the new york forest owner - volume 36 number 2

The New York

FORESTOWNERA publication ofthe New York Forest Owners Association

ICE

Volume 36 Number 2

Marchi April 1998

SToRM

THE NEW YORK

FOREST OWNERSASSOCIATION

VOL. 36, NO.2

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Jill Cornell, President

703 Johnsonville Rd.

Johnsonville. NY 12094: 518/753-4336

Ronald Pedersen, Vice Preasident

22 Vandenburg Lane,

Latham, NY 12110: 5181785-6061

Robert M. Sand, Recording Secretary

300 Church Street

Odessa, NY 14869-9703; 607/594-2130

Don Wagner, Treasurer

5330 Graham Road.

Utica, NY 13502: 3151733-7391

Deborah Gill, Administrative Secretary

P.O. Box 180Fairport, NY 14450; 716/377-6060

1998Jill Cornell, Johnsonville: 518/753-4336

Elizabeth Densmore, Machias: 7161 942-6600

Robert Sand, Odessa: 607/594-2130

Bob Sykes, Elbridge: 315/673-3691

1999Harry Dieter, Honeoye Falls, 716/533-2085Thomas Ellison, Manlius. 315/682-9376

Richard Fox, Moravia: 315/497-1078David Swanson, Mount Morris, 716/658-4601

2000Hugh Canham. N. Syracuse; 315/457-4972

John Hastings. Queensbury: 5181798-0248Ronald Pedersen: Latham: 5181785-6061

Betty Wagner: Utica: 3151733-7391

CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVESCharlie Mowatt, Allegheny Foothills: 716/676-3617

Stephen Davison, Cayuga: 315/496-2392

Joan & Hans Kappel, Capital District: 518/861 -8753

Allyn Wright, Capital District: 518/239-6767Tom Graber. Central New York: 315/255-3662

Elizabeth Nichols, Lower Hudson; 914/241-7289David Daut, Northern Adirondack: 518/359-3089

Rita Hammond. Niagara Frontier: 7161 652-2857

James Durller, SE Adirondack: 518/747-5958

Larry Lepak, Southern Tier: 6071 656-8504

Don Schaufler, Tioga: 607/589-6095

Jack Hamilton, Western Finger Lakes: 7161728-5769Dale Schaefer. western Finger Lakes: 7 J 6/367-1S49

All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced with-

aUf prior wriuen permission from the publisher. NYFOA

does not necessarilv support or approve procedures, prod-ucts, or opinions presented by authors or advertisers.

COVER:Top: Conifer plantation showing exten-sive crown damage. Photo courtesy ofDouglas Allen & Phil Siarkowski.Bottom: Sugarbush showing maple topcolliding with sap fine (arrows). LakePlacid photo courtesy Lewis Staats.

• NY FOREST OWNER 36:22

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

Editorial Committee: Betty Densmore, Chair, Alan Knight, Mary McCarty, Jim Minor,Bob Sand, and Eileen Schaefer.

Materials submitted for publication should be addressed to: R.J. Fox, Editor, R. O. 3, Box88, Moravia, New York 13118. Articles, artwork and photos are invited and are normallyreturned after use. The deadline for submission for May/June is April 1.Please address all membership fees and change of address requests to P.O. Box180, Fairport, N.Y. 14450. Cost of individual membership/subscription is $20.

A well-attended fall woodswalk of J 997 on Fat & HarryDieter's woodland. (Western Finger Lakes Chapter)

Table Of Contents

President's Message, Jill Cornell 3Ice Storm Guidelines, D.C. Allen, P.J. Smallidge, & L. Staats 4Beaver, Love Them Or Leave Them, John Braubitz 6SPRING MEETING & ELECTION, 7Building A Pond, Mary Binder 9Widow Makers, Peter Levatich 12LETTERS, 13Stumpage Price Trends, Jeffrey S. Prime 14This Thing Called Forest Management, Peter Smallidge 16Limiting Landowner Liability, Robert W. Malmsheimer & Donald W. Floyd 18And When You Die ?, Irene Szabo 20Bye-Bye, Bambi, Jane Sorensen Lord 22

NYFOA - }·800·836·3566 - INFO MARIAPR }998

President's MessageBy Jill Cornell

During my childhood, many hourswere spent in the woods ofWestchester County and in South-

ern Vermont at my Aunt and Uncle's farmwoods. It was not until 10 years ago that Ihad my own little forest to manage. Allthose years of walking in the woods, hav-ing friends picnic there, climbing trees,swinging on vines, even trying to get lostand exploring caves created a love of thewoods, but no practical knowledge of howto manage them.

In 1992 when my "new" upstate old farmhouse was finally liveable (it's still notcompletely finished), I began to lookaround for information about woodlot man-agement. A happenstance glance in a news-paper told me about NYFOA, and so be-gan my involvement.

The more I knew, the more I realized Ihad to learn.

Because I am someone who jumps intodeep water with both feet, I've rapidly beenindoctrinated into the regional, state and na-tional canvas offorestry related issues. Andthere are many issues that impact NYprivate landowners.

Close to your woodlot it can be the localassessor, the county or regional DEC stateforester, private consulting foresters, Cor-nell Cooperative Extension, loggers, Soiland Water District and Natural ResourceConservation Service personnel. Statewide,it is all of the above as agency policies andprograms impact woodlot owners. And, ofcourse, pending state legislation has thegreatest potential for impact. When the fo-cus expands to the national scale, the USFSBudget and Congressional legislation canimpact every small and large landowner.

Again, the more I learned , the more Ineeded to know. But I've never been afraidto ask questions, and once I have a ques-tion, I can be relentless in pursuit of an-swers.

As President ofNYFOA, I serve on sev-eral boards and committees, and am askedto review policies and positions. I believethat these contacts keep me on the forefrontof issues. They also require me to: I.) Keepan opening and questioning mind, and 2.)keep communication channels open witheveryone, no matter with which aspect ofan issue I concur. There is always a placeor a part of an issue on which everyone


agrees. That part must be kept alive, orcommunication and cooperation ceases,and branches of the family tree atrophy.

Because forestry is a 90+ per cent maledominated community, I am often the onlywoman in a meeting room. (Once a wait-ress at the meeting place commented to methat she thought it was a great setting for awomanl) I didn't know how to explain toher that it can be intimidating too.

With enough of those meetings in mymemory bank, I've realized that no matterwho is there, or how articulate he is, I holda very viable trump card: I represent you.We are part of the 500,000 private forestowners of 14 million acres of NY forest,and we are the trump card for sustainableforestry, and for the NY wood products andthe industry'S employees.

Now, I just have to make the trump cardin my hand visible, for all of us.

You can help by learning the issues aspresented in NY Forest Owner, in yourchapters and on our web page, and in Na-tional Woodlands, and then expressingyour opinion to agencies and to your gov-ernment representatives.

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

President Jill Cornell

NEWYORKSAFANNUAL AWARDSThe New York Chapter of the Society of

American Foresters at their Winter Meet-ing, January 1998 recognized the NewYork Forest Owners Association for their" ... extraordinary efforts or significant con-tributions which further the goals of the So-ciety and profession." The Society similarlycommended NYFOA in 1991.

Of special note was the FORESTRYCOMMUNICATIONS AWARD. ThePOST-JOURNAL (Jamestown, NY) wasthe recipient of this award for a publica-tion which contained a 12-page supplementdedicated to "Sustaining Our Woodlands."The excellent articles and advertisementswere provided by members of NYFOA'sAllegheny Foothills Chapter.

Henry Kernan, a regular contributer tothe NY Forest Owner was recognized for" ... outstanding accomplishmentas in for-estry education, aimed at any audience,which increases understanding ... "

Ralph Nyland was the recipient of theForester of the Year Award.

NYFOA'S FALLMEETING

By Charlie Mowatt & Betty DensmoreSave the second weekend in September

for the ANNUAL FALL MEETING. TheAllegheny Foothills Chapter will host thestatewide NYFOA membership to reviewforests and forestry in Allegheny State Park.

Nature's clearcutting (a 200-acreblowdown), elderly growth forests and for-est recreation are potential topics to exam-ine.

We are exploring ajoint or overlappingmeeting with the Society of American For-esters.

More information will be coming in fu-ture issues of the NY Forest Owner.

MARIAPR 1998 • 3

Preliminary Guidelines for Forest OwnersFollowing the January Ice Storm

By Douglas C. Allen, Peter J. Smallidge and Lewis Staats

When the "great blow" of July1995 marched through theAdirondacks, most of us never

imagined a comparable climatic eventwould appear in our lifetimes. Yet, in Janu-ary 1998 extensive areas of northern NewYork, New England and southeasternOntario were visited by a severe ice storm.Forestry organizations in New York, NewEngland and Ontario caucused on severaloccasionsthis winterto developreasonable

was comparatively little blowdown andprobably little root damage to standingtrees. The principle impact was extensivemechanical damage to tree crowns.

Extent ofInjury Varied with aspect, spe-cies composition, elevation, and geo-graphic location. Although patterns variedacross the region, in many areas hardwoodstands at lower elevations with a northeast

stresses such as drought, defoliation or in-tensive forest management activities occurto affected stands next summer it may bemore difficult for surviving trees to recover

from crown damage. Partially damagedconifers, especially, will be susceptible tobark beetles, woodborers and wood stainif they were not vigorous when winter ar-rived or suffer additional problems nextsummer. Comparably damaged hardwoods

that remainstanding areunlikely tobe threat-ened by in-sects or to beinvaded rap-

idly by stainfungi. Me-chanicalwounds areinfectionpoints forheart rotfungi, butthese infec-tions willnot materi-ally weakenstandinghardwoodsfor manyyears.

manage-mentrecom-mendationsfor forestowners whosuffereddamage.These dis-cussionswill con-tinue as welearn moreabout the ex-tent of dam-age and themanner 111

which for-ests respondto this natu-ral event.The guide-lines belowreflect ourcurrent un-derstanding of what happened and whatshould or should not be done by forestowners to cope with the aftermath. As wewrite this in early February, recommenda-tions have yet to be finalized. However,there are a number of suggestions that ev-eryone appears to agree with, and it seemedwise to publicize them as quickly as pos-sible.

Wind vs Ice - Both the microburst of1995 and the most recent ice storm wereclimatic events affecting large areas offor-est land. The key factor in one was wind,the other was ice. Consequently, the resultsof this winter's storm differed in that there

4 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:2

Sugarbush damage. Note arrow at whitewood

exposure apparently received the mostdamage. In some regions white pine alsowas damaged extensively.

The Short- and Lon2:- Term Conse-quences of the ice storm from a forest man-agement perspective obviously depends onthe degree of crown damage. Less obviousfactors such as stand vigor, site quality anddisturbances that may occur next summerwill playa major role in determiningwhether or to what extent a stand recovers.For example, if a woodlot experiencedheavy insect defoliation in 1997 trees prob-ably were stressed when they entered thedormant season. Similarly, if additional

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

• Do not overreact or react too quickly

and pay particular attention to safety issueswhen working in your woodlot. The icestorm left behind numerous human hazards,such as hanging dead or severely damagedbranches and slash that makes for unstablefooting.

