georgia forestry today sept-oct 2014

GEORGIA FORESTRY

TODAYVolume 10, Issue 5

September | October 2014

EXPLORING CONSERVATIONEASEMENT MISCONCEPTIONS


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Georgia Forestry Today 3

http://www.abac.edu/future-students/visiting-campus

4 September | October 2014

GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY is published bi-monthly by A4 Inc., 1154 Lower BirminghamRoad, Canton, Georgia 30115. Recipients include participants of the Forest Stewardship Programand the American Tree Farm System.

Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher, A4 Inc., nor dothey accept responsibility for errors of content or omission and, as a matter of policy, neither dothey endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Part of this magazine may be reproducedwith the written consent of the publisher. Correspondence regarding changes of address should bedirected to A4 Inc. at the address indicated above. Advertising material should be sent to A4 Inc.at the e-mail address: [email protected]. Questions on advertising should be directed to the ad-vertising director 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: GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAYPrinted in the USA

PUBLISHER:A4 Inc.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAlva Hopkins

[email protected]

PRODUCTION MANAGERPamela [email protected]

EDITORIAL BOARDWendy BurnettAlva HopkinsJesse JohnsonStasia KellySandi Martin

Roland Petersen-FreyBrian Stone

Steve McWilliams

Steve Raper has worked with

conservation easements for

the Georgia Department of

Natural Resources for several

years. During this time, he’s

encountered several miscon-

ceptions that seem to com-

monly occur. See our article on

page 8 to read more about

them. See story on page 8

http://www.aggeorgia.com/index.html

5Georgia Forestry Today

FORESTRY TODAYGeorgia

Volume 10, Issue 5 September | October 2014

P.08 Exploring Conservation Easement

Misconceptions

P.13 Message from the Georgia Forestry

Commission Director

P.14 GFC News

P.15 It’s a (SOUTH) Wrap!

New Online Tool Helps Reduce

Wildfire Risk

P.19 ABAC Natural Resource Graduates

Knocking on Door of Opportunity

P.21 Warnell Forms Partnership with

Orianne Society for Research,

Conservation

P.22 The Outdoorsman

Be a Better Shotgun Shooter

P.27 GFT News

September 16-182013 SFI Annual Conference | Le Centre SheratonMontreal | Montreal, Quebec, Canadawww.sfiprogram.org

September 16Society of American Foresters CEO Meet & GreetGeorgia Forestry Commission AuditoriumMacon, Georgia

September 26Plum Creek 6th Annual UGA Benefit GolfTournament | e Georgia ClubStatham, Georgia

OCTOBER 202014 Georgia Division SAF-ACF Annual MeetingTion UGA Conference CenterTion, Georgia | Info: www.gatrees.org

OCTOBER 28-292014 Southeastern Regional Forest Owner andManager ConferenceRainwater Conference CenterValdosta, GeorgiaInfo: www.forestlandowners.com

NOVEMBER 4Georgia General Elections

Forestry Calendar

If you have aforestry event

you’d like to seeon our calendar,please contact

Alva Hopkins atahopkins@a4inc.

com with thesubject line

‘Calendar Event.’

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List of advertisers

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College .................................6

American Forest Management ...............................................30

Beach Timber Company Inc...................................................30

Blanton’s ......................................................................................18

Bodenhamer Farms & Nursery...............................................19

Canal Wood LLC......................................................................30

Cantrell Forest Products Inc. ..................................................30

Davis - Garvin ............................................................................24

Farm Credit Associations...........................................................3

Flint Equipment Company.....................................................29

Forest Resource Services Inc. ..................................................30

F&W Forestry Service..............................................................12

HEI...............................................................................................30

James-Bates-Brannan-Groover-LLP ........................................7

International Forest Company..................................................4

LandMark Spatial Solutions......................................................3

Lanigan & Associates ...............................................................21

Meeks’ Farms & Nursery ...........................Inside Front Cover

Morbark ......................................................................................30

Outdoor Underwriters.............................................................19

Plum Creek ...................................................................................5

Rivers Edge Forest Products....................................................30

SuperTree Seedlings.....................................................................6

UPC | Georgia 811 ..................................................Back Cover

Weyerhaeuser .............................................................................10

Yancey Brothers ............................................Inside Back Cover

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Exploring Conservation Easement Misconceptions

have been working with con-

servation easements for the

Georgia Department of Natu-

ral Resources for several years.

I’ve negotiated, drafted, and

helped close easements, re-

viewed easements for others,

and advised landowners on deals with

other partners.

During this time, I’ve also heard

and tried to overcome several miscon-

ceptions that seem to commonly occur

concerning conservation easements.

First, some basics to remember

about conservation easements, or

CE’s. They are the end result of a ne-

gotiation between a landowner and an

easement holder. An easement holder

can be a land trust, government

agency, or non-governmental agency.

A landowner and the easement holder

each have aspects of the easement

that are negotiable and non-nego-

tiable; but, like most real estate trans-

actions, there is a lot of give and take

in the middle ground. However, it’s im-

portant that the landowner and ease-

ment holder share basically the same

values and fundamental beliefs. That’s

why matching a landowner with the

right easement holder is one of the

most important aspects of the process.

There is a wide range of groups that

hold easements (for more, http://ga-

landcc.com/land-trust-partners and

http://glcp.georgia.gov/qualified-orga-

nizations.) Some groups focus on a cer-

tain habitat type (e.g., the

Southeastern Cave Conservancy) or a

geographic area (e.g., St. Simons Land

Trust). Others, such as Georgia Land

Trust, take a broader approach.

Some groups are more centered

on natural habitat (The Nature Conser-

vancy is an example), and some more

on ‘working forests,’ such as the Geor-

gia Forestry Commission).

