the new york forest owner - volume 18 number 1

f, FRAr~!{U~~ri:GO:\iUaQARY

FEB 5 1880

January

February

198o

Vol. 18 #1

New York Forest Owner

THENEW YORK FOREST OWNERS

ASSOCIATION

Recording SecretaryLewis DuMond9 Grand St.

Cobleskill, NY 12043

TreasurerEmiel Palmer

5822 S. Salina St.Syracuse, NY 13205

Membership SecretaryHelen Varian204 Varian Rd.

Peekskill, NY 10566

IN THIS ISSUEp.2 New members; Directors

P.3 Scandinavian Tour

P. 4, 5, 6 Fight to Save Our EndangeredTrees.

P. 6 Snow in Road Ditches.

P. 6 Take Care of Wood Stove.

P. 7 Potential Losses Associated with Har-vesting Forest Biomass for Energy. ByStanturf.

P. 8 Report to NYS Assembly Committee.By Robert L. Meyer.

P. 8 Current Status of Forest Technologyand Policy Regarding Private Landown-ers. By Christian Gearwar.

P. 9 Opportunities and Obstacles in UsingBiomass for Fuel. By John Stanturf.

P. 10 The Tree as Symbol.

P. 11 Good Resource Management. ByRichard Nason.

P. 12 Publications You Should Know About.

WELCOMEOUR NEW MEMBERS

Robert R. CaldwellWolfe Lumber Mill,Inc.

8416 Ridge Rd.Gasport, NY 14067

Christian Heights Camp, Inc.c/o Gary T. Peirce

3361 Dickersonville Rd.Ransomville, NY 14131

R.F. CruickshankRoute # 28

Glenford, NY 12433

Brian HeathHoosac School

Hoosick, NY 12089

Abraham Hirsch41 Beverly Rd.

Upper Montclair, NJ 07043

Duncan C. HowlettCenter Lovell, ME04016

Mr. & Mrs. W.P. LightfootR.D.#l, Stickley Rd.Corning, NY 14830

George MitchellNorthern Logger

Old Forge, NY 13420

Joseph A. Powers1228River Rd.

Edgewater, NJ 07020

Mary C. McCarty54 West MalloryvilleRd.

Route #2Freeville, NY 13068

Robert Mottingdorfer102East 22nd St.

New York, NY 10010

Russell L. Seaman1402Brigham Rd.

Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Published by theNEW YORK FOREST OWNERS

Association

Evelyn A. StockEditor

PresidentROBERT M. SANDOdessa, NY 14869

First Vice PresidentHOWARD O. WARD

240 Owego St.Candor, NY 13743

2nd Vice PresidentROBERT L. EDMONDS

R#3, Box 99Marathon, NY 13803

3rd Vice PresidentPROF. ROBERT R. MORROW

Dept. Natural ResourcesFernow Hall, Cornell Univ.

Ithaca, NY 13852

New Members, ContinuedChristian R. Sonne, Family

West Lake Rd.Tuxedo Park, NY 10987

Paul & Francis SzaszBox 253, Sharps LandingGermantown, NY 12526

Raymond E. Wappman2142 Lawrence Rd.Marcellus, NY 13108

FRONT COVER:Scenes from the Olympic area in LakePlacid. The new Olympic arena; ski jump;complex where the athletes will stay.Pictures by courtesy of the Olympic publicrelations office. Bobsled on the zag bobsledturn, courtesy of Dr. Ketchledge.


NYFOA SCANDINAVIAN TOURSET FOR AUGUST

After years of transatlantic correspondence and planning, I'm ready to announce some firmdetails for the Scandinavian tour. I invite you to join your friends in the Forest OwnersAssociation as they tour the woodlots, small towns, and cities of Denmark, Sweden, andFinland. And considering inflation and energy costs, the price is remarkably low.

Our goal is simple - to gather experiences, to see how other folks in another part of theworld make the most of their forests. Of course, we'll have some fun, too!

Many who took our tour to Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland said it was special, the best tripthey'd had before or since. I'm working hard to make this trip every bit as memorable.

Most sincerely,Alan R. Knight

ITINERARY14 August 1980 Depart JFK for Copenhagen15 August Arrive Copenhagen, rest of the day free.16 August Guided sightseeing tour of Copenhagen.17 August Bus excursion north of Copenhagen to Christmas

tree plantation and Danish Forestry Museum.18 August Travel from Copenhagen to Vaxjo, Sweden.

Enroute, visit Elsinore Castle (setting for Hamlet)and a private forest holding.

19-23 August Intensive visit hosted by Sodra Skogsagarna(roughly translated: a co-op of the Swedish Forest'Owners).

23 August Overnight steamer to Helsinki.24 August Sightseeing tour of Helsinki.25-27 August ' Finnish forestry visits, arranged with assistance of

Finnish Forestry Association. Included will be avisit to a tree breeding center, a Finnish forestowners co-op, and forests and woodlots.

27 August Flight back to JFK.

Details: Price - $1196 per person, based on 30 people each paying $700 by 27 March '80,after which time air fares are expected to rise. People booking after that date will paysomewhat more.

All payment due by 25 June '80. In the event of your cancellation, all but $100 per personwill be refunded.

Price includes air fare and tax, private bus in each country, double accommodations withprivate bath in excellent tourist class hotels, necessary ship or train travel, guides, continentalbreakfasts, and city sightseeing tours. Noon and evening meals are not included.

Thirty people can be accommodated, first corne, first served.Still in the negotiation stage are a few overnight stays with forest owner host families and

additional charges for those desiring single rooms.Let's go! You've got almost five months to think it over, and almost three months to make

early bookings to hold your lower air fare. A regular newsletter will be sent to registrants.Join us .. .for another trip of a lifetime. Application form on page 4.


MAIL TO: Alan R. Knight, 257 Owego Street, Candor, NY 13743

Please reserve places for the NY Forest Owners Scandinavian tour.

have enclosed a check for $ . I have read and understand the conditions.

Names _

Telephone (

Address Zip _

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO NY FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION

P.O. Non-members may come, too. Pass the word!

Could all the world's forest lands bein danger of extinction?By Philip R. Smith, Jr.

For all the years man has inhabited theearth, trees have been not only a source offuel, building material, and profit, butfountainheads of peace and spiritual renewalas well. Legends tell of both Buddha andJoan of Arc meditating beneath trees; theDruids of ancient Britain worshiped trees,and trees figure largely in the early tales ofthe Hindus and Hebrews.

Now our forests are threatened as neverbefore in the earth's history, and if they aredestroyed, man himself will disappear fromthe earth because large wooded areas arevital to the' quality of our soil, air, and water.

