrankSorrells worked with the Florida Division ofForestry in a variety of wildfire and supervi-sory positions before joining GFC 18 yearsago. As Satilla District Manager he had agreat deal of experience fighting fires, includ-ing the challenging events of 2007 and 2011.Frank is a man who knows fire, people, andthe value of partnerships.
After Action Reviews of the 2007 firesplayed a very real part in our ability to man-age the 2011 blazes. Likewise, seven AAR’sof last year’s fires have led to 61 items onwhich we are taking action. Some are simpleand some will take more time and cooperatorassistance, such as modifying state and fed-eral policies and cooperator agreements, co-operator training, and fuel treatmentanalyses and implementation. All will be ad-dressed and all will fuel our future success.
The National Interagency CoordinationCenter has predicted that Georgia will expe-rience another severe fire season this year.The center’s track record is good; it called lastyear’s risk well in advance, and that heads-up, along with the improvements we’d im-plemented from ’07, helped minimize lossesfrom the fires.
As Alan baits his fishing hook and theseasons transition in Georgia’s forests, I’m re-minded that the only thing constant in lifeis change. It’s a good thing. Especially whenyou’re prepared for it, and you’re experienc-ing it with partners and friends.
Sincerely,Robert Farris v
11Georgia Forestry Today
Message from the DirectorDear GFT Reader,
T
12 March | April 2012
After 34 years of service with the Georgia Forestry Commission,Chief of Protection, Alan Dozier, retired in January. Dozier began hiscareer in 1980 as a patrolman in Burke County, served as a forester in severalother counties, then moved to GFC State Headquarters as Forest Specialist be-fore assuming his current position. Dozier said he has “an aversion to planning”his retirement years, but suspects his wife, Arlene, has created a lengthy ‘honey-do’ list, and that the couple will spend more time near relatives in SeminoleCounty. Eighteen year GFC veteran and former Satilla District Manager, Frank Sorrells, has been named GFC’s new Forest ProtectionChief. e
GFC News
It’s not too late to purchase GFC tree seedlings and take advan-tage of a better than predicted planting season. While a sluggisheconomy and continuing drought may have discouraged some from planting,2011’s fourth quarter yielded near normal rainfall, and GFC’s ReforestationChief Russ Pohl reports good planting conditions and an ample supply ofmost species. According to Pohl, “Longleaf seedlings are running low now,but other pines and hardwoods are readily available from GFC and other nurs-eries. You can never make up for a missed growing season.” For a list of avail-able GFC seedlings, visit GaTrees.org.e
The Southern Group of State Foresters has released a new reportabout forest certification in the South. “Forest Certification Programs:Status and Recommendations in the South” provides detailed information re-garding the various certification systems, a comparison of the major systems,and recommended strategies for making educated decisions that affect forestproductivity and sustainability.
To see a copy of the report, visit www.southernforests.org. e
Eastern Georgia timber landowner CharlieMcElroy (pseudonym) still has a bitter tastein his mouth from a timber sale gone bad.The year was 2010. McElroy and his sib-lings and cousins, with whom he owns a91-acre tract of mature, natural pine andhardwoods that’s “been in the family for-ever,” needed money to pay taxes on theland.
“We hired an independent forester tocome out to mark the trees for harvest,” saidMcElroy. “He gave us a number, based onhis cruise, and then put it out to bid. Unfor-tunately, only one bid came back, and thatone wasn‘t even two-thirds of the originalestimate.”
McElroy and his family decided to re-ject the offer and regroup. Within a coupleof months, his sister located an independentlogger, whom McElroy said “talked a goodgame.”
“We had a typical timber sale contract,and it was based on the weight of thewood hauled. Everything looked good andwe commenced to cut timber.” It didn't takeMcElroy long, however, to get the feelingthat things weren‘t quite right.
“I went by a lot during the first fewweeks, but the work had been subbed outto a logging crew and the contractor wasnever there,” said McElroy. “A lot of treeswere cut that weren't marked, and I wasn’tgetting weekly weight tickets from the mill.By the time we realized we had a problem,he was gone.”
While McElroy did receive one pay-
Timber Sale TalesHow to Make Sure
Yours Has a Happy
EndingBy Stasia Kelly
13Georgia Forestry Today
Consultants help landowners realize allvalues of their timberland.
ment for the timber, it amounted to slightly more than half of thewood’s expected value. In hindsight, he said, he and his fam-ily did several things wrong.
“We should have gotten references,” he said, “but wedidn’t. Every time I spoke with the loggers, they promised totell the contractor to get me the load counts, but they didn't,and they finally stopped taking my calls.”
Efforts to prosecute through the local sheriff’s office and anattorney proved unsuccessful, and within a matter of weeks,the contractor declared bankruptcy and disappeared.
“I don‘t know where he is now,” McElroy said.
Haste can lead to havocLooming tax bills are just one of the pressures that forcelandowners into making hasty timber selling decisions. Accord-ing to James Johnson, Georgia Forestry Commission Chief ofForest Management, the timber sale process should only beundertaken after careful consideration.
“Many landowners spend a lifetime growing trees andthey don't need to make a thirty minute mistake when sellingtimber,” said Johnson. “A lot of timber buyers will use pressuretactics, but a legitimate offer should be good for awhile.Landowners have to take time to make a good decision.”
The first good decision, according to Johnson, is to hire aregistered consulting forester whose expertise is invaluable forthe planning and sale of timber. (To find a registered consultingforester, visit GaTrees.org or the Association of ConsultingForesters at www.acf-foresters.org.)
“Timber sales aren’t just about the harvest,” said Johnson.“The planning is just as important.”
