virginia department of forestry 2014 swcd annual meeting

Virginia Department of Forestry

2014 SWCD Annual Meeting

VDOF Mission:

““We protect and develop We protect and develop healthy, sustainable healthy, sustainable forest resources for forest resources for

Virginians”Virginians”

Protect the Forest Resource from Wildfire, Insect

and Disease, and other Natural Disasters

Conserve the Forest Land Base

Protect Water Quality

Improve and Renew Forest Resources

DOF has ~250 employees to meet the following goals:

Our goals in Virginia:

Protecting Our Forests -Wildfire

Agency relies on a fleet of:– 190 – 4X4 Pickup truck-based

engines– 7 – specially equipped Hummers– 5 – Custom designed wildland

brush trucks– 89 bulldozer/wildland fire plow

suppression units– 2 – Incident Command Vehicles– 1 - Airplane

Protecting Water Quality

Harvest Inspection Program

-Notification Law Law Enforcement

-Silvicultural Water Quality Law

Education

-Sharp Logger

Program

Protecting Water Quality

Assist Federal Agencies with

Riparian Forest Buffer Est.

-CREP, CRP, EQIP, VABMP Riparian Buffer Tax Credit

Riparian Buffer Tax Credit

(RBTC) Riparian Buffer Tax Credit

Tax Credit through the Virginia General Assembly Eligibility includes individuals, & S-Corporations

or Family Partnerships. Leaving existing buffers along waterways during

a timber harvesting operation Requirements include a Forest Stewardship Plan,

35’+ wide buffer, and be retained for 15 years after harvest

Credit is 25% of value of timber up to $17,500 Cost is $150 per application

Improve and Renew Forest Resources – starts with a plan

If you own a tract of timberland (regardless of size), you should have some type of plan for the future.

For small tracts (1-50 acres) - a simple one page letter and a map may be enough.

For larger tracts, (50-1000+ acres) – landowners should have a detailed Forest Management Plan.

Forest Management Plans should:

List landowner objectives Divide the tract into parcels based on

timber type and age and make recommendations for each one

Should address timber, wildlife, endangered species, invasive species, soil types, water quality, and historical sites

Forest Management Plans should:

Include a timeline that tells you what year certain practices need to be done

Include a detailed map Include Consulting Forester, Timber Buyer,

and Logger lists if timber harvesting was recommended in the plan

Forest Management Plans

VDOF – Forest Stewardship Plans for $1.50 /acre or $200 minimum

Consulting Foresters – Forest Stewardship, Tree Farm, or Conservation Activity Plans (CAP 106 Plan) for a fee

Landowners can receive cost share assistance money from the NRCS for the CAP 106 Plans.

Other Benefits

A current Forest Stewardship is required for the following:

-Riparian Buffer Tax Credit

-Before harvesting timber on tracts that have a conservation easement

Other Benefits - continued

If you are applying for cost share funding through NRCS’s EQIP program, you will receive extra points for practices that were recommended in the plan.

Sustainable Forestry

Regenerating a forest ASAP following a timber harvest (planting or natural regen)

Minimizing the impact of forest management activities on water quality

Maintaining important habitat elements for wildlife and plant species

Protecting forests with high conservation values

Sustainable Forestry

Maintaining biological diversityLimiting the spread of exotic (non-native)

plant species and pests

-tree-of-heaven

-kudzu

Foresters biggest challenge: preventing diameter limit cuts

Many landowners think that clear-cutting is bad.

Loggers may tell them that this is “Sustainable Forestry”

Young yellow poplar stand -started from a clear-cut

Both stands started from a clear-cut (20/70 years ago)

Deferment cut

Pine Management – Why are we planting pine trees?

Cheap to establish – $75/acre to plant around 500 trees per acre (seedlings and labor). Cost share programs to assist with costs of establishment and management.

Thin or total harvest in 20-30 yearsCurrent FIA data shows that more pine is

being harvested than we are growing/year.

Loblolly plantation3 yr old/20 yr old (thinned)

Cost Share Programs:VDOF – RT Program

2014-2015 Program Year

-$25/acre - tree establishment – LLP

-$48/acre - establishment – SLP, PxL

-$70/acre for site prep (chemical)

-$22/acre for herbicide release (air)

-$45/acre for herbicide release (backpack)

Cost Share Programs:NRCS – EQIP Program

2015 Program Year

-$60-70/acre - tree establishment

-$70-90/acre for site prep (chemical)

-CAP 106 Plans – $625-$5300

-Riparian Buffer Est - $670-$1600

RT vs. EQIP

RT – simple to sign up, approve signups until we run out of $$, individual counties have their own allotment, can be used for only one practice

EQIP – can be used for multiple practices over multiple years, payment rates are higher,

Questions?