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October, 05 2006: CFRC Weekly Summary 10/5/06

This message includes news, headlines, and information gathered during the week.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ - CONTENTS:

HEADLINES:

Ash trees to be cut to look for beetle (WI)

Last stand for our forests? (MN)

Global warming on the forest floor

Beargrass research helps restore a vanished, culturally significant ecosystem (WA)

Environmental group works with landowners to protect habitat (MO)

Program encourages planting forests (OR)

Unique cloud forest has self-watering trees (Oman)

U.S. swaps Guatemalan debt for forest protection

OTHER HEADLINES ON http://www.forestrycenter.org/News/News.cfm * How billions are lost in grabbing of forest land (Kenya) * Are Kleenex tissues wiping out forests? * Forests to improve community livelihood (Namibia) * Minneapolis goes green to save green (MN) * Domtar to create largest fine paper company in North America

------------------------------------------------------------------------ - EVENTS:

What's Bugging Your Tree? October 11, 2006, Grand Rapids, MN

Oak Disease Seminar and Hike October 14, 2006, Wilton, WI

Horse Logging and Tree Whispering October 14, 2006, Cannon Falls, MN

Chainsaw Basics: "Game of Logging" Level I October 21, 2006, Black Earth, WI and November 11, 2006, Baraboo, WI

Keeping Working Forests - The Role of Forests in Preserving Open Space November 28-29, 2006, Bend, OR

Fall Sustainable Forestry Collaborative December 1-2, 2006, Ashland, WI

Forest Certification Workshop December 5, 2006, Bemidji, MN

For more event listings visit: http://www.forestrycenter.org/Calendar/Cal.cfm

------------------------------------------------------------------------ - INFORMATION:

Innovative Fence Designs Book

Preventing Frost Cankers/Sunscald and Frost Cracks...Wrap or No Wrap?

For more documents and information visit: http://www.forestrycenter.org/Search/search.cfm

------------------------------------------------------------------------ - PUBLICATIONS:

Sustainable Forestry in the Balance

Snag Longevity in Managed Northern Hardwoods

Balancing Ecology and Economics: A Start-up Guide for Forest Owner Cooperation

------------------------------------------------------------------------ - HEADLINES:

Ash trees to be cut to look for beetle (WI)

Wisconsin officials announced a major initiative on Tuesday to cut down nearly 6,000 ash trees, including trees across metropolitan Milwaukee, to fight the threat of the highly destructive emerald ash borer. The workers also will slash bark from 4,480 other ash trees - a task called girdling that allows for early detection of the tiny Asian beetle. Those trees will be cut down next fall or early 2008, officials said.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=508303 OR http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89186

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Last stand for our forests? (MN)

Scientists have warned for years that global warming could push trees such as jack pine out of the 1.1 million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, that white-tailed deer consume too many woodland plants and seedlings, and that lack of fire makes the forest older and more vulnerable. Until recently, no one has tied those threads together. And no one has looked at how they'll reinforce each other.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/15644239.htm OR

http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89179

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Global warming on the forest floor

Along with rising temperatures, global warming is very likely to cause a shift toward more extreme weather - stronger storms with more rainfall, and longer and more severe droughts. But many smaller, more subtle effects are likely too. Researchers at the University of Kentucky looked at one: the impact of climate change on the decomposition of leaf litter on the forest floor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/science/03observ.html?_r=1&ref=science &oref=login OR http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89165

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Beargrass research helps restore a vanished, culturally significant ecosystem (WA)

Daniela Shebitz is working to restore beargrass and its historic habitat on the lowlands of the Olympic Peninsula. Her research project is returning anthropogenic burning to former beargrass savannas. Native tribes in the Pacific Northwest have traditionally made baskets, hats, and other objects using beargrass stems, leaves, and roots, and it is currently a fundamental basketry material of tribes on the Olympic Peninsula.

http://www.cfr.washington.edu/pubs/CFRNL/06-winter.pdf#search=%22%22Dani ela%20Shebitz%22%2C%20beargrass%22 OR http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89175

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Environmental group works with landowners to protect habitat (MO)