Ideally, a forest management plan will already be inplace for the tract that will be logged. Properly managedforests yield more timber, have a higher net present value, suf-fer fewer environmental impacts, and provide richer wildlifehabitat than non-managed forests. In addition, formal plansare also required for third-party certification, including the Sus-tainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), American Tree Farm System(AFTS), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and future markets,such as woody biomass and carbon sequestration. Local andnational regulators routinely seek these documents when deter-mining silvicultural exemptions.
A clearly defined pre-harvest plan prepared by a consult-ing forester ensures a landowner’s forest management objec-tives and goals are not compromised. It reduces opportunitiesfor misunderstandings between all parties and helps make cer-tain the harvest will maximize financial returns, protect waterquality, and maintain or enhance forest productivity. The pre-harvest plan should also clearly mark sale boundary lines tohelp ensure loggers don’t trespass on neighbors’ property orcut non-designated trees. Charlie McElroy experienced thatproblem first hand, as did central Georgia landowners Bettyand Alan Frew (pseudonym).
“It was an experience,” remembered Betty Frew. “Theman we hired took trees that were marked and unmarked. Thepiles of debris are still there and about five of our roads weredamaged.”
The Frews admit they made poor decisions in planning the2009 harvest of 35 of their 160 acres of loblolly pine andhardwoods.
“We were looking for income,” said Betty, “and he wascutting near us. We hadn't heard anything negative abouthim.”
“He came and looked, and we signed a contract for agood price,” said Alan Frew, “but we had a difficult time cash-ing the checks we did receive because there were no funds tocover them.”
“If we ever do this again,” added Betty, “we will definitelyhire a forestry consultant.”
How much do you pay for trust?
Susan Brantley’s Hancock and Washington Counties timber-land has been in the family for “quite a few years,” and shecan't imagine managing it without the help of consultingforester Jim Alfriend, his son, Jamie, and their colleagues.
“My sisters and I rely on them to give us great adviceabout timber sales,” she said, “but that's not all. They help uswith all our management decisions—taxes, hunting issues,everything. We depend on them heavily.”
Brantley admits she and her sisters are fortunate that theirfather and grandfather had established a relationship with theAlfriend family years ago. All those years and experience con-tribute to the family’s sense of security about land ownership.
14 March | April 2012
The Georgia Forestry Commission offers a comprehensivebrochure that details the timber-selling process. Access thisbrochure online at GaTrees.org/Resources/Publications ororder one by calling 1-800-GATREES.
15Georgia Forestry Today
“They orchestrated our 2010 timber sale from beginning toend,” said Brantley. “They took care of the types and numbersof trees, the bids, the harvest, and the cleanup afterwards.Plus, they know about all areas of land ownership. We’ve ac-tually been approached by several other consultants whowould like our business, at a lesser cost. But we’re not inter-ested, and really, how much do you pay for trust?”
Trust is at the heart of another relationship the Alfriend fam-ily consulting foresters have earned with Atlanta businessman,Mac Peden. Peden inherited his father’s Hancock County tim-berland in 1993 and values the support he’s received fromthe Alfriends. With their help, he has grown his timber land in-vestment six times over.
“My consulting forester also happens to be my best friendsince the time we were four years old,” said Peden of Jim Al-friend. Peden explained that he and Jim became buddies as aresult of their fathers’ relationship, which centered aroundforestland management. Jim‘s son, Jamie, has followed in hisfather’s forestry footsteps and continues to establish and nurturerelationships with Georgia landowners.
Acting on a detailed forest management plan, Peden con-ducted his most recent pulpwood thinning in 2011.
“This is where Jamie’s experience comes in,” said Peden.“He knows the best loggers. Jamie and Jim keep tabs on theloggers every few days and stay on top of things. They stayclose to the process and make sure not to let the payments getbehind. I just don’t see how anyone managing forestlandcould do it without the services of a consulting forester.”
Reputable loggers understand the value of a consultingforester as well. He or she can keep favored crews busy intough economic times.
“A lot of loggers will go the extra mile for certain consult-ing foresters and contractors,” said GFC’s James Johnson.“They’re selling on an ongoing basis and they want to please
that person so they get called back again and again.”Consulting forester Mike Harrison of Harrison Forestry Co.
LLC in Moultrie said he takes those relationships very seriously.Experienced loggers he hires understand the importance of ex-cellent work, clean grading, picking up trash, and basic man-ners.
“If I’m out there with the landowner, looking at the job, wewant to talk. I expect a personal conversation,” he said.
Forsyth landowner Franklin Freeman, a retired attorney,said his trust in the choices made by his forestry consultant,Joel Vinson of Vinson and Associates Inc., runs deep.
“I need to know who’s on my property,” he said. “Wecan all do a good (forestry) plan, but one logger can come inand mess it all up.”
Freeman said Vinson's knowledge of the forestry businessand market conditions is critical to him, which Vinson said is atwo way street.
“It’s important for landowners to be educated too. Whenthey are, they’re more willing to ask questions about manage-ment of the property and be more involved. That relates di-rectly to your results—timber, recreation, and wildlife.”
Mike Harrison emphasized that landowners reap rewardswhen consultants stay on top of market conditions and commu-nicate effectively with timber buyers who supply the mills.
“Buyers depend on me not to put them on property thathas all kinds of liens and problems. I’m supplying them agood, clean product.”
By knowing the type and amount of timber readily avail-able on his clients’ property, Harrison can jump on opportuni-ties when buyers are low on inventory.