Guidelines For Forest Owners:

• Clearly, in some instances crown dam-

age is so great that trees will not survive.In situations where crowns are only par-tially damaged, however, it is important togive these trees an opportunity to recover.

MARiAPR 1998 •

Specifically, wait at least one growing sea-son before you condemn trees with partialcrown loss. Ice damage is not an unusualevent in many of these forests and, withinreason, trees will be able to respond. Youcan always remove questionable individu-als next fall or winter.

should obtain professional help to properlyremove (prune) damaged branches to pro-mote rapid healing and to minimize infec-tion. In rural woodlots, landowners shouldwork with a professional forester to get spe-cific management recommendations and,

to close tapholes. Crown die back resultsfrom the accumulated effects of manystresses over several years and is differentfrom physical damage caused by ice. Weare not sure how taphole closure will be in-fluenced by the latter, but in the absence of

better information a conservativeapproach seems wise. The longerit takes these injuries to heal, themore likely stain and rot fungi willbecome established.

• In the hardest hit stands,

many trees have lost most or allof their crowns, have broken orseverely split trunks, or were up-rooted. Under these conditionsowners may want to salvage someof the wood because survival isunlikely. When salvage is neces-sary, do it this winter while theground is still frozen or next sum-mer when it is dry. lfwork is donethis spring when soils are wet,heavy equipment is likely to cre-ate site conditions that encourageerosion and will damage roots oftrees that remain. Most trees withlimited crown damage will re-cover with only a temporary re-duction in growth if they are notfurther stressed.

Broadleaved trees rarely arekilled by ice damage. They havedormant buds beneath the barkthat typically sprout to form newbranches and leaves followingthis type of injury. Even trees thatappear to be extensively damagedwill produce a surprising crop offoliage next summer. The majorconcern is decay fungi that enterwounds created by broken ortwisted branches. From an insector disease standpoint, there is noimmediate need to salvage stand-ing hardwoods. However, the tim-ber value of downed hardwoodswill be degraded by these organ-isms in only one or two growing seasons.

• Conifers, on the other hand, will not

replace damaged portions of the crown and,if stressed enough by crown loss, will besusceptible to attack by bark beetles andwoodborers this summer. Along with theseinsects will come blue stain, which may de-grade the value of lumber sawed from in-fested trees. In this situation, removal thissummer would be wise if the forest ownercontemplates a salvage operation.

• In urban situations, homeowners


Damage in a conifer plantation

if necessary, to obtain assistance with tim-ber sales when salvage is appropriate. Con-tact your local DEC office or Cornell Co-operative Extension if you need help lo-cating these professionals.

• Sugarbushes should be treated in simi-

lar fashion. Operators must realize tappingis a form of stress that moderately to se-verely damaged sugar maples may not beable to tolerate. Studies by the NorthAmerican Maple Project indicate mapleswith significant levels of crown dieback re-quire longer than the normal year or two

• If an operator is determined

to tap an ice-damaged sugarbushthis spring, trees with less than10% crown damage can be tappedusing normal guidelines. Wherecrown damage is 11% to 50%, taplightly (i.e., no more than one tap!12 inches in diameter and a sec-ond tap when tree diameter is 18inches or more) and if51 %to 75%of the crown has been damaged,trees should not be tapped. Whenmore than 75% of a crown is af-fected, the tree is not likely to re-cover and can be heavily tappedin anticipation that it will need tobe removed in the near future.That is, it is not likely to recoveror, if it recovers, will have littlevalue in terms of sap production.Conservative tapping this yearcould reduce future losses byminimizing stress and associatedmortality.

It is important to remember thatthese guidelines are based largelyon intuition and limited first handknowledge. We presently havelittle experience with a catastro-phe of this type and magnitude.More precise information will notbe available until the short and

long-term effects of this storm have beenmonitored and evaluated. .•.

Douglas Allen isforest entomologist, SUNYCollege of Environmental Science and For-estry, Syracuse. Peter Smallidge is State Ex-tension Forester, Cornell University, Ithaca.Lewis Staats is Extension Associate, MapleProgram, Cornell University, Uihlein SugarMaple Research/Extension Field Station,Lake Placid, NY.

The authors thank Paul Manion, forest pa-thologist, SUNY College of EnvironmentalScience and Forestry for reviewing this pa-per and providing helpful comments.

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO MARIAPR 1998 • 5

John Braubit: is a Professor in the ScienceDepartment of Cayuga County CommunityCollege. Web Page: hupi//www.cayuga-cc.edu/braubitz/

Beaver, Love Them Or Leave Them-Part OneBy John Braubitz

When I was just in grade school, I spent get the camp ready for deer season? By themany evenings listening to my Uncle Joe way, you also can bring some traps alongtell tales of bob cats, beaver and many other and try to catch a few muskrats and maybeexotic animals that he trapped when he was the beaver." That sounded good to me. Thea boy. Those tales stimulated my imagina- week passed, and I found myself up at camption; I dreamed of times in the past and what helping to clean. That is always a messyit must have been like to see beaver mak- job, but we were done by mid-afternoon.ing dams and building ponds in some of Then I headed down to the fishing hole tothe very streams where I was trapping look for beaver signs. There were a lot ofmuskrats. My Uncle Joe even pointed out trees chewed on or cut down and severalsome of the places in Irish Valley Creek Beaver Works active beaver slides. The beaver were stillwhere beaver once had dams. But, at that there! I went back to camp to pick up m,time, I could only dream. Wow, they were back! The day's fishing traps. I selected several No.2 traps and one

The beavers were long gone! Trappers didn't seem that important. I could not con- large NO.3 and headed back to the creek tolike my Uncle Joe caught the last one trol myself I dropped everything and ran try my luck at catching a beaver. As I ap-twenty or thirty years before I even cocked back to camp to tell another uncle we called proached the big trout hole luck or fate leta trap. We had to be content to catch musk- "Chick" the exciting news. me see the beaver once more. The beaverrats, raccoons and an occasional mink. My The next day we both went back to ex- was on the other side of the stream gnaw-first chance to see a beaver did not come amine the site. To our delight we spotted ing on a tree. I crouched down near theuntil 1953. I was fishing for trout in White the beaver. We crouched down near the base ground and watched it for about an hour.Deer Hole Creek near Williamsport, Penna, '.. of an old-hemlock.treeand observed the This .is.whenslrfell.in love with beavers. IIt was one of those special)noments\vhen beaver for several minutes. Itwasn'tahand-~kept thinking, "Are there more beaver inmy mind was suspendedintime-The line some animal. It did not seem to bethatquick . the bankho\l~; or is this the only one left infrom my fly rod floateds](nvly aC!:9ssmy but its motions seemed t98c;gelipc;rate,al1d i·the county?"favorite fishing-hole. 1was anticipating a it looked like itkriewwhatitwas&"iil . Thi3bothere~Jne. I picked up the largerstrike. All ofasqdden:ahUge blob offur .AfteraJ~~.Jp.inutes it spotted~s~ traps and headed back to camp to get somethe size Qf(tWbQdchuc~appeared out of slapped its tail. in the water withaloud:is~allerN?I)muskrat traps and set themnowhere. The blob/disappeared so fast l"'spl?:,,~anCl disappeared.T~~ nex~we~§~e" . farther do~n stream. The next morning Iwasn't sure what it~a~;putthe thought dis8?~c;red i~cwas living in·.~.hole.?eer!jl1 ght twgpmskrats. The beaver were stillcrossed nlymind that.it might be al:Jeaver the bank ~~~5my favorite fisringhole. re when we deft. I didn't come back toIt was yearssince a[jyoneI kneW spotted lv1YUnel~<:;hick told me thatif I ..yant~d ~l11pul}W next spring. We looked for thembeaver in the county;s() Iwas reluctantto tol1e\vouldiakemetip to tl1'ecalllp ., . . but they were gone! It is possibletell anyone about this untilI..yas absolutely before deer season to catch thebeaver. their own, or perhaps someonesure. Besides that, I had-some self-ser"ing Area11l1nightcome true;ImighfrealI)rcatS~Sh~t gun more than I did. Thismotivation I might want toCMththe bea- abyavef!Fotthe restbfth mer leoul expenenc~CleftJne with an infatuation forver before anyone else finds out it's there. l1?~~ppPtHat ~9Iy,fl1rba.ll ...,.,fmy mind; beavers that lasted most of my life. I neverI revisited the area several times in the next I 99l.!lqirn.agin.e several largeTound bea- saw another beaver in White Deer Holefew weeks but saw neither hide nor hair'of verpel~onthebarnwall and a lbfofjingle Creek for another twenty years. .•.the animal until about a month later. A tree in my pocket. A new 12 gauge Winchesternext to the stream looked like it had been Pump just like my dad's seemed possible.just cut down,and there were chips all The summer passed rapidly and schoolaround the base of the tree. My heart started. When rabbit season was almost overpounded faster; I took a deep breath. This my Uncle Chick said, "Do you want towas really a beaver! come up to camp this week and help me

6 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:2 NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

30+ Years Experience

ROBERT DEMEREEProfessional Forestry Consultant

Timber Sales· Management PlanningTax Law· Tree Planting

3987 Northway DriveCortland, NY 13045-9317

Telephone:(607) 753-0497

MARJAPR 1998 •

THE NEW YORK FOREST OWENERS ASSOCIATION

36TH ANNUAL SPRING MEETINGjoined by members of the Tree Farm System

Saturday, May 2, 1998Marshall Hall, SUNY College of Environmental Science and forestry, Syracuse, NY

8:30: Registration and Coffee

9-30: Welcome: Annual Business Meeting: Jill Cornell, President, NYfOA; Donna RogIer, Chair, NY Tree farm Committee

10:00: Tips and Techniques for Outdoor Photography, James Peek, DEC Supervising forester, Bath NY

10:45: What Silviculture for Your Land?, Dr. Ralph Nyland, SUNY College of Environmenal Science and forestry

11:30: Markets for Low Grade forest Products, John Graham, DEC Utilization and Marketing, Cortland, NY

12:15: Lunch: Nifkin Student Lounge

1:15: Awards - Robert M. Sand, NYfOA; and Donna RogIer, NY Tree Farm Committee

1:45: Concurrent Sessions (Speakers will be available throughout the day)

1. Outdoor Photography

2. SilvicultureMeet with morning speakers formore detailed discussion andadditional questions.

3. Markets for Low Grade Products

4. Green Certification - What does it mean to you?, Albert Brown, Stow, NY

5. Timber Theft - Preventing and Reporting, Consulting forester, NYS DEC Law Enforcement Officer

6. Tax Tips for forest Landowners, Lloyd Casey, US forest Service. Radner, PA

3:00: Adjourn

DETACH REGISTRATION fORM: MAIL BEfORE APRIL 18,1998

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Name(s): _

Address: C~it~v~: S~t~a~te~: Z~i~ _

Chapter/Affiliation _

Please find my check for_registration(s) at $16 each: $ (includes lunch and materials)

My/our aftemoon session preferences are circled, 1 2 3 4 5 6Send registration by APRIL 18, 1998 to: Debbie Gill, PO Box 180, fairport, NY 14450-

for more information, call 1-800-836-3566

NY FOREST OWNER 36:2 NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO MARIAPR 1998 • 7

JIll CORNELL is a candidate for a 2nd. 3-year Board term. Joined NYFOA in 1992 and is a MFO-1993. ServedCDC as V.Chair. She is NYFOA's PRESIDENT. Jill manages her 50 acre forest and resides at:703 Johnsonville Road, Johnsonville, NY 12094; Phone: 518-753-4336.