The Nature Conservancy in the late 1990s began studying the entire Ozarks region to identify high-priority areas and the Illinois Ozarks Project took off a few years later. The project is one of 34 Nature Conservancy projects along the Mississippi River from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico aimed at restoring ecological balance to the river and the surrounding landscape.

http://www.semissourian.com/story/1170051.html OR http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89182

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Program encourages planting forests (OR)

The Forest Resource Trust program had its genesis in the early 1990s in the thick of the timber wars when then-Secretary of State Phil Keisling led an attempt to find some common ground between environmentalists and forest product companies. The thing they agreed on: Private lands that were cut over before state replanting laws emerged and were then covered over by scrub trees and blackberries weren't doing the environment or the industry any good.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/09/27/b1.bz.trust.0927.p1.php?sec tion=business OR http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89184

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Unique cloud forest has self-watering trees (Oman)

Trees in a rare cloud forest in the desert regions of Oman water themselves with seasonal fog, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists. Clouds form in the forest when moist air flows in from over the Arabian Sea and pushes up against the mountains. Water droplets from the clouds collect on the trees' leaves then fall to the ground, where the water can be stored and used by the trees in drier weather.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14959893/ OR http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89169

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U.S. swaps Guatemalan debt for forest protection

The United States will forgive about 20 percent of the $122 million debt owed by Guatemala so the money can be used to protect threatened plants and wildlife, the government said Monday. The deal is the largest amount of debt forgiven under the 1998 Tropical Forest Conservation Act, which allows debt owed to the United States to be invested in protecting the environment.

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=11371 OR http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89173

------------------------------------------------------------------------ - EVENTS

What's Bugging Your Tree? October 11, 2006, Grand Rapids, MN

Learn about the latest 'hot topics' in forest health: spruce budworm, ash decline, bark beetles and problems related to the 2006 drought. Information will also be provided on exotic invasives like emerald ash borer and gypsy moth---and how to keep your forest healthy. A portion of the session will be in the classroom, and weather permitting, a field component will be included.

Contact Julie Miedtke at 218-327-7365 or miedt001@umn.edu or see http://www.forestrycenter.org/calendar.cfm?refID=89163&categoryID -----------------------------

Oak Disease Seminar and Hike October 14, 2006, Wilton, WI

The Kickapoo Woods Cooperative is sponsoring a workshop and woods walk on oak wilt and other diseases in oaks. Monroe County DNR Forester Kevin Schilling will be on hand, and DNR Plant Pest and Disease Specialist Kyoko Scanlon will discuss diagnosis and treatment of oak wilt and other pests and diseases of oaks. We will hike to the woods and observe the symptoms of oak wilt in the field.

Contact Lila Marmel at 608-624-5269 or sunmoon@mwt.net or see http://www.forestrycenter.org/calendar.cfm?refID=89158&categoryID

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Horse Logging and Tree Whispering October 14, 2006, Cannon Falls, MN

Tim Carroll of Cedar River Horse logging will be putting on this workshop. The program will start with introduction and overview, then head out to the woods for a demonstration on directional felling, bucking techniques to increase profit, horse logging techniques, saw milling techniques. The afternoon will be spent on draft horse work in the woods and training horses for the woods. A demo will be done on horse whispering techniques.

Contact Tim Carroll at 507-438-2164 or tcarroll@smig.net or see http://www.forestrycenter.org/calendar.cfm?refID=89020&categoryID

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Chainsaw Basics: "Game of Logging" Level I October 21, 2006, Black Earth, WI and November 11, 2006, Baraboo, WI

Mastering the basics of chainsaw safety is essential for woodland owners who want to be more active on their land. This course will follow the standards of the "Game of Logging," a four-level series of classes designed to increase safety and efficiency. Instruction will be geared toward private landowners with varying levels of experience. The course will also cover other power tools and saw selection, purchase, and maintenance. The afternoon hands-on training will give participants the opportunity to fell one or more trees with supervision.

