The New York Forest Owner - Volume 35 Number 5

The New York

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

September/October 1997

THINNING FOREST STANDS

THE PROBLEM WITH PROPERTY TAXES

YOUR FOREST MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES

Volume 35 Number 5

THE NEW YORKFOREST OWNERSASSOCIATION

VOL. 35, NO.5

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Jill Cornell, President703 Johnsonville Rd.Johnsonville. NY 12094; 518/ 753-4336

Robert M. Sand, Recording Secretary300 Church StreetOdessa, NY 14869-9703; 607/594-2130

Don Wagner, Treasurer5330 Graham Road,Utica, NY 13502; 315n33-7391

Deborah Gill, Administrative SecretaryP.O. Box 180Fairport, NY 14450; 716/ 377-6060

1998Jill Cornell, Johnsonville; 518/753-4336Elizabeth Densmore, Machias: 716/ 942-6600Robert Sand, Odessa: 607/594-2130Bob Sykes, Elbridge; 315/673-3691

1999Harry Dieter, Honeoye Falls, 716/533-2085Thomas Ellison, Manlius, 315/682-9376Richard Fox, Moravia; 315/497-1078David Swanson, Mount Morris. 716/65S-4601

2000Hugh Canham, N. Syracuse; 315/457-4972John Hastings, Queensbury; 5ISn98-0248Ronald Petersen; Latham; 518n85-6061Betty Wagner; Utica; 315n33-7391

CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVESDon Huber, Allegheny Foothills; 716/549-5025Stephen Davison, Cayuga; 315/496-2392Joan & Hans Kappel, Capital District; 518/861-8753Tom Graber, Central New York; 315/255-3662Jeff Wiegert, Lower Hudson; 914/ 831-3109Don O'Shea, Northern Adirondack, 315/393-5137Rita Hammond, Niagara Frontier; 716/ 652-2857James Durller, SE Adirondack; 5181747-5958Larry Lepak, Southern Tier; 607/656-8504Don Schaufler, Tioga, 607/589-6095Eileen VanWie, Western Finger Lakes; 716/ 367-2849

All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced with-out prior written permission from the publisher. NYFOAdoes not necessarily support or approve procedures, prod-ucts, or opinions presented by authors or advertisers.

COVER PHOTO:Skidding beech logs in a woodlot nearCamillus-October 1922. Courtesy ofNorman Richards and the Moon MemorialLibrary Archives at SUNY-ESF

2 • NY FOREST OWNER Vol. 35 No.5

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

Editorial Committee: Betty Densmore, Chair, Alan Knight, Mary McCarty, Jim Minor,Bob Sand, and Eileen VanWie.

Materials submitted for publication should be addressed to: R.J. Fox, Editor, R.D. 3, Box88, Moravia, New York 13118. Articles, artwork and photos are invited and are normallyreturned after use. The deadline for submission for NovlDec is October 1.Please address all membership fees and change of address requests to P.O. Box180, Fairport, N.Y. 14450. Cost of individual membership/subscription is $20.

NYFOA'S 1997 FAMILY FOREST FAIR

John Peters, US Forest Service (left); Mary Binder, Publicity Chair; Jill Cornell, FairCommittee Chair. Photo by Patricia Kay (See page 13, for more pictures.)

Table of ContentsPresident's Message, Jill Cornell 3Thinning Forest Stands, Norman Richards 4Thinking Through Your Forest Management Objectives, Peter Smallidge 8NYFOA's FALL MEETING 9The Problem With Property Taxes, Hugh Canham 10NYFOA's 1997 Family Forest Fair, Mike Greason & Patricia Kay 12The Tulip Tree, John Sellick....................................................................................... 14Sharing, Henry Kernan 15Money Is Available For Land Management Projects, Mary Binder 16The Woodlot, Jennifer Sullivan-Smith 17The Twolined Chestnut Borer, Douglas C. AlIen 20The Winning Ways Of Wildlife, Jane Sorensen Lord 22

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO SEP/OCT 1997

President'sMessageBy Jill Cornell

This summer I accidentally discovereda new landowner forestry tool.

One evening at dusk I set out for thewoods with my camera and tripod in hopesof experimenting and learning how to geta good photograph of the woods just as thatrosy glow of sunset falls through the trees.That brief period of light is so lovely and Iwanted to try and capture it on film. I knewthat my 200 ASA film would need a slowshutter speed, hence the tripod.

It has always puzzled me how to get thefocus correct both relatively close and at amedium distance. I fussed with the zoomand was very careful to pay attention tothe composition of the different shots.

In no time I had used up the 18 expo-sures left on my film, and sent it off toMystic Color Lab.While 1 waited for the photos to return,

I received a letter from a NYFOA memberout in the western part of the state. It hadcopies of photos of what they considered a"mess after a timber harvest". I could,readily identify the mess of deep ruts, but Iwas unsure exactly what else the other pho-tos were meant to convey.The next day I saw a forester friend, and

asked him to look at their photos to helpme decide what to say in response to theletter. He sawall kinds of "good" man-agement results: wildlife habitat in theslash, and crop trees saved by the sacrificeof poor quality trees. He also reminded methat I needed to know what the goals andobjectives of the NYFOAn's harvest hadbeen.When my photos carne back, I found a

few that I liked "aesthetically"; the light andcomposition were fine. I looked at themagain, this time from a different perspec-tive. That's when I noticed that there defi-nitely needed to be some management workin that area of the woods.

So, what is the new tool?A new perspective.

NY FOREST OWNER Vol. 35 No.5

President Jill Cornell

ChildhoodBy Dorothy S. Darling

I would like to go back:

There were vital veins of waterRunning, halting, curving

Across the vibrant body of earth,Settling with grace in bright pools,

Alight with the glow of sun thatWove its path of brilliance

Across, above, and aroundThe grassy lanes and infant trees,

Finally to be shuttered,Voided by elders' rampant growing.

The day was a passage divorced from timeInto contests of sun and rain

And the whisperings of growing things;Nights were but fleeting shadows,

Whims quickly dreamed away,Wrapping the forest, the sleeping waters

And all the rocky, climbing hillsInto a blanket endless and dark,

An interlude quick as a thought,Flung aside at break of day.

But the being I was is goneLike a speck in the whirlwind

Of relentless, unforgiving time;The walls of years cannot be climbed.

I can never go back.

NYFOA· 1·800·836-3566 - INFO

AssociationActivities

By Jill Cornell

NYFOA'S Board of Directors voted tocontribute $250 to support the new

Cooperative Extension Program: NY 4-HForestry andWildlife. Clubs will be formedon the county level to introduce youths tothe principles and practices of natural re-source management including silviculture,harvesting and wildlife habitat manage-ment. An annual invitational workshop willgive selected members the chance to meetand interact with others from across thestate. One team will be chosen to repre-sent NY at the national invitational.The process has been started to gain tax

exempt status by creating a foundationwhich will support NYFOA educationaland charitable programs.A Legislative Committee, chaired by

Hugh Canham, will summarize pendingand proposed legislative bills in Albany andWashington which relate to forest land-owner issues.Next Board of Directors Meeting: Sat-

urday, October 25, 1997, 9:30 AM atMarshall Hall, SUNY ESF, Syracuse.Members are welcome to attend.

Forest Art Contest!!!NYFOA is going to print (color preferred)an 8 notepaper series, and we want it to bemade up of member's artwork. Any colorphoto from 35mm print film or slide film,any painting in water color, acrylic or oil,and any pen and ink drawing is elidgible.(If a painting is too big to mail, please get agood photo of it to submit.) Eight pieceswill be selected by an Art Review Com-mittee chaired by Rita Hammond.Mail to: Rita Hammond (716 652 2857)795 Olean Road East Aurora, NY 14052Prizes: Having your art work published,and sent all over the world, plus 2 com-plete series free, and 8 note cards with yourartwork.Rules:1. Any number of works may be submit-ted.2. Artists name and address must be on theback of all entries.3. All entries will become property of NY-FOA for publication.4. Applicants who wish their artwork re-turned must enclose a stamped, self ad-dressed envelope.5. Deadline: October 1, 1997. We hope tohave them available for Christmas presents.6. Winners will be announced in the Nov/Dee Forest Owner. .•.

SEP/OCT 1997 3

THINNING FOREST STANDS:Not.Essential, But May Be Useful

By Norman Richards

NewYork's forests have regrown invarious dimensions over the lastseveral decades. Increase in for-

est area was rapid from the 1930sthrough the '60s; more recently it hasslowed as acreage gains and losses ap-proach a balance; and forest area maywell decline a little in the future fromcompetition of other land uses. A sec-ond dimension is the change in ~structure as former farmland that re-forested, mostly from natural seedingbut some from planting, grows fromsapling tree stands to pole-sized andon to timber-sized stands. Of the 14.4million acres of "commercial" timber-lands in New York in 1968,43% wereyoung sapling and seedling areas;18% were "poletimber" acres, aver-aging 5 to 9 or 11 inches diameter,and 30% sawtimber size. Of the 15.4million acres of timberland in 1993,sapling-seedling area had dropped to16%, poletimber acres had grown to30%, and sawtimber area increased to53%.This changing age structure sug-

gests the logic of current concernslargely with sawtirnber harvest as acritical activity affecting future val-ues of our forests, including chang-ing stand timber quality as a third,more equivocal, growth dimension.But, the increasing acreage ofpoletimber stands would suggest thatstand thinning also should get moreattention. Thinning activity gets lessemphasis now than a few decades ago,perhaps because it is a relatively optionalactivity for future stand development.While foresters often may comment that apoletimber stand "needs thinning", this isnot a biologic need but rather relates toimproving particular stand values.However, natural thinning is an essential

biologic process as tree communities de-velop from many small trees to fewer largerones. So, like pruning discussed in the NYForest Owner last September, our manage-ment decisions on thinning can considerthree alternatives: let nature take its course;accelerate and guide the natural processmore to our liking; or counter the naturalprocess to change elements we don't like.


Again, all three alternatives must start withsome understanding of the natural pro-cesses.

Author considering a third thinning of potential timbercrop-trees in an old-field sugar maple stand about 75years old on his tree farm in the Catskills.

