2 New York Forest Owner

Vol. 21, No.5

THENEW YORK FOREST OWNERS

ASSOCIATIONEditor

Evelyn Stock5756lke Dixon Rd.Camillus, NY 13031

In This IssueP. 2 New Members

P. 3 President's Message

P. 4 Board Meeting; On theCalendar; Forest Bookshelf

P. 5 Fall Meeting

P.6 HELP!

P. 7 Letters to the Editor;Boonville Exhibit

P. 8-9 Firewood Thinning

P. 10 No Land Tax: SouthAfrican Forestry

P. 11 Could This Happen inYour Town?

P. 12 Timber Firms Move South

P. 13 Timber Industry

P. 14 Computer for Forestry?

P. 15 Land Taxes

P. 16 Ask a Forester

Front Cover:Laurie Stevenson

After completing a two year apprenticeship withRobert E. Stevenson and studying with nationallyknown photographers, Richard Turner, M.·Photog. Cr. of Florida, and Sandi Poutala ofOregon, Laurie Stevenson has joined StevensonStudios as an associate. In addition to herphotographic studies, she completed two and ahalf years at Ithaca College and Syracuse Univer-sity. At the 1982 Professional PhotographersSociety of New York Annual Conference, Lauriewas awarded the Court of Honor for one of herphotographs. The Court of Honor is the highestaward given by the Society.

NYFOA Board of Directors: Front row, from left to right, Linda Thorington, Bill Lynch, Mary Mc-Carty, Vice President, Paul Steinfeld, President, Nancy Finegan. Back row: Dave Hanaburqh,Lewis DuMond, Secretary, Allan Knight, Al Roberts, 2nd Vice President, Stuart McCarty, Treas-urer, Bob Demeree, Ken Eberley, Bob Sand, present at this meeting.

WelcomeOur New Members

$10.0015.007.50

William J. MoroneyRD 1, Moroney Rd.Sterling, NY 13156

Joseph H. AronsonP.O. Box 576Pine Hill, NY 12465

Stanley H. Siegel414 Mountainview Rd.Englewood, NJ 07631

Robert F. Hunt & Sons146 Blackman Hill Rd.Berkshire, NY 13736

GEORGE MITCHELLMembership Secretary

P.O. Box 69Old Forge, New York 13420

Norbert L. Gazin304 First St.Liverpool, NY 13088

Individual MembershipsFarnily Memberships1 Yr. Gift Memberships

September-October 1983 3

ThePresident's Message

The SUNY College of Forestry isplanning the second Statewide ForestryCongress in June; 1984. The theme ofthis Congress will be "Managing Conflictin Forestry," and NYFOA is asked toparticipate now in the planning, andnext year in the Congress sessions. Ourinvitation from Dean Berglund indicatesthat arbitration specialists will leaddiscussions "in the art of resolvingdispute, conflict, and opposing points ofview." Attempts will be made to applythis art to major forestry issues; to findways of avoiding some past confronta-tions, and achieving reasonable solu-tions with better feelings on both sides.

Here in the Catskills, controversiesrelated to forestry and the environmentabound, and lines are often sharplydrawn between "environmentalists,"(presumably a wealthy group of peoplenot native to the area, not dependenton local jobs) and the native populationwhose I!mployment depends on use ofland and water for non-recreational pur-poses. One current legal controversy is

about development of a pumped im-poundment of Schoharie River waterfor hydroelectricity, and discharge ofthe water into the Esopus River. Thisproject has been advocated by thePower Authority of the State of NewYork (PASNY), construction workers,and others seeking local employmentand regional economic development. Itis opposed by organized fly fishermen,the Catskill Center for Conservationand Development, and some local peo-ple whose businesses relate to tourism.These people regard the PASNY proj-ect as at least a threat to the Esopustrout fishery, if not its death knell. Moreclosely related to forestry are perennialconflicts about use of timber in the Cat-skill Forest Preserve; reducing or ex-panding the number of deer; selectiveor uncontrolled timber harvesting -and many other issues often brought tothe courts. The pumped power-storageissue has long been in the courts, andthe end of legal maneuvers is not insight. .

If we could use our experience asforest owners, as people concernedwith wise and productive use of anatural resource, to minimize litigation;to avoid adversary procedures whichpolarize issues; to save money andtime; to lessen human conflict - we willhave made a vital contribution to ourwhole society. More and more, ourSOciety has been loading onto judgesand lawyers issues which cannot besolved in courts. They are rather symp-toms of our changing values, our dif-ficulties in learning to live harmoniouslywithin our environment, with our neigh-bors, and with those from other neigh-borhoods.

What experience have you had inseeking a solution to a problem relatedto forestry or the use of your land? Haveyou managed to resolve such a problemwithout resorting to the courts? Whatenabled you to achieve this? Based onyour experience, what advice could youoffer to state agencies to help themavoid controversy or legal action withindividuals or corporations? We wouldwelcome your written comments to theEditor of the Forest Owner on this sub-ject. Your experience could be helpfulto other forest owners, to the ForestryCongress, and to our whole society.

Gilead Tree FarmAugust, 1983

September was the seventh month of theRoman calendar, but is the ninth accordingto our reckoning. The Anglo-Saxons called it'gerst-monath - Barley month.'

Fair on September first, fair for the month.Plant trees at Michaelmas

(September 29th) and commandthem to grow

September blows soft,Till the jruits' in the loft,

Then came October,full of merry glee.

-Spenser

'Best I love September's yellow,Morns of dew-strung gossamer,Thoughtful days without a stir,Rooky clamours, brazen leaves,Stubble dotted 0 'er with sheaves-More than Spring's bright uncontrolSuit the Autumn of my soul.

-Alex. Smith

4 New York Forest Owner

Minutes of the141st Board MeetingNEW YORK FOREST

OWNERS ASSOCIATIOND.E.C. Building

Cortland, New YorkJuly 14, 1983 - 2 p.m.

President, Paul Steinfeld, presided.The following were present: Robert

Demeree, Kenneth Eberley, RichardGarrett, John Kelley, James Lassoie,George Mitchell, A.W. Roberts, Jr.,Paul Steinfeld, Linda Thorington, LewisDuMond, Nancy Finegan, David Haria-burgh, Alan Knight, Mary McCarty,Douglas Monteith, Robert Sand, andEvelyn Stock.The minutes of the May 14th meeting

were read and approved upon motionof Sand, seconded by Eberley.Mary McCarty gave the treasurer's

report for Stuart McCarty who wasunable to be present. She reported thenet assets to be $8461.41. This report isattached to the minutes.Mary McCarty reported on the Fall

meeting to be held at the CummingNature Center in western New York.The date is September 30 and October1. It is to startwith a dinner at 6 p.m. onSeptember 30. There willbe a programin the evening with a meeting of thedirectors following. The check-in timeon Saturday is to be 9 a.m.

Bob Sand reported for the WoodsWalk committee. Lewis DuMond is tohost a walk on September 24, and DickGarrett on October 15.Sand also reported that he had been

with a committee to meet Commission-er Williams and that there is to beanother meeting in two months.The date of the Annual Meeting is

April 21, 1984. It is to be at Cornell withJohn Kelley, chairman, and Doug Mon-teith, vice-chairman.The liabilityinsurance coverage of the

Association was discussed and Knightmoved, seconded by Garrett, that thelimits be increased to 1,000,000. bodilyinjury and 100,000. property damage.Upon voting this motion was defeated7-6.Demeree reported that there has

been no progress on liability insurancefor members from the agent.