Five thousand years ago, the Minoancivilization flourished on the Mediterraneanisland of Crete. Thick woodlands on theCretan hillsides were cut to make ships forthe mighty Minoan navy. These forests werereplaced by olive trees, but olive trees haveshallow root networks and their leavescontribute little water to the hot environ-ment. The lack of moisture in the air andnutrients in the topsoil caused erosion.Ultimately, agriculture failed, and a weak-ened nation fell prey to pirates and robbers.In the early 1900's, archeologists found thepalace of Knossos, once center of theflourishing Minoan civilization. It was buriedin topsoil and dust.

Nearly a thousand years after the fall ofthe Minoans, Plato warned the Greeks of theconsequences of cutting down their forests.No one listened. Today Greece is largelydenuded of trees.

Man is now cutting down the world'sforests at an alarmingly accelerating rate.This could cause even worse dangers thanthe ruin of the land. Every conversion ofwoodland to agriculture steps up the supplyof carbon dioxide (CO) in the earth'satmosphere. Plants take the carbon dioxideout of the air. Presumably they do this at

The Fight To Save OurEndangered Trees

At an exhausted strip mine in the UnitedStates, men and machines work toprepare the land for reforestation. Rapidreplanting is vital to prevent widespreaderosion.about the same rate animals breathe it intothe atmosphere, since there is no evidencein earth's history of any drastic build-up ordepletion. Massive deforestation, however,will likely increase the carbon dioxide levelenough to affect the temperature of theearth. Some meteorologists call this the"greenhouse effect" and predict the earth'saverage temperature will increase at leastfive degrees Celsius by 1990. This wouldmelt thousands of hectares of polar ice,raising the sea level and endangering manycoastal communities.

Some forward-looking men and nationsare taking steps to prevent global disaster.But for the most part the history of forestpreservation, like that of most conservationefforts, is one of too few, too little, and toolate.

Even nations with a better-than-averagehistory of concern for wooded lands oftenhave been deplorably lacking in implemen-tation of conservation efforts. King EdwardIV of England passed a "law for regenerationof cut-over woodland" in 1482, but morethan a century later, when the nation wasfaced with the threat of invasion by the

Spanish Armada, Elizabeth I had to send toNorway for wood to build ships.

Everywhere the pattern has been thesame: long-term preservation of woodlandshas given way to immediate needs. Fromthe 16th to the 19th centuries, Germany wasa leader in systematic timber management.German foresters were considered the best,and were employed all over Europe andeven in the far-flung British empire. But theurgent needs of two world wars gave theGerman forests a blow from which they onlynow are beginning to recover.

In Spain, where centuries of unplannedcutting have depleted the woodlands exceptin inaccessible mountain areas, govern-mental reforestation programs have metdifficulties. Where sheep and goats grazefreely, seedling trees are often consumed asrapidly as they can be planted. Again,immediate need takes precedence overmore farsighted programs. This pattern isseen more and more, particularly in poorerand less industrialized nations, where woodfor home fuel and vegetation for foddermust take first place over lumber and erosioncontrol.

Much of Brazil, particularly in thenortheast, has been stripped in a generation.In 1900, the area known as The Hump wasnearly 50 percent wooded; today only fivepercent remains. And, according to somescientists, Brazil's jungle-spanning Trans-Amazonica Highway is an ecological disasterof nationwide proportions.

In Bolivia and Peru, the slopes of theAndean valleys are nearly treeless. In Cuba,overcutting has eliminated three-fourths ofthe forests since World War I. Castro hasbegun reforestation programs, but progressis slow. In Venezuela and Chile, where smallfarmers clear land for crops by "slash andburn" methods, remaining forest areas arelargely in inaccessible mountain areas.

Argentina gives us an example of the"profits today, to hell with tomorrow"


philosophy at its worst. One of the mainproducts from the Argentinian forests is thered quebracho tree, which supplies four-fifths of the world's tannin (used in tanningleather). Before age 75, the trees are of novalue; most being cut today are between 200and 500 years old. No effort is being made toreplace them, and by the year 2000, the treewill be eliminated.

Mexico was well on its way to totaldeforestation of all easily reached areaswhen, in 1951, the government banned alltimber cutting in 22 (of 29) states. Sincethen, cutting has resumed in many areas,under strict control. The use of fire inclearing agricultural lands is forbidden.

One hopeful note is the implementation ofUnited States reforestation methods intoLatin American countries by large lumbercompanies. While cutting timber for theirown benefit, which is also an economicboost to nations badly in need of profitableexports, the companies also show how tomanage forests as a sustained-yield crop,thus avoiding some of the excesses of thepast.

Unfortunately this is one of only a fewbright spots in a world which often seemsdetermined to cut its forests down to the lasttree. Especially in the Third World;economic pressures and the inspiration ofdeveloped nations have led to deforestationat an alarming pace.

In the Philippines, more than half theforests have been destroyed in the last 50years. Thailand was three-fourths woodedonly 20 years ago; now it is 11 percentforested. Madagascar, originally 90 percentwooded, is now down to less than 10percent. New Zealand has hacked downmore than six million hectares of forest.

In the developed nations, loss of forestswould be an economic and ecologicaltragedy, as well as an aesthetic one. But forlarge areas of the, earth, deforestationisa part of everyday living.There is an acute shortage of wood in

parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.Fully half the trees cut in the world today areused as fuel for cooking and heating. (Theother half is destroyed primarily by theovergrazing of animals and the slash-and-burn method of clearing land for farms.) Asa consequence, it is becoming ever moredifficult for people in many deforested areasto gather even the minimum woodnecessary for their daily use.

In India, firewood is so scarce that specialguard squads combat tree-poaching inlegally protected areas. Landowners, whoonce allowed their landless laborers to cutdown and sell their trees, now do itthemselves.

In Nepal, long lines of men, women, andchildren toil upward into the mountains togather wood for daily consumption. Thistask used to take an hour or two. It nowtakes an entire day. If there is any excesswood, the mountain people, bent doubleunder their loads, will pick their way down

the mountainsides to Katmandu to sell it.Due to scarcity of wood, a laborer in

Niger, in sub-Sahara Africa, has to spendone-quarter of his income to buy wood forcooking and heating. In nearby UpperVolta, where all the trees within a70-kilometre radius of the capital city havealready been used for fuel, the fraction oftime and money spent for wood is closer toone-third.

In the People's Republic of China, wherethe government is attempting to return treesto a land which has not supported forests foralmost three thousand years, young seed-lings on commune plantations have beenuprooted to cook meals.

Peasants in the uplands of Korea have notonly felled the trees but have also literallyraked the countryside clean of everythingwhich would burn: shrubs, seedlings, leaves,grass, and litter.