'The "pole" stage of a stand developswhen trees in their most rapid period of

height growth form a' closed canopy thatshades out lower branches and slows diam-eter growth of the lower stem, resulting in

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

a relatively uniform wood-pole appearancewith little sight of leaves at eye-level. Thisstage has sometimes been called a" biotic

desert" by people concerned withanimal species requiring live leaf andbranch mass near the ground. Butmore accurately, a stand at this stagehas developed three rather distinctvertical levels of biotic habitat. Whilethe leafless stem mass from groundpast eye level usually supports feworganisms other than feeders on thebark of the expanding stems, the pri-mary production of the leaf masszone over our heads typically sup-ports a wide diversity of consumers-tree mammals and birds, insects andsmaller organisms. And under ourfeet, litter from the tree tops and thegrowing root mass are fostering for-est soil conditions in which diverseconsumer organisms are important inrecycling nutrients back through thetree-based ecosystem.From the pole-stage on, forest

variation must be considered at ver-tical scales of biotic layers withinstands as well as horizontal scales ofdifferences among forest patches andstands. Later, in the sawtimber stageof an even-aged stand, natural distur-bances or planned tree removals openup the stand canopy enough to en-courage growth of a layer of tree re-generation. After repeated natural orplanned tree removals an uneven-aged stand develops.Looking at· developing forest

stands more closely, when young saplingsgrow to form a closed canopy, intense in-teraction among trees becomes a control-ling factor in stand development. Whilecommonly called "competition", this is dif-ferent from deliberate competition in hu-man terms. "Interference" of trees witheach other's development more accuratelydescribes the unplanned negative interac-tions among trees in a stand. These inter-actions generally are unequal, so trees ini-tially advantaged by their genetics or mi-croenvironment gain at the expense of lessfortunate neighbors. The height growth ofadvantaged, upper-canopy trees is little af-fected by crowding of neighbors, but their

SEP/OCT 1997

diameter growth is reduced. Both diam-eter and height growth of disadvantagedtrees are reduced, so they become over-topped and eventually die. The stand's fu-ture is with the winners, and the meek can-not inherit the stand unless the advantagedtrees lose their position due to individualcatastrophes such as top-breakage or dis-ease.

How this natural thinning pro-cess plays out in a stand de-pends on tree variation, spac-

ing and growth-rate. Closely spaced,fast-growing but variable trees differ-entiate into winners and losers early,so natural thinning proceeds fairlyquickly. Conversely, planted tree seed-lings at a typical 6 to 10 foot spacingusually develop to a fairly uniformclosed canopy in which the naturalthinning process takes several years todevelop. Diameter growth of theadvantaged trees slows early underclose spacing, but then tends to con-tinue at a fairly uniform rate as disad-vantaged neighbors thin out. Widelyspaced trees grow more rapidly in di-ameter at first until the stand closesdensely, and then diameter growth de-clines sharply during the slow processof differentiating winners and losers.

Leaving thinning to natureAs the natural thinning process takes

care of the biological need for treenumbers to be reduced from manysmall trees to fewer larger ones in thecourse of tree growth, we can leavethinning to nature if this fits our val-ues expected from a forest stand. Es-pecially, natural thinning is satisfactoryif a landowner is satisfied with the naturalselection of favored trees and can acceptthe natural rate of diameter growth of thesetrees slowly gaining over disadvantagedneighbors. Some potential advantages ofleaving thinning to nature are that slowergrowing wood, especially of conifers, maybe stronger and more stable than wide-ringed wood, and possible damage to de-sirable trees during thinning activity isavoided. Also, unthinned stands arc likelyto produce greater height of branch-freestems and greater biomass or cubic-footvolume of wood per acre than stands wehave thinned. Some insect or disease haz-ards may be increased by leaving stands tothe slow natural thinning process whilesome other insect or disease problems maybe increased by thinning activity, so one can


argue either way in this respect.Overall, as I suggested in a previous ar-

ticle, whether forest owners choose to leavestand thinning to nature or intervene in theprocess does not appear to be a critical is-sue of "public interests" in forest resources,and therefore public subsidies for privatewoodland thinning arc debatable. If trees

Row thinning of a white pine plantation in WarrenCounty.

removed in thinning activities do not havea use or value that compensates for thin-ning, then the owner's personal values de-termine whether the effort is worthwhile.For many forest owners, a major value of

thinning activity is low cost creation andmaintenance of wood's trails for recre-ational use and emergency access. Con-versely, naturally thinned stands maintain

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

a more "wild" character that some may pre-fer on at least parts of their landscape.

Our broadening ecological viewpointsmay now accept that natural thinning oftrees is not "a waste" as the recycling dead-wood is a significant part offorest ecosys-tems, and on the other hand, removingthinned tree stems for use otherwise does

not significantly deprive the forest ifthe tops and roots are left to recycle.And traditional "husbandry" values ofshowing that we care about land by in-tensively taking care of it are some-what balanced by increasing values ofsensitivity in letting natural processesproceed unfettered wherever feasible.So the "thinning issue" for landown-ers is what options and their conse-quences to consider, if and when onedecides to intervene in the natural thin-ning process.

Some thinning principlesIf one chooses either to push con-

servatively the natural thinning processor more boldly to change it, the basicobjective of thinning activity is to di-rect a growing stand's development tobetter favor the values we seek fromthat stand. Thinning differs in conceptfrom harvest cuts in being an interme-diate treatment focused on develop-ment of the present stand rather thanstand harvest and regeneration. Thin-ning concepts rest on a general obser-vation that in an actively growingclosed stand with intense tree interac-tions, one can remove up to about 40%of the tree biomass without greatly re-ducing annual growth per acre of thestand. Within this range, increased di-

ameter growth of fewer trees largely com-pensates for slower growth of more trees.If much more than 40% is removed, theremaining trees cannot use all the space andgrowth resources opened up, so stand pro-duction is reduced proportionally and awave of new tree regeneration is favored.

Several considerations come into howmuch and what trees to remove in thinningactivities. If one is satisfied with the spe-cies and form of most of the advantagedtrees destined to be winners anyway, onemight choose to simply accelerate the natu-ral thinning process by removing someneighboring disadvantaged trees in a con-servative thinning. Removing only smallertrees before they die anyway --called a lowthinning-has little impact on stand devel-opment, however. We can gain more ben-

SEP/OCT 1997 5

efit from our efforts by "crown thinnings"that free favored trees from more directlyinterfering neighbors.

The usual range of thinnings is between about 20 and 35% of standbiomass or cubic foot volume.

Lighter thinnings tend to have too little ef-fect to be worthwhile; heavier thinnings in-crease the risk of wind damage after thin-ning, which may open a stand more thanplanned. Light thinnings repeated fairly fre-quently-lO year or shorter intervals-maintain tighter control over tree de-velopment, and may be best for thin-ning young trees where cut trees arenot removed. However, where cut treesare removed for use, heavier thinningsrepeated less often may result in lessfelling and skidding damage to treesbeing favored by the thinning. As dam-age to desired trees can defeat the pur-pose of thinnings to increase timbervalue, it is wise to take steps to avoidthis. These include avoiding springthinning when bark damage occurseasiest, and laying out skid rails awayfrom desired trees and near "bumpertrees" that are removed last in the thin-ning operation.If we are not satisfied with many of

the advantaged trees destined to benatural winners, then a bolder thinningapproach is warranted. Two situationson my Catskill tree farm are commonexamples. Natural reforestation of oldpastures often was uneven, so theadvantaged trees that got started firsttend to be coarse-branched or multiple-stemmed while trees with better tim-ber potential are among those thatfilled in later. Similarly, planted ornatural white pine pole stands thatwere weevil-damaged when youngertypically have badly deformed dominanttrees and some better formed trees in dis-advantaged positions. In both cases, a fairlyearly and bold "high thinning" is requiredif the better stems are to be released beforethey become real losers. Thinning may bea waste of time in these situations if de-layed until there is little worth releasing-in which case, Peter Levatich's article on"Starting Over" (NYFO May/June 1997)offers useful advice.

On the other hand, where there is no needto rescue desired trees from stronger butpoorer dominants, thinnings made too earlymay reduce potential stem quality of fa-vored trees. In dense naturally seededstands, it is useful to let considerable natu-

6 • ;-"1' FOREST OWNER Vol. 35 No.5

ral thinning reduce stem numbers beforeinterceding in the process. In more uniformplanted stands, such as of spruce or red pine,it may be useful to leave a stand crowdedlong enough to kill off lower branches butnot wait for significant natural thinning tobegin. It is often practical to delay planta-tion thinning until a salable product suchas pulp can be removed, and then thin byrows for easier tree removal with less dam-age to remaining trees. There used to be

Is there enough crown space for the growth desired onthis sugar maple crop-tree?

quite liberal public subsidies for "pre-com-mercial" thinnings in young trees too smallto provide a merchantable product fromtrees removed. While such thinnings lookedlike a positive activity, it was my observa-tion that-especially when applied to densenatural sapling or pole stands-such earlythinnings often either wasted effort thatnatural thinning would have accomplishedor produced branchier tree stems than ifthinnings were delayed. Also, "cherni-thin-ning" with herbicides was widely pro-moted, and I have used this myself to savelabor costs of tree cutting. However, ac-ceptable herbicides are now much moreexpensive because of required testing andregulatory costs. So I prefer to confine her-

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

bicide thinning to removal of larger treeswith low salvage value when I think the costand the hazard of physical damage fromcutting them exceeds the uncertain hazardsof herbicide use.

Crop tree thinningThinning efforts should alwaysfocus on

improving desired trees rather than simplyremoving poor trees. For forest owners whowant to make thinnings to improve growth

of good sawtimber trees in even-agedstands, the most effective and satisfy-ing method is likely to be "crop treethinning". This method is applied in apole-stand old enough to clearly iden-tify trees with good potential for qual-ity sawtimber-straight, smooth,unforked and relatively branch-freelower stems and healthy enough leafycrowns to appear capable of respond-ing well to thinning. If 80 to 100 goodpotential crop trees per acre can beidentified, this is about all the trees thatcan grow well to at least 16 inch aver-age diameter for quality timber. Thisis an average spacing of about 20 to23 feet between potential crop trees,as evenly spaced as stand conditionspermit. However, in poorer qualitystands, I think crop tree thinning maystill be worthwhile if at least 40 goodpotential crop trees per acre can beidentified-averaging 33 foot spacing.

Itis helpful to permanently markthe potential crop trees, such aswith white paint, both to clearly

identify them during thinning and toobserve their development afterwards.Thinning is focused on what will mosthelp the development of each crop tree,such as removing the most interferingneighbor or two or three lesser neigh-

bors. One usually should not remove allthe non-crop trees because this would likelyopen the stand too much for a thinning.Rather, the remaining trees are used as"pawns" to maintain other desired standconditions. For example, one might wantto remove many of them to favor woodysprouting for winter deer browse, or leavethem to restrain woody sprouting and fa-vor spring flowers, other wood's herbs andeye-level visibility through the stand. Croptree thinning ideally takes a lot of skill orgood-guessing compared to more mecha-nistic approaches, and I have made manymis-judgments in such thinnings as viewedfrom "scholar hindsight". Observing theresponses of marked potential crop-trees

SEP/OCT 1997

after thinning is a good way for an activelandowner to learn much about the growthof their trees and woodlands.

