The New York

FORESTOWNER

-1998STORMS

-FORESTTRAILS

A publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

NovemberlDecember 1998

Volume 36 Number 6

-NYFOA'SFALL

MEETING

THE NEW YORKFOREST OWNERS

ASSOCIATIONVOL. 36, NO.6

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Jill Cornell, President

703 Johnsonville Rd.

Johnsonville, NY 12094; 518/753-4336

Ronald Pedersen, Vice President

22 Vandenburg Lane,Latham, NY 12110; 5181785-6061

Robert M. Sand, Recording Secretary

300 Church StreetOdessa, NY 14869-9703; 607/594-2130

Don Wagner, Treasurer

5330 Graham Road,

Utica, NY 13502; 3151733-7391

Deborah Gill, Administrative Secretary

P.O. Box 180

Fairport, NY 14450; 716/377-6060

1999Harry Dieter, Honeoye Falls, 716/533-2085

Thomas Ellison, Manlius, 315/682-9376Richard Fox, Moravia; 315/497-1078

David Swanson, Mount Morris, 7161658-4601

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

John Hastings, Queensbury; 5181798-0248Ronald Pedersen; Latham; 5181785-6061

Betty Wagner; Utica; 3151733-7391

2001

Jill Cornell, Johnsonville, 5181753-4336

Nick Polee, Remsen, 315/831-5301Dave Swaciak. Franklinville, 716/676-2349

Robert Sykes, Elbridge, 315/673-3691

CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVESDave W. Swaciak, Allegheny Foothills; 716/676-2349

Stephen Davison, Cayuga; 315/496-2392

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

Tom Graber, Central New York; 315/255-3662

Gene McCardle, Lower Hudson; 914/945-0504David Daut, Northern Adirondack; 518/359-3089

Rita Hammond, Niagara Frontier; 716/652-2857James Durller, SE Adirondack; 518/747-5958

Larry Lepak, Southern Tier; 607/656-8504

Don Schaufler, Tioga; 607/589-6095

Jack Hamilton, Western Finger Lakes; 7161728·5769

All rights reserved. Contents may not. be reproduced with-

out prior written permission from the publisher. NYFOA

does not necessarily support or approve procedures, prod-uctS, or opinions presented by authors or advertisers.

The New York Woodland Stewards,Inc. (NYWS) is a 501(c)3 foundationof NYFOA and the tax deductable do-nations thereto will advance NYFOA'seducational mission.

COVER:Top, Grapple skidder removing red pine

from a clear cut. Bottom, Tree Delimberoperating at a concentration site prior tothe next site' where trees are cut to finalspecs and loaded.

2 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

Editorial Committee: Mary McCarty, Chair.,Steve Davison, Betty Densmore, Alan Knight,and Bob Sand,

Materials submitted for publication should be addressed to: R.J. Fox, Editor, R.D. 3, Box88, Moravia, New York 13118. Articles, artwork and photos are invited and are normallyreturned after use. The deadline for submission for JanlFeb is December 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.

NYFOA'S 1998 FALL MEETING

Mark Keister, NYS DEe Sr. Forester provides some details and background to one ofthe sites of the self-guided tour of State Demonstration Forest. See page 18.

Table Of Contents

President's Message Jill Cornell 3Forest Trails Peter Levatich 4A Little Xtra "TLC" For New York Forests Peter 1. Smallidge 7Adventures in Clearcutting -The Natural Way Rolf Wentorf 8Eastern White Pine Robert Hellman 10Feeding Deer Dick Henry 11LETTERS 12Forest Land Tax Survey 13ASK A FORESTER Steve Davison 14Tax Free Exchanges David Colligan 15Turn In Poachers and Polluters-The TIPP Program Tim Noga 16My Wake Up Call About Tree Farmers Rod Jones 17NYFOA's Fall Meeting 18NY Storms and State Forests Mark Levanway 19The Cryptic World of Leaf Miners Douglas C. Allen 20Plants and NYFOA's Fall Meeting Jane Sorensen Lord 22

NYFOA - 1·800·836·3566 - INFO NOVIDEC 1998

President's MessageBy Jill Cornell

any thanks to the memberswho have sent me their taxinformation for the Forest

Tax Survey which was printed in theSept/Oct issue of this magazine. Weneed everyone to send in information.This is a wonderful opportunity todocument the differences in tax assess-ments across the state, and to provideinformation to support the need forchanges in the way our woodlots areassessed. taxed and "viewed".

The information I receive from youis sent to Alan White, manager of theWatershed Forestry Program, and aleader in the Coalition to Amend theForest Tax Program (480a). He is com-piling and analyzing the data.

I do recommend that you make aXerox copy (see pg. 13) to fill out, soyou can save the magazine from cutouts.

Our Family Forest Fair '98 was agreat success October 3 and 4 at theWashington County Fairgrounds.(More on that elswhere in this [pg. 12]and/or future issues.)

Thanks also to the 600+ memberswho took the time to complete thelengthy questionnaire on facts aboutyour woodlot. The returns representabout a third of our family members,and that is considered a high return.Special thanks to Helen Marchant forthe endless hours of entering the datainto a NYFOA database. Now that theFair is over, I hope to look at the data

and will soon report on the collectiveinformation.

At its June meeting, the NYFOABoard of Directors passed a "Resolu-tion to urge the Governor and Legisla-tors ofNYS to support funding to en-able provision of the equivalent of onePrivate Service Forester for eachCounty in the State, to work on educa-tional outreach to private owners inconcert with private consulting forest-ers, industrial foresters, other publicand private foresters, and loggers, toensure the sustainability of New York'sfinest natural resource".

On October 7, 1998 1 will invite theNYS Forest Practice Board to endorsethe resolution and to join NYFOA inpresenting it to the Governor and Leg-islators. On October 8th the New YorkTree Farm Program will also be invitedto join us. Members of the Coalitionworking to amend the forest tax pro-gram will also be invited to "sign on".(Copies of the full resolution are avail-able from Debbie Gill, Executive Sec-retary of NYFOA, 800-836-3566). Iexpect that it will be a difficult "sell"to the legislature, especially the Assem-bly. However, if we don't ask for it, itwill never happen. The more groupswith us the better our chances will be.NY's 500,000 private forest ownersneed to speak up for our 14 millionacres of forest land.

Please be thinking about nominationsfrom your region for positions on theNYFOA Board of Directors. and foranyone you feel should be consideredfor special award recognition. Call yourChapter Chair with your candidates.They will be presented to the Nomi-nating and Award Committees in Janu-ary, 1999.

Finally, I want to wish all of you avery joyous holiday season filled withall of the many wood products that con-tribute to the traditions and festivitiesofthe holidays. 4.

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Jill Cornell acting maternally at the Fam-ily Forest Fair. Photo by Jack Hamilton

--- .•"u'----Book Review:

IMAGESBy Dorothy S. Darling

Readers of the NY FOREST OWNERare familiar with the 26 poems publishedsince January 1994 that were generouslycontributed by Dorothy Darling. A few ofthose works and many others, a total of37poems in all, are now available as a collec-tion bound withpaperin a booklet of 50 pages.

Our readers who have enjoyed Mrs.Darling's work will have similar thoughtsand sentiments when they encounter herpoetry offered in this collection which isentitled, IMAGES. Dorothy Darling has akeen appreciation for nature and the manyemotions which human sensory percep-tions evoke.

However, her appreciation for nature andthe skill she uses to recreate sympathy forour own experiences in nature is not theonly arena for her poems. IMAGES has atouch ofIreland, spiritual awe and remem-brances of our youth that persist as morethan pleasant recall. It may very well bethe more personal and spiritual poems ofthis collection which will be a surprise anddessert for Dorothy's readers.

AND, at $5.00 and $1.00 for shippingand handling, it is a real bargain. Pleasemail your check and request to:

Dorothy Darling; PO Box 294; Odessa,NY 14869. -R. Fox

NOVIDEC 1989· 3

FOREST TRAILSBy Peter S. Levatich, ©1998

1Jf brooks and creeks are the veins ofyour wood lot, then forest trails arethe arteries. Or, more appropriately,

trails are like the xylem and phloem underthe bark of your trees where all good things

CUT ~L.Ope

est and develops a much more intimate re-lationship with them.

Larger trails are the social corridorsthough the forest. Perhaps just passablewith a farm tractor, most have been old log-

worked for me. Our soil is the imperviousclay stuff with stones in it so prevalent inthe Southern Tier. The stones have brokensurfaces, they are not rounded pebbles. Myadvice below, therefore, may not apply in

flow hither and yon. Consider the constantmovement on your forest trails. Wildlifeof all sorts readily uses man made trails toget from here to there. They prefer themfor ease of movement and good visibility.Surface water enjoys running on trails aslong as the running is downhill. Forestproducts from berries to saw logs travel out-ward on the trails. Human traffic is the mostvaried: forest workers, playing children,hikers, bikers, hunters and fishermen, herb-alists, bird watchers, skiers and just plainloafers (the best kind) move at variousspeeds and times. If trails were not there,the woods would be a lonely place. Iftherewere no trails, life in the forest would bemuch harder.

Trails come in all sizes and kinds. Themost fun are the narrow ones often calledpaths. Sometimes evolved from deer trails,they are just wide enough to let us by singlefile and they tend to meander around. Wedo not see far and therefore focus on theimmediate surrounding where we see thebeautiful tiny things: insects, rodents, rep-tiles, leaves all around us, small birds nearby. Sometimes close encounters with largerwildlife occur. Here one feels more as anequal to these other inhabitants of the for-

Scranton's Choose and Cut(Also wholesale)

CHRISTMAS TREE FARMLocated on Rt. 58, 3 mi. east of Fowler

(St. Lawrence Co.) turn on RussellTurnpike, note signs.

Open Dec. 5, 6 & 12,13 & 19, 20B. Fir, W. Spruce & Sc. Pine; 1-20'

For More Info., phone or write:SCRANTON'S NATURAL PRODUCTS

Delhi, NY 13753315-287-1628

4 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

Sketch I

ging trails. They are still narrow, but youcan walk side by side, and talk and discuss,disagree even, although you seldom do.These are the group trails where we learnfrom and teach each other. There is elbowroom for skiing and biking. The vistas arelonger and more productive for bird watch-ing, wildflower sighting, hunting and pho-tography.

Lastly, are the largest forest trails. Wecall them roads. They come in all sizes,from the paved access roads in public parksto the unpaved work roads of the privateforests. It is the latter which most of us havein our wood lots. These roads are laid outfor a purpose: to take a car to the cabin inthe woods, to haul equipment to where wework and to take the products out. Theseroads don't just happen but are planned,laid out, constructed. They need most ofour attention, because we have to maintainthem to keep them functional. We need torepair the wear and tear and do what it takesto prevent water erosion from occurring.While this is serious business, good forestroads have many delights in addition totheir utility. They carry you quickly to thevarying parts of the forest, they providecomfortable access over long distances, andan easy overview.

