the voice of 255,000 forest owners in New York- representing an ownership of 11 million acres

Published by NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOC .• P. O. Box 98. Castleton-on-Hudson. N. Y. 12033

INDEXThe Next Ten Years

How Much Wilderness Can We Afford? 2Forests Get 15 Mill ion Trees 2

Estate Planning for Tree Form's Future 3

Forestry Legislation 3

NYFOA Decals 3

Highlights of the Tenth Annual Meeting 4

John Stock Heiberg Award Winner 4

Archie Koon Woods Walk Chairman 4

Adirondack Park Unit List Wilderness Plan 5Accrediting Comm i ttee Correspondence 5

Ecology Bandwagon 5Earth Bonds

Timber Agent Program Expanded

Research On Ash Dieback

Demand For Wood Products

5666

THE NEXT TEN YEARSRobert R. Morrow

Department of Natural ResourcesCornell University

Happy Anniversary! I won't pretend to forecastevents of the next decade, but a look at somecurrent trends may be suggestive 0 I draw not on-ly on my professional knowledge of forestry, butalso my experience with Cornell students andtheir politics. This experience comes both fromthe classroom, where I find mostly serious andinterested students, and my term in the CornellSenate where more radi cal students may be found.(Isnlt this much like our older society, wheremost of us have rather little interest in pol ifl cs F)We need to know something of student thinking 0

Cornel jis students are pretty much representa-tive of our predominantly urban society and wi IIstrongly influence events of the coming years.

10 Human dghho Civil rights was only the be-ginning 0 Now students are concerned with rightsof students, women, the poor, the imprisonedand anybody else who is in a minority or "under-dog" position 0 However mos+ of us learned thatrights, or freedoms, come with respons lbil ity ,Responsibility is too often forgotten in rodoysdemands for rightso For exornple , some studentsnow demand that University offi cials take no pho-tographs (admittedly an invasion of privacy) ofdemonstrators 0 But the demonstrators tr] ed to pre-vent student job interviews with certain comport=ies , A few radicals are not only without respon -sibi lity-e-they are amply willing to deny otherstheir riqhts ,

2. Humanism and e coloqy , The struggle for humanrights is based essentiallyon humonisrn, and werein this boat together. Since 1970, weDve all be-come ecologists too-v-et least in name. But thefact is that a majodty of.the new ecologists knowrather little ecology.

Most forest owners now know that ecology has todo with the relationship of a living organism toits environment and especially to other livingthings 0 Ecology is based on concepts of competi-tion and survival of the fittest. As such, it maybe antithetical to humanism and human rightswhich are popularly conceived to be of utmost

importance. The truth is thct humanism should beour goal within the framework of ecological limi-tations. Accordingly we can no longer logicallyargue for the right to have numerous children orthe right to pollute or the right to a free ride insociety. There seems to be much confusion be-tween concepts of human rights and ecology 0

3. Private forest ownership. At the annual meet-ing of the New York Section of the Society ofAmeri can Foresters, Mr. Peter Borrell i of theSierra Club made two points:

a 0 Major decisions in forestry are going to bemade by the body politic, i.eo, voters and theirpressures on Congressmen. Now the question is--who will educate the body politic? I am afraidthe biggest contributor will be the Sierra Clubitself through its "bct+le books II and other per-suasive publl co+ions , The "battle book" on fores-try serves a useful purpose-s-It calls attention toforestry mistakes, especially those on NationalForests 0 But it also implies that forestry is badeverywhere; that extreme national laws are ne-cessory , Inshort it stirs over-reaction on the partof the body politico

b , Multiple use is the cornerstone of forest poli-CYo And multiple use to most "conservationists"means an emphasis on recreation and wilderness,with little regard for tirnber, The battle for con-cept and practice of multiple use is now centeredon the National Forests 0 But tomorrow it wi II beon your lands 0

