I. Featured News

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

1. California Logging Industry's $18 Million State Subsidy Examined

Sacramento Bee (September 28) - California taxpayers subsidize the state's forest products industry an estimated $18 million a year, and the justification for the subsidy is the question before the Accountability and Administrative Review Committee.

Owners of the state's 8.7 million acres of private forestland argue they provide public benefits including wildlife habitat, clean air, and carbon sequestration-not to mention about 22,000 jobs.

Environmental groups counter that logging causes habitat loss and water pollution and the industry should cover all of the state's cost to police those problems.

2. Tree-Killing Laurel Wilt Disease Confirmed in Alabama

Montgomery Advertiser (September 28) - A disease that has been killing trees in several Southeastern states has now been found in two Alabama counties, the Alabama Forestry Commission reported.

The US Department of Agriculture and Iowa State University laboratories confirmed that tree stem samples collected in Marengo and Mobile counties were positive for the fungus that causes laurel wilt disease.

The non-native insect-disease complex primarily affects trees in the laurel family, with redbay, camphor, and sassafras being especially susceptible, the Forestry Commission reports.

3. Salwasser Leaving as Dean of OSU College of Forestry

Oregon State University (September 23) - Hal Salwasser, professor and dean of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University has announced that he will step down from his position at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year.

4. Legacy of Logging Roads Brings Change to Oregon Forests and So Do the Courts

The Oregonian (September 26) - Last summer, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals equated stormwater runoff from logging roads with industrial pollution and ruled that road runoff is pollution that requires a discharge permit under the federal Clean Water Act.

Oregon's political leaders want the ruling overturned, and with thousands of miles of logging roads potentially requiring pollution discharge permits, a bitter tussle in the courts and in Congress seems certain.

5. Texas Forest Service: Wildfire Damaged $12.8 Million Worth of Timber

Ultimate Woodlands.com (September 22) - The Texas Forest Service (TFS) has estimated that the recent wildfire damaged 20.8 million cubic feet of timber when it burnt 18,960 acres across Montgomery, Grimes, and Waller Counties.

That timber would have been worth $12.8 million, and might have spurred $420 million in economic activity. In addition, TFS estimates that wildfires have destroyed $97 million worth of timber in East Texas this year.

Federal Lands Management

6. Forest Service Land Sale in California Disregarded Threatened Species

Courthouse News.com (September 26) - According to a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Protection Information Center, the US Forest Service disregarded the habitat of the threatened northern spotted owl and other species when it sold more than 3,000 acres of the Six Rivers National Forest for timber and fuel treatment.

The Six Rivers National Forest spans over 950,000 acres in northwestern California, and the Beaverslide Project would thin trees on more than 2,000 acres. The project also includes fuel treatments to improve protection from wildfires and maintenance on 63 miles of forest roads.

7. Deaths Rise in California's National Forests

Sacramento Bee (September 26) - Yosemite National Park has gotten all the attention for a spike in visitor deaths this year, but fatalities also are up on national forestlands throughout California. Data provided by the US Forest Service show there have been 27 deaths in 18 national forests in the state through August 15, according to the most recent data available.

8. Timber Harvests Underway at Marine Corps Logistics Base

US Marine Corps (September 22) - The annual thinning at Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia, is underway and will continue for the next several weeks. The thinning, which will be conducted in two phases, is based on age of the trees and density of the woods. About 33 acres will be thinned and nearly 48 acres will be clearcut.

Forest Products Industry

9. Five Temple-Inland Execs to Get $162 Million if Merger Approved

American Statesman (Texas, September 26) - Five top executives of Temple-Inland Inc. are in line to receive a combined $162 million in so-called "golden parachute" compensation if stockholders approve International Paper Co.'s bid to acquire the Austin-based packaging and building products company, according to a securities filing.

10. Dover-Foxcroft Firm to Buy Hancock Sawmill

Bangor Daily News (Maine, September 26) - Pleasant River Lumber has announced its plans to purchase a 100-acre lumber mill property that was put up for sale at a foreclosure auction last month.

The property's previous owner, Crobb Box Co., ran into financial troubles earlier this year after nearly 70 years in business, most recently specializing in eastern white pine lumber products. Machias Savings Bank purchased the property last month after a foreclosure sale failed to attract any satisfactory bids.

