Western Maryland “Green Energy Day”

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Come and join forest Landowners, friends, farmers, conservationists, local businesses and MFA members for a green energy educational day atop Warrior Mountain in Allegany County. All are welcome on Saturday, May 22, 2010 from 9am to 4pm.

There will be demonstrations on several viable and operational green and renewable energy systems including small wind, solar, thermal and wood gasification. Also view water conservation, gathering, storage and pumping demonstrations. This is a great opportunity to meet with manufacturers and have questions answered about energy conservation products and hear from companies including Bergey Wind Power, Alternate Heating Systems, Stiebel Eltron, Mahoning Outdoor Furnace and ESP Insulation. Qualified contractors knowledgeable about equipment installation will be on hand.

Tree Farmers Henry & Nancy Maier are hosting the event and are anxious and willing to share their valuable real life experiences and results. Also invited are representatives from USDA Rural Development, MD Dept. of Energy, University of MD Cooperative Extension, MD Forest Service, Soil Conservation, Frostburg State University Physics and Engineering Department MD Energy Administration and the Maryland Forests Association.

Come early and stay late! There is a lot to see. Stay for lunch - Kentucky Style Pig Roast by Gary & Cindy Smith and partially supported by the Maryland Forests Association.

For food purposes, you must make a reservation by April 29 MFA members are to contact John Jastrzembski at 301-784-5309 or by email at jjastrzembski@allegany.edu.

Take charge of your legacy - A workshop for Maryland woodland owners

Saturday, April 24, 2010 8:45 — 3pm

Private woodlands do the public good! Do you own woods? Join us for this workshop to discover what opportunities & resources exist to help you care of for your land. You will also learn about various techniques and practices to improve your woodland’s health while addressing some of its greatest threats.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD 21037
Registration fee is $10 and due by April 12th.
See the registration brochure for details.

Workshop Agenda
8:45 a.m. - Sign-in – Schmidt Conference Center

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
· The changing forest landscape in Maryland
· Developing goals & a plan for your property
· Conservation programs & new opportunities
· Plant invaders—threats to Maryland’s forests
· A new web–based mapping & assessment tool for landowners

12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. - Lunch will be provided

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Field tour of SERC’s woodlands
· Forest succession and ecology
· Invasive/exotic plant control methods · Wildlife habitat management

Sightline Express – The Latest Tree Farm News

1. USGBC’s LEED Program: Update

Our partners, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI Inc) have launched an online petition (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/leed) urging the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to recognize all credible certification systems, like ATFS, in their LEED programs. We need your help to send a message to USGBC that there is a large community of family forest owners and foresters that are not happy with the current LEED program. Please urge your fellow inspectors, friends and family to sign the petition. The more names we gather, the louder our collective voice and the harder it will be for the USGBC to ignore.

ATFS has been working with the U.S. Green Building Council for a number of years to encourage them to recognize all credible forest certification systems under their LEED program for rating green buildings. USGBC recently completed a third public comment period for the certified wood credit. ATFS staff submitted comments to USGBC about the need to recognize all credible forest certification programs. Staff comments were supported by some great contributions from state Tree Farm committee members, other volunteers, AFF Grassroots Leaders, and Tree Farmers. We will notify our partners of the results of the comment period when they are posted by USGBC.

2. Inspector Training

Trained facilitators are now available to host inspector training workshops! Please contact your state committee for more information on available workshops in your state.

Please look for more information in coming weeks on the availability of the online refresher course for current inspectors.

3. What Acreage do you count?

We have been asked recently, “What acreage do you count as certified on a given Tree Farm?” Tree Farm acreage should be the eligible forested acres. You cannot exempt a portion of a contiguous forest management unit that does not meet the AFF Standards. Forested acres may include features such as food plots, water resources (lakes, ponds, streams), and other non-forested areas as long as these are small enough that they remain a part of the forest system.

Please encourage Tree Farmers to contact the state Tree Farm committee when they have a change in their acreage

Need a 004 form?

Electronic copies of the 004 inspector form and the auditor verification form are always available on the ATFS website. Visit www.treefarmsystem.org>Tree Farm in Your State>Inspectors Corner for this and other resources for inspectors.

Or contact your state program if you are meeting with a specific landowner and you would like to have an electronic copy to print that is pre-populated with the Tree Farm and landowner information. All state contacts are listed on the Tree Farm website.

As always, check out the latest news of what’s happening at the American Forest Foundation on our website – www.forestfoundation.org.

Victoria Lockhart
Certification Manager, American Tree Farm System American Forest Foundation 1111 19th St., NW Washington, DC 20036 (T) 202 463 2738 (F) 202 463 2461

vlockhart@forestfoundation.org

from the Virginia Landowner Association

The temperature is well below freezing and the wind is howling; but the snow flurries are glittering in the sun. It’s a great time to wrap up in your new Snuggie and read the Winter 2010 Edition of the Virginia Forest Landowner Update. Click on the links below or visit the Virginia Forest Landowner Update website to read current and archived articles.