Forest owners should not be complacent in thesemctters , Land ownership and rights are in [eo>pordy , The proposed Metcalf bill of 1971 pro-vided for regulation of all forest land, timbermarking by only licensed foresters (we wouldneed twice as many foresters at public expense),severe restrictions on marking, and fines of$10,000 and/or imprisonment for a single viola-tion by a land owner , Not only thatp but yourneighbor would be paid for spying and squealingon you 0 Ironically we have fought Communismsince 19450 At first it was the Cold War to pre~vent armed invasion 0 Later we feared i'hat excessspending and taxes would bring ir , The threat ofthe 1970ls IS that we may legislate it ,

What can the forest owner do, over and abovegood forest practice and land stewardship? Hereare two suggestions:

(1) Open part of your woods to neighbors--pic-nicarea, hiking trail, e+c , Perhaps you can cre-ate a forest ecology trai I or conduct a year! yneighborhood ecology walk 0 If you know yourstuff, this could be a real contr lbution ,

(2) Keep your woodlot open for periodic harvestto reliable loggers and buyers , In this day of

HOW MUCH WILDERNESS CAN WE AFFORD?

Many recreationists, union leaders, professionalforesters, home bui Iders and forest products manu-facturers are worried about what might happen ifthe Federal government should direct any massiveexpansion of the Wilderness System 0 Concernedindividuals fear that the environmental benefitswould be negative and the economic consequen-ces, severe 0

The Wilderness System; established by 1964 Actof Congress, now includes more than 10 millionacres, nearly all of it taken from National For-ests 0 And that could be lust the beginning. TotalFederal land understudy or scheduled to be stud-ied by the government for possible inclusion inthe System exceeds 80 rni+iion acres, including30millionacresof roadlessareas in the NationalForests, 4-1/2 mill ion National Forest acres des~ignated as "Primitive Areas" (already set asideand restricted as if Wilderness), 22-1/2 millionacres of National Parks and 24 million acres ofNational Wildlife and Game Refuqes ,

What is Wilderness? By legal definition, it" isrecognized as an area where the Earth and itscommunityof life areuntramelled by Man whereMan himself is a visitor who does not remain."That sounds Fine , But it means no roads, no shel--ter, no di 11 ing or san itation faci Ii ties-v-restrl ctionswhich place Wilderness off limits for just aboutabout 99 percent of the Ameri can people.

Professional foresters complain that such rigid

FORESTS GET 15 MILLION TREES

More than 15,000 acres of forestl and in NewYork State were planted with trees in 1970, A-meri can Forest Insf tute reports 0

2

high taxes and land costs; desire for woodlandprivccy , and relative low returns from timber,if is easy to exclude timber harvest. But remem-ber that 20 percent of the nation's raw materialcomes from renewable and biodegradable trees.Compare them with non-renewable metals, thepoll uti on and slow decomposition associated withplastics, and other wood subs+i+utes , You cantake pride in growing wood products as an eco-logi cal contribution 0 Remember, trees and othergreen plants are the one continuous life-givingresource on this planer:-

ground rules also restrict ability to combat wild-fire, insect and disease ep idernl cs , They pointout that more than lObi II ion board feet of tim-berare lost annually on National Forests to thesenatural disasters--mainlybecauseof the inacces-sibility of roadless orecs , That's nearly as muchas the National Forests' yearly harvest 0

Potential problems for housing and jobs arise fromthe fact that National Forests have more thanhalf the notion's total supply of softwood saw-timber--trees of the type and size required tomake structural materials for homes-v-end cur-rently provide about 30 percent of the timber forIumber and plywood manufacture 0 While housing,lumberandplywood demand has been peaking inrecent months, timber sales from National For-ests have declined 0 The Fores+-bosed industri es--whi ch rook an active part in the development ofthe Wilderness Act eight years ago--now fearthat further large land withdrawals from Nation-al Forests for Wilderness on top of declining tim-ber scles+-would cripple lumber and pi ywoodoutput at the expense of housinq and millions ofpeople who hold [obs in construction and forest-based industries ,