Unfortunately, all roses have their thorns.The potential for erosion of the forest trailsis the devil in all of this. Fortunately, ero-sion only occurs in the forest where the soilis disturbed. The undisturbed forest landcan take the surface water; it has done itfor ages. No erosion of any significance willoccur even if you clear cut the forest. Buteven a worn bicycle trail will start erodingand it gets worse from there. I have beenstruggling with erosion of roads in my for-est and would like to tell you what has

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

every detail, if your soil is well drainedloam, or sand, or gravel. But most of myadvice will still be useful to you.

EROSIONRemember that erosion is caused by wa-

ter in motion. It occurs in the puddles onyour road when your tire goes throughthem. The front tire chums the puddle andmakes it muddy, the rear tire then slops themuddy water out. The mud in that water issoil which is now out of the hole: erosion.Wheel traffic makes puddles deeper by re-moving soil suspended in the water thatslops out. After a while the hole in yourroad will get deep enough for your car toget stuck. You need to fix that hole longbefore this happens.

Water in motion is the rain which fallson your road. Some of it comes to a haltwhen it fills the holes in the road. There itwaits for your tires to give it new life. Someof the rain starts running downhill on theroad surface. As it moves, it loosens thesoil. As it gains volume (from continuingrain, or the merging of more running waterfrom elsewhere) it will loosen stones androcks making the erosion worse and worse.So you have to design something to divertthe running water from the road surface andas quickly as possible. See Sketch I

If your road is level, your only defenseis to shape the road so the water runs off tothe sides. This is called crowning the road.The water then fills the side ditch and bysloping the ditch bottom, water is inducedto run in the ditch along the road to a pointwhere it is convenient to let it escape ontoundisturbed ground. There the forest litterand ground vegetation will take this waterwithout erosion, Why? Because this groundsurface has not been disturbed like the road

NOVfDEC 1998

-~ - ---

VIEW J

-< - - ~ - - ~(}rz...FAce WATen.,

culverts under the road to the side wherethe land slopes away from the road, andthe moving water is thus diverted. Theseroads may not have crowns, because theywear off first. If the road does not have sideditches, it may have water bars instead. Ifit does not have them either, you probablywill get your car all muddy and stuck. Ifso, you can get on your cell phone and callAAA. But on your forest roads AAA willnot help much. So you have to maintainyour own roads. This can be fun if you areattentive and avoid long periods of neglect.You should maintain your roads not onlyfor your own comfort and economy but alsobecause you are the steward of your land,the temporary custodian of the soil and for-est values. No privileges exist without cor-responding duties, and avoiding erosion is

. .F1Ul M AD::IO I,., 1tVC;

oJ..J '" -I ~ .J.

- D/7C.H

-

"'~NOVIDEC 1989' 5

surface has been by traffic. Aha! This leadsto another possibility: why not make theroad surface itself undisturbed? This canbe done and nature does it if given enoughtime: Grass growing on road surfaces willprevent erosion. You can seed your roadand grass will grow if it has enough sun-light. However, if traffic resumes grass willquickly deteriorate and then you cannotdepend on it anymore. See Sketch 2.

If your road slopes in the direction oftravel, the crowning will only suffice on a"gentle" slope. How gentle? Depends onthe quantities of traffic and water. Thereare no set formulas because your soil willvary sufficiently by the acre. You have tocrown and see what happens. If you noticeerosion, or the road slopes "considerably",you need to stop the water running in the

-~.''..t ./

C.Ut...Ve:Tl.-r .I'~

'/ rI I,,'of /, ,

NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

Sketch 2

road, such as in wheel tracks, by water bars.These are small ditches or swales; acrossthe road sloped so that the water catches inthem (as in the gutters of your roof) and iscarried off to the side. See Sketch 3.

Water in motion from adjoining slopingland can reach your road and flow on it.This can be a great problem. To prevent itfrom occurring, you need a ditch along theroad to intercept this invading water. Theditch, like a roof gutter, will take water to apoint where it can to be transferred to thedown slope side of the road through a pipe,a culvert.

It will help you to study public dirt roadsto see how they are made to work-, or, whythey fail to work. Look at their drainagesystem. They will have side ditches, mostlikely. These side ditches are "relieved" by

Sketch 3

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

- --- ---

Sketch 4.

one of your duties.

NEW ROADSNew roads should be laid out with water

flow control solutions in mind. I have foundthat new roads on gentle to moderate slopeare easiest to make erosion resistant. Flatland is the most troublesome, because it ishard to get water off the road effectively.Side ditches here often have to be led todeep dug holes where an average rainfallwater amount can be accommodated untilit seeps away. In any case, I recommendhiring a backhoe to remove stumps from anew road way first. Next, side ditchesshould be dug With the backhoe and theexcavated material used to fill the stumpholes, raise the roadbed, and construct agood crown. This top filling will need tosettle and has to be regraded from time to

Customand Stock Signs

for theForest Industry

on Aluminum and Plastic

VossSigns

Dept. NYF, Box 553

Manlius, N.Y. 13104

Ph. (315) 682-6418Send for Catalog

and Free Samples

Family Owned & Operatedjor over 30 years

6 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

.-t-- co IV , I A.J0 ou-s I .s LO PEn:7

e-O"TTO"" t>\TCH

time until it stabilizes (usually one year). Iuse the back blade on my tractor to regrade.The clay dries out in the first summer andturns almost to concrete hardness on myhills. Therefore, I had not needed to placestone surfacing on my roads as long as Ikeep away from them during snow meltwhen the top of the surface gets a little"greasy". You have to observe your ownprevalent conditions and decide if you needa hard surface to satisfy your road needs.Buy crushed stone if you can because thesharp edges of the particles make this sur-face more stable that the round stones ofbank run gravel. Such a road is simple andeconomical to construct. The excavatedditch material becomes the firm road bed.It is elevated and crowned. My principalaccess road constructed this way withoutstone surfacing has served for 23 years

FOUNTAINFORESTRY

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.neUusers/fountforlindex.htm

E-Mail: ffidjd@northnet.org

NYFOA • 1·800·836·3566 . INFO

without trouble. See Sketch 4.Finally, if third parties such as harvest-

ing contractors use your forest road, makesure your consulting forester writes intotheir contract how erosion will be con-trolled and in what condition your forestroad will be left at the end of the work. Bevery detailed about this.

Trails: arteries offorest work, recreation,stewardship and enjoyment! If you treatthem well, trails of all kinds will serve you

faithfully and for a long time. A

Peter, 1997 Tree Farmer of the Year and1998 Heiberg Awardee, is a regular con-tributor to the NY FOREST OWNER.Acollection of Peter's writings in the FOR·EST OWNER may be ordered from DebbieGill, 800-836·3566.

Bruce E.Robinson,

Inc.FORESTRY

CONSULTANTS

,

• FOREST PRODUCT MARKING

& MARKETING

• TREE FARM MANAGEMENT

• URBAN FORESTRY &__ _ COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT

-- • TIMBER APPRAISALS• ACCESS ROAD DESIGN

& SUPERVISION

• TREE PLANTING

• TREE SHELTER DISTRIBUTOR

• SUGAR BUSH MANAGEMENT

• BOUNDARY MAINTENANCE

• CHRlSTMAS TREE MANAGEMENT

• FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANNING

• FOREST RECREATION PLANNING

• WOODLOT IMPROVEMENTS IN

IMMATURE STANDS

• WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

• FOREST TAXATION PLANNING

(716) 665-54771894 CAMP ST. EXT.

JAMESTOWN, NY 14701

NOVIDEC 1998

A Little Extra "TLC" For New York ForestsBy Peter J. Smallidge

uring the last few years, NewYork forest owners have gaineda new option in their desire for

sustainable forest production and ruralcommunities have gained from increasedprofessionalism. What is this new option?A group of loggers who voluntarily devel-oped and participated in the New YorkLogger Training, Inc., Trained Logger Cer-tification (TLC) program.

Loggers who complete TLC, over 100so far, are committed to keeping their skillshoned and increasing their knowledgeabout logging productivity and forest eco-systems. Loggers are also making a com-mitment to continuing education, as theprogram requires continuous training tomaintain certification. As a result, theseloggers are better able to meet the stew-ardship needs of forest owners. Tradition-ally, New York loggers have received onthe job training through their employers orco-workers. While this traditional approachhas been sufficient for some training needs,several loggers from across the state felt aneed to recognize efforts for increased lev-els of professionalism. These loggers knewfirst hand the hazards of working in thewoods, the need to work efficiently, andthe need to be environmentally aware ofthe forest resource we all use. They recog-nized the potential to educate themselvesand others through a statewide effort.

The logger training effort began in 1989with a group of timber harvesters con-cerned with the need to provide a formal-ized training and recognition programwhich would make limited training re-sources go further. In 1994, New York Log-ger Training was incorporated to coordi-nate the delivery of educational resourcesto timber harvesters that will improve theirtechnical skills, and will foster the imple-mentation of environmentally sound har-vesting practices. The goal of this trainingand certification program is increased pro-ductivity for loggers, increased use of bestmanagement practices (BMPs), and a saferworking environment. Together, goalsshould lead to increased profits for loggersand forest owners while increasing thequality and value of forested lands.

The TLC program includes three corecomponents which are: Standard AdultFirst Aid and CPR; Environmental Con-cerns; and Chain Saw Operation, Safety,and Productivity. Each component is a oneday session and forms the basis ofthe ini-tial certification. New York is divided into

NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

five area, each with a regional chair andcommittee organized to arrange local edu-cational programs. The continuing educa-tion part of Trained Logger Certificationrequires loggers to maintain their first aidand CPR certification as well as take addi-tional approved courses during a five yearperiod on a variety of topics, such as smallbusiness management, sustainable forestry,or advanced chain saw safety. TLC loggers,rapidly growing in numbers, represent an-other group of resource professionals thatforest owners should seek when consider-ing a timber sale.

Of the core components, EnvironmentalConcerns has the greatest direct impact onforest owners and our forest resources. Thiscomponent addresses the managementpractices that are necessary and appropri-ate to ensure the continued productivity andvigor of forests and how the componentsof forest ecosystems interact. The Environ-mental Concerns component covers a largenumber of topics that help loggers under-stand why foresters make certain decisions.Loggers better understand, for example, thesilvicultural marking guides used to deter-mine which trees should be cut during apreliminary (versus a final) harvest to en-sure the long-term growth, regeneration,and health of the forest. After completingthis component, loggers have improvedknowledge of how forest managementpractices help maintain water quality andlogging aesthetics and why different prac-tices are used in different situations.

The Chain Saw Operation, Safety, andProductivity component provides a "hands-on" session that covers the relationship be-tween safety and productivity. Specific top-ics addressed in this component includesafety protection precautions and equip-ment, chain saw maintenance, safe chainsaw operations, and several tree fellingtechniques. Currently, accredited work-shops are offered by trained and certifiedprofessional logging instructors who them-selves have a rigorous training and certifi-cation program to complete. The ChainSaw Operation, Safety, and Productivitycomponent benefits forest owners as wellas loggers. This safety training has reducedthe insurance costs for companies and log-ging supervisors, reduced damage to thetrees left standing after logging because ofincreased skill in felling trees, and providesland owners with fewer concerns about thesafety of those working in their woods.