NOMINATIONS FOR DIRECTORS OF NYFOA: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

To Elect: FOUR DIRECTORS for a three (3) Year Term (1998-2001), the following NOMINEES:

ROBERT A. SYKES is a candidate for a 2nd. 3 year term on the Board. Together with his wife, Marge, theymanage a 120 acre Tree Farm and a Bed & Breakfast operation. Bob, a retired G.E. Engineer, Bob is a MFO-1992,owns a sawmill and an exterior wood furnace. The Sykes reside at:4786 Foster Road, ELBRIDGE, NY 13060; Phone: 315-673-3691

DAVE W. SWACIAK is a horticulturist-naturalist with the Cattaraugus Cornell Co-op Extension who also man-ages the 100 acre Co-op. Ext. Demo. Forest at Machias. Dave, MFO-1996, is a graduate of the Gameof Logging, heats with wood cut from his 12 ac. woodlot. He and his wife, Lisa, have three children.The family resides at:2107 Rushford Rd, FRANKLINVILLE, NY 14737; Phone: 716-676-2349 (h); 716-699-2377 (w)

NICK R. POLCE is a long time member ofNYFOA and is a Logger, Forest Consultant and Timberland Ownerwith Tree Farms in Oswego, Oneida and Herkimer Counties. He has served both as a Dir.& V. Pres. of the N.Y.Timber Producers Asso. and on the Woodmans Field Days Committee. Dave is a mamber ofESFP A. He and hiswife Diane own and operate West Canada Creek Logging, Inc., a broker of standing marked timber sales, operatea large firewood processor as well as a custom TSI contracting service. The Po1ces, parents of 3 sons, reside at:10317 Joshlyn Rd. REMSEN, NY 13438; Phone: 315-831-5301

EUGENE J. MCCARDLE is a 15 year member ofNYFOA. He is a MFO-1996, serving as Historian and ViceChair of the Cons. Com. of the 233 acre CAMPFIRE CLUB forest. A 450 member (Westchester County) Clubnow celebrating its centennial. Gene is retired and resides at:70 Cabin Ridge Rd., CHAPP AQUA, NY 10514; Phone: 914-945-0504

••••••••••••••••••• detach ... complete before APRIL 18, 1998 ... send to: •••••••••••••••••••NY F 0 A P.O ..Box 180 F A I R P 0 R T, NY 14450-0180

Vote for FOUR (4 ) candidates ONLY

Jill Cornell ( ) Robert A. Sykes ( ) Dave W. Swaciak ( )

Nick R. Polce ( ) Eugene J. McCardle ( )

Your Name: Address:

8 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:2 NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Chapter-R. M. Sand, Chair

MARIAPR 1998 •

BUILDING A POND-An Art As Much As A ScienceBy Mary Binder

This is the first of a three part series onponds to bepublished in consecutive issues.Part I will review finding the best locationto build a pond. Part II will give ideas 011

pond design and construction. Part III willgive information on pond maintenance,safety, and fish stocking.

the winterwinds giveway toslightlywarmerbreezes,ourthoughtsturn to theout-of-doors. Westart to vi-sualize theproj ectswe had al-way shoped todo butsomehow

Part I-Siting Your Pond

ming, boating, fishing and ice skating.Probably the number one complaint

about ponds is the "pond scum" that keepstangling legs while swimming. It is impor-tant to realize that a pond is a natural eco-system. As soon as the bulldozer leaves thenewly constructed pondsite, critters willmake it their home and vegetation of allsorts will begin to grow. If you want a pondfor swimming, and are adverse to coexist-

cost of the pond may be difficultto pin downuntil test pits are done. Ponds Unlimited, a

company out of Syracuse, can provide en-

gineering services needed to plan, design

and oversee construction of a dam to create

a pond or lake on your property. Richard

McClimans, owner and designer of ponds,

charges $350 to visit the site, conduct analy-

sis, and then prepare cost estimates and a

written re-port. Once

the land-

owner has

decided togo ahead

and build

the pond,

test pits willbe con-ducted, asurvey un-

dertaken,and a plan

will bedrawn up.

W henasked togive a costestimate for

design and

construc-

t ion ,McClimans

n eve rstarted. Ifbuilding apond wasone suchproject,now is the perfect time to gather informa-tion about creating a slice of heaven rightin your own backyard. Before you call theexcavator, you should consider the benefits,the negative aspects, and the costs of build-ing a pond.

gave an ex-

ample of a

pond that he

recently de-

signed that is about one fifth of an acre. This

pond has a small dam, is spring feed, and isdesigned to be ten feet deep in the middle.

He will charge about $1600 to conduct the

initial field visit, survey the site, draw up

the plans, and spend about two days over-

seeing certain aspects of the construction.

He estimates that the pond will take about

two weeks to dig and cost between $5000

to $10,000 to excavate. Building a pond is

not an investment to take lightly. However,

for less than the price of a car, you can cre-

ate added equity to your property, especially

if you construct the pond on land margin-

ally suited to agriculture or forestry. Someconsider building a pond an investment.

Gomez Foundation for Mill House; Marlboro, NY. Reconstruction of dam & bridge built to historicalarchitectural standards. Note stabilizing rock rip rap and straw mulch for seeding

The Pluses and Minuses of PondsBackyard ponds have many benefits.

Among those benefits are crop irrigation,livestock watering, providing water forfirefighting, improving water quality andwildlife habitat, providing for flood con-trol, and increasing the value of your prop-erty. Most importantly, a pond will providehours of nature discovery for children ofall ages, not to mention the fun of swim-

NY FOREST OWNER 36:2

ing with pond weeds, it may be best to builda swimming pool.

Other negative aspects of owning a pondis the continued maintenance. Althoughpond weeds are a fact of pond life, theycannot be allowed to overtake the pond,therefore some method of control shouldbe conducted. Since ponds may be an at-tractive nuisance they are a safety concernfor small children and pets. Also, aftermany years, a pond will need to be dug outagain, since it is continually silting in withsoil and decaying weed material.

What Will a Pond Cost?Just like anything to do with nature, the

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO MARIAPR 1998 • 9

Getting HelpNot everyones' property has a perfect

spot to build a functional pond. The mostimportant factors in building a pond are tomake sure your site has the correct soil typeand adequate water to keep the pond fullyear round. The saddest sight is to see alarge hole in the ground with no water.Think how much it will cost to have theempty crater filled in. To save some head-aches and money you should get someknowledgeable help.

Help is available from several sources.Your localSoil andW ate rConserva-tion Dis-trict willsometimesmake pondsite investi-gations todeterminesuitability.S 0 m echarge anominalfee and willdo neces-sary re-search us-ing theCountySoil Sur-vey Book.If youhaven't al-ready, Ihighly rec-ommend

cavators who may think they can build apond only to find they have gotten in overtheir heads when the dam springs a leak orthey hit bedrock during excavation.

Help is also available from consultantsand some engineering firms. "There's areason for [our success in locating pondsites] because we understand soils, water-sheds, hydrology", says McClimans. "Webalance inflow and outflow and seepagepotential" to achieve the water level thatthe landowner is looking for in their pond.McClimans says, "We engineer to accom-

supplied by cold springs. A cold or warmwater pond will determine the species offish you can stock. Bass can survive inwarm water ponds, while trout must havecold water, not more that 65- 70 degrees inthe warmest spot. Those who can constructcold water ponds, or those who can haveone of each to satisfy the angling needs ofall their friends and relatives, are lucky in-deed.

There are two different pond types; dug(excavated) or embankment (dammed)ponds. Mother Nature has determined

w h i c htype ofpond canbe built onyour prop-erty. Adug pondis simplyan exca-vated holethat ex-p 0 s e sgroundwater or ahigh watertab l e .So m e -times dugponds are

~ filled by a~ combina-6 tion of sur-2 face runoff~ (rainfall)~a n d0:::

groundwater.Soils made

Gomez Foundation/or Mill House; Marlboro, NY. Oldest standing Jewish Homestead in u.s.Note Devinshire cottage with thatch roo/built by Dard Hunter, noted architect.

getting your own soil survey book. Thisbook has aerial photos and detailed soil de-scriptions which can be used not only forpond suitability, but for siting the best pas-ture land, tree growing land, and it containsmany other charts with useful information.The field visit may include walking the site,making watershed calculations, taking soilsamples and recommending that test pitsbe dug by a backhoe ifthe site looks prom-ising. Some Districts will come back toconduct the test pits.

If your County Soil and Water Districtdoes not offer this service, you can contacta reputable excavator who has experiencedigging ponds successfully. An excavatorwho knows the lay of the land is worth theirweight in gold. Ask for references andproof of insurance since there are some ex-


modate the conditions of the site." Mostofthe ponds he designs are those with largedams that require a DEC permit. "[Thosewho want to build] smaller ponds shouldgo to Soil and Water Districts and get agood contractor", noted McClimans.

Again, check for pond building refer-ences and also for knowledge with soils.There are many engineering firms thatknow how to build excellent bridges, butthey have little understanding of soils.

Different Types of PondsWarm water ponds are usually built in

clayey or mucky areas and use surfacewater to keep them full. They are usuallyshallower. A cold water pond is usuallydeeper than eight feet and is made in a grav-elly soil kept wet with a high water table,

NYFOA· 1·800·836·3566· INFO

of a deep gravel aquifer make excellent dugponds, and the natural supply of gravel maysometimes be sold to pay for the cost ofthe digging. You may, however, need aNYS DEC mining permit to do this. Somedug ponds are constructed adjacent to asmall running stream, which is all right, aslong as it is positioned far enough from thestream bank. Many ponds have been "takenout" by high water as the stream washesout one side of the pond. If the stream bankshows signs of erosion, the bank should bestabilized with rock to keep it in place.

Embankment ponds are built in a valleywith a narrow area at one end that can bedammed to have water back up behind it.This type of pond is kept full with surfacerunoff, and the existing soil must have theability to hold water. Clay or silty clay

MARIAPR 1998 •

works best, while avoiding any underlay-ing layers of limestone or shale will assurethat water cannot escape out of cracks andcrevices found naturally in these forma-tions.

Sometimes a clayey soil can be "bor-rowed" from another site on the property,but this may increase costs. Water behinda dam has a tremendous amount of pres-sure and force, and therefore can find itsway through any opening. Most dams willleak due to seepage, but those that are con-structed correctly will keep leaking to aminimum. Ponds that have been full foryears have been known to lose all theirwater overnight due to poor constructiontechniques. This is another reason to con-duct test pits, as it can then be determinedif a core trench is needed to reduce seep-age from the dam. A core trench, to be dis-cussed in more detail in Part II, will cre-ate a seal where the bottom of the dam (fill)meets the natural undisturbed ground.

There must also be a large enough wa-tershed to supply water to the pond duringthe dry summer months. A watershed is anarea of land from which all rainwater (run-off) runs to where it collects in one spot. Inthe case of a pond, that would be whereyour dam is. Caution should also be takenin damming up a large watershed. Inad-equately-sized outlets can be destructivelyremoved (a blowout) by swift flowing run-off during spring melt or an intense sum-mer storm.