The take-home: If you’re interested in

pursuing a conservation easement,

talk to several groups and find one that

fits. And take note that there are mis-

conceptions. Here are some common

ones.

1) A conservation easement requires

that you allow the public to access

your land.

This can be true, but usually it isn’t.

The public can access your property if

you and the easement holder agree to

that. (Remember, the easement

process is a negotiation.) However, in

probably 99 percent of all CEs, the

public is not allowed access.

An example of when it’s true is

when the DNR holds a conservation

easement on property adjacent to a

wildlife management area, and the

landowner allows the property to be

used as part of the WMA. But that is

very unusual. Most landowners and

easement holders aren’t interested in

public access.

2) A conservation easement allows

you to ‘keep doing what you’ve

been doing’ on your property.

I’ve seen this statement in an article on

CEs. However, how true the statement

is depends on what you’ve been doing

with your property.

Take, for example, a landowner

who has been converting natural pine

stands to plantations and using herbi-

cide to kill a wiregrass understory.

Since the disappearing wiregrass habi-


IBy Steve Raper

This thinned and burned pine standis a working forest portion of the RedHills conservation easement.

j

tat type is a conservation value that

most land trusts recognize as ex-

tremely important, they’re probably

not going to allow eliminating it as part

of an easement they would hold.

However, if you’ve been farming

with good conservation practices on

300 of your 500 acres, cutting and

managing timber using best manage-

ment practices on 100 acres of pine

plantation, and you want to conserve

100 acres of old bottomland hard-

woods, plenty of easement groups

would agree to allow you to ‘keep

doing what you’ve been doing.’

3) I can’t place a conservation ease-

ment on my entire property be-

cause all of it isn’t ‘special.’

I worked with a landowner who had

about 200 acres of bottomland hard-

woods that were of a species compo-

sition and slope position that made

them fairly unique. The remainder of

his property was in pine plantations

and pasture (all of it well managed).

His goal was that, after his death, the

property would remain basically what

it is now: a well-run farm that also con-

tained unique bottomland which is pri-

marily left as-is for ecological

purposes.

He wanted the 200 acres of bot-

tomland protected by a conservation

easement, but had trouble under-

standing that the well managed pas-

tures and commercial timberland

could also be protected with a CE. An

easement could allow the farm to sus-

tainably produce useful products;

allow the bottomlands to remain

undisturbed; and protect the entire

place from being converted to house

lots or other development.

4) A conservation easement on my

property means I can’t cut tim-

ber.

There is a range of options concerning

timber harvesting allowed in a typical

conservation easement, depending on

the stand type and the goals of the

landowner and the easement holder.

At a minimum, harvesting should ad-

here to state best management prac-

tices. Sometimes, only salvage

harvesting of timber is allowed after a

natural incident such as a tornado or

ice storm. However, if the stand is a

pine plantation, harvesting is often al-

lowed as before. An exception to this

would be if a plantation can be re-

stored to more natural conditions, and

the landowner and holder agree that

restoration is a goal.

If the stand is ecologically unique or

rare, there probably will be more re-

strictions placed on harvesting, or har-

vesting may not be allowed. Again, it’s

a negotiation—it depends on the

landowner’s values and goals, and on

the easement holder’s values and goals.

5) A conservation easement will

lower your annual ad valorem

taxes.

A conservation easement places re-

strictions (maybe minor, maybe major,

probably both) on your property. Ex-

amples of restrictions could be:

• Subdividing the property.

• Cutting timber in some areas.

• Developing the property.

• Building more than, say, one

house on the tract.

These restrictions, by their very na-

ture, lower the market value of prop-

erty. If the market value is lower, it

follows that property taxes (i.e., ad val-


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The terms of most conservation easements allow food plots, but not planting invasive, non-na-

tive vegetation. Sometimes the size and number of food plots is regulated.

orem taxes) will be lower. The reality,

however, is that sometimes this hap-

pens and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s a

matter that should be discussed with

your local tax assessor. But don’t count

on lower taxes as you weigh whether

to enter into a conservation easement.

6) If I donate a conservation ease-

ment, then I should have no out of

pocket expenses.

It seems intuitive that a donation

should be ‘free’ to the donor. Yet,

that’s not how it typically works for a

CE donation.

The landowner usually reaps a fi-

nancial reward through federal and

state income tax incentives (a deduc-

tion for federal taxes and a credit for

Georgia taxes). However, the

landowner will face several, significant

up-front costs—costs that will hope-

fully be recovered when the income

tax benefits are reaped.

Examples of these costs include a

survey, appraisal (typically a complex,

expensive one compared to one you

had done when you re-financed your

house), attorney and accountant fees,

the state tax credit application fee, a

land trust endowment, and a baseline

documentation report. The total cost

will vary widely depending upon the

deal; however, you’re looking at thou-

sands of dollars to complete the

transaction.

You must do the math to see if you

can expect the income tax benefits to

more than offset these up-front costs

in a reasonably timely manner. That

math exercise is way beyond the scope

of this article.