The Standard Adult First Aid and CPR

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

component is provided through the Ameri-can Red Cross or other local providers, andalso meets the first aid requirements of theOccupational Safety and Health Adminis-tration (OSHA). Numerous topics are cov-ered, including Good Samaritan Laws,anatomy, cardiac arrest, strains and sprains,transport of injured people, shock, bums,and over a dozen other first aid situations.

The TLC program is gathering momen-tum among loggers throughout New York.In addition to the 100 plus loggers whohave completed initial certification, 164have completed two of the three compo-nents, and another 1000 loggers are cur-rently participating in the training program.Many loggers have expressed their appre-ciation for the program. For example, aftera recent Forest Ecology and Silvicultureworkshop (which covers the Environmen-tal Concerns component standards) held inWarren County, participants reported ahigh level of usefulness of topics such asthe importance of aesthetics, skills for in-teracting with the public, and an improvedunderstanding of the ecology of forestedwetlands and watersheds. Sessions in War-ren County have drawn loggers from manyparts of the Adirondacks, from those whorecently joined the ranks of loggers to log-gers who have been working in the woodsfor over four decades.

The TLC program is valuable in that itprovides benefits to loggers, forest own-ers, and the rural communities that includeNew York's forests. The strength of theprogram is that it is a cooperative effort onthe part of timber harvesters, forest indus-try, government, and academia. For moreinformation about New York Logger Train-ing, Inc. and the Trained Logger Certifica-tion Program, contact Muriel D. Karp, Di-rector of Communications at the EmpireState Forest Products Association (phone518-463-1297, ext. 3). Forest owners in-terested in forestry education programsshould contact their county office of Cor-nell Cooperative Extension. If you wouldlike more information on timber harvest-ing practices, contact your county associa-tion of Cornell Cooperative Extension andrequest "A Guide to Logging Aesthetics:Practical Tips for Loggers, Foresters andLandowners" (publ. no. 123NRAES60) for$6.00 or look for it on the web at:www.cce.comel!.edulpublications/natural-resources.html J!..This article and others by Dr. Smallidge areavailable from Cornell Cooperative NewsService (the series, Forests For Tomorrow.)

NovmEC 1989 • 7

ADVENTURES IN CLEARCUTTINGBy RolfWentorf -THE NATURAL WAY

5131198: "This is a dangerous situation-take cover now!"

mhe weather radio's imperativeseemed out of place for whatseemed to be just another dark

line of thunderstorms finishing off a hotand humid afternoon. Soon pink lighten-ing flashed every few seconds from all di-rections, the rain became a white bluragainst a.dark grey background, and thewind and thunder merged with the howl-ing under the eves as ifthe house itself wasgoing to take off. Incrementally, prudenceand fear overtook curiosity and pushed usdown the basement stairs, but after a fewminutes, the storm tapered off to a lightshower, and we ventured outside. Lots ofleaves and twigs lay everywhere, but therewas hardly any major damage around thehouse.

"You're OK!", exclaimed our neighborsfrom the other end of the quartermile-longdriveway as they arrived on foot throughthe woods, and told us we wouldn't be get-ting out for a day or two. It seemed likeeveryone was an alarmist. OK, we thought,let's take a look. We started down the roadthrough our woodlot towards Route 67, firstencountering a large branch that had fallenacross the road and which, together, wecould pull out of the way. Next, we cameacross a tree that had come down acrossthe road; we figured that one should takejust a few minutes to clear away with thechain saw. A few steps more led us to amangled chunk of vented soffit; it was oddin that it wasn't the right color for ourhouse. The road tunneled though a talldense stand of white pines that we had"TSI'd" a year ago, and as we continued,we saw a big hole in the canopy off to thewest. Well, one has to expect some windthrow after thinning.

The road reached the edge of a plateauand ... SKY, lots of sky, with clouds,patches of sunlight, and a long view of an-other neighbor's house (minus some sid-ing) that we never knew existed. Below us,the forest lay horizontal. I had a strangefeeling of knowing exactly where I was,yet at the same time, nothing looked fa-miliar. "See what I mean?" our neighborsaid. It took us over half an hour to traversethe last few hundred feet through the en-tangled limbs that lay across the road.

8 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

On Route 67 ... mass confusion. Alongthe highway, power poles were snapped offor blown over, and the whole top of one

Tractorlwinchlforwarder at work.

tree was precariously upside down on topof the power lines 20-30 feet above ground.Yet cars still raced down the highway to agrowing queue in front of large cotton-woods covering both lanes and thensome ... where did they think they weregoing? A man and who could have been

The whole removal process, how-ever, has been slowed by the needto think through the safe and effi-cient order of operations.

his son pulled in, jumped out, and begansawing the nearest black locust topieces.Idori't think they had any idea ofwhat was ahead of them; they had no safetygear on, another thunderstorm was alreadyoverhead, and it was getting dark. "We'reOK", we told them. "The houses areOK ... other people must be worse off." Sothey left and I hoped they weren't offended.

It took four of us over a day to re-open

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

the road.Since then, a forester estimated that ap-

proximately 90% ofthe five acres were to-tally destroyed, and another five acre par-cel was damaged. Abrupt changes in eleva-tion on the property may have protectedthe areas near the embankment along theHoosick River, and to a lesser extent alongthe railroad track berm. This change in el-evation delineated the boundary betweenthe flattened area and that which was lessheavily damaged. Viewed from above, theorientation of the stems form stream linepatterns pointing from North to East alongthe 300-foot swath. In some cases, thereare two layers of stems, the first layer point-ing North, and the top layer pointing East.Much of the affected area had been thinnedtwo years earlier to improve the quality ofthe timber trees, and, ironically, many ofthe least-damaged trees were the fewgirdled hardwoods; they apparently hadless leaf area to collect the wind. The re-maining trees were either broken off 10 to30 feet above ground, or were tipped overcompletely. The majority of those snappedoff were the pioneering white pines of thisformerly abandoned farmland, and hadbeen "weeviled" while still young. A halfcentury later, each of these major branches,being one to two feet in diameter, had beentom off and carried horizontally up to 30feet before reaching the ground or beingpushed into the neighboring tree. In the lat-ter case, a "domino effect" piled the accu-mulated debris and broke the stream linepattern. Usually, a large-diameter singlestem, such as black cherry, lay at the bot-tom of the pile, tipped over and still at-tached to its root ball. More open areas ofelm, ash, and maple saplings were bent overhorizontally, but actually began to recovertheir original shape after a few months. Thedebris of damaged, up-wind homes wasscattered throughout.

After the road was cleared, I built a land-ing across the highway to temporarily storethe salvaged logs, as well as provide ac-cess for trucking. The private forester andthe NYS DEe foresters both were con-cerned with blue stain and borers attack-ing the white pine over the warm summermonths, so white pine became the salvagepriority, then quaking aspen ("popple"),

NOVIDEC 1989

and finally cherry, ash, and oak hard-woods. Next, I cut trails through the centerand around the perimeter of the blowdownarea, avoiding the piles and hardwood logswhenever possible. Using a farm tractorwith a winch and a forwarder trailer knownas a Metavicl", I extracted the sound logsfrom the debris, then accumulated them andcarried them over the rough trails to theproperty entrance, under the railroad un-derpass and down to the landing. To date,all of these salvaged logs have been shippedto a plywood mill.

The debris piles, inter-tangled "leaners"and "whip poles" were initially releasedwith a "power pruner," or a chainsaw withthe bar remotely mounted on a pole. Thewhole removal process, however, has beenslowed by the need to think through thesafe and efficient order of operations, notto mention the relatively low ratio of sal-vageable lumber to woody debris, the hotand humid weather, and the abrasive cut-ting conditions. The latter is caused in partby plastered building material-such as fi-berglass insulation-and windblown sandplastered into the bark, and also by the fre-quent need to cut into stems which havebeen pressed into the sandy loam. Carbideinjected chains, which typically have lastedfrom three to seven fuelings, often requirere-sharpening twice per tank in these con-ditions.

Despite the devastation our property tookin the storm, however, by the beginning of

September, natural regeneration has al-ready begun. Between the slash and wild-flowers, new aspen sprouts, ash, maple,oak, cherry, black birch, and white pineseedlings are emerging. Dragon flies oftenhitch a ride on the tractor, bees work overthe flower patches, and hairy woodpeck-ers examine the standing trunks. Most ofthe cherry trees left standing have beenpartially defoliated by fall webworm cat-erpillars.

If conditions permit, we can considerplanting extra stock this spring; the blackwalnuts we planted a few years earlier sur-vived despite being topped off by the storm.Deer have already been seen in the clear-

ing so we will need to protect the younggrowth, perhaps by re-arranging the re-maining downed limbs over it.

However, having deer in the new treegrowth is a very minor problem, comparedto the very real and serious problems wecould have faced-yet narrowly avoided-

on the last day of May 1998. Ii

Rolf Wentorf is a member of the CapitalDistrict Chapter and webmaster ofNYFOA 's webpage. This article with morephotos appears on the internet at: http://www.rpi.edu/-wentor/tornado.htmIFormore May Tornado damage pictures onState Forests, see page 19.

Home, ShopBarn

Domestic WaterPool

GreenhouseEtc.

With, Clean,Safe, Efficient

Hot Water

Works With AnyExisting Heating

System

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

Phone 315/497-1266

LANDOWNERSMaples, Cherry & Red Oak are in strong demand, if you are interested in

selling some of your standing Timber consider ...• Each tree to be sold is marked according to YOUR specifications.• We send noticesto reputable log producers & exporters• Sealed bid opening determines the highest bidder• Payment is made in advance to any harvest operation• All harvest operations are supervised by our foresters• We retain a security deposit until owner is completely satisfied.• Guaranteed to net YOU the highest price for your timber.

'

Write or Call For A Free PamphletRobert Synowiez - Professional Forestry Consultants

_l<l'P:" ? timbs~land'\.\\:.:;~. J 117 W. Beecher Hill Rd., Owego, NY 13827

.~ 607/687-0460

NY FOREST OWNER 36:6 NYFOA . 1·800-836-3566 - INFO NOVIDEC 1989 • 9

EASTERN WHITE PINEcharacteristic of a mature white pine for-est. Some specialized wildflowers, such aspink moccasin, rattlesnake orchid, andwood lily can be found there, though theyare by no means abundant.

