From Gregory.R.Lord at maine.gov Tue Feb 2 09:30:50 2010 From: Gregory.R.Lord at maine.gov (Lord, Gregory R.) Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 09:30:50 -0500 Subject: [woodswisewire] Woods Wise Wire - February 2, 2010 Message-ID: WoodswiseWire February 2, 2010 FRA MAINE INDUSTRIAL FORESTRY FORUM MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT WHEN: Thursday, February 4, 2010 WHERE: Jeff's Catering, Brewer, Maine TIME: 5:30 - 6:15 PM Social "Hour" 6:15 - 7:00 PM Buffet Dinner 7:00 - 9:00 PM Guest Speakers COST: FRA Members - $25 / Non-members - $35 / Students - $15 with valid ID Payable at the door. Pre-registration is required to assure an accurate head count for meals! TOPICS: Carbon Credits For The Forestry Community? - Opportunities and Impacts Climate Change and Carbon Sequestration - Regardless of your views on the science and politics of these issues it appears possible that forest landowners and others in the supply chain may see opportunities for economic benefit from existing or possible future carbon sequestration credits or other related incentives. What are the practical possibilities, now and likely in the future, that could benefit the forestry community financially? What are the possible impacts and barriers? We've asked a panel of knowledgeable speakers to share their perspectives on these issues. The Great Maine Forest Initiative MFS Director Alec Giffen will also provide an update on this proposed landscape-scale initiative to protect large tracts of private forestland in Maine using a mixture of public and private funding. Guest Speakers: * David Edson, President, J.W. Sewall Co. * Alec Giffen, Director, Me. Forest Service * Lloyd Irland, President, The Irland Group * Eric Kingsley, Vice President, Innovative Natural Resource Solutions * John McNulty, President, Seven Islands Land Co. Your views and input are important. Please join us to learn more about these significant issues. Pre-registration is required to assure an accurate head count for meals! Please e-mail or fax this response form by Wednesday, February 3, 2010 to: Forest Resources Association, Jswan93426 at aol.com or FAX: 866-437-7252 Questions? Contact Joel Swanton at 207-745-2435 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------ FRA Feb. 4, 2010 MAINE INDUSTRIAL FORESTRY FORUM PRE-REGISTRATION RESPONSE FORM Name(s) of people attending: ________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Company: _______________________________________ Phone: ______________________________________ Northern Research Station New Publications List - January 2010 A list of the newest publications from the Northern Research Station is now available. The Northern Research Station provides leading-edge forest science and technology applications to serve a wide range of clients in the 20-state region of the Northeast and Midwest. Check out our this link where you can view and print the online versions or order paper copies of the publications. http://nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/updates/ Hancock County SWCD Farm Tour & Annual Banquet Saturday, March 27, 2010 * Maple Sugaring Tour at Happytown Farm in Orland * "Climate Change and its Future Effects on Maine Agriculture" presentation by George Jacobson, the State Climatologist * Delicious Buffet and fabulous door prizes Tour: 2:00-3:30pm (We will meet at Happytown Farm in Orland) Presentation, Dinner, Door Prizes: 4:00-7:00pm (At the Halcyon Grange in Blue Hill) Cost: $12 per person Pre-registration is required Registration and payment are due to the District office by Wednesday, March 17th. Please click below for a registration form: 2010 Farm Tour & Annual Banquet Firewood Harvesting Workshop - Ellsworth http://ellsworth.maineadulted.org/courses/course/woodlot_manangement_wor kshop_224 Department of Conservation Newsletter now available http://www.maine.gov/doc/pdf/from_the_field_Jan292010.pdf Forest Insects Presentation - Bath http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=MFS+Calendar+of+Even ts &id=90697#Article Winter Tree ID - Unity Morten Moesswilde of the Maine Forest Service will lead a tree identification walk at the Connor Mill Trail in Unity from 10 to Noon on Saturday, Feb. 6. The program will begin at the FUW Education Center, 93 Main St. Pre-register at 948-3766 or email volunteers at unitymaine.org. A minimum of 8 people must pre-register or the program will be canceled. Forest Practices Rule Interpretations Updated Maine Forest Service Regional Enforcement Coordinators have been handling many questions lately regarding the maintenance of "Old Rule" (clearcuts created prior to October 1, 1999) separation zones. The Maine Forest Service has updated its list of interpretations to address these questions. Please review the updated