Conservation easements are an ef-

fective and widely-used tool to protect

rural, productive, and ecologically sig-

nificant land. However, there are many

nuances. If I can explain these miscon-

ceptions in more detail, or if you just

want to discuss the conservation ease-

ment concept in general, please feel

free to contact me. v


Steve Raper provides private landowner assistance for the Nongame Conservation Section of DNR’s Wildlife ResourcesDivision. He can be reached at (404) 242-4295 or [email protected]

A mountain stream on a Murray County tract protected by DNR-held conservation easement.

eorgians who live incities, as well as thosewho call the countryhome, heard a lotabout wildfires overthe summer. Smokey

Bear celebrated his 70th birthday, the Dis-ney movie, ‘Planes: Fire & Rescue’ made abig splash, and real-life wildfires out west lednewscasts nationwide. Despite some rain-fall, scattered fires in Georgia also managedto damage more than a few acres of land. Be-ginning in July, the number of wildfires andthe acres burned increased above what wehad been experiencing in the previousmonths of 2014. We attribute this increaseprimarily to summertime lightning stormsand an increase in the drying conditions inthe southern part of the state. The growingbuzz about wildfire is a good opportunityfor all of us in the forestry industry to learnmore about our vulnerability to the threatof wildfire and tangible ways we can protectour forestland, our property, and ourselves. Did you know that wildfire recordshave been set four out of the last eight yearsin Georgia? Since 2007, we’ve experiencedtwo of our worst fire years (FY2007 andFY2011), and two with the least amount of

fires and damage (FY2010 and FY2014).The five year average of acres lost to wildfirein Georgia is 46,407. While humans areknown to be the root cause of most fires,variations in weather patterns are playing arole in prevention and suppression efforts.That has mandated increasing levels of ex-pertise for Georgia Forestry CommissionProtection professionals, firefighters, andgovernment leaders across the state. Fortunately, new tools and increasingawareness are supporting that effort. In thisissue of Georgia Forestry Today, you’ll readabout ‘SouthWRAP’ (the Southern Wild-fire Risk Assessment Portal), an online serv-ice created by the Southern Group of StateForesters and patterned after a similar pro-gram in Texas. SouthWRAP utilizes pre-populated data on topography, fuels,communities, fire weather scenarios, andother critical factors that help pinpointwildfire risk at specific locations in Georgiaand 12 other southern states. Landowners,civic leaders, and firefighters will all benefitfrom this modern tool that supports wild-fire mitigation and prevention efforts.Check it out at www.southernwildfirerisk.com and start exploring ways it canhelp you and your community enhance pro-

tection from wildfire. Georgia Forestry Commission profes-sionals statewide joined Smokey Bear in Julyfor the premier of the movie, ‘Planes: Fire &Rescue.’ It was great to be linked to such anentertaining movie with a positive message,and it gave our team the perfect opportu-nity to share information about GFC serv-ices, wildfire prevention, and to displaysome of our firefighting equipment and ve-hicles. Thanks to all who joined us for thisfun event, and if you haven’t seen the movieyet, do so. It's for kids of all ages! And while you’re at it, it’s not too lateto wish that ‘ageless’ fellow, Smokey Bear, ahappy 70th birthday, and continue to sharehis timeless message. Be careful with thebirthday candles and remember that, “Onlyyou can prevent wildfires!”

Sincerely,

Robert FarrisGFC Commissioner v


Georgia Forestry Commission

Message from the Director

Dear GFT Reader,

Robert Farris

G


Sales are very brisk for the most popular varieties of

GFC tree seedlings, so act quickly if you’re planning

to order! According to GFC Reforestation Chief JeffFields, longleaf pine is almost sold out and persimmon, anexcellent soft mast producer for wildlife, will soon run out.Other species with low inventory include crabapple, swampchestnut oak, and cherry bark oak. Advanced cycle loblollyand slash pine are still in good supply. Discounts are avail-able for 100,000 pines and 10,000 hardwoods. To order,visit www.gaseedlings.org, visit your local GFC office orcontact the Flint River Nursery at 229-268-7308. e

GFC News

A new Georgia law strengthening timber sale regulations and increasing protection

for forest landowners went into effect July first. House Bill 790 brings change to manyparts of the timber sale process, including scale tickets, civil damages for unauthorized timberharvesting, unintended harvest protection for landowners, statute of limitations for damages,and the authority of GFC law enforcement officers to enforce all laws relating to the protec-tion, security, conservation or sale of timber transactions. For more information visitGaTrees.org. e

Proposed rules from the Environmental Protection Agency

governing waters of the US are available for review.

Landowners and the forestry community are encouraged to learnmore about these proposed rules and how they may impact youroperations. A comprehensive Web site that provides informationand instructions on submitting your comments can be found byvisiting http://ditchtherule.fb.org/. e

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) regulations are now in place in Georgia to pre-

vent the insect's spread, while allowing limited wood movement from

the quarantined counties in metro Atlanta. This forest pest will kill allspecies of the ash genus. It has been moving southward from Michigan over thepast decade and was first detected in Georgia in 2013. For more information onEAB and current regulations, visit http://www.gatrees.org/forest-management/forest-health/eab/index.cfm. e

Research for most any type of project today begins at the com-puter. From shopping for tools to finding a specialized serviceprovider or deciding which tree species to order this plantingseason, online investigation is the first undertaking for much ofthe population. e worldwide web provides an immense assort-ment of information and data that helps us make sound deci-sions. Every day, it gets easier and faster to manipulate theproducts we choose virtually.

In Georgia, a new online tool has been unveiled that enablescivic leaders, wildland fire managers, and landowners alike toidentify the risk that wildfire poses to their communities. eSouth Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal, or ‘SouthWRAP,’ is auser-friendly mapping application developed by the SouthernGroup of Sate Foresters (SGSF) that displays data that figuresinto fire scenarios, such as fire weather, landscape features, andeven home sites. It uses the latest technology and data to identifywildfire risk in Georgia and 12 other southern states, which canbe vital to wildfire mitigation decisions.

“In 2005, the Southern Group of State Foresters released anassessment of wildfire risk across the entire South,” said Frank Sor-

rells, Protection Chief at the Georgia Forestry Commission. “e‘Fire in the South’ assessment is a detailed, written report thatprovides data about different areas’ wildfire vulnerability, mapsfuel levels, and classifies risk levels. at’s an awful lot of valuableinformation that could enhance people’s safety,” Sorrells said.

e challenge became communicating the contents of that30-page document to people who could use it via a number ofchannels that weren’t necessarily designed for this purpose. esystem needed to be readily available and easily understood.

e data was first harnessed in 2012 for online delivery byTexas A&M Forest Service through a US Forest Service grant.e Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (TxWRAP) waslaunched to help users understand the risk of wildfire throughoutthe Lone Star State.