“Experience has taught us to adjust and stay in the game,”said Harrison. “The market isn’t what it was seven years ago.We’re working twice as hard for half the money! But we’re stillin the forestry business and helping people make a profit.” v
Right-product-at-the-right-time
transactions benefitsellers and buyers.
16 March | April 2012
17Georgia Forestry Today
while managing wildlife/aircraft strike threats at the same time. Per-haps one day, but for now, such assistance is impossible.
One cannot dwell on the dangers, or you could never appreciatethis land’s beauty. It’s magical being in the birthplace of mankind.Lands surrounding Balad are an oasis in the desert; fertile soil growslush green crops in fields divided by rows of eucalyptus and evergreentrees. I cannot imagine any place with more impressive sunrises andsunsets. At these special times, you forget that you are in a desert farfrom home.
To help mitigate the bird strikes, I used both lethal removal anddirect control activities, including dispersal using pyrotechnics, suchas bird bangers and screamers. Education is also a vital part of anysuccessful mitigation program. Flying squadrons were provided brief-ings and written advisories to increase their awareness of local haz-ardous wildlife activity. Joint Base Balad has all the ingredients for a
WarnellAlumnuson the Job
By J.C. Griffin
fter a rather interesting C-130 tacticallanding to avoid enemy fire, my first sightof Iraq was at night. My first thought washow far I was from home, but a gaze up-ward revealed familiar stars and constella-
tions. I felt relieved knowing that I was still indeed on planetEarth–even after traveling for 50 hours. I was on a militarybase surrounded by some pretty hostile territory and receivedimmediate training on procedures to follow in the event ofan Indirect Fire (IDF) attack. This was my welcome to Mor-taritaville, a nickname given to Joint Base Balad (JBB) dueto the daily barrage of IDF mortar and rocket attacks overthe years.
The next days were spent learning the base. It becameclear that mitigating wildlife hazards was going to pose uniquechallenges. For instance, in the States, I never really concernedmyself with sniper fire while working! But while in Iraq, thepossibility always exists of stumbling upon Unexploded Ordi-nances (UXOs), fired rockets and mortars that failed to deto-nate. Don’t assume there is little wildlife here in this desert.The ancient Tigress River runs within a half-mile of the eastperimeter fence, giving life to this desolate land. Agriculturalfields dominate as far as the eye can see. Local Iraqis grow andsurvive on almost every fruit or vegetable imaginable but howthey keep any of their grain crops for themselves, I cannotfathom. Tens of thousands of wood pigeons, rock doves, andcollared doves relentlessly feed in those fields.
And then there are the rooks, a migratory crow-like birdpresent here during the fall and winter months. When thesebirds leave and return to their Tigress River roost sites, there isno better term to describe the sheer number other than “bibli-cal.” Imagine the devastating impact of a flock of over a millioncrow-sized birds. If this was occurring back home, WildlifeServices would be helping these farmers with the depredation.If allowed to travel outside the wire to conduct direct controlactivities, I would be helping farmers increase their harvest,
A
hazardous flying environment. The flightlinenever sleeps -- F16s, C130s, C17s, C5s, andnumerous other transient and surveillanceaircraft are constantly arriving and departing.When you combine this busy day and nightflying schedule with an airspace filled withbirds, strikes are a constant threat.
Keeping JBB’s airfields free of birdshelps pilots and other servicemen completethe mission and return home safely, which isvital for the success of Operation New Dawnand the future of Iraq. Wildlife Services iscommitted to our role in this enormouscause. When I joined Wildlife Services nearly
ten years ago, never could I have dreamed
that there would be an opportunity such as
this. This was a chance to serve my country
and be a part of the fight. It was an opportu-
nity to see and experience things that most
will not. v
18 March | April 2012
John (J.C.) Griffin (BSFR ’99, MS ’01) is a wildlife biologist at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia. After graduatingfrom Warnell, he spent ten years specializing in wildlife damage in Florida and Georgia. Griffin focuses his work on re-ducing hazards and risks to military aviation by wildlife, especially birds. Last year, he volunteered for an assignment atJoint Base Balad, Iraq, to evaluate the dangers posed to aircraft on the base by wildlife. Joint Base Balad ranks in the topthree every year with number of strikes and total cost from damaging strikes. He arrived in November 2010 and returnedto the U.S. in March 2011.
John (J.C.) Griffin
19Georgia Forestry Today
20 March | April 2012
he DisconnectAs previously discussed, priorto this recent decade therewas some positive correlationbetween timber prices and
land prices when viewed over the long-term.Although always lagging, land prices rose orfell with timber prices, and did so modestly.However, the relationship between stumpageprices and land prices disappeared over thepast ten years. As illustrated in Figure 3, onaverage southern pine stumpage prices havebeen in decline as compared to the priordecade of the 1990s. While timber revenueswere declining, land was going up—effec-tively lowering projected financial returnsfrom timber production. During the eu-phoric timberland buying frenzy, experi-enced analysts and long time experiencedtimberland operators were perplexed, oftenasking, “Why are land prices going throughthe roof when timber stumpage prices are de-clining?” This market behavior made nosense. The reason was there were numerousother factors in addition to stumpage pricesthat were influencing land values.
Many consumers were motivated, notby timber production economics but byrecreational interests, perceived opportuni-ties for short-term speculation, and possiblyby Mr. Twain’s counsel, “buy land, they ain’tmaking any more of it.” Also, commercialtimberland investors were straying from val-uations based on historical timberland in-vestment models, given the ready marketfor smaller consumer size parcels. At thetime, lower returns from timber productionwere being overshadowed by increased re-turns from speculative sales and ever-risingvalues for the land component of investors’portfolios.