In due course some tree species highlytolerant of shade and able to survive thechemical properties of pine needle duff,such as hemlock, sugar maple, and beech,make their appearance, especially in occa-sional openings, where a veteran pine hasgrown old and fallen. Gradually, inexora-bly, the pine forest will give way to thenorthern hardwoods-hemlock mixture thatprevails in many of the forests of NewYork, especially in the Adirondacks,Catskills, and parts of the southern tier.Because white pines often live to great agethese hardwoods-hemlock forests oftencontain scattered giant century-old pinestowering above the forest canopy, remind-ers of some earlier time when pines ruled

eme~ an ornamental for landscaping,

eastern white pine has some finequalities. It grows fairly fast, fills

out well, and has a soft bluish color and

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

fine textured foli-age. It is the onlyevergreen, I know,that has fall foliagecolor. The needleslive through twogrowing seasons.At the end of thesecond season theneedles turn yellowbefore falling. Thisfeature has ledsome people to askme if there wassomething wrongwith their trees. Itis, in fact, perfectlynormal and givesthe tree an interest-ing and attractivebicolor appearance.For a country homea small mixed standof white pine andred maple, with an

understory of common witch-hazel,makes a brilliant autumn display.However, blister rust fungus andwhite pine weevil may be problemsin some areas. For best performancewhite pine likes a well drained site,ample sunlight, and a moderatelycoarse soil, such as sandy loam.

Silviculturally, the species is besttreated as shade-intolerant, even though itcan grow in moderate shade. It respondswell, even vigorously, to thinning and re-lease cuttings. White pine survives well inreforestation plantings, competing wellagainst grasses and even goldenrods. It ishighly vulnerable to "buck-rubbing", as theresinous bark is attractive to deer in rut be-cause of its fragrance. Where deer are aproblem, it is best not to prune off the lowerbranches until the trunk is too large to fitbetween the tines of a deer's antlers. Thiswill not stop the buck-rubbing, but willprovide sufficient interference to preventgirdling in most cases. Even with a fewstrips of bark and cambium the tree willrecover, and in a few years the damage willbe barely noticeable. Better yet, eat veni-

son. ~

By Robert A. Hellmann

aving grown up in the white pinecountry of eastern Massachusettsand southeastern New Hamp-

, ave always had a special affinityfor eastern white pine (Pinus strobusL.) Although rarely seen now, in co-lonial times trees of 150 feet werenot unusual, and even larger onescould be found. Such trees, tall andstraight with clear boles, were soughtby the Royal Navy for shipmasts.Agents of the king combed the for-ests of eastern New England andelsewhere for these highly prizedspecimens and blazed them with aspecial mark known as the "broadarrow", thus reserving them for HisMajesty's ships. Severe penaltieswere brought down upon thosecaught pilfering or otherwise molest-ing those trees.

Eastern white pine is an importantcomponent of the mixed northernhardwoods-hemlock forests over fri-able soils of moderate to high sandcontent. Though the species willgrow in some finer-textured soils,such as silt loams, it does not repro-duce well there, and therefore is spo-radic at best overthe lacustrine soilsof the Ontario lakeplain and someother areas ofwestern NewYork.

In the succes-sional sequencewhite pine is gen-erally preceded bybirch, cherry, andaspen. Thesefast-growing treeswith sparse shadeserve as "mother-ing trees" forseedling whitepines. In favorablelocations white pine may come to form ex-tensive pure stands, often of uniform ageclass, as the short-lived pioneer trees dieoff. A dense shade and accumulation ofneedle duff rich in organic acids and terpe-nes inhibit the growth of tree seedlings,even those of the pines themselves. As aresult a clear park-like forest floor is often

10' NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

Robert Hellman is Professor Emeritus atSUNY Brockport and a strong supporterandformer Director ofNYFOA.

NOVIDEC 1989

Feeding DeerBy DICK HENRY

hould you provide food to wilddeer during severe winter condi-tions? Maybe. But doing it the

right way may involve a considerable com-mitment oftime, energy and even money.And you probably can count on the deermunching not just your shrubs but those ofyour neighbors.

The general rule about all wildlife is thatif you love them, leave them alone. But ifyou insist on feeding wild deer, there aresome important things you should know.

In a sincere effort to be compassionatetoward wild deer, people very often domore harm than good. It's easy to do itwrong and reap results that are the oppo-site of what you intended. Unless you havea basic understanding of deer biology andphysiology you could kill them with kind-ness.

Like cows, deer are ruminants that havefour-chambered stomachs. Unlike humans,they do not have strong digestive juices,but instead rely upon bacteria andone-celled microscopic organisms to breakdown the food matter so that it can be ab-sorbed by the body.

In the winter, the concentration of organ-isms is tuned to digest a deer's natural foodduring this season - primanly buds, twigtips and other woody browse. Introducinganother food type (such as com or foragepellets) requires a different concentrationof stomach organisms so that complete di-gestion can occur. It may take up to threeweeks for the deer's stomach culture tochange. During the transition period, deerwill eat the new food but receive very littlenutrition.

On a broad scale, little is gained fromattempting to feed large numbers of deerthrough the winter. Artificially maintaininglarger numbers of deer than the naturalrange normally can support only sets up thedeer population for a bigger crash at a latertime. Additionally, the growing populationwill only further worsen the dwindlingnatural food supply.

It is important to begin any artificial feed-ing effort before deer become stressed bysevere weather conditions rather than afterthose conditions occur. Artificial feedingneeds to be continued almost until spring"green-up."

Furthermore, individuals must makecommitments to an on going feeding op-

NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

eration rather than a one-time "quick fix "Horse pellets, sweet feed and com offer areasonable mixture of potential energy andprotein supplements. However, there willbe a period of time before full nutritionalbenefit is realized from the artificially pro-vided food.

YesorNo?Snow depth, cold temperatures and wind

all combine to drain energy from a deer onits natural range. If deer are already stressedfrom the rigors of winter, it is far better toprovide natural food in a form of browse.

Cutting natural browse such as stripedmaple, red maple, dogwood, apple andwitch hobble provide food which is readilydigestible by the deer. Additionally, sproutgrowth from stumps will offer an additionalnatural food source in subsequent years.

Feeding programs also can affect othersin the area. Feeding should not be con-ducted in a location that will concentratedeer near a highway and create a safetyproblem. Anyone feeding deer must be pre-pared for heavy browse damage to nativeand ornamental vegetation in the vicinityof the feedling site. What consequenceswill this have on your neighbors?-

Many things need to be considered anda strong commitment made b~fore some-one starts a deer feeding effort. Costs, intime and supplies, can be considerable.

Doing it "right" requires dedication andproper planning. Doing it "wrong" is easier;however, it can have great negative impactson deer.

For further information: contact the DEC

wildlife office nearest you. f,~

For Engineers &Mathematicians

Only

Dilbert's Salary LawEngineers and scientists will nevermake as much money as business ex-ecutives.Now we have mathematical proof thatexplains why this is true:

Postulate 1:Postulate 2:

Knowledge is Power.Time is Money.

Dick Henry is a deer biologist with theHudson Valley and Catskills Regional OJ-fice a/the NYS DEe.From the JanlFeb issue a/the N. rs. CON-SER VATION COUNCIL COMMENTS

As every engineer knows,

Work---- = Power

Time

Since Knowledge = Power, and Time= Money, we have:

Work--- = Knowledge

Money

Solving for Money we get:

Work----=Money

Knowledge

Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero,Money approaches infinity regardless ofthe Work done.

Conclusion: The less you Know, theMore you Make.

-From the Internet

• Timberland Management

LandVest 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:

• Forest Land Marketing & Sales

• Real Estate Asset Planning

• Land Use Planning

• Appraisal & Conservation Services

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO NOVIDEC 1989 • 11

Adirondack Office64 Park Street, PO Box 873,

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

OTHER LOCATIONSBoston,MA • Albany, VT • Concord, NH

Portland and lackman, ME

LETTERSHELP

My family owns considerable acreage ofundeveloped Adirondack forest land. Overthe years, school and property taxes havebecome an increasingly burdensome ex-pense.

I am seriously considering placing theland into the State's Real Property Tax LawSection 480a plan. Can you suggest previ-ous issues of your publication which con-tain articles helpful in making a decisionor getting started with the plan? Perhapsthis would be an appropriate question foryour column-Ask A Forester. Your re-sponse is greatly appreciated.

-Gary Brown, Liverpool

Weforwarded 8 articles beginning in J 99 1.There are an additional J J earlier ar-ticles. -Editor

FREE WHEELINGThought I would send you one of my fa-

vorite stanzas from a poem by StephenCrane.

A man said to the universe:"Sir, I exist!""However," replied the universe,"The fact has not created in meA sense of obligation."

-wayne oakes, Santa Fe, NM

--~.II"I----Overheard in Albany

What's the difference between atenured professor and a terrorist?

You can negotiate with a terrorist!

Nolan's'Sporting Supplies

Outdoor Equipment Specialist

37 ·47 Genesee StreetAuburn, NY 13021

315/252-7249

12 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

Early Report onFamily Forest Fair '98By Jill Cornell, Committee Chair

The Fair Committee considers the Octo-ber 3rd and 4th event a great success! TheDirector of the Fairgrounds estimated be-tween 5000 and 6000 people attended. Theweather was wonderful. There were over100 exhibitors and vendors who were alsopleased. The two food concessions sold outof some selections both days, and the sup-plies for the Children's Magical Forest hadto be completely restocked for the secondday. The Special Events were extremelywell attended; John Adler's talk and dem-onstration attracted over 200 people. BillBrown's Rattlesnake talk pulled in 100.Melodee James and Wayne Trimm's liveHawks and Owls Program easily reachedover 200. Eric Marczak's flute playing wasenjoyed by everyone, and the E S FOldTime Logging Techniques entertainedmany people, as did the Sunday Profes-sional Lumberjack and Lumberjill Compe-tition.

Almost $10,000 was raised to producethe Fair. Of that amount $3000 was spenton advertising with two area radio stations.Free TV spots, radio talk shows and overhalf a dozen feature articles in major news-papers, plus numerous articles and calen-dar listings were secured. Mary Binder,Publicity Chairman made over 500 phonecalls in one month.

It is too early to know the exact amount,but it looks as though the Fair will haveraised over $3500 to be used for future for-estry educational programs.

The tireless efforts and ingenuity ofDECState foresters: Ron Cadieux and JohnHastings along with the 20 volunteers fromagencies, industry and landowners are allto be commended.

However, beyond the financial successand the countless hours of volunteer timegiven, the Fair again proved that coop-eration and communication between thevarious branches of the forest family isnot only possible, but highly successfuland productive for all.

Continuation of the Family Forest Fairis of utmost importance to New York State.The message to the public about the ben-efits of forest management to clean air,clean water, erosion control, enhancedwildlife habitat, recreation and timber pro-duction must be available. It provides animportant counterpoint to preservation at-

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

titudes. The Committee recommends thatit be produced in other areas ofNYS, andwill be happy to meet with any interestedgroups. All kinds of "tips"; sample letters,forms, and contact names will be provided.--~.""I_---

Historic Forest UseIn Central Europe

By Jane Geisler, LHC MemberThis was the subject of an interesting

seminar I attended at the Institute of Eco-systems Studies in Millbrook. Dr. GerhardGlatzel from the Institute of Forest Ecol-ogy in Vienna, Austria gave this talk illus-trated by Nineteenth Century pictures.

In the early 19th Century, canals and tun-nels were constructed to get logs to theDanube River. Left-over branches weregathered by the poor people and charcoalwas the fuel for the wealthy. Elaborate lawswere passed in an attempt to control con-sumption of the forests for fear of runningout of trees.