From thinning to harvest andregenerationAs noted earlier, after repeated thinnings

along with natural tree losses, even-agedstands eventually develop a second age-class in tree regeneration that-once past thedeer-is likely to be mostly shade-tolerantspecies of poor-formed, slow-growing sap-lings under the modest stand openings ofthinnings. At this point, for forest ownersinterested in sustaining good sawtimberproduction among their multiple forest val-ues, it may be time to shift thoughts fromthinning to options for harvest and regen-eration of a stand. The various choices andmethods for harvest and regeneration arereceiving considerable academic attentionin light of our increasing sawtimber-sizeforest volume and acreage in New York.These include single-tree selection-essen-tially continued but heavier thinnings-andgroup selection or patch cutting to developmulti-aged stands, and shelterwood orclearcuts to repeat even-aged stands.

In the last NY Forest Owner, CarlWiedemann gave a figure from forest in-ventory data that the percentage of NewYork's hardwood sawtimber-sized treesclassified as Grade I has dropped from 15%to 11% between 1970 and 1993, as evidencethat timber quality on private forest land isdeclining. This is a deceptive statistic be-cause both the acreage and numbers of saw-timber-sized trees-over 11 inches diameterfor hardwoods-has increased substantiallyin this period, and much of the new in-growth is still below the 16 inches diam-eter that defines Grade I hardwood trees.So it is questionable whether long-run tim-ber quality really is significantly decliningin New York in spite of "less-than-ideal"timber management practiced on much ofour commercial forest land. But for forestowners who want to contribute actively toaccelerating quality timber production inthe future, appropriate thinning activity canbe a personally satisfying way of express-ing this. Or alternatively, it may be equallyhonorable "forest stewardship" to simplyhold young forest stands against the pres-sures for parcelization and let natural thin-ning processes develop quality timber moreslowly. ..•.Norman Richards is Professor in Forestryat SUNY College of Environmental Scienceand Forestry.


THE FOREST

BEHIND THE TREESRegulators, Terminators, and

Resource Recovery Agents

A correspondence course offered by SUNY College ofEnuiroinmecntal Science and Forestry's Office of

Continuing Education

Paul D. ManionProfessor of Environmental and Forest Biology

This three-credit course is designed for those interested in (be biologicaland non-biological [orccs manipulating and shaping trees into forests.

Individuals interested in [orest patholo%J'; major diseases offoreJf; shade,and ornamentaltrees: deterioration ofj(Jrestpl'oductJ~' and the biotic

and abiotic foctors tha: l'egulate, terminate, and recover resourcesfromtheforeJt behind the trees wilLfind ibis upper-division course of benefit.

The course toil! serve the needs and interests a/private, non-industrialforest landowners; tooodlot managers; suburban residents; and thepublic with an interest in forest stcu/ardship, and management:

Although there are no specific prerequisites for this course, it will behelpful i/y()U can ident~fj aJew of tile trees in your area. Required

rt!,uling lmdfieldtuork an! ptlrt of the course requirements. This course isequiualent to EFB 340: Forest and Shade Tree Pathology offered on

the SUNY-ESF campus.

Pot" course details please contact Dr. Pau! Manionvoice: (315) 470-6783; e-mnil: [email protected]

For course 1'Cgistration please contact ESF Coruinuing Educationvoice: (315) 470-68Yl; fax: (315) 470-6890;

e-mail: [email protected]

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO SEP/OCT 1997 • 7

mailto:[email protected]


Thinking Through Your Forest Management ObjectivesBy Peter J. Smallidge

The pivotal and perhaps most impor-tant step in deliberate forest man-agement, as with other decision

making processes, is to state clearly andexplicitly your objectives. The range of ser-vices available to help you list your forestmanagement objectives illustrates the greatvalue placed on this step. Clearly stated ob-jectives provide direction, simplify the de-cision making process, and provide a stan-dard to gauge success. Your managementobjectives reflect what you value about yourforests. These are your tangible and intan-gible personal values and the values pro-vided to your community as a result of yourmanagement activities. Thus, the secret tosuccessful forest management is to haveexplicit and realistic objectives, and whatis involved and what assistance is availableto help.

The first step in making your forest man-agement objectives is thinking about yourforest: why you own your forest, what youlike about your forest, and how you wantyour forest to look in 5, 10, 20, or moreyears. Many people own forests becausethey inherited them, purchased them as aplace of sanctuary, or purchased them forinvestment purposes. This is a start for yourobjectives as it explains perhaps a sentimen-tal value, the value of retreat or seclusion,the value of an investment, or most likelysome combination of the three. You maylike to visit the part of your forest whereyou had a pleasant experience, a scenicoverlook, the spot where you can alwaysflush a grouse or run a rabbit, or the standof red oak or sugar maple that will some-day help support you in retirement.

Finally, the vision of your future forestis probably closely aligned with what youlike about your forest. For example, keep-ing the memorable spot unchanged, readyaccess to grouse cover, or an increase inthe sawtimber value of your oak or maplestand. Again, your values help define yourforest management objectives. Thesethoughts and visions are the basis of yourforest management objectives because theyprovide the direction and the standards forsuccessful management.

The next step is to ensure your objec-tives are mutually compatible and realisticfor your forest. This is where some peoplestart to have trouble, but there are severalfree sources of assistance available.MASTER FOREST OWNERS


One source is a group of people, forestlandowners like you, but trained as volun-teers and forest ambassadors by CornellCooperative Extension as Master ForestOwners. MFOs are not foresters, they areforest landowners trained as volunteers.They can help you think through your for-est management objectives, and can pointyou in the correct direction for self-help orprofessional services. Typically, MFOs willschedule with you a half-day visit to yourforest, listen to your forest managementvalues, and help you think about your for-est management options. Your MFO cansuggest Cornell Cooperative Extensionpublications available to address some ofyour specific needs. Contact your county'sCooperative Extension office for useful for-est management publications or for thename and phone number of your localMFO.

An organization that many MFOs andother forest landowners belong to is theNew York Forest Owners Association (NY-FOA). NYFOA is an active, landownerbased organization full of good informa-tion and good people.

Forest landowners who are members ofNYFOA often lead woods walks or maybe available to discuss forestry with you.For more information call NYFOA at (800)836-3566.DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMEN-TAL CONSERVATION

A second option for assistance in stat-ing your forest management objectives isthe NYS Department of EnvironmentalConservation public service foresters. TheDEC public service foresters are trainedprofessionals, and will visit with you freeof charge to discuss your forest manage-ment objectives. Like MFOs, the publicservice forester is a good listener and willhelp you think through your objectives. Thedifferences between MFOs and DEC for-esters are complementary. An MFO cannot make forest management prescriptions,but probably can visit with you sooner thana DEC forester and can relate to you as aforest landowner.

Although the MFO will likely recom-mend you contact a DEC forester, the MFOwill help prepare you to optimally utilizeyour time with a DEC forester.

Depending on your interests and needs,the MFO or DEC service forester may sug-gest you engage a professional private con-sulting forester. Because private consulting

NYFOA . 1·800·836·3566 . INFO

foresters provide fee-based services, landowners are best positioned if they have theirobjectives well defined. You can call theDEC in Albany (518-457-7370) for thephone number of the closest DEC foresteror for a list of consulting foresters.NORTHEAST DECISION MODEL(NED)

A third source of assistance to help withyour forest management objectives is a USForest Service software package called theForest Stewardship Planning Guide mod-ule of NED (ver. 1.1). NED is a cluster ofcomputer modules from the Northeast De-cision (NED) model for forest managementthat runs well on most computers that willrun Microsoft Windows. You can downloada free copy of the Forest Stewardship Plan-ning Guide from the world wide web (http://www.fsl.uvm.edu/) or call 802-951-6774to receive a copy by mail. The Forest Stew-ardship Planning Guide will help you thinkabout your management objectives, per-haps show you some options you hadn'tthought of, and help you select mutuallycompatible objectives. Other NED mod-ules focus on forest growth simulation,wildlife habitat suitability, and foresthealth.SUMMARY

To bring this to closure, let's specify arealistic set of forest management objec-tives. From the examples here, blended toillustrate management with multiple objec-tives, you may desire to (1) keep the bigtrees where you saw your first pileatedwoodpecker; (2) maintain at least 10 acresas suitable cover for grouse and rabbits, and(3) produce high quality red oak sawtim-ber. Your objectives may not all be accom-plished from the same acre, but it's verylikely they are all possible from your for-est.

These then are the basics and the sup-port sources to help you state your objec-tives and start the management of your for-est. Remember, knowing your forest man-agement objectives is an important part ofdeliberate forest management planning thatwill help you get the most from your for-ested land. .&.Peter 1. Smallidge is the State ExtensionForester for the Department of Natural Re-sources, College of Agriculture and LifeSciences, Cornell University. This articleis available from Cornell CooperativeNews Service (the series, Forests For To-morrow.)

SEP/OCT 1997

NYFOA's +TO SyracuseLoca.tion:. Heiberg Forest, Tully, NY. Interstate 81, (Exit #14) \~~? ,Date. Fnday, Sept 26,1997 and Saturday, Sept. 27, 1997 .·l \! ?C~;..' VIL LAG FA1 ",~_CH RED LIGHT

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Twenty rooms are being held: Single, $36., Double: $42.30 min. to Tully. Also, Best Western, Tully; 800/528-1234. Single, $69.; Double $59.

Friday, Sept. 26th6:00 PM Registration and Informal Gathering7:00 PM Steak Barbeque Dinner8: 15 PM Evening Speaker: Prof. Hugh Canham, SUNY ESF; "Legislative Action Update-'97"9:00 PM Evening Entertainment Extravaganza: Belt Sander Race!Saturday, Sept 27th8-8:30 AM Continental Breakfast & registration8:30 AM Welcome: Jill Cornell, NYFOA President8:35-10 AM Panel Discussion: "Alternative Income Sources for Forest Landowners".10-12:30 Willow Biomass Project, Dr. Larry Abrahamson, SUNY ESF12:30 - 1:30 Lunch1:30-3:30+PM Tour of SUNY ESF Genetic Experimentation Field Site, Tully Experiment Station (Alternate tours possible)

Full Meeting (26 & 27th): $25.00/per personSept. 27th only: $15.00/per personSend reservation checks, names and addresses to:Debbie Gill; PO Box 180; Fairport, NY 14450;716/377-6060; 800/836-3566 (Deadline Sept. 17)

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NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO SEP/OCT 1997 • 9NY FOREST OWNER Vol. 3S No.5

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The Problem With Property TaxesBy Hugh O. Canham

The property tax has been an institu-tion for centuries. It has been a ma-jor way of raising revenues for the

operation of governments both in theUnited States and across much of Europe.The property tax has also been the subjectof much discussion in forestry circles. In-deed, the profession of Forestry Econom-ics owes its start, in part, to the concerns offoresters over the effects of high propertytaxes on sustainable forestry. Starting in the1930's and continuing to the present, therehave been studies, policy proposals, andprograms aimed at reducing the propertytax burden for forest landowners.That property taxes are high, few would

question. For forest land the tax often is con-fiscatory. That is, the property tax consumesso much of any financial revenue to rendertimber production financially unattractive.Obviously, if taxes take al\ of the revenuethey are confiscatory. However, even wellbefore 100 percent of revenue taxes can beseen as making an investment unattractive.Currently in many areas property taxes takea much higher percentage of income pos-sible from forest land than for other landusing enterprises. Thus, even if propertytaxes take only 50 percent of the timberrevenues, this is much higher than the taxburden on other land uses, such as agricul-tural or commercial uses.