Do You Need Permits?Permits may be necessary from several

different agencies. NYS Department of En-vironmental Conservation may require awetland permit or one to build a dam. TheArmy Corp of Engineers may require apermit to protect federal wetlands. Theremay be local zoning or erosion control or-dinances for which you might have to ap-ply. A phone call to each of these agenciesmay prevent some problems down the road.Be sure to keep a record of the date youcalled, the person to whom you spoke andthe phone number you called. Make your-self a pond folder to keep all the infonna-tion you accumulate.

It is also very important to know whereyour property boundaries. are. You don'twant to conduct test pits or construct a pondpartially on someone else's property. Youshould also have clear title to the land.

Conducting Test PitsTest pits should be dug during the driest

NY FOREST OWl\TER 36:2

part of the year; in New York that is Julyor August. The backhoe operator will behappier if his equ ipment doesn't get stuckand you'll be happier to know the lowestpossible water level your pond may have.Digging test holes will also tell you depth-to-bedrock and allow the machine opera-tor to determine the type of equipment theywill need.

For a dug pond, three to four test pitsshould be placed in the pond basin, (lessfor a small pond). They should be dug at aminimum of eight feet or as deep as thebackhoe arm can reach. For a dammedpond, two or three pits should be dug inthe dam area with three to four placed inthe pond basin. A map of the pond areashould be drawn, with each test pit located.

The backhoe will expose a soil profile,showing different layers of the soil as it waslaid down by the glaciers. Take notes asthe backhoe digs. Do not stand on the sideof the pit. thev tend to cave in easilv in wetareas. It is always safest to stand at the endof the pit facing the operator. This way youcan make eye contact with the operator tocommunicate. Never get into a pit that isdeeper than your thighs. Manv people havebeen buried alive. No one, including yourcontractor, should get inside the pit underany circumstances.

Look for layers of gravel, sand, clay orsilt and make notes of at what depth youfind the changes. Also look for water com-ing in at certain layers. Watch the hole filland, if possible, time it. Once the holes aredone and you have taken all your notes,have the contractor fill the holes back in.Small animals or even children can fall inand drown. If you are unsure about avail-able water to keep the pond full, have theexcavator backfill around a four inchperforatored PYC pipe. This will allow youto note the water depth with a rock tied to astring. You can monitor the water level forseveral years if you are unsure. Share themap and the test pit information withwhomever you hire to dig your pond.

Get to Know your LandWalk your land in the wettest and driest

times of the year. This will help you rec-ognize potential pond sites. The presenceof black or white ash, red maple, cattails,or sedges will indicate that soils stay wetthrough the year for these plants to grow.Picking the best pond site involves look-ing up as well as to the ground. Do not lo-cate your pond under power lines, as a fish-ing pole or backhoe could easily get caught.

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Avoid underground cables and pipelines.Your pond should be accessible to heavyequipment, even during the wet season, forfire protection and pond repair.

Also keep your pond away from septicfields and livestock areas. You do not wantexcess nutrients entering your pond caus-ing excessive pond weeds. Finally, do notlocate a large dam pond upstream from ar-eas that could be damaged if the dam shouldfail. Many lawsuits have occurred becauseof the damage failed dams have caused.Have fun dreaming of what your pondmight look like. If you have the energy,finances, and motivation, you can startwalking your land now to find that perfectsite and begin to make your dream a real-ity. Don't forget to check references andask for help where it is available. Remem-ber, building a pond is as much of an art asit is a science, and constructing it the rightway will give you many years of enjoy-ment.

Additional References:"Build Your Own Pond", by John Weiss,

Country Journal, June 1993.Book of Pond Information, Compiled by

Dutchess County Soil and Water Conser-vation District, $ 3.00, P.O. Box 37,Millbrook, New York 12545.

Earth Ponds the Country Pond Maker'sGuide to Building. Maintenance and Res-toration, by Tim Matson, 1991. ..•.

Mary, who lives in Westerlo, with her hus-band and two boys, is a NYFOA memberand Vice-Chair of the Capital DistrictChapter. The mentioning of any names inthis article is not an endorsement.

MARJAPR 1998 • 11

out exception while in the woods, by mak-ing for yourself check lists and followingthem Oust like airline pilots do, for ex-ample). You have done this before success-fully when you learned to drive a car. Youare successfully avoiding "widow makers"in traffic every day.

Widow makers! MY ADVICE to you isto take them seriously. MY EXPERIENCEis that this works for me and that it willwork for you. ..••

WIDOW MAKERS-ADVICE/EXPERIENCEBy Peter S. Levatich ©1998

Dave Taber is a good teacher and hisarticle in the January '98 issue of the For-est Owner gives important advice. I keeplooking at the picture of the cut tree hungup in the standing one. The cutter man iseying it and probably wondering what bestto do. The tree crowns seem to be holdingeach other. How long before the cut treecomes loose and falls down? It can be tenseconds, or a year. There is no way to pre-dict it. What should the cutter man do?What would you do?

I do not like to talk about this, but twicein my 46 years of working part time in thewoods, small hung up trees came down onme. They were both a mere 4 inches in di-ameter, about 40 feet tall. They bothknocked me flat to the ground, instantly andabsolutely flat. Our nice and familiar treesdon't tend to look dangerous or heavy, butthey are!

Dave's article describes dead branchesup in the crowns of standing trees. In a fell-ing course, once, we were told that mostblood on the ground is found within eightfeet of the stump. Insurance company sta-tistics. But blood is not the whole story. Ifelled a big sugar maple once and all wentas planned. The tree fell exactly, as in-tended, passed between two other largemaples, down hill, to the ground. It arrivedthere, and it was over. Or was it? I stoodthe eight feet from the stump with the sawturned off and hanging at the end of myann. Suddenly, the saw was no longer there.It was on the ground as if sucked out of mygrip instantly by a huge magnet. It was in-credible. A dead branch had broken loosefrom one of the standing maples and hadbeen flung, slowly arcing through the air,back to where I stood and hit the blade of

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my saw. 1 found the branch lying there, it-weighed only about two pounds. It missedmy shoulder by an inch.

Prior to this accident, (an accident is anyunforeseen event, whether you get hurt ornot), I would have said that such a littlestick could not possibly hurt anyone. Butthink again. (Consider the following sce-nario to which you may be able to relatemore easily: A 2x2, two feet long, weighsa little over two pounds. How would youfeel if such a piece of lumber got tossedout of a 4th story window and hit you onthe sidewalk below? Can you believe thatyou would feel mighty sore and you couldbe dead?

The point is that we have no experienceswith forces in such new situations. We goto work in the forest and we are told that itis dangerous. But we have no references inour set of life experiences as to what thatreally means, like when a branch or a treehits us. Advice to be careful passes throughour consciousness without a deep imprint ...until we experience these forces. Troubleis, we may not survive the first experience.Unlike advice, experience establishes deepawareness and sets up response patterns,some of which become automatic, instinc-tive to guard us against reoccurrence. Ad-vice, on the other hand, tends to go in oneear and out the other. It has a hard timesticking to us permanently.

There is only one way to increase yourchances of survival while working in theforest. YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CON-SCIOUS, ELABORATE, EFFORT TOLEARN FROM ADVICE: by exposingyourself willingly and repeatedly to it, bytalking to yourself about it, by memoriz-ing it, by establishing for yourself appro-priate procedures which you follow with-

Peter, a representative for Tompkins Countyto the NYSDEC Region 7 Forest PracticeBoard and a Master Forest Owner, is aregular contributor to the NY FORESTOWNER.

Jeff JourdainProfessional Forestry Services

P.O. Box 3602, Pittsfield, MA 01202413-442-9259FAX 413-445-7688

email: [email protected]

*Timber Sales "Forest Management Plans *Trails*Wildlife Habitat Mgt. *Forest Products Marketing

SERVING COLUMBIA & RENSSELAER COUNTIESNYS Cooperating Consulting Forester & SAF Certified Forester

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO MARJAPR 1998 •

mailto:[email protected]

OPEN SPACE HEARING COMMENTS

Assessment of property at its current useis needed. Sustainable forestry for privatewoodland owners is not possible in south-east NY state. Property taxes are ten timesgreater than the market value of the tim-ber. The requirements of 480-A are finan-cially unsustainable.

Programs like the Stewardship IncentiveProgram should be continued with morehelpful financial support: Timber qualityis improved. Use of chemicals is reducedby using physical removal of invasive spe-cies.

Best Management Practices conserve air,soil, water, plants & animals.

Human benefits, both physical and men-tal, are received from the educational andrecreational trails and views.

A statewide Right- To-Harvest- Timberlaw is needed. (Using Best Managementpractices ).

The Appalachian Trail in southern NYconserves open space. In Dutchess Countythe trail passes through Harlem Valley Psy-chiatric Center State land (now for sale),and this is an opportunity to acquire bufferacreage. An easier way to transfer surplusstate land for this heavily used recreationaltrail is needed.

Acquisition and protection of GreatSwamp acreage and land in the TriStatearea is badly needed also. The long distancesouth Taconic Trail needs to be connectedto the Taconic Crest Trail which would re-lieve overuse of the Appalachian Trail.

-John & Jane Geisler, Verbank

~

j

It is also important to address reform ofthe 480a Forest Tax Law to allow manage-ment for multiple goals including recre-ation, wildlife enhancement, and timberproduction, and to allow smaller than 50-acre parcels to qualify. Too many rurallandowners are finding it necessary to sub-divide forest land for development pur-poses because of the pressure of high prop-erty taxes.

Provision of tax loss reimbursments tolocal governments would offset the impactof reduced property tax revenue, while so-ciety would receive the benefits of retainedforestland (open space, water/air qualityenhancement, and reduced need for infra-structure that developed land requires).

-Joan Kappel (Email), Altamont


\.

j

LETTERSA BURL BUYER

Jill Cornell recently, suggested that Imight want to drop you a note. The subjectwas how to make better use of burled wood,and is there a market for burl? Jill's per-spective the woodlot owner are interested111:

(1) better utilization of a by-product oflogging; i.e., burls, which are usually dis-carded; and, (2) more exploration of thefeasibility of marketing burls as a woodproduct.

"Percy's Bowl", turned wood, willowburl 15"Hx 29"D

As a professional woodturning artist, Ican certainly appreciate the value of burlsin my work. Most of the burls that mostturners use are acquired informally-fromfriends, sawmills, loggers or even found atthe side of the road. Sometimes burls arebought and sold, but its not unusual forpeople who know that I am a turner to justdrop a nice burl off at the studio for free.Now, this is good for me, but it doesn'tmake a wood lot owner any money. Mostof the turners would pay a reasonableamount of money for a beautiful piece ofburled wood. The question now becomes."Okay, I've got a burl, but what is itworth?" Remember, most burls are left inthe woods. Owners and loggers should be-gin saving and storing burls with protec-tion from the elements. If these woodenjewels could be gotten to a central loca-tion, then it might be possible to come upwith a sensible way to market them. Pric-ing could be worked out as the cost ofhar-vesting, gathering, marketing and profit. Ican almost envision a small scale co-op.