In an early 1842 textbook JohannHundeshagen suggested: ask the trees howthey like to be treated. He also started earlyexperiments. His book listed products ofthe forest:

• Bark for tanning, fibers and dyes

• Sap for tar and pitch

• Fruit for seeds, fodder, drinks and oil

• Grasses and sedges for furniture, pas-ture and hunting

• Peat, stone and clay

• Ash for glass, soap and potash

Branches of living trees were even har-vested, resulting in deformed trees."Buchenstreunutzung" (litter gathering)was a labor intensive activity. With hugedouble rakes the forest litter was gatheredand used for compost. But, in the foreststripped of litter, eroded areas andnitrogen-depleted soils resulted. Aristoc-racy kept some areas for private huntingpreserves, thereby causing over-populationof game which impacted the forest. Therewere methods of using the forest for agri-culture. Burning, spreading the ashes,planting oats for 3 years and then spruceseeds.

With the use of chemical fertilizers andgenetic improvements occurring, the old sys-tems of litter-raking and harvesting copsesended. This look at early forest activities be-fore gas, oil and chemical fertilizers showedhow intensively the land was used.

NOVIDEC 1989

Forest Land Property Tax SurveyFor the past6 months NYFOA has participated in a Forest Property Tax Coalition to develop legislative initiatives to address thegrowing taxation threat facing forest landowners. In support of this coalition, NYFOA is presently gathering statewide information onthe taxes paid per acre on undeveloped forest land. We have been unable to gather this information through the NYS Real PropertyTax Office and we are turning to the membership for assistance. Please take time to fill out the survey information below.Please provide the following for any undeveloped forested parcels. The information can be found on your more recent school &property tax bills. Please submit only the information from parcels that are forested and have no buildings.

Parcel Participation in County # Acres Full Taxable School Town &

480 or 480-a Value Value Tax County Tax

A

B

C

D

To maintain confidentiality, please do 110t include your name or address.Return to: Jill Cornell; NYFOA; 703 Johnsonville Road; Johnsonville, NY 12094

First Pioneer Farm Credit, ACA

Think of Farm Credit when ...

Maximize Tree Health& Protection 2 Ways

1. TREE PRO Tree Protectors Stop Die-back and Protect Trees from:

• Deer Brouse and Rub• Rabbits and Rodents• Wind and Drought• Mowers• Chemical Sprays

2.MycorTree Mycorrhizal RootDip Enhances Growth and Improves:

• Stem and Root Growth• Survial Rate• Disease Resistance• Drought Tolerance

Buying a home • Buying a farm• Buying the neighboring woodlot• Estate planning • IRS alternate valuations• Writing payrolls • Family transfers• reviewing assessments • Leasing equipment• preparing your taxes- selling timber

Forestry consulting & AppraisalsRick Percoco, NY State Certified Appraiser #46-15788

DEC Cooperating Consulting Forester.

6~~~

Your first choice for financial solutions.394 Route 29, Greenwich, NY 12834

1-(800) 234-0269/ rick.percoco@/irstpioneer.com

For more information & sample call:

TREE PRO at 800-875-80713180 W. 250 N. W. Lafayette, IN 47906

www.nlci.com/treepro

NY FOREST, OWNER 36:6 NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO xowoec 1989 • 13

ASK A FORESTERBy Steve Davison

I have a problem with a plant onmy property that is spreading. I

an't seem to get rid of it. I'vebeen told that it is bamboo. It has nice whiteflowers in late August.

Japanese bamboo is a nonnativeplant that is also called Japaneseknotweed, Mexican bamboo,

false bamboo and Japanese fleece flower.It is a member of the buckwheat family withthe scientific name of Polygonumcuspidatum (Sieb. & Zucc.). We will dis-cuss the Japanese bamboo in this article andhopefully explore some other invaders suchas buckthorn and black swallowwort infuture issues.

Japanese knotweed is a native plant ofJapan and was introduced into the UnitedStates in the early to mid 1800's and hasspread to many parts of North America. Aswith most exotics, it was probably intro-duced as an ornamental plant. Japanese

'-- bamboo is a perennial broad leaf plantwhich grows in clumps. The stems arewoody-like and are reminiscent of bamboo.Knowing a little about the plant will helpus understand how to control it.

You can find this plant growing up to 10feet tall on many roadsides along guardrails, on dry soil, on wet soil, in the sunand in the shade. Once the plant is estab-lished, it spreads rapidly in several ways.The bamboo can spread from its long rhi-zomes. Mowing may actually spread theplant unless the cuttings are removed fromthe site. The seeds can be carried by waterand by the wind. Another way of propaga-tion that I know of is from the deposition

Early growth on older plant

14· NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

of spoil from roadside ditch work. If thereis any plant material in this spoil, the bam-boo will spread. I am aware of one area ofbamboo in our state forests where there isno other Japanese bamboo for miles. Theplants came from ditch material broughtfrom far away. This patch of bamboo getsmowed down each year and it continues toflourish.

Controlling and eliminating this hardyplant is a problem. There are mechanicaland chemical control methods that can beused. Each method will have varied suc-cess.

Digging the plant may work with smallareas of the plant aslong as all of the plant,roots and mature fruitare re-Any intactthe soil

moved.parts left inhave the

potential to sproutand grow new plants.One source hassuggested this methodof control and furthersays to dis- pose of theharvested and bagged material intodumpsters. Of course, when the materialin the dumpster is hauled away anddumped, the bamboo will probably startgrowing there.

There are some chemical treatments thatmay work. These are not my personal rec-ommendations but are offered as possiblesolutions. When using any chemical youshould read and follow label instructions.

Stump treatment: Where it is importantto protect desirable surrounding vegetation,chemicals can be applied to the cut stumpsofthe plant. A 25% solution of glyphosate(trade names - Roundup, Rodeo, &Pondmaster) and water can be applied tostems that have been cut to within 2 inchesof the ground. A foliar spray may be neededlater to control resprouts and any new seed-lings. A 25% solution of triclopyr (tradenames - Garlon, Turflon, Access, Cross-bow, Grazon & ET) and water can be ap-plied in a similar fashion to cut stumps. Afollow up spray may also be needed tohandle any new growth.

Foliar Spray Treatment: On largepopulations of the plant foliar sprays canbe effective. A 2% solution of glyphosateand water or triclopyr and water can be

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Steve Davison

sprayed to thoroughly wet the leaves. Thesolution should not be applied so heavy thatit drips from the leaves. The sprayingshould be done when the surrounding de-sirable vegetation is dormant and the tem-perature is above 65 F. October throughNovember is suggested although this maybe difficult in our climate. A 0.5% solu-tion of non-ionic surfactant is also recom-mended to allow penetration of the leafcuticle.

As with most of our pests, this one seemsto also have its good points. The whiteflowers of the bamboo are very attractiveboth to us and bees. The plant is very goodfor holding soil and preventing erosion. Theplant can be eaten especially when young.The young stalks of Japanese bamboo aresaid to look like asparagus and taste some-thing like rhubarb. It is recommended thatthe shorter than 12" young shoots besteamed for three to four minutes. Addbutter and salt and serve as a vegetable. Thisis not my recipe nor would I eat the bam-boo. I also don't particularly like aspara-gus. There are even some reports that Japa-nese barn boo has some medicinal valuePerhaps someone could persuade JaneSorensen Lord to look at the taste and medi-cine of the Japanese Bamboo. (See NYFO34:4, 19; July1995for recipes and articleby John Braubitz.)

C'

RICHARD CIPPERLY

PROFESSiB~~:FORESTRY

.~'~~?~:;.'"·'~i()S$~TR.i§~J{s~@jfjf.ljSAL

-CRJ{JsTMASTREE'MA1iA(:;EMENT.: (i;",' -:.~ '>" ,; --;,:-i;:~;T;;~~~?L'c ':.,~~ ".~'\ .

":, ~.;.,' "": . ·""b<·····", .3 ROBIN LANE

QUEENSBURY. NY 12804!~

(518) 793-3545 "

e-mail cipl"":ly@capitaLnei SINCE 1964

NOVIDEC 1989

TAX FREE EXCHANGESBy David J. Colligan

hile attending the fall meeting, I was asked to write anarticle about those

hardworking commercial property ownerswho have, through the sweat of their brows,created a "sweat equity" in their commer-cial real estate. These owners are facedwith the difficult prospect of how to dis-pose of their property without paying anenormous tax burden. Many of thesepeople have been awakened in the middleof the night by tenants with minor com-plaints, have been climbing on icy roofs tobreak up ice dams, and have otherwisespent a lifetime fixing, patching, repairing,and creating equity in their commercial realestate. Now, looking back at an asset thathas been fully depreciated for tax purposes,they wonder how they can continue theirreal estate investment without the high in-tensity maintenance and management thatgoes into commercial and residential in-vestments. Most commercial real estateowners who are members of our NYFOAorganization would look kindly upon aquiet investment in productive timberland.Trees do not telephone in the middle of thenight or fail to send in rent checks on time.In fact, just the opposite happens, treesquietly provide income without complaints.

The good news is that the Internal Rev-enue Code Section 1031 permits a tax freeexchange of "like kind" property. Thecatch is that the property must be held forinvestment or business purposes and mustbe similar in nature to the property you aretransferring. While many like kind ex-changes and forced conversion transactions(I.R.C. 1041) are beyond the scope of thisarticle, this article will focus on what con-stitutes like kind property for a tax freeexchange of commercial property into for-est property.

The first thing to remember is than anapartment building full of residential ten-ants is considered to be like kind propertywith a forested track populated by trees thatmayor may not have value for timber pur-poses. The Internal Revenue Service hasdeemed all real estate to be of a like kind.Trees, while standing, are considered realproperty and therefore would be no differ-ent than a building located on commercialproperty. Many successful real estate en-trepreneurs use the designation of like kindproperty to transfer appreciated wealthfrom one investment to another. At a Fed-eral tax rate of20% and a state rate of7%,you can acquire approximately 27% more

NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

property than you could otherwise afford.Think of the buying power if you had 27%more cash available to purchase land!

While a like kind exchange appears verygenerous, the rules of compliance are veryexacting and strictly enforced. Typically,anyone who wants to participate in a likekind exchange would identify a propertythey wish to exchange, determine the ap-proximate value of the property, and thenidentify property they wish to exchange or"swap into," so that the transaction can pro-ceed in the time frame allowed. As a gen-eral rule, "swapping down" has too manynegative tax implications to be helpful.Therefore, "swapping up" to a more expen-sive property is the usual transaction in alike kind exchange. Once the propertieshave been identified, the exchanger mustdecide whether they want to proceed witha two-sided or three-sided transaction.