“We have a large wildfire problem in Texas,” said TomSpencer, Predictive Services Department Chief for Texas A&MForest Service, “but local governments weren't included in thefire mitigation plans because they couldn't measure the problem.TxWRAP provided ways to quantify the wildfire situation andgot officials working with our folks to identify mitigation ap-

it’s a (soUtH)Wrap! New online tool Helps reduce Wildfire risk


On average, Georgia loses 46,000 acres annually to wildfire.

By stasia Kelly

proaches and move forward.” Spencer worked with Web designers,

project leader Curt Stripling, and others todesign a user-friendly site that delivers grassroots fire mitigation tools, and he’s proudof the results TxWRAP is delivering.

“is represents a business modelchange toward providing information tocounty and local levels that hasn’t beenprovided in the past,” Spencer said. “Itgives them a new level of understandingand it opens up so many doors.”

Building on Texas’ success

Opening doors to new audiences inter-ested in wildfire prevention makes FrankSorrells happy.

“SouthWRAP is very user-friendly,”he said. “Our fire chiefs and GIS folksmade tweaks with the vendor to cus-tomize the program for Georgia, and thispast summer a series of training sessionswere held so that GFC could understandhow everything works. We wanted to beready to help our customers utilize the

Web site,” said Sorrells.With the launch of www.southern

wildfirerisk.com, visitors are able to pe-ruse an astonishing amount of informa-tion about their surroundings. e Website’s ‘Overview’ explains the product’s keypriorities:• Identify areas that are most prone to

wildfire.

• Identify areas that may require addi-tional tactical planning, specificallyrelated to mitigation projects andCommunity Wildfire ProtectionPlanning.

• Provide the information necessary tojustify resource, budget, and fundingrequests.

• Allow agencies to work together tobetter define priorities and improveemergency response, particularlyacross jurisdictional boundaries.

‘SouthWRAP’ users are generally classi-fied in one of three categories: ‘PublicViewer,’ ‘Professional Viewer’ or ‘Com-munities at Risk Editor.’

According to Sorrells, home andlandowners should visit ‘Public Viewer’ toquickly determine their risk of wildfire. Byclicking that button and then going to‘Getting Started,’ the user can take a help-ful tour of the site that explains its manyfeatures. (A detailed User’s Manual is alsoavailable.) SouthWRAP visitors are ableto search for their property by address orplace name, then zoom and pan to pin-point the area sought. e ‘Reference Lay-ers’ section includes rankings of thatlocation’s Wildland Urban Interface riskindex, burn probability, fire intensity scaleand community protection zones, amongothers. Next, a Base Map is chosen; amongthem—topographic, imagery, and streetviews. Map Tools further allow users toexplore layers in depth. Finally, the‘What’s Your Risk’ tool allows users to cal-culate the potential fire capacity for theirspecific location with a Draw Point tool.Another link supplies recommended ac-


GFC's Alexandra McDavid provides prescribed burn services that help reduce

the risk of wildfire.

Explore your property orcommunity’s fire risk at

www.southernwildfirerisk.com.

For information about prepar-ing your home for the risk of

wildfire, visitwww.firewise.org.


tions for reducing one’s risk of wildfire.While registration is not required for

access to the ‘Public Viewer’ portal, it isnecessary to gain access to the ‘Profes-sional Viewer’ part of the Web site. Useraccounts are granted by GFC and SGSFmanagers. is area is designed for gov-ernment officials, fire managers, and haz-ard mitigation planners and providesadvanced capabilities and additional mapthemes. According to the Web site, keyfeatures of this application include the ca-pability to define a project area, generatea detailed risk summary report, generatequick maps, and export and downloadGIS data pertaining to wildfire risk.

“Bridging the gap between knowingwhat needs to be done and getting thework done is where SouthWRAP willprovide tremendous value,” said EricMosley, Georgia Forestry CommissionWildfire Mitigation Specialist. “e in-formation pinpoints where high risk situ-ations exist, so I can work with GFC chiefrangers to determine where mitigationwork needs to take place. I’ll also be ableto go meet with county planners andshow them where to mow, where to takepreemptive action,” Mosley said.

Professionals such as Mosley and oth-ers with responsibility for wildfire mitiga-tion and suppression have access to specialtools under the ‘Professional Viewers’ tab.

Among them is the capability to manageproject areas for which risk summary re-ports will be generated or data will be ex-ported. While only one project area canbe selected and ‘active’ at a time, multipleproject areas can be created and savedacross sessions. ese are stored on theSouthWRAP server and are accessiblefrom remote locations. Creating projectscan be done on a map or from Shapefile,which allows the user to upload existingShapefiles from their computer. Risk sum-mary reports generated may include sta-tistics, maps, and charts of all key riskassessment input and output datasets, pro-viding comprehensive details in a formatthat is easily integrated with other docu-ments and programs, including the Mi-croso Word™.docx format and the ESRIArcGIS 9.3 file geodatabase.

Only a few professional fire managershave access to the ‘Communities at RiskEditor’ portal, where SouthWRAP’s pop-ulated data is actually manipulated. A se-lect group of personnel within theGeorgia Forestry Commission, US ForestService, and GIS function have authorityto go into the system and update areaswhere mitigation work such as prescribedburning, pruning, and other forest man-agement practices have been completed.By regularly inputting these types of activ-ities, the site will stay current and its cal-culations accurate.

“Within half an hour, everything wasburned.”