The CorrectionThe term ‘correction’ appears to be a eu-phemistic term often used on Wall Street todescribe a notable market decline, which to
most stockholders is actually a negativeevent. This term appropriately describeschanges in the real estate market over thepast few years. Most sectors of the real estatemarket, including southern timberland pric-ing, clearly became irrational, overheated,and unsustainable. It was just a matter oftime before the inevitable became obvious.
Beginning in 2006, scattered develop-ment areas around the South began to expe-rience a drop in buyer demand. The firstfeeble real estate markets appeared in coastaland resort areas where market demand wasdriven, not by consumer/users buying forsecond home use, but by short term specu-lators (not dissimilar to segments of the tim-berland market). In late 2007 and early2008, it was apparent that the land develop-ment boom and associated housing marketswere beginning a decline. Uncertainty wasalso growing among experienced land deal-ers, brokers, appraisers, forest investment an-alysts, and others regarding the future of thetimberland market. A growing number of
market participants began anticipating a de-cline in timberland prices.
By mid-2008, Freddie-Mac (FHLMC),Fannie-Mae (FHMA), and many banks wereexperiencing increasing defaults on loans asdevelopers, high-risk residential borrowers,and land traders were becoming insolvent.Credit markets tightened, stock market de-clines were devastating many investmentportfolios, and virtually all segments of theUS real estate market were in a state of con-traction by the fourth quarter of 2008.Meanwhile, a growing number of timberlandbuyers that purchased almost entirely forspeculative resale purposes with borrowedfunds were beginning to feel squeezed by thepoor economy, declining land values, andtimberland’s increasing illiquidity. To furtherexacerbate the problem, timber stumpageprices were continuing to decline primarilydue to a stall in housing construction. Manybuyers found the timber component of theasset to be worth less than they had paid justa year or two before.
T
Figure 3: South-wide Pine Stumpage Price Changes - 1995 to present. Source: Timber Mart-South
Southern Timberland MarketA Windshield Assessment (part 2 of 2)
By W. Richard Humphries | Forest Resource Consultants Inc.
Figure 3
21Georgia Forestry Today
At the onset of the decline in the con-sumer market in 2007, commercial buyer de-mand and prices initially remained morestable. As previously discussed, larger com-mercial timberland packages had been sellingto a more diverse (sometimes uninformed)pool of buyers, which helped maintain com-petition and pushed underlying land priceshigher. However, the decline in consumertract sale activity began to reduce the numberof active land dealers, small speculators, pri-vate investment groups, and other potentialbuyers. As a result of this reduction in com-petition for larger commercial timberlandpackages, the commercial buyer pool becamemore homogeneous, or ‘likeminded.’
Uncertainty also began to emergeamong many commercial/institutional buy-ers as to whether previous, sometimes aggres-sive, valuation strategies were sustainable inlight of the declining market for consumertracts and declining stumpage prices. Otherthan a few timber companies and even feweropportunistic investors (individuals andspeculator groups), TIMOs appeared to bethe predominant buyer for larger commercialtimberland packages by 2008 to early 2009.The few large transactions that were occur-ring at this time were providing early evi-dence that transaction prices within thismarket segment were softening. Indeed, adownward adjustment in land prices was log-ical considering reduced consumer demandand decreased timber revenues.
At present, timberland prices in allbuyer segments have experienced notableprice declines as compared to the marketpeak in 2007. Current market conditions in-dicate significantly fewer transactions, andmarketing periods for consumer parcels arelonger, 12 months or more in some regionsof the South. Observed prices for many re-cent consumer transactions are 40 to 75 per-cent lower than prevailing prices during themarket peak. Regions of the South that en-joyed the fastest and highest run-up in pricesare now experiencing the greatest decline,proving the old adage—the higher you go,the harder the fall.
In turn, lower demand and decliningprices for consumer tracts (along with weaktimber markets) have negatively impactedprices for commercial /institutional pack-
ages. Commercial investors appear to be re-turning to more traditional timberland val-uation models, which serve to cap the upperprice limit for commercial timberland prop-erties. Reportedly, most of the establishedTIMOs have a sizable amount of capital toinvest. Thus, if reasonable demand continuesamong commercial buyers, and the supply ofavailable large timberland offerings continuesto remain low, the drastic price decline expe-rienced by small consumer tracts may besoftened for commercial investors.
“Prediction is Difficult—EspeciallyAbout the Future.”Neils Bohr, Danish physicist 1885-1962
The FutureLooking into the past and describing whathappened is easy. Predicting the future isnext to impossible. However, a few thingscan be said with reasonable certainty. Forestproducts consumption is not a fad. Forestproducts remain a fundamental buildingblock in our economy and will again resumeits rightful place in a growing economy. Firststability, then moderate growth will eventu-ally re-appear in the timberland market.Even so, a few conditions must exist for thisto happen.
First, a healthy respect for the free mar-ket economy must prevail. Businesses, notgovernments, grow and sustain an economy.Politically motivated, government-subsidizedgrowth is artificial, misleading, unsustain-able, and disruptive to the natural develop-ment of products, commerce, and services.Secondly, general economic conditions haveto improve nationally and globally before in-vestor confidence is restored.
An improved economic outlook mustbe present to re-stimulate residential marketsand the consumption of forest products.When these things occur, stumpage priceswill begin to return to a normal, healthy levelto encourage and sustain production fromour forests. Stability in timberland marketswill eventually improve after the supply ofstressed properties, particularly small con-sumer size tracts, is absorbed.