As wood becomes scarcer or nonexistent,people are forced to other sources of fuel. InIndia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Sahel(sub-Sahara Africa), Ethiopia, Iraq, and inthe nearly treeless Andean valleys of Boliviaand Peru, cow dung is that substitute.

The world over, tons of aminal wastes areused as fuel yearly. Visitors to almost anyvillage in the subcontinent of India aregreeted by pyramids of hand-molded dungpatties drying in the sun. That dung is usedin cooking instead of being returned to theearth to enrich the soil is ecologically tragic.India's National Commission on Agriculturerecently declared: "Use of cow dung as fuelis Virtually a crime."

Thus a vicious cycle is maintained. Theland is denuded of trees, causing massiveerosion. Needed fertilizers are burned inplace of wood, so the soil deterioratesfurther. Much Indian countryside resemblesa moonscape of washed-out hills and barrenvalleys. As one Indian official asked, "Evenif we grow enough food for our people in theyear 2000, how in the world will they cookit?"

All of nature is in a delicate balance, andmankind is learning, nearly too late, that wecan alter even a single element of thisecological cycle only at the risk ofconsequences both massive and disastrous ..For example, a great belt of rain forest oncelined the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro inTanzania. Some years ago an "expert"decided this area could become a rich sourceof timber. The local people were allowed tocut down the native trees for firewood, andpine trees were planted.

What the experts failed to realize,however, is that the native rain forests areecologically essential, since they help keepthe air cool. With their deep root systemswhich reach down to the underground watertable, the native trees transfer water from thesub-strata into the atmosphere. Broadleavedtrees evaporate this water and help cool theair by extracting heat through heatvaporization. The rain forests actually driprain.

Pines, however, are shallow-rooted andhave a low rate of water loss from theirneedles. They are also resinous and highlyflammable. No sooner had the pinesbecome established than the African heat-far too much for them-began drying themout. The stage was set for a mammoth forestfire, which not only engulfed thousands 'ofhectares of pines, but destroyed much of theremaining rain forest as well!

Nowhere is nature's interdependencebetter shown than in the intimate linkbetween vegetation and soil. Each is sovulnerable to tampering with the other that,in the end, one of the prime casualties ofmankind's war on trees is the world's foodsupply.

Trees preserve soil's stability, fertility, andability to retain moisture. Do away withtrees, and the cycle is thrown into reverse.The land becomes barren and brittle. Topsoilis blown away. Water begins to run off anderode the denuded landscape rather thansoaking into it. Droughts set in and aman made desert is established. This hap-pened in the "dust bowl" years ago in theGreat Plains of the United States, and morerecently in the semi-arid regions of SahelianAfrica.

A drought scene in Upper Volta, part ofSahelian Africa. In the background arethe muddy remnants of a once-flourishingwaterhoIe; around it bare trunks showwhere trees had grown.

South of the Sahara Desert, retreat of thetrees and the destruction of vegetation byovergrazing is allowing the desert to advancesouthward at a rate that can actually beseen. As the precious soil washes off thetreeless terrain, it kills off life in the rivers,ruins fishing, clogs expensive reservoirs, andblocks vital irrigation and navigation sys-tems. The silt also reduces the carryingcapacity of the rivers and increases theirtendency to overflow and flood theneighboring countryside.

While this loss of cropland is bad enoughin ordinary times, in dry seasons it isdisasterous. The drought which ravaged theSahel from 1967 to 1974 killed at least100,000 people and subjected millions moreto severe malnutrition and forced resettle-ment as the desert took over lands whichonce served as their homes and sources offood. With fodder as well as vegetation forhuman consumption in short supply, someareas lost up to half their grazing herds in1973, the year the drought climaxed.

In areas such as this a vicious circle


operates. Plentiful rainfall creates optimism,leading residents to build up their herds. Butas a drought worsens, both humans andanimals struggle for bare survival, andconsumption of every scrap of vegetationcan damage the soil beyond repair.

Such situations call for all-fronts battles toreclaim the land. Limitation of grazing herds,irrigation, soil enrichment, high-yield crops,progressive farming methods, and massivereforestation efforts-all must work togetherif progress is to be made. Fortunately,emphasizes Harold Dregne, a leadingauthority on arid land agriculture, few of thedegraded areas have yet reached the pointof no return. But the task must begin now!

The intimate connection between foresta-tion and food-crop production exists theworld over, but is perhaps best illustrated inthe fight to contain the desert sands ofSahelian Africa and Asia Minor. Trees inthese areas not only help hold the arable soilintact against wind and water erosion, butalso form a vital part of a windbreak systemto stop the encroaching desert. It is anexample of man wrestling farmland fromnature as clear-cut as that of the dike-build-ing of the European Low Countries. Treeplanting could well mean the differencebetween food and starvation for thousandsof people.

What can individuals do to help? Much.First, be aware of the problem, and helpothers develop awareness. Organize aprogram around this article. Perhaps yourclub could develop an educational project tobring the facts to your area, and couple itwith a fund-raising activity earmarked forreforestation efforts somewhere in theworld.

Seven of the 12 developing desert nationsshowing serious declines in per capita grainproduction from 1950 to 1975 are: Ethiopia,Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Niger,and Tunisia. What about a matched club ormatched district project for the expresspurpose of aiding reforestation and haltingthe spread of the desert in those nations?

Unlike many areas of critical globalimportance, in reforestation, small groups oreven individuals can make a big difference.A single person can set out up to a thousandseedlings a day by hand; two men with atractor-pulled machine can plant as many asten thousand. Given proper care, the trees aclub can plant in a weekend will be a forest ina few years, offering the best possibleprotection for the soil, increasing the land'sworth, and providing a green, growinghaven.

In your own locality or around the worldthe need is for everyone to reach out-s-andoffer a tree. We can leave behind us abeneficial legacy which will aid all mankindfor generations to come.

More and more Americans are turning towood as a substitute or auxiliary fuel to beatthe heating price crunch.

With an estimated million new woodburn-ing stoves being installed each year, we fearwe will see this winter more than the usualnumber of tragic fires.

Deadly fires can often be traced to eitherunsafe installation or improper use of woodstoves. They are often placed too close towalls, ceilings or other combustible areas orobjects. They often are not vented safely.Wood fires also emit residue that can resultin chimney fires that spread through adwelling.

Householders - at their peril- often useflammable liquids to start the fire or let itburn unattended.

Wood stoves are useful and pleasant, butan old caution applies: Handle with care.

A forestry worker plants seedlings in arecently logged area. One club couldplant a whole forest in a weekend,creating a valuable legacy for generationsto come.