None of those who express concern are opposedto the concept of Wi lderness, per se 0 But theyalso contend that most of the aesthetic objec-tives for which the Act was possed in 1964 havealready been achieved through the present WiI-dernessSystem, Primitive Areas} and administra-tive withdrawals of areas of great scenl c valuein the National Forests 0

In that year, the latest for which statisticsare available, two state run tree nurseriesshipped 15 million seedlings for planting withinthe state 0 Of the 15,440 acres repl on+ed,13, 222 were pri va te Iy ow ned 0

ESTATE PLANNING FOR TREE FARM'S FUTUREBy John H. Holder, Jr ,

" Texas Forestry", November 1971

The development of timberland is a most impor-tant work. As with stocks and bonds, it requireshandling ina systemofic matter. Too- often, how-ever, when the owner dies, the land goes into anestate without provision for the management hedesires.

The prominence of timber assets in tree farmers'estates has prompted the development of definitepoll ci es and procedures to make management ofthese estates more profitable and effi cient for the,heirs. Since the will or trust instrument servesboth to guide and limit the trustee's efforts, it isvital that the tree farmer make his wishes knownand make provisions for having these wishes car-ried out. Too often, for lack of a prudent estateplcn, the beneficiaries may not carry out theowner's wlshes ,

There are many considerations in the managementof an estate which are prescribed by state, taxand banking requlo+lons , However, many of theobstacles to good management can be avoided byproper planning, In preparing a trust instrumentor will, the tree farmer and his counselors shouldbe sure that' considero+lon is given to the follow-ing questions, among others:

(1) Are sufficienl funds provided in the trust topermit the trustee to continue the proqrcrn begunby the owner for the best utilization of the tim-berlands? Insurance pol! des or other funds mightmeet this need 0

(2) Has the trust 1nstrurnent provl ded the trusteessuff cient latitude to make contracts beyond theperiod of the trust, i,eo, to borrow money pledg-ing trust assets, to hold non-Income producingproperty, to make allocations between the bene-fi cicrles , ifand when the property is sold, as theowner would have him do, and to employ suchexpert agents as may be ne cessory for the bestmanagement of the property?

Tree farmers concerned with the continuing man-agement of their forest's are encouraged to con-sider these points and to make sure that theirtrustees are given the guidelines and flexibilityto carry out their wishes.

The tree farmer might even do wen to place histimberlands under the management of his trusteeat an earl y date to assure that fin th~ ~vent ofhis death, the trustee has the capability andlatitude to obtain the best results 0 Where the e-state is to remain undivlded, the owner should

consider the advantages of vesting managementpowers for his timberland in one trustee, ratherthan in a cornmi ttee , Bank trust officers andattorneys can help you in providing for your be-nefi ciaries and for the management of your treefarm for future generations.

FORESTRY LEGISLATIONBy Henry So Kernan

A proposal of most immediate interest to wood-lot owners in New York is the" Forestry Incen-tives Act of 1972". On February 9, SenatorStennis introduced this measure as S. 3105 andRepresentative Sikes as HR 12873.

In the Sikes Bill, small woodlot owners have ameasure designed for thei r needs 0 Section 2(a)points to the 309 million acres of forest in theirownership and recognizes the validity of cost-sharing to increase levels of multiple resources.While retaining the local committees, the Sec-retary of Agriculture may designate the forestryfunds for each state and county as their needsand potentialities appear. He may also appointforestry odvisors to the committees. These pro-visions should help overcome the agriculturalbias of the present ACP and REAP programs 0

Other sections of the Sikes Bil j are of interest towoodlotowners. Section 4(I)c authorizes alloca-tion of funds on a bid basis as in agriculturalactivities such as drainage and crop dusting. Lowcosts per unit area should not be the principalfo ctors in the allocation of cost-sharing funds ,The object should be to attain the highest re-turns in timber and other multiple benefits.Section 5 authorizes an appropriation of not morethan $5 mil lion in anyone year to test loan andannual payment schemes 0

Your representorives in Washlngton do wont toknow you, feelings on these bills, Take pen inhand and let them hear from you 0

Emiel Palmer, 5822 S. SaHna Street, Syro cuse ,N.Y. 13205, has N.Y.FoO.A. decals. Send25¢ pius stamped self-addressed envelope.

