I. Featured News

All of these items and more appear in the "Featured News" section on the SAF home page

1. Pacific West Biomass Profile

Biomass Power & Thermal (January 5) - Biomass potential in the Pacific West goes far beyond the well-known forestry resources, but even with such vast opportunities, development has been slower in some states than in others because of complications such as the lack of forest products industries, the need for a centralized biomass collection system, or the absence of a market for the biomass material.

2. Global Trade Brings Unwanted Pests that Threaten the Nation's Trees

Michigan State University (January 5) - According to a study published in the December issue of BioScience, without better efforts to stop the transport of exotic forest insects into the United States and to control the devastating species that are already here, our forests, woodlands, and urban trees are at serious risk with economic losses projected to range in the billions of dollars.

3. Mount St. Helens Forest Conservation Easement Purchased

Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal (January 3) - The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Pope Resources, and Columbia Land Trust jointly announced the purchase of a conservation easement from Pope Resources on nearly 6,900 acres of forestland on the southern flanks of Mount St. Helens.

Additional Information:
Pope Resources Announces $2.4 Million Conservation Easement Sale

4. Plan Guards Rensselaer County Forestland

Times Union (New York, January 4) - The 196,000-acre Rensselaer Plateau, a geologically unique section of eastern Rensselaer County in New York State, has been designated a US Forest Service Forest Legacy Area. The program, overseen by state Department of Environmental Conservation, would allow the state to seek federal funds to help pay private landowners on the plateau who are willing to sell either development rights or land as a way to conserve the forest.

5. $100K Worth of Equipment Stolen from SC Forestry Commission

SecurityInfoWatch.com (January 5) - State agents are investigating a major theft at the South Carolina Forestry Commission's maintenance and storage area. The Forestry Commission said about $100,000 worth of equipment was stolen by someone who cut through a locked gate at the agency's state headquarters in Columbia.

Federal Lands Management

6. Groups Sue over Proposed Wilderness in Beaverhead-Deerlodge

Bozeman Daily Chronicle (January 5) - More than 20 organizations and individuals have sued the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest over revisions to the forest plan that would bar most motorized and mechanized uses on forestland the Beaverhead-Deerlodge has recommended become wilderness.

The lawsuit claims that the Beaverhead-Deerlodge doesn't have consistent rules when it comes to managing recommended wilderness areas and that it cut the public out of the decisionmaking process when it revised its forest plan in 2009.

7. Sen. Tester to Reintroduce Forest Bill, Seek More Support

Missoulian (January 3) - Sen. Jon Tester plans to reintroduce his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act this year with no changes, but hopes to bring more Montanans to its support.

Tester's bill, which struggled through the Senate last year and did not make it out of committee, would require at least 100,000 acres of logging and forest thinning over 15 years in two national forests. It would also designate about 660,000 acres of new wilderness and 330,000 acres of recreation areas.

8. New Ranger Named to Lead Bozeman Ranger District

NBC Montana.com (January 4) - The Gallatin National Forest has announced that Lisa Stoeffler is the new District Ranger at the Bozeman Ranger District stationed in Bozeman, Montana.

Stoeffler has worked for the Forest Service for 26 years, spending the last 7 years on the Gallatin National Forest as the Natural Resources staff for the Forest Supervisor. She has served as the acting Bozeman District Ranger since January of 2010. Before coming to the Gallatin she worked on the Sawtooth National Forest in Stanley, Idaho, the Lolo National Forest in western Montana, the Idaho Panhandle National Forest in northern Idaho and the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota.

Forest Products Industry

9. Chicago Climate Exchange Closes Nation's First Cap-and-Trade System but Keeps Eye to the Future

New York Times (January 3) - The nation's first experiment in carbon emissions cap-and-trade has come to an end, but its mark on the climate change industry will be felt for some time to come.

According to the New York Times, former member companies say they have no regrets about participating in the admittedly flawed system. They praise the lessons they learned ahead of the slow spread of state-driven cap-and-trade initiatives from the Northeast to California and possibly the West.

10. VA Timber Harvests Up from Last Year

The Daily Progress (Virginia, January 4) - After 2 years of declines (a drop of 40 percent since 2006), the value of the harvests increased six-tenths of a percent, for a total of $208 million statewide. That's $1.4 million more than in 2008, but below the total of $347 million in 2006.

11. Southern Yellow Pine Lumber Prices Up 4.4 Percent in 2010

Forest2Market.com (January 3) - A beginning of the year assessment of 2010's Southern Yellow Pine lumber market by Forest2Market shows that the weighted average price for dimensioned lumber (grades #1-#4) increased 4.4 percent from $252 per thousand board feet (mbf) at the end of December 2009 to $263 per mbf at the close of 2010.

II. Publications, Resources, and Items of Interest

1. Rules Regulating Pesticide Spraying Vary Widely by State

Register Guard (Oregon, January 2) - The US Environmental Protection Agency has spent the past decade considering adding warnings to herbicide product labels against applying the chemicals in ways that can result in drift, but has yet to mandate the change

2. Critter Cams Capture Menagerie of Boulder County Wildlife

DailyCamera.com (January 2) - In the few months since 40 motion-activated cameras were spread out across the undeveloped lands west of Boulder and around Lyons, thousands of these kinds of pictures have been taken, giving a glimpse into a world of wildlife rarely seen by people.