interpretations (interpretation # 36) pertaining to the maintenance of separation zones on "old rule" clearcuts. The new interpretations can be found here: http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/pubs/pdf/fpa_interp.pdf Any questions contact one of the Regional Enforcement Coordinators. Thomas Whitworth Tom.Whitworth at Maine.gov Cell 557-1086 Paul Larrivee Paul.Larrivee at Maine.gov Cell 592-2231 WoodsWiseWire is an occasional electronic newsletter provided by the Maine Forest Service, on topics of general interest to woodland owners, foresters, loggers, and others interested in Maine's forests. To unsubscribe or manage your subscription to the Woodswise wire visit: http://mailman.informe.org/mailman/listinfo/woodswisewire For more information on MFS programs, services, and publications, call the Maine Forest Service at 207-287-2791, or 1-800-367-0223, or send an email to forestinfo at maine.gov Visit our website at www.maineforestservice.gov . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/woodswisewire/attachments/20100202/44d2327f/attachment-0001.html From Gregory.R.Lord at maine.gov Tue Feb 9 13:09:50 2010 From: Gregory.R.Lord at maine.gov (Lord, Gregory R.) Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 13:09:50 -0500 Subject: [woodswisewire] Woods Wise Wire - February 9, 2010 Message-ID: WoodswiseWire February 9, 2010 Due to State shutdown day on February 16, 2010, no Maine Forest Service email newsletters will be sent out next week. Landowner Q&A Webinar on the new 2010-2015 American Tree Farm Standards The American Tree Farm System is offering a series of Internet-based webinars this year that will feature additional information for landowners, volunteers, and forestry consultants. The one-hour webinar will cover how the recently-released Tree Farm Standards will impact current forest management practices. Mark your calendar with the following webinar dates, register now, and make plans to join one or more of these webinars. Tuesday, April 13 from 1:00-2:00pm Thursday, May 13 from 1:00-2:00pm Tuesday, September 14 from 1:00-2:00pm Tuesday, October 12 from 1:00-2:00pm Tuesday, November 9 from 1:00-2:00pm Visit www.treefarmsystem.org/2010standards or www.forestfoundation.org/cff_standards.html to register for the webinars. The Maine Tree Farm Committee website is http://www.mainetreefarm.org/ Do You Have A GPS Sitting Around? Learn how to use your unit through our GPS Training On Wednesday, February 17, 2010 8 am-12 noon at the USDA Service Center on Park St in Farmington Did you know that it takes about 20 minutes for your Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to correct to your actual location when it is first turned on? Or that a way-point is the reading you told the GPS unit to memorize? You will learn what longitude and latitude are, along with many more useful pieces of information at this training session. The GPS units that will be used are Garmins. The session is limited to 25 on a pre-paid, first come first serve basis. This class will teach you to expand your GPS skills and avoid expensive, time consuming and risky mistakes. Students will get some hands-on field instruction outside. We will offer more sessions next summer, if you miss this one Workshop offered on Wednesday, February 17th in partnership with the US Forest Service. A snow date has been set for February 24th. Must Pre-register by sending a check for $15 with registration form [Price Breaks: $28 for 2 people, $40 for 3, and $50 for 4 people. So bring a group.] Make check payable to: Franklin County SWCD, 107 Park St., Farmington, 04938 Do you (check all that apply): __ own a hand held GPS unit? __ have a GPS in your vehicle __need handicapped accessibility? Name: _____________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________ Town: ________________________________________________________________________ State & Zip: ___________________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________________ Email: _____________________________________ Pond Construction and Maintenance Workshop March 10, 2010 - 9 a.m. Get Clear, Concise Answers To Your Questions.... How can I keep my Pond healthy? What's the best type of Pond for my area (embankment or excavated)? What can I do about algae in my pond? What other uses are there for ponds? What should I know before I build a pond? The Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District in partnership with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is sponsoring the annual Pond Building and Maintenance Workshop on Wednesday, March 10th, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The workshop will be held in the USDA Service Center conference room on Park Street in Farmington. Workshop session will cover pond