CREDITS

"The Fight to Save Our Trees" by PhilipR. Smith which appeared in the April, 1979issue of the ROTARIAN is reprinted in thisissue of the FOREST OWNER, by permis-sion of the Editorial Secretary of theROTARIAN. Howard Ward of Candor,New York and director of the NYFOA sentthis very interesting article on to us.

CHRISTMAS TREE GROWERS MEET

The New York Christmas Tree Grower'sAssociation held their winter meeting at theCollege of Environmental Science andForestry January 11 and 12.

Insect and disease problems, quarantine,Sclerrideris canker, recertification of pesti-cide operators, laws, taxes, liabilities,marketing, prices, problems of landowners,trends in different parts of the state, andbasics of starting a Christmas tree plantationwere some of the topics discussed.

The meetings were well attended. Therewere 82 in attendance on Friday and 175 onSaturday. The total membership is 375.

TAKE CARE WITH WOOD STOVE

"The snow covering the ditches reducesthe temperature during the spring thaw.Thus, the frost tends to move straightupward through the road bed instead of intothe ditch channel ... The result is thebreakdown of the road surface as the roadbed collapses into the voids left by the frost."

Snow piled in ditches at side of roadand snowbanks shaded by trees keep roadswet and muddy longer than when sunlightreaches snow to melt it.

If ditches are cleared of snow, "Most ofthe frost moves towards the ditches insteadof straight up through the road surface thushelping to maintain the bearing capacity ofthe road. Another idea to help increase thesnow melt along these narrow roads is topunch holes in the snow down into the ditchchannel. This will allow the warmer daytimeair to get into the ditch channel and helpreduce frost damage to the road."

Dave Taber"Empire State Timberman"

LEGAL POINT ON SALES TAXA Pennsylvania lawyer just contacted me

regarding a $30,000 liability owed to thestate due to government audit. POINT:Know the facts of law. Document what youdo through records to protect you in futureyears. Always record date, name, address,and phone number of government agentswho provide you with "legal" informationwhich can make you financially liable.

Available from me to help are:(A) "Timber Harvesters Guide to the

Sales and Use Tax Law of New York State& ANNEX 1" (September, 1977)

and(B) "Wood Using Industry Guide to the

Sales and Use Tax Law of New York State"(July 4, 1976).

Dave TaberSUNY College of Environmental

Science and Forestry

Two men were discussing the high rate oftaxes and government waste of money. Justthen a school bus passed them. "See what Imean," exclaimed one. "When I was a boywe walked three miles to school and threemiles back home each day. Now, we spend$10,000 for a bus to pick the children up sothey don't have to walk. Then, we spend$100,000 for a gymnasium so they can getexercise"

Then there's the sad tale about the twostory house. The real estate man told himone story before he bought it and anotherone afterward.


Potential Losses Associatedwith Harvesting ForestBiomass for Energy

Rising costs of fossil fuels have spur-red many homeowners to return to therenewable fuel of the past - wood. Themost accessible trees, often near road-sides, have been cut first. Foresters,seeking a market for the excess of small,low value trees that need to be thinnedout of forest stands, have welcomed therapid increase in fuelwood demand.One timber company increased its an-nual sales of cull logs from a few hun-dred to 10,000 tons in a 3-year period- and at handsome prices.

But this is only thebeginning. Woodcan also be used to generate steam forheating industrial or public buildings, in-cluding schools, and for making elec-tricity, and with much less air pollutionthan coal. Stoked in large furnaces,wood tends to burn more efficiently andwith less pollution than in many homefurnaces.

On the other hand, wood is less effi-cient than fossil fuels, containing lessenergy per unit of weight. Threes arebulky, scattered, and full of water. Theyare expensive to harvest, transport,handle, and dry. Huge areas offorestland are needed for continuoussupplies. Even so, the concept ofharvesting forest biomass for energyhas spread rapidly. Recent predic-tions of national wood harvest havevaried from doubling to increases of 5to 10 times. The latter would includeextensive fuel forests with frequentharvests (perhaps every 1-5 years) ofabove-ground parts (stem and bran-ches) of fast-growing species andlarge energy inputs for planting, fer-tilizer, machines, transport, and possiblyirrigation. Such energy farming mightincrease the contribution of wood to thenational energy budget from its currentlevel of about one percent to some 5 to10 percent.

In the past, environmental lossesfrom forest harvesting, such as soil ero-sion, have been largely preventable orminimized with the relatively conser-vative stemwood harvests that occur-red only once or twice a century. But acombination of whole tree harvests(WTH) , short rotations, on a grandscale for energy is quite another situa-tion, especially since we already havethe technical capacity to cause a declineof forest productivity or even outrightforest destruction. Some potential

losses associated with magnifiedharvesting of forest biomass follow:

1. Reduced soil productivity fromloss of nutrients, organic matter,and/ or soil structure.

Briefly, nutrient accumulation inbranches, twigs, leaves, bark, and rootsis usually several times higher (wt. basis)than in the stem. Thus WTH may yieldsome 50 percent more fiber than stem-wood harvests, while more than triplingnutrient removals. Since trees ac-cumulate much of their nutrient contentat early ages, short rotation (20 or 30years or less) can compound nutrientlosses. Soil nutrients are replaced slowlyby weathering, atmospheric discharges,and biological activity. There is insuffi-cient knowledge concerning replacmentrates, but it appears that, for mostforestland, natural replenishment will betoo little where both WTH and shortrotations are used. Of the two, shortrotations appear to be more serious.Many forests can retain their productivi-ty following WTH, provided it occursonly once or twice a century. Of course,nutrients can be replaced by fertilizing orrecycling the ash, but at a cost.

While nutrients are the focus of cur-rent attention, the physical structureand/ or organic matter content of soilsmay be even more important to pro-ductivity. Soil structure, oncedestroyed, may take decades forrenewal. Unfortunately, our knowledgehere is more limited than with nutrients.Harvesting equipment has been im-proved to distribute weight loads andreduce soil compaction, but harvest offorest biomass at short intervals is athreat to soils with fragil physicalcharacteristics.

Fragility of soils in forest-rich region-sof Southeastern United States hasbeen especially well-documented.

2. Reduced soil productivity fromsoil erosion.

Past erosion has been largely deter-mined by the quality and amount offorest road construction and skiddingpractices, as well as soil characteristicsand topography. Increased harvest offorest biomass will likely increase soilerosion because of (a) increased activity(more fiber harvested per acre, moreoften, more acres) and (b) less soil pro-tection following removal of branchesand disturbance of litter associated withWTH. Nutrient losses from erosionbecome especially important whencombined with losses from biomassremoval. With suitable precautions,

they should be much less. Harvestingforest biomass will require more roads.They will have to be better roads tohandle increased traffic, while reducingerosion.

