georgia forestry today - jan/feb 2012

FORESTRY TODAYGeorgia

Wood Takes theNational Stage with‘Extreme Makeover:Home Edition‘See story on page 8

Volume 8, Issue 1January | February 2012

A B I M O N T H L Y M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E F O R E S T R Y I N D U S T R Y O F G E O R G I A

2 January | February 2012

http://www.meeksfarms-nurserys.com/

3Georgia Forestry Today

http://www.landforsale.forestargroup.com


GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY is published bi-monthly by A4 inc., 1154 lowerbirmingham road, Canton, georgia 30115. recipients include owners and subscribersof the georgia Forestry Commission, as well as suppliers and manufacturers of forest-related products and services.

Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher, A4inc., nor do they accept responsibility for errors of content or omission and, as a matterof policy, neither do they endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Partof this magazine may be reproduced with the written consent of the publisher. Corre-spondence regarding changes of address should be directed to A4 inc. at the addressindicated above. Advertising material should be sent to A4 inc. at the e-mail address:[email protected]. Questions on advertising should be directed to the advertising di-rector at the e-mail address provided above. editorial material should be sent to A4inc. or to Alva hopkins.

GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY1154 lower birmingham road, Canton, georgia 30115

On the Cover:

Three wood species come together tobuild a memorial wall and seating areaframing one end of the playset. See story on page 8.

C A N T R E L L F O R E S T

P R O D U C T S I N C .We buy all types of timber.

Bio-fuel producer

[email protected] Galilee Church RoadJefferson, GA 30549

Office: (706) 367-4813 Mobile: (706) 498-6243Home: (706) 367-1521

LAMARCANTRELL

GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAYPrinted in the usA

Publisher:A4 inc.

eDiTOr-iN-ChieFAlva hopkins

[email protected]

PrODuCTiON MANAgerPamela Petersen-Frey

[email protected]

eDiTOriAl bOArDWendy burnettAlva hopkinsJesse Johnsonstacia Kelly

sandi Martinbrain stone

steve McWilliams

http://www.vulcanscales.com/

http://www.forest2market.com/f2m/us/f2m1/index.jsp


FORESTRY TODAYGeorgia

Volume 8, Issue 1 JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2012

P.08 Wood Takes the National Stage

with “Extreme Makeover: Home

Edition”

P.11 Message from the Georgia

Forestry Commission Director

P.12 GFC News

P.13 Commission Possible

Agency Goals Work in the Dirt

P.16 A Heated Subject

How is Climate Change Affecting

the Way People Use the Outdoors?

P.20 Deer Vision Research Is

Going High-tech

New phase will use LCD screens to

test what they see

P.21 Essential Tools for Georgia’s

Forest Owners

P.24 The Arrowhead Tree

Breeding Center

$483 Million Present Value to the

Citizens of Georgia and the South

P.30 Interview with Georgia

Representative Chad Nimmer

P.34 Southern Timberland Market

A Windshield Assessment

(part 1 of 2)

P.36 Georgia Forestry News

P.38 Georgia Forestry Today

Directory of Products & Services

http://ww.plumcreektrees.com


http://www.interforestry.com

http://www.aggeorgia.com


LiST of aDVerTiSerS

sPeCiAliziNg iN The PurChAse OF PiNe AND hArDWOOD TiMber. COMPleTe siTe PreP

OPerATiON FrOM lAND CleAriNg TO beDDiNg, rOAD CONsTruCTiON AND Tree PlANTiNg. CAll us TODAY FOr All YOur TiMber MANAgeMeNT NeeDs.

102 Dasher road • glennville, georgia 30427

WAlT DAsher

(912) 654 2100 Pager: (912) 486-9009Mobile: (912) 282-4899 Fax: (912) 654-4976

American Forest Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 F&W Forestry service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Arborgen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 international Forest Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

beach Timber Company inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 landMark spatial solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

blanton’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 lanigan & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Canal Wood llC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Meeks Farm & Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . .inside Front Cover

Cantrell Forest Products inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 M & h Pinestraw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Dasher industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Morbark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Davis - garvin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Outdoor underwriters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

F2M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Plum Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Farm Credit Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Prudential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Flint equipment Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 smith, gambrell & russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Forest resource Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 uPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .back Cover

Forest resource services inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Weyerhaeuser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Forestar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vulcan on board scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Forestry Fertilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Yancey brothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .inside back Cover


n May 22, 2011, the city ofJoplin, Missouri, was dev-astated when an eF-5tornado ripped throughthe quiet Midwesterntown. Cutting a swathsix miles long and up to

one mile wide, the tor-nado claimed 162 lives. At

the center of the devastation:Cunningham Park. Within the park that day,hundreds of trees were lost and the existingplayset and city pool were demolished.

enter “extreme Makeover: home edi-tion,” (eMhe) AbC’s popular home im-provement television show known forhelping families in great need. Producers

chose Joplin to launch the largest rebuildingeffort in TV show history: seven homes forseven families in seven days, plus an overhaulof Cunningham Park. A daunting effort tobe sure, but one which the producers knewthey could accomplish, with the right part-ners on board.

Let’s Start at the Very Beginning Framing. The key element of any home,framing is the foundation on which the de-sign and future strength of the home rest. Forbuilding seven homes within a few blocks,the right framing material would be integralto the success of both the homes and theoverall project. When it came time to choosea framing material, eMhe producers chosereal wood.

eMhe producers first approached thesouthern Pine Awareness Network (sPAN),a southern pine marketing program managed

by the southeastern lumber ManufacturersAssociation (slMA), in 2010 to potentiallypartner on another home build. That oppor-tunity reinforced existing communicationsgroundwork that would result in a partner-ship to rebuild Joplin.

sPAN donated southern pine framingfor all seven homes via Missouri-basedMeeks lumber, the official lumber companyof the Joplin build. Volunteer builders, as-sisted by thousands of skilled labor volun-teers, worked 24/7 to raise the framing andcreate the outline for seven new homes forseven very deserving Joplin families.

“being on the build site was an excep-tional experience,” said Kim Drew, programmanager for sPAN and real Outdoor liv-

ing. “The first evening of the build, there wasa one-hour window when the wood framingfor all seven homes was finished—just a briefamount of time before the next building stepcommenced. We managed to get up into acherry picker for an incredible shot, just asthe sun was setting. it was wonderful to seethe sun shining on the wood and realize thatour simple donation was the foundation fora future for these families.”

How Else Can We Help? Once the framing package was secured, realOutdoor living stepped in to determine ad-ditional donation and building opportuni-ties. Created as a pressure-treated woodeducation program also managed by slMA,real Outdoor living in the last year has be-come a nationwide effort to promote the useof outdoor wood instead of alternative, non-natural materials. Activities within the pro-

gram include retail partnerships, consumermarketing, industry research, and public re-lations.

As the program blossomed, the Westernred Cedar lumber Association and Califor-nia redwood Association joined forces withrOl, with the goal of speaking for the woodindustry nationwide with one voice. Na-tional partnership successes include a strongwood presence at Deckexpo and the creationof wood marketing pieces for lumber retailersnationwide.

The real Outdoor living team pitchedfor the use of outdoor wood on the Joplinbuild, both to further aid Joplin residentsand to complement the framing donationand increase the presence of real wood. be-

with “extreme Makeover: home edition”story provided by real Outdoor living

Wood Takes the National Stage

O

Two ‘firehouses’ honor Ladder Twoand Ladder Four, both hit by the May22 tornado, while flags represent thecity of Joplin, the state of Missouri,

and the USA.


Donated lumber was cut andbuilt into trusses on-site to meetthe specs for each home.

ginning with decks and front porches (alreadysponsored by a Joplin-based company), theconversation moved to gazebos, arbors, andfinally, a playset for Cunningham Park.

The playset was commissioned by rOlfrom husband-wife team Mark and TheresaClement who designed and built the playset.Assisting them was a top-notch team of vol-unteer deck builders and remodelers fromaround the country. The entire team de-scended on Joplin for eight days in late Oc-tober 2011, determined to build—and buildwell—the most amazing solid-wood playset. Over seven days, the gigantic playset tookshape in Cunningham Park. huge pilingswere installed to ensure structural stability,and the wood framework rose from theground, ready to provide much-needed playtime to the children of Joplin. Throughoutthe playset can be found the wood trifecta ofpressure-treated pine, California redwood,and Western red cedar integrated together,creating a beautiful, natural effect.