A letter was read from the Dean ofForestry stating that a statewide ForestryCongress is planned for June 5-6-7,1984. He would like a Director'smeeting scheduled during that time,and our cooperation. This was referred

to the Long Range Planning Commit-tee.The next meeting is to be at 9 p.m.

on September 30, at the CummingNature Center.On December 10, 1983 and March

10, 1984, it is to be at the Farm andHome Center in Binghamton at 11a.m.Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,J. Lewis DuMond

Secretary

On The CalendarTree Measurement and Timber

Estimating Workshop I. September10, 1983, Pack Demonstration Forest,Warrensburg, New York. Registrationfee: $30.00.September 18·23New England Trip

September 30·October 1Fall Meeting at Cumming Nature

Center, Naples, N.Y.Tree Measurement and Timber

Estimating Workshop II. October 8,1983, Heiberg Memorial Forest, Tully,New York. Registration fee: $30.00.

Hardwood Lumber Grading Work.shop. October 31 to November 4,1983, SUNY-ESF campus, Syracuse,

~New York. Registration fee: $145.00.Fast Growing Hardwood Plantation

Workshop. November 15, 1983, Syra-cuse, New York. Registration fee:$10.00.Below are the descriptions of these

workshops that will appear in our Fallcredit and noncredit course brochure.Any inquiries regarding these work-

shops should be directed to: School ofContinuing Education, SUNY-ESF,Syracuse, NY 13210, phone (315)470·6891.

Fast GrowingHardwood PlantationsThis is a state-of-the-art technology

transfer workshop designed to reviewcurrent knowledge regarding establish-ment of fast-growing hardwood planta-tions in the northeast. Primary emphasiswill be placed on hybrid poplars: treeimprovement programs, nursery prac-tices, insects and diseases, and utiliza-tion.

FORESTBookshelfTimber Training BookletsTwo new TI-59 training booklets are

now available. The "10 BAF VariablePlot Cruising with the TI-59" bookletincludes programs that convert basalarea data from variable plots to volumeestimates and number of trees by DBHfor individual stands. It also calculatesbasal area/acre, number of trees/acre,and mean stand diameter. This pro-gram is useful for prescription and plan-ning.The booklet "Growth and Yield Pre-

dictions for Upland Oaks" contains aprogram that projects the growth andyield of even-aged oak stands. The vol-ume estimates are output as total cu. ft.,merchantable cu. ft., and merchantableBF. This is Martin Dale's GROAK pro-gram written for the TI-59.The above two programs along with

"Sample Tree Measurement Cruis-ing" and "Investment Analysis forTimber Management" make a handypackage for TI-50 foresters.

Persons desiring a copy of one orboth of the above booklets should clipoff the following order and send it toone of the following addresses.

NEW ENGLAND ANDNEW YORK RESPONDENTSNancy Voorhis, ForesterUSDA-Forest ServiceP.O. Box 640Durham, NH 03824OTHER RESPONDENTS

Arlyn W. Perkey, ForesterUSDA-Forest Service180 Canfield St.Morgantown, WV 26505

PLEASE SEND ME A COPY OF:10 BAF Variable Plot Cruisingwith the TI-59by ArlynW. Perkey

Growth and Yield Predictionsfor Upland Oaksby Nancy Voorhis

Forestry FactsA wood wall four inches thick pro-

,vides nearly as much insulation as aconcrete wall five feet thick.

September-October1983 5

5:00-5:30

7:00 PM

8:00 PM9:00 PM

9:00-9:20 AM9:20 Ml

9:30 AM

10:00 ,Aj'\1

10:30 A.l"i

12:00 Noon1:00 PM

3:30 PM

NEW' YORK FOREST OWNERSFALL MEETING

CUt-iMINGNATURE CENTER Cumming Nature Centerof the Rochester Museum & Science Center.

gunckJood ' naples. nev; york, 14512924-7740

SEPTEMBER 30 - OCluB~R 1, 1983

AGEl'';DA

FRIDAY - SEPTEMBER 30, 1983

Registration at the Cumming Nature Center, Gulick Road, Naples, N.Y.Informal overview of the Center -- beer and wine.Dinner - Roasted half chicke~, Tossed Salad, Potato, Vegetable, Bread

and Butter, Dessert, Coffee, Tea, or milkProgram - Slide show in the Riedman Theater.Board Meeting

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1983

Cumming Nature Center Visitor Building - registration.Introduction in the Riedman Theater - Karl VonBerg, Forester."Forest Cover Types of the Bristol Hills Area" - Dr. Franz Seischab,Ecology Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology.Building Tour - stressing the heating system.Log homestead on the Pioneer Trail. "Old time harvesting and wood use."This w i lI involve tools on display as well as activities:Log pulling, sugaring equipment, Potash making, shingle making, splintchair construction.A cookout with hotdogs, salads, chips, beverage and dessert.Riedman Theater - Review management at Cumming Nature Center - Hike toManagement Area: Review objectives, as well as statistics. Reviewfuture possibilities which are not yet manipulated.Return to Visitors Building.

RETURl\JFORt'·!WITH REGISTRATION A:':D1'-10:-iEYBY SEPTEMBER 15, 1983

REGISTRATION FORMNAME PHONE

ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP

FRIDAY - Dinner and Program $10 per person @ $SATURDAY - Program & Luncheon - $5 per person @ $

Money and Reservations ~!UST be received by September 15, 1983.

Make checks payable to j\;"YFOASend to: Stuart 1'-1cCarty,4300 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14618 (716) 381-6373

Meeting limited to 100 people, so send in your reservation promptly.

EWYORKFORESTOWNERSAss·

Dick Garrett mans the NYFOA booth at the Woodsmans Field Days in Boonville.

HELP!!Here it is Fall again and we want to

help more forest owners or would beforest owners get more benefit fromtheir forests. What can you do to helpus find out who they are?

Would you be willing to put a noticein your local paper of the upcoming fallmeeting to be held October one atCumming Nature Center in Naples? It'sfun, it's informative, and you get tomeet a lot of interesting people.The program includes a demon-

stration of logging and wood uses the"old way"; a demonstration by ateamof oxen; an analysis of property in theFinger Lakes Region, soil-vegetation-slopes; a tour of the new building; anexcellent photographic exhibit; and apicnic lunch. Then into the woods forsome interesting observations.

You could tell your fellow forestowners that the organization had its firstfall meeting just twenty years ago (Sep-tember, 1963). At this time they had abank account of $175 and 212 mem-bers in 47 counties. Today we haveabout 700 members in 58 counties, 21states 'and three foreign countries, aswell as a bank account of around$8,000 which is being built up tofinance a much wider effort to reach therest of the 500,000 forest owners thatthe U.S. Forest Service says there are inNew York State. This is a big job. Hereis your opportunity to help expand theorganization, do your children and thestate a service, meet some interestingpeople and have some fun doing it.