3. Loss of valuable growing stockfrom indiscriminant cutting.

Proper thinning of forest standsfavors the best trees for future growthand removes the chief competitors. Thisincreases the production of timberthrough faster growth rates of thefavored trees. Thinning has a two-foldeffect in increasing energy. Second,increased timber is available for conver-sion into useful building and other pro-ducts; this conversion requires severaltimes less energy than metal, brick,concrete, or plastic counterparts. Theindirect energy savings from growing anacre of timber may exceed the fuelenergy in several acres of biomass. Thuscutting potential timber trees for fuel is"penny wise and pound foolish." Doneon a large scale, it could reduce timberproductivity for decades or even cen-turies.

Indiscriminant cutting may be doneby ignorant people seeking fuel-woodor by big costly harvesting machines.The latter are more important, by far.Costly machines have to produce atrapid rates to pay for themselves; theywork best in c1earcuts (some are too bigfor anything else); even when designedfor selection cutting, there is always thefinancial temptation to overcut.

Conclusion

Wood for fuel is attractive because itrequires only technology that is "on-the-shelf" - developed and ready for use.It may be unrealistic to say that directconversion of wood to electricity or heatwill make a big contribution, in terms ofmegawatts; but wood is a relatively un-tapped energy resource which can con-tribute significantly to the short -termenergy supply. The greatest long-termcontribution undoubtedly is as areplacement for energy-intensivebuilding materials and as a chemicalfeedstock in the place of oil and naturalgas. The degree to which the energypotential of wood will be realizeddepends upon the price of petroleum,which is increasing rapidly. We cansafely predict that the energy potentialof wood will take on increasingsignificance in the years to come.

- John Stanturf


Report to the New York StateAssembly Committee

onEnvironmental Conservation

Maurice D. Hinchey, Chairman

I would like to direct my comments tothe Adirondack Park Agency Lawwhich requires a permit for the removalof all or substantially all timber on a unitof land 25 acres or more which willhereafter be referred to as"clearcutting. "

This law has been in effect for anumber of years and so far no defini-tions of "clcarcut'' or "unit" of land havebeen determined.

I have been involved in five meetingswith various AP.A. staff, some publicand some private, and so far not oneAP.A representative has been able toidentify a specific problem due to clear-cutting.

In order for a permit system to func-tion effectively specific problems relatingto an action must be determined. If thisis not done then nothing is accomplish-ed. There must be a specific problem tobe controlled along with substantiatedreasons why it is a problem. If this is notdone then a permit cannot be approvedor rejected as there would be no soundreason to do either.

The A.P.A does not know howmuch clearcutting, whether it besilvicultural or legal definition, is beingdone in the Adirondacks, nor do theyknow if there are any significant adverseecological impacts from clearcutting.

In addition to this they have no train-ed Forester on the staff, and yet theyhave decided that clearcutting of theAdirondacks is a threat and they aretaking steps to control it.

Lacking a definable problem theAP.A has had to create one. Theirproblem summarized is as follows; Theenergy crisis with its resulting increasesin demand for wood coupled with acidrain, technological advances in timberharvesting and processing, and chang-ing tax policies will drive the forest in-dustry to rape the Adirondacks.

Although some of, these items havehad a detrimental effecton the industryit is not likely the timber base will bedestroyed.Industry has been developing new

machinery, investing in new and variedtypes of processing plants to improvemethods of harvest, utilization, and

quality of residual timber. It is not in thebest interest of industry to have investedmany hundreds of millions of dollars in-to new and old processing plants for thepurpose of damaging the resource theydepend on.

A.P.A. personnel have been makingpublic statements to support their con-victions that clearcutting threatens theAdirondacks and cite as their only fac-tual argument that they have received10-12 applications for clearcutting andone is for 800 acres. They fail to men-tion that the 800 acre application is forclearcutting several parcels on an 800acre management unit area, not an 800acre clearcut.

Irresponsible and misleading state-ments like this are not conducive to thedevelopment of a successful permitsystem.

I strongly urge that, instead of allow-ing another unnecessary statebureaucracy to grow and further stiflethe economy, a committee be namedby you to study this issue to determine ifany significant problems caused byclearcutting exist and if so what they areand how they can be controlled.

I further propose that this committeebe composed of professional Forestersfrom the various disciplines and that thestudy be conducted by the S.U.N.Y.School of Environmental Science andForestry, Department of EnvironmentalConservation, Society of AmericanForesters and Forest Industry represen-tatives.

The law states that "clearcutting" shallrequire a permit. However, no criteriaare given for refusing or authorizing apermit. This committees' task should beto determine what, if any, significantproblems might be encountered as adirect result of clearcutting that are notalready covered by other state andfederal laws, what criteria can be ap-plied to modify these problems, anddevelop definitions of "all or Substan-tially all" and "25 acre unit."

Robert L. Meyer, PresidentEmpire State Forest ProductsAssociations

Personal Observations of theCurrent Status Of ForestTechnology and Policy

Regarding PrivateLandowners

Presented by: Christian GearwarLake George, New YorkSeptember 14, 1979

There is potential in New York Stateto expand the use of silvicultural prac-tices and create employment in the sec-tor of non-industrial private land-owners. Forest technology gives us theknowledge and the means to apply ac-curate silvicultural prescriptions. Forestpolicy establishes gUidelines andmonitors decisions concerning the prac-tice of forestry. These are all truestatements and can form the basis for ef-fective forest management.

Unfortunately, there are too manynon-industrial forest landowners whoare unaware that forestry services areavailable or of why they are beneficial.This ignorance results in several usuallyirreversible conditions; primewoodlands becoming non-productivefor many years due to heavy cutting orpoor logging practices; people refusingto sell forest products from their landdue to a previous bad experience orknowledge of someone else's misfor-tune, an unfavorable stigma attached totimber harvesting that feeds fuel to therationale of preservation. This is bad,we can't practice forestry without cuttingtrees.

To illustrate this point, I will relate toyou two real life situations that I havepersonal knowledge of. The first one in-volved an absentee landowner whoowned some prime quality hardwoodsawtimber. The owner was approachedmany times by prospective buyers, whoadvised him that he should sell histimber. The owner was familiar with theresults of several poor harvesting opera-tions that had been conducted in thearea and assumed these to be typical.He had no intention of having his landtransformed into such a "horrible mess"and thus refused to speak with anyoneconcerned with harvesting timber,forester or otherwise.