Playset design elements include balancebeams, balconies, firehouses and fire poles, asecret cove, several slides of varying lengths, amini-façade remembering Joplin days goneby, and a memorial wall featuring six-by-sixessigned by thousands of the eMhe volun-teers. Many walkways and elements withinthe playset are named for streets and buildingsin Joplin that took a hit on that awful day inMay. An adjacent redwood structure includesswings and slides on a smaller scale foryounger siblings not quite ready for the bigplayset.

The night of the ‘reveal’ (when the play-set was unveiled for the children of the sevenfamilies in the new homes), childrenscreamed with glee as they exited the eMhebuses and raced toward the playset. Climb-ing all over every square inch of it, they de-clared it was “the coolest thing ever!” andthat they were “never, ever leaving!” One girlremarked to her mother, “This playgroundis all wood, which means we won’t burn ourhands anymore when it’s hot!”


For more information: http://www.joinextreme.com/joplinhttp://www.realoutdoorliving.com/extreme-makeover-home-edition-joplin.shtml

Volunteer builders create wall framing from donated lumber while wearing the rec-ognizable “Extreme Makeover:Home Edition” blue volunteer T-shirts.

Throughout the build, members of the rOlteam reinforced the environmental, lifecycleassessment-based benefits of using real wood.

The Joplin episode of “extremeMakeover: home edition” is scheduled to airon Friday, January 13, 2012, at 8 p.m. Theshow marks the 200th episode, and the seriesfinale. v

everyone involved in the rOl donation toeMhe and Joplin sees the partnership forwhat it is: a wonderful chance to give backto a community in great need, while show-casing the natural, authentic beauty of build-ing with real wood on a nationwidetelevision stage. The depth and scope of thisproject allowed wood to be shown perform-ing in ways not possible by other materials.

http://www.prudential.com/agloans

he start of a new year is alwaysexciting. it’s a worthwhilechallenge to envision themonths ahead and chart theevents and ideas on whichwe’ll build our monthly to-do

lists. if your PDA or datebook is anythinglike mine, it’s already surprisingly full. Andif 2012 is anything like last year, we’d betterhold on tight; the rocket ride has begun!

At the georgia Forestry Commission,our calendar is packed with rich opportuni-ties for our customers to grow, learn andprosper this year. As our mission statementdeclares (and as you’ll read about in thisissue’s gFC feature profile on page 14), thegFC provides “leadership, service, and edu-cation in the protection and conservation ofgeorgia’s forest resources.” subjects we'll beaddressing head-on this year include:

Certification ProcessesThe ‘green’ building and energy movementsare affecting all forestry industry sectors andunderstanding the implications is manda-tory. grants are being finalized to enablegFC to present education seminars coveringmajor certification programs, includingthose by American Tree Farm, the Foreststewardship Council, and the sustainableForestry initiative. Programs are plannedthroughout the state, with representativesfrom each of the initiatives on hand to an-swer questions. When scheduled, a list ofseminars will be posted at gaTrees.org.

Timber SalesFrom planning a harvest, writing a contract,hiring loggers and observing property linesto protecting waterways, rebuilding roadsand conducting clean-up, timber sales in-

volve a variety of specific processes that de-mand accuracy. because many landownerscan profit from investing in the services of aconsulting forester, in 2012, the georgiaForestry Commission and the Association ofConsulting Foresters will present workshopsfor landowners and interested members ofthe forestry community to help increaseawareness and reduce misunderstandingsamong parties involved in harvesting timber.When a statewide seminar schedule is final-ized, it will be posted at gaTrees.org. Thebrochure, “selling Your Timber,” which cov-ers timber sale guidelines, is also available atgaTrees.org by clicking on ‘resources’ and‘Publications.’

Cost-share ProgramsThe gFC helps administer and provide tech-nical advice on a variety of u.s. Forest serv-ice, Natural resource Conservation service,and Farm services Agency incentive pro-grams for all phases of forest management.

Community Wildfire Protection Plans(CWPP)gFC's Protection Department will be com-

pleting CWPPs this year for 143 georgiacounties identified in the southern Wildfirerisk Assessment as having at least a moderaterisk of wildfire. CWPPs educate local gov-ernments and communities about the threatof wildfire and help the georgia emergencyManagement Agency mitigate the hazards ofwildfire and natural disasters. residents incommunities with CWPPs already in placethat are at the highest risk of wildfire will alsobe hearing more about the Firewise Commu-nities usA program, which helps propertyowners take various proactive steps againstthe threat of wildfire.

As we all look for ways to improve on thethings we do day in and day out in 2012, ihope you will think of your partners at thegFC for ‘all things forestry.’ We are proudto be a resource to you, and thank you foryour continued confidence and trust. happyNew Year!

sincerely,Robert Farris v


Message from the Director

Dear gFT reader,

TRobert Farris


Firewise Communities in Georgia grew by 50 percent in 2011,bringing the state's total to 19. six communities earned Firewise Com-munities status in georgia last year for adopting practices that aid in protectionfrom wildfire. ey include the city of Argyle in Clinch County, and georgiabend and st. george in Charlton County. Towns County’s leisure Woods andWoodlake communities, and Deerlick Astronomy Village in Taliaferro Countywere also recognized. e georgia Forestry Commission and the u.s. Fish andWildlife service are part of Firewise’s national, multi-agency effort designed to reach beyond fire service by involving homeowners, communityleaders, planners, and others in the effort to protect people, property, and natural resources from wildland fire risk - before fires occur. Formore information visit www.georgiafirewise.org or gaTrees.org. e

GFC News

Just like the trees it celebrates, the social networking site, TheGrove, is growing! since its founding in 2008, the Web site devoted toencouraging georgians to plant trees and help protect the urban tree canopy,has grown by 50 percent. inside The grove, users have the ability to createphoto ‘groves’ of trees they have planted to commemorate special events andjoin tree groups that create change in their communities. The site recently wentnationwide and is averaging more than 1,000 unique visitors every two weeks.Facebook serves as a major source of Web site traffic. georgia, Florida, andCalifornia are the leading states from which visitors are coming to the site,with Texas, Tennessee, and New York following closely behind. www.georgia-grove.org. e

GFC Rangers from the Coosa District helped bring a lot of Christ-mas cheer to Atlanta in December. gFC Professionals dug, lifted, andhelped the georgia building Authority transport a 2500 pound eastern redcedar to the state capitol for display in the Capitol rotunda. The gFC alsoassisted with moving a massive tree from haralson County that was placedon the grounds of the governor's mansion. e

http://georggiagrove.org

Creating business mission statements cantake a toll on even the most dedicatedleaders. A survey of these framed proclamations oftenreveals flowery language, with blatantly run-onsentences that try to say too much without say-ing much of anything. Yet, the exercise is criti-cal for the strong performance of anyorganization.

seven years ago, the georgia ForestryCommission established a mission statementthat, quite simply, cuts to the chase: To provideleadership, service, and education in the pro-tection and conservation of georgia’s forest re-sources. gFC professionals fulfill these goalsby providing a wide variety of services, fromwildfire suppression and emergency commandexpertise to seedling production, landownerforest management assistance, and marketingof our state’s vast forest resources and natureservices.

How are we doing?A litany of statistics could well be insertedhere: number of wildfires suppressed statewide,miles of firebreaks harrowed and plowed, acresof timber under stewardship Plans, hours ofeducational sessions presented and percentageof annual improvement in seedling quality.Add cutbacks and declining resources to thelist and there’s plenty of proof that the gFC isdoing more with less these days.

ultimately, it is our customers who tell ushow we’re doing, and they are our most impor-tant barometer for success. Customers from

COMMISSION

Agency Goals Work

in the DirtBy Stasia Kelly

POSSIBLE:

Amos Ryce III enjoys managing his Gray,

Georgia, timberland, which he calls,

“a work in progress.”



ringgold to Valdosta and Carrolton to savannah have unique setsof challenges, and if we’re not contributing to their success, thenwe’re not succeeding either. As evidenced by the gFC’s Customerservice Agency of the Year award in 2009, our professionals takepride in exceeding customer expectations. each person, family orbusiness has a legacy, and building on those legacies is a responsi-bility we take seriously.