Lynn Dugger has become somewhat of apublic relations agent for fire preventionand the responsibility of individuals to dowhat's needed to guard against disaster.He knows the value, first hand, of clearingland and keeping flammable brush and de-bris away from his home. Dugger and hisfamily live on 15 wooded acres in JonesCounty, and a few years back, while theywere out to dinner, their house burned tothe ground.

“We don’t know what caused it;maybe a chimney fire or an electric fire,but it could just as easily have been a forestfire,” said Dugger. “We went out to dinnerand within half an hour, everything wasburned. We built back, and we did makesome changes.”

Some of those changes included ahome redesign to a single story structure,which could make evacuation with chil-dren easier in case of fire. Several treeswere removed and the yard space was ex-panded, leaving more distance betweenthe house and the woods.

Dugger also worked with GFC’s EricMosley to conduct some needed pre-scribed burning on the Duggers’ forestedland and Mosley provided fire preventioninformation that has been sharedthroughout the neighborhood.

“ese are mostly tracts of ten-plusacres,” said Dugger. “I’ve been talking tomy neighbors and explaining how easy itis to plan a prescribed burn and run themasticator out here. I'm thrilled at the re-sults I got by working with Eric on theseprojects,” Dugger said.

Dugger has also been venturing intothe virtual fire suppression resource ofSouthWRAP and said he likes what he sees.

“It’s pretty neat. I really want to findout more,” Dugger said. “Our experienceshowed us how quickly a fire can spread,so I want to learn the program and under-stand how I can benefit as a landowner -and keep my family safe.” e

SouthWRAP provides an easy, online mechanism for information exchange

that can lower Georgia’s risk of wildfire.


TIFTON—No one has ever found amoney tree but there continues to be a lotof money in trees. And freshly mintedbachelor’s degree graduates in natural re-source management at Abraham BaldwinAgricultural College are out to make theirmark in the forest industry.

“Tens of thousands of timber prod-ucts come from Georgia,” Dr. WilliamMoore, Department Head of Forest Re-sources at ABAC, said. “Since timber is arenewable resource, it gives sustainabilityto both the product and the economywhich provides growth for the state.”

Since initiating the Natural Re-source degree with majors in forestry andwildlife in 2011, ABAC has turned outgraduates who find jobs in the largesttimber-producing state in the Southeast.A total of 212 students are now enrolledin the program.

Nearly 600 students are enrolled inagriculture related bachelor’s degrees,which is the biggest factor in the Schoolof Agriculture and Natural Resources set-ting an all-time enrollment record with al-most 1,100 students this fall.

A Georgia Forestry Commission re-port revealed that total economic activity

generated by Georgia’s forest industry asmeasured by output, employment andcompensation topped $28.9 billion in2012, according to an article in the“Coosa Valley News.”

The University of Georgia Coopera-tive Extension Service said Georgia forestsmake up some 24.8 million acres. Forestsnow cover 67 per cent of the land areastatewide, a good reason why there are1,400 forest products manufacturers inGeorgia.

The increasing number of studentsinterested in Natural Resource Manage-ment has helped to fuel an enrollment in-crease at ABAC, bucking a statewidetrend. During the 2014 fall term, ABAC

enrolled nearly 3,400 students from 151of Georgia’s 155 counties, 19 states, and24 countries. Almost 1,300 of those stu-dents lived on campus in apartment-stylehousing.

In addition to the degree in naturalresource management, ABAC offersbachelor’s degrees in diversified agricul-ture, turfgrass and golf course manage-ment, biology, business and economicdevelopment. Under the broad umbrellaof rural studies, ABAC students can alsoearn bachelor’s degrees in social and com-munity development, politics and mod-ern cultures, and writing andcommunication.

Speaking of money not growing ontrees, ABAC offers a quality education ata fraction of the cost. The College was re-cently recognized as Georgia’s only BestValue School. The Best Value School des-ignation is determined by a rigorous qual-ification process, which generally takesthree to four months.

Cost of attendance and hands-on ed-ucation are just two reasons ABAC isCollege Done Right. Visit us in Tifton,Georgia to learn the many other reasons.v

aBaC Natural resource Graduates Knocking on door

of opportunity

http://www.outdoorund.com/index.html

http://www.bodenhamerfarms.com/

http://internationalforest.co/

An international nonprofit organizationdedicated to the conservation of imper-iled reptiles and amphibians has partneredwith the University of Georgia to collab-orate on conservation efforts for thesespecies and their habitats.

e Orianne Society, a worldwideconservation organization, is now work-ing with researchers from UGA’s WarnellSchool of Forestry and Natural Resourceson several projects that focus on the con-servation of reptiles and amphibians andtheir habitats. Mike Clutter, dean of theWarnell School, said that by combiningresources, UGA and the Orianne Societyare able to collaborate more effectively ona global conservation initiative.

“We both have a serious and sincereinterest in the conservation of thesespecies,” he said.

e Orianne Society has a long his-tory of working with a diverse number ofinterdisciplinary partners to develop andimplement efforts to restore jeopardizedherpetological species. e new collabo-ration with the Warnell School will allowthe Orianne Society to build a stronger af-filiation with researchers across UGA,Clutter said.

Oen overlooked in conservationpolicies, reptiles and amphibians are vitalto biodiversity on Earth as they helpmaintain the sensitive ecological balancewithin their ecosystems. ey also play animportant role in pest control, and thevenom of some of these species may beused to treat diseases such as cancer anddiabetes. However, many reptile and am-phibian populations are declining due tohabitat loss and degradation, disease, anddeliberate persecution.

“Conservation of reptiles and am-phibians is important, just as important asthe conservation of other species, but rep-tiles and amphibians are the ones that fewpeople care about,” said Chris Jenkins,CEO of the Orianne Society. “Our part-

nership with UGA provides a strong forceto promote and implement science-basedconservation for these species.”