If a society accepts government as a le-gitimate enterprise then revenues areneeded to run that enterprise. Taxes are thelogical way to raise those revenues. TheAmerican sobiety depends, in part, on gov-ernment. Our economy has been describedas a free enterprise capitalistic one withstrong government intervention to insureequity and to provide those services whichmight not be produced in the amount or waythat a purely private competitive economymight. Thus we accept taxes as necessary.The property tax is one of the oldest

forms of taxation. The basis premise issimple: those who own land are wealthy,land produces revenues or commodities thatcan be exchanged for revenue, and the moreland owned, the greater the wealth.Property taxes have a great certainty.

Once the assessed value of properties areestablished, and the amount of governmentrevenue required is established, it is simplearithmetic-to determine the amount of taxto be paid by each parcel of land. If people


do not pay their taxes the "kings guard" orpolice force, can simply enforce the law.Contrast this with sales or income tax sys-tems where the amount of revenue gener-ated is not known until after the taxing timeperiod. Furthermore, these other systems re-quire large administrative and reportingsystems to operate. Given its simplicity, theproperty tax is easy to administer at the lo-cal government level. It works if propertyownership is related to ability to pay and touse of services.There are three generally held principles

of taxation, as follows:

1.Efficiency - The cost of administeringthe tax should be low relative to the rev-enues collected.

2. Equity - The tax should reflect the abil-ity of the person or firm to pay (wealth orincome) or should relate to the person's orfirm's use of public services.3. Behavior neutral - The tax should not

induce any change in people's behavior.

The property tax in late 20th century U.S. A. fails to meet the principles of taxa-tion, on all counts. First, it is becomingmore and more costly to administer theproperty tax system. Landowners are pro-testing and suing over inequitable assess-ments relative to their neighbors. New lawsmandate yearly updates of assessments.Property characteristics are becoming morecomplex as regards market value.

Second, the property tax is not equitable.Today, land ownership does not accuratelyreflect wealth or use of services. In a landedgentry society of colonial America, or evenin a largely rural society, land ownershipdoes reflect wealth. However, today, otherforms of capital, income, and informationownership reflect wealth. The country iscovered with people who are land-poor. Inaddition, land ownership does not correlatewell with use of services. Fire control, lawenforcement, public school dependency,military protection, social welfare needs:none of these correlate well with property.ownership.Third, the property tax does induce be-

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

havior changes in people. Indeed, this hasbeen the major issue in forestry. The alle-gation is that high property taxes leadpeople to harvest timber earlier than if thetax were absent. It has lead to some liqui-dation of forest land and sale for non timberuses. These and other effects might not inthemselves be bad, however, if maintenanceof a healthy timber-based economy and pro-tection of open space are taken as desirable,as they are in this country, then the behav-ior-change effects of property taxes areundesirable.If it were politically feasible, I would do

away completely with the property tax.Lacking that, I strongly recommend, as firststeps, uncoupling School district fundingfrom the property tax and sharply reducingtown budget reliance on property taxes.Instead, government revenues should beraised from tax sources that are more equi-table and more efficient, namely, sales andincome taxes. This shift would mean thatlocal units of government and school dis-tricts would depend on revenue-sharingfrom county and state-based sales and in-come tax collection systems. It is not fea-sible for small units of government to es-tablish their own tax collection systems.Indeed, one of the most efficient tax col-lection systems in the world is the U.S. fed-eral income tax system. In spite of lengthyforms and high paid tax consultants, therevenues raised by the federal income taxsystem far outweighs the costs of adminis-tering it.

There is some strong evidence that theNew York State legislature and theGovernor are moving to reduce re-

liance on property tax systems. However,there is also much opposition. The prop-erty tax system is one "last bastions" of lo-cal government control and autonomy. Itcan easily be brought into the local politi-cal system and controlled-some would saycorrupted. Many local government officialsare understandably wary of depending onrevenues that are distributed based on a for-mula that itself might be unequitable fortheir locality. Finally, revenues from salesand income taxes are uncertain; the amountis only known after .the fact, not before aswith the property tax system.If we are go-ing to have the property tax system aroundthen there are still major problems with thenumerous abatement and special exemption

SEP/OCT 1997

programs that abound. To make the prop-erty tax system "work" there have beenvarious "tinkerings" with it. The result is ahodgepodge of variances that allegedlybenefit this or that special interest group.Thus we have exemptions and reductionsfor senior citizens, veterans, farmers, for-est owners, developing businesses, etc. Theexemptions and reductions are all justifiedin the name of public service, socially de-sirable activity, or public benefits generatedby these properties. However, all exemp-tions and reductions greatly increase thecost of administering the system and, moreimportantly, shift the tax burden. Any timeone group of property owners are grantedrelief in the amount or timing of the taxthey must pay, the rest of the taxing juris-diction must bear the added cost. Annualincome is required to run local government!Interestingly, the average residential andsmall business-commercial property own-ers usually end up bearing most of the taxshift. No one gives me a tax break becauseI paint my house regularly or plant flowersand regularly mow the lawn and do not putup ugly signs! Yet, these are public ben-efits and I am a responsible citizen!

Where does the above discussion leavethe present property tax system in New Yorkas regards forest land? Presently we havesection 480A of the Real Property Tax Lawthat grants a reduction in the amount of theannual property tax in exchange for vari-ous commitments by the forest owner.(Various articles have been written about480A and Mike Greason of the New YorkDepartment of Environmental Conservationand the local DEC forestry offices havemuch information on the program.) If 480Ais to remain it should be made very simpleand easy to use and reimbursement shouldbe given to local governments for lost ordeferred revenues. This reimbursementwould come from State government, thusshifting the tax burden to the entire tax andbased on State-based systems, namely, salesand income taxes.In particular, changes in 480A that are

recommended include the following:


• Reduce the minimum required acreageto 20 acres

• Have one-time sign-up with a roll-backpenalty when the property is taken out ofthe program. That is, eliminate the annualsign-up for a rolling ten year period. Alter-natively, sign up for a 10 year period with aroll back penalty if the property is with-drawn before the 10 year time limit or if atimber sale is held within 3 years after theend of the 10 years.

• Drop the requirement of an approvedmanagement plan.

• Require the land to stay in forest cover.If converted to nonforest use there wouldbe a penalty. Note that this does not excludeclear-cutting which is a legitimate timber-harvesting and silviculture tool. In NewYork State without conversion to other uses,land that is clearcut will naturally reveg-etate to forest within a few years.

• Grant a simple 50% exemption of fullvalue assessment.

• The State would reimburse local gov-ernment for lost revenues.

• Continue the 6% yield tax payablewhen timber is commercially harvested.This payment would go directly to stategovernment.

There are several rationales for these pro-posed changes. First, most local govern-ments (towns, school districts, etc.) do notget significant revenues from forest landtaxes. Granted some of the very heavilyforested towns in the Adirondacks and else-where where little other type of propertyexists do depend more on forest land taxes.

Second, New York forests have providedwood and many other benefits for New YorkState residents for over 300 years withoutmuch in detailed management plans, etc.Furthermore, it is a grave mistake to.strait-jacket all owners into one system. Thebiodiversity of the State, its rich mix ofhabitats and species may best be continuedby different owners pursuing individualgoals and practices.New York State has high taxes and high

overall social costs. However, the State hasone of the best standards of living, it pos-sesses vast natural resources, and is capableof being a leader in public policy. We should

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

not let an antiquated tax system stand inthe way of becoming a true "Empire State ..•.

Hugh Canham is Professor of Forest andResource Economics at S.UN Y Collegeof Environmental Science and Forestry andserves as a NYFOA Director and Chair-person of the Legislative Committee. Thisarticle is based on a talk given at the J 997spring meeting of the New York ForestOwners Association.

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SEP/OCT 1997 • 11

LETTERSMy hat goes off to you and all the con-

tributors of the last issue of the FORESTOWNER [May/June '97]. In my opinionthis may have been the best issue ever.There was a wealth and variety of infor-mation plus thought provoking commen-tary. I especially enjoyed the article byWayne Oakes about the neolithic man.I also praise Mr. Michael for his article,Will Forest Owners Have Any Cherry, Ashor Oak ... I would like to add some of myexperiences regarding even-age manage-ment practices. In 17 years as a DEC for-ester working with private landowners, Ican count on my fingers (not even my toes),the number of landowners who have actu-ally followed through with some form ofclearcut, or shelterwood. That is not a verygood track record. Even-age managementhas such a "bad" reputation, it is a toughsell. Even-age management should havebeen outlined as an option in Mr. Michael'scase, but I can understand why it was not. Iremember situations where I did not pro-mote even-age management options as vig-orously as I should. It is only human na-ture to want to avoid rejection, and some-times I am tired of people disregardingsound advice. Mr. Michael's story is a re-minder to me that some will listen.As a followup to John Braubitz's ar-

ticle on the tulip tree, (my favorite tree, aswell as a shade intolerant tree which re-quires even-age management for regenera-tion l), I am enclosing an article. (See pg. J 4)

-Mark Keister, Wa land

Firewood ForestryA periodic survey of residential

fuelwood consumption in New York(based on a sample of 1,925 respondents)conducted under the direction of Profes-sor Hugh O. Canham of SUNY Collegeof Environmental Science & Forestry andThomas D. Martin of the NYS Depart-ment of Environmental Conservationyielded the following estimates: About890,000 cords of wood were burned asfuel by private residences in the state in1994-95, less than half of that consumedin 1989-90. The use of wood as a homeheating fuel is greatest, as expected, inNorthern New York, the Adirondacks andthe Southern Tier; and almost half ofwood used was cut by the user. Copiesof the survey results are available fromProfessor Canham at 315-470-6694 orMr. Martin at 518-457-7431.Reprinted from Rural Futures, Newslet-ter of the NYS Legislative Commission onRural Resources.