Stronger Seedlings Mean Better Results

One might say that Pete Peebles has pine sap running through hisblood. The Pitts, georgia, landowner’s father was in the turpentinebusiness, but Peebles says after helping with way too many hand-planted seedlings as a boy, he was determined to get out of thewoods.

“i swore i’d never come back to Pitts,” he remembered. “iwanted to get away from that dibble and that mule and wagon!”

but as often happens, college and a stint in the army convincedPeebles that “Pitts wasn’t so bad after all.” he’s since chalked up 44years in the timber business and currently owns and manages11,000 acres of forest land for Peebles Timber inc.

“i remember my dad buying seedlings from the ForestryCommission when i was eight years old,” he said. “My father wasalways trying to make things better.”

Clearly the young Peebles adopted that mind-set. in the 1950she took advantage of a new CrP program to plant trees and putresources into bigger equipment for the farm. he has been a regu-lar attendee at gFC-sponsored seminars and prudently followed

direction on timber management, prescribed fire, and numerousother topics. best of all, he said, he’s got the experience now to as-sess success, especially when it concerns the improved seedlingsfrom the gFC that have been used on his land for more than sevendecades.

“We’re getting an increased rate of growth," Peebles said.“Twenty years ago we’d have to go out and clear cut an entire standbecause of Fusiform rust. They’ve achieved resistance to that dis-ease, so now the amount we have to remove is insignificant." Pee-bles added that today he thins 12-year-old timber, as opposed to18-20 year old timber in years past.

“it’s slow initially with the longleaf,” he said, “but by age 20,the growth catches up to that of slash. My fields have had amazinggrowth rates.”

While Peebles’ opinion on gFC seedlings is strong, his feel-ings about the agency, and especially its reforestation department,run even deeper.

“it is absolutely critical to the future of georgia forestry tohave the commission as a superior seedling source. Those improvedseeds are a direct result of the research and development over thepast 60-plus years. And i think we’ve barely scratched the surfaceof what we know about our timber source.”

“I had no experience living in the country!”

Amos ryce iii is the son of a Methodist minister, who was born inAtlanta and followed his career through a series of urban locales in-cluding Augusta, georgia, gary, indiana and st. louis, Missouri,before moving to New York City as an adult. his family ownedcropland in gray, georgia, which started to be managed for timberin the early 1990s. he had visited there often as a child, but it was-n't until circumstances changed in 1994 that he decided to moveto the property and undertake managing it.

“i had been helping my cousin, who lived here, to manage theproperty from New York,” he said. “i was in contact with thegeorgia Forestry Commission and the soil Conservation service”(now Natural resource Conservation service, NrCs) “and theywere very helpful about giving me advice.” After ryce’s cousin diedin the fall of 1994, ryce decided his job in New York took a back-seat to ‘keeping the ball rolling,’ and he moved from absentee toonsite land manager.

“Timber production and wildlife habitat are our main goals,”said ryce, summarizing a Forest stewardship Plan that was recentlyrevised by gFC’s John sunday. The plan calls for thinning, annualprescribed burning, and chemical releases on three tracts of naturalloblolly pine totaling 149 acres. Thirty-six acres are in hardwood.

“i thought i was doing things correctly, but John sundaymade me realize i wasn’t!” said ryce. “he is very, very smart, andwith just one visual inspection of the property was able to give mefacts about it that just astonished me. he's been tremendouslyhelpful.”

sunday has encouraged ryce to take advantage of all programsavailable to assist him with land management, including those

Timber producers including Pete Peebles

tout the quality and growth rates of the Geor-

gia Forestry Commission’s genetically im-

proved seedlings.


sponsored by NrCs. last fall, ryce received that agency’s “2011Conservationist of the Year” for Jones County designation. Theaward recognized his use of conservation practices such as timberthinning, firebreaks, prescribed burning, and invasives controlthrough the environmental Quality incentive Program (eQiP)and American recovery and reinvestment Act.

“While i'm proud of what i’ve been able to accomplish, i con-sider this a work in progress,” said ryce. “Managing this propertyhas become my full time job and i can see the improvements.”

When asked about what he’s most proud of, ryce said, “Thati’ve been able to hang in here with limited resources. All expensesare out of pocket, with some cost-share assistance. but i wouldn’thave been able to accomplish near what i have without the gFCparticipation. They’re just great, knowledgeable people.”

Feeding the Future of Energyin 2010, georgia’s forest industry supported almost $23.6 billionin output in georgia. it generated nearly $14.5 billion in revenue,directly employed 43,425 people, and paid over $2.6 billion inwages and benefits to its employees. To keep those numbers grow-ing, the georgia Forestry Commission’s Marketing and utilizationarm is continuously seeking potential customers for the state's for-est industry.

biomass as a source of sustainable energy has been widelytouted as the wave of the future for georgia forest landowners, andmid-May, 2011 saw a landmark event in that field. georgia bio-mass llC, opened the world's largest wood fuel pellet plant out-side Waycross, georgia. The plant is a venture of major germanutility rWe and its renewable subsidiary, rWe innogy.

“The georgia Forestry Commission was very helpful in pro-viding rWe with information about forests in georgia,” said samKang, georgia biomass Chief Financial and Operational Officer.

“The information provided was instrumental in helping us select asuitable site in georgia. equally important, the georgia ForestryCommission provided us with key material to help us understandand demonstrate that our pellets came from sustainable sources.”

Kang termed state agency-provided data “credible,” and saidthe three-trees-planted-for-every-one-harvested statistic made adifference for rWe.

“We’ve flown hundreds of miles in the helicopter and drivenmany miles on the ground, and it’s rows and rows of trees,” saidKang of georgia’s 25 million acres of forestland. “seeing is be-lieving.”

The facility is now taking in about 250 loads of logs daily, ormore than one million metric tons annually. The wood pellets pro-duced are being shipped to a biomass-fired power plant in theunited Kingdom, and are being used for co-firing in the Nether-lands.

“So far so good,” said Kang. “The Commission provided a good service for us.”

As 2012 gets underway, gFC Professionals are assessing their suc-cess in fulfilling the agency’s mission statement daily. We under-stand that today’s actions are critical to tomorrow’s gains. Onlywith regular and conscience attention to the framed words on thewall can we realize our ultimate goals for our customers, col-leagues, families, and every fellow georgian:

GFC Vision: Healthy, sustainable forests providing clean air,clean water, and abundant products for future generations. v

Georgia's rich

and ready supply

of wood led to

ribbon cutting

ceremonies for

Georgia Biomass,

LLC's wood pellet

plant in Way-

cross.


t was one of those local stories meant to amuse the populace,but instead made national news and became fodder for co-medians. The Athens banner-herald’s headline blared, “Mansays it’s too hot to fish.” Just a few paragraphs long and buriedinside the paper, the quirky story struck a nerve across thecountry. For many, it was something to laugh about, especiallywhen producers from Comedy Central’s “The Colbert re-

port” came looking for an interview. but behind bobby Kirk’s home-spun wisdom, there was truth. This past summer, temperatures werescorching. it was too hot to fish. is climate change affecting the waypeople spend their time outdoors?

Warnell researchers want to know. The school has several climatechange projects in the works, and a handful are now looking at whatglobal warming is doing to natural lands. One focuses on how lowerstream levels affect trout fishing. Another looks at how forests canhelp reduce a community’s vulnerability to rising heat. Although cli-mate change continues to be a polarizing political topic, it is widelyaccepted in the scientific community. global warming, researcherssay, has far-reaching effects that can harm more than just the obvious,like melting glaciers. it could have a widespread impact, said Dr. Nee-lam Poudyal, assistant professor of Natural resources recreation andTourism. but some scientists are now looking into the less tangibleeffects climate change could have—like how it can change the waypeople use the outdoors.

“understanding how recreationists perceive climate change phe-nomenon, and likely adjust their outdoor pursuits to expected changein climate condition and outdoor resources will be important in man-aging outdoor resources and predicting its economic and social im-pact,” Poudyal said. “For example, how rural communities in Northgeorgia will be impacted by potential decline in trout fishing.”