A number of economists believe that itmay well be after 2012 before conditionsbegin any notable improvement—and even
then, recovery will probably be slow. A pe-riod of at least five years will probably be re-quired before south-wide stumpage marketsbegin to see any meaningful price recovery.Thus, it is quite conceivable that timberlandvalues over the next ten years will remainbelow the peak level that developed duringthe last decade.
Admittedly, our analysis centers on localinfluences and is therefore inadequate in itsanalysis of the overall forest products market.The forest products market is affected by ahost of additional influences, including valueof the dollar, world demand for forest prod-ucts, as well as political influences in otherdeveloped and developing countries. Evenso, a few things have clearly changed in theSouth that suggest a return of more stableprices, although lower than experienced overthe past decade.
The exuberance that led to the southerntimberland market frenzy no longer exists.Tight credit markets and the depressed econ-omy have severely reduced consumer de-mand for land. Also, speculative trading nolonger influences the market and is unlikelyto return to its previous level in the foresee-able future. Irrational buying has been re-placed by more caution and prudence.
A generation has learned that the mar-ket can be brutal when deviating too far fromfundamentals. The next decade will likely seea return, especially by commercial timber-land buyers, to the fundamentals of analyz-ing properties based on timber productioneconomics, biological growth, sustainableland prices, and more stable financial returnsconsistent with our long history of southerntimberland. Mr. Twain was and still is right~ “They aren’t making any more land.” How-ever, its value still remains dependent onwhat it produces. It appears that the south-ern timberland market may be returning tothis fundamental, which was all but forgot-ten by many over the course of the lastdecade. v
Richard Humphries is Vice President and Sen-ior Appraiser of Forest Resource ConsultantsInc.(FRC) in Macon, Georgia. To contact him,phone (478) 745.4910 or [email protected]. This article wasoriginally published in Timber Mart-South,3rd Quarter, 2011.
22 March | April 2012
he pine forests of the Southare changing. And the lum-ber industry is taking steps toassure those dependent onone of Georgia’s most abun-
dant agricultural crops that their SouthernPine timber produces a strong, reliable con-struction material for decades to come.
Design values are assigned to six basicproperties of lumber. Architects, engineers,and other building professionals use designvalues to calculate the performance of astructural system. The lumber industry con-ducts ongoing testing and invests millions ofdollars to provide the most accurate and re-liable design values for structural lumber.Comprehensive lumber testing is conductedas new technology becomes available or aswarranted by changing resource data.
Design values have changed multipletimes over the years based on available testdata. The first significant lumber tests beganback in the 1920s, resulting in design valuesbased on the strength of small clear-woodspecimens. The last major change occurredin 1991.
Today, design values for structural lum-ber go through a rigorous approval process.As the rules-writing agency for SouthernPine lumber, the Southern Pine InspectionBureau (SPIB) is responsible for developingand publishing design values for SouthernPine. All testing and data analysis must becompleted in accordance with approvedstandards. Agencies responsible for othersoftwood lumber species—from timbergrown in other parts of the U.S. and Canada—are currently in different stages for evalu-ating their respective design values.
SPIB and Timber Products Inspectionselected full-size No.2 grade 2x4 samples fordestructive tests, breaking full-size lumberpieces to determine limits to bending, ten-sion, and stiffness properties. As of June 1,2012, new design values for visually gradedNo. 2 and lower grades of 2x4 Southern Pinelumber will become effective.
Now underway, the Southern Pine in-dustry is testing other grades and sizes ofSouthern Pine lumber. SPIB and TimberProducts are conducting destructive tests tocollect the latest data on the mechanical prop-erties of lumber from today’s forests. Testingis scheduled to be completed later this year,when the approval process can begin.
Southern Pine will continue to be mon-itored on an annual basis with destructive
tests. Resource sampling covers the full re-gion of Southern Pine’s vast growing region,a geographic belt extending from East Texasto Virginia. Test results assign values accord-ing to the lowest common denominatorfound in all samples collected.
Today’s timber and lumber characteris-tics reflect management choices made manyyears ago. Decades of improved SouthernPine silvicultural methods may be partiallyresponsible for the transition to new designvalues. However, even though we’ve learnedhow to grow sawtimber-sized trees in ashorter period of time, the sustainability andhealth of our forests improves. The industrycontinues to produce quality lumber from aresource which is abundant and available.
Southern Pine remains strong, reliableTimberland owners can rest assured: South-ern Pine lumber remains one of the best con-struction products on the market today. It isthe only lumber species that has been moni-tored annually since 1994, making it themost tested wood species in America.
Southern Pine’s strength remains com-parable to other softwood species used in res-idential and commercial construction. Thestrength and superior treatability of Southern
Coming Soon: New Design Values for Pine LumberShifts in the resource mix suggest changes are needed
By Eric Gee | Southern Forest Products Association
T
23Georgia Forestry Today
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Pine lumber against decay and termites con-tinues to provide a great value for manufac-turers, designers, builders, and consumers.The extensive testing protocols used assurethat everyone involved in the specification,sale, and use of Southern Pine lumber hasthe most current information about how itcan be used confidently and economically.
Truss manufacturers, treaters and de-sign-build professionals have many SouthernPine product options available to them.These customers can achieve the productperformance they need by identifying a par-ticular design value, choosing from a num-ber of visual grade selections or specifyingtheir choice of mechanically graded lumber.
For more information about new design val-ues for Southern Pine lumber, visitwww.southernpine.com.