11. Biomass News

Study Finds Biomass Heating Project Viable for Valley

AspenDailyNewsOnline.com (September 27) - A study by the Roaring Fork Biomass Consortium has found that the wood supply in and around the Roaring Fork Valley is large enough to use biomass for heating purposes and a carbon-negative, energy-positive result.

Wood-Burning Power Exemption Opposed

Post and Courier (September 26) - The Coastal Conservation League, one of South Carolina's largest environmental groups, says the federal government should not exempt biomass plants from pending carbon dioxide rules. The league last week joined an August 15 lawsuit challenging the federal exemption to biomass plants, which are growing in popularity as alternative sources of energy.

A Way to Make Motor Fuel Out of Wood? Add Water

New York Times (September 27) - A Georgia company says it has overcome a major roadblock in turning agricultural waste into vehicle fuel and other useful chemicals by experimenting with a technology that treats the waste with compressed water heated to very high temperatures.

II. Publications, Resources, and Items of Interest

1. Kenyan Nobel Laureate Maathai Dies

Voice of America.com (September 26) - Global leaders are honoring the late Wangari Maathai of Kenya, who died at a Nairobi hospital on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. She was 71

2. Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 2011 Tax Year

US Forest Service - This bulletin summarizes Federal income tax provisions related to woodland property for use by woodland owners in preparing their 2011 individual tax return. It is current as of September 15, 2011.3. Kudzu-Eating Bugs: Good News or Bad?Tucson Citizen.com (September 25) - Farmers and timber producers have cursed Kudzu, a green leafy vine native to China and Japan brought here in the 19th century, for damaging property and cropland.

Now, another Asian import—bean plataspids—'has emerged, and it munches on the fast-growing kudzu.

The dark green insects are spreading across the South and causing some debate over whether that's good news or bad.

III. Science and Technology

1. DNA Detectives Aim to Thwart Illegal Timber Trade

New Scientist (September 28) - A technique originally used to piece together the DNA of extinct animals lies at the heart of a powerful new technology for tackling the $23 billion trade in illegal timber.

2. Study: Bedrock Nitrogen May Help Forests Buffer Climate Change

University of California-Davis (August 31) - For the first time, researchers at the University of California-Davis have demonstrated that forest trees have the ability to tap into nitrogen found in rocks, boosting the trees' growth and their ability to pull more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

3. Hemlocks Still Abundant Despite Adelgid Infestations

US Forest Service (September 21) - An analysis of two decades of data collected by the US Forest Service's Forest and Inventory Analysis program shows that the live volume of hemlocks in the eastern United States isincreasing despite infestations of hemlock woolly adelgid that have decimated local populations.

IV. SAF News

1. National Committee Positions Now Open

SAF currently has openings on 12 National Committees. National committees work with the SAF Council and the staff of the national office to help shape policy and guide the future development of SAF. For information about available openings, see the August issue of The Forestry Source.

2. ATFS, SAF, and ACF "Partner for Better Forests"—and Help Foresters in the Process

The "Partners for Better Forests" initiative, a collaborative effort among the American Tree Farm System, the Society of American Foresters, and the Association of Consulting Foresters (ACF), aims to increase the number of engaged inspectors across the United States to provide landowners with the tools they need for on-the-ground support, and promote better forest stewardship.

Because members of ACF and SAF have traditionally been those who have volunteered their time to work as Tree Farm inspectors and committee members, Partners for Better Forests is rewarding participating foresters with membership dues support to their respective professional association.

In return for completing two reinspections or two initial inspections, the program will give foresters $100 to be applied toward the annual dues of ACF or SAF. The money will be paid directly to SAF or ACF and will result in a $100 dues reduction for the member forester.

For more information, visit the SAF website.

3. Foresters and Science Funds Raffle and Auction at 2011 National Convention

The national raffle held during the SAF national convention is the main fundraiser for the Foresters' Fund program, which provides grants to SAF local units to educate the public about forestry and support local unit projects. In addition, the Science Fund is holding its first national silent auction during the National Convention.

All donations are tax deductible.

For more information please see the Foresters' Fund and Science Fund Donation Form.

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