One winter while the owner was athome, a great distance from hiswoodlot, someone nearly denuded hiswoodlot of trees and left long before hehad knowledge of the theft. This personnow has a raspberry rotation to look at

Continued on Page 11


Opportunities and Obstaclesin Using Biomas for Fuel

By John Stan turfLecturer in Forest Soils

Department of AgronomyCornell UniversityIthaca, NY 14853

Viewing forests as an energy resourceis not a new or even very imaginativeidea. Once wood was our major fuel. Itcontinues to be the primary fuel of mostof the world's population. Wood for fuellooks attractive to us once againbecause prices of other fuels haveskyrocketed. Additionally, the publicimagination is engaged when wood fuelis described in terms of an alternative,renewable, or solar energy source.Realistic appraisals of the potential con-tribution of forests to national energysupplies must focus on technical issues.

I see three demands for wood fuel:home and commercial heating; in-dustrial heating, and generating elec-tricity. The demand for home firewoodwill no doubt pick up after this comingwinter's fuel bills arrive. I suspect thatthe proposed Federal subsidies forhome heating will not extend tohomeowners who are the most likelyconsumers to convert from otherheating fuels to wood. At any rate weare approaching the point wherefirewood gatherers have depleted easilyobtained stocks and greater capital in-vestment in equipment will be morenecessary than many can afford. In myview, the supply system will soon be thesame, whether ultimate use is homeheating or generating electricity at aNYSEG power plant.

Let me illustrate the Viability of in-dustrial use of wood fuel with some ex-amples. The public power utility in Burl-ington, Vt. converted a coal furnace toburn wood chips. They generated be-tween 5 and 8 megawatts of powerusing about 150 tons of chips a day.(The variability in output was due to dif-ferences in moisture content of thechips.) Based on these results, the utilityplans to construct a 50 megawatt powerplant using 1500 tons of wood a day(American City and County. March1978. "Vermont utility tests woodpower.")

Closer to home, we have tried to con-vince the Cornell University administra-tion to consider burning wood chips atthe schools heating plant. Other institu-tions such as hospitals, prisons or

military bases could use wood-fueledsteam plants for heating alone andrealize considerable savings on oil andgas or even coal.

Large-scale generating plants usingonly wood fuel probably will never becompetitive with large-scale coal-firedplants (due to the large land area need-ed, excessive transportation costs areintroduced). But smaller existing plants,using oil or natural gas could be con-verted to wood and operate less expen-sively than a new coal-fired plant ofsimilar size (25-100 mw). Such a wood-fired plant might even be cheaper tooperate than an existing oil-fired plantconverted to coal (Rose, D.W. and K.P.Olson, 1979. Wood - An economicaland reliable fuel for generating electrici-ty in Northern Minnesota. J. Forestry77:88-90).

If we can accept that there is at least apotential industrial demand for woodfuel, the question of supply becomesimportant. In my judgement, the mostattractive possibility in the Northeast liesin using our under-utilized standingforests. More intensive management,particularly thinning, could doublewood production. This of course is wildspeculation. The data available in theresurvey of N. Y. forest lands, publishedin 1970, don't allow precise estimates ofour present supply picture. A recentstudy in West Virginia is illustrative,however. Using forest inventory dataand biomas prediction equations, thisresearcher estimated the annual growthin excess of current harvest at 34million tons. All residential and com-mercial energy needs, or 44% of the in-dustrial demand, could be met with onehalf of this 34 million tons (Sarles, R.L.1979. Wood fuel potential in WestVirginia. For. Servo Res. Note.NE-279). Tantalizing as these grossestimates may be, we must still face theproblem of showing that a wood chipsupply industry is economically feasible.Dr. Jerry Hass in the business school atCornell did a quick and dirty commer-cial analysis of a wood chip operation,and I've updated his figures a bit. Thesystem we envision utilizes a feller bun-cher, grapple skidder, chipper, andthree live-bottom trailers and a tractorand some accessory equipment. Wewould need four equipment operatorsand a foreman. The expected life of themachinery is 12000 hours, so we used asix-year life-time for the operation.Equipment costs ran to $325,000; an-nualized capital costs were over$100,000. Annual operating expenses

were $260,000, mostly for labor andfuel.Our productivity estimates came from

a forest service study Methods andeconomics. USDA For. Servo Researchpaper NC-137.). They were working indense pole stands and had yields of 45tons/acre, which we felt were too highfor our conditions. To make a long storyshorter, we estimated the unit cost ofwood chips, collected at a central pointnot far from the woods, to range from$12 to $17 per ton. This assumes thereis no stumpage cost. In other words, thelandowner gets only the increased valuefrom the thinning operation in paymentfor the wood. At $12-14/ton delivered,wood chips compete favorably with coalat $40/ton at the Cornell Heating Plant.Comparisons to oil are of course better.To really be competitive, however, wehave to cut labor costs or increase pro-ductivity, or wait until the price of otherfuels rises a bit more.

In conclusion, I think the opportunityis there for some well-financed woodchip operations to get started and beprofitable. The obstacles I see, though,are many:

1. The uncertainty of supply. Thisbreaks down along economic lines-canwe assume no stumpage value for thin-ned wood? Are the logistics right? Thatis, are there sufficient dense pole standswithin reasonable transport distancefrom demand centers to make anoperation pay?

2. The uncertainty of demand forchips. We've experienced a great dealof resistance to this idea at Cornell. Canwe convince people, especially financialinstitutions of the Viability of wood chipsfor fuel?

3. The uncertainty of long-termrenewability of the resource if managedintensively. A recent conference here atSyracuse brought together experts fromall over the world to look at the impactsof intensive harvesting on forest nutrientcycles. My sense of the discussion is thatif we move carefully, there is no reasonto expect we can't harvest more inten-sively. This is not to say that we can doit on any site at any time, or that wewon't have to increase inputs such asfertilizer.

These uncertainties of supply, de-mand, and renewability will only bereduced by trying commercial scaleoperations. We have enough desk-topstudies using highly aggregated data(like the forest survey) and professionaljudgment. The time has come to act,and act quickly.


I often pass a gracious treeWhose name I can't identify

But still I bow in courtesyIt waves a bough, in kind reply.

I do not know your name, Oh tree(Are you a hemlock or a pine?)

But why should that embarrass me?Quite probably, you don't know mine.

Christopher Morley

u.s. BURNING MORE FIREWOODThe number of tons of wood residues now

removed from national forests is more thansix times greater than in 1973 when thefederal government first opened the woodsto the public for free firewood. More than7.3 million green tons were picked up infiscal 1978, compared with 1.1 million in1973.

Making use of waste wood is the first stepin looking to wood as an energy source,experts say. Wood now makes up about 2percent of the nation's fuel supply, andfederal experts believe it could be 7 percent,saving more than 2.5 million barrels of oil aday.