NY'S FAMILY FOREST FAIRBy Mike Greason

The Capital District and SoutheasternChapters of NYFOA joined the De-partment of Environmental Conser-

vation, Cornell Cooperative Extension, for-est industry and the consultant forestrycommunity to host and expand upon theFamily Forest Fair that has been held bythe Central New York Chapter for the pastthree years. The goal was to reach a widearray of audiences with a message of thesustainable bounty of the northeast forestand increase public awareness of foreststewardship.The fair was designed to appeal to many

audiences. High school students were en-couraged to come talk to the New York col-leges offering natural resource programs.There was one building dedicated to exhib-its, displays and interactive activities foryoung children. Eighteen governmentalexhibits and about sixty commercial exhibi-tors provided products, services and infor-mation on as many subjects-all forest re-lated. Eight sets of four to six formal pre-sentations covered such subjects as birdsof prey, search and rescue, chain saw safety,woods walks, saw milling, flute making andhistoric river run logging films of theAdirondacks. Every fair goer received a 52page booklet with fair information and ar-ticles about owning and caring for forest-land.To promote the event, every television

and radio station, newspaper, and organi-zation with an interest in natural resourceswas contacted for advertising the fair. Onecar dealer in Albany on a main highwaydisplayed a lighted sign notice as a publicservice for free! One major TV channelgave a two minute evening news item dedi-cated to the event. Twenty newspaper ar-ticles were collected directly promoting thefair and those contacts led to several addi-tional articles on forestry related topics. Hadno one come to the fair, the committee feltthat the media coverage alone was worththe effort. Every New Yorker within a hun-dred mile radius was exposed to positiveforestry information on a regular basis fora few weeks.Fifteen hundred people came to the fair.

Each attendee was asked to fill out a formfor a free raffle ticket for prizes that wouldbe offered. This provided a mailing list tocontact to encourage membership in theNew York Forest Owner Association, pro-

NYFOA - 1-800-836·3566 - INFO

vide additional forestry information andgive the opportunity for feedback on thefair and other issues.Plans are underway for next year. The

positive remarks of attendees coupled withthe enthusiasm of the volunteers makes thismajor effort seem worth repeating. Thisyear's fair was carried out with six monthsplanning and development. Next year'sevent will have fourteen months lead time.The volunteers learned from this year andhave many ideas for new strategies. Theexperience has helped establish contacts,credibility, and other factors that shouldresult in a coordinated effort that shouldattract between 4,000 and 5,000 people inthe future. There are new entities interestedin partnering. Now there is a realistic ac-counting for cost and expectation of work.This Family Forest Fair was a success.

Fifteen hundred people have a greater ap-preciation for the bounty, resilience, renew-ability, and sustain ability of the northeastforest. And, actually the outstanding me-dia coverage extends the impacts far beyondthose who actually walked through the ex-hibits and watched the demonstrations ..•.

Jy!ike Greason is NYS DEC Chief of theBureau of Private Land Service. This ar-ticle is a reprint from the CDC Newsletter.

First Patent IssuedFor a Spruce Hybrid

In this era of genetic engineering andeven the cloning of mammals, scientificbreakthroughs seem to be the norm ratherthan the exception.Accordingly, Forgene, Inc., a biotech-

nology company in Rhinelander, Wis-consin, has received the first U.S. gen-eral patent for a tree.The Super Tree is a genetically-im-

proved white spruce that can grow twiceas fast as a normal spruce tree. Forgeneclaims that hybrids will produce pulp-wood for the paper industry at 20 yearsinstead of the current normal age of 40years, and for lumber production at 40years instead of 80 years.

About 150 million white spruce seed-lings are planted each year in the UnitedStates and Canada.Rreprinted from NATIONAL WOOD-LANDS, July 1997.

SEP/OCT 1997

NYFOA'S 1997 FAMILY FOREST FAIR-By PatriciaKay

I

NY FOREST OWNER Vol. 35 No.5 NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO SEP/OCT 1997· 13

By John Sillick

We spent an interesting afternoona while back when the state For-ester came to walk the woods

at the back of the farm. He had an explana-tion for why so many of the trees were sotall and straight. About eighty years agoland was let go and the trees all got an evenstart and competed equally for the sunlight.Why then did a half dozen trees have theircrowns poked head and shoulders abovetheir neighbors? "That's what a foresterlikes to see," came the reply "they're thetulips ...

I was unfamiliar with the tulip tree. Mydad's woods, where I spent many of myyounger days had beech, ash, maple, bass-wood and black cherry, the same trees thatpopulate our woods here, but nothing calleda tulip tree. Nor had any of the many woodsI had worked in for the last twenty years.I became very curious about this tree thatdominated the woods in size if not in num-ber.

I was surprised_by what I learned. Thetulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, is a na-tive of the East from New York to Georgiaand is the largest hardwood tree in the-United States. Tulip trees have reached theheight of 200 feet, and recently one washarvested in North Carolina which had adiameter of twenty-four feet.

A large tulip had fallen and we draggedit out and had a neighbor mill it into boards.After it dried for a while I ran it throughthe planer to make bookcases for the up-stairs hall. I liked everything about the lum-ber: the boards didn't warp, sanded smooth,and stained evenly. The tulip even smellednice, kind of sweet, almost like sassafras.

I wondered why I had never heard muchabout it, even though I read almost every-thing I could find about woodworking andhad for a long time. One strange thing wasits name. Usually tulip is called "yellowpoplar" even though it is not even remotelya member of the poplar family. In fact, tu-lip is a member of the magnolia clan, whichexplains the large white flowers that graceit every spring.

Real poplar is an attractive tree, but pro-duces poor lumber for woodworking. It islight, prone to twist and it is hard to sandits fuzzy grain. Tulip, because it has beenmisnamed, shares poplar's poor reputationin the shop.

But in colonial days tulip was much ap-


Tulip Treepreciated. It ranks between cherry and pinein hardness, so it was not difficult to sawand plane by hand. Tulip logs are remark-able for their straight, even dimensions. Atulip log will yield more usable lumber thanany other log of the same size, a thing thatmattered when transportation was difficult.

It was tulip's evenly dimensioned trunkthat sent Tom Jefferson into his woodswhen he needed Greek columns forMonticello. You can pick out a good tuliptree in any woods almost immediately. Ithardly tapers at all. When Indians neededa dugout canoe, they went tulip hunting forthe same reason, and gave it its nickname"canoe-wood". Southern novelist, JohnEhle, describes, a pair of immense tulips,"God's Legs".

When I find any book which concernstrees now, I always look for tulip in the in-dex; and I have learned many curiousthings. Peter Kalm, the Swedish botanist,who hiked the U.S. in the 1740's, told howsomeone built a barn from a solitary tuliptree, and how he saw a church door madefrom a single board. Kalm admits, however,that a stout person would have trouble get-ting through that doorway. He also praisestulip's medicinal uses: the bark could beused like quinine, a poultice of leaves couldrelieve headaches, an extract of tulip func-tioned as a heart stimulant, and was usedfor such into our own century.

Although it has often been described asa soft, weak wood, in practice, tulip hasstood up to many demanding uses. Thestairs in many old houses, including ourown, are tulip. So were gun stocks, coffins,kitchenware, the linings of wells and allmanner of moldings and fancy work.

One of tulip's odd names is "chameleonwood" which I guess is a reference to itsability to pretend it is something elsethrough the alchemy of staining. A lot ofantique cherry furniture is really tulip mas-querading. When we built our new kitchenit was easy to make our tulip beams andwoodwork match the golden oak color ofthe cabinets.

Some people are put off by the lightgreen color tulip heartwood oftenhas, but it is another of tulip's curi-

osities. Placed in direct sunlight for an houror so and it turns dark brown.

I wish there were more tulip trees on thefarm, but tulip is reluctant to grow in the

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

shadow of a mature forest, preferring tosprout in full sunlight, I tried planting seed-lings one spring but not one survived.Then, while reading Walt Whitman, I cameupon his comment that the trees don't trans-plant well, and that seeding is the bestpropagation. I plan to follow the poet'sadvice in sunny corners of the farm whereit's too steep to plow.

Happily a mystery remains about thistree, in the form of one of its odd names:"Old Woman's Smoke". Was this possiblya reference to its use in a pipe? As stovewood? Its shimmering leaves?" I have noidea and hope I don't find out too soon, fora question is more fun to have in yourpocket than an answer. .A.John Sellick writes a column for severalpublications, is a school teacher and ownsafarm in Lyndonville, Orleans County.

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SEP/OCT 1997

SHARING

The Born Free Hunting Club

4

By Henry S. Kernan

Fiftyyears ago I bought about 1000acres of woodland in upstate NewYork. Changes since then include the

whitetail's drastic increase and the increaseof red and yellow posting signs that denythe access of hunters to private land. Manyof my neighborsspeak of hunters indisparaging, evensarcastic and bitterterms. They. feardamage to theirproperty and dangerto themselves fromstrangers perceivedas uncouth and en-gaged in a brutalsport, the killing ofBambi for pleasure.

The problem ofdeer is not that theyattract hunters. Theproblem is that theirwoodland browsetakes nearly everyseedling of the spe-cies which we value most: basswood,cherry, maple, ash and oak. They preventthe regeneration of white pine; they causebalsam fir to disappear as a component ofthe forest.

Such facts carry no weight with thoseof my neighbors who forbid all hunting andtoo little with those who want no huntingof does. They banded together to post theirland in common, and to sell permits foraccess. I posted with them for 30 years andthen resigned. I took down their postedsigns, and put up my own, asking those whowished to hunt on my land to have writtenpermission. In all those years, not onehunter had ever come to my house, hadasked my leave to enter my land, to thankme, to offer me a piece of venison.

The present arrangement has worked outvery well. I now count my dealings withhunters as among the most rewarding as-pects of forest stewardship.

I give out about 60 permits each seasonwithout charge. Each hunter signs a state-ment to release me of liability for accidents.Each promises me some venison, and aboutone in eight is successful. The result isenough edible Bambi to last me all year.

I have thus come to know hunters and


have found them to my liking. Those whocome for permits are well spoken andfriendly. The most successful hunters arethose who hunt in groups. Among my fa-vorites are the crack-shot members of theBorn Free Hunting Club. They have made

me an honoraryvice-president, witha hunting cap andbadge. Besidesvenison, they havegiven me Christmascakes and cards, apicture prepared inmy honor and anumber of sweet-potato pies.

Another favoritegroup also comesfrom downstateLong Island. Theyare Italians withnames that are a de-light to hear and re-member: PasqualeSperduto, Halo

Albanese, Rocco d' Amelio, GiuseppeTuosto and the like. We have shared fabu-lous Italian dinners at their clubhouse downthe road: homemade wine, cheese andbread, roasted chestnuts, bowls of maca-roni, and talk of their home village in themountains behind Naples.

Most of my other hunters are also citydwellers, from in and around metropolitanNew York or the capital district of Albany.They come for the most part with assur-ances for their liking for the out-of-doorsas much as or more than for the bagging ofgame.

I believe them, at least in part. Millen-nia of years as hunter-gatherers conditionedus to be in the forest for chase and take, fora purpose, not just to stroll about. Theweapon, the red and orange clothing, thegroup effort, and the quarry touch and sat-isfy something deep in the hunter's psyche.If, along the way, they help my seedlingtrees survive and share the take with me, Iam grateful and happy to share my woods.

•••Henry Kernan is a consulting forester inWorld Forestry, a Master Forest OwnerVolunteer and a regular contributor to theNY FOREST OWNER.

