I. Featured News

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

1. Udall Wants Changes on Old Timber Contracts to Save Colorado Sawmills

Associated Press (July 5) - Colorado Sen. Mark Udall is urging federal officials to rework old timber contracts to help keep the state's sawmills open.

Udall said the state's three sawmills-in Montrose, Saguache, and Delta-are struggling because of the downturn in the housing market and lower demand for wood products, and that contracts worked out with the federal government before the recession began don't provide enough money to cover their expenses.

2. New Source of Asbestos Contamination Raises Fears in Montana Superfund Town

Associated Press (July 5) - For a decade, the people of Libby have longed for the day when they will be rid of the asbestos that turned their town into a Superfund site. However, thanks to two giant piles of bark and wood chips on the edge of town, their troubles are far from over.

An Associated Press investigation found that the federal government has known for at least 3 years that the wood piles, which came from a now-defunct timber mill that took thousands of trees from a forest tainted with asbestos from a nearby mine, were contaminated with an unknown level of asbestos.

3. In Mexico, Forests Fall Prey to Crime Mafias

Washington Post (July 6) - In Cheran, a homegrown, rifle-toting militia has initiated daily patrols to protect the community's timber.

Although the fight is over trees, it's part of a greater struggle in Mexico to beat back criminal organizations that have extended their reach from drug smuggling and migrant kidnapping to gasoline rustling, software piracy, and now timber theft.

4. Environmentalists Blasted over Wildfires at Arizona Forest Panel

East Valley Tribune (July 5) - A recent meeting of an Arizona State House panel on forest health turned into a forum for lashing out at "radical environmentalists" and the federal government, which were cited as factors contributing to the size of the state's recent fires.

5. National Fire News

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, as of July 6, 10 states-Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas-are reporting large fires. The number of acres burned by active fires is 1,168,533.

For the latest national fire information, visit the NIFC website.

To read news articles about some of the nation's recent fires, see the following:

Oregon

Fire Crews Still Battling Douglas County Wildfire
KEZI.com (July 5)

Southeast

Burning Ban in SC as Wildfire Season Won't End
Associated Press (July 6)

Smoke from Southeast Wildfires Is Health Hazard
Fox News (July 6)

Southwest

Fire Danger High, Forestry Officials Say
Times Record (July 6)

Most NM Fires in 2011 Human Caused
KOB.com (July 5)

Federal Lands Management

6. Plan Marks New Route for Recovering Northern Spotted Owl and Promoting Healthy Northwest Forests

US Fish and Wildlife Service (June 30) - The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently released a final revised recovery plan for the threatened northern spotted owl to reverse the raptor's decline.

The revised plan identifies three main priorities for achieving spotted owl recovery: protecting the best of its remaining habitat, actively managing forests to improve forest health, and reducing competition from barred owls.

According to the agency, its personnel will work with land managers in the Pacific Northwest such as the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, as well as other federal and nonfederal landowners, to advise them on habitat management activities that can benefit the spotted owl and contribute to improved forest health.

7. BLM Calls Its Own Timber Plan Faulty; Urges It Be Tossed

Register-Guard (July 6) - The Bureau of Land Management has acknowledged that its Western Oregon Plan Revision-a management strategy that would have significantly increased logging-is flawed, and has recommended that a judge throw it out.

To read an additional article on this matter, see:

Administration Won't Revive Logging Increase
Associated Press (July 6)

8. Striking a Balance on Forest Feess

Payson Roundup (July 6) - The Tonto National Forest faces a tough problem when it comes to figuring out how to allow people access without them trashing the place.

That dilemma has come into sharp focus with the debate about whether the forest should let a private company run trailhead and picnic areas-and charge people every time they get out of their cars.

Forest Products Industry

9. Forestar Sells Timberland for $75 Million

Forestar Group Inc. (July 7) - Forestar has announced that it entered into a definitive agreement with Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. to sell approximately 50,000 acres of timberland for approximately $75 million in a cash transaction. The timberlands are located in Georgia and Alabama and the sale is expected to close in third quarter 2011. Forestar will reserve mineral rights and will retain an option to acquire the mitigation rights to approximately 1,000 acres for use in mitigation banks.

10. Sino-Forest Postpones Tour of Forestry Operations

The Canadian Press (July 6) - Troubled timber company Sino-Forest Corporation is postponing a tour of the company's operations in China for financial analysts that had been proposed for mid-July.

According to the company, many of the analysts who follow the company have suspended coverage pending the outcome of an investigation by an independent committee of the board.

For more about the Sino-Forest saga, see the list "related" articles at the bottom of the page.

