Balsam Oil

volume 16number 1 THE

NEW YORK FOREST OWNERS'ASSOCIATION

Wood Htat BoomBoosting Tralltr Rmtals

from the UticaObserver-Dispatch

Portland, Maine (AP) - The growingpopularity of wood heat is leaving itsmark on a seemingly unrelated busi-ness-trailer rentals.

Companies such as U-Haul, TaylorRental and Handyman Equipment Ren-tal say many customers have been ren-ting small open-topped trailers this fallto haul newly purchased firewood totheir homes.

By traveling 20 miles and picking uptheir own wood, customers can saveabout $30 a cord. Wood sellers in thePortland area have becn charging a-bout $70 for a cord of dry, split hard-wood.

The rental agents say most custom-ers are renting small trailers, which re-quire at least two trips to move a fullcord of wood. A cord of seasonedmaple weighs about 4,000 pounds.

In the Lewiston area, so many peo-ple are hauling firewood that two rentalagencies reported that their trailerswere booked solid for two successiveweekends.

An agency in Biddeford said somepeople are even renting trucks to haulwood, and that most of the activitytakes place on weekends.

Wood heat has become increasinglypopular in Maine, where many home-owners have purchased cast iron st-oves in an attempt to beat the highcost of heating oil.

CHRISTM4S TREE

GROWERS

WINTER MEETING

The New York Christmas TreeGrowers Ass'n. winter meeting washeld Friday, January 6, in Marshall Hallat the College of Environmental Sci-ence and Forestry in Syracuse. Someof the topics selected were Pests inChristmas Tree Plantations by Dr.George Hudler, Professor at CornellUniversity. He also gave a report onthe Scleroderris Canker Outbreakassisted by Dr. Wayne Sinclair, CornellUniversity; Dr. Larry Abrahamson,College of Environmental Science andForestry, Syracuse, NY; Rural Lane,Director of Div. of Plant Industry,Dept. of Agriculture and Markets, andPaul Manion, College of EnvironmentalScience and Forestry, Syracuse. In theevening there was a Seminar on Mar-keting of Christmas Trees: retailing andwholesaling, The Legal Aspects ofLand Management; by Dr. Allen Hornof the College of EnvironmentalScience and Forestry. Dr. Claude Heit,retired seed specialist, from GenevaExperimental Station in Geneva, NewYork and Mr. Guy Cockburn Outstan-ding Christmas Tree Grower from Gar-rison, New York spoke on SeedSources. Soil Testing and Fertilizationby Prof. Earl Stone, retired professorfrom Cornell University, and WeedControl Practices On A Christmas Treeby Dr. Savel Silverborg, Retired p,ro-fessor from the Forestry College inSyracuse.

I Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of theBoard of Directors of the New York Forest Owners Association.

2

AssociationOfficersC. Eugene Farnsworth, President1219 Lancaster Av., Syracuse, NY 13210Robert M. Sand, 1st Vice PresidentOdessa, NY 14869William C. Crsig, 2nd Vice PresidentRD I, Sherburne, NY 13460Gordon L. Conklin, 3rd Vice PresidentRD 2, Trumansburg, NY 14886Helen Varian, Membership Secretary204 Varian Road, Peekskill, NY 10566J. Lewis DuMond, Secretary9 Grand si.. Cobleskill, NY 12043Emiel D. Palmer, Treasurer5922 S. Salina St., Syracuse, NY 13205

DIRECTORS -1978Allen BrsttonCooperstown, NY 13326William C. CraigRD I, Sherburne, NY 13460Kenneth L. Eberley9 Edgewood Dr., Whitesboro, NY 13492C. Eugene Farnsworth1219 Lancaster Av., Syracuse, NY 13210Jim LassoieFernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850William Lubinec22 Cornish Ave., Binghamton, NY 13001A.W. Roberts .RD 3, Cortland, NY 13045

DIRECTORS -1979Ronald Baldwin11 Eight St., Oneonta, NY 13820Gordon L. ConklinRD 2, Trumansburg, NY 14886Richard C. Fassett512 Center si, Horseheads, NY 14845Robert R. MorrowFernow Hall,lthaca, NY 14850Hardy L. Shirley14 Centennial Dr., Syracuse, NY 13207St. Rt., Elizabethtown, NY 12932ISummer}Evelyn Stock5756lke Dixon Rd., Camillus, NY 13031Raymond R. Walker7549 Ridge Rd., Gasport, NY 14067

DIRECTORS -1980Robert EdmundsRD I, Box 99, Marathon, NY 13003Richard LeaCollege of Environmental Science & Forestry,Syracuse, NY 13210Barbara Pittenger9 Orange St., Marcellus, NY 13108William S. PowersRD I, Milford, NY 13007Uoyd G. Strombeck57 Main St., Owego, NY 13827H.O. WardWard Tree Farm, 240 Owego St., Candor, NY 13743Kenneth WilliamsRD 3, Box 92, Cooperstown, NY 13326

Message from the PresidentAs we end 19n and begin 1978, the New York Forest

Owners Association begins preparations for the April annualmeeting. We will elect a new group of directors in the intervalpreceeding our meeting, and those elected will undertaketheir duties at that time. The search for qualified candidates isnow underway. We are particularly interested in finding can-didates from among our membership who are not presentlydirectors and who have not previously served as directors. Ifany member of our association is interested in becoming acandidate for director, we would like to learn about it. It is en-tirely appropriate to send us your own name, and we will res-pond with additional information.