Most of the advertisements and most ofthe people that I encounter are asking ex-orbitant amounts for their specialty woods.If an economically feasible system couldbe developed to get these burls to market, Ithink that both the wood lot owners andthe artists would benefit.

-Hank Albro, Henrietta

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

SA Y IT ISN'T SOThere is a serious typo error in the last

issue (NYFO 36:1, 16): "Afull cord ... willequal. 79 cubic feet. " should have read: Afull cord will equal .79 times 128 cu. ft. or101 cubic feet.

-Robert Nowack, EarlvilleThere is more to this than meets the eye!

Let's ASK A FORESTERSometime ago NYFOA 's editorial commit-tee insisted that your editor provide a for-

ester/editor for the ASK A FORESTERcolumn. This particular observation andletter from Robert Nowack has provided acompelling need for such a contributor tothe NY Forest Owner.Stephen Davison, aNYS DEC Senior For-ester from the Cortland Office of Region 7and Chairperson of the Cayuga Chapter,

has agreed to write/edit the ASK A FOR-ESTER column.

Perhaps he will address the conversion ofa cord of stacked wood as erroneouslydescriberd in NYFO 36: 1, 18 and partiallycorrected in the above letter, in the nextissue. =-Editor

AN NFC CHAPTER WOODSW ALKA most unusual and informative

woodswalk was hosted by Bob Glidden inAppleton, nearly adjacent to Lake Ontarioon Oct. 18.

"Unusual" because this 35-acre wood lothad formerly been a dairy farm and fruitorchard which had thrived until just a fewyears ago. When Bob bought the property,he decided to look to a forestry consultantfor help with a management plan whichwould help him develop the 20 acres ofwoodlot, some open fields, an abandonedorchard and hedge rows.

Bruce E. Robinson, a forestry consult-ant from Jamestown, accompanied thiswoodswalk, which attracted more than 20NYFOA members and friends. Bruce ex-plained the various aspects of the manage-ment plan and what Bob could look for-ward in the near and distant future.

Among the wildlife on the Glidden "es-tate" are pheasants and wild turkeys whichBob hopes to continue to attract.

Because most of the NFC woodswalksare primarily in hardwood acreage, it waseven more interesting to walk into openfields and along the hedge rows and learnhow even these can be part of a good man-agement plan for future hardwood lots.

-Barbara Tucker

MARIAPR 1998 • 13

Stumpage Price Trends (1973 to 1996)for Reporting Area L: Clinton, Essex, and Franklin Counties

By Jeffrey S. PrimeLuppold and Baumgras, in their 1995 pa-

per, reported a 5.0% annual rate of realprice change for red oak stumpage in Ohio(Luppold and Baumgras, 1995). Their pa-per piqued my interest in knowing if simi-lar trends in stumpage prices have OCCUlTedin the Adirondacks. Using the high, low,and most common prices reported by theNYS Department of Environmental Con-servation (DEC) in their semi-annual'Stumpage Price Report', I calculated thecompounded real rates of return for IS treespecies and 4 types of pulpwood. Thestumpage prices were obtained from theDEC's Reporting Area L which includesFranklin, Clinton, and Essex Counties. Theprice trends cover the 1973 to 1996 timeperiod.

or International Y4) in the reports coveringthe 1973 to 1996 time period. A convertedprice was derived using the ratio of the dif-ference in log scales for a 13" by 10' log.Prices based on Doyle and International Y4log rule were converted to a price based onthe Scribner rule. Pulpwood prices, basedon cord measure, didn't require a conver-sion. The following table shows the priceconversion ratios:

Converting fromthis price:Doyle

Converting toScribner price

0.8501.167International Y4

The second step was to deflate the con-verted prices using the Producers Price In-dex for all commodities. The index's base

The following table presents the compounded rates of returnin an alphabetic format:

SRecies Low r2 SRecies Avg r2 SRecies High r2

ash -0.34 0.027 ash 1.35 0.342 ash 2.12 0.440

aspen -0.32 0.048 aspen 0.22 0.022 aspen 0.71 0.083

basswood 0.73 0.172 basswood 1.81 0.596 basswood 2.69 0.578

beech -0.25 0.017 beech 0.19 0.008 beech 0.99 0.096

birch, white -0.49 0.085 birch, white 0.65 0.156 birch, white 1.48 0.231

birch, yellow -0.80 0.182 birch, yellow 0.73 0.214 birch, yellow 2.29 0.434

cherry, black -0.15 0.002 cherry, black 2.67 0.597 cherry, black 4.06 0.752

hemlock -0.17 0.014 hemlock 0.66 0.154 hemlock 1.08 0.530

maple, red -1.03 0.189 maple, red 0.27 0.020 maple, red 0.99 0.252

maple, sugar -0.90 0.167 maple, sugar 1.65 0.351 maple, sugar 2.44 0.455

oak, red 1.60 0.276 oak, red 3.51 0.802 oak, red 4.82 0.813

oak, white -1.81 0.176 oak, white 0.47 0.022 oak, white 2.60 0.151

pine, red -0.55 0.031 pine, red 0.30 0.018 pine, red 1.36 0.186

pine, white 0.12 0.006 pine, white 0.96 0.424 pine, white 1.39 0.613

spruce, red 0.51 0.121 spruce, red 0.65 0.128 spruce, red 0.49 0.068

hwd pulp -0.19 0.015 hwd pulp -0.75 0.178 hwd pulp 0.14 0.011

hemlock pulp -0.79 0.051 hemlock pulp 1.18 0.087 hemlock pulp 0.95 0.038

pine pulp -2.06 0.610 pine pulp -1.78 0.620 pine pulp -1.43 0.434

spruce pulp 0.05 0.001 spruce pulp 0.52 0.160 spruce pulp 0.95 0.287

The r" values relate to how well the trend line fit the price series;an r" = 1.000 would be a perfect fit.

Three steps were involved in the calcu-lations. The first step was to convert pricesbased on different log scaling rules toequivalent prices. The saw log prices forReporting Area L have been based on oneofthree log scaling rules (Doyle, Scribner,

year is 1982. All prices were deflated tothis base year. Inflation, as measured bythis index, averaged 2.2% per year duringthe period ofthis study.

The third step was to determine the rateof growth in real price via the exponential

NYFOA· 1·800·836·3566· INFO14 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:2

growth model (P = Ae=bx). This step in-volved calculating the natural log of eachprice in a series, graphing the natural logsof the price series, and fitting a trend lineusing the least squares method. The natu-ral log of the price was graphed on the y-axis, and its corresponding report date wasgraphed on the x-axis. The coefficient ofthis trend line is the rate of growth in realprice for the individual tree species. Sincethe 'Stumpage Report' is published twicea year, the twice- a-year compounded ratewas annualized.

Red oak had the highest returns, with realrates of return of 4.82,3.51, and 1.60 per-cent for high, average (most common), andlow, respectively. Black cherry scored next(4.06,2.67, and -0.15% high to low). Bass-wood came in third place (2.69, 1.81, and0.73% high to low).

All species showed a positive real rateof return for the high reported stumpageprices, except for pine pulp. Rates of re-turn for the high prices ranged from -1.43to 4.82 percent per year.

Most species showed a positive rate ofreturn for the average (most common) re-ported stumpage price. Only hardwoodpulp and pine pulp had a negative real rateof returns. Rates of return for the mostcommon prices of the 16 species rangedfrom -1.78 to 3.51 percent per year.

Most species show negative rates of re-turn for the low reported stumpage price.Only five species, red oak, basswood, redspruce, and white pine, and spruce pulpshowed a positive real rate of return. Ratesof return for the low prices ranged from -2.06 to 1.60 percent per year over the 1973to 1996 time period.

As Davies indicated in his 1991 article,trees grow in three ways: biological growth(volume growth), changes in log grade(grade growth) and in real rate of return(value growth) (Davies, 1991). This re-port looked at the value component of treegrowth. In Essex, Franklin, and ClintonCounties, growing red oak and black cherrywas advantageous during the time period1973 to 1996. Growing basswood, whiteoak, sugar maple, yellow birch, and whiteash yielded a lower rate of return than ei-ther red oak or black cherry, but still re-su Ited in a real rate of return greater than 2

MARiAPR 1998 •

percent per year. Whether growing otherspecies during this time period yielded anadequate real value return is morequestionable. Whether these stumpage pricetrends will continue is, of course, unknown.Currently, the foreign and domestic mar-kets that underly these rates seem strong.So the demand will continue. For the nextdecade or so, I believe that similar rates willoccur, albeit with some up and down years.There may be some rotation in which spe-cies obtains the highest rates of return. Arotation to the lighter, closed-grain woods,such as maple and ash, and away from thedarker, open-grained woods, like oak andcherry is possible.

Literature Cited:Davies, K. 1991. Forest Investment

Considerations for Planning Thinnings andHarvests. North. 1. Appl. For. 8(3): 129-131

Luppold, W.G. and J.E. Baumgras.1995. Price Trends and Relationships forRed Oak and Yellow-Poplar Stumpage,Sawlogs, and Lumber in Ohio: 1975-1993.

orth. 1. Appl. For. 2(3):168-173. .A

800:

7001,

6001

50cJ

40J300~

200!

Deflated Prices, $/mbf

--cherry

- - sugar maple

...........beech

--pulp ,,,,,',I

" II \,I

I

<r=>:'..... ,.....-/\.

77 79 81 83 87 89 91

Farm Credit gives you the choice.

93 95 9685

As an example, the chart, above, shows prices per thousand-board-feet (mbj) for 3 treespecies andfor hardwood pulp. The prices are corrected for inflation with 1982 the baseyear. The pulp prices per thousand-board-feet were derived by multiplying the per cordprices by 1.5 cords per mbf

Jeffrey Prime is a Consultant Forester and member of the Northern Adirondack Chapter, the Newsletter (Winter Edition) of which

contained a part of this article.

Loan orlease?It depends ...

Some say obtaining a loan and buying is the most

cost-effective \\"ay to finance expensive equipment.

Others say leasing equipment is the way to go.

In fact. each financing option has certain advantages

with regard to convenience, flexibility and tax obliga-

tion.To find out which makes most sense for you, talk to

an ag business expert at Farm Credit.

When you do. remember this: Eligible borrowers can

buy or lease through Farm Credit - a choice you

won't find at manv other institutions.

FARM CREDIT

First Pioneer Farm Credit, ACA394 Route 29,Greenwich, NY 12834(800) 234-0269


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other types of wildlife plus your needs fortimber production and/or large-crownedsugar maple that provides you with bril-liant orange fall foliage and abundant sapproduction.

With gardens, we frequently have theopportunity to test the soil for its nutrientlevels, and provide additives like fertilizeror compost to compensate for deficiencies.By amending the soil in gardens, we cangrow plants that would otherwise not sur-vive. We can test forest soils, but due totheir greater extent and the economics ofinvesting in a crop that may be decadesfrom realizing a return, soil amendmentsare less commonly used. Rather, forestersare trained to match tree and shrub specieswith the appropriate soil types. For ex-

This Thing Called Forest Management-Does It Really Differ From Gardening?