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Bruce E.Robinson,

Inc.FORESTRY

CONSULTANTS

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Quality Managementof Land and Timber-Forest~anagement-Timber Sales-Forest Investment Consulting-Timber Appraisal & Valuation-Forest Taxation-Forest Practices &Wetland Laws-Land Use Planning-Conservation Easements-Land Sales & Brokerage-Mapping & Remote Sensing-Wildlife & Recreation-Accounting Services

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SEP/OCT 1997 • 15

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MONEY IS AVAILABLEFOR LAND MANAGEMENT PROJECTS

By Mary Binder

Could you use seed money for someproject you've always wanted to doin your forest or field') Would a

farm pond provide the extra irrigation youneed for y~ur Christmas trees? If so, thereis financial and technical help availablethrough local, state, and federal agenciesright in your own county.

If you can handle a little paperwork andlearning some of those government abbre-viations, you may receive up to 75%}ifthecost of the project. All of the following pro-grams are voluntary, but once you sign up,you must remain committed. The programsare grouped according to the agency youwould first contact to sign up. Forestry re-lated activities are highlighted, but mostprograms also include farming and ranch-ing practices as well.

U:S.D.A. FARM SERVICE AGENCYPROGRAMS: Your county Farm ServiceAgency may be contacted by looking un-der U.S. Offices in the blue pages of thephone book. You should contact the countyin which your property is located. Most arelisted under the Agriculture Departmentheading, but some phone books use the oldname of Agricultural Stabilization and Con-servation Service.

• Stewardship Incentive Program(SIP) To qualify you can have as little as 3acres and up to 1000 acres. The programprovides technical and financial assistanceto encourage private forest landowners tokeep their lands and resources productiveand healthy. You may select from nine prac-tices, with the first practice, developmentand approval of a Forest Stewardship plan,being mandatory. The Department of En-vironmental Conservation Service Forest-ers can assist with the plan, or you may hirea private consultant. The remaining prac-tices to choose from are: reforestation, for-est improvement (installation of tree shel-ters, prescribed burning, or pruning),agroforestry (establishment, maintenance,or renovation of windbreaks or hedgerows),soil and water protection and improvement,riparian and wetland protection and im-provement (planting stream co willow tostabilize an eroded area), fisheries habitatenhancement, wildlife habitat enhancement


(installing bluebird boxes or planting clo-ver for deer browse), and forest recreationenhancement (establishing trails or creat-ing forest openings).

• Conservation Reserve Program(CRP) This program was developed to re-duce soil erosion, reduce sedimentation ofstreams and lakes, improve water quality,establish wildlife habitat, and enhance for-est and wetland resources. If you have crop-land that you would like to convert to lesserodible vegetation such as wildlifeplantings, trees, filterstrips or riparian buff-ers, you may qualify for this program. Themulti-year contract will provide landown-ers with an annual rental payment. Costsharing is also provided to establish the veg-etative cover.

U.s.D.A. NATURAL RESOURCES CON-SERVATION SERVICE: This federalagency may be contacted by looking up U.SOffices in the blue pages under Agricul-ture Department. It may be listed under theold name of Soil Conservation Service.

• Environmental Quality IncentiveProgram CEQIP) This program providestechnical, educational, and financial assis-tance to eligible landowners to address soil,water, and related natural resource con-cerns. Through the implementation of aconservation plan, which includes struc-tural, vegetative, and land managementpractices, five to ten year contracts aremade. Tree planting and permanent wild-life habitat are a few of the practices.

• Forestry Incentives Program (FIP)This supports good forest managementpractices on privately owned forested landnationwide. The program is designed tobenefit the environment while meeting fu-ture demands for wood products. Eligiblepractices are tree planting, timber stand im-provement, site preparation for natural re-generation, and other related activities.There is a ten acre minimum requirement.

• Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)This is a voluntary program to restore wet-lands to meet the goals of improved habi-

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

tat for migratory birds and other wildlife.Either 30 year or permanent easements areestablished, or the landowner can enter intorestoration cost-share agreements where noeasement is involved. In exchange for es-tablishing a permanent easement, thelandowner receives payment up to the ag-ricultural value of the land and 100 per-cent of the restoration costs. The 30 yeareasement payment is 75 percent of whatwould be provided for a permanent ease-ment on the same site and 75 percent ofthe restoration costs. The agreements withno easement are for a minimum 10 yearduration and provide 75 percent of the costof restoration. In all instances, landownerscontinue to control access to their land, canhunt and fish, gather firewood, take tim-ber, and continue grazing. Timber harvestsmust follow a prepared cutting plan thatis approved by NRCS.

• Wildlife Habitat Incentives (WHIP)This provides financial incentives to de-velop habitat for fish and wildlife on pri-vate lands. Landowners agree to implementa wildlife habitat development plan andNRCS agrees to provide costshare assis-tance for the initial implementation of thepractices selected. The practices are cost-shared, and the agreement lasts a mini-mum of ten years from the date the con-tract is signed.

NYSDEPARTMENT OF ENVI-RONMENTAL CONSERVA-TION: Although this state agency

does not provide cost sharing for projects,they can provide valuable technical infor-mation for free. A Service Forester fromyour area can walk your forest and makerecommendations on how best to manageit for your particular goals. The State Nurs-ery in Saratoga is also a great resource forpurchasing low cost bare root seedlings foruse as Christmas trees, reforestation, wild-life food, and windbreaks. Trees are soldin lots of 100 and 250, with smalleramounts available. Contact DEC by look-ing in the blue pages of the phone bookunder State Offices, then under Environ-mental Conservation. You should look forthe regional office where your property islocated.

SEP/OCT 1997

COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSER-VATION DISTRICTS: This county agencycannot provide cost sharing, but will pro-vide valuable information on a wide rangeof natural resource topics. Each district isflexible in the kinds of programs they have,so not all counties will provide the itemslisted. Most districts have field personnelthat can assist in drainage, pond locationand building, windbreak design, fish stock-ing and tree planting. Most districts have aspring or fall tree planting programs to pur-chase bare root seedlings in denominationsas low as ten. Locate your district officeby looking in the blue pages under yourcounty, then look under Soil and Water.Some counties have them grouped underCooperative Extension, and then Soil andWater.

To summarize, money may be availableto do what you want; you just have to knowwhere to look. Please note that most pro-grams have more projects submitted, thanthere is money available to do the work.For example, money allocated for NewYork in 1997 for EQIP was $3.5 million,with $17.3 million in projects submitted.Some programs have money earmarked forcertain projects types; with certain areas(i.e. watersheds) given higher priority thanothers. This should not discourage youfrom contacting the appropriate agencyabout getting your project approved. Per-haps it will fall within the priority locationand/or project type; you won't know un-less you ask.Be sure to ask about the length of the

commitment and about penalties if the com-mitment is broken.Remember that new programs may be-

come available and existing program re-quirements may change, so always ask forthe most updated information. You may notqualify for a certain program today, butperhaps a change later down the road willallow you to be eligible.

Once you become familiar with the pro-fessionals working for these agencies youwill not only discover more programs thatsuit your needs, but you may have made afriend who can assist you in many of yourfuture land management projects. .•.Mary, who lives in Westerlo, with her hus-band and two boys, is a new NYFOA mem-ber. She is a graduate of SUNY ESF withexperience with the Forest Service, Bureauof Indian Affairs, and Conservation Dis-tricts. She was publicity chair for the 1997Forest Family Fair and is Vice-Chair of theCapital District Chapter.


THE WOOD LOTBy Jennifer Sullivan-SmithMy father calls it the wood lot, though it

is so much more. The land it encompassesis one hundred and fifteen acres of wood-land in Bainbridge, New York, wilder thanit was when my great-grandfather boughtit in 1919. In fact, it probably has moreforest cover now than at the time of theAmerican Revolution. My great-grandfather thought of nature as somethingto be tamed as he strived to be the quintes-sential American farmer in the rural land-scape of Chenango County. Would he everimagine that with a little help from my fa-ther, nature would reclaim its own?The property of the back hill dairy farm

nestled in a valley entailed meadows, pas-tures, sugar bush, a trout stream, two smallponds and the remains of an old grist mill.After years of only a subsistence yield, thefarm ceased to be a working farm in 1955.My grandfather, John Smith, continued tolive on the farm and worked elsewhere. Hetapped the sugar bush every fall to makemaple syrup for extra income. In 1974, mygreat-grandfather's dream was completelydestroyed by fire when the farmhouse, thesap house and part of the barn burned down.The last man-made structure, the skeletalremains of the barn held together bywooden pegs, was torn down in 1996.

Today, my father holds no illusions aboutfarming. In contrast to his grandfather's vi-sion of taming the land, he sees himself asa steward of the land. Twenty years ago,after the land had been passed to him fromhis father, he created a master plan withthe aid of Forcon Inc., a forestry and con-servation agency. His first priority was, andstill is, reforestation and wildlife manage-ment.Forcon marked trees to be culled to make

room for new growth. My father has alwaysused this felled wood to heat his home inSherburne, forty five miles north of thevalley of his childhood. He makes frequenttrips to the wood lot for a constant supply.As a young girl, I would help my fatherload the pickup truck with firewood. Wewould rise early, ride over the rolling hills

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

to the wood lot, the morning sun warmingus as it glistened upon the mist coveredgrass. Although the master plan entails tim-ber production, this is of secondary impor-tance to my father. Timber is to be harvestedonly when absolutely necessary to offsetexpenses. My college education was paidfor by timber sales. The next time this maybe necessary is when my brother, a gradu-ate of the Syracuse University School ofForestry, will send his two daughters,Emily, age six, and Abagail, age four, tocollege.

The planting agenda was to reforest thefields, meadows and pastures once used forfarming with White and Norway Spruce.Annually, for the past twenty years, myfather recruited family and friends to helpplant a thousand seedlings by hand. Somenow stand as tall as his granddaughters.Standing next to a small spruce on a recentvisit, Emily exclaimed, "When I am big Iwill plant a million Christmas trees likeGrampa Bob!"The original sugar bush has expanded

and red maples have spread out to surround-ing areas. The myriad of other tree speciesthat populate the landscape are ash, oak,hemlock, white pine, basswood and pop-lar.While picking wild strawberries my

brother and his daughters investigated ani-mal tracks. Wildlife is abundant, includingdeer, beaver, turkey, fox, coyote, grouse,raccoon and rabbit. Beaver dams are nu-merous on the stream. My father is protec-tive of the animals' habitat and is deter-mined to pass his knowledge on to the fu-ture stewards of the land. While walkingthrough the woods, he told Emily to avoidwalking through a deer crossing. He ad-vised, "We don't want the deer to be afraidof human scent in their path, we'll walkaround it."The quiet of the woods amazed Abagail.