To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell;To slowly trace the forest's shady scene,

Where things that own not man's dominiondwell,

And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been!To climb the trackless mountain all unseen,

With the wild flock, that never need afold;

Alone o'er steeps and foaming falls to lean;This is not solitude: tis but to hold

Converse with nature's charms, And viewher stores unrolled.

The Tree as Symbol

The tree is one of the most traditional ofsymbols. The traditional tree is often of noparticular genus, but some trees have beensingled out as the tree of life, or the sacredtree to particular religious sects. The oak wassacred to the Celts; the ash to theScandinavian peoples; the lime tree to theGerman tribes; the fig tree to the Indus ofIndia.

There were many mythological stories ofthe ancient Gods and trees; for example,there was Jupiter and the oak, Apollo andthe laurel; Osiris and the cedar; and Attisand the pine.

At its best in symbology, the tree denotesthe life of the cosmos: its consistence,growth, proliferation, generative and regen-erative processes. It stands for inexhaustiblelife, and is equivalent to a symbol ofimmortality. The concept of life withoutdeath stands for absolute reality. The treebecomes a symbol of this absolute reality,that is, of the center of the world. Becausethe tree has a long vertical shape, the centerof the world symbolism is expressed in termsof a world axis.

The tree with its roots underground and itsbranches rising to the sky symbolizes anupward thrust and is therefore related toother symbols, such as the ladder and themountain.

It is interesting to note that the worlds oftree-symbolism reflect the structure of thetree: roots, trunk and limbs with theirfoliage, symbol of the inexhaustible lifeprocess, growth and development. Differentmythologies and folklores have differentshades of meaning. Some of these aremerely aspects of basic symbolism, but thereis a subtlety to others which adds enrichmentto the symbol.

At the primitive level there is the Tree ofLife and the Tree of Death. Others know itas the Tree of the knowledge of good andevil; but the two trees are merely twodifferent ways of expressing the same idea.

In India the Banyan tree is sacred becauseBuddha prayed under this species tree. InIndia there is a wedding ceremony in whichthe man and woman are symbolicallymarried to a tree. The tree of life as found incelestial Jerusalem, bears twelve fruits or sunshapes. There is a triple tree in India, withthree suns and the image of their Hindutrinity. Other types of trees have been thetree of knowledge and the sea tree.

JANUARYThen came old January,

wrapped well in many weedsTo keep the cold away, Yet

did he quake and quiver liketo quell. And blew his nayles

to warm them if he may;For they were numbed with

holding all the day, anHatchet keene, with which

he felled wood, And fromthe trees did lop the needlessespray

Faerie Queen, & Spenser

What does your husband do: one wifeasked another.

"He's an expediter.""What's that?""Well, it's hard to explain, but if we

women did what he does, they'd call itnagging."

ON THE CALENDAREnvironmental Law and Regulations - a

6 week short course to be held Mondaynights, March 17 through April 2l. Theinstructor is Sidney L. Manes, SyracuseAttorney. Please contact Dean of School ofContinuing Education, SUNY College ofEnvironmental Science and Forestry. 473-8755 (315 area).

There will be a seminar for thewoodworker in the Tappanzee TownHouse, Saturday, April 19th. For moreinformation, please contact Mrs. Anderson,(315) 473-8755.


instead of a beautiful stand of timber.The second situation involves a per-

son who spent a great deal of money topurchase a piece of property in theAdirondacks. When he discovered thatthe property contained some valuabletimber, he became interested in theaspect of selling it. However, hethought it ridiculous to pay for an inven-tory or ask for professional guidance.The cost of hiring a forester to assist inmaking decisions would be negligiblecompared to the selling price of the pro-perty. Nevertheless, the owner refusesto pay for it. This owner is a prime can-didate to be "ripped off."

These two owners have one thing incommon, ignorance. The fault, Ibelieve, is ours. As professionals, weshare the same interests, the same con-victions, but they didn't get themessage. We know the proper way tomanage some of our renewableresources, but if the people who needthis expertise don't know where to getit, they can be easily misled.

As I see it, we have basically two ap-proaches if we intend to significantly im-prove this situation. Either we supportsome form of mandatory regulation forforest owners or we improve our rap-port with the non-industrial privatelandowner. The first approach is cer-tainly more direct and possible more ef-fective. However, the cost of implemen-ting and enforcing such a programwould be great. Also, it goes against mygrain. Regulation is a nasty word. Thesecond approach is much more passive,but will be effective if we make a con-certed effort.

We sit in this conference room todiscuss current problems and I am im-pressed by the dedication andknowledge of the people here, butwhen I get out into the real world I seethe problems I have mentioned that willreally take some effort to improve. I feelthat all sectors of the forestry profession,governmental, private consulting andindustrial, have got to work together tomake a significant advancement.Foresters are beneficial to the land-owner by enforcing proper harvestingpractices, better utilization, bettermarkets and proper silviculture to namejust a few.

I hope my experiences have conjuredsimilar ones in your mind that you arefamiliar with. My conclusion is that weare heading in the right direction, butwe need a more concerted effort and alot more teamwork.

GOOD RESOURCE MANAGEMENTBy Richard Nason

Members of the Assembly,Ladies and Gentlemen:

My name is Richard Nason. I amWoodlands Superintendent for Finch,Pruyn and Company, Incorporatedlocated in Glens Falls, New York. Wemanufacture fine papers utilizing round-wood as a raw material. Finch, Pruyn isgreatly concerned with good resourcemanagement-on our own land, State-owned lands and lands owned by thegeneral public. I would like to addresstwo areas of special interest to Finch,Pruyn-timber harvesters and benefitsto forest landowners.

To increase the production of rawmaterials from our forest resources, weneed many new professional timberharvesters. Presently it is difficult to ob-tain the necessary professional woodharvesters to sustain our present pro-duction levels, especially in the pulpand paper industries. Many contractorsmove from area to area, producingwood first for one mill and then anotherdepending on the ease of the operationand the amount of money they can ob-tain for their products. With many in-dustries expanding their use of rawmaterials and new mills being con-structed, there will be a shortage oftimber harvesters to meet the demandfor the raw materials. This is especiallytrue in meeting the demand forfirewood. Presently, there is a greaterdemand for firewood than the existingcontractors can produce. At Finch,Pruyn we are planning a 20-25% in-crease in our paper production, andconsequently, the same demand forraw materials over the next 2 to 3 years.To meet this demand we will need ap-proximately 75 to 100 more timberharvesters to harvest this raw material.These new people will need approx-imately $4 million worth of equipmentin order to harvest the additional rawmaterials that we will need.