planning, design, construction, maintenance and management of existing ponds. Pre-registration is required with a fee of $15.00 to cover the cost of materials and light refreshments. To obtain a registration form, contact Rosetta Thompson at 778-4279 download from our website at www.franklincswcd.org Presenters: Candi Gilpatric is one of the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Service Agricultural Engineers. Candi has 20 years of experience with NRCS and currently provides engineering assistance to the South Western Maine counties. She will focus on how to choose a pond site by researching the hydrology and soils of the area. She will discuss the various styles of ponds and the methods for construction. For those of you already with ponds, she will discuss some helpful maintenance items to keep your pond safe and healthy. Bobby Van Riper is from the Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IF&W) out of Sidney. Bobby will discuss the importance of oxygen levels and temperature for fish health along with other biology type information such as algae, cattails, etc. Franklin County Soil & Water Conservation District - 107 Park St - Farmington, ME 04938 Must Pre-register by sending a check for $15 with registration form [ $28 for 2 people, $41 for 3; So bring a group.] Name: _____________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________ Town: ________________________________________________________________________ State & Zip: ___________________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________________ Email: _____________________________________ Tree Growth Tax Law - IS IT Time to recertify Your Land? Tree Growth - also known as the Maine Tree Growth Tax Program - is Maine's "current use" tax program for productive forestland. The program is administered in organized municipalities by town assessors and in the unorganized territories by the Maine Revenue Service's Property Tax Division. "Current use" means that enrolled land is valued according to its ability to grow trees for commercial use, rather than according to its fair market value. This often results in a significantly reduced property tax bill for enrolled landowners. Tree Growth can be a beneficial program for landowners who manage their land sustainably for commercial forest products. In exchange for generally lower property valuations, landowners commit to following a written Forest Management Plan prepared with a Maine licensed forester. A licensed forester must also certify that landowners are following their plan. Landowners are only required to submit a signed Tree Growth Application and a supporting map to the assessing agent. The details of the forest management plan belong to the landowner and are not public information. The Maine Forest Service (MFS) provides assistance and education about the Tree Growth Tax Program, and forest management and planning in general, but does not administer the Tree Growth Tax program. Landowners should be aware of some very important requirements: 1) Land enrolled in Tree Growth must be recertified every ten years. Written management plans must be updated at least once in a ten year period. Could this be your year to update your plan and recertify? 2) In addition, when Tree Growth land is purchased, inherited, or otherwise acquired, new landowners must re-enroll within one year of the date of transfer. New landowners may not harvest timber until they have had a new forest management plan prepared or adopted a previous but still valid plan, and re-enrolled. Have you acquired or inherited forest land recently? Why is this important? Because Tree Growth forest land that no longer complies with the program - including failure to recertify or to re-enroll on time- must be withdrawn from the program, with potentially significant monetary penalties to the landowner. Withdrawal can occur even if you were not the owner at the time the land was first enrolled, because Tree Growth status "runs with the land" - the parcel remains enrolled, even if it changes hands. NOTE: The assessing agent is required to provide a sixty-day notification before withdrawing a parcel from Tree Growth if the sole reason for withdrawal is failure to file recertification paper work in a timely manner. The sixty days is not intended to start the process of hiring a consulting forester to complete the necessary work involved in updating a forest management plan. So the message here is, be proactive! What should you do? If you have not tracked your forest management activities consistently over the years, you can avoid significant cost and aggravation by taking a few simple steps now: * First, determine if your land is enrolled in Tree Growth (if you're not sure). * If yes, locate the Forest Management Plan and, if available, a copy