Poudyal and two other Warnell professors are working on threedifferent climate change projects:

• Poudyal is teaming up with Dr. Nate Nibbelink, associate pro-fessor in gis and spatial ecology, on a u.s. Forest service project toidentify ‘hotspots’ of change—where the multiple impacts of human

population growth and climate change might intersect to stress ournatural lands, particularly with respect to the multiple ways in whichhumans benefit from intact natural systems. They will use spatial sta-tistics and mapping tools in a geographic information system (gis)to identify areas where projected future impacts to natural resources—such as intact forests, biodiversity, and water availability—willshow the greatest change from current conditions. These data willbe intersected with human population growth projections to identify‘footprints on the land’ where human impacts resulting from changesto our natural resource base will be the highest. This unprecedentednationwide analysis is made possible by the 2010 Forest and range-land renewable resources Planning Act Assessment, conducted bythe Forest service and partner scientists, which reports on the statusand trends of renewable resources nationwide. Nibbelink said thestudy should increase understanding of how natural lands in the na-tion are likely to be affected by both human pressures and global cli-mate change. experts are predicting that by the year 2060, urbanland use will likely increase by 70 million acres, resulting in a loss offorest, cropland, pasture, and rangeland. Poudyal and Nibbelinkhope to identify the ‘potential hotspots’ that will be affected, includ-ing possible water shortages and species at risk of extinction.

A Heated Subject ~How is Climate Change Affecting

the Way People Use the Outdoors?by sandi Martin, Media relations, Warnell school of Forestry and Natural resources

I

• Dr. Jeff hepinstall-Cymerman, a land-scape ecologist in Warnell, and Poudyal havestarted a project that will examine how forestresources could be used to offset a commu-nity’s vulnerability to heat effects, such asheat stroke and heat exhaustion, which arelikely to increase as temperatures rise. Alsofunded by the Forest service, this project willdevelop a social vulnerability index specificto heat effects that can be calculated for dif-ferent communities. it will also complementexisting research on the driving factors ofheat effects by evaluating how forest re-sources under various levels of canopy cov-erage and health condition can moderatethose effects. The pair will also compare dif-ferent species—such as hardwood, pine, etc.—and management regimes to see how theycontribute.

• Poudyal is currently working on a sur-vey of trout anglers in georgia with fundingand logistic support from the Forest serviceand the georgia Department of Natural re-sources’ Wildlife resource Division. scien-tists just don’t know how climate change isaffecting nature-based activities, he said, butthe very people affected might not knowmuch about it either. The survey aims to findout how much anglers know about climatechange, how they perceive its potentialthreats to their angling, and how they mightreact to the expected change in resource con-ditions due to climate change. Previous stud-ies have shown that an increase in streamtemperature can cause a substantial loss oftrout habitat.

“Our research will combine ecological and so-cial data to provide meaningful planningtools for managers to use public lands to helpmitigate the likely effects of climate changeon natural and social systems,” said hepin-stall-Cymerman. There has already been agreat deal of research conducted on topicsthat relate to these projects, all with interest-ing results that are helping Warnell’s teamshape their studies. And global warming isproving to be a worrisome phenomenon:

• The number one cause of weather-re-lated deaths is heat related, with 3,442 peo-ple dying from this cause between 1999 and

2003. Climate research has projected thattemperatures across North America could in-crease between 1.8 and 5.4 degrees Fahren-heit during the first half of the twenty-firstcentury, and many southeastern u.s. urbanareas could see temperatures rise more thannine degrees over the same period.

• if projections are true and urban areasincrease their footprints by 70 million acresby 2060, it could mean an eight percent lossof forestland in the south alone. The south-ern u.s. could lose another two percent ofrangeland area, while northern states couldlose up to seven percent of food-producingcropland.

• Many North georgia streams have al-ready been found to have suffered a signifi-cant number of high water temperature andtrout mortality cases in recent years. becausethose streams lie in the southernmost edge oftrout habitats, the heat effects usually happenearly. but the impacts of those heat effectsdepend on several factors, including how an-glers react to changing resource conditions.

Will they keep fishing there, or move towardheadwaters or even other states? Or will theywait until the water gets cooler? some anglersmay give up on trout and start fishing forother species or seek alternative outdoor pur-suits, Poudyal theorizes.

The Warnell team’s research resultscould be useful in guiding future planningand management of recreational fishery andother land management decisions. “Policymakers are interested in knowing how factorsthat are beyond individual’s control shouldbe better managed to cope with the negativeoutcome of climate change, such as the heateffects,” Poudyal said. “if we find evidencethat two otherwise identical communitiesmay experience or have the ability to with-stand different levels of heat stress simply be-cause of the difference in the way forests andother green vegetation are managed, appro-priate intervention programs such as urbanforestry, community green areas, and otherpublic forest reserves can be favorable policyoptions.” v



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he light goes on, the trap doorsopen, and the curious deer inthe pen wanders over. Whichone will he choose? Chooseright, and he gets a food treat.Choose wrong, and the doors

close, denying him something tasty. it mayseem like a mean little game, but Warnell re-searchers are doing this to learn a lot abouthow deer see. Discovering the intricacies ofdeer vision has widespread implications, af-fecting everything from how people hunt tohow car makers design headlights.

At Warnell, deer vision research is get-ting even more high-tech, moving on tousing lCD monitors that will display a mod-ified color blindness test. These computer-generated images will be similar to thepseudoisochromatic plate tests administeredto humans to test for color blindness. Thepremise will stay the same – the deer has twochoices when these images are displayed.One image will have a section of colored cir-cles amongst gray circles, while the otherimage will only have gray circles. if the deercannot discriminate that specific color, bothscreens should appear the same. if she (theyare all does) moves toward the image withthe color incorporated, she will receive a foodreward. if she chooses wrong, the door willclose once she crosses an invisible infraredbeam that lets researchers know if the correctdecision was made, and therefore what thedeer saw. This latest phase is part of a larger,ongoing deer vision project funded by thegeorgia Department of Transportation andstarted several years ago by Drs. bob Warrenand Karl Miller who started looking for waysto cut down on the number of deer-automo-bile collisions on georgia roads. “There areabout 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions eachyear nationwide, and understanding howdeer see may allow us to develop some alter-native methods to reduce this number,” War-ren said. “but the potential for reducingcollisions is only one application of this re-search,” Miller added. “For example, con-sider the implications for the huntingcamouflage industry.”

M.s. student elizabeth Miller, undertheir supervision, is conducting the currentphase of this project and has installed thelCD monitors in certain pens at Warnell’sDeer barn. The initial phase was conductedby graduate student bradley Cohen who de-signed the device and used simple leDlights to confirm previous physiologicallybased studies. “brad’s research further con-firms that deer can only perceive colorthrough two different cone photopigments,unlike human ability to see through three.That means they don’t see the color spectrumthe same way we do,” she said. “We theorize

that deer see color similar to humans withprotanopic red-green colorblindness. ”

by retrofitting the stalls with the lCDscreens, Miller will investigate how well deersee color, and how well they distinguish cer-tain colors from others. she’ll also be testingcolor discrimination within patterns. The ap-plications of this research are far-reaching.Their results could lead to the developmentof new color patterns for camouflage, strate-gic color patterns for roadside fencing, andstrategic color patterns for fencing aroundgardens, landscaping, and food plots. v

Deer Vision research is going high-techNew phase will use lCD screens to test what they see

T


orests are under siege from a va-riety of threats. invasive species,insects, and diseases threatenabout 58 million acres offorestland in the united states.

Farm bill conservation pro-grams provide tools that forest owners canuse to leverage their own time, energy, andinvestments to combat these threats, ensur-ing that their forestland stays healthy andproductive.

essential Tools for georgia’s Forest Ownersby Amanda Cooke, American Tree Farm system

e Traylor family on their family tree farm in Sandersville, Georgia. Photo Credit: e Traylor Family

F


Family forest ownersfrom across the coun-try use Farm bill pro-grams for forest stand improvement andthinning projects, prescribed burns, erosioncontrol, tree planting, and many other man-agement practices. Comprising only a smallpercentage of total Farm bill funds, conser-vation programs are some of the most effec-tive tools available for private landowners toimprove forest management.

John and Karen Traylor purchased theirtree farm near sandersville, georgia in 1972.When the Traylors bought the property,there was just one remaining virgin long leafpine. This tree was “one of the prettiest i’veever seen in my life,” John said of the nearly300 year old pine.

When the tree was hit several times bylightening and died, John and Karen resolvedto restore the longleaf pine on their 400-acreproperty.