In a two-sided transaction, the investorgoes out and finds a buyer for his commer-cial property. The investor then goes outand finds replacement property. The buyeracquires the replacement property from athird party. Finally, the investor and thebuyer exchange deeds to the properties,togther with whatever additional consider-ation is necessary to close the transaction.At the end of the day, the investor nowowns replacement property and has not re-alized any income on the transaction.

three-sided transaction is similarto a two-sided transaction; however, a third party "facilitator" is

used to hold property essentially in trustwhile replacement property is located andacquired. The rules oflocating replacementproperty require the replacement propertyto be identified within 45 days and receivedwithin the earlier of 180 days after the tax-payer transfers the property or the due dateof the transferor's tax return for the tax-able year in which the transfer of the relin-quished property takes place. Generally,facilitators charge a fee for their services,which usually starts around 10%. If theinvestor cannot identify the replacementproperty within the 45 days and receive theproperty within the specified time period,the tax free transaction is nullified, andtaxes, penalties, and interest must be paid.

As with all tax-advantaged transactions,there are certain negatives that must beevaluated prior to entering into the trans-action. A major negative of a tax free ex-change is that the tax basis does not get"stepped up" to the value of the new prop-

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

erty, but remains at the historical tax basis,increased by whatever additional consid-eration is paid for the replacement prop-erty. Since some portion of every timbersale is a return of basis and therefore nottaxable, future timber sales may result inmore gain than had the property been pur-chased outright. Another negative consid-eration is that the transaction must be re-ported to the I.R.S. on a Form 8824 thataccompanies the income tax return for theyear in which the transaction occurred. Ifthe Form 8824 is not filed with the currentyear's return, the entire transaction's taxfree status will be in jeopardy. Further-more, the like kind exchange rules may notbe beneficial if a large amount of additionalconsideration is transferred as part of theexchange. This additional consideration,called "boot," is taxable even in a tax freeexchange. "Boot" consists of mortgagesthat are paid off as part of the transactionand other consideration (money and prop-erty) received by the transferring investor.Therefore, anytime there is a mortgage onthe property to be exchanged, the transac-tion should be reviewed by a tax profes-sional to explain what the tax benefits areprior to entering into the transaction. Eventhough there are some negative aspects tousing a like kind exchange, the benefitsalmost always outweigh the negatives in aproperly structured transaction.

Much like brain surgery, it is not recom-mended that you do this alone, but onlywith the help of a competent tax profes-

sional. s:David 1. Colligan is a partner in the firmof Watson, Bennett, Colligan, Johnson &Schechtler, L.L.P. He can be reached at(716) 852-3540. He was assisted in thepreparation of this article by RoyCunningham, an associate in his office,who received his Masters of Laws in Taxa-tionfrom the University of Denver.

30+ Years Experience

ROBERT DEMEREEProfessional Forestry Consultant

Timber Sales' Management PlanningTax Law' Tree Planting

3987 Northway DriveCortland, NY 13045-9317

Telephone:(607) 753-0497

NOVIDEC 1989 • 15

VIOLATION: Description of what hashappened

REPORT IT: Contact the nearest lawenforcement agency (ECO, Forest Ranger,Sheriff, State Police) or call the TIPPhotline at 800- TIPP-DEC (800-847-7332).You do not have to call the TIPP line to beconsidered for a reward.

Cases include trafficking in endangeredspecies, polluting drinking water sources,poaching fish and game, improper disposalof waste, illegal issuing of conservation li-censes and timber theft.

At the April meeting, the TIPP NY, Inc.board paid its first reward for timber theftin NY. At this writing another case has beensubmitted for reward consideration.

The timber theft reward involved adja-cent landowners observing their absenteeneighbor's forest being be cut by some in-dividuals. When they questioned the cut-ters, they were told that the loggers had thelandowner's permission to remove thetrees.

The absentee landowner could not becontacted by the neighbor. Information wasgathered and reported to DEC law enforce-ment officials.

DEC apprehended the suspects. The cut-ters pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Theyreceived jail time and large fines.

The callers received a $1,000 rewardfrom TIPP NY Inc. This will not replacethe valuable timber resource that waspoached. It may help stimulate additionalreporting ofthe under reported cases of tim-ber theft.

For further information write to: TIPPNY, Inc PO Box 12786Albany, NY 12212-2786. .Ii.

Turn In Poachers and Polluters-The TIPP ProgramBy Timothy Noga

mhe quality of our life is directly dependant on the quality of the environment and the natural re-

sources we use and conserve. FortunatelyNew York is blessed with an abundance ofnatural resources for its people to use andenjoy. It is the responsibility of all the us-ers to protect and conserve the environmentand the natural resources wisely.

Unfortunately there are those who be-lieve that our natural resources, whetherpublic or privately owned, are there to ex-ploit without regard. The whole resourcesuffers when this happens.

In the late 1980's the NYS ConservationCouncil (the largest state grassroots con-servation organization) and the Division ofLaw Enforcement of the NYS DEC recog-nized a need. The need was to gain supportand assistance from the general public inthe protection ofthe environment and natu-ral resources of New York. TIPP NY, Inc.was formed to meet the need.

The mission ofTIPP is to:• Educate citizens regarding their re-

sponsibility to protect and conserve the en-vironment and natural resources ofNYS.

• Anonymously recognize those indi-viduals that exceed their responsibility toprotect the environment and natural re-sources of New York State.

• Generate funding to achieve our mis-sion.

TIPP NY, Inc. conducts programs tomeet the goals of this mission.

TIPP NY, Inc., in a memorandum of un-derstanding with the Law Enforcement Di-vision of DEC, established the TIPP line.The TIPP line is a toll free 24 hour tele-phone hotline where a possible environ-mental violation can be reported anony-mously. It is the only hot line in the nationwhere both natural resource and environ-mental violations may be reported.

A TIPP hotline caller reports the possibleviolation to the operator. This informationis recorded and assigned a case complaintnumber. The information is dispatched tothe appropriate Environmental Conserva-tion Officer (ECO) for investigation of thecomplaint. After the investigation is made,the ECO may fill out a TIPP recognitionapplication. The application is forwardedto the NYSDEC Law Enforcement Divi-sion Director for review.

When the TIPP organization meets, it re-views the application and approves the re-ward recognitions. Rewards currentlyrange to a maximum $1,000 per case.16 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

The reward recognition is based on thevalue of the information provided and thepotential risk the caller went through toprovide the information. The reward is for-warded to the caller via the investigatingECO.

TIPP is operated jointly. NYSDEC op-erates the toll-free hotline. The TIPP NY,Inc organization maintains the TIPP fundand awards any of the recognitions ap-proved.

TIPP NY, Inc. is a not for profit chari-table organization and tax exempt underSection SOI(c)(3) of the United States In-ternal Revenue Code.

The members, officers and TIPP NY,Inc. are volunteers. They do not receive anycompensation for their services.

The officers and trustees of TIPP NY,Inc are elected yearly by its members. Anycurrent member or member representativemay be elected to serve.

Funds for TIPP NY, Inc are providedthrough memberships and donations. NOTAXES or CONSERVATION LICENSEFEES are used to fund the rewards or op-erations ofTIPP NY, Inc.

TIPP NY, Inc has three levels of mem-berships for those wanting to support thisworthy program:

Individual Members ($S.OO/year) arepersons that support TIPP NY, Inc and it'sgoals. They have no vote, receive periodicupdates and are welcome to participate atmeetings.

Associates Members ($25.00/year) aregroups or organizations that support TIPPNY, Inc and it's goals. They have no votereceive periodic updates and are welcometo participate at meetings.

Voting Members ($50.00) are groupsor organizations that support TIPP NY, Incand it's goals. They have a vote at TIPPmeetings.

If you have observed an EnvironmentalConservation Law violation try to get asmuch as the information as possible with-out putting yourself in danger.

Try to note the following details:SUSPECT(s): Name, address, physical

descriptionNUMBERS: Back tags, license plates,

registration, permitsVEHICLES: Make, model, year, color,

body damage, locationLOCATION: Area, town, village,

county, street address, body of waterWHEN: Date(s) and time(s)incident(s)

occurred

NYFOA • 1·800·836·3566 • INFO

Tim Noga is Secretary 0/ the CayugaCounty Federation of Conservation Clubsand a Director o/TIPP NY, Inc.

~USAN J. KEISTERForestry Consulting Services

,

'480A & SIP Management Plans'Forestry Inventory and Appraisals'Timber Sales'Cost Basis and Real Estate TaxManagement Advice

(716) 728-30447025 Harpers Ferry Road, Wayland,

NY 14572

NOVIDEC 1989

From the New York State's Tree Farm Committee:

My Wake Up Call About Tree FarmersBy Rodney M. Jones

ree Farm has been the cheapestand most effective tool that I havefound to keep jobs coming in to

earn income for my family. I think TreeFarm is probably the sexiest, best kept se-cret in the industry. I can't understand whyanybody trying to grow, buy, or sell treesis not involved in Tree Farm. Most of theforest industry's wood comes from Certi-fied Tree Farms. So if you are not sup-porting the Tree Farm program, you areasleep.

Every time my clients get their Tree FarmMagazine in the mail, they think of me.They get excited about the next time weplan on doing something on the property.Whether it's doing TS 1 work, paintingboundary lines, or having an exciting tim-ber sale. In fact, in my area I've got TreeFarm so active that most people confuseTree Farm with the New York State ForestTax Law. I think that's great, because itjust means more work for me and moreincome for my ever-growing family.

I used to have a huge advertising bud-get, then I discovered that I could get freebrochures and a free magazine for my cli-ents. The free Tree Farm sign to place onall of our clients' properties gives them asense of pride for all the work that they'veeither done themselves or paid me to do.They feel great about doing somethinggood for their land. Their kids will also bereceiving benefits from enhanced wildlifehabitat, recreational trails, income from thesale of some of their trees, and now theyget all mushy over the fact that they areactually enhancing the quality of their wa-ter from what they do on their Tree Farm.

Every time I take a photograph of a lo-cal Tree Fanner being presented with hisTree Farm sign, the newspaper eats it up.There I am with my pearly whites in thenewspaper, my client telling everybody thathe meets, about their forester and how Igot him involved in this program that helpstheir family make and save lots of money.

One of my hardest jobs is keeping cli-ents informed, or just dropping them a notefrom time to time. Under the Tree FarmProgram I don't need to do that, becausethe National Headquarters sends out a mail-ing to them, informing our clients of what'sgoing on. And every time our clients get a

NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

note from National they think of me, andgive me a call and tell me to get on our"next job". Actually, now that I think aboutit, I think Tree Farm is one of my biggestproblems because its given me too muchwork to do.

Every five years Tree Farms need to berecertified. It's an automatic notice to myclient that we need to look things over againand schedule more work for my "guys" ifit's necessary. It is also a time to ask abouttheir neighbors and their potential interestin the program. Even if they don't knowtheir neighbors, I use my existing TreeFarmers as an introduction to talk to theirneighbors about what we are doing in theirarea, and thought they might be interestedtoo.