Researchers from Warnell and theOrianne Society have collaborated on sev-eral projects, and a UGA undergraduatestudent is currently conducting one of thefirst ecological studies of canebrake rat-tlesnakes in the Piedmont region, a speciesdeclining rapidly throughout its range.Members of the Orianne Society recentlytraveled to UGA’s Costa Rica campus todiscuss potential international programpartnerships, including the organization’swork with black-headed bushmasters.

In addition to the Warnell School,the Orianne Society is working withUGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine onprojects requiring surgeries, such as trans-mitter implants, and the organization alsosubmitted the first case of snake fungaldisease to UGA’s Southeastern Coopera-tive Wildlife Disease Study, or SCWDS,unit.

“Our partnership with UGA is animportant step in advancing the conserva-

tion of imperiled reptiles and amphib-ians,” Jenkins said. “UGA gives us theamazing opportunity to work with someof the strongest students in the world andthe opportunity to help develop some oftomorrow’s conservation leaders.”

e Orianne Society has establishedoffices at White Hall Mansion, located inthe 840-acre Whitehall Forest managedby the Warnell School for research pur-poses.

The Orianne Society

e Orianne Society is an internationalnonprofit organization dedicated to theconservation of imperiled reptiles and am-phibians around the world. e organiza-tion’s efforts began with the restorationand conservation of the eastern indigosnake, the longest native snake species inthe U.S. e Orianne Society has ex-panded its focus to work with a diversegroup of partners to help guide conserva-tion efforts for reptiles and amphibiansand their habitats. For more information,see www.oriannesociety.org. v


Warnell forms Partnership with orianne society forresearch, Conservation

Dean Mike Clutter holds a gopher tortoise, one of the animals the Orianne Society

and Warnell will be studying. Photo by Sandi Martin


Be a bettershotgunshooter

Guide Curt Wiggins says that if his dog Bogart ever learns to drive,they wont need him anymore.

By John Trussell

The OUTDOORSMAN


ou think you're ready for a covey bust, but

you’re really never fully ready, and the quail

always seem to surprise you!

The Boykin spaniel, named Bogart, was on

solid, lock-down point. The guide, Curt Wig-

gins, silently motioned for me to ease on in

closer to the covey that was hidden in the

thick brush. My shotgun was in the ready position, and I

was tense, full of anticipation as Curt instructed the dog to

“Get them up!”

The dog eased into the high grass, and the air exploded

with the rapid beating of wings and brown blurs. My body

told me to hurry, hurry, they’re getting away! But my mind

said, “Ok stay calm, you can do this!” There were about

eight quail in the covey, and they split up rapidly, headed

in all four directions of the compass. One quail batted his

wings quickly as he sped away, but as he settled into a glide

at 30 yards, I managed to get a good bead on him and

dropped him into the grass. The next quail to catch my eye

was moving to my right and gaining altitude through the

pine branches. I fired and only made the pine needles sway,

a clean miss! Bogart continued to harass the grasses, nosing

for more quail, and soon one more tardy quail shot straight

up. By now, all the other quail were out of range, and this

bird had my full attention. It flew between two large pine

trees, and since I was guilty of injecting lead pellets into

pine timber in the past, I just kept the barrel steady on the

quail and waited until it cleared the trees. Now, almost out

of range, I threw a load of number eights after it, and the

quail took a hard dive into the grass.

Bogart, eager to please, ran over to the spot and soon had

the quail gently wedged in its mouth. Curt called to the dog,

and it slowly, shyly came back to him and dropped the dead

quail in his outreached hand. “Good boy” exclaimed Curt.

His owner’s admiration confirmed, Borgart was recharged

and headed to find more quail. That was the start of an-

other great quail hunting outing at Quailridge Plantation,

near Norman Park, Georgia.

Quailridge Plantation offers classical bobwhite hunting

in open longleaf pine woods in the heart of Georgia’s best

quail country. It’s located in the famed quail plantation belt

between Thomasville and Albany, Georgia, which encom-

passes more than 300,000 acres of prime pine forest. On

more than 4,500 acres of gently rolling terrain at Quailridge,

the open forest floor is covered with mature pine trees, cov-

ered under by wire grass and dotted with food strips.

Quailridge Plantation has always had a special place in

this hunter’s heart since I hunted there about 15 years ago

with Charlie Dickey, that great outdoor writer from Talla-

hassee, Florida, who is now chasing quail in heaven. Dickey

wrote many various stories on quail, dove, and other hunt-

ing adventures, along with humor articles for many years.

He was a gentle soul and a hero of World War II, although I

never heard him speak of it. He is very fondly remembered

by many outdoorsmen, including this writer. He loved to

hunt at Quailridge and visit his great friend, Edwin Norman

and his son, John Norman.

Since 1969, Quailridge has been entertaining guests

from all areas of the nation with the finest plantation quail

hunting, best trained dogs, experienced guides, and com-

fortable lodging with delicious southern home cooked

meals. Over ninety percent of the guests are either repeat

or referrals, says Quailridge Plantation founder Edwin Nor-

man. His goal is to keep hunters coming back each year to

enjoy the superb quail hunting in beautiful native quail

cover in a friendly atmosphere, steeped in traditional south-

ern hospitality.

Today, Quailridge Plantation continues the fine south-

ern quail hunting tradition and many members of the Nor-

man family help with its operation. John Norman is the CQO

(Chief Quail Officer) and he is assisted by his sister, Ellen

Norman Adams, along with family members Scott, David,

Randy, Henry, and many dedicated quail guides. John

earned his B.S. degree, (he calls it a negotiated settlement)

from the University of Georgia in zoology and still closely

follows UGA football, through thick and thin. He says his

dad, Edwin, started in the quail preserve business many

years ago when a friend, Victor Beadles, owner of Beadles

Timber Company, asked him to take some family members

quail hunting. That was the beginning of a great friendship

and business relationship, as the Normans still lease some

John Norman, of Quail Ridge Plantation, heads thefamily operation.