Contact Jeannine Richards at 608-355-0279 or jeannine@aldoleopold.org or see http://www.thewoodlandschool.org/courses.htm

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Keeping Working Forests - The Role of Forests in Preserving Open Space November 28-29, 2006, Bend, OR

The conference is co-sponsored by PNW Research Station, USDA Forest Service and Western Forestry and Conservation Association. This conference will explore the loss of PNW forestlands to development through scientific documentation, policy discussions, case histories, and technical sessions on take home practical tools.

Contact Richard Zabel at 503-226-4562 or richard@westernforestry.org

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Fall Sustainable Forestry Collaborative December 1-2, 2006, Ashland, WI

This event is a chance for woodland owners, members and leaders of woodland owner organizations, and others interested to share information, resources, and experiences. Topics to be discussed include: reports from forestry cooperatives and associations on activities, successes, and challenges; income generating opportunities for both woodland owner organizations and woodland owners; invasive species; land trusts; chain of custody certification; insurance and safety issues; and more.

To find out more about this event or to receive registration information as it become available, contact EG Nadeau at egnadeau@inxpress.net

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Forest Certification Workshop December 5, 2006, Bemidji, MN

This full-day event will feature a variety of speakers and break-out sessions to discuss issues relating to forest certification. Topics to be covered include: High Conservation Value Forests, invasive species, certification for private landowners, tribal experiences, Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs), training in Ecological Classification Systems, and much more.

Contact Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation at 888-738-3224 or cri@bmidjistate.edu or see http://www.cri-bsu.org/ForestCertWorkshop.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------ - INFORMATION

Innovative Fence Designs Book

About half the fences pictured in this book could be tackled by do-it-yourself-ers and home gardeners using basic tools and materials, although this is no typical how-to book. The real goal of the book is to educate the public about actively managing fire-prone forests and identify ways to generate revenue from the small-diameter timber, poles and branches that fire experts say should be thinned from over-grown forests.

Read online at http://www.cintrafor.org/RESEARCH_TAB/CintraforFenceDesigns1.pdf OR order a hard copy at http://www.cintrafor.org/RESEARCH_TAB/PubOrderFormFenceDesign.pdf

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Preventing Frost Cankers/Sunscald and Frost Cracks...Wrap or No Wrap?

Winter temperatures wreak havoc on our Midwestern landscape trees, often causing frost cankers and frost cracks on tree trunks. For many years, trunk protective wraps were touted as being very beneficial in preventing trunk damage from the sun. Unfortunately, research to date has yet to prove conclusively that trunk wraps prevent anything; they may even cause more problems.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/YGLNews/YGLNews.html OR

http://www.forestrycenter.org/headlines.cfm?refid=89160

------------------------------------------------------------------------ - PUBLICATIONS

Sustainable Forestry in the Balance

In the United States we increasingly restrict wood production in the name of sustainability while going abroad for an ever larger share of the wood we consume, even though our own forest resources per capita are greater than the rest of the Earth. Sustainable forest management requires scalable solutions across geopolitical units: states, regions, nations, and Earth. There are some simple measures of sustainability applicable across these scales to establish sideboards for sustainable forest management.

Available at http://www.forestrycenter.org/library.cfm?refid=89172

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Snag Longevity in Managed Northern Hardwoods

Little information on standing snag and coarse woody debris longevity exists for New England forest types. Forest managers thus lack the information on changes over time of the habitat components influenced by the decay process. The results of this study can be useful in predicting future wildlife habitat conditions in managed stands, as well as providing better rates of decomposition information when modeling coarse woody debris.

Available at http://www.forestrycenter.org/library.cfm?refid=89171

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Balancing Ecology and Economics: A Start-up Guide for Forest Owner Cooperation

The 160-page guide is intended to show how private landowners, working together, can improve the ecological conditions of their lands while improving their own economic well-being and that of the communities in which their forest land is located. Intended primarily for landowners and resource managers, the guide provides essential information on all aspects of establishing a forest owner cooperative, including: forest management, marketing, business planning, co-op governance, cooperative structures, non-timber forest products, sustainable certification, developing member education programs, and more.

For more information about Sustainable Forestry Cooperatives, or to order a copy of Balancing Ecology and Economics: A Start-Up Guide for Forest Owner Cooperation, please visit: http://www.forestrycenter.org

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