One answer to the problem of too fewtimber harvesters is the establishment oftraining schools to teach young menhow to be good professional timberharvesters capable of earning a respec-table income. Presently in New York,we do not have any schools at the post-high school level to teach and trainstudents to become professional woodharvesters. There is a training school atthe Washington County Vocational

Technical Institute at Calais, Maine thatdoes an excellent job training woodharvesters. Many students from NewYork have attended the WoodHarvesting Training Program to learnwood harvesting skills. The onlydrawback to the Maine program is thatthey concentrate their training on howto harvest tree-length spruce andbalsam which is conducive to harvestingmethods in Maine. Many of the NewYork students stay on and work inMaine. We at Finch, Pruyn have startedour own training program to expand thenumber of professional timberharvesters available to meet our newdemands for raw materials. Presentlywe have six students and one instructorin our program, and we are very pleas-ed with the progress that they havemade to date. We also need to find away of financing equipment for newpeople interested in establishingthemselves in the business of harvestingraw materials. Presently, banks are veryreluctant to grant loans on new equip-ment to people who have not establish-ed themselves in the business communi-ty and to young people who have notestablished a good credit rating.

Many benefits are achieved fromgood management of our forestresources. Utilizing a multiple use forestmanagement concept, the landownercan realize: (1) a monetary return fromhis land at the time of each cutting cyclewhich varies from 10 to 20 years; (2) anincrease in wildlife population, especial-ly whitetail deer since they browse onthe tops of harvested trees and the newgrowth resulting from a harvestingoperation'; and (3) use of the land forrecreation such as hiking, cross-countryskiing and snowmobiling which wouldbe enhanced by the use of trails androads through the managed forest.

Unfortunately, there are a great manylandowners reluctant to harvest ormanage their property. They feel thatcutting trees destroys the beauty of theirland, while, in fact, through good forestmanagement, the esthetics can be re-tained and can continue to be one of thebenefits of well-managed landholdings.With the increased demand for forestproducts from our forest resource, we inthe forest industry are faced with theproblem of a shortage of timberharvesters and a decline in the forestland base from which to obtain thenecessary forest resource to operate ourindustry.


Evelyn A. StockEditor

5756 Ike Dixon Rd.Camillus, N.Y. 13031

Non profit org.bulk rate

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

Nedrow, N.Y.13120

Permit No. 37

AUDIOVISUALS ON ENVIRONMENTARE AVAILABLE

ITHACA, N.Y. - The Audio-Visual Re-source Center at Cornell University haspublished a listing of all 16mm films,videotapes and audiotapes that they haveavailable on conservatiort and the environ-ment.

Some of the audiovisuals are familiarfavorites such as "The Eternal Forest," "Thisis the Mallard," "World of the Beaver,"''Trash TeI1s A Tale." Others recentlyreleased include "Land, with Love andRespect," "Habitat - A Special Place," and"Burning Wood." Some will appeal tostudents just learning about the delicaterelationship of all things on Earth. Othersdelve into complex problems people havebeen trying to solve for generations.

A free catalog of these audiovisuals isavailable from the Audio-Visual ResourceCenter at the N. Y. State College ofAgriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell.Many of the films were produced by theCollege. To receive a copy of the catalog,write to: Environment, Audio-Visual Re-source Center, Box 47, Roberts Hall,Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853.

Publications YouShould Know About

INSIDE WOODMASTERPIECE OF NATURE

By William M. Harlow

The author, Dr. William M. Harlow,Emeritus Professor, State University of New.York, College of Environmental Scienceand Forestry, develops in a clear, fasclnatinqtext the story of wood, the most wonderfuland useful natural material in the world.

When you look at a towering tree trunk,you can hardly imagine the marvelousstructure of the wood inside, unless youhave seen it through a microscope. This 81/2x 11 inch book has more than 100photographic halftones of wood structure,most of them never before published. Theseare seen at natural size, through the handlens, the light microscope; and finally thereare electron micrographs at 7,150 and16,000 times actual size. Other photos showthe enormous strength of wood, theresistance of large sized beams to fire, why it.decays, what you can do about it; and someof its 5,000 uses. Wood as a material isfeatured, and how trees grow bark andwood.

Some questions answered: - Why doeswood shrink and swell? Why are somewoods so heavy that an oven-dry piece willsink in water? During a house fire, why is athick-walled wooden chest five times saferfor storage of valuable papers than a steelcash box? What is reaction wood, and howdoes it help to straighten a leaning tree?What is so-called "dry rot", and why did itdestroy more wooden ships than all the warsof history? Why is paper made from woodfibers so important? How do modernsculptors use ammonia-treated strips ofwood?

For all those in the wood using industry,and for you who have ever whittled a stick ofwood, admired its beauty of grain and

texture, or felt its warmth, this non-technicalbook provides endless interest and pleasure.

Congratulations are due Dr. WilliamHarlow for producing a book brief enough tobe read in two sittings, scope enough toembrace the whole field, authoritativeenough to be beyond reproach, readableenough for non-scientists, and excitingenough to captivate the minds of youngpeople looking for challenges relevant to ourtimes in all important ways.

Dr. George G. MarraWashington State University

Pullman, Wash.Available from The American Forestry

Association, 1319 18th St., N.W., Washing-ton, D.C., 20036. Please send me .copies of "Inside Wood" at $6.50 (HardCovers, 120 pages).

WAYS OF THE WOODS

by William M. Harlow

Subtitled "A Guide to the Skills and Spiritof the Woodland Experience," this fascinat-ing book has just been released by TheAmerican Forestry Association. In it there issomething for everyone, no matter whatage, no matter how experienced in theforest. Inquisitive youngsters and profes-sional foresters will enjoy this book. Harlow'sforty years experience in forestry andcamping are conveyed on every page ofthis, his second book to be published by theAssociation.

Learn about - axmanship, poisonousplants, shelter building, hypothermia, safedrinking water, knife sharpening, fire startingwith a bow, topographic map use, organizedsummer camps, wilderness personalities,campfire layout, tree felling, edible wildplants, and more.

Available from the American ForestryAssociation, 1319-18th Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20036.

HOW MUCH ISONE BILLION DOLLARS?

One can hardly pick up a papernowadays, or a current news magazine,without seeing "billions" tossed around likeleaves on an autumn wind.

Did you ever sit down and think HOWMUCH IS ONE BILLION DOLLARS ...really? If a company started business back in1 A.D. with a billion dollars in capital, andlost $1,000 every day since, it would still bein business today ... and would not go brokefor another 840 years. That's ONE BILLIONDOLLARS.

Just something to think about!

H. Glenn AnthonyExecutive Director

GFA Newsletter, 10/31/79

the new york forest owner - volume 18 number 1

Documents

seaman1402brigham rd

powers1228river rd

ridge rd

stickley rd

new york forest owner

familywest lake rd

peirce3361 dickersonville

wappman2142 lawrence