Let us know who you areAccording to the Forest Service

report, about one half of the 500,000forest owners own less than ten acres ofwoodland, and the average sized wood-lot is from 40-60 acres. About fourmillion acres are owned by farmers.About 8.3 million acres are owned bymiscellaneous private owners, industryowns about one million acres, and thepublic owns four million acres. Notimber is harvested on three million ofthese public lands.

So everyone of us is important. If theforest industry in New York State is tokeep up with demand for better results,we all have to take an interest in bettermanagement for whatever reason wehave our woodlots. The time has comefor a wider and more dedicated effort.

You could also tell your friends thatthe objectives of the organization are: 1.to unite the forest owners of New Yorkin a common cause of improving theirforest resources and forest opportu-nities. 2. To join with and supportprivate, state and federal programs thatstrengthen forestry, such as the NewYork Forest Practice Act and Tree FarmProgram. 3. To help make ownership offorest land more attractive as an invest-ment. 4. To work toward an economicclimate favorable to permanent forestindustry. 5. To maintain a balance be-tween timber growth and cut to assureraw materials for industry and steadyemployment in forest communities andrural areas. 6. To encourage educationand research in forest management,marketing and use of forest products

and services. 7. To manage forest landto enhance its natural beauty for thebenefit of the owner, motorist, touristand recreation.

To meet these objectives, the Associ-ation:

• Publishes six issues of the ForestOwner each year, providing free andfriendly exchange of experience, out-look and opinion among the members.

• Holds annual and Fall meetings,tours and field trips to inform and in-spire.

• Promotes standards for timber har-vesters that protect forest owners in thesale of timber and during logging opera-tions.

• Works for the classification of forestlands into: timber growing, recreation,watershed, wildlife, and summer homesites.

• Works for a forest land tax adapt-able to conditions of timber harvesting.

• Recognizes and acclaims meritori-ous effort in the field of forestry, conser-vation and outdoor recreation.

• Conducts "Woods Walks" to stimu-late enthusiasm for: growing timber, en-joyment of our outdoor living and get-ting acquainted with NYFOA members.

The membership can bring you re-turns in the satisfaction of growing quali-ty timber, stabilizing forest industriesand markets, providing permanent jobs,increasing the value of your woods,enlarging areas of natural beauty acrossNew York State, and leaving behind amonument in living trees to bless thetomorrows for the boys and girls of to-day. - Editor

September-October 1983 7

Letters to the EditorEvelyn Stock

5756 Ike Dixon RoadCamillus, New York 13031

The November-December issue will be Letters to the Editor issue.Please share your forestry ideas with us, as well as consider the following:1. What are you doing to promote better forest management?2. What do you think needs to be done for N.Y.F.O.A. to make a greater impact?3. What do you think needs to be done in your area?4. Would you like to see regional groups of members?5. How would you expand the organization?6. What would you like to see in the Forest Owner?7. What do you like best about the Forest Owner?8. What do you like least about the Forest Owner?

I have a new mailbox and I want to get a blizzard of mail and be stuffed with "food for thought." My address is:Evelyn Stock, 5756 Ike Dixon Road, Camillus, New York 13031.

E~AB~R~R,C45~~I~N~ r!uVL-IvnTIONS fREEc,FOOSALE I ~

DEC Commissioner Henry G. Williams (second from right) and N. Y.S.Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) forest ranger (left)visit the Renewable Resources Extension Program exhibit for loggersand woodland owners. Staffing the SUNY ESF, NYS DEC, and CornellCooperative Extension sponsored Information exhibit wereforester Ar-thur L. Brooks (right) and SUNY ESF graduate student EdwardPawlak (3rd from right). This was just one of many educational oppor-tunities at the 36th New York State Woodsmen's Field Days in Boon-

ville which attracted some 15,000 persons. David W. Taber, Renew-able Resources Extension Specialist, reported that the annual\FridayNight Forestry Seminar at the Field Days attracted 186 persons from25 counties in New York State plus people from five other states andCanada. One gentleman arrived from Washington State to say thatthey had the same problems in Washington that New Yorkers have.And he noted that we were doing a good job.

8

FIREWOOD THINNING

By N.A. RichardsA large part of the growing timber re-

sources of New York is in pole-sizedhardwood stands that have regeneratednaturally in old fields, pastures, or clear-cuts. Many of these have trees still toosmall for sawtimber, but prime for fire-wood. Depending on the stand andhow it is treated, firewood thinnings caneither improve or reduce the potentialfor future sawtimber production - thehighest value for hardwoods of suffi-cient quality.

I am now selling firewood from rathertypical old-field stands on my tree farmin Delaware County, and am learningmuch from trying to put forestry con-cepts I teach into practice there. Hereare some guidelines I have developedso far for firewood thinnings on myfarm.Firewood Thinnings versusFirewood Stands

My first step in evaluating stands forfirewood cutting is to determinewhether a stand has potential for goodsawtimber production. If a stand has atleast 40 trees per acre that have poten-tial to grow good sawtimber, then I con-sider it a sawtimber stand and direct fire-wood thinnings to improving growth ofthe future crop trees. My criteria forgood potential sawtimber trees is thatthey be straight, clear of limbs for atleast 25 feet, and free of decay, cracks,or other stem defects. Species is less im-portant because most of the hardwoodshave a sawtimber market if good quali-ty. However, it is wise to emphasize thespecies that grow best in one's area; onmy farm these are sugar maple, redoak, and white ash.

Because it takes many years to growgood sawtimber, it pays to grow onlygood quality trees for this end product.Low grade sawtimber is plentiful, and.now about equally valuable as firewoodthrough much of New York. Therefore,if a stand or part of a stand has few goodquality trees, it may be better to managethe area for firewood harvest and try toget a better quality stand in the nextgeneration.When to Thin

The question of when to thin hard-wood pole stands has both silviculturaland economic considerations. Younghardwoods need to be fairly crowdedfor 20 to 30 years to develop straight,limb-free boles. If thinned too early,

New York Forest Owner

Pole sized hardwood stand, unthinned.

bole quality is lost to limb growth.Depending on soil and other site condi-tions, hardwoods in closed, even-agedstands tend to reach a certain height ofclear stem, after which additionalcrowding tends to reduce diametergrowth more than improve stem quali-ty. My young hardwoods are generallydeveloping into "11/2 to 21/2 log stands"- referring to standard 16-foot loglengths. As long as most trees have vig-orous crowns, they can be left crowdedto improve stem quality. But whencrowns begin to weaken, it is time forthinning to improve diameter growth.

Economic considerations center onminimum and optimum tree sizes forfirewood harvest. Small trees below 6inches diameter have a high proportionof bark and sapwood; their value as fire-wood increases with size. Also, a fewinches diameter growth on small treesmakes a large proportional increase involume and value, whereas similargrowth on a larger tree is a proportion-ately smaller gain if we think of thestanding trees as invested capital. Final-Iy, firewood handling is more efficientper cord from larger trees, up to the sizewhere more or heavier equipment is re-quired to handle them.

To mark trees and estimate volumesof firewood for sale on my tree farm, Iuse the Conservation Department's sim-ple table that gives the number of treesof various diameter's required to make acord of four-foot wood. I currently get$10 per cord for standing marked treesfor firewood, a common stumpage price

around the state; so my stumpage valueper tree is added to the following table.