By Peter J.Smallidge

NewYork is over 60% forested, andmany of you have noticed thegrowing activity associated with

forestry and forest management. We thinkabout the importance of forestry, for localeconomies and environmental concerns.Many people are interested in forest man-agement, but most may not realize exactlywhat is involved nor how it relates to otherfamilar activities.

For my purposes here, let me character-ize forest management as a process focusedon the care and tending of forest vegeta-tion, water quality, and the associated wild-life communities. This begins by recogniz-ing landowner's objectives, identifyingplans for short- and long-term accomplish-ments, and includes ample consultationwith qualified professionals. This processalso necessitates decision making abouthow to accomplish objectives within the nu-merous constraints of economics, soil suit-ability, and the surrounding forest areas. Assuch, forestry and forest management in-volve many of the same considerations asgardening.

But, as you will see, they also differ.Gardening is truly a rewarding experience.This applies to all types of gardens, fromvegetable gardens to flower gardens andbutterfly gardens. You spend considerabletime during the year thinking about thesteps you must take to establish your gar-den. You think about the crops you want toproduce, how each plant can be arrangedin your garden to allow for it best growthand development, and the fertility of yoursoils. Towards the end of the summer, youstart thinking about the timing of harveststo collect your produce before frost. Attimes, you may also have to deal with otherfactors such as insect pests, weeds, and dis-ease. The planning you complete for yourgarden is, in many respects, similar to for-est management planning.

Forest management is also a truly re-warding experience. Forestry requires you


spend time planning, thinking, and deci-sion making. Like gardens, properly man-aged forests are capable of producing nu-merous benefits - all from the same acre ofground. Efforts to use forests to attain mul-tiple objectives, such as wildlife, waterquality, recreational opportunities, aestheticqualities, soil fertility, and timber produc-tion are known as forest stewardship. His-torically, forests were seen only for theirtimber production value, but this is not con-sistent with our current understanding offorest stewardship.

The activities and rewards you enjoyfrom your forest are numerous, but the firststep requires you recognize your objectives.A professional forester, or a Cornell Coop-erative Extension volunteer such as a Mas-ter Forest Owner, or a NYSDEC ServiceForester, can help you think through yourobjectives. If you want only to enjoy thesolitude of walks through your forest thenyour objectives and planning will differsubstantially from someone who enjoysbird watching, turkey hunting, and revenuefrom an occasional well-planned timberharvest that helps pay property taxes.

Just like garden plots, forest stands, orareas of forest having similar characteris-tics, are capable of producing renewablecrops.

However, different from gardens, forest"crops" can be much more varied, and pro-duce throughout the year (think aboutcross-country skiing in December, maplesyrup in the spring, and the beautiful fallfoliage) when managed with a stewardshipethic. Many of these crops are never reallyharvested or removed, others can be har-vested every year, while some, like timber,may be harvested only infrequently - rang-ing from every few years to several decadesdepending on your management plan.

In gardens, you must plan ahead, arrang-ing your plants to ensure your corn doesnot shade your tomatoes and that your car-rots have sufficient room to expand. Simi-larly, in forests, trees need adequate re-sources to allow for adequate growth. Theway that trees are arranged in your forestpartially determines the type and abun-dance of the crops and benefits you can en-joy. Forests that are thick and crowded maybe suitable for some types of wildlife, whileforests that have been thinned may suit

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ample, oaks may be best suited for droughtysoils, cottonwood on stream banks, sugarmaple and white ash on well-drained fer-tile loams, and Norway spruce on heavy orclay soils that are less well drained. Also,while many gardening "mistakes" can becorrected the following year, "mistakes" inforestry may take decades to correct. Allthe more need to obtain experienced help.

With the fall harvest just past, many ofus have seen or been involved in the har-vesting of numerous crops from our gar-dens (although our tomatoes were not asproductive this year as last). Gardens aretypically harvested on an annual rotation.This cycle is based on the developmentalstages and physiology of garden plants.Similarly with forests, many of us have seeneither the harvesting of a forest or logs ontrucks bound for the mill. Your garden looksquite different following the removal ofyour vegetables, and forests look quite dif-ferent after trees have been removed.

In both gardens and forests, we harvestcrops knowing that we depend on plantsfor food, shelter, and numerous other quali-ties. Think about the quality of our lives ifwe didn't have tomatoes, potatoes, greenpeppers, black cherry, sugar maple, orwhite pine. We can appreciate the harvest-ing of gardens and forests knowing that wewill replace or regenerate them in the nextgrowing season. For forests, the changesfollowing harvests will also benefit an en-tirely new suite of wildlife species notfound in mature forests. Just as our gardens,our forests can be harvested and regener-ated to produce the future crops and ben-efits we desire.

I hope I have provided some insights intothe process of forest management. Forestmanagement is similar in many respects togardening, but because of the size of for-ests and the duration we manage them, ourstrategies are different. Forests are a won-derful renewable resource, some need tobe preserved but others need to be skill-fully managed so we can all enjoy theirmany benefits. Please feel free to contactyour local Cornell Cooperative Extensionoffice, NYS-DEC office, or professionalconsulting forester if you would like moreinformation on forest management. .6.

Peter 1. Smallidge is the State ExtensionForesterfor the Department of Natural Re-sources, College of Agriculture and LifeSciences, Cornell University. This articleis available from Cornell Cooperative NewsService (the series, Forests For Tomorrow.)


WRESTLING WITH PLOUTOSBy Henry S. Kernan

Those acquainted with mythologywill recognize in the above title notPluto, the grim, stern Lord of the

Underworld, but the mischievous guardianand promoter of wealth, represented as achild for the whimsical caprice with whichhe distributes his favors.

His is clearly the tutelar presence at aconference to gather in Hagerstown, Mary-land, this coming April 5-7. The subject willbe opportunities for income from privateforestland ownership. The purpose will beto inform owners of the opportunities andthereby become more zealous and profi-cient in their pursuit. Forestland owners areencouraged to attend as well as those who,through extension services and othermeans, deliver the message of fuller andmore rewarding use of forest land.

Those who choose to attend need be inno doubt as to what the conference offersfor time, travel and the registration fee of$95. The target area for inclusion is thenortheast including the Virginias and Ohio,but not New England. The roster of speak-ers and subjects tells what the sponsors ofthe conference believe to be most useful inthe search for profit and who are most adeptto deliver the message of opportunity. Ofthe 39 speakers, 26 are employees of fed-eral; and state governments. Four are own-ers of forest-based businesses. One speakerwill be from industry, one-a tree farmer,and several experts will talk about estateplanning, insurance, taxes, legal entangle-ments, liability and the like. New York willhave five speakers, with a consulting for-ester chosen for the topic of land manage-ment.

As befits the title and purpose of the con-ference, the leading topic of discourse willbe ways to make money from forest land.Growing and selling timber are one, butmore attention will go to recreation andforest products other than wood. Foresteconomics has long recognized that stand-ing timber is a residual value with smallpower to bargain. For example, a nearbymarket sells packaged firewood for $480per cord, of which the seller of the primarymaterial may have received eight dollars.

Maple syrup is another example of thedeft and nimble sell. A mail-order enter-prise in Vermont puts the product in an el-egant box and bottle "gift-wrapped" pack-age, labels it "Fanciest Private Reserve InLimited Supply", and takes in dollars at the

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rate of$276 per gallon, while my neighbordown the road receives $32 for the sameamount of the same product. Both payabout $3 for the sap.

Such entrepreneurial dexterity willclearly and correctly set the tone of the con-ference in Hagerstown, appealing, as itdoes, to the zest of competition and chanceamong the servitors of Ploutos. Severalhundred will gather to hear the proceed-ings, and several; thousand will read thepublication to follow.

Some of them may find Ploutos too se-vere and opt for Comus instead, the Greekgod of woodland revelry, whose lightertouch may draw even larger crowds andmany more readers, together, at anotherconference some day to come.

For information, call the WashingtonCounty Extension Office in Hagerstown.Phone number 301-791-1304. .6.

Henry Kernan is a consulting forester inWorld Forestry, a Master Forest OwnerVolunteer and a regular contributor to theNY FOREST OWNER.

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"willfully" or "maliciously;"2.) The injured party was conduct-

ing a "listed activity;" and3.) The landowner receives no

compensation from the person using herland.

Since Dinnie Sloman discussed thistopic in the January/February 1997 issueof The New York Forest Owner (page II),we direct your attention to his detailed dis-cussion.

The second strategy to limit liability isto purchase liability insurance. It is impor-tant to understand that even if §9-1 03 ofth~ General Obligation Law applies, a land-owner still should own liability insurancebecause a liability policy generally includesa clause requiring the insurance companyto defend a landowner in the event of a law-suit. This means that the insurancecompany's attorney (not the landowner'sattorney) defends the landowner at no ad-ditional cost.

Limiting Landowner Liability Through InsuranceRobert W. Malmsheimer & Donald W.Floyd

Few aspects of owning forestlandworry an owner more than thethought of being sued by someone

injured on their land. Yet a landowner caneasily and inexpensively limit her finan-cial exposure by purchasing liability insur-ance. After describing circumstances un-der which forestland owners may be liablefor injuries sustained on their property, thisarticle discusses strategies for reducinglandowners' liability.

Landowner LiabilityBefore delving into methods of limiting

liability, we need to spend a few momentsdiscussing why a landowner may be liableto someone injured on her property. In NewYork State a property owner must use rea-sonable care to keep her property in a rea-sonably safe condition. This means anowner has a non-delegatable duty to pre-vent the infliction of reasonably anticipatedinjuries. The injured party must prove thelandowner breached this legal duty by fail-ing to make a dangerous condition on theproperty safe, or by failing to warn the in-jured party of the dangerous condition onthe property that caused the injury. Courtsdetermine the extent of a landowner's dutyby examining two factors:

1.) the likelihood of the danger-ous condition on the property causing in-jury to .another; and

2.) the foreseeability of aplaintiffs presence on property.

Forestland owners should be aware thatNew York courts have consistently heldthat "posting" your property does not re-duce the likelihood of an injury occurringor eliminate the foreseeability of aplaintiffs presence on the property, There-fore "posting" does not decrease alandowner's responsibilities or potentialliability.

Notice how nebulous words such as"duty," "reasonable," and "foreseeable"dominate this discussion. This is by design;


it allows the courts to examine the facts anddetermine liability on an individual basis.Obviously, such a system promotes litigiousresolutions to injured parties' claims forcompensation since there are few hard andfast rules about when a landowner will beliable.

An ExampleA hypothetical example can illustrate li-

ability rules. Assume a landowner owns for-estlands containing a small stream that runsin a deep gully. A small bridge that she builtfifteen years ago traverses this stream. Onher last walk through the woods she noticedtwo things. First, the bridge is desperatelyin need of repair. Second, although she poststhe land, deer hunters are regularly usingher forestlands. Based on these facts, let usanswer two questions. First, could a hunterinjured by the bridge collapsing hold thelandowner liable? Second, what should thelandowner do to reduce this liability?

Depending on the circumstances, thelandowner could be liable for the hunter'sinjuries, since she is aware of the problemswith the bridge and the hunters. Notice that"posting" the property does not release herfrom liability because she has knowledgeof the hunters' presence. Therefore it is fore-seeable that hunters will continue to use theproperty. Given this, there are two strate-gies by which she could reduce her liabil-ity. She could make the dangerous condi-tion safe, by fixing or removing the bridge.Alternatively, she could warn the hunters(and anyone else) about the dangerous con-dition, by erecting signs or other noticeswarning of the dangerous condition. Obvi-ously, the first option would be preferableand provide more protection from liability.