of the most recent Tree Growth Application that was submitted. (Other property tax records are helpful.) * Determine when your re-enrollment or re-certification is due. * Contact your consulting forester about the recommendations in your plan. Even if you are not due for recertification, it may be a good time to update your plan. April 1st Tree Growth Deadline - new enrollments for 2010 If you are considering enrolling forest land in Tree Growth for the first time, the deadline for the 2010 property tax year for submitting the Tree Growth Application to your local assessor (or Maine Revenue Service's Property Tax Division, if your land is in an unorganized township) is April 1st, 2010. Information submitted after that date may not be considered until the 2011 tax year. With your application, you must submit a map of the parcel identifying the acres you are enrolling. In practice that means that landowners should contact a consulting forester well in advance of the April 1st deadline for assistance in preparing a plan and submitting the documentation to the town. Due to their typical workloads, foresters may not be able to assist landowners who wait until the final weeks before the deadline. If you need help contacting a licensed forester, or have questions about Tree Growth, the Maine Forest Service will assist or refer you to the Maine Revenue Services (which oversees the program). Please call your MFS District Forester or MFS Augusta at 1-800-367-0223. WoodsWiseWire is an occasional electronic newsletter provided by the Maine Forest Service, on topics of general interest to woodland owners, foresters, loggers, and others interested in Maine's forests. To unsubscribe or manage your subscription to the Woodswise wire visit: http://mailman.informe.org/mailman/listinfo/woodswisewire For more information on MFS programs, services, and publications, call the Maine Forest Service at 207-287-2791, or 1-800-367-0223, or send an email to forestinfo at maine.gov Visit our website at www.maineforestservice.gov . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/woodswisewire/attachments/20100209/a81aebc8/attachment-0001.html From Gregory.R.Lord at maine.gov Tue Feb 23 07:57:41 2010 From: Gregory.R.Lord at maine.gov (Lord, Gregory R.) Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:57:41 -0500 Subject: [woodswisewire] Woods Wise Wire - February 23, 2010 Message-ID: WoodswiseWire February 23, 2010 Tour of Chez Lonndorf, Maple Sugarhouse in Skowhegan, Saturday March 13th, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Join us for a tour of a working maple sugar house in Skowhegan. Owners/operators Iver Lofving and John Ackley will explain and demonstrate the finer details of the operation. John, a Forester will also give us a tour of the sugarbush and talk about managing your woodlot for the best and sweetest sap. There might even be some pancakes and syrup to sample too! Yum. This workshop is free and open to all, invite some friends along! Dress warm too. To get there: Take exit 132 off I-95, take route 139 for 12.2 miles and turn right onto Burrill Hill Road, in 2.2 miles you will see the sugarhouse on the right. Any questions contact Patty Cormier at patty.cormier at maine.gov or 592-2238. Making Beer and Wine From Your Woodlot! In Farmington, Saturday, March 27th, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Back by popular demand, Brewer John Cormier of Kennebec Home Brew Supplies will host a workshop on the basics of fermentation, and equipment needed, whether it be for beer, wine, soda mead, etc. He will then explore the many natural resources with which you can make those products and perhaps you have on your woodlot, or would like to grow on your woodlot. He will talk about beer, wine, soda and mead making from sap, honey, ginger, herbs, fruit, vegetables; the list is endless. Might be a few samples at this workshop too. His hobby sap evaporator will be running as well. Dress warm. Directions are: 235 Farmington Falls Road, or US Route 2, right across for the big cemetery in Farmington. This workshop is free and open to all, bring your friends to this one too! Any questions, contact Patty Cormier at patty.cormier at maine.gov, or 592-2238. Managing Your Woodlot 101 in Farmington, 7 Tuesday nights, Starting March 16th, 6 p.m to 8 p.m. This is a seven week beginners course on managing your woodlot sponsored by the Maine Forest Service and the UKV Chapter of SWOAM and MSAD #9 Adult Education. Topics and dates are as follows: March 16th- Tree ID, Management Planning and Setting your Management Objectives. March 23rd- Silviculture(the art and science of growing trees), working with professionals and planning a timber harvest. March 30th- Using your GPS on your woodlot, hands on stuff, and map and compass(if we have time) April 6th- Tree Growth Tax Law explained, cost share programs available for woodland owners. April 13th- Marketing your forest Products and non-timber forest products. April 20th- Laws a woodland owner might want to know- DEP, LURC, MFS. April 27th- Ten most common mistakes landowners make (although you won't after this class!) The class is $20.00/pp and will be held at the Mt. Blue Middle School on Middle St. in Farmington. You must pre-register by calling 778-3460. 