If you are not involved in Tree Farm youneed to wake up! It's a program for everyforester, technician, owner, saw mill, log-ger, broker, veneer buyer, and wood manu-facturer out there. If you can't be involvedwith Tree Farm with your time, you canhelp support the program with your money.Most states are non -profit 501 (c)3 corpo-rations. They would greatly appreciate an-nual contributions to their program. Thereare several volunteers throughout eachstate, and they need your help, to do recer-tifications, mailings, put on promotionaldemonstrations, educational workshops,

and to get that Tree Farm sign noticed. Thesign indicates landowners do things withwisdom, so that all of their practices willbenefit our families forever. If you are notalready involved you can start by contact-ing Debbie Gill (800-836-3566) and askhow you can become a Certified Inspect-ing Forester, a Certified Tree Farmer, orhow you can become a supporter of theTree Farm Program. Get involved. We al-ways have a lot offun together. It's a placewhere all of us involved with the trees cancome together and not feel like we have tostand up for our own self interests. It's allto promote wise management of the for-ests on land that is growing and selling treesfor our use. The more of us that we havetogether, the more jobs you'll have to do.So come on board and we can do the jobtogether that you have been trying to do all

alone. A

Rod Jones is the father of 6, and the ownerof Northeast Timber Services in Walton,New York. He has been an inspectingfor-ester since 1980. He is a member of theAssociation of Consulting Foresters, andis a Certified Forester with the Society ofAmerican Foresters. He serves on the Na-tional Operating Committee, and was the1996 Northeast Regional Outstanding TreeFarm Inspecting Forester. He holds theTold Plus Hard Hat Award.

Member Sign 2.00 Long-sleeved ShirtsPewter Lapel Pins 4.00 Sweatshirts

PLEASE PROVIDE SIZE & PHONE NO.

13.0016.00

NYFOA SPECIALSThe following promotional items especially designed for

NYFOA may be obtained from Deborah Gill, AdministrativeSecretary; PO Box 180, Fairport, NY 14450; 1-800/836-3566or directly from and with support for your local chapter:

Shoulder Patches $2.00 50% Cotton T-Shirts $8.00Window Decals 0.50 100% Cotton T-Shirts 9.00

NYFOA . 1·800-836-3566 - INFO NOVIDEC1989 ·17

THE FRIDAY NIGHT PANELBy Ron Pedersen, NYFOA's Vice President

There were three panelists who gave theirparticular perspectives on changes in theforest industry and the impact on forestlandowners.

Jon Howard is Business DevelopmentManager for the Procter & Gamble PaperProducts plant at Mehoopany, PA. Thisplant will be the last of the P&G plants toconvert locally derived pulp wood toplantation-grown Brazilian eucalyptus. The

THE FALL MEETINGgive him an instant course on what heneeded to know in order to be a contact toall the suppliers P&G is setting a drift withthe changes in pulp procurement.

Jon was a procurement guy originally. Imet him at the state SF! implementationcommittee, and he clearly had spent sometime with PAin getting their SF! going.

Brian Knox is a procurement forester,in charge of all the round wood side ofCoastal Lumber's NY plants, but also intopublic policy practicalities of doing busi

Above, Mark Keister, DEe Sr. Forester looks on while IreneSzabo describes the Finger Lakes Trail.Below, a grapevine is culledfrom a black walnut stand.

change will affect the harvest of low gradeforest products as far away as Syracuse. Hesaid his role was to be an advocate for P&Gsuppliers, to promote the regional forestindustry, and to market the region to oth-ers outside the region. He viewed his scopein terms of concentric circles.

During his comments, he was frank aboutthe industry, and about having to spendpersonally a lot of time learning about big-ger picture relationships about which hewas not earlier familiar. No one could

18 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

daily facing changing demands and "out-side" forces such as P&G pulp policies,Lyondale, Far East markets, our West Coastproblems impacting the East Coast, etc.

Ken Kasprzyk, DEC Senior Forester,Utilization and Marketing, 0 lean, remindedus of the importance of NYFOA helpingto advance the notion of property tax re-form (and other public policy issues.) Hesuggested that the new STAR program of-fered an opportunity for forest landownersto obtain a more reasonable and equitableleveling of the property tax burden. The

Above, a State Recreation Area where we lunched.Below, a 30 year old managed stand of red pine.

ness, i.e., SFI and Coastal. (While P&G isan AF&PA member and therefore commit-ted to SFI from the top, Coastal is not andtherefore must look at SFI state by statewhere they operate to see to what extentthey want to sign on. In NY, they havesigned on).

I think his comments reflected a some-what narrower view than Jon's. Histhoughts were probably what one wouldexpect to hear from a bright guy workingwithin a relatively small wood shed and

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

point he was trying to make, I believe, wasthat under STAR the "lost" taxes are madeup by the State, not by the other propertytax payers in the jurisdiction. He stressedthat NYFOA members have a role as mem-bers of the community to pay attention towhat is going on and speak out when ap-propriate.

Overall, we were seeking to get someperspective on how the folks we dependon to buy our wood products see thingsfrom where they sit. I thought the threespeakers contrasted nicely, which was the

~~ ANOVIDEC 1989

Dave Forness, NYSDEC Supervising Forester, Cortland Office

NY Storms and State ForestsBy Mark Levanwaymhe tornado which tore through

Central New York and the Capi-tal District on May 31, 1998, also

had considerable impact on many state for-ests. State forests (also known as refores-tation areas) in Otsego and Chenango,Tompkins, Tioga and Oswego counties re-ceived damage. Approximately 2600 acresreceived severe damage, with lesser scat-tered damage occurring on additional un-determined acreage. One 512 acre stateforest in Otsego county had 490 acres to-tally flattened!

New York State Department of Environ-mental Conservation forestry staff imme-diately began assessing the damage andpreparing salvage sales. Estimating timbervolume in areas of severe blow down, is anextremely difficult and dangerous task.However, DEC staff were able to estimatethe volume in each of these sales by usinga variety of cruising methods or by indi-vidual tree counts. To this date, 2,340 acresof blow down have been either sold or putup for competitive bidding. The remaining260 acres will not be salvaged either dueto low value, damage to the resource, orthe decision to allow certain areas to re-spond naturally to this event. These sales

will return revenues of $1,300,000 to thestate. This, unfortunately, is probably about40-50% of the value prior to the storm. Theloss in value is due to breakage of stems,staining of the wood during hot weather,and the difficulty in logging material whichis in piles. Softwood trees are particularlysusceptible to staining and attack by woodboring insects during hot summer weatherconditions. These forests contain a highpercentage of softwoods which wereplanted primarily by the Civilian Conser-vation Corps in the 1930' s. The total vol-ume salvaged will be approximately 2.5million board feet and 40,000 cords.

An interesting sidelight to this story arecomments our staff have received abouthow much better the areas look where sal-vage operations have been completed.These salvage operations leave the sites inmuch the same condition as after a plannedc1earcut, which some have criticized fortheir unattractiveness. One thing is veryevident, view sheds are currently openwhich have not been visible for decades.Many of these sites will be left to regener-ate naturally to native hardwood species.At this time there are plans to replant ap-proximately 400 acres to softwoods such

Tom Wolfe, DEC Bureau Chiejoj Public Forests (r) & Dave Forness

NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

as Norway Spruce and Larch.This storm is only one of many which

have impacted state forests in recent years.The 1995 blowdown which impacted muchof the Adirondack region of New York, alsodamaged many state forests outside of theAdirondack Park. That storm resulted inapproximately 17,000 acres of salvage salesin st. Lawrence, Lewis, Jefferson andOneida counties. Last winter's ice stormresulted in moderate to severe crown break-age on over 100,000 acres of state forests,outside of the forest preserve, across theentire north country. We have begun sal-vage operations here as well and will bedealing with assessing damage, and deter-mining where salvage is necessary formany years to come. State forests werespared impact by the Labor Day stormwhich hit the Syracuse-Oneida area, as ittraversed an area where no state forestsexist. .Ii.Mark Levanway is a Supervising Foresterat Albany in the Bureau of Public ForestsThe accompanying photos were all takenof Reforestation Areas #5 & #24 (about25% of which were conifer plantations) inChenango County. This area laid wastewas some 750 acres.

NYFOA -1-800-836-3566 - INFO NOVIDEC 1989 • 19

THE CRYPTIC WORLD OF LEAFMINERS

By Douglas C. Allen

ne of the most fascinating habitsdisplayed by insects is the adap-tation many species have made to

life within a leaf. Leafmining occurs in allfour of the largest and most evolutionarilyadvanced insect groups; moths and butter-flies, beetles, flies, and wasps. Presumably,this behavior offers some protection fromnatural enemies, provides a degree of sta-bility in terms oftemperature and moisture

Fig. J. This cartoon illustrates the feedingbehavior of leafminers.

conditions in the insects' immediate envi-ronment, and assures a readily accessiblesupply of food.

What is a leafminer? - This term is usedin reference to any species of insect whoselarva (the immature stage that feeds) spendsits life between the epidermal or outer lay-ers of a leaf (Fig. J). Leafminers can befound on most woody plants and many spe-

Fig. 2. Light brown areas indicate parts ofneedles mined by lodgepole needleminer.

20 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

cies of herbaceous vegetation. The larvalstage of several defoliators that feed onbroadleaved or needle-bearing trees maybegin life as a leafminer, but eventuallythey vacate the mine and feed in a moretypical manner exposed on the surface ormargin of the leaf. For example, whenyoung caterpillars of the infamous sprucebudworm emerge from their overwinteringsite, they may begin feeding by mining oneor two host needles if buds are too hard topenetrate. In this case, the young caterpil-lar is a true leafminer for only a short time;older caterpillars are more typicalleaffeed-e r s

Fig. 3. Black locust foliage with blotchescaused by locust leafminer.

Leafminer biology - Leafminers generallydeposit their eggs in or on suitable foliageand upon hatching the young larvae(lar-vee) bore into the leaf. When feedingis complete, the insect transforms into anadult within the leaf, or it may vacate theleaf and undergo this change in the soil orlitter beneath the host plant, depending onthe species ofleafminer. For example, boththe lodgepole needleminer (Fig. 2) and lo-cust leafminer (Fig. 3) complete develop-ment through their adult stage (moth and

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Fig. 4. Birch leafminer. Arrows indicatebrownish, blister-like mines.

beetle, respectively) within the leaf, butmature larvae of the birch leafminer (Fig.4) abandon leaves and wasps are formedin the soil beneath the host.

Appearance - The size, pattern and loca-tion of a leaf mine are usually very usefuldiagnostic characters for identifyingleafminers. Typically, mines areblotch-like, linear or appear as blisters(Figs. 2-5). The mined area of a leaf is usu-ally a shade of brown and translucent whenheld to the light, because all of the chloro-phyll bearing tissue at that spot has beenconsumed by the insect. The thin skin orepidermis of a leaf does not contain thissubstance.

Fig. 5. A linear leafminer on aspen. Blackstripe in center of mine is fecal material.