Through technical assistance from thelongleaf Alliance and financial assistance

provided by the Farm bill’sWildlife habitat incentives Pro-gram (WhiP), the Traylors

planted 80 acres of new lon-gleaf forest over the last fiveyears. These new longleaf

pines are especially important be-cause the tree farm’s soil is ex-tremely sandy; with such sandysoil, water goes straightthrough to recharge the creta-ceous aquifer. The Traylors’restored longleaf forest helpsprotect the water quality inthe aquifer, while providingsuperb wildlife habitat forthe endangered gopher tor-toise.

The Traylor family de-votes particular attention to

the gopher tortoise and otherwildlife on their tree farm.

using WhiP, they have plantedwild plums, crab apples, and persim-

mon trees that have helped diversifywildlife. The forest now has abundant pop-

ulations of quail, wild turkey, deer, ducks,and songbirds. For all their efforts, John andKaren were named 2009 conservationists of

the year by their local soil and waterconservation commission.

“A lot of people think forest man-agement is a one-man show. it’s not. i defi-nitely put in my own sweat, labor andmoney, but i’ve gotten a lot of help, too. icouldn’t have done it without some financialhelp and all of the technical advice i’ve got-ten from Natural resources Conservationservice and forestry associations,” John said.

Activities eligible for WhiP assistanceinclude but are not limited to habitat man-agement, riparian forest buffers, tree plant-ings, and wetlands creation, restoration, andenhancement. You can learn more aboutFarm bill conservation programs and enroll-ment deadlines, some of which have alreadypassed, through the georgia Natural re-sources Conservation service atwww.ga.nrcs.usda.gov.

here is more information about el-igible activities on your land and some suc-cess stories from landowners in other partsof the country:

What do you want to do? Restore wet-lands and prevent erosion?

Which activities are eligible? Wetlands creation, restoration, enhance-ment, riparian forest buffers, tree plantings,windbreaks, integrated Pest Management,road closures, and more.

The Farm Bill program for you: WetlandReserve Program (WRP)New York forest owner richard hilary has130 acres of important wood duck habitatand migratory corridors. Through the Farmbill’s WrP, hilary put his land under con-servation easement, protecting it from devel-opment. Natural resources Conservationservice staff offered technical and financialassistance for restoring several ponds on thesite and reseeding areas with the proper mixof forage for wood ducks. The species hasmade a huge comeback thanks to these con-servation efforts.

What do you want to do? Improve foresthealth, access, and management

Which activities are eligible? Prescribedburns, integrated pest management, ac-cess roads, forest stand improvements,pruning, multi-story cropping, andmore.

The Farm Bill program for you: Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)Pennsylvanians harry and Joyce Pionkes’ treefarm was devastated by gypsy moths—morethan 100 acres of their forest was wiped out.Through their participation in CsP, whichleveraged their own investment, harry andJoyce are reestablishing and diversifying theirforest. rather than just oak, the woods arenow host to white, red, and Virginia pines,as well as hickories and hazelnuts. Diversify-ing tree species is one of the best preventivemeasures to reduce damage of an infestation.

What do you want to do? Walk in yourwoods, appreciate the beauty of yourwoods?

Which activities are eligible? Forest stand

improvements, tree/shrub establishment,forest trails, and more.The Farm bill program for you: environ-mental Quality incentives Program (eQiP).ginny and Tom Chrisenton moved to lyn-deborough, New hampshire because theyloved the rural setting—the forests, thefarms, and the lifestyle. Their land has alwaysbeen free and open to the public to enjoy,and they used eQiP to improve public ac-cess. Tom and ginny created more than tenmiles of trails on their land that visitors tothe wildlife refuge regularly use. They also re-stored ponds and created wildlife openingson 35 acres that have provided additionalhabitat for species that live in the refuge.

Farm bill programs offer the kind ofcost-share and technical assistance programsthat help keep family forests healthy and pro-ductive. given the failure of the Congres-sional ‘supercommittee’ in November, thefuture of these Farm bill programs remainsuncertain. While it’s true that everyone mustshare the deficit burden, forest owners mustspeak up and advocate for the importance ofthese programs.

You can visit www.familyforestaction.org to join the American Tree Farm system’sgrassroots action network, sign up for ourMarch 2012 fly-in, and share your story withCongress. v


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Pollen collected from superior parenttrees is injected into the pollinationbags covering the female flowers.


by steve McKeand and russ Pohl

Arrowhead

Tree

$483 Million Present Value to the Citizens of

Georgia and the South

he Georgia Forestry Commission’s(GFC) Arrowhead Seed Orchardnear Cochran, Georgia, has been akey facility for the state’s tree breed-ing and seed production programsfor decades. Because of the Arrow-head Seed Orchard as well as otherorchards and tree improvement pro-grams in the region, forest landown-ers in Georgia can access geneticallyimproved seedlings that are diseaseresistant, grow fast, and produce highquality timber.

The NC State University Coopera-tive Tree Improvement Program(www.TreeImprovement.org) was es-tablished in 1956 with the goal to ge-netically improve southern pines toincrease productivity and value ofsouthern forests. State forestry agen-cies, forest landowners, and forestrycompanies are members of the Coop-erative (Table 1) and provide supportfor tree breeding activities in Georgiaand the southeastern US.

the

Breeding Center


Southern Regeneration800.344.0399 In Virginia & North Carolina800.634.8975 in Florida, Georgia & South Carolina800.635.0162 in Alabama, Mississippi & Tennessee800.221.4898 in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma & Texas

At a time when the timber industry was only harvesting, Weyerhaeuser began to plant. For 75 years, we’ve been perfecting the seedlings that have reforested America and produced profits for generations of forest landowners.

in 2008, the Cooperative made the decisionto concentrate loblolly pine breeding effortsat a centralized facility to maximize breedingefficiency and to compensate for the loss offull members that have traditionally accom-plished most of the breeding. Arrowhead wasan ideal location, and the georgia ForestryCommission has provided land, labor, andmature trees for breeding (Figure 1 and 2).The Cooperative is doing most of the fieldwork with staff and contract labor, but thestrong support of gFC has made the breed-ing Center possible.

The value of the work being done at theArrowhead breeding Center is staggering.The current focus is our new sawtimber elitePopulation for loblolly pine (Figure 3). Themost valuable selections from the Coopera-tive’s breeding programs have been estab-lished at the breeding Center and are beingbred to increase volume production, stemquality, disease resistance, and wood qualityso that high-value sawtimber will be maxi-mized. When the results of this breeding ef-fort get into plantations and trees areeventually harvested, the increase value toforest landowners will be dramatic.

So how valuable is the ArrowheadBreeding Center?

historically, about 900,000 acres of loblollypine plantations are established in the southeach year with seedlings derived from Coop-erative members’ breeding efforts, so the im-pacts of our efforts at the breeding Centerare multiplied many fold. even with breed-ing being a long-term investment, and withthe very conservative estimates used in the

calculations below, the present value of ourcurrent activities at the Arrowhead breedingCenter is at least $483 million. The calcula-tions and assumptions used are very conser-vative and are shown in the box below.

The assumptions in our analyses can bemodified to come up with other reasonable,but much higher estimates of the value of theArrowhead breeding Center. even if the as-sumptions are modified to make them muchmore conservative, it is clear that the effortsby the georgia Forestry Commission and theNCsu Cooperative Tree improvement Co-operative will have enormous economic im-

pact on the citizens of georgia and thesouthern us.

Tree improvement is a long-term invest-ment, and the benefits from today’s breedingactivities will not be realized for years tocome. Fortunately, tree breeders in the pasthad the foresight to invest in aggressive treeimprovement, and today’s landowners arereaping those benefits. Our children andgrandchildren will be the primary benefici-aries of the activities at the Arrowhead breed-ing Center, so the value of this work is moreimportant than ever!

Cuttings from genetically superior trees are grafted in late February into the tops ofmature trees at the Arrowhead Breeding Center to promote flowering.

http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/


http://www.supertreeseedlings.com


Assumptions and Calculations of Present ValueBreeding of the Sawtimber Elite Population started in 2009 and it will take 12 years to complete the breeding and testing. Whilemore than one breeding cycle will be possible, we evaluated the benefits from one Sawtimber Elite Population breeding cycle.

Seed orchards and propagation of trees from this breeding would start in 2021 (possibly earlier, but we arebeing conservative).