Y

quail hunting lands from Beadles Tim-

ber Company.

Victor Beadles says that quail

hunting and mature timber manage-

ment is a good marriage of mutual

needs because both the quail and tim-

ber benefit from intensive manage-

ment practices. He and John Norman

both believe in appropriate forest

management, like prescribed burning

and forest thinning, to keep the forest

healthy and provide the right balance

of food, cover, and general habitat for

quail. Victor Beadles also has his own

quail plantation, called Samara Planta-

tion. He says naturally regenerated

long leave pines, when grown to ma-

ture sizes and thinned, make great

quail habitat.

Reggie Thaxton, Georgia DNR’s

Chief Quail Biologist, says that over its

Georgia range, quail have declined 90

percent since the 1960s, due to large-

scale farming and timber management

practices. This drastic decline is due

primarily to the loss of quality early

successional habitat (i.e. native

grasses, legumes, weeds, briars, bugs,

and shrubs). Restoring this habitat

type across Georgia’s landscape bene-

fits quail, numerous songbirds, rabbits,

wild turkey, deer, and many other

wildlife species, improves water qual-

ity, reduces soil erosion, and can en-

hance local economies by stimulating

quail hunting and wildlife viewing, says

Thaxton.

But positive changes are taking

place now. In recent years, the Georgia

DNR and many private land owners

have taken many beneficial steps that

have seen quail populations rebound

across the state. Thaxton says that

Bobwhite quail are an open prairie

with grass-forb-shrub species. Gener-

ally, they need clumped native grasses,

mixed with canopied (24"-60" high)

weeds and legumes, interspersed with

shrub, briar, and other woody thickets.

Together, these habitat components

provide nesting cover, brood range, es-

cape cover, loafing sites and food at all

seasons. Quail populations are maxi-

mized where this grass-forb-shrub

habitat is contiguous across thousands

of acres. Shaded woodlands, creek

drains, wetlands, river bottoms, and

fescue, bahia, or Bermuda grass pas-

tures/hay fields do not provide suit-

able habitat for bobwhites.

Additionally, says Thaxton, these

woodland and wetland cover types

serve as source habitats for predators,

which may negatively impact quail

populations on surrounding lands. Pri-


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mary predators of quail are raccoons,

possums, armadillos, snakes, and bob-

cats. Coyotes are not thought to be a

major threat to quail, but fire ants can

destroy six to ten percent of quail

nests, says Thaxton. Land owners who

have lots of problems with predators

can apply for a special Georgia DNR

predator permit. However, he says the

best option is to provide widespread

distribution of food and cover to

spread out and reduce predator op-

portunity.

There are several methods to in-

crease quail populations on your

land, and if landowners provide suit-

able habitat, quail numbers will come

back over time. Although restocking

wild quail is an option, Thaxton says

it can only be used on properties

over 1,500 acres where the land-

owner has taken intensive manage-

ment changes in the land before the

stocking can take place. Thus for the

average land owner, making specific

land changes and working to get the

native quail population to rebound is

the best option.

Thaxton says that prescribed burn-

ing is one of the most cost-effective

and efficient tools available for manag-

ing quail habitat. Prescribed fire: 1) in-

creases insect, legume, and soft mast

food abundance; 2) improves ground

layer vegetation structure to enhance

nesting cover, brood range, and insect

and seed foraging conditions; 3) helps

control hardwood invasion into the

forest midstory; 4) decreases the

abundance of invertebrates that para-

sitize quail; and 5) decreases the

chances of wildfire.

Prescribed burns should be ap-

plied to forest stands that have at least

40 percent of the ground in direct sun-

light. Burning is of little wildlife value

in shaded woodlands where sunlight

cannot reach the forest floor. Pre-

scribed burns should be conducted so

that approximately 30 to 50 percent of

the land is left unburned to provide

food, nesting, and escape cover.

Thaxton recommends that land

owners place at least 15 percent of for-

est stands into two to five acre open-

ings. Manage these openings by strip

disking during late October through

February where one-third is disked

each year. Within this range of disking

dates, adjust timing of disking based

on results. Ideally, disking should pro-

duce stands of ragweed, beggarweed,

partridge pea, and other ‘quail

friendly’ plants. Rotate disking across

fields so there is always a succession

of growth from bare ground up to

three years of vegetative growth.

Strip plantings of grain sorghum or

Egyptian wheat within fields can pro-

vide supplemental winter foods and

may be especially important on sites

with poor native food production. Ro-

tate strip plantings along with the

fall/winter disking so that one-third to

two-thirds is fallowed each year. Fields

also can be planted to partridge pea;

fall/winter disking will encourage it to

volunteer back in future years. Man-

agers should observe the results of

one year of disking before planting, as

an abundance of native seed may be

present.

Here, guide Curt Wiggins takes a short break to gather birds and waterdown the dogs.

This beautiful male Bobwhitethought there was too much actionon the ground and took refuge ona tree limb.


There are many great resources

for improving the quail management

of your land, and the most important,

and the first thing to do, says Thaxton,

is to confer with a state wildlife biolo-

gist to properly assess the needs of

your land. Call a professional wildlife

biologist within Bobwhite Quail Initia-

tive’s East office at (706-554-3745),

Central (478-296-6176), or Southwest

(229-420-1212) for more information.