72nd annual meeting of the Northeastern Forest Pest Council The meeting will be held at the beautiful York Harbor Inn, York Harbor, Maine, 16-17 March 2010. This year the meeting will return to the traditional 1/2 day meeting on Tuesday and full day meeting on Wednesday. Registration: The full meeting registration fee is $85.00. The registration fee for non-presenting students is $40.00. Registration includes an expansive continental breakfast on Wednesday, mid-morning refreshments, a group luncheon, and afternoon food & beverage breaks. Pre-registration by 1 March 2010 is strongly recommended, as the Inn needs a headcount for ordering food. Checks must be made payable to the "NEFPC". Please note: Cash and checks are welcome at arrival. The registration fee is waived for Honorary Life Members of the Council. Student symposium: The Gerald N. Lanier Graduate Student Symposium gives students from the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada a friendly and relaxed setting in which to practice their presentation skills, and it affords an opportunity to discuss their work with practitioners and other scientists. Any graduate student who is willing to give a 15 min presentation on his/her research on forest health will be reimbursed for one night's lodging at the meeting, and the registration fee will be waived. In addition, one or more Northeastern Forest Pest Council deserving students will receive $50-$200 for what is judged as the best presentations at the Symposium. Field trips: There are two possible field trips depending on interest and weather. Trips would take place Tuesday, March 16th in the morning before the meeting starts. Option 1: Kennebunkport, ME trip - 40 minute drive a. Browntail moth infestation: see what winter webs look like and brainstorm creative solutions to control it in a populated and sensitive environment. b. Elongate hemlock scale: A newly discovered infestation. How far has it spread? What is the best course of action with native hosts in close proximity to the infestation? Option 2: York, ME trip - 10 minute drive a. Sample for Laricobius nigrinus, a recently introduced hemlock woolly adelgid biological control agent. Be the first to recover one in 2010! For more information contact: David Mausel University of Massachusetts Agric. Eng. Bldg. 250 Natural Resources Rd. Amherst, MA 01003 Fax: 413-545-5858 e-mail: dmausel at psis.umass.edu Winter Tree Identification Event Location: Merryspring Nature Center, Camden/Rockport, Maine Event Date/Time: Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 12noon - 2pm On Tuesday, March 9 from 12noon-2pm, Morten Moesswilde, District Forester with the Maine Forest Service, will lead a two-hour field workshop on tree and shrub identification at Merryspring Nature Center in Camden. The program will begin with a brief indoor introduction to identifying trees. Participants can then join Moesswilde on a walk through the wooded portions of Merryspring's 66-acre park to practice identifying Maine's common native trees and shrubs. Moesswilde is a Maine Forest Service District Forester for the Midcoast District, including Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, and Kennebec counties. As the District Forester he provides forest management and conservation information, education, and assistance to a wide audience, including landowners, school groups, loggers, foresters, and others interested in the diverse forests of Maine's Midcoast. Moesswilde has worked for the Maine Forest Service since 1999, previously serving as a Landowner Outreach Forester and Water Resources Forester. His background includes several years as a consulting forester in Midcoast and central Maine. Previously he held positions with the Cooperative Extension and in environmental and outdoor education. He holds a Master of Science degree in Forestry from the University of Maine in Orono, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Williams College. He also studied forestry for two years in Freiburg, Germany. This program is limited to 25 participants, who should dress for the weather and wear sturdy footwear. Please call Merryspring at 236-2239 to pre-register. Merryspring members and all children attend free, and there is a charge of $5 for non-members. Merryspring is a member-supported, non-profit nature