She announced the babbling trout streamsounded like "crinkling paper." Once, bythe stream, my brother leaned down to showthe girls a tree stump the beavers had fileddown into a cone, and they felt its smooth-ness. My parents looked on from the top ofa small slope, my father's hands on his hips,comfortable and at home in this commu-nity. "I hope the girls will find it peacefulhere," he mused and leaned over and kissedmy mother, among the fern, dog tooth vio-lets, trillium and cattails.

SEP/OCT 1997 • 17

Workshop on Sustainable Forestry:Are Our Woodlots Regenerating?

By NYFOA President Jill Cornell

The July 23 & 24th Workshopin Olean was sponsored by manybranches of the forest community:

SUNY-ESF, USDA Forest Service, DEC,Cornell University, Fitzpatrick & Weller,Forecon, Inc., Potter Lumber, SAF and NYCenter for Forestry Research and Devel-opment. The mix of government agencies,education centers and industry made for in-teresting perspectives and discussions.The first day was spent visiting 5 differ-

ent woodlots which had been cut or thinnedwithin the last 15 to 20 years and whichhad different types of regeneration prob-lems or successes. The open attitudes ofthe different foresters to showing the prob-lem areas and asking for opinions on thecauses and possible prescriptions made forinformative and interesting dialogues. Thesecond day consisted of a series of inter-esting lectures and discussions about theregeneration process. Curt Bauer ofForecon talked about the history of the for-ests from the post-glacial period throughSeneca management to modern manage-

ment strategies.Since I am not a forester, merely an in-

terested landowner, I offer the followingbrief overview within those limitations.The regeneration problems seemed to

follow diameter limit cuts which took awaythe best seed sources. The suggestion forthe future was: "leave the best till last."Remedies for eliminating unwanted

ferns, beech and birch included herbicidetreatments and controlled burns.Prevention Strategies when planting

any type of timber cut, be sure to considerthe following in discussions with your ad-visors:

1. Take a very careful look at what is al-ready growing on the forest floor-from 2"seedlings to 1" diameter saplings. WHATYOU'VE GOT IS USUALLY WHATYOU'LL GET!2. Be sure that any and all skid roads are

carefully planned to prevent new growthfrom being run over, and to control soilerosion.3. Be aware of the size and condition of

the area's deer population.~-------------------------------------,

A youngforest. Photo by Peter Levatich ©1997

The primary lesson is to thinkabout regenerating your forestbefore you begin to manage it.Even small changes to the canopywhich open up the woodlot willeffect the regeneration process. .A.


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Landowners MeetIn Washington

By Ron Pedersen

A small group of landowners fromacross the country traveled toWashington DC to meet with

Members of Congress and USDA leadersJuly 21-23. The purpose of the roundtablediscussion with US Senators, one-on-onemeetings with Representatives and staff andthe discussion with USDA UndersecretaryJames Lyons was to underscore the scopeand importance of private nonindustrial for-estry in the United States.In NY, about 87% of all forest land is

owned by nonindustrial owners. Nationally,nonindustrial private forest owners accountfor 57% of productive forest lands.Three main ideas were stressed during

the meetings:• On estate and capital gains taxes: Es-

tate taxes too often cause family-held prop-erties to be broken up simply to pay thetaxes, thereby losing years of stewardship.Owners nurture timber resources - lookingto harvests only once every several genera-tions-because they are committed tosound resource management and its manybenefits. If these owners weren't commit-ted stewards, they probably would havesold their land long ago.• Regarding endangered species: Tree

Farmers are the owners of much wildlifehabitat, and are among the strongest sup-porters of the intent of the EndangeredSpecies Act. As that law is reviewed, it isimportant that flexibility replace unbend-ing regulation as the guiding principle so

that landowners have options and choicesin using their management skills to helpwildlife.

• On Service Foresters, Extension andResearch: Adequate funding for coopera-tive extension and state service foresters isextremely important. These trusted profes-sionals, with up-to-date information, areoften the first step in the learning processfor the many landowners that do not nowunderstand the value or potential of theirforest lands.

Bringing these folks along the learningcurve is essential to a future wood supply,carefully harvested with respect for thecleaner water and expanded wildlife habi-tat that accompanies sound forest manage-ment.

This was the first t.Non-Industrial Pri-vate Forestlands Awareness Week" andit is hoped that it will become an annualevent. It was organized by the NationalCouncil on Private Forests, which includesthe American Tree Farm System, ForestLandowners Association, National Wood-lands-Association, Association of Consult-ing Foresters, and the National Associationof State Foresters.The six Tree Farmers participating came

from Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, In-diana, Maine, and New York. ..•.

Ron Pedersen serves on NYFOA's Boardof Directors and was the Tree Farmer rep-resenting forest owners from the State ofNew York.

CONSULTING FORESTER NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

VINCENT P. CHEBETAR, ACFJR.Assisting woodland Owners Since 1967

996 Arnett Blvd.Rochester, NY 14619(716) 235-7341

NYS Cooperating ConsultantMember: NYICF ACF SAF

NY FOREST OWNER Vol. 35 No.5 NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

APplication or Facsimile Appli-cation for Membership in theNew York Forest Owners As-

sociation.

I/We would like to support good forestryand stewardship of New York's forestlands.

( ) I/We own acres of wood-land.

( ) I/We do not own woodland but sup-port the Association's objectives.

NAME _

ADDRESS _

City Zip

Telephone _

County of Residenee _

County of Woodlot _

Referred by _

Annual Dues(Please Check One)

INDIVIDUAL $20

FAMILY (or co-owners) $25

CONTRIBUTING $30-$100

SPONSORING $lOland up

MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES:

Six issues of the NY FORESTOWNER, woods walks, chapter meet-ings, and two statewide meetings for allmembers.

PLEASE make eheck payable to:NYFOA and SEND TO:

NYFOA,IneP.O.Box 180.

Fairport, New York 14450

SEP/OCT 1997 19

THE TWO LINED CHESTNUT BORER-nemesis of weakened oaks

By Douglas C. AllenIn the early 1900s when American chest-

nut was still a widespread and valuablecomponent of eastern hardwood forests,this inner bark borer attracted the attentionof forest owners because of its associationwith trees infected with chestnut blight.With the demise of chestnut, the beetlegained even more notoriety due to its af-finity for oaks stressed by gypsy mothdefoliation.Twolined chestnut borer belongs to a

unique group (the genus Agrilus; ah-grii-Iuss) within a family of insectsknown as metallic beetles or metallicwood borers. These common namesrefer to the shiny appearance or metal-lic sheen typical of most adults. Anotherfrequently used common name for thisfamily is flatheaded borer, which refersto the appearance of the larval stage.Many species of Agrilus occur

throughout the United States, but twostand out as major tree pests in the north-east; twolined chestnut borer CA.bilineatus) and bronze birch borer CA.anxius). Both species are "secondary"in that they successfully attack onlystressed or low vigor hosts. For birches,the predisposing stress often is drought,high aphid populations, repeated defo-liation by birch leaf miner, or a combi-nation of these events.Drought also plays a major role in the

susceptibility of oaks, especially chest-nut and white oaks, to the twolinedchestnut borer. However, defoliation ofoak by gypsy moth is the most signifi-cant source of stress that sets the stagefor infestations of this beetle.

APPEARANCEAdults are dark colored and 0.2 to OS'

long with two light brown to golden, lon-gitudinal stripes on the back (Fig. 1). Theimmature stages (larvae) are legless, dis-tinctly segmented, and off-white to yellow-ish with a head that is only slightly flat-tened compared to larvae of other metallicbeetles. The full grown larva (Fig. 2) is ap-proximately 1" long and its last body seg-ment has a pair of dark brown hook-likestructures. The slightly flattened head andpresence of terminal hooks separate mem-


bers of Agrilus from other flatheaded bor-ers, which lack these hooks and have dis-tinctly flatter heads.

DAMAGEThe larval stages damage oaks by feed-

ing on the inner bark and, to some degree,the outer sapwood. Feeding by large nurn-

Fig. 1. Adult of two lined chestnut borer.

bers of the worm-like larvae (lar-vee) es-sentially girdles the host. The damage issimilar to that caused by true bark beetles.Usually it takes two to three years of suc-cessive attacks to kill the host.

EVIDENCE OF ATTACKThe first symptom of an Agrilus attack

occurs in mid- to late summer when foli-age wilts and eventually turns brown.Wilted foliage usually remains attached tothe tree for several weeks before dropping.At this time, the bark of infested branches

or areas of the tree trunk that have been

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

invaded by the borer show little evidenceof damage, because entrance holes are verysmall and the insect does not push frass (amixture of fecal matter and wood chips) tothe outside. Instead, this material is packedbehind each larva in the narrow, windinggalleries that result from feeding (Fig. 3).

BIOLOGYWhen each larva completes feeding,

usually in one year, it prepares an over-wintering cell in the inner bark regionand with the arrival of spring transformsinto an adult. Beetles exit the hostthrough a characteristic "D" -shapedemergence hole approximately 0.2"wide. They are active throughout muchof the summer. Females deposit eggs inbark cracks, and when eggs hatch theyoung larvae immediately enter the in-ner bark. Research suggests that beetleslocate suitable hosts because the lattergive off an odor which is different fromthat of a healthy tree.

MANAGEMENTUnder most conditions, inner bark

feeding insects such as species of Agrilusare difficult and impractical to controlwith insecticides. Preventative methodsaimed at maintaining tree vigor are thekey to minimizing damage. Strategiesinclude such things as encouraging orplacing a tree species on a site to whichit is well adapted (soil, aspect, availablemoisture), preventing physical damageto the trunk and roots, applying insecti-cides (chemical or biological, if the lat-ter is available) to minimize the effects

of defoliation, and watering ornamentalsand shade trees when soil conditions be-come unusually dry. Overstocked oakstands should be thinned at appropriatetimes to enhance the vigor of the remain-ing trees.Nothing can be done to ameliorate

drought conditions in forested situations,but appropriate monitoring will help to de-termine extent and frequency of significantdefoliation. As a guide, if a stand of oakhas been heavily defoliated (e.g., 70% ormore of foliage consumed) for one year andindications are that there is likely to be a

SEP/OCT 1997

a second consecutive year of similar dam-age, a concerned landowner should con-sider protecting foliage. Following two ormore years of heavy defoliation, oaks (es-pecially white and chestnut) usually aresusceptible to attack by twolined chestnutborer. .•.

This is the 34th in the series of articles con-tributed by Dr. Allen, Professor of Ento-mology at SUNY-ESF.NYFOA has prepared: 1) a book of thesearticles suitable (digitized @600dpi; up-dated annually) for reproduction and dis-tribution by institutions and others ($25-mailed); 2) photocopies suitable for indi-vidual use ($6-mailed.) Contact the editoror NYFOA 's toll free number, 1-800-836-3566.

Fig. 3. Gallery pattern (dark lines) on the surface of oaksapwood. The bark has been removed (Below).

.~.

Joel FiskeProfessional Consultant Forester

)}~;~~~ili~;~~~,

Woodla~a~:JttVetlt91[Y& Appraisal,~aitagem~~:~lans,1 ..•.,.•.