This article was prepared by Eric Gee, directorof forest resources at the Southern Forest Prod-ucts Association. Eric is a Certified Foresterthrough the Society of American Foresters. v
24 March | April 2012
rivate timberland ownershipin the United States haschanged structure over thepast ten years. More than 40million acres of U.S. timber-
land have shifted ownership in approxi-mately 600 large transactions since 2000.The global timberland investment commu-nity gathered in March at Reynolds Planta-tion, Georgia, for the 2011 Warnell Centerfor Forest Business Timberland InvestmentConference to discuss the current timberlandinvestment climate and challenges ahead.
Jacek Siry, who is with the center, pre-sented “Private Forestland OwnershipChange in the U.S.” He summarized find-ings from his new book, US TimberlandMarkets: 2000 to 2010, which was jointlyauthored with Tom Harris and Sara Baldwinof Timber Mart-South. Siry included someof the following points:
In 2000, forest products companiesowned approximately 20 percent of privatelyowned US timberland, of which 36 millionacres were in the U.S. South. By the end of2010, much of these Southern U.S. timber-land holdings had changed hands, somemore than once, and most of the rest hadmoved to different ownership structures.
The top ten companies owned 38.7 mil-lion acres in 2000. Today, after a historic di-vestiture by nearly all of the large forestproducts companies, private corporate tim-berland ownership in the U.S. is more di-verse and less integrated. The top ten forestproducts company owners hold only 21.5million acres and four of the top five are RealEstate Investment Trusts (REITs), tax advan-taged entities with timberland/real estate astheir principal business.
Timberland Investment ManagementOrganizations (TIMOs) purchased many ofthe acres sold by the forest products compa-nies. Only one TIMO, Hancock Timber Re-sources Group, held more than three millionacres under management in 2000. In 2010,the three top TIMOs each held more thanthree million acres, and the top ten TIMOsheld more than 20 million acres.
In general, timberland appears to havebeen traded more frequently than in the past.Transition activity peaked mid-decade. Thetimberland acreage sold per year in largetransactions increased from about one mil-lion acres in 2000 to peak at about seven mil-lion acres in 2006. By 2010, sales had fallenback to 2000 levels.
Timberland prices also increased overthe period. Prices averaged around $800 peracre nation-wide from 2000 through 2004,peaked in 2007 at almost $1,800 per acre in
2007, and fell back by 2010. However, pricesonly returned to 2006 levels.
REITs and TIMOs are widely thoughtto manage their land held for timber produc-tion in a similar manner to industrial owners.However, portions of the land may be man-aged less intensively or set aside for environ-mental purposes. Sales of non-coretimberland and acquisitions that compli-ment holdings can be part of the businessmodel.
One implication of forest industry di-vestiture of timberland is that more wood isnow sold on the open market. This trend hasincreased the role of consulting foresters intimberland management. Further, there arenew market dynamics for both buyers andsellers. Supply chain instruments such assupply agreements and timber leases have be-come prominent parts of timberland trans-actions. Wood supply chain efficiency haschanged but how the new relationships affectwood flow and costs are still under scrutiny.
To learn more about the new book or toorder, please visit our Web site athttp://www.timbermart-south.com or contactSara Baldwin by phone at (706) 542-4760 orby e-mail at [email protected] . v
Changes in Timberland OwnershipBy Sara Baldwin | Editor | Timber Mart-South
P
Helping Grow Your Future
Todd Hipp (803) 924-0978 [email protected]
Eric Hipp (803) 924-4131 [email protected]
Chad Hipp (803) 924-5940 [email protected]
www.hippenterprises.com
n June of this year the soft-wood lumber industry votedin a USDA held referendumto approve the creation of acheck-off to fund a unified
softwood lumber promotion program This first-ever national forest industry
check-off takes advantage of a provision inthe 1996 Farm Bill that provides the oppor-tunity for a check-off program with cross-border equity with respect to financialcontributions, process, and governance.
Check-off programs have been used byagricultural commodities—beef, pork, egg,etc.—in the U.S. for 50+ years with strongrecords of perception-changing success.Check-off programs—which must be agreedto by a majority of industry—are governedby industry but enabled by government.Government involvement assures fundingstability over time, which has been a majorshortfall of past voluntary softwood market-ing programs.
The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB)was appointed by the Secretary of Agricul-ture in late October, 2011, and held its firstmeeting on November 29th in Chicago,Illinois, to launch the softwood lumbercheck-off.
“I am gratified and encouraged by thecommitment of this new board to the goal ofworking progressively together to build a bet-ter future for the industry,” said Jack Jordan,executive vice president of Jordan Lumber &Supply Inc., in North Carolina, who waselected to serve as the board’s first chairman.
Duncan Davies, president and CEO ofInterfor in Vancouver BC, elected First ViceChairman, added, “The Board is committedto funding projects that have strong potentialto grow markets and that will bring a signif-icant return on the investments made bycompanies contributing to the check-off.”
Other officers and executive committeemembers elected at the meeting includeMarc Brinkmeyer, Chairman of the IdahoForest Group, Idaho, Second Vice Chair;Steve Zika, CEO of Hampton Affiliates,Oregon, Secretary; Mike Case, CEO ofWestervelt, Alabama, Treasurer; and Hank
Scott CEO of Collum’s Lumber, South Car-olina, At-large. David Gray, CEO of Mill &Timber, British Columbia, was elected to fillthe role of Immediate Past Chair.
The board voted to create four standingcommittees: • Executive Committee will oversee day today operations of the check-off;
• Programs Committee, to be chaired byHank Scott, will oversee market research,research and promotion programs, andevaluations;
• Finance Committee, to be chaired byMike Case, will oversee financial affairs;
• Governance and Industry Relations Com-mittee, to be chaired by Steve Zika, willoversee annual nominations and industrycommunications.