Firewood Stumpage Volume and ValueTrees Value

D.B.H. per Cord per Tree6 inches

810121416

20106432

$ .501.001.672.503.335.00

From this, I have decided that it is bestfor me to make thinnings when mosttrees to be cut are 10 to 12 inches DBH.Smaller trees can be left for increasedgrowth unless they are dying, crowdingbetter trees, or otherwise should beremoved to accomplish thinning objec-tives.How to Thin

Another important consideration isthat pole hardwood trees can be easilydamaged by felling and skidding duringa thinning, thus reducing future saw-timber quality. Because of this, I think itis better to thin smaller areas fairlyheavily to last 10 to 20 years betweenthinnings, rather than make lighter,more frequent thinnings throughout awoodlot. Thinnings must be heavyenough to maintain good growth untilthe next thinning, but not so heavy as tostimulate branch sprouting on the clearstems. As a general rule, stands can bethinned down to about 60% of their fulldensity without greatly reducing totalstand production, because the remain-ing trees grow faster to make up the dif-ference. Healthy trees usually don't

September-October 1983 9

sprout new branches if thinned no more'than this. For woodland owners inexpe-rienced in evaluating stands, it is usefulto layout some 1/10 acre plots (66 feetsquare) in typical areas of their standsand tally) the trees by DBH (diameter at4.5 feet height) to estimate thinningneeds. The following table, simplifiedfrom U.S. Forest Service research,gives the range of tree stocking throughwhich nearly full stand production canbe expected; the low value is at 60%and the high one at 100% of full stock-ing.

Average Trees per AcreDBH Low High

6 inches 300 4608 170 280

10 110 17512 75 12014 60 9516 45 75

I find that most of my stands havegood and poor patches of trees thatwarrant different treatments. For areashaving enough quality trees for goodsawtimber production, I generally try toremove about 1/3 of the tree volume in athinning. I focus first on removing anylarger trees that have poor potential forsawtimber production, and then thinout remaining dense patches as need-ed. For areas of a stand having poorsawtimber prospects, the general rule isto remove at least 2/3 of the stand to en-courage good regeneration. However, Iprefer to clear small patches rather thanleave scattered trees opened up exces-sively. The result of such patch cuttingsis to convert an even-aged stand to atwo-aged stand as regeneration growsup in the patches.

My most common types of poorstand areas, beech colonies with thebeech bark disease and multi-stemmedred maples, are widespread in the state.Although the younger stems in beechcolonies are often disease-free, I try toclear these colonies rather than leavescattered small stems to grow intobushy, low quality trees. Multi-stemmedred maples rarely grow to quality saw-timber. Entire clumps either should beremoved or 'left intact for greater fire-wood growth, rather than thinningstems from the clumps. Another prob-lem is the scattered old parent trees inmany stands, that have spread theircrowns to prevent good young treesfrom growing underneath. I make an in-dividual choice on each of these: Toremove the old tree as rough firewoodto regenerate the spot, or to leave thetree for wildlife and delay regenerationuntil its eventual demise.

A major key to minimizing damage tothe remaining stand from firewood thin-ning is to layout a good skid trail systembefore cutting. The trails should link theareas of heaviest cutting, while follow-ingthe gentler slopes and avoiding wetspots as much as practical. They shouldsteer clear of good trees, and rather, belined with trees marked for thinning butcut last to take the brunt of damage dur-ing skidding - especially on trailcurves. Where feasible, loop trailsthrough the thinning area are best toprovide the cutter with alternative direc-tions for skidding trees.

The season of cutting also determinesthe damage done in firewood thinnings.Trees are most susceptible to bark skin-ning during the first half of the growingseason. Also, skid trails are most subjectto rutting and erosion when soils arewaterlogged in the spring, but soilsusually dry out quickly after the trees

leaf out. Therefore, I close my woods tocutting from March through June tominimize damage to the trees and trails,and let the cutter choose his time duringthe rest of the year. I think late summerand early fall is best for firewood cuttingfor the next year's use, because thewoods are quite resistant to damagethen and the cut wood part-dries quick-ly. Although they say that cutting fire-wood in winter "warms twice," theslow-drying wood remains quite subjectto decay fungi consuming BTU's duringthe following spring and summer.

Karin, my wife, enjoys woods that arepleasant for walking. Her commentafter visiting a stand recently thinned forfirewood to my specifications: "The cut-ter paid us to open up the woods andmake these nice trails? We should bepaying him." My professional response:"Getting paid to improve the woods isthe key to good forest management."

Pole sized hardwood stand. thinned.

Safe Chain SawsPrevent Injuries

Since 1960 McCulloch has compiledextensive research on the cause andprevention of chain saw injuries, payingspecial attention to a major cause of in-jury, kickback.

Swedish accident statistics on kick-back cases report that in the period from

1970-1972 kickback accidents were re-duced by 667, from 1,492 to 825,when hand guards were in use. This is areduction of 45%. In 1972 chain brakeswere generally in use; and in the period1972-1977 injuries were reduced from825 to 178, an actual 78 % reduction ininjuries. Over the total time period,1970-1977, the combination of handguard and chain brake kickback acci-dents were reduced from 1,492 to 178.

10

NO LAND TAXand

South African ForestersSouth Africa has no Land Tax.

Although South African foresters andlandowners are faced with many prob-lems, the problem of land taxation is notone of them. To this fact I attribute theprofitable timber production enterprisein South Africa.

The early Cape governors soon real-ized that the heavily exploited indigen-ous forests could not recover and that itwould be necessary to import hardierand faster growing exotic tree species.More than a thousand species werebrought in from all parts of the worldand tested.

Plantation forestry was started in1876 by J. Storr-Lister of the IndianForest Service. He established a planta-tion of fast growing eucalyptus at Wor-cester to provide fuel for railway loco-motives. In 1892-4 the Worcester plan-tation was sold to deBeers at a net profitof approximately £60 an acre. Thefinancial success of this plantation gavean enormous stimulus to plantation for-estry by the government and by privateenterprise.

Since the second World War thegrowth of planted forests and subsidiarywood processing industries in SouthAfrica has been phenomenal. From thesmall beginning at Worcester in 1876,the state now controls some 1,000,000acres while the private sector has slightlymore than 2,000,000 acres. Of the totalplantation area, about one-half is inpine plantation, one-third in eucalyptus,and one-sixth in black wattle. Most ofthe eucalyptus and all of the black wattleare privately owned. Most of the soft-wood requirements of South Africa aresatisfied by the hard pines (similar to ourSouthern pines). The various species ofeucalyptus have a wide variety of hard-wood physical properties that meet thehardwood need of South Africa.

Up to the outbreak of the secondWorld War, there was very little privateforestry in South Africa. The privatesector was reluctant to enter the field ofsaw milling. The division of forestry wasforced to establish its own sawmill atElandshoek in 1937. The second WorldWar changed all this. There was aserious shortage of timber and pricesboomed. Dozens of private sawmillsmushroomed up all over the countryand new state sawmills and preservationplants were erected. After the war theprivate sector began to take an increas-

New York Forest Owner

A plantation near Sabie in the Transvaal, property of the Hans Merensky Foundation.ing interest in plantation forestry nowthat it had been conclusively demon-strated that forests were a profitable in-vestment. Large plantation companieswere formed in South Africa and Swazi-land, and numerous smaller concernsembarked on tree-planting projects.Skilled forestry officers were induced toleave the S.A. Department of Forestryfor private industry. In addition to con-ifer plantations, extensive plantings ofeucalyptus grandis and saligna for min-ing timber and later also for rayon pulpand sawtimber, took place in the sub-tropical areas of the Transvaal lowveldand Zululand.