During the past year, the Board of Directors has reviewedour system of by-laws. Bob Sand has served as chairman ofan ad hoccommittee to edit them into a more compact form.One section (Trust Property Management Board) has been

significantly revised to express the scope and objectives ofthe Association in this new area of activity, but the remainderof the by-laws are essentially unchanged. The amended by-laws will be voted on at the annual meeting in April. A copy ofthe revised by-laws is provided in this issue of the "ForestOwner." Please review it and be prepared to vote at themeeting.

A rather new project is being undertaken in the interest ofproviding more complete information to our members and toother forest land owners. Responding to stimulation byWallace Wood, an Association member who lives inRochester, we held a meeting to determine whether a forestowner workshop could productively be held in Rochester inApril 1978. Representatives of the Cooperative Extension Of-fice in Rochester, the State Extension Forester, the Depart-ment of Environmental Conservation, the Forest PracticeBoard, the Applied Forest Research Institute of the College ofEnvironmental Science and Forestry, and the NYFOA met inRochester in late November and are proceeding with ten-tative plans for a workshop in Rochester on April 1, 1978. Asplans develop, details will be sent out to our members wholive within a reasonable travel distance. We have sponsoredmeetings of various types previously, and we hope to be in-strumental in encouraging other activities that would be of in-terest and benefit for our members. If any of our readers havesuggestions of additional ways your Association could serveforest owners more effectively, we would be pleased to havethem.

IDEER 13ROWSING 1)4M4GE CON'l'ROL _

Is this year for the deer? The foundation plantings aroundyour home may be discussing this question quaking with ap-prehension and fear. An all too common occurrence inSomerset, Morris, and Hunterdon counties has been the in-creasing incidence of deer marauding shrubbery. This situa-tion is especially acute in the fringes of the Great Swampwhere several hundred deer are hemmed by suburbia in anarea less than twenty square miles. Since the food supply inthis area often becomes depleted to the point where effort ex-ceeds caloric reward, deer herds turn to the "easy pickens"of lush, well maintained landscape plantings.

Besides reduction of the deer herd by selective hunting orchemically through birth control what options are open to thehomeowner anxious to protect his expensive, aesthetic plan-tings? One can always screen off a tree with six to eight footwire farm fencing tri-cornered placed roughly three feetbeyond the drip line. Certain plants can be wrapped in burlapwhich then has the dual purpose of windburn protection.Other plants tolerant against windburn can be surroundedwith hardware cloth or chicken wire. Snow fencing, old shut-ters and a host of other homemade barriers protect againstdeer and snow-ice damage.

A relatively recent approach to discourage deer "shrub DUES ARE DUE in March. Statements will be mailed inpredation" is employing chemicals. Deer repellent chemicals February. Your check made out to N.Y. Forest Ownerscan be purchased from hardware stores or farmer Assoc. will be your receipt unless you include with your pay-cooperatives and are moderately successful, though fairly fre- ment a SASE.

3

by Robert ShayEnvironmental Ed. Center

Sommerville, N.J.quent applications are necessary making this method of treat-ment somewhat expensive. Another product which is not adeer repellent is antidessicant spray which in actualitydeposits a very thin plastic-like layer over plant surfaceswhich retard moisture loss. This product is used for newlytransplanted shrubs and for winter protection for plantsespecially susceptible to windburn like broadleaved andregular evergreens. Deer are especially repulsed by antidessi-cant because the material covering the plants accumulate intheir mouth making for unpleasant eating. Whether this is ac-tually the case or not, the end result is the same, plantssprayed with antidessicant spray are virtually left alone.

Planting varieties not as attractive to the Virginia whitetail-ed deer pallate is also a method of discouraging deer. Speciesof yew, juniper, and dogwoods are subjected to severebrowsing and should be protected. Fruit trees, especially ap-ple seem choice delicacies for deer. With some modestpreparations many of your specimen plants can be saveddefacement. Often small trees once protected for severalyears grow above the deer browse lines and no longer needprotection. They made itl

IDUES!

Oilfrom

Balsam FirOil from balsam fir has long been us-

ed in medicines, perfumes, microscopeslides, varnishes, etc. It is a mixture ofessential oils.

Synthetic mixtures, chemicallyequal, might cost one-tenth as muchbut lack the physical properties. A dropof balsam oil will hold the sameessencefor hours.

Combining balsam oil harvest withChristmas tree and pulp production of-fers a good chance to improve theeconomics of land ownership.