The main portion of the meeting was de-voted to a discussion of program criteria andguidelines. The SLB’s direction to the Pro-grams Committee included advice to focusas much of the funds as possible on marketdevelopment initiatives. Clear metrics tomeasure and evaluate the direct impact ofthese initiatives will be a pre-requisite forfunding. Programs will need to demonstratea significant ROI (based on margin dollars)to the softwood lumber industry through ac-tivities that: • Increase demand, generate sales, or im-prove market conditions;
• Protect and maintain softwood lumbermarkets (such as code and standards work);
• Develop new uses and applications forsoftwood lumber.
“This is a historic and game-changing invest-ment in the future growth of softwood lum-ber markets,” said Marc Brinkmeyer,Chairman of the Idaho Forest Group. “Thischeck-off truly is a unified effort to signifi-cantly grow markets for softwood lumberand improve cross-border cooperation.”
Other matters addressed by the SLB:• In order to minimize administrative ex-penses, avoid permanent overhead costs,and comply with an eight percent ceiling
on administrative expenses, the boardvoted to outsource all staff and servicefunctions.
• Two executive positions were establishedand filled: Steve Lovett was appointedChief Executive Officer and Cees de Jageras Chief Marketing Officer.
• Service functions will be handled by an as-sociation management company whosescalable staff and services offer the most ef-ficient use of industry funds.
• The Executive Committee will review theoperational model in 12-18 months to en-sure it is consistent with the aims and ob-jectives of the organization.
• The board recommended to USDA thatthe board collect assessments on importsdirectly from importers of record, in lieuof having assessments collected at the bor-der by U.S. Customs and Border Protec-tion.
Shipments will be subject to assessment be-ginning January 1, 2012, but will not be in-voiced for payment until the end of the firstquarter 2012. In January 2012, the boardwill send detailed procedures to each soft-wood lumber manufacturer and importer ofrecord, and request documentation of multi-year shipment volumes. Companies that reg-ularly ship or import less than 15 millionboard feet annually will be issued a certificateof exemption, and will not be invoiced forassessments. Certificates of exemption mustbe renewed annually, and any amounts do-mestically shipped or imported in excess of15 million board feet in any calendar yearwill be subject to assessments.
The SLB will be providing regular up-dates on its efforts and programs. These up-dates will be communicated to the industrydirectly and available on the organization’sWeb site: www.softwoodlumberboard.org.The board is next scheduled to meet in Feb-ruary 2012.
For further information contact theSoftwood Lumber Board, 401 North Michi-gan Avenue, Suite 2200, Chicago, Illinois60611, telephone 1-(312) 321-5131. v
26 March | April 2012
Background Check: Sowood Lumber Check-offInformation provided by the Southern Forest Products Association
I
About the SLB:The Softwood Lumber Board has 19 direc-tors, all softwood lumber CEOs and indus-try leaders appointed by USDA SecretaryTom Vilsack in late October 2011 under theprovisions of the Commodity Promotion,
Research, and Information Act of 1996.Representation on the board is proportionalto regional production, and domestic man-ufacturers and importers of a variety of soft-
wood lumber products from a broad rangeof size and type of company are represented.A copy of the secretary’s appointments canbe found on the SLB’s Web site. v
27Georgia Forestry Today
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28 March | April 2012
The U.S. Forest Service announced todaya strategy, developed with input from theDepartment of the Interior, to replace thefleet of aging air tankers used to battlewildfires with a next generation of newer,faster, more cost-effective large airtankers.
“We need a core fleet of the next gen-eration large airtankers to supplement ourboots-on-the-ground firefighters for whatwe know will be longer and more severewildfire seasons in years to come,” said For-est Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “Not onlywill these newer, more effective airtankershelp us keep fires contained and communi-ties safe, they will also protect our brave menand women on the fireline.”
Although no large airtanker has been
built specifically for firefighting, several air-craft were designed to handle similarstresses. Recommendations for the nextgeneration of airtankers include:• Capabilities of carrying a minimum of1,800 gallons of mixed retardant withmore than 3,000 gallons preferred.
• A minimum cruise speed of 345 mph forquick fire response over long distance.
• Powering by turbine engines, which aremore reliable, more fuel efficient, and re-quire less maintenance than older air-craft piston engines.
• Capabilities of operating from most fed-
eral airtanker bases.
• Forest Service contract structural in-tegrity program requirements must bemet.
“The effectiveness of airtankers on a wild-fire is directly proportional to its speed andload capacity,” Tidwell said. “Large air-tankers can be effective in thick forestcanopies and areas of dense brush or tim-ber. A larger load capacity also allows largeairtankers to split their retardant loads tosupport different parts of a fire withoutdelay of returning to base.”
To learn more, visit www.fs.fed.us.v
US Forest Service Announces Strategy to Replace Large Airtankers for Wildfire Efforts
Persistent drought conditions in northGeorgia combined with debris from thetornadoes of last April have the GeorgiaForestry Commission and its partnerspreparing for another potentially severewildfire season. A team of fire preventionspecialists from the GFC, Florida ForestService, National Park Service, U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service, and local fire agencieswill soon deploy a team of fire preventionspecialists to help residents in Catoosa,Dade, and Walker counties prepare theirproperties for potential wildfires.
“The wildfires of 2011 went down inthe record books as one of the worst in ourstate’s history,” said Frank Sorrells, Chief of
Forest Protection for the Georgia ForestryCommission. “Unfortunately, wildfire con-ditions have not improved in north Geor-gia, and analysts expect another active fireseason this year. Our goal is to empowerindividuals in these counties with theknowledge they need to take proactive ac-tions now to help protect themselves andtheir communities this wildfire season.”