In 1957, a tree-breeding research sta-tion was started and genetic improve-ment is currently undertaken at fourcenter. Seed, cuttings and pollen arecollected from "Super Trees." Controll-ed cross pollenation is practiced. Seedorchards are established. Seedlings aretested in comparative experimentalplanting (provenant stands). The stateselects trees in its plantations accordingto external visible, desirable character-istics, while the Wood Research Unitanalyzes the selected trees to identifythe timber characteristics. Only treesthat meet with all the requirements arethen retained for further breeding pur-poses.

Management plans for each ±10,000 acres run about 4 inches thick.Every operation in the rotation is care-fully detailed. Pedigreed, site-adjustedtrees are planted about 1370 trees perhectare (2.4711 acres). Each tree isplanted ina soil-prepared spot. Thin-ning and pruning schedules areprepared and followed to produce adesired product or group of products.Different schedules are followed for theproduction of sawlogs; posts; poles andpiling; mine timbers; pulpwood; etc.

Most of the sawlogs are graded ac-cording to size and gang sawed into inchlumber. This lumber is dried and gluedup into elements about 12" x 24" x 40'.These elements are then sawed intouse-oriented sizes and shapes.

The normal sawlog rotation is be-tween 30 and 35 years with veneer logsrunning up to about 45 years. There isusually a thinning at about 7 years, asmallpole commercial thinning at 14years, a pulpwood thinning at 21 years,and a clearcut final harvest. Naturalreproduction is not encouraged, asgenetically improved planting stock isdesired for replanting.

After the harvest the native Bantuwomen come in and collect the slashwood for fuel at a charge of one to twocents per head load.

The direction of South African for-estry has been largely influenced byFrench, British and German foresters.However, many middle executivescome to the U.S. schools (especiallyYale) for advanced degrees. The pineforestry of the U.S. southern coastalplain has much influence on South Afri-can forestry.

South Africa has a school for foresters(Ranger School) and a college for forestofficers (Foresters).

Most of the timber harvesting is doneby tribal native Bantu workers con-tracted from the tribal chiefs. There area few women so employed but the prac-tice is discouraged.

I am indebted to the S.A. Dept. ofForestry and the S.A. Timber GrowersAssn. for much of the above informa-tion. When I spoke to them at a meetingof the S.A. Timber Growers Assn.about land taxes in the U. S., they toldme to go back to the U.S. and take theland taxes with me.

David H. Hanaburgh

._-----------------------------------======~-----~

September-October 1983 11

Could This HappenIn Your Town?

Mr. Francis A. DemereeTerrace Hill Road

Bainbridge, N. Y. 13733

l

Dear Evelyn,This is what is slowly taking place.

This is what we are trying to at least par-tially avoid with 480A. This kind ofthing going on and staring us in the faceis why I do not have the heart to writean upbeat article on forest ownership forthe "Forest Owner."

Best Regards,"Mike"

MIDDLE GROVE - Judd Kilmerrepresents the third generation of hisfamily to operate the sawmill on LakeDesolation Road in this hamlet withinthe Saratoga County town of GreenfieldCenter.

He has two teenage sons interestedand involved in the business who maysomeday run the mill.

But Kilmer has already sold or givenaway three-quarters of the 1,600 acresof prime timberland his father andgrandfather acquired. After decades ofcareful forestry practices to preserve thetimberland, he is cutting all the trees hecan.

Kilmer said he is the victim of thetown's decision to go to full valueassessment. His taxes have doubledwithin the past three years, he said, andfrustration had forced him to sell or giveaway the land his father and grand-father carefully used before him. Only400 acres remain.

"I tried to sell some (land) for $100 anacre to individuals for firewood and (theindividuals) were sold (on the purchase)until they were told how high taxesare," he said.

Kilmer employs eight men in the saw-mill and several logging crews. His millharvests and cuts mostly hardwoods foruse in furniture. The wood is shipped toNorth Carolina, New England, Canadaand Europe.

"Since 1907 there has been a sawmillhere and it never stopped until full valueassessment," Kilmer said. Until the pastthree years, "We always used good for-estry, preserving the timberland bymaking selective cuts and letting thenext crop come on. It was a long terminvestment."

Today, with taxes up, Kilmer said heneeds to harvest all the trees he can topay for the business.

"There is no incentive to let themgrow for 20 years. It's a poor invest-ment," he said. "This family neverbutchered the land. Now, we cut andget out."

As for his sons, "There will be nothingleft for them," he said.

Maureen Rowell, who was appointedsole assessor for Greenfield Center inJanuary, replacing an elected three-man board, said Kilmer's taxes underfull assessment "probably did take a bigjump."

She noted she was sure in manycases woodland assessment "hadn'tchanged in years and years. If he (Judd)says there is a pinch on his business, itmay very well be true."

Saratoga County, with the excep-tion of Saratoga Springs, went to fullvalue assessment in 1981, she said. Theactual revaluation was started in 1977by C.B.M. Services Division of Cleve-land, Ohio, which received $800,000of the original $1 million contract.

Hired by the county for $1,019,000,the job was completed by Cole, Layer& Trumble of Dayton, Ohio. The con-tract with the Dayton firm provided$789,000 for completion of the initialproject and $239,000 to update assess-ment rolls in future years.

Kilmer said full value assessment in itsthird year, escalated taxes from $2 and$2.25 an. acre to $5 and $6 an acre.This resulted in paying an amount "sohigh, it doesn't pay to keep it," he said.Kilmer added, "When you sayanaverage of $5.50 an acre it doesn'tsound like much to most people but ifyou own or control timberland, 20-yearcutting cycles can amount to hun-dreds of thousands of dollars and youcan't draw interest on it."

Politicians, Kilmer said, "have ruineda good resource of the future. We won'tfeel it, but it will run out and the nextgeneration will."

"Some land a mile or two from theroad is assessed at more than roadside,"he said. "They (assessors) don't knowwhat they're doing. I spent a lot ofmoney fighting it but I didn't get any-where. I sold my land to get rid of thetaxes.

"Lumber is as easy to buy today as 20years ago," he said, because woodlandowners are cutting it down to get whatcash they can out of their land. Twentyyears in the future, however, he pre-dicted, "lumber will get scarce."

There are other sawmills in the samearea. "A lot of people are maklnga liv-ing here. There are 10 or 15 logging

crews in the woods around here," hesaid. "We want to conserve this re-source but I've talked to other ownersand they're disgusted too."

Kilmer suggested a probable answerto the problem. The government, hesaid, could offer incentives to lumber-men who continue to preserve the landand trees through 20-year cuttingcycles. For years, he admitted, wood-lands were assessed "a little cheaperthan they should have been."