3

HIGHLIGHTS OF THETENTH ANNUAL MEETING

Meeting was held at Marshall Hall r State Uni-versity, Colleg-e of Forestry or. Saturday, Apdl29, 1972. A beautiful spring weekend for thetrip to the meetlng, which was arranged by Emieland Carol Palmer. President van Loon welcomedthose present and introduced Dr 0 Edword Pal rner,President of the College of Forestry, He spokebriefly on the Influence of Forests on life of allsociety. They provide nourishment and work formany, refreshment and recreation, life for allkinds of animals, provide a valuable, renewableraw mated 01 as we II as estheti cs of landscape.

President van Loon analogized N.Y.F.O.A. toa tree. Our roots are firmly in the ground,crown spreading healthily we've lost a fewtwigs and branches, done some pruninq but aresound and growi ng.

Mike Demeree reported on Rural Real EstateAssessment. He said that in some cases ruralreal estate taxes hove increased from 300 to3000 percent. The commission is preporinq ma-terial for submission to the Governor forforrnn-tion of a commission to study the problem. Heurged those present to write to the Commissioneror Deputy Commissioner, Ronald Peterson, NewYork State Department of Envi ronmental Conser-vation at Wolff Rood, Albany, New York, andexpress their views. Jump out of the frying pan,into the fi re , Get Invol 'led!

David Hanaburgh spoke on Scenic Easement bills,eminent domain, his cc+ivi+y with the Board ofNatural Resource Organizations and assessments.He said the problem is that assessors are chargedto assess land in the State at its highest and bestuse. This may not be the use to whi ch it is cur-rently employed.

John Stock spoke of current federal legislationthat affect owners. He singled out the Sikes-Stennis Bills which are reported elsewhere inthis publi cation.

First Vice President William Lubinec urged mem-bers to send meaningful, timely articles for pub-Iication in Forest Owner , Sti II under study is amethod of making the paper self sustaining, Hesuggested what we really need is a Family Treethat will produce more lumber and less nuts,Touchee!

At the conclusion of the morning session of ourTenth Annual Meeting F we were joined by aSecretaries Association which was also meetingon campus to view a mul timedia tour of the Col-lege of Forestry and its many campuses withnearly 2000 students. The program was well ed-ited, photographed, and presented, Many plau-dits and our grateful thank you,

JOHN STOCK HEIBURG AWARD WINNER

John Stock, Tupper Lake, N.Y. was awardedthe Heiburg Award at the Tenth Annual Luncheonat Marshall Hall, New York State College ofForestry, Syracuse, John was born in EastAurora, N,Y., is married and the father of two.Heobtalned his B,SoF. at the College of Forest-ry" Syracuse, in 1937. He.worked for the U.S.Forest Servi ce in Idaho and Rochester, Vermont.In 1938, he worked on the New England TimberSol voge project. In 1944, he was working forthe Emporium Forestry Company. 1954 sow Johnbecome an independent consulting forester, Hejoined Litchfield Park Corporation, a multipleuse forest, in 1956. John is CI post President ofNew York Forest Owners Associ ation. For manyyears he has been active in the formulation andlobbying activities that affect forest landownerson state and national level. He is a member ofmany local (Tupper area) dvi c organizations.A member of the Society American Foresters;New York Sod ety Professionel Engineers; NewYork Association of Professional Surveyors; Am-eri can Society of Photogrammetry, he IS also amember of the Secretory of Ag ri culture's Com-mittee on Forest Planning 0