The multi-agency fire preventionteam will work with homeowner associa-tions, city and county officials, and localfire departments to educate individuals inthe affected counties about the elevatedrisk of wildfires this spring. The team willalso give advice for protecting lives and
properties in the event of a wildfirethrough the National Fire Protection Asso-ciation’s Firewise program.
"The Firewise program teaches peoplehow to adapt to living with wildfire andencourages neighbors to work together andtake action now to prevent losses,” saidSorrells. “Helping people learn to take ap-propriate actions before a wildfire will go along way in protecting lives and propertiesif or when a wildfire happens.”
The Georgia Forestry Commissionprovides detailed information about wild-fires, fire risk conditions, Firewise, andGeorgia’s forest resource at GaTrees.org. v
Local Communities Preparing for Wildfire Season
On January 24, representatives from theGeorgia Forestry Association addressed ameeting of the Georgia Sheriffs Association(GSA) seeking better outcomes whenworking timber theft cases in Georgia.
“We’re here to start a conversation,”said GFA president Steve McWilliams.“Without the cooperation of local sheriffs’offices we will not be able to improve onour ability to help landowners who are vic-tims of timber theft, so today we are askingyou to partner with us.”
GFA Board member Bill Guthriefrom Weyerhaeuser in Savannah spoke ofthe plight of timberland owners who sufferlosses when their timber is stolen.
“Often a landowner will harvest histimber once or twice in a lifetime,” notedGuthrie. “A stolen tract of timber can’t bereplaced like a row crop—once it’s gone,it’s gone.”
Guthrie said that landowners need aclear and reliable path toward resolution oftimber theft cases.
Following the presentation, GSA pres-ident Scott Berry, Sheriff of OconeeCounty, appointed a five-person workinggroup to participate in discussions with theforestry community to develop a better un-derstanding of timber theft and to developrecommendations for improving the inves-tigation of timber theft cases and the ap-prehension of the criminals. A joint taskforce from GSA and GFA is expected tomeet in the next several weeks. v
29Georgia Forestry Today
MArCH 29Longleaf Classic 2012Hawkinsville, GeorgiaSouthern Hill Golf ClubContact: Carla Rapp, Director of ForestryEducation, GFA(478) 992-8110 or [email protected]
MAY 08Prescribed Fire CertificationColumbus, GeorgiaColumbus State UniversityContact: Susan Smith, (706) 507-8329
MAY 30 – JUNE 12012 National Conference of Private For-est LandownersPonte Vedra Beach, FloridaSawgrass Marriott Ponte Vedra Beach Resort & SpaHotel Registration Deadline: April 30Registration: www.forestlandowners.com
JUNE 18-22Georgia Teacher Conservation WorkshopCharlie Elliott Wildlife CenterRegistration Deadline: April 30Contact: Carla Rapp, Director of ForestryEducation, GFA(478) 992-8110 or [email protected]
JULY 7-9Georgia Forestry Association Annual ConferenceSavannah, GeorgiaThe Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and SpaRegistration Deadline: June 6Contact: Judy Couch, Director of Events,GFA
If you have a forestry event you’d liketo see on our calendar, please contactAlva Hopkins at [email protected] the subject line ‘Calendar Event.’
Sheriffs to Work with GFA on Timber Theft
forestry Calendar
The Forest Service recently released the2011 edition of Federal Income Tax onTimber: A Key to Your Most FrequentlyAsked Questions, a quick-reference guideto timber tax laws impacting woodlandowners.
Since the first income tax Form 1040appeared in 1913, many timber tax provi-sions have been added to encourage man-agement and stewardship of privatewoodland. More recently, sweeping tax lawchanges have included major provision im-portant to woodland owners. These in-clude the temporary extension of thefavorable tax rate applicable to timber, gen-
erous depreciation deduction, as well as thebrand new tax form required by the IRS af-fecting timber sale reporting.
For more than 20 years the NationalWoodland Owner Survey has indicatedthat taxes are a top concern for privatewoodland owners and are major costs, yetmany tax professionals do not specializein timber tax. Federal Income Tax onTimber, complete with a current updateof the new tax law changes, providestimely tax reporting information forwoodland owners and their advisors. It’swritten in plain easy-to-understand lan-guage and includes examples.
Some of the questions that are an-swered in the 2011 edition of Federal In-come Tax on Timber are:• Does my timber sale qualify for the fa-vorable capital gain rate?
• How do I claim a loss on my return fortimber damaged by fire or storms?
• How do I qualify for capital gains for thecutting of standing timber?
Visit the US Forest Service at usda.govfor a free PDF of the 2011 Guide. v
US Forest Service Releases 2011 Tax Guide for Forest Landowners
30 March | April 2012
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY DIRECTORY OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES
BOBBY D. BROWNRegistered Forester GA Number: 2164Licensed Realtor GA Number: 165520
20364 GA Hwy #3 Thomasville, GA 31792(229) 227-1919 [email protected]
FOREST RESOURCESERVICES INC.Specializing in Land and Timber Management & SalesBuyers of Land and Timber
in Georgia and the South
Canal Wood LLC
601 North Belair Square, Suite 21
Evans, Georgia 30809
Phone: (800) 833-8178
E-mail: [email protected]
BEACH TIMBER COMPANY INC.128 Beach Timber Road
Alma, Ga 31510Office: (912) 632-2800
Gary Strickland Foresters Owner Available
We Buy [email protected]