But before all forestland owners in NewYork race out to their lands and start tear-ing down all their bridges, they should calltheir attorneys and speak to them about theconditions that are on their properties. Onlytheir attorneys, properly appraised of theindividual conditions of their properties, canproperly advise owners of forestlands onways to limit their liability.

Methods of Limiting LiabilityLandowners can use various methods to

limit liability. First, a landowner can man-age her land to qualify under §9-1 03 of theNew York State General Obligation law,which prevents a successful lawsuit if:

1.) The landowner has not acted

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Liability Insurance PitfallsWhile liability insurance will limit land-

owner liability, landowners should avoidtwo potential pitfalls: insufficient coverageand assuming that the liability provisionsof an existing homeowner's insurancepolicy cover forestlands. The first of thesepitfalls affects all landowners, while thelatter is of special concern to owners offorestlands.

Directing our discussion to the first pit-fall, it is imperative that landowners havesufficient liability coverage. What is suffi-cient? We cannot answer that question. Itis the old problem of the cart before thehorse, for it is only in the aftermath of alawsuit that the landowner learns how muchcoverage is necessary. If the landowner isfound liable by a court of law for moremoney than the amount of her liability cov-erage, she will be responsible for the ex-cess. The lesson here is to have more thanenough coverage. Fortunately, increasingcoverage is relatively inexpensive.

Liability coverage can be increasedby purchasing an Umbrella Liabil-ity Policy. These policies supple-

ment existing insurance policies; they pro-vide an additional one million dollars ofcoverage on top of the regular liability cov-erage. Fortunately, an Umbrella policy usu-ally costs only a few hundred dollars peryear (in addition to your regular insurancepremiums) for a one-million dollar policy,

MARiAPR 1998 •

. .

which is usually more than enough cover-age for most landowners.

Forestland owners must be especiallycareful to avoid the second pitfall, andshould not assume that the liability provi-sions of an existing homeowner's insurancepolicy cover their forestlands. A landownershould check with her insurance agent toconfirm that her policy covers all of herlands. This might seem like an incidentalpoint, but depending on when and how thelandowner purchased the forestlands, herhomeowner's policy may cover only theproperty on which her home is located. Infact, there are probably hundreds, if notthousands, of New York forestland own-ers with this problem. Fortunately, sometelltale signs can identify this situation. Themost prevalent are when:

1.) the forestlands are on a differ-ent tax bill than the landowner's home;

2.) the forestlands are not adjacentto the landowners home; or

3.) the forestlands were purchasedprior to or after the landowner purchasedher home.

Of course, a landowner can always ar-range with her insurance agent/companyfor her liability policy to cover all her for-estlands. However, forestland owners mustbe proactive in these situations since insur-ance agents rarely know the full extent oftheir client's land holdings.

ConclusionWe can boil this discussion down to an oldadage: an ounce of prevention is worth apound of cure. Landowners heeding thisadvice should do three things. First, con-tact your local Come IICooperative Exten-sion Office. They offer several informativebrochures discussing landowner liability,including "Recreational Access and OwnerLiability." Second, inspect your propertyfor dangerous conditions, and then contactyour attomey to discuss your potential li-ability for injuries that might result fromthem. Third, call your insurance agent toconfirm that your liability policy providesenough coverage and covers all your for-estlands. By following these three steps, aforestland owner can reduce her potentialliability for injuries occurring on her lands.

£.

Robert W. Malmsheimer is an attorney andPh.D. Candidate, and Donald W Floyd is

an Associate Professor in the Faculty ofForestry at the SUNY College of Environ-mental Science and Forestry.


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And When You Die •••?•

By Irene Szabo

Those tiny spruce trees you and yourhusband planted in rows on the westhillside forty years ago, the ones that

make a dark quiet place for a walk now, orthat woodlot you culled and fiddled withand noodled over for years, the one yougot the DEC forester to walk with you backin the sixties for some sage advice and isnow such a handsome maple woods with awhite oak topknot what happens there af-ter you're gone? All the special trees you'veplanted along the mowed lane to your fa-vorite patch of oak woods (the one youshould but just can't harvest), the odditiesyou've bought from nursery catalogs justto have one, or the memory trees you'veplanted on special occasions with your kidsthat border the entrance to that otherwoodlot you whimsically call Myrtle Beechbecause that's what grows there what hap-pens THERE after you're gone?

Or suppose you have four kids - a com-puter nerd who Iikes Silicon Valley (it hap-pens in the best of families), a real estatewizard whose husband stays home with herkids in suburban Atlanta, a single teacherin the nearest village, and one,just one, whoturned out a lot like you, who wants toputter in the woods and take care of theplaces you love together. Or, perhapsharder yet, suppose you have no heirs? Orthe one you've got has a bulldozer for aheart and can see no further than the hous-ing development that could be built hereonce the damn trees are all sold.

Every fanner and forest owner who livespast the age of thirty-five starts having theseinevitable worries. What will become of theplaces we have worked so hard to improveto their potential, into parcels of significantenough size that they will continue withwise management to yield both useful prod-ucts and an enjoyable place for humans andwildlife alike?

Landowners who want their vision fortheir favorite places to have an impact pastthe end of their lives are turning to severalsources for advice on protection of the qual-ity of their bequests, on methods of avoid-ing splitting each property into multipleslivers, thereby often damning them all tobiological uselessness. Conservation ease-ments, as they are usually called, attachconditions to a deed that remain unchangedforever, no matter who owns a property orits remnants centuries from now.


For example, dozens of rural propertiesin the Finger Lakes region of central NYhave been protected by means of easementswritten up with the help ofthe Finger LakesLand Trust, enabling owners to dictate thenature of that property forever. Individu-ally desired goals, such as sustainable for-estry or perhaps no tree harvesting at all,or more often, limits on the number of fu-ture buildings permitted on the total prop-erty in any potential mix of its future divi-sions are among the possible conditionswhich can be written into an easement.

These conditions are then recorded withthe deed at the county clerk's office, andthe easement is listed as being "granted"to a qualified holder of the easement. Inthe case of the Finger Lakes Land Trust,with which I am most familiar, the not-for-profit incorporated group is expected there-after to monitor and defend the terms ofyour easement forever. Volunteer localstewards are assigned to keep an eye onproperties to be sure there is no unwar-ranted building, bulldozing, forbiddenfarming practices, or other violations ofyour desired protections. Special postedsigns are often used to mark the propertylines and inform neighbors of the easementgrantors' intentions. Stewards also watchfor future ownership changes to be certainthat new people adhere to the conditions inthe easement.

The costs and effort required of a landtrust in order to monitor conservation ease-ments are not minimal. For example, withinonly a few years of accepting one easement,the Finger Lakes Land Trust took a loggerto court after timbering trespass was dis-covered when the logger crossed the postedborder into protected woods. In this casethe owners certainly could have sued fortheft whether or not they had granted aneasement, but the land trust joined the suitas an interested party. Not only was thelandowner helped by the land trust's pres-ence and lawyer, but the land trust addedto its own local stature by defending pub-licly the concept of an inviolable easement.

Perhaps the logger thought a bunchof tree huggers wouldn't dare standup to him or even catch on to his

skulduggery. Contrary to that mistaken im-pression, the Finger Lakes Land Trust, forinstance, was founded by a forester, MikeDeMunn, and Carl Leopold, Cornell bi-

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ology professor and son of Aldo Leopold(author of A Sand County Almanac), andthe current Board of the Land Trust in-cludes Joel Fiske, a consulting forester whoadvertises in this magazine. In fact, mostland trusts are committed to fostering wiseand sustainable land use practices that pre-serve open space in areas at least poten-tially threatened by overdevelopment.

Aican be seen from the timber trespass example above, long termtewardship of easement properties

cannot be performed entirely by volunteers.In fact, a wise land trust needs to have asizeable stash set aside to pay legal costsshould a future owner ever challenge theterms of a conservation easement, just be-cause Joe Entrepreneur decides that hisdream of a convenience store and gas sta-tion at Bumptussle Corners outweighs thewishes of Ma and Pa Forest Owner wayback in the dim 1990's. [In a moment ofgrim forecasting, let us imagine that inter-section in 2120, with housing develop-ments and a Wal-Mart in three out of fourdirections, and one 1OO-acre woods of oldgrowth forest in the fourth, currently ownedby ayoung family who live in the one housethere and supplement their income by sell-ing firewood to the housing tract dwellerswho hunger for that cozy rural warmth ofa wood fire on winter nights.]

In other words, because the currentowner who wishes to have his or her plansfor a property carried out into the future isasking a land trust or similar organizationto take care of that task, the group that holdsthe easement usually asks an owner for acontribution to the stewardship fund of atleast several thousand dollars. At first itseems odd to ask for money in addition towhat amounts to a contribution to theneighborhood's open space and wildlife

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habitat preservation, but the hard reality re-mains that an owner is also asking a bunchof dedicated preservationists, mostly vol-unteer, to take heed of the owner's wishesin perpetuity.

A landowner often wonders if there isany financial benefit in the present forgranting a conservation easement-yes,there can be income tax benefits for dona-tion of a conservation easement, but thelocal assessor might not reduce the prop-erty taxes just because one has given upsome of the resale value (in some buyers'eyes). Only in a few isolated areas, such asSuffolk County on Long Island, has incred-ible building pressure caused municipali-ties to embrace the idea of rewarding land-owners who give up development rights.There, in fact, the county will purchasefarmers' development rights, becoming ineffect the holder of conservation easements.

The Finger Lakes Land Trust has localchapters, and some of their specific projectshave dovetailed beautifully with NYFOAchapter members' own dreams. For in-stance, two smaller Finger Lakes, Hemlockand Canadice, remain deliciously undevel-oped, primarily because the City of Roch-ester owns enough of the adjacent wooded

hillsides to protect critical City watersources. The local Land Trust chapter aimsto protect the private properties which re-main undeveloped between the protectedCity forest lands by means of educatinglocal citizens about the ecological value oftheir country properties. They have hostedan enjoyable and successful series of Talksand Treks featuring a variety of wildlife andwoodland experts who have shared theirknowledge through both indoor presenta-tions and outdoor walks. Several membersofNYFOA's Western Finger Lakes chap-ter are among the HemlockiCanadice arealandowners who are contemplating conser-vation easements to protect their proper-ties from the pricey developments that haveencircled most of the other lakes andtheirVIews.

NYFOA members who have shared anyof the above concerns about the future oftheir land should contact an area land trustfor advice on different ways to protect theplace even after we are gone. The groupI'm a member of, the Finger Lakes LandTrust is centered in Ithaca and covers a widearea embracing all the Finger Lakes, butother similar organizations abut our"edges" in all directions. In fact, there are

groups with parallel goals all over NewYork, many of whose names end in LandTrust or Land Conservancy. For a completelist of organizations which could help inyour neighborhood, contact the Land TrustAlliance of New York at PO Box 792,Saratoga Springs 12866, 518-587-0774.