To jump taxes by 100 to 200 percent,however, is to kill not only his businessbut that of other timberland owners."We're cutting oak right now," he said."It's been growing for 150 years." If notpushed to harvest it to assure an in-come, he said, "we could hold itanother 20 years."

There is pain in the decision Kilmerfelt forced to make. "I'm doing some-thing I thought I would never do," hesaid. "No more forestry for me. I'mstripping the land."

In the past, he despised those whothoughtlessly "butchered the land" with-out thought for the future. Since 1980he has sold 1,200 acres. He has keptsome cutting rights and also managestimberland for some other owners.

"I gave 169 acres to a Ballston Centerchurch just to get rid of it," Kilmer said.The land contained high grade cherryand ash trees and he stripped the landfor the wood before giving it away.

With the machinery in the sawmillpaid off, Kilmer had thought he wasworking towards his retirement andbuilding the business for the fourthgeneration. Now, he said, his concern isnot for himself.

"I'll get enough timber. I know thecountry. I'll be all right," he said. "Butwhen my sons get here, there won't beanything left."

.•..•..•.* * .•."Mike" Demeree is the "father" of

480A (see pages 26-27 in the Novem-ber-December 1982 Directory issue foran explanation of 480A) , a member ofthe New York State Forest PracticeBoard, as well as the N. Y.F.O.A.

12 New York Forest Owner

decades because it rests on a shakyTimber Firms Moving tothe South as Supplies in

Northwest Diminish

By Thomas E. RicksStaff Reporter of

The Wall Street Journal

For the past half century, the nation'sforest-products industry has made itshome among the majestic firs andmountains of the Pacific Northwest. Butas that region's supply of trees dimin-ishes, the industry is moving to theSouth.

With the influx of new businesses,many Southerners now talk of timberwith the reverence once reserved forcotton and tobacco. Last year, for in-stance, Georgia-Pacific Corp. moved itsheadquarters to Atlanta from Portland,Ore. Only two paper mills were startedin the U.S. last year, and both are deepin Dixie. One, built by the Americansubsidiary of a British company, is inHawkinsville, Ga. The other, in Colum-bus, Miss., is owned by WeyerhaeuserCo., a company based in Tacoma,Wash. And Louisiana-Pacific Corp.,which hasn't expanded in the West inthe past decade, has built or boughtabout two dozen plants in the South inthat time.

The timber companies are movingSouth "for the cheap land, cheap labor,cheap taxes and ideal growing condi-tions," says Larry Miller of the UnitedWoodcutters Association, a Mississippilabor group. "It's a paradise for them."

There's a flaw in this paradise, but itwon't be evident for several decades.Almost three-quarters of the forest landin the South is in private, non-industryhands. And if those private landownersdon't do a better job of replenishingtheir supply of trees, the South's naturaladvantages will be useless.

A Nomadic IndustryLogging in this country has always

been nomadic. The industry has cut andmoved on, from New England to theGreat Lakes after the Civil War, to theSouth around the turn of the century,and to the West in the 1920s and1930s.But those days of wandering are

numbered. Because naturally occurringsupplies of trees won't meet future de-mand, the industry has to move towardan agricultural system of planting,managing and harvesting.

In the Pacific Coast states, moretimber is being cut than is being grown."All our projections show they can't sus-tain the volume of harvest," says ForestService Economist Brian Wall. "The in-ventory is dropping dramatically."

Already, timber is the top agriculturalproduct in South Carolina, Virginia,Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Lou-isiana. Last year, the region topped theNorthwest in plywood production forthe first time, accounting for about halfthe U.S. output. Just 25 years ago, theSouth didn't produce any plywood. Theregion also produces a third of the na-tion's lumber and two-thirds of its pulp-wood, which is used to make paper.

The industry has been settling in theSouth in part because about 5% of theworld's softwood trees - the stuff ofbasic building lumber - grow there.Foresters like the South because it offersplentiful rainfall, a long growing season,and flat land receptive to mechanicalharvesters.

But the lures of the region are asmuch man-made as natural. Whilemuch of the Northwestern forest-prod-ucts industry is unionized, everySouthern state has passed right-to-worklaws. Southern woodworkers make anaverage hourly wage about half that oftheir Northern counterparts.

Although many of the workers stilluse mules to haul logs and work under asystem Mr. Miller of the woodcutters'association compares to sharecropping,more and more companies are turningto automated harvesting. Two peopleusing traditional machinery can fill threeor four trucks of pulpwood in a day,foresters say. But one person on a newfeller-buncher, which looks like a tankwith a giant pair of scissors attached,can cut as many as 12 truckloads a day.

The South uses about 85 % of thelumber it cuts, much of it in housing.Close to 60% of all housing starts in thefirst five months of this year took placein the South - which the Census Bur-eau defines as a region that includes theold Confederacy as well as Oklahoma,Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware andWashington, D.C.

Sun Belt companies favor local lum-ber partly because of lower transpor-tation costs. It costs $4,064 to ship 50tons of lumber by rail from Portland,Oregon, to Houston - about six timesthe cost of moving the same amount toHouston from a sawmill in Silsbee,Texas.

The Southern timber boom, strong asit is now, could turn to bust in a few

foundation.In the Northwest, the federal govern-

ment owns more than half of the com-mercial timberland and can reclassify itat any time as wilderness or recreationalareas. In the South, the governmentowns less than a tenth of the forestedland. While lumber companies like thefreedom from government intervention,having three-quarters of the region'scommercial timberland in private handsalso makes the industry vulnerable.

Much Southern timber comes fromforests owned by farmers, who have theland cleared for planting. Because thelandowners aren't in the timber busi-ness, they often don't replant.

Most private landowners in the Southsimply let nature take its course. Thatoften means letting the land run to elm,sweet gum and red maple - hard-woods that commercial foresters derideas trash trees. According to the ForestService, only one in every three acres ofprivately held timberland is adequatelyregenerated after it is cut.

Evaporating Land SurplusAlthough the South is still growing

more trees than it is losing, the region'sland surplus is evaporating. The in-dustry worries that today's timberlandwill be tomorrow's shopping mall orgiant farm. The Forest Service predictsthat during the next 50 years, about 15million acres of Southern forest land willbe lost.

If landowners worry the timber com-panies, some companies scare the envi-ronmentalists. As the Southern country-side grows more crowded, commercialforesters are draining and planting wet-lands, which in their natural state in-cubate and protect wildlife.

The tree farms that replace the nour-ishing wetlands, environmentalists say,are "pine monoculture" deserts. It's notclear how much the long, dull rows ofuniform pines affect the production ofwildlife; but there's no doubt that thesenew woods are neither dark nor lovelynor deep.

It's a far cry from the old days, saysJohn Clark, Jr., a Champion Interna-tional Co. forester, as he walks pastfeller-bunchers and other heavy ma-chinery in the South Carolina woods.

"It used to be a lumberjack would goin and cut wood and raise hell on theweekend," he says. "Now it's a lot morecomplicated than that."