NOVfDEC 1998

The adult, be it a moth, beetle, fly, orwasp, is tiny and rarely seen. Larvae areespecially modified to live and feed in aconfined space. Most are distinctly flat-tened, legless and their chewing mouthpartsare projected forward rather than down-ward to facilitate feeding in their confinedhabitat.Importance - Usually, leafminers aremerely curiosities and should be of littleconcern to the forest owner. However, thefeeding damage can attract much attentionbecause of the conspicuous discolorationand, in rare instances of very heavy dam-age, premature leaf fall. Birch leafminer(Fig. 4) often is a serious pest of both or-namental and wild birch, because highpopulations may weaken the host and makeit susceptible to more damaging insects. Aninfestation of locust leafminer (Fig. 3) cansignificantly discolor foliage of black lo-cust, but generally trees recover. Outbreaksof the lodgepole needleminer (Fig. 2), on

the other hand, last for many years and arecapable of killing lodgepole pine over largeareas of the western United States andCanada.

In addition to black locust, several othertrees that occur in New York are frequentlyinfested with leafminers; for example,sugar maple, oaks, aspen, cherry, bass-wood, white cedar, hemlock, and spruces.Oak especially is subject to outbreaks re-sulting in extensive discoloration and un-

timely loss of foliage. A.

This is the 41st in the series of articles con-tributed by Dr. Allen, Professor of Ento-mology at SUNY-ESF. Reprints of this andthe complete series are available from NY-FDA, phone Debbie Gill at 800-836-3566.It is also possible to download this collec-tionfrom the DEe Webpage by clicking onarticles using the following address:http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dlf/privland/linkspag. html

271 County Road#9Chenango Forks.N.Y. 13746

E-Mail:Snowhawke@AOL.com(607) 648-5512

ROYD.HOPKECO'!1sulbng Forester

Timber AppraisalTimber SalesRestore the American Chestnut

Stewardship PlansForestry 480-A PlansMapping Services

HL-\LE FORESTR\' COlVIPi\N\T610 East ~lain Street, \\'estfield, PA 169~0

Professional Forestry ConsultingForest Resource Management Services

MICHAEL L. HALE JOSEPH R. MAHONEY

Toll Free (877)-HALEFOR or (814)367-5915e-mail: halefor@penn.com

Fax (814) 367-5919

TIMBER SALES

MANAGEMENT PLANS

APPRAISALS

INVENTORIES

, Ii

Society of American Foresters - Pennsylvania Forestry AssociationConsultin Forester - Member NY Forest Owners Association

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

APplication or Facsimile Appli-cation for Membership in the

New York Forest Owners As-

sociation.

IIWe would like to support good forestry

and stewardship of New York's forest

lands.

( ) IIWe own acres of wood-

land.( ) IIWe do not own woodland but sup-

port the Association's objectives.

NAME, _

ADDRESS _

City Zip

Telephone _

County of Residence _

County of Woodlot _

Referred by _

Annual Dues (Please Check One)STUDENT $10

INDIVIDUAL $20

FAMILY (or co-owners) $25

CONTRIBUTING $30-$100

SPONSORING $10land up

MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES:Six issues of the NY FORESTOWNER, woodswalks, chapter meet-ings, and two statewide meetings for allmembers.

Please send check payable to NewYork Forest Owners Association, OR,if you prefer, by check payable to NewYork Woodland Stewards, Inc. (NYWS,a tax deductable fund), including anycontribution in excess of your NYFOAmembership to:

NYFOA,IncP.O. Box 180.

Fairport, New York 14450

NOVIDEC 1989· 21

By Jane Sorensen Lord, PHD, OTR, NO

"You mean you ate it and then you askme what it does? (But if you can ask it'snot deadlyl)"

"How in the hell am I supposed to knowwhat it is? It lives in Bath, my plants live inWestbrookville! "

"You fell in the woods and hurt yourknee, wrapped sphagnum moss around itand you could walk out with all your gear?Wow! Far out!"

"The dosage for ginkgo? Well, look onthe bottle. Oh, you made a tincture fromyour own tree!"

And so I came home from the fall meet-ing and hit the books to quell the thoughtsyour questions or comments evoked.

Indian Herbology of North America,Alma R. Hutchens (Shambhala Publica-tions, Boston and London) is one of theherbals you should have and can buy atmost bookstores. She not only covers allthe standard field herbs, but also manyplants and trees from our North East For-

Solomon's Seal

22· NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

est. The book is well-written, well orga-nized and easy to use. She tosses in littletidbits of history and lore.

Solomon's seal is a medicinal plant. Theberries are edible and in accord with yourexperience, taste pretty good. The medici-nal part is the rhizome. It is cut and boiledand taken internally for healing brokenbones, like boneset or comfrey is used.Topically, the fresh rhizome can be usedto remove freckles or skin discoloration. Itis also used to heal bleeding wounds-likehaving yarrow in the forest. If you do needit to staunch a wound, be sure and peel therhizome so you don't introduce more dirt.

The unidentifiable (by me) plant was agrey twig (or osier) dogwood. While Ifound no mention of it as a medicinal shrub,I was interested to find out that the Ameri-can Flowering (or green osier) dogwood ismedicinal. The spring flowers work likechamomile to relax, soothe and calm themind, and settles stomachs. The bark is asubstitute for the Peruvian cinchona whichis used to treat malaria. I've mentionedbefore that trembling aspen can treat ma-laria, too! I wonder if they are species oftrees that grew when the climate was warmin the North and there were malaria mos-quitoes. It seems that most medicinal plantsheal us or protect us from problems thatcome up in the environment.

I had to plow through five herbals be-fore I found reference to moss. It was inthe chapter, "Plants containing antibiotics"in Guide to Medicinal Plants, Schauenbergand Paris, (Keats Publishing, Ct.). The bookidentifies the properties and constituents ofmedicinal plants. I usually use it as a backup reference to another herbal.

So there was moss. A very popular herbup until the turn of the century. It says thatHildegard of Bingen (I forget whether shepracticed in the 14th or 15th century) usedmoss to reduce fever, strengthen the nervesand to dress wounds like we use cottonwool today.

And for dosages. The standard histori-cal dose of a home made tincture is onetablespoon. And one wine glassful for aninfusion or decoction.

A new book, by Steven G. Ottariano, R.Ph., a practicing clinical pharmacist in NewHampshire, details the modern dosages of

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Flowering Dogwood

twenty popular herbs. More importantly helists the active medical ingredients andcontraindications with allopathic drugs ordiseases. You can take this book to yourmedical doctor, and even ifhe knows noth-ing about herbs, he can understand whatthey do and if you should take them. Thebook is Medicinal Herbal Therapy: A Phar-macists Viewpoint (Nicloin Fields Publish-ing, NH). You can order it by phone at 1-800-431-1579. You will be able to order itthrough the Amazon Bookstore in a coupleof months.

So there you go! Some answers, somereferences. And, please, use them beforeyou eat wild plants. I hate to worry! A.

Dr. Jane and her husband, Gordon, havebeen Tree Farmers since 1986 and trainedas Master Forest Owners. In her work asan occupational therapist and naturopathshe takes care of people. Her e-mail ad-dress is: drjane@interserv.com &Webpage: http://members.aol.com/infolands/herb. html

NOVIDEC 1998

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

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 nON SERVICES AVAILABLE. SVLV AN BO-TANICALS AMERICAN GINSENG P.O. BOX 91, COOPERSTOWN, NY. 13326.

Phone: 607-264-8455. Email: <sylvanbotanicals@hotmail.com>

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADVERTISE?

ADVERTISINGRATES

Per Insert:

Display: $210- perfull page or 30 cot. in.;$7 per eel, 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 2000

Don't lu!t "Thin~;afety" 1.<'::"DO IT.. -:-,

~,

STIHL Protective ApparelHELMET SYSTEM

$35.50

9 PLY CHAPS

$68.00

FORECON INC.Forestry - Recreation - Ecology - Conservation

Now Wnh Three Offices to Better Serve Your Needs!!!Main Office 100 E. 2nd St., Jamestown ,NY (716) 664-560211 N. Main St., Suite 202, Cortland, NY (607) 753-3113314 E. Fourth St., Emporium, PA (814) 486-1276

NY FOREST OWNER 36:6 NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO NOVIDEC 1989 • 23

LOWER your saw chain budget! Spend the savings on Protection •

STIHL Saw Chain Loop PricingThe following in all guages /I Oflft reel in loops or /single loop:

• 3/8: 16" (27 loops):$10.20/Ioop 20" (22 loops):$12.20/loop •(One or more):$12.25/loop :$14.25/loop

.325: 16" (27 loops):$11. 70/loop 20" (22 loops):$14.00Iloop(One or more):$13.70/!oop :$16.00/\oop

USUALLY SAME DAY SHIPPING"OUR PRICESARE HONEST- OUR SERVICES ARE PRICELESS"

AVOCA VILLAGE SALES182 Cessna St., Avoca, NY 14809

(607) 566·3996 / Fax: 566·2358ALSO: Honda, Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, Tecumseh

(Engines, Parts & Service)Homelite: Generators, Pumps - Products, Parts & Service

R.J. Fox, EditorRD#3, Box 88Moravia, NY 13118FaxlPhone (315) 497-1078Email: dfox@baldcom.netWebpage: hUp://www.rpi.edu/-wentorINYFOA.html

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!

Lake GeorgeForestry

Complete Forestry Servicesincluding:

• Detailed ManagementPlans

• Timber Trespass• Timber Sales• Appraisals• Deed Research• Timber Inventory• Watershed Management• Boundary Line Location• Tax Savings PlansNo property is too small or too large tobenefit from experienced professional as-sistance when you are faced with impor-tant decisions regarding its use.

Contact Lake George Forestry todayto arrange a free initial consultation.

Christian Gearwear, Presdent

LAKE GEORGEFORESTRY, INC.

50 Hendrick StreetLake George, New York 12845

Tel: 518-668-2623Fax: 518-668-2486

24 • NY FOREST OWNER 36:6

New York Forest Owners Assoc., Inc.

Debbie Gill

PO Box 180Fairport, NY 14450-0180

9810

Non-Profit Org.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDUtica, N.Y.

13504Permit No. 566

PONDS UNLIMITEDINVITES yOU ....

to think of all of the benefits youcould enjoy from having a pond ora lake on your own property. Thisidea could become a reality if theright conditions prevail. From ourexperience it normally requiresfavorable watershed conditions,good site conditions, owner-commitment to stewardship forenhancement of forest land values,appropriate engineering planningand design, and good constructionpractices.

PONDS UNLIMITED CANEV ALUA TE the site of yourchoice. We can provide all of theengineering services needed toplan, design and oversee theconstruction of a dam to create ahandsome pond or lake on suitableproperty. You can get additionalinformation by calling 315/422-POND or sending a letter ofinquiry to:

PONDS UNLIMITED719 E. Genesee St.

Syracuse, NY 13210315/422-7663FAX/476-3635

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

AdirondackForestry Inc.

Incorporated1955

Services Include:Timber InventoryTimber Appraisal

Management PlansTimber Marking & Sales

Sale SupervisionTrespass Appraisal

S.I.P. PlansPhone:

Garry L. Nelson • (518) 793-9022James A. Farrar • (518) 623·9449Dennis M. Flynn • (518) 581-1055

Member of SAF, NYFOA,Tree Farm, NYS Coop. Cons. For.

E-Mail: fatbike@capital.net.

NOVIDEC 1998