Plantations from these seed orchards and propagation efforts would first be established in 2031 and wouldbe planted for 20 years. Again, we are being very conservative; plantations would probably start in 2025 orearlier.

From the breeding that is accomplished in the Breeding Center, 900,000 acres of plantations would beestablished in the South each year for 20 years from 2031 to 2051 with seedlings developed from theSawtimber Elite Population breeding.

e additional value at time of planting* from Sawtimber Elite Population breeding is conservativelyassumed to be $150 per acre. e net present value or NPV per plantation acre with genetically improvedseedlings is estimated to be $50-$300 (See 2006 Journal of Forestry, Vol. 104, p.352-358 for details). Weexpect to substantially increase the percentage of sawtimber as well as the amount and quality of sawtimberfrom Sawtimber Elite Population breeding effort, so the estimate of $150 per acre is a very conservativeestimate of the additional benefit of this breeding effort for most plantations.

Starting in 2031, each year, $135,000,000 of added benefit ($150/acre x 900,000 acres planted per year) isrealized from these improved plantations.

e value in 2031 of 20 years of $135,000,000 per year at six percent discount rate is:

=$135,000,000 (1.0620-1)/[0.06 (1.0620)]

= $1,548,439,365 in 2031

Discounted back 20 years to 2011, the value of the Breeding Center today is:

$1,548,439,365 / (1.06)20= $483 Million (rounded)

In Georgia, about 210,000 acres of loblolly pine are planted each year. If only the acres planted in Georgia are considered, thevalue of the Breeding Center today is $113 Million.

Our current budget for operating the ABC is about $25,000/year plus labor, or about $50,000/ year total. is is the additionalcost to the Cooperative and does not include Georgia Forestry Commission costs. e Present Value of $50,000 per year for tenyears (the time to complete the breeding and testing ) is:

=$50,000 (1.0610-1) / [0.06 (1.0610)]= $368,000

e Benefit / Cost ratio for this additional investment to get the additional benefit in future plantations is: B/C = $483 Million/ $368,000 = 1312 times. We are not sure there are other forestry investments that routinely come close to this!

________________*is is present value when the plantation is established, not the value at the end of the rotation.


Table 1. Members of the NC State University Cooperative Tree Improvement Program. Full Members contribute directly to thebreeding and field testing efforts and have rights to access the genetically improved germplasm. Contributing Members have accessto all the genetic information and become fully informed consumers of genetically improved seedlings.

Steve McKeand, Professor of Forestry and Environmental Resources and Director, Cooperative Tree Improvement Pro-gram, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8002. E-mail: [email protected]

Russ Pohl, Chief of Reforestation, Georgia Forestry Commission, 5645 Riggins Mills Rd., Dry Branch, GA 31020-9699.E-mail: [email protected]

Full Members Contributing Members

ArborGen American Forest Management Inc.

CellFor Inc. Biofuels Center of North Carolina

Georgia Forestry Commission Dougherty & Dougherty Forestry Services Inc.

Hancock Timber Resources Group International Forest Company

North Carolina Forest Service Jordan Lumber & Supply Company

Plum Creek Timber Company Inc. Milliken Forestry Company

Rayonier, Incorporated Molpus Timberlands Management LLC

TN Division of Forestry NC State Natural Resource Foundation Inc.

Virginia Department of Forestry Pacolet Milliken Enterprises

Westervelt Company ProFor

Weyerhaeuser Company Resource Management Service LLC

Scotch Land Management LLC

South Carolina Forestry Commission

Timberland Investment Resources LLC

Z.V. Pate Inc.


Interview with Georgia Representative

By Alva Hopkins, Editor, Georgia Forestry Todayand Jesse Johnson, Southern Land Exchange

On February 15,2011, a special elec-

tion was held forgeorgia house Dis-

trict 178 after thecurrent representative,

Mark Williams, resignedafter being named com-missioner of the geor-gia Department of

Natural resources bythen governor sonny

Perdue. Five candidatesmade their bid for the va-cated position, but ChadNimmer won out with51.6 percent of the votes.

Georgia Forestry Todaysat down with Nimmerto discuss the election,his positions, and the2012 legislative ses-sion.


GFT: How long have you worked inforestry? What made you decide to getinto the field?

Nimmer: i’ve worked in forestry for 13 years, starting outat georgia Pacific and later moving on to Pierce TimberCompany. i work as a procurement forester for Pierce, andi’m a part owner of suwannee Forest Products.

i got involved with forestry the way a lot of us did—lovefor the outdoors. i feel blessed to have been raised in southgeorgia on a farm, and i was taught the key to sustainabilityis good stewardship of the land. i wanted to keep the landhealthy for the future family i was planning on having.

GFT: What made you want to run for office?

Nimmer: When Mark [Williams] was appointed to theDNr board, it vacated a seat. honestly, the first thing thathappened was that i started to get phone calls urging me torun. And at first i thought, “i can’t do it.” but i kept beingurged by a base group of people that gave me a lot of supportduring the campaign. i stuck by them and ran my campaigna little differently. i didn’t straw poll my district. My base andi talked to a lot of people directly. it was honestly the hardestthing i’ve ever done—and that includes working on the farm.

GFT: You said you thought you couldn’tdo it at first. What made you changeyour mind?

Nimmer: it was time. And i felt—and still feel—like ihave something to offer. And i say that with complete hu-mility. i want to offer any gifts i’ve been given to my com-munity. i want to give back what others have given me. i wasalso encouraged by my wife of 14 and a half years. she and iagreed together we could do this, even with two kids. Andnow we have three. i think my wife worked harder duringthe election than i did.

GFT: How do you plan on managingwork and serving your term in office?

Nimmer: i work for a good company that understandshow important this is. i told them, “i’m going to need help.”When i’m away from the office, i get help. We have a lot ofindividuals helping out and folks at home making sure every-thing goes right. Our company has been growing, and i hada lot of people wanting to pick up the reigns while i am giv-ing back to the community. The reality is, like i said, mywife and others are sacrificing their time and energy to allowme to do this.


Take today for example. i’m in Atlanta, andi’ve been on the phone with my truck driversand logging crew foreman since 6:00 thismorning. And it’s tough not being on site.but the landowners i work with have beengreat about knowing i’ll be absent. i haven’thad a single person who didn’t want my busi-ness because of me serving, and i’ve had afew of them thank me for doing it.

GFT: What's been the mosteye-opening or surprisingthing for you since taking office?

Nimmer: i’d have to say how things arefrom a reality standpoint and not how peopleview politics from the outside. For example,i’ve heard that politics will always corrupt agood person. Don’t believe it. if you have itin you to be corrupt, you’ll do it in any walkof life.

i’ve been surprised by the genuinefriendships that i’ve made. Most everyonehas been friendly. They realized that i camein mid-session and realized that i was goingto need help. Will i find a few people whoaren’t genuine? Well, that’s life. but i havebeen very pleased with my new friendships.We are messengers for our voters.

i was also surprised how much it tookto run a campaign, even a short one likemine. And i was surprised who came to thetable to help me out with that. i’m fortunate

that i realized i needed a campaign managerand pleased that i got a good one.

GFT: Do you have a directivefor the session?

Nimmer: i keep trying to remind myselfthat i don’t know everything going on insouth georgia. You know, you can ride pasta managed forest on the side of a road, andif you aren’t in forestry, you probably have noclue how much work goes into the land.There’s going to be plenty of industries andissues that i won’t have information on, butmy goal is to get that info, and then sharethat info through my voice in Atlanta.

if you look below i-16, i wonder how

many legislators have the true heartbeat ofwhat is going on in the farm and forest sec-tors. i’d suspect not many. We have to getpeople in our industry more involved in gov-ernment. i’m only one voice. i’m here tospread the message, but it’s going to take reg-ular folk taking time to drive to meetings andplaces, especially Atlanta, where issues aregoing to be discussed.

GFT: Do you have any spe-cific forestry-related issue onmind for the 2012 session?

Nimmer: Not one specific issue. There are afew things i’ll be working on from last year.For example, we’re working on cut-over law.

Chad Nimmer, with his wife Amy and their two oldest children, at the Capitol building in Atlanta.

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There’s a debate on how exactly to definewhat a clearly-marked line is. i want to tryto resolve that. beyond that, this is my firstfull session, so i’m still learning. i'm tryingto be supportive, but i won’t be introducingany legislation this year. i’d like to work ontax breaks for reforestation for loss. And i’lldo anything to hinder legislation whichcould harm sustainability.