Chances are excellent that such an orga-nization exists in your region consideringthe likes of Tug Hill Tomorrow, Adiron-dack Land TrustlNature Conservancy, Sce-nic Hudson, Beaverkill Conservancy,Chenango Land Trust, Genesee Land Trust,Open Space Institute, Save the County (On-ondaga), to name just a very few of thechoices. The American Farmland Truststate office is at 511 Broadway, SaratogaSprings NY 12866,518-581-0078 ..

Furthermore, since all of these not-for-profit groups are operating on the good-ness of volunteers' hearts and checkbooksand are mostly membership organizations,consider joining your local land conserva-tion group that is committed to preservingthe best of what's left. ..•.

Irene Szabo is a member of the WesternFinger Lakes Chapter of NYFOA and amember of the Board of Directors of theFinger Lakes Land Trust; 202 East CourtSt., Ithaca, NY 14850; 6071275-9487.

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By Jane Sorensen Lord, PhO, OTR, NO

"Man, that does it!" I thought. The sec-ond day of deer hunting season the deerate my seven year old mother rueplant....from two feet high down to lessthan a foot. And trimmed my spikyScotch broom into a neat dome.

I went indoors straight to my desk,pulled out my calculator andcrunched some numbers.Deer had destroyed $2500worth of medicinal plants, notcounting the years, hours andminutes of my labor.

I called Dick Rommel, ourDEC forester who gave me theextension of the wildlife divi-sion. I learned It is against thelaw to issue destruction per-mits during the hunting sea-son, which between bow, rifleand muzzle season was al-most a month away. Well, Ireckoned, the deer can't eatmuch more now-they ate it already-and maybe we'll get a few from hunt-ing.

Using Henry Kernan's method of ex-changing deer meat for hunting privi-leges (NYFO 35:5, 15) we hoped we'd

. cut down the Lord Tree Farm flank ofthe herb eater army.

Ron Langevin, OTR is our desig-nated hunter for bow and rifle season.Like me, he is an occupational thera-pist. But before he was an OT he re-tired form the New York City PoliceDepartment. I figured he was both hu-mane and good with weapons. Hewould shoot to kill. Not just shoot liketoo many of the weekend hunters in thisarea do. We'veseen the sad examplesfrom this trigger happy group--fawnsshot in the belly who ran far into ourproperty before they fell in pain anddied, beheaded carcasses left to rotback in the woods. We wanted no partof that.

The first time he came up from LongIsland, we showed Ron the well troddeer paths that lead to my gardens. Wewalked him up to the water shed pondwhere the deer drink back up in thewoods.

Then we left him and crossed our fin-gers.


She lay dead facing the mountain,shot through the shoulders, both legsbroken.

She fell almost instantly, he said, anddied later before he got to her to makesure.

Sleek, well fed (tell me), her hide wasbeautiful. No signs of deer ticksaround her eyes or leg pits (Thedeer taken in Harriman alwayswere covered with ticks). Shewas bigger than the Harrimandeer, too.

I held the light. With his smallknife he cut swiftly through theskin. After pulling back the hidehe cut neatly through the bellymuscle layer exposing,"What?", he asked, looking upat me. "The peritoneum", I an-

•.... .....11- swered instantly, mind flashingback to the class in humananatomy at Tufts thirty years

ago.He cut further, "And here is the linia

alba, see." He probed it with his knifetip, looked up and grinned. Yes, he isdefinitely an Occupational Therapist.And, yes, we definitely made a goodchoice of hunters! ..•.

BYE-BYE, Bf{f\BIHe walked out at the end of the first

day, head high, his huge brown eyesluminous.

"I stood up from the pine cover toshoot a 6 point buck. But I got so ex-cited, the arrow fell off its rest! I duckeddown again and when I stood to take

aim, he had moved just out of range. Ididn't want to risk wounding him andhave him run into the dark bleeding.God, your woods are so beautiful!"

And, I thought, we've chosen the rightman.

The next day he saw seven doe frol-icking across a low rise. They stayedjust out of range. But they were incred-ible and beautiful to watch, he assured.

The first day he was up in gun sea-son, he heard snorts and rattles, butdidn't see any.

The second day, was beautiful,sunny, clear, fresh, not too windy. Allday long shots rang in the backgroundthrough bordering properties. We heardnothing near. Twilight was beginning toshow along the ridge of theSchawangunks across the valley. Gee,we hope Ron is okay.

A boom rang up our hill behind thebarn. And dark came on with its moun-tain swiftness ...

A few minutes later, Ron was at thehouse.

"I got the lead doe on the way to yourgarden! I'm getting a lamp so I candress her out." This time his eyesflashed with adrenaline excitement. Icould even see a mild tremble in hishands. I threw on my jacket and fol-lowed him to hold the lantern.

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Dr. Jane practices Holistic Coaching.She is a Tree Farmer and MFO.Tree Eaters: Stories of Herbs, Forestsand Well-Being, a collection of 31 of herarticles, is $17. 95ppd. Call Debbie Gillat 1-800-836-3566.

Joel FiskeProfessional Consultant Forester

Woodla~a;~vent9ry- & Appraisal,;Maiiagem~ri~:J~lans

{')VoodJand TaxanoflR~creation Development

." ,rJ'imber Sales ',.

3216"'QpuRty R~])te#Watkins"6f~f.\";1 91

607-535-7813

Professional Member SAFNY Cooperating Consultant ForesterMember NY Forest Owners Assoc.

MARIAPR 1998 •

The MarketplaceATTENTION small woodlot owners/part time loggers - For FARMI winchesand VALBY chippers, write Hewitt's Hill Haven, Locke, NY 13092 or call (315)497 -1266 (Before 8AM or after 6PM).

MEADOWVIEW NURSERY: QUALITY FIELD GROWN SEEDLINGSAND TRANSPLANTS for reforestation and establishing wildlife habitat.SPECIALIZING IN NUT TREE & WETLAND VARIETIES. P.O. Box 241,Byron, NY 14422 (716) 548-2207 FAX (716) 548-9014.

FOR SALE: 170 acres Allegany County; 80 acres pine and hardwoods; deer,turkey, grouse; call Henry Hansen, evenings (716) 334-3569; Good project forinterested woodsman.

GINSENG!!Did you know that by thinning your hardwood stands you could be cre-ating the perfect environment for growing GINSENG? Start your own GINSENGgarden with our PREMIUM SEED & QUALITY WOODSGROWN ROOTS. SOILANAL YSIS & FARM CONSUL TA TION SERVICES AVAILABLE. SVLV AN BO-TANICALS AMERICAN GINSENG P.O. BOX 91, COOPERSTOWN, NY. 13326.Phone: 607-264-8455. Email: <[email protected]>

FOUNTAINFORESTRY

ADVERTISINGRATES

2'71 County Road#9Chenango Forks.NY13746

Per Insert:

Display: $210 - perfull page or 30 col. in.;$7 per col. in.

Marketplace: $10minimum for 25 wordsor less, 10c each ad-ditional word.

Contact: R.J. Fox, EditorRD 3, Box 88,Moravia, NY13118Fax/Phone:

(315) 497-1078

Circulation 1800.

E-Mai,:[email protected](607) 648-5512

ROY D. HOPI<EConsuJtingForester

Timber AppraisalTimber Sa,esForestry Rea, Estate Sales

Stewardship PlansForestry 480-A P,ansMapping Services

Buying or Seiling Timbertenas? CaIJ me!

HIGHEFFICIENCY.Il>nllr---",--

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With, Clean,Safe, Efficient

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Hewitt's Hill HavenRD 1 Box 323;Locke, NY 13092

Phone 315/497-1266

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Quality Managementof Land & Timber

(518) 359-3089

• Timber Sale Administration

• Timber Sale Marking

• Forest Management Plans

• 480a Management Plans

• Wildlife Habitat Management

• Timber Appraisals

• Expert Testimony

• SAF Certified Foresters

FOUNTAIN FORESTRY, INC.21 Cliff Ave., P.O. Box 1002

Tupper Lake, NY 12986

Please visit our Web site forcomplete information:

www.tiac.neUusersffountforlindex.htm

E-Mail: [email protected]

• NY FOREST OWNER 36:2 MARJAPR 1998 • 23

mailto:E-Mai,:[email protected]

http://www.tiac.neUusersffountforlindex.htm


R.J. Fox, EditorRD#3, Box 88Moravia, NY 13118Fax/Phone (315) [email protected]

NOTICETHE FOREST OWNER is mailed

third class and will not be forwarded;notify Administrative Secretary DebbieGill, PO Box 180, Fairport 14450 or call1/800/836/3566 with a change in ad-dress!

FOUNDED 1963

Custom and Stock Signsfor the Forest Industry

-Vo~Signs~Dept. NYF, Box 553

Manlius, NY 13104-0553Ph. (315) 682~418 or 682-7332

Fax: (315) 682-7335Send for Catalog and Free Samples

Tree Seedlingsfor Conservation PlantingTo Order, Call:(518) 587·1120

• Spruce •Pine ' • Fir• Wildlife Shrubs

New YorkStateDepartment of Environmental Conservation ~~~~~~~I:j

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• Appraisal & Conservation Services

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO MARfAPR 1998 •

Lan d Ve st The Next Level of ServiceA company of experienced professionals dedicated to providing consulting and

marketing services to owners of forest land. Our Timberland,Consulting & Marketing Divisions specialize in:

Adirondack Office64 Park Street, PO Box 873,

Tupper Lake, NY 12986;(518) 359-2385

• Timberland Management

• Forest Land Marketing & Sales

• Real Estate Asset Planning

• Land Use PlanningOTHER LOCATIONSBoston,MA • Albany, VT • Concord, NH

Portland and Jackman, ME


Non-ProfitOrg.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMoravia, N.Y.

13118Permit No. 21

CORRECTIONNew Meeting Date

NYFOA Spring Meeting to beheld May 2, 1998 at Marshall

Hall, SUNY-ESF, Syracuse noton April 21

WOODLOTCALENDAR

MAR3: CAY; 7PM; Timber Theft; SWCDNat Res Ctr; Auburn; 315/497-1078.

MAR 10: SOT; Jointw/BCCTGA Potluck& Wetlands; Binghamton;607/656-8504.

MAR 19: CNY; 6:30PM: Potluck Dinner.

MAR 21: NFC; 7:30AM-3:45PM; FOWkshop; Ed. Ctr, Lockport; 716/652-2857.

MAR21: CNY;Woodswalk;315/255-3662

MAR 23-24: NY For. Roundtable; DEC& SUNY-ESF: Syracuse; 315/470-6891.

MAR 28: CDC; 7:30AM-3:45PM; For.Owner Wkshop;Rotterdam;518/239-6768

MAR 28: THRIFT; 7PM; Chile Nat. Re-sources; Dick Mark; 315/623-9476

APR 5-7: Nat. Res. Income Ops. Conf.;Hagerstown, MD; 301-791-1304.

MA Y 2: NYFOA SPRING MEETING;Marshall Hall, SUNY-ESF.

SEPT 12: AFC; NYFOA FALL MEET-ING; Western NY.


the new york forest owner - volume 36 number 2

Documents

ny forest owner

central new york

forest management

forest ownera publication

robert sand

bob sand

peter smallidge

betty densmore