The Bobwhite Quail Initiative (BQI)

provides technical assistance to private

landowners, on a voluntary basis, to

increase quail populations through

habitat restoration. The ‘Support

Wildlife’ vehicle tag and matching

grants finance the BQI program. Habi-

tat management plans are available to

anyone regardless of property type or

size. There is a wealth of great quail

management info at the Georgia DNR

website—georgiawildlife.com—type

‘quail’ into the search block. The Tall

Timbers Research Center, headed by

Dr. William Palmer, is a highly regarded

information resource for the areas of

fire ecology, game bird management,

vertebrate ecology, and forestry. See

their Web site talltimbers.org. Other

great resources are the Joseph W

Jones Ecological Research Center, near

Newton, Georgia—go to

jonescenter.org.

For a listing of all of Georgia’s out-

standing quail plantations, go to ulti-

matequailhunting.com e

Back in the early 1970s, Edwin Norman(right) hosted a writerfrom Field and Stream magazine, and writer Charlie Dickey

(kneeling).

In late spring, the Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) and the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers (Corps) released aproposed rule that identifies the watersthat are jurisdictional under the federalClean Water Act (CWA).

e proposed rule would redefine thescope of federal power, expanding the listof water features subject to regulationunder the CWA.

is proposed expansion of Waters of

the United States (WOTUS) introducescostly new administrative burdens forstates and forest landowners.

e proposed expansion also createsconsiderable legal uncertainty over wherewater quality stands and total daily maxi-mum loads apply. e expanded defini-tion will create considerable uncertaintyover where mandatory Best ManagementPractices (BMPs) for certain forestry ac-tivities will apply.

e expansion of WOTUS invitescitizen lawsuits which can be costly anddisruptive to forestry operations, and cancreate significant and prolonged eco-nomic uncertainty.

To learn how we can preserve existingEPA and Corps regulation of WOTUSunder the Clean Water Act, attend the2014 Forest Landowner Policy Summit inAtlanta, Georgia on August 14th. e


Dr. Dale Greene has been named the War-nell School’s interim associate dean for ac-ademic affairs. Greene has been teachingat Warnell since 1986, and choosing himas interim associate dean was a logicalchoice for Dean Mike Clutter. Greene hasdistinguished himself among Warnell’sfaculty over the past 28 years for his sup-port of, and research focusing on, theforestry industry. He has been recognizednumerous times over the past threedecades for his work, including interna-tional service awards, three national writ-ing awards, from the Forest ResourcesAssociation, several UGA teachingawards and honors by the GeorgiaForestry Association for his support of

forestry in the state.“Dr. Greene brings a wealth of expe-

rience in natural resources managementand teaching in this new role,” Cluttersaid. “He has been recognized on numer-ous occasions as an outstanding teacherboth within Warnell and by the Univer-sity of Georgia. His long-standing role aschair of our curriculum committee addsto his familiarity with our programs andtheir academic missions. I know he is ex-cited about the possibilities that this newrole brings.”

Greene said he is humbled to beasked to serve in this leadership capacity.“I look forward to working with our stu-dents and faculty in keeping our academic

programs successful,” Greene said.As interim associate dean of academic

affairs, Greene will oversee promotionand tenure of faculty, Warnell’s under-graduate programs, graduate programs, re-cruitment and placement efforts, andinstructional technology.

Greene joins other distinguished col-leagues in leading efforts to improve War-nell’s programs. In addition to DeanClutter, Warnell’s leadership includes As-sociate Dean of Research Scott Merkle,Associate Dean of Outreach Mike Men-gak and Assistant Dean Steven Castle-berry. e

NEWSDr. Dale Greene named interim associate dean of academic affairs

EPA’s Waters of the US proposal introduces costly burdens for forest landowners | From Forest Landowners Association

The Fish and Wildlife Service has pro-posed to list the Northern Long-Eared bat(NLEB) as an endangered species pro-tected under the Endangered Species Act.

The key restriction proposed by theFish and Wildlife Service is to avoid cut-ting timber from April 1st to September30th where there is bat habitat. This willhave a tremendous impact on private for-est landowners across 39 states.

The NLEB’s range is enormous and

encompasses much of northwest

Georgia.

The current proposed restrictions wouldput a halt to summer logging across thecountry and have little impact on helpingthe species to recover as the sole threat tothese bats’ populations is a non-nativefungal disease discovered in 2006 calledWhite Nose Syndrome (WNS) which hasa near 100 percent mortality rate and forwhich there is no known cure.

As currently drafted, there could be anumber of negative outcomes specific tothe forest industry, including:• Restrictions on warm season timber

harvesting from April to October

• Limiting activities within five-mileradius of bat hibernacula

• In known or potential summer habi-tat, restrictions will be in force within1.5 mile radius of any known roosttree or three miles from any locationwhere NLEB has been captured oracoustically detected.

• Example from interim guidance as aconservation measure for protectingthe bat - “retain and avoid impactingpotential roost trees, which includeslive or dead trees and snags equal to orgreater than three-inches diameter atbreast height (dbh) that have exfoliat-ing bark, cracks, crevices or cavities.”

Any activity that involves removing sum-mer roosting trees could impact thespecies and result in an unlawful take.However, tree clearing restrictions thatmay be imposed would likely have a min-imal impact on preserving the species orpreventing the spread of WNS. USFWSacknowledges, “[e]ven if all habitat-re-lated stressors were eliminated or mini-mized, the significant effects of WNS onthe northern long-eared bat would still bepresent.”

Unfortunately, the ESA is not wellstructured to address non-human threatssuch as WNS, so USFWS will likely focusfinal guidance to preserve the bat on allconceivable human-induced impacts totry to slow bat population decline—eventhough USFWS recognizes that humanactivities, including timber harvests, havenever had an appreciable negative effecton the species to date. e

Map source: US Fish & Wildlife Service


Proposed listing of the Northern Long-Eared bat could affect 39 states, including Georgia | From Forest Resources Association


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