ARCHIE KOON NEW WOODS WALK CHAIRMAN * CONTACT HIM

Archie Koon will work witH you on a Woods Walk of yo~r place. \\fdte himat RD 1, Auburn, N. Y. 13021. Phone: home - (315) 252-4488; bus. 253-3221,

4

ADIRONDACK PARK UNITLISTS WI LDERNESS PLAN

According to the Times Union, Albany, May 8,the Adirondack Park Agency released a tentativeplan Sunday for desiqno+lnq almost half of the2.25 million acres of state-owned land in theAdirondacks as wilderness areas, where motorvehicles and any structure more elaborate than alean-to would be banned.

The agency, created last year, is charged withpreparing a master plan for the public land inthe Adirondack Park for submission to the Gov-ernor by June 1.

A far more controversial task, still in its earlierstages, is the preparation of a master plan forthe 3.5 million acres of private land within thesix-rnl II ion-acre park 0 The agency must submitthat plan to both the Governor and the legisla-ture by January 1 •

The proposed state land plan outlines these threebasic classifications of the public land in theperk:

(1) Wilderness oreos , 15 designated parcels ofland toto linq over a million acres. These are de-fined as being areas of at least 10,000 acreswhere "the imprint of men's work is substantial-ly unnoticeable" p and where "primitive recrea-tion" and solitude are available. Any non-con-forming structures, including all but one rangercabin, are to be torn down, telephone lines areto be dismantled and jeep and snowmobile trailsare to be blocked by 1975.

(2) Primitive areas, 14 designated areas totaling82,390 acres. These generally would be part ofwi Iderness areas but for the fact that a road orsome other "non-conforming use" cannot bephased out by 1975.

(3) Wild forest areas, totaling over a millionacres of land that is considered "less fragile,in ecological terms, than the areas". Theseareas would be opened to more intensive recrea-tional uses, including snowmobiling.

The tentative pian also calls for an 18,OOO-acrecanoe area around St 0 Regis Pond in the townof Santa Clara in Franklin County. Wildernessarea restrictions would apply to this area, butthere would be a special emphasis on develop=ing facilities for canoeists.

ACCREDITI NG COMMITTEECORRESPONDENCE

March 13, 1972

Dear Mr 0 Hanaburgh,

On June 5,1970, Francis W. Graves, logger,Schoharie, N. Y. and I, Ruth Eberley, enteredinto a "timber sales contract". Mr 0 Graves didnot live up to the terms of the contract, and onJune 8, '1971 he moved off the job--sti II owingme a considerable amount of money. Uponchecking his credit f I find that it is "no good",and his equipment is mortgaged.

I would, therefore, like to forewarn all otherforest landowners about my experience withFrands W 0 Graves 0 May I add that before sign-ing any contract with him, I investigated creditreferences and received a favorable report!

Yours truly,Mrs 0 Ruth Eberl ey9 Edgewood Dri veWhitesboro, No Yo

ECOLOGY BANDWAGON

Howard Johnson Co. has joined Hunt Foodsand other national companies in offering ecolo-gy-oriented premiums to custorners , This springHoward Johnson wi l l home del iver three treeseedlings for two ingredient paneis from thecompany's frozen food products, plus one dollar.The seedlings are Scotch Plne , Norway Spruceand Fir and are three years old. The seedlingsare packaged in a transparent poly bag to pro-tect the roots , The trees are tagged with plant-ing instructions and boxed in a sturdy corrugatedmailing carton 0

EARTH BONDS

An imaginative plan is that of "Earth Bonds".The Arlington Trust Company of Arlington, Vaohas sold $102 mil lion of such bonds , They payinterest and help publ i c and private agenciesfinance environmental improvement 0 The Fed-eral government could well support such an im-aginative and constructive outlet for concern.