education center and park located at the end of Conway Road just off Rt. 1 by the Hannaford shopping plaza in Camden. For more information, call Merryspring or visit the website at www.merryspring.org . MERRYSPRING NATURE CENTER P.O. Box 893 - 30 Conway Road Camden, ME 04843 Press Contact: Toni Goodridge, 236-2239 Hemlock Woolly Adelgid High Risk Season starts on March first. Between the first of March and the last of July harvests producing hemlock products within quarantined towns need to be inspected before roundwood hemlock material can be shipped outside the quarantine zone (in Maine the towns of Eliot, Kittery, Ogunquit, South Berwick, Wells and York). Roundwood hemlock from infested stands cannot be moved outside of the quarantine to receivers in Maine until August without prior approval by the Maine Forest Service, Forest Health and Monitoring Division. Chipped materials can be moved to facilities with compliance agreements to receive regulated material provided they are moved in a completely enclosed vehicle. The high risk season precedes egg-laying because adelgid can survive on cut material for several weeks. Egg-laying will begin in earnest at the tail end of March which is a good time to take down your birdfeeders to help reduce the risk of bringing this and other forest pests to your neighborhood. It is also a good time to inspect your trees for adelgid because the eggs will fluff up the waxy covering making the insects more visible. More information about the hemlock woolly adelgid and quarantines can be found on the Maine Forest Service Forest Health and Monitoring website: www.maineforestservice.gov/idmhome.htm or by calling the Insect and Disease Lab at (207) 287-2431. FOREST CARBON MANAGEMENT AND CARBON INVENTORY WORKSHOPS TO BE HELD OXFORD, ME, FEBRUARY 12, 2010: The Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District (OCSWCD) is sponsoring a workshop for professional foresters entitled "Forest Carbon Management and Carbon Inventory-What A Forester Needs To Know", on both May 5th and 7th. Classroom instruction will be held in Brownfield at the Brownfield Community Center, 90 Main St. The field portion will be held at the OCSWCD woodlot, also in Brownfield. The workshops will provide classroom instruction in current guidelines and standards for forest carbon inventory methods and management options, cruise set-up, management plan decision-making, forest carbon modeling process and results, economic analysis, cost share programs and forest carbon markets. Field time will include a review of carbon inventory methods and practice, "carbon silviculture" in select stands, trade-offs, and carbon decision tools for forest managers and landowners. Speakers are: Dr. John Gunn, Senior Program Leader, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences; Dr. David Saah, Principal, Spatial Informatics Group; Steve Gettle LPF, Consulting Forester; Andy Shultz, Landowner Outreach Forester, Maine Forest Service; Jeff Meserve and Merle Ring, OCSWCD; Peter Marcinuk, Resource Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service; and Jan Santerre, Project Canopy, Maine Forest Service. Continuing education credits will be available for participating foresters. The workshops have been made possible through a Project Canopy grant funded by the Maine Forest Service and the USDA Forest Service. Partners include the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Small Woodlot Owners of Maine and the Threshold to Maine Resource Conservation and Development Council all of whom have contributed their time towards this effort to build the professional forester's capacity to provide cutting-edge services to landowners. These services will enable the landowner's participation in the managed forest carbon market while encouraging sustainable practices that deliver multiple co-benefits. A registration form and agenda are available at the OCSWCD website, www.oxfordswcd.net or by calling 743-5789 extension 1. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. The cost is $25 (payable by check, cash or PayPal). Lunch will be provided. WoodsWiseWire is an occasional electronic newsletter provided by the Maine Forest Service, on topics of general interest to woodland owners, foresters, loggers, and others interested in Maine's forests. To unsubscribe or manage your subscription to the Woodswise wire visit: http://mailman.informe.org/mailman/listinfo/woodswisewire For more information on MFS programs, services, and publications, call the Maine Forest Service at 207-287-2791, or 1-800-367-0223, or send an email to forestinfo at maine.gov Visit our website at www.maineforestservice.gov . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.informe.org/pipermail/woodswisewire/attachments/20100223/4c40c104/attachment-0001.html