GFT: Any parting shot you'dlike to give to our readers?

Nimmer: We have to get like-mindedpeople together with legislators. What we arepassionate about isn’t necessarily going to bethe same as the person across from the tablefrom us. i think so many people fail to realizethe economic importance of forestry ingeorgia. i know we have intra-industry di-vision on certain issues, but we definitelyneed to set up goals as an industry as awhole.

And i think we need to get people outof Atlanta and touring the state to see someof our land first-hand. That takes volunteers,but it’s important. For example, i was once

actually asked, “Why don’t you just chalklandlines like you do a football field?” Peoplecan understand what we do so much betterwhen they see it firsthand. And they under-

stand the personal touch—they realize thatthere are guys out there on dozers being paid$14 an hour to risk their lives and save landand homes. v

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he last decade has shown ex-traordinary instability inmost investment sectors. Fi-nancial markets have beenhighly volatile. Precious

metal prices, gold in particular, have been onan endless upward climb, while real estatemarkets expanded wildly then collapsed.historically, timberland has been recognizedas a solid, stable, relatively predictable long-term investment, marginally affected bychanges in value of other investments. Whilethere have been periodic fluctuations in tim-berland prices over past decades, there hasbeen a general upward trend in transactionprices, most often with less volatility relativeto other investments.

The relationship of land price tostumpage prices was also relatively stable,staying in sync with one another. buyers andsellers were a relatively small number of tra-ditional rural landowners, forest productscompanies, and investors familiar with ruralland and timber production economics.Many could buy, sell, and trade timberlandwith ease, comfort, and understanding, whileavoiding the unfamiliar stock market orcommercial and developed real estate market—investments perceived to be infinitelymore risky.

Timber value and a history of risingprices has traditionally been a major influ-ence on buyers’ perception of timberlandvalue since potential timber revenue is obvi-ously a major value consideration for the un-derlying land. simply put, land’s worth isderived from the long-term financial benefitsthat it could produce for its owner. in mosttimberland transactions, there has alwaysbeen a strong correlation between crop ortimber value and the underlying land com-ponent. land was worth what it would pro-duce, mostly in terms of cash flow fromcrops, whether timber or corn. This funda-mental was challenged, or simply forgotten,during the first decade of this century.

The Price Run-up (2001-2007)The up and down ride that stock market in-vestors have taken over the last decade hasbeen as wild and tumultuous as any themepark roller coaster. After a couple of shortdownhill runs in the early part of the decade,many investors, particularly some babyboomers worried about protecting funds forapproaching retirement, became uncomfort-able with too much of their portfolios in thestock market. They began to seek alternativeinvestments.

Warranted or not, this earlier stock mar-ket decline combined with the uncertaintybrought on by the terrorist attacks of 9/11and unrest in the Middle east had an in-creased number of investors considering tan-gible assets as a means of portfoliodiversification and wealth preservation.There are only a few commonly available al-ternatives to traditional financial markets.One alternative, which in hindsight mayhave been a good speculative play, is gold.however, gold was not being as heavily pro-moted then as today, and many people justdid not see a notable utilitarian value in themetal. More investors began to view real es-tate as a logical solution since “it wouldn’t

completely disappear like 2001 dot-comstocks.”

While some investors turned to com-mercial and residential real estate, includingvacation/resort homes, as a way to preservewealth and/or generate a return on theirmoney, others began to view southern tim-berland as an attractive alternative. in fact, alarge number of small buyers entering themarket, ‘consumers’ we’ll call them, had notpreviously been an influential part of thepool of buyers. With generally good eco-nomic conditions, many small business own-ers, medical professionals, and others wereprospering. in particular, developers, build-ing contractors, and others in related real es-tate fields were thriving due to explosivegrowth in the housing market. Many in-vestors were generating significant profitsfrom the sale of properties in urban, subur-ban, and second-home markets in coastalareas or other growth communities of thesouth, thereby accumulating significant lev-els of cash. Market access for buyers in-creased, and borrowing money to furtherleverage an investment was easy. The buy-and-flip strategy of some buyers also spurredan increase in tax-deferred 1031 like-kind ex-

southern Timberland MarketA Windshield Assessment (part 1 of 2)

by W. richard humphries, Forest resource Consultants inc.

T

Figure 1: Dow Jones Industrial Average 2001 to 2011. Source: Yahoo Finance


changes, further fueling demand for real es-tate. These conditions all converged to gen-erate a large number of capable buyersseeking rural timberland properties for recre-ation, short-term speculation, and long-terminvestment. everyone, it seemed, was mak-ing money, a respectable portion of whichwas being spent in the timberland market.

The southern timberland market can begenerally segmented into two broad markets– the smaller tract market, which we refer toas the consumer market, and one character-ized by larger purchases that we refer to asthe commercial/institutional timberlandmarket. Over the past decade, barelandprices (excluding timber value) betweenthese two segments differed, but both fol-lowed parallel price trends as depicted in Fig-ure 2. The consumer market price trend isbased on 860 verified transactions less than5,000 acres in size. Although these data arelimited to georgia transactions, the pricetrend has been similar across most rural areasof the south. The commercial/institutionalprice trend is based on approximately 200transactions greater than 5,000 acres in sizefrom across the south. These transactions ac-count for a total of almost 13 million acresand over $17 billion in gross sales over thedecade.

As shown in Figure 2, land prices forconsumer parcels began increasing around2002. With a significant increase in demandacross the south, some areas experienced asmuch as 15 to 25 percent price increasesyear-over-year for smaller timberland parcels.Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, many bankswere eager to lend money with very littlecash required from borrowers. in many cases,lenders were focused solely on making loans,often relaxing loan-to-value ratios, reducingunderwriting requirements, manipulatingthe appraisal process, and employing otherpractices to assure that loans could be made.such easy credit coupled with low interestrates and generally good economic condi-tions opened up markets for many peoplethat had not normally been able to pursuerelatively high-value assets such as timber-land.

While consumer tract prices were begin-ning to rise at the beginning of the decade,larger commercial timber properties weregenerally stable due to massive forest indus-try consolidation and the related monetiza-tion (selloff ) of their timberland assets.however, observed land prices even formulti-parcel commercial timberlands begannotable upward movement by 2004. Alsoduring this time, many reiTs and institu-

tional investors were holding significant in-vestment capital. A portion of this readilyavailable cash, particularly among larger em-ployee pension funds, was earmarked fortimberland investment through various tim-berland investment management organiza-tions (TiMOs). Thus, in addition to someforest product companies and timberlandreiTs, most TiMOs were in the market andcompeting for mid-size to large timberlandofferings. given the increase in buyer com-petition and the continual rise in consumertract prices, many commercial investors weremaintaining their competitiveness and sup-porting higher purchase prices by incorpo-rating a retail consumer land sales strategyinto their acquisition analysis. There werealso established land dealers and many newland speculators entering the market eager topurchase large commercial timberland offer-ings with plans to subsequently divide andresell them in smaller tracts to consumers.Thus, the higher demand and consequentlythe higher prices observed for small con-sumer tracts were impacting prices for largercommercial purchases.

There was an abundant supply of tim-berland available through early 2007 as wellas a growing demand from an increasinglyvaried market pool of investors. Trading vol-ume was high and land prices continued toclimb higher. Commercial or institutionalinvestors were extremely active buyers andsellers. Forest product companies were in themidst of consolidation and the resulting landselloff. speculators were selling properties toeach other as well as occasionally selling tothe consumer. With a high level of tradingactivity, new investment capital rolling in,and the short-term speculative mindset ofbuyers and sellers, traditional timberland val-uation models took a back seat to creativestrategies for acquisition pricing in an ex-tremely bullish market that persisted from2002 through early 2007. v

Richard Humphries is Vice President and Sen-ior Appraiser of Forest Resource ConsultantsInc.(FRC) in Macon, Georgia. To contact him,phone (478) 745-4910 or [email protected]. This article wasoriginally published in Timber Mart-South,3rd quarter, 2011.

Figure 2: Timberland (Bareland) Price Trends 2001 to 2011.