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321J\ObunWatki~~"6i";"

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Professional Member SAFNY Cooperating Consultant ForesterMember NY Forest Owners Assoc.


This handbook introduces the forest landowner to key flora and fauna that compriseNYS hardwood forests.

• . Stand Historv· . Tree Physiology· - 5ite Characteristics• -Ownership Objectives· •Proactive stewardship activities

To orcer, send check pavDbk to SUNY·£SF to:Office of News & P(Ibli(.;))inl1s, SUNY·ESF,l Single Copy Price: $10 plus tax"Forestrv Drive, Syracuse" NY -j 321 0, "New YorkState tax is 7~Y\~,

SUNY College of .Environmental Science &. Forestry

i5 pk'd>(~d;.0 announce publkal.ion of;

The Stewardship of Northern HardwoodsA Pores! OWflerls HandbQok

Fig. 2. Larval stages oftwo lined chestnut borer(Above). Arrow indicateshook-like structures of themature larva .

NYFOA· 1·800·836·3566 - INFO 21SEP/OCT 1997

Tqe UliQQiQ~UIays of UlildlifeBy Jane Sorensen Lord, PhD, OTR, ND

The huge bird hovered at the tree lineabove the pond folded its wingsand dropped feet first into the water

and disappeared. In a split second, Phoe-nix-like, it burst to the surface into flight,shaking the water from its wings. And inthe right talon was one of my fish!

The osprey came regularly twice a dayfor a week always catching a fish even if ithad to make a couple of drops. I finallyrealized he had figured out the feedingschedule and was merely taking advantageof the fish still at the surface. He still comes,

but since I feed at irregular times, he isn'talways successful. But I do have to givehomage to a creature that can see a six inchfish from a hundred feet and cannonball toget it. We have a peaceful coexistence.Before the osprey, a bufflehead duck was

diving and swimming underwater to catchthe fish. He was averaging 2-3 fish per dayand gaining some of my concern when thesnapping turtle returned to the pond at theend of June. The little duck promptly left.(Or we may have just been a layover sincethe species' summer range is not usuallythis far south.)

Early on this summer, I awoke one nightto the sound of chompin' in the kitchen. Iturned on the light in the hallway proceed-


ing with caution. Munching earnestly at thecat nibbles was a beautiful striped and spot-ted small skunk. When he saw me he madea swift and non-stinky exit through the catdoor. Thank God!

So we closed the cat door and opened awindow for the cats to jump through. Butthe next night I heard chornpin' in thekitchen again. He saw me and ran to thecat door, which was closed. He had enteredthrough the bedroom door with its hang-ing screen. He couldn't get out ofthe housenow withoutpassing me andour new Orientalrug! ran backthrough the bed-roo m , across theporch and opened up the dining room door,through which he gratefully exited, againcontrolling himself.The DEe told me I could not live trap a

skunk and release it in the Bahsakill Ref-uge (or any place else), so we sleep withall doors closed and are saving up for sturdyscreen doors.

Ewas reading in bed one night when Ieard a thud in the bathroom, whicholds the window through which the

cats enter. I stayed still while I heard what-ever scratch its way out of the bathtub, and,then a small masked face poked into theroom. Sniffing cautiously it came into thebedroom. "Just what are you doing in myhouse?, I hollered. The raccoon jumpedstraight into the air, like you see in animatedcartoons, and ran out. Now he just tips overthe garbage cans.

He also finishes offthe dog food that thegrey foxes don't eat, or don't get to eat be-cause fox defer to raccoon. And, as I haveobserved on moonlit nights, raccoon deferto skunks, who aim, then stomp their backfeet so they can eat in the strictest privacy.

The animals that have caused us thegreatest real loss have been the deer. Theyhave eaten EVERYTHING. All the lilybuds, most of my herbs, most of the wild-flowers, and small bushes and tree seed-lings. I have taken a real financial hit. Be-

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

cause I give seminars for therapists on me-dicinal plants, I have had to buy dried herbsfor the potions we make.And the way deer eat just parts of a lot

of things, make the gardens look ugly. Ihope the plants pull through and come backnext year.

My heart sank when I saw three doe anda fawn drinking across the pond. I screamedand waved and they left-just to returnwhile I sleep. Gordon won't let me buy adeer rifle and get a varmit permit. So I'mlimited to aggravating the deer when I canand driving fast up and down the drivewayin the truck hoping for a road kill.We are asking all the serious hunters we

know to come and diminish the population.I hope it is an easy sell because the deerare pre-seasoned with herbs from the in-side!And I appeal to any re- b~~

search group in deer <: ••,.:;:;v;-:..'~.,-.;:,'" ~'''~~'management to try birth

control, trapping, whatever. Our Tree Farmcould be your Schawangund lab. We'vegone from Bambi to bamboozled! .•.

Dr. Jane, a regular contributor; is a MasterForest Owner and Certified Tree Farmer.She has a private consulting practice inOccupational Therapy and NaturopathicMedicine and teaches on the Faculty ofHealth at Indianapolis University.

BLACK WALNUT TREE,FARM

40 Acres, 3,200+ planted trees1,300' river front, 112 acre pondReconstructed farm house of3BR, unique fireplace, & greatkitchen; garage, workshop,

sun deck, new gambrel-style barn$200,000

For color brochure, details andphotos:

A.J. Hitchen, Rltr.Box 119, Granville, NY 12832

518-642-2747; FAX 518-642-3079

SEP/OCT 1997

The MarketplaceATTENTION small woodlot owners/part time loggers - For FARMI winchesand VALBY chippers, write Hewitt's Hill Haven, Locke, NY 13092 or call (315)497-1266 (Before 8AM or after 6PM).

MEADOWVIEW NURSERY: QUALITY FIELD GROWN SEEDLINGSAND TRANSPLANTS for reforestation and establishing wildlife habitat.SPECIALIZING IN NUT TREE & WETLAND VARIETIES. P.O. Box 241,Byron, NY 14422 (716) 548-2207 'FAX (716) 548-9014.

FOR SALE: 170 acres Allegany County; 80 acres pine and hardwoods; deer,turkey, grouse; call Henry Hansen, evenings (716) 334-3569; Good project forinterested woodsman.

WHITE OAK NURSERY: DECIDUOUS SEEDLINGS, TUBE GROWNSEEDLINGS, WHIPS TO 5 FT, B&B STOCK including most commercialhardwoods and premier native shade trees and ornamental shrubs of the East. Forreforestation, naturalizing and landscaping. 8456 Harpers Ferry Rd., Springwater,NY Livingston County 14560716/669-2960

WOODLOTIBUILDING LOTS: 43 acres in Ontario Co.; subdivision filed;survey done; frontage & separate ROWs; $56,000 (Lots negotiable); Informa-tion Packet; Dale Schaefer, 7065 Co. Rd., Springwater 14560; 716/367-2849.

DOYOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADVERTISE?

ADVERTISINGRATES

Per Insert:Display: $210- perfullpage or 30 col, in.; i.e.,$7 per col, in.Marketplace: $10 mini-mum for25 words or less,10c each additionalword.Contact: R.J. Fox, Editor

RD 3, Box 88,Moravia, NY13118FaxiPhone/E-maii:(315)497-1078

[email protected]

or [email protected]

Circulation 1800.

Custom and Stock Signsfor the Forest Industry

- VOSS Signs ~Dept. NYF, Box 553

Manlius, NY 13104-0553Ph. (315) 682-6418 or 682-7332

Fax: (315) 682-7335Send for Catalog and Free Samples.,-~~~~~~--~--~~

HALE F()I~ESTI~YC()MPANYProfessional Forestry Consulting

Forest Resource Management Services

TIMBER SALES APPRAISALS

MANAGEMENT PLANS . INVENTORIES

Nolan's'Sporting SuppliesOutdoor Equipment Specialist

37 • 47 Genesee StreetAuburn, NY 13021 In PENNSYLVANIA

MIKE HALEWestfield, PA

(814) 367-5915315/252-7249

In NEWYORKRESOURCES CONSULTING

Wellsville, NY

(716) 593-5075e-mail: bgkelly@buffnetnet

Fax (814) 367-5919Society of American Foasters - Pennsylvania Fort!stTy Association

NY C rati. COfISIIlti Forester - Member NY Forest Owrten Association

NY FOREST OWNER Vol. 35 No.5 NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO SEP/OCT 1997 23



R.J. Fox, EditorRD#3, Box 88Moravia, NY 13118FaxIPhone (315) 497-1078Email: [email protected]

NOTICETHE FOREST OWNER is mailed

third class and will not be forwarded;notify Administrative Secretary DebbieGill, PO Box 180, Fairport 14450 or call1/800/836/3566 with a change in ad-dress! SUSAN J- KEISTER

Forestry Consulting Services

-480A & SIP Management Plans-Forestry Inventory and Appraisals=Timber Sales-Cost Basis and Real Estate TaxManagement Advice

(716) 728-30447025 Harpers Ferry Road, Wayland,

NY 14572AdirondackForestry Inc.

Incorporated 1955

Services Include:Timber InventoryTimber AppraisalManagement Plans

Timber Marking & SalesSale SupervisionTrespass Appraisal

S.I.P. PlansPhone:

Garry L. Nelson • (518) 793·9022James A. Farrar • (518) 623·9449Dennis M. Flynn • (518) 581·1055

Member of SAF, NYFOA,Tree Farm, NYS Coop. Cons. For.

E·Mail: FATBlKE @ ao1.eom

Non-Profit Org.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMoravia, N.Y.

13118Permit No. 21

FOUNDED 1963

WOODLOTCALENDAR

SEP 27: CNY; NYFOA FALL MEETING;Heiberg Forest; Syracuse;315/ 255-3662.SEE PAGE 9 FOR DETAILS!!

OCT 5: CDC; 9:30AM; Fire Tower Woods walk;Rtes. NY203 & 22-junction; 5181753-4336.


271 County Road#9Chenango Forks,NY 13746

E-MaU:[email protected](607) 648-5512

ROY D~H0PKf .C9fls\jttjn~lforester

Timber Appraisal Stewardship PlansTimber Sales Forestry 480-A PlansForestry Real Estate Sales Mapping Services

Buying or Seliing Timberlands? Calf me!

LandVest The Next Level of ServiceA company of experienced professionals dedicated to providing consulting and

marketing services to owners of forest land. Our Timberland,Consulting & Marketing Divisions specialize in:

Adirondack Office64 Park Street, Tupper Lake, NY 12986

(518) 359-2385

OTHER LOCATIONSBoston,MA • Albany, VT • Concord, NH

Portland and Jackman, ME

• Timberland Management

• Forest Land Marketing & Sales

• Real Estate Asset Planning

• Land Use Planning

• Appraisal & Conservation Services



mailto:E-MaU:[email protected]

Documents

The New York Forest Owner - Volume 35 Number 5