- The Wall Street Journal

September-October 1983 13

The Timber Industry inNew York Continues

to GrowDespite minor setbacks from our re-

cent recession, New York's timber in-dustry continues to grow, especiallysawmills. A spring 1982 survey of saw-mills, veneer mills and pulpmills(primary wood using plants) found 650million board feet of logs were used bysawmills and veneer mills, and about860,000 cords by pulp mills. Theserepresent substantial increases (10 %)since the last survey in 1979. In addi-tion, use of residues produced by theseprimary mills has also increased from88 % of total residues produced toalmost 96% of total residues. NewYork's timber industry is healthy, con-tinuing to grow as our forests have ex-panded and matured since the early1900's.More information on hardwood and

softwood consumption, and use of millresidues such as bark, sawdust, slabsand edgings, and shavings is containedin a recent publication by the NYSDepartment of Environmental Conser-vation entitled Roundwood Consump-tion and Residue Production by NewYork's Primary Wood Using Industryin 1981.

Besides figures on total consumption,an attempt was made to characterize thepresent industry, especially with respectto sawmills. Some other trends of saw-mill production were found as a result.For example, Chautauqua, Cattar-augus, Tioga, Delaware and WarrenCounties all have. total sawmill con-sumption of greater than 30MMBF(million board feet) per year. Warrenhas been the traditional forest productsleader, but there continues to be a shifttowards central and western New York.This is because of the increase in theforest base in those areas, while it hasnot changed significantly in the WarrenCounty area. Average sawmill size is in-creasing in New York, as is the propor-tion of large mills and their share of thetotal sawmill consumption in New York.

Trends in residue use were also evi-dent from the survey. As mentionedbefore, a higher proportion of the woodresidues produced by primary mills arebeing used. In addition, there has beena shift from use for pulp and animalbedding towards use for mulch and fuel.These trends are what one would ex-pect from the increased interest in woodfuels, so it was good to see this verifiedby survey results.

If you would like a free copy of theRoundwood Consumption and Resi-due Production by New York's Pri-mary Wood Using Industry in 1981,write to NYS Department of Environ-mental Conservation, Policy and Eco-nomic Development Section, Room404, 50 Wolf Road, Albany, NY12233-0001, telephone (518)457-7431.

Trees May Alert OtherTrees to Danger,Scientists Believe

Some scientists now suspect thattrees can in effect warn one another ofdanger by releasing chemicals into theair.

Researchers are preparing new ex-periments that they hope will confirmthe tentative findings of their initial tests,the National Science Foundation an-nounced recently. If they are successful,the science foundation said, they willprobably be the first to show that plantsemit signals that are received andresponded to by other plants.

The results of the investigations couldhave far-reaching implications for pestcontrol programs, the foundation said.

Groups of botanical biologists inWashington and New Hampshire hadnoticed that when trees were being at-tacked by insects, other trees nearbytook the same defensive measures asthe trees actually infested. The defenseinvolves altering the leaves' chemistry tomake them less palatable and nutritiousto the insects.

The scientists reasoned that chemicalsubstances emitted by the attacked treeswere received by nearby trees, whichthen altered the quantities of suchchemicals as terpenes and tannins intheir leaves. The researchers havefound that a tree can make such insect-repelling alterations within hours of thefirst damage.

The initial experiments were perform-ed a year ago by David Rhoades, LynnErckmann and Gordon Orians, re-searchers at the University of Washing-ton. They found that uninfested willowtrees changed their leaves' chemistry inthe same way as nearby willows thatwere being attacked by tent caterpillars.At Dartmouth College in New Hamp-shire, Jack C. Schultz, a biologist, andIan T. Baldwin, a chemist, found thatsimilar defensive actions occurred

among sugar maple and poplar seed-lings.

The researchers investigated thepossibility that the trees might somehowtransmit information or signals fromtheir roots that could travel through thesoil. But in excavating the soil betweenan affected and an unaffected tree theycould detect no chemical or othermeans of transmitting a signal. Andsome of the unharmed trees that re-sponded were as far as 200 feet awayfrom the trees under attack.

As a result, the scientists reason thatairborne emissions called pheromonesmight be altering the defensive mech-anism of the other trees. Pheromonesare chemical substances that convey in-formation to and elicit responses inother individuals. The most widelyknown examples of this phenomenonare the insect sex-attractants.

Both groups of researchers are begin-ning more complex experiments inhopes of obtaining proof of theirtheories.

Financed by a grant from the NationalScience Foundation, Drs. Rhoades,Erckmann and Orians will try to inducechanges in leaf quality of undamagedplants by confining them in chamberswith damaged plants. They will then tryto identify the nature of the chemicalemissions responsible for the effects.

Drs. Schultz and Baldwin, likewisesupported by a National Science Foun-dation grant, will pump air from a dam-aged group of trees to an unharmedgroup, using clear plastic containers. Byfiltering and sampling the air flowing be-tween the chambers, they hope to iso-late and identify the chemicals that arecarrying the message.

KISSINGThe young artist kissed his model

smack on the lips."I'll bet you do that to all your

models," she said when she regginedher composure.

"No," he .replied, "you are the first.""How many have you had?" she In-

quired."Exactly four," he answered" "A

rose, an onion, a banana, and you."

14

Gerald Hansen, ESF Forestry doctoral candidate, examines the computer print-out for his model toaid in the management of uneven aged hardwood stands.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A computermay hold the answer for foresters whowant to accurately estimate the maxi-mum yield from their tree crops. At theState University College of Environ-mental Science and Forestry (ESF), aresearch project has developed a com-puter model to aid in establishinggutdelines to manage and harvestuneven-aged northern hardwoodstands.

A stand is part of a forest that has itsown identity. It is treated separately andis marked for harvesting separately.

According to Gerald Hansen, ESFforestry doctoral candidate, there aretwo philosophies for managing treecrops. One is the even-aged methodwhere you begin with one crop of treesof essentially the same age, culture andgrow them to maturity, harvest them allat once, and begin a new crop.

"The second method is to grow treesof many ages so the forest is an inter-mixture of saplings, pole trees and saw-timber trees - this is called the uneven-aged method of growing trees. At har-vest, you remove selected individualsawtimber trees with the intent of reduc-ing density to aid in establishing newsaplings and to promote growth of thosetrees left. This method is good for avariety of areas including those thatserve as intensive recreational areas orthat may be located in ecologically sen-sitive areas," he said.

Saplings generally are those trees

having a diameter of up to six inches at4ljz feet of height, pole trees have adiameter of six to 12 inches and saw-timber is a tree larger than 12 inches indiameter which can be sawed for lum-ber.

Hansen concentrated his project onthe uneven-aged hardwood manage-ment philosophy. In using this method,the forester must know the number ofsaplings, pole trees and sawtimber treesto be left following harvesting. Someguidelines are available, but they gen-erally are for harvesting frequencies offrom five to 15 years. In northern NewYork, particularly, it is not generallypossible for foresters to return thatoften, and new guidelines are neededfor intervals up to 30 years.

To execute this study, Hansen put to-gether a computer simulation modelwhich represents northern hardwoodstands. He built this model on data thathe collected in the field, from forest in-dustry and College-owned lands.

The program Hansen developedstores data which described the trees bydiameter at the height of four feet andby species. In order for the program tosummarize all individual tree data andproduce the stand projections, he add-ed three basic growth components tothe program. Within the model, thereare subroutines that project future treediameter, add new saplings and, finally,that eliminate tree records to mimicmortality.