As vitally important as family-supporting jobsare—especially in this economy—can a pri-vate business be ‘designed’ to do more thanprovide jobs and generate profits for its own-ers? That’s the question that the u.s. endow-ment for Forestry and Communities (theendowment) hopes to answer with its invest-ment in a wood-to-energy facility slated foreast-central georgia.

The North star-Jefferson project is apartnership between the endowment andNorth star renewable Power. The 23Megawatt plant proposed for constructionnear Wadley, georgia, would use a well-proven technology while testing a starkly dif-ferent ownership model.

“The endowment would control up-to40 percent of the facility through a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary (CommunityWealth through Forestry inc. - CWF),” saysendowment President Carlton Owen. “Theintent is to test an ownership model that has

a for-profit business partnering with a com-munity—with CWF initially providing thefunding and vehicle for community interests.This creates an entirely different mechanismthat sees a significant portion of the profitsfrom the business going directly to addressone or more priority community needs in ad-dition to the expected benefits that flow froma private business—jobs, taxes, purchases ofgoods and services, etc.”

As part of its Woody biomass Joint Ven-ture fund with the usDA Forest service, theendowment has made a number of invest-ments in emerging technologies – from moreefficient and environmentally friendly woodstoves for small commercial buildings tocompanies working to ‘roast’ wood chips tocreate a high-energy fuel source that couldsubstitute for coal in certain applications.“Projects that we’ve funded to date have beenin the areas of taking lab-proven projectscloser to commercial status or developing

more efficient wood procurement means andmodels to fit the growing wood-to-energymarket,” says Owen.

North star-Jefferson is in the final de-sign and permitting phase. if all goes accord-ing to plan, the facility would be operationalby late fall 2013. The plant is designed to befueled primarily with wood waste (either millresidues or logging debris) and up-to 20 per-cent tire-derived fuel (a high-energy sub-stance left after removing metal bands andgrinding the residual from discarded tires).The twin-fueling plan addresses two impor-tant needs. First, it provides a market forwaste- or low-value wood providing anotherincentive for wood products plants as well asanother economically-viable means for fam-ily forest owners to manage their lands. sec-ond, using discarded tires yields anenvironmentally-proven means to keep thosetires from ending up in streams and landfills.v


in an effort to encourage children tospend more time outdoors and reconnectwith nature, the u.s. Forest service andthe Ad Council today announced thatthey are joining universal Pictures tolaunch a series of public service advertise-ments featuring characters and footagefrom universal and illumination enter-tainment’s upcoming 3D-Cg feature Drseuss’ The lorax.

initially launched in 2009, the Dis-cover the Forest campaign aims to encour-age children and their families to getoutside and experience the many benefitsof nature. The goal of the campaign is toinstill a life-long love for nature in chil-

dren. Created pro bono by universal Pic-tures, the new english and spanish tele-vision, radio, and outdoor PsAs featurethe lorax, a symbol of forest conserva-tion, to encourage children to explore andenjoy nature everywhere and become life-long stewards of the forest and its beauty.

More than 245 million Americanslive within 100 miles from a national for-est or grassland. however, children in theu.s. spend fifty percent less time out-doors than they did twenty years ago, ac-cording to the institute for socialresearch at the university of Michigan.research shows that children who playoutside have lower stress levels and more

active imaginations, become fitter andleaner, develop stronger immune systems,and are more likely to become environ-mentally conscious in the future.

“if the parents or family memberscan help in getting them there, we prom-ise to provide children with some of themost beautiful natural playgrounds you’llfind anywhere,” said u.s. Forest serviceChief Tom Tidwell. “Our nation’s forestsand grasslands offer kids adventure andexercise while instilling a lifelong appreci-ation for our great outdoors. We’re confi-dent that the lorax will help bring manynew faces into our forests.” v

us Forest service, Ad Council launch PsAs featuring Dr. seuss’ The lorax

endowment Plans georgia Wood-to-energy Project toTest Model for Asset Creationby u.s. endowment for Forestry and Communities, greenville, south Carolina


James l. Allen is co-owner of Pike CreekTurf Farms inc. and served as founder andsenior partner of Allen, Pritchett, and bas-set Certified Public Accountants. A TiftCounty native who completed courses inbusiness and forestry at Abraham baldwinAgriculture College and earned a bache-lor’s Degree in Accounting from Valdostastate College (now university), Allenholds extensive farming, timber, andwater well-drilling business interests insouth georgia. he is a member of theForest landowners Association, theAmerican Tree Farm system, and thegeorgia Forestry Association. Allen hasheld positions on numerous local andstate committees, including governorzell Miller’s Commission on effectivenessand economy in government, the boardof georgia’s Department of human re-sources, and Valdosta state universityboard of Trustees. he is a member of theTift regional Medical Center Commu-nity board and the American institute of

Certified Public Accountants, among oth-ers. Allen lives in Tifton with his wife,Quay. The couple has two children andfive granddaughters.

earl smith is a graduate of the uni-versity of georgia Warnell school ofForestry and Natural resources whobrings to the board more than 40 years ofexperience in timberland managementand procurement of raw materials. smithserved as a Procurement Forester with st.regis Paper Company and had an exten-sive career with gilman Paper Company,from which he retired as Vice President ofForest resources for its building ProductsDivision.

smith has served on a myriad ofcommunity and industry boards and wasPresident of the Florida Forestry Associa-tion and the georgia Forestry Association,from which he earned the Wise Owl out-standing service award. smith has heldseats on ugA Warnell committees and iscurrently on the executive Committee of

the Forest landowners Association. heand his wife, Caroline Campbell, live ingreensboro. They have two daughtersand four grandchildren.

“i’m looking forward to servinggeorgia’s forestry community through thisboard position,” said smith. “With mybackground in land management andfiber procurement, i believe i can bring in-sight that positively affects the manage-ment and utilization sides of our industry.”

“As a timberland owner with an ac-counting background, i am confident ican be of help to the board in manyareas,” said James Allen. “it’s a real honorto serve the forestry industry in this way.”

earl smith was appointed by georgiagovernor Nathan Deal to serve on thegeorgia Forestry Commission board ofDirectors until January 1, 2015, complet-ing the term of Charles Williams, who re-signed to seek public office. James Allen’sappointment is in effect through 2017.v

New Faces on Georgia Forestry Commission’s Board of Directors Two prominent members of Georgia’s forestry community have been named to the

Georgia Forestry Commission’s Board of Directors.

JANUARY 26 - 27Projects WeT, WilD and learning TreeTriple Facilitator WorkshopMansfield, georgiaCharlie elliot Wildlife CenterContact: 404-362-6536

FEBRUARY TBD2012 Forest landowners Association re-gional MeetingAugusta, georgia

FEBRUARY 7 - 8gFA legislative reception and ForestryDay at the CapitolAtlanta, georgiaOmni hotel at CNN Center & Theempire room of the sloppy FloydbuildingContact: Judy Couch, Director of events, gFA(478) 992-8110 or [email protected]

FEBRUARY 22Trees and health: getting Kids OutdoorsJefferson, georgiaThe Jefferson Civic Centergeorgia urban Forest Councilregister: www.gufc.org

MARCH 13Course: Forest and hurricanes: impactsand Planning ConsiderationsAthens, georgiaWarnell school of Forestry and Natural resourcesContact: ingvar elle, (706) 583-0566,[email protected]

MARCH 29longleaf Classic 2012hawkinsville, georgiasouthern hill golf ClubContact: Carla rapp, Director ofForestry education, gFA478-992-8110 or [email protected]

Forestry Calendar


GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY DIRECTORY OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES

BOBBY D. BROWNRegistered Forester GA Number: 2164Licensed Realtor GA Number: 165520

20364 GA Hwy #3 Thomasville, GA 31792(229) 227-1919 [email protected]

FOREST RESOURCESERVICES INC.Specializing in Land and Timber Management & SalesBuyers of Land and Timber

in Georgia and the South

Canal Wood LLC

601 North Belair Square, Suite 21

Evans, Georgia 30809

Phone: (800) 833-8178

E-mail: [email protected]

BEACH TIMBER COMPANY INC.128 Beach Timber Road

Alma, Ga 31510Office: (912) 632-2800

Gary Strickland Foresters Owner Available

We Buy [email protected]

http://www.morbark.com

http://www.amerianforestmanagement.com

http://www.canalwood.com/

http://flintequipco.com


http://www.yanceybros.com

http://www.goupc.com

georgia forestry today - jan/feb 2012

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