The cameras, set up by Colorado State University doctoral student Jesse Lewis, are part of a larger study on bobcats in Boulder County. But the cameras have snapped photos of all kinds of critters, including bears, coyotes, skunks, foxes, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, rabbits, and squirrels.

3. Living Christmas Trees Return to Nature

Guelph Mercury (Ontario, January 3) - Guelph's first living Christmas tree project-a joint venture between the Guelph International Resource Centre and the Ignatius Jesuit Centre-involved people "adopting" a living tree, root ball and all, in a planter over the Christmas holidays. Then those same trees were then replanted Sunday on the north bank of the Speed River.

III. Science and Technology

1. Trees Enlisted in Carbon Control

The Coloradoan (January 2) - Researchers at the US Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station in Fort Collins are taking a look at how managing forests to promote carbon sequestration might help put a damper on climate change.

"All those trees in the mountains absorb carbon in the air originating from vehicle tail pipes, which means the more trees there are in the woods, the more vehicle carbon emissions are trapped in the forest without contributing to climate change, said Tom Crow, manager of the Forest and Woodlands Ecosystem Program at the Rocky Mountain Research Station."

2. US Does Not Have Infrastructure to Consume More Ethanol

Purdue University (January 4) - According to a new study from Purdue University, the United States doesn't have the infrastructure to meet the federal mandate for renewable fuel use with ethanol but could meet the standard with significant increases in cellulosic and next-generation biofuels.

3. Can We Find Trees on Other Planets?

Discovery.com (January 2) - If a tree casts a shadow in the woods, can anyone see it from light-years away? Considering that the best extra-solar planet pictures to date are dots in deep-space exposures, this question may sound ludicrous. But a pair of scientists thinks that detecting alien forests might be doable, at least in theory.

IV. SAF News

1. Get $10 Off Your 2012 Membership Dues for Every New and Reinstating Member You Recruit!

Membership is all about networking. Now you can save money and help the organization by recruiting your colleagues. For every new or former professional member you recruit, you receive $10 off your 2012 national dues.

Show Them How They Can:

• Access the nation's largest listing of continuing forestry education
• Enhance their professional credentials with the Certified Forester® program
• Get discounted pricing on the NEW Forestry Mobile App
• Use the all-new Career Center and post their résumé in the online database
• Get discounted rates on Consulting and Prescribed Fire Insurance
• Get FREE online subscription to Forest Science
• Get FREE online subscriptions to the Regional Applied Journals of Forestry
• Learn about the latest developments in forest policy
• Get discounted rates on automotive insurance
• Get involved locally and make a difference

Be the Sponsor

Help them sign up by visiting the SAF website or call (866) 897-8720 x110 and make sure they list you as the sponsor. You don't pay anything but you can save a lot.

2. Meeting: National Workshop on Climate & Forests

Planning Tools and Perspectives on Adaptation and Mitigation Options
Northern Arizona University
May 16-18, 2011 o Flagstaff, Arizona

Join leading scientists, foresters, and educators to learn and discuss what needs to be done today to manage tomorrow's forests. Participate in regionally themed breakouts to discuss the implementation of adaptation and mitigation options and share your accomplishments at the poster session.

Early-Bird Discounts End April 2

To register, or for more information, visit the SAF website.

3. Henry Clepper Forest Policy Internship Available

SAF's Henry Clepper Forest Policy Internship at SAF's national office in Bethesda, MD, is now available for graduate or upper-level undergraduate students enrolled in accredited forestry programs, other natural resource programs, or in public policy programs with a forestry background. Knowledge of the programs, positions, and services of the Society of American Foresters is a plus. Interns serve as assistant to the director of forest policy and will be perform duties such as preparing background reports, monitoring legislation, and serving as a liaison to other natural resource organizations.

Stipend: $1200 per month.
Time Commitment: flexible

To apply: Send cover letter, resume, writing sample, transcripts, and list of references to Erica Rhoad, director of forest policy, Society of American Foresters, 5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20184-2198; fax (301) 897-3690.

For more information, contact Rhoad at (301) 897-8720, ext. 115.

4. Show Your Commitment to Forestry and the Society with the SAF Ring

The SAF ring program is designed to honor forestry graduates and create a tradition to last for generations. Whether you are 22 or 92, if you have graduated with a forestry-related degree, you can commemorate your accomplishment with the SAF Forestry Ring.

Every ring purchase demonstrates your pride but also salutes the work of next year's graduates from SAF-accredited programs because a portion of the purchase price goes towards recognizing 2011 graduates with a ring-FREE of charge.

Take advantage of this special pre-order offer of $50 (a $65 value) and receive free engraving and gift box with your order.

Order Your Ring Today! Hurry, this a limited-time offer. For bulk orders, please call (866) 897-8720 x110.

5. New Membership Benefit-Free Online Access to All SAF Journals!

Beginning in January, your SAF membership now includes free online access to the Northern, Southern, and Western Journals of Applied Forestry, as well as Forest Science, SAF's premiere journal of forestry research and theory.

If you've never accessed SAF's online journal collection, you'll need to register first to take advantage of your new benefit. Follow these simple, one-time instructions for registration and then be on your way to exploring the latest science and research, as well as new techniques and practices for effective, productive forest management.

Need help registering? Contact Matt Walls

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