In this edition:

· Virginia’s Big Woodland Transfer by Adam Downing and Mike Santucci

Virginia is poised to see one of the greatest shifts in forestland ownership since the Kings’ Grants of yore. A combination of factors have been in play over the last few centuries culminating in an aging Boomer generation that now owns the majority of Virginia’s woodland. With relative affluence and affordable land, boomers have acquired farm and forestland over the years, and are now poised to pass much of that land on to the next generation of owners. Read more…

· Tomorrow Woods Program Part I: Land Conservation by Rob Suydam

Virginia has established itself as a leader in land conservation by being one of only three states nationwide that has transferable state income tax credits as incentives for landowners who are interested in protecting their land from development. This state tax incentive, along with federal tax benefits, has generated a great deal of interest in land conservation, particularly conservation easements, resulting in the protection of over 170,000 acres of land in just the last two years. Read more…

· You Ain’t From Around Here! Exotic Invasive of the Quarter: Asian Lady Beetle by Jennifer Gagnon

In the Winter 2007 edition of the Virginia Forest Landowner Update, I featured the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) in “You Ain’t From Around Here!” In this article, I touted the on-going research to control HWA by releasing ladybird beetles (aka ladybugs, lady beetles), which are adelgid predators. Little did I know that the publication of this article would result in my phone ringing off the hook for weeks. Virginians were outraged that researchers had intentionally released these critters. One caller claimed she swept up buckets of ladybugs from her walkway every day in the fall. Read more…

· Establishing a Riparian Forest Buffer on the Bluestone River by David Richert

· Although many landowners associate tree planting with the springtime flush of growth, the late fall dormant season is also a biologically appropriate season for tree planting. Some landowners who are faced with a lengthy springtime to-do list may actually prefer planting trees in late fall because of logistics or the availability of volunteer labor. This was the case for Tazewell County landowner Lloyd Evans, who completed a tree-planting project on his farm near Bluefield, Virginia during the week of Thanksgiving. Read more…

Upcoming events:

• · Sustainable Timber Harvesting & Marketing February 6, Gloucester
• · Forest Landowner Association Workshop: How to Increase Forest Productivity and Profits February 9, Charlottesville
• · Timber Tax for Owners & Managers February 26, Harrisonburg
• · Cruisin’ Through the Woods Part I – Timber Volume Estimation March 12, Ottobine
• · Crusin’ Through the Woods Part II – GPS Navigation March 19, Ottobine

In addition:

SHARP Logger Program’s FREE on-line classes for landowners, natural resource professionals and loggers:

o Protecting Water Quality with Best Management Practices in Virginia

o Laws Affecting Water Quality and Forestry Operations in Virginia

These 30-minute training presentations qualify for 0.5 SAF Category 1 CFE Credits each. Stay tuned for MANY more on-line topics in the coming year.

· The Virginia Forest Landowner Update website has been updated – visit www.cnr.vt.edu/forestupdate for publications, links, events, short course and field tour information, and more!

· The Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program is on Facebook. Become a fan by visiting www.facebook.com and searching for Virginia Forest Landowner Education. Read news articles, post comments, view field tour photos, and share your photos, videos and forest stories.

· The Virginia Department of Forestry’s 2009 State of the Forest is now available. This publication is full of information about Virginia’s forested lands.

Check Out Tree Farmer Magazine Online

Check out the November/December issue of Tree Farmer Magazine online.

In this issue:

• Making your home and forest fire resistant
  
• Understanding the differences between succession and estate planning
• Taxing issues: closing the books on 2009
  
• Buyer's Guide to consulting foresters, forest appraisal, supplies, seedlings, tools, and much more
  

With the online version you can click directly to advertisers and resources to receive more information about their products and services. It's easy.

Save the date - July 13-15, 2010 for the 17th Annual National Tree Farmer Convention in Burlington, Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain. Register today and reserve your space!

The American Tree Farm System is a program of the American Forest Foundation. For more than 68 years, the American Tree Farm System has served the needs of private forest landowners. Sustaining forests, watersheds, and healthy habitats through the power of private stewardship.

FAMILY FORESTS POLICY SNAPSHOT

June 5, 2009

Climate Change Action continues in the House - Following the House Energy and Commerce Committee passage of HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the bill was referred to several other House Committees, including the House Agriculture Committee. The Agriculture Committee has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, June 11^th at 2pm, and could take further action on the bill within the next two weeks.

Now is the time for family forest owners to speak up, calling on Congress to make improvements to the legislation. Otherwise, there is a risk that family forest owners will be left out of the market and incentive opportunities in the legislation.

Representatives on the House Agriculture Committee are particularly important right now. If your Representative is on the House Agriculture Committee please take the following steps:

1) call them and ask to speak with the staff that handles agriculture issues, and

2) relay key messages detailed here

For an AFF report on the role of family forests in addressing climate change click here

Oregon Family Forest Owner calls on Congress to Address Pressing Challenges -- In testimony before the House Agriculture, Forestry Subcommittee, AFF Board member, Tree Farmer, and member of Oregon Small Woodland Owners Association, Clint Bentz, called on Members of Congress to secure the future of the nation's family forests by addressing pressing challenges like development pressures and invasive species and ensuring access to economic incentives for sustainable management.

To read the testimony Click here .

AFF testifies on Green Building in Pennsylvania - In testimony before the Joint Conservation Committee, AFF certification manager, Victoria Lockhart, pointed out the need for new, emerging green building markets to include renewable wood products from Pennsylvania's vast tracts of family-owned forests. Lockhart raised concerns with existing green building standards like the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, that excludes wood grown on American Tree Farm System® certified forests.

To view AFF's testimony click here.

Senate Committee Action on Renewable Electricity Standard - The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee continued action this week on a large draft Energy bill, approving a Renewable Electricity Standard requiring the generation of 15% of the nation's electricity from renewable sources by 2021. The draft legislation defines what forest biomass is considered a "renewable source" of electricity under the Standard. Thanks to the efforts of Senator Lincoln (D-AR), the definition has improved, with overly complicated federal practice requirements removed. However, further improvements are necessary, allow all sustainable forest biomass from family forests. There is no timeline yet for Senate floor action on the bill.