11. Forestry and Timber Investing: Can It Be Sustainable?

Eco-Business.com (July 6) - Individual investors-especially those looking for diversification and stable returns-are missing out if they're ignoring the value timber investments can bring to their overall portfolio.

II. Publications, Resources, and Items of Interest

1. Income Tax Deduction for Timber Casualty Loss

US Forest Service (July 5) - Timber damaged by hurricanes, fire, earthquakes, ice, hail, tornadoes, high winds, and other weather phenomena are "casualty losses" that may allow timberland owners to claim a deduction on their federal income tax returns. But in many cases the specific requirements on loss calculation set by the tax law and rules may actually result in low or no deductions.

To learn more, see "Income Tax Deduction for Timber Casualty Loss," a publication of the US Forest Service.

2. Maine: Ancient Forest Similar to What Exists Today

WABI.tv (July 5) - Two chance encounters with well-preserved wood give a glimpse of Maine's forests from more than 13,000 years ago and, according to Woody Thompson of the Maine Geological Survey, what they show is that that the ancient forest was similar to what you find in Maine today.

3. Fort Collins Woodworker Turns Urban Waste into Treasure Greely Tribune (July 5) - "A new and interesting thing that's hit the industry in the last several years"-that is how Shiloh Hatcher, forestry manager in Greely Colorado, characterizes the use of portable sawmills to process urban wood waste and put it to good use.

III. Science and Technology

1. Assessing Agroforestry's Advantages

American Society of Agronomy (June 30) - Researchers at the University of Florida, University of Kansas, University of Nebraska, and the US Department of Agriculture's National Agroforestry Center (NAC) have developed a model to predict the amount of carbon contained by agroforestry systems.

2. Termites' Digestive System Could Act as Biofuel Refinery

Purdue University (July 5) - One of the peskiest household pests, while disastrous to homes, could prove to be a boon for cars, according to a Purdue University study.

Mike Scharf, the O. Wayne Rollins/Orkin Chair in Molecular Physiology and Urban Entomology, said his laboratory has discovered a cocktail of enzymes from the guts of termites that may be better at getting around the barriers inhibiting fuel production from woody biomass.

3. Fires Bringing Communities Together across the West

Oregon State University (June 30) - As homes and cities expand closer to forests and wildlands across the American West, increasing wildfire threats have created an unlikely new phenomena-confidence in government.

Recent studies show that people in neighborhoods adjacent to public forestlands can and do trust natural resource managers to a surprising degree, in part because the risks they face are so severe.

IV. SAF News

1. Now Is the Time to Register for the 2011 SAF National Convention

If you have yet to make your reservations for 2011 SAF National Convention, you are urged to do so as soon as possible, for the Asian-Pacific Economic Conference immediately follows SAF's event and rooms in the area are going quickly.

To make your reservation, visit the Hilton Hawaiian Village website. Be sure to put "ASW" in the Group/Convention Code area to get your discounted room.

Still Need to Make Your Travel Arrangements?
Find the best options for your travel to the convention with our all-new online service. Build your travel plan and find the best options for flights, rental cars, and hotel rooms, and get discounts with airlines, rental cars, and more just by visiting the SAF Convention website.

2. SAF Members Run for EPA Greenhouse Gas Advisory Panel-Submit Your Letter of Support

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is forming a panel to advise the EPA on draft greenhouse gas accounting methodology for biogenic carbon dioxide emissions from stationary sources.

The SAB Staff Office has identified a "short list" of nominees that includes the names of 22 SAF members. Please submit comments of support for SAF's members on the list to Holly Stallworth, designated federal officer, no later than July 15.

In creating the panel, the SAB Staff Office seeks a balanced committee with members who possess the scientific expertise, experience, and perspective necessary to provide impartial input as the EPA reviews the relevant science and research to craft the new guidelines for biogenic carbon dioxide emissions from stationary sources.

Brief biographical sketches of the 82 nominees and more information about the SAB panel is available on the EPA website.

3. Student Video Contest: Why Trees Are the Answer

Do you have talent? Do you have a video camera? Then you can be a star! Introducing the 2011 Student Video Contest. We want students and student chapters to show us why you think Trees Are the Answer. Make a 60- or 120-second video and you could win one of three awards. Winning videos will be presented at the 2011 National Convention. Submit your videos by Friday, September 30, 2011.

4. Membership Benefit: Consulting Forester's Liability and Prescribed Burn Liability Insurance Coverage

Do you need comprehensive, reliable, and affordable insurance coverage specifically designed to protect consulting foresters? If so, visit the SAF website to find out more on how SAF can help you get it.

 

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