New York Forest Owner

"The computer model represents thestand by storing individual tree data. Itprojects tree data ahead through timeand pools all individual tree data to pro-duce stand summary statistics," he said.

In building the model, the diameterdistribution, which refers to the numberof trees among the different sizes, was amajor concern. Hansen was interestedin identifying different diameter distribu-tions that would assure that the standsharvested would be recreated andmaintained at the end of the 30-year in-terval. He also examined how differentdiameter distributions affected the standgrowth.

The resulting model would serve as ameans for estimating the volume ofwood available for cutting in the futurefrom uneven-aged stands, and willserve as a basis for making recom-mendations on how uneven-agedstands should be cut.

This project was requested by NewYork foresters who approached Dr.John V. Berglund, dean of ESF'sSchool of Forestry, and his associate,Dr. Ralph D. Nyland, who receivedfunding from the McIntire-StennisCooperative Forestry Research Pro-gram. The purpose of this funding pro-gram is to encourage and assist forestryschools to conduct the researchnecessary to improve the production,protection and utilization of forest andrelated rangelands and to stimulate thetraining of scientists in forestry andrelated specialties.

Northern hardwood forests are com-posed primarily of sugar maple, beechand yellow birch. They stretch fromnorthern Pennsylvania into easternCanada and reach as far west as Wis-consin. Hansen focused on this type offorest because it is so prevalent in NewYork.

Hansen, a baccalaureate graduate ofESF who received his master's at WestVirginia University, will complete hisPh.D. dissertation within the next fewmonths.

Another graduate student will con-tinue this project and test its accuracy.The outlook is optimistic for practicaluse of the study. "There are tremen-dous efficiencies for managers who pickup this project," Berglund said.

"This is an exciting project for thereason that it ties into the real needs ofthe forest industry in New York State,"Hansen said.

September-October 1983 15

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New York State

County Tax

Allegany $5.50

Broome 4.49,4.80

Cattaraugus 6.44,337,4.70Cayuga 35.75Chenango 7.00, 18.98Chenango 8.94Columbia 12.40Cortland 4.00,3.51

Delaware 8.37, 7.26,4.33Delaware 80.00

Essex 2.18, 2.45

Franklin 3.94Fulton 20.44

Greene 2.00

Jefferson 1.84

Lewis 1.48

Madison 4.94,5.50,4.80, 4.97Oneida 4.68Onondaga 7.77Onondaga 17.58Otsego 5.33,4.89Rensselaer 6.17S1. Lawrence 3.50Steuben -Ontario 8.30Sullivan-Orange 10.50Tioga 5.00Tompkins 6.40, 6.42, 5.64, 3.20

Warren 1.61Wyoming 15.67

Remarks

Camp & large pond

Has a 3 Ac. pond

Unexplainable

Includes small camp

Under old Fisher Forest Tax Law

Under old Fisher Forest Tax Law

Includes residence

Includes small camp & pond

Under old Fisher Forest Tax Law

I suppose everybody who ownswoodland figures their taxes are toohigh. I'm sure I do. But what I havefound out from my brief survey shouldmake some of you feel pretty good .

After I wrote an article, "Real Prop-erty Taxes and How They Got ThatWay" for the May-June issue of theForest Owner, I began to wonder howmuch taxes varied in different parts ofthe state.

I got my idea from asking people inattendance at the annual meeting inSyracuse, and from personal friendsand acquaintances. But I still had no in-formation from various parts of thestate. So I sent a form letter to thirtymembers of the N.Y.F.O.A. who hadland in the parts of the state I was miss-ing. Twenty-one of them answered. Inall I have figures for 43 parcels in 28 dif-ferent counties.

LAND TAXES-Here's What We Pay

A.W. Roberts, Jr.

The information I asked for was whatthe individual paid in land taxes peryear (town, county, school) on a peracre basis excluding improvements. Aproblem arose, however, when sometowns did not separate out land frombuildings, So some of my respondentsincluded improvements (such as camps,ponds) and let me know this. I suspectthat from the size of the tax reported byother correspondents, they included thetax on improvements but did not spec-ify.

So my survey is not very scientific, tosay the least, but with the commentscolumn it at least gives some compari-sons. It also seems to indicate that if youwant to buy forest land, you had bettergo North of the Mohawk.

Evelyn A. StockEditor

5756 Ike Dixon Rd.Camillus, NY 13031

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Camillus, N.Y.13031

Permit No. 57

ASK A FORESTERby AL ROBERTS

Another ViewOn Tree Planting

August 25, 1983Mr. A.W. Roberts, Jr.RD #3Cortland, NY 13045Dear Mr. Roberts:

I read with interest your letter in theAugust, 1983 issue of the AmericanChristmas Tree Journal' in which youadvised the New York landowner that"Christmas trees are about your onlyhope of making any money in your life-time on planting trees of any kind."

While your assertion is correct in onerespect, in a different respect it .does adisservice to the belleving landownerand tliis nation's forest resource. It istrue that planting timber crop trees onworn out farmland is not the best invest-ment. Indeed, the landowner would befar better off financially to simply sell theland and invest that money elsewhere.

However, as an alternative to leavingland barren, a timber crop - say redpine - is far better 'all around than let-ting the abandoned land lie fallow.

Let me give you an exarnple.Tn 1958

my grandfather planted red pine on 100acres of worn out land on his centralWisconsin farm. Now, 25 years later,that plantation, if clearcut, would yieldabout 30 cords per acre. If sold on thestump at current local market value of$16 per cord, his income per acrewould be $480, or $48,000 for thewhole 100 acres. Needless to say, withproper thinning, the value of that timberwill begin to increase in value at an evenfaster rate.

His neighbor, who planted nothingon his adjoining 100-acre field, hasnothing to show for his land other thanthe fact that he still owns it, and hasbeen paying taxes on it for the past 25years.

In this case, the bottom line is that theneighbor's land has produced nothing,while my grandfather's has produced$48,000. No small sum under the cir-cumstances (zero maintenance), andwell within the grasp of most peoplewithin their lifetimes.

Now, who would be crazy enough tolet their land lie in an unproductive statefor 25 years? My grandfather's neigh-bor, for one, and probably anybody elsewho takes your assertion at face value,but doesn't care to sell his land for what-ever reason.

As for the point that Christmas treesare the only realistic cash crop at the

landowner's disposal, true enough atthe moment. But from what I read, aChristmas tree glut is looming on thehorizon. Your promise of quick incomecould well evaporate within the nextseven-year growing cycle, leaving thesincere landowner with nothing morethan a stand of inferior pulpwood.

My point is this: There's nothingwrong with planting Christmas trees,but it's a shame to plant nothing at allsimply because somebody says there'sno "hope of making any money in yourlifetime" with the alternatives.Sincerely,Eric JohnsonAssociate EditorThe Northern Logger magazine•Reprinted from March-April 1983N. Y. Forest Owner.

Comment on the above:Thirty cords per acre in 25 years is ex-

ceptionally good growth, not always ob-tained in New York. Also, the pulp-wood market in Wisconsin is much bet-ter than in New York. In parts of NewYork there is no market for red pinepulpwood. The stumpage price wherethere is a market averages $4.00 percord.

A. W. Roberts