5

TIMBER AGENT PROGRAM EXPANDED

Since 1946, New York forest owners have beenable to draw on the assistance of professionalforesters employed by the New York State De-partment of Environmental Conservation in themanagement' of their propertles , WhBle this kindof help under the Forest Practice Act has beenmost we Icome it has not r for many owners F gonefar enough 0

Department foresters are available under law togive owners on-rhe-pround advice on various for~estry matters. They mark and est! mate timbervolumes in connection with harvest and stand-improvement operations, they provide guidelinesin the selection of markets and the preparationof sales contracts, and they also supply a list ofthe current r average stumpage prl ces , However,this is as much as the law allow's. Advertisingthe timber scle , examining bids and supervisingthe cutting are outside the scope of the FPA for~esters' permitted cctlvity ,

Absentee owners in pcrti culm have probabl y longwished for some service thct would Hli this void.True, consul+lnq foresters have been availablebut not usually as a means of supplementing FPAassistance. Since April of 1970, five Appalach-ian counties of southeastern New York have hadthe services of a timber agent, Sponsored by theState Forest Practice Board, these services wereoriginally planned to operate for 18 months.However, their success coupled wlth the ovcl lo-bi IHy of funds permitted an extension of oneyear.

As a result of this successful experlence , theState Board has cer+lfled two timber agents inaddition to the pioneer, Harold Nygren of Bain-bridge. They are Curtis Ho Bauer, ConsultingForester, Wellman Buildinq, Jamestown; andAdirondack Forestry, Inc. (Donald Peterson,President), W!lmingtor1. Bauer will operate infive western New York counties. Peterson willcover the New York area north of the MohawkVa IIey ¥ from Oswego County on the west toRensselaer County on the eost , No federal fundsare involved in the operations of these new a-gents"

The timber agent IS certified by the New YorkState Forest Prccri ce Board to provide sales andmarketing services to private woodland ownersof the state. The services provided by a timberagent include: advertising and promoting thesale of the marked timber, conducting bid open-

6

ing and recommending acceptance or rejectionof bids, preparing contracts and having the con-tracts executed; collecting se llers' money, andsupervising the timber harvest. For sales over$2,000, a fee of 10 percent is charged, Forsales under $2,000, terms are negotiated. Iftimber scaling is to be done, $30.00 per day ischarged to the purchaser of the stumpage,Should additional services such as boundary linemointencnce , trespass investigation and courtappearance be required, services will be pro-vided at $7.00 per hour or $50000 per day plusexpenses 0

It is the hope of the Forest' Practice Board to havea timber agent system operating on a statewidebasis. The present plan calls for four agents tocover the state--one for each geographical re-gion: northern, southeastern, central, and west-ern.

Local foresters will be glad to furnish further de-tails of the timber agent services for those count-ies where they are ovcll obl e ,

RESEARCH ON ASH DIEBACK

Researchers at the Kitchawan Research Laboratoryof the Brooklyn Botanic Garden have made animportant step in determining the cause of ashdieback -- a problem of considerable economicimportance in the eastern United Sto+es , Untilrecently § no one disease agent had been identi-fied as the causal agent involved in the dieback.Recommended control measures consist of remov-ing diseased limbs and giving the tree extra waterand fertilizer.

As the result of laboratory work, a strain of to-bacco ringspot virus was ldenflfied from ashleaves that exhibited init'lai symptoms of ash dle-backoln addition, a mycoplasma ~-, an amoe-bo ld-Ilke organism that congregates in the phlo-em of plants ,."~was lsolored from witches! broomformations which are common on ash trees af-mcted with diebock , Al+houqh much researchsti II must be done r these discoveries ore ~mpor-tent steps roword the control of thus ser lous treeproblem,

Abstracted from "Research on Ash Dlebo ck" byC. R, Hibben, Plants and Gordens, BrooklynBotanic Garden Record, N.S 0 Vol. 26, No, 4,"/970-71 .