We visited some of the severaloil ex-tracting stills across northern NewYork, New England and Canada. Theyare small family-sized units operatedoccasionally as time and conveniencecalls. A farm family may use aneighbor's still or may draw theboughs up to 50 miles. Rentals, wherecharged, are $10.00 to $20.00 perbatch of one to three tons. A stillowner may be a commission buyer fora jobber.

White cedar oil and balsam oil arethe usual products of these stills.Cedar oil at the time of our visits soldf.o.b. from $7.00 to $12.00 per poundwith balsam oil about two-thirds asmuch. There seems to be very littlemarket for oils of spruce, hemlock orpine boughs.

The history and use of these oilsform an interesting story that we mustforbear here.

Balsam oil is gathered by steamstripping from the needles and boughsof the tree. A thicker sticky masscalledbalsam gum is usually gathered bypuncturing and draining blisters in thebark of the tree trunk. By steam extrac-tion gum yields 20% to 80% oil.

We made rough estimates of the

time used by all members of somefamilies cutting boughs and process_ingthem through stills. Returns for laborcentered near 50 to 75 cents per hourwith no allowance for use of farm trac-tors, wagons and trucks. No charge ismade to a neighbor who cuts boughsto clear pastures or clean up behindfence post or pulp cutting. Therefore,we set out to find efficiencies thatcould make the operation commercial-ly attractive and yield a return to thewoodland owner.

We used an electric hot plate and atwenty quart pressure cooker riggedwith a copper tube in a pail of watercooled by a garden hose to run tests onten pound samples of balsam fir. Wealso set up a 5-foot by 6-foot retortwith a boiler for steam and water froma pond for cooling a condenser to run 2ton batches. The steam from thepressure cooker goes through thecondensing coil into a burette wherewe measure water drawn off the bot-tom and measure oil on top of thewater. In the large retort, steam fromthe boiler comes up through theboughs and down through thecondenser to a' separating vat. Waterruns out the bottom of this vat with oildrawn or skimmed off the top.

Records were made of manysamples tested from different parts oftrees, different aged trees, differentgrowing conditions and differenthandling methods. Various harvestingmethods were tried and imagined. Thepsychological attitude of farmers, log-gers and pulpers towards handlingmethods was appraised. The manyvariations encountered would requiremuch more research to meet scien-tifically acceptable conclusions. More

4

by William W. 8allagh, Lowville, NY

important is the preliminary conclu-sions indicated for an economicenlargement of the business. For lackof space here we will skip the detailsthat formulated these conclusions, useaverage or representative figures, andgrant that any variable circumstancecould have a corresponding influenceon the results.

ResultsTips of the last three years' growth

on young vigorous balsam trees yieldabou- 1.5% oil. From these sameboughs the growth 4 to 7 years before,still carrying some needles, grossesweight one third as much as the 3 yeartips, and yields 40% as much perpound. The bark, with no needles,from stems and the bole up to 3 inchesdiameter has a grosSweight nearly onethird of the 3 year tips and yields 20%as much oil per pound. Stripped woodhas no measurable oil. Young trees inshade and crowded conditions yieldconsiderably lessoil.

Tops out of 50 to 70 foot trees thatare dense and bushy yield only 50 to60% as much oil per pound as youngtrees. This is growth that is biologicallycapable of producing seed cones andpollen where young tree growth can-not. A biochemist might explain whythis lower oil percent occurs.

The percent oil in balsam is higher inthe fall and winter than in the early spr-ing to summer.

When cut trees and boughs dryopenly the percent water contentdrops faster than the oil content.However, boughs piled in densebundles or chipped into a heap start toheat and lose oil more rapidly thanwater.

Visitors inspect the condensing unit of a balsam still. Part of the retort for steaming boughs shows on the right.

Boughs must be packed uniformly inthe retort so steam will not channel upthrough. Increased amount of steamhastens oil extraction but morepressure or heat does not have mucheffect except as it might involve moresteam.

Boughs harvested to pencil size andsmaller twigs pack well in the retortespecially with a little steam whiletreading in. Time required for this typeof harvesting is sometimes reduced byputting finger size and larger stemsthrough a silage cutter. Broken andtwisted cutters testify the machineswere not made for this use.

We rented a chipper to chip andblow boughs into the retort. Thisworks very well and would facilitate amechanical unloader in place of thehand fork.

Chipping large stems and tree bolesup to 4 inch diameter offers a quickerway to bring boughs out of the woodsthan fiddling with small tips. The extraweight of these larger stems directlyreduces the yield per pound but thevolume is only a little more than tipsalone.

Ideal handling could be chipperloading of trucks for long transport butfermentation immediately starts in

chipped boughs so it should be donejust before steaming.

Tree tops and boughs pushed intopiles by skidders become too entangl-ed to be handled afterwards. Becauseof soft and rough ground in balsamtracts there are very few large opera-tions where other equipment canfollow a skidder to salvage boughs.Balsam trees will not drag far withoutlosing the boughs. Short of expensiveredesigning of a skidder it seems prac-tical to hand bale tree tops and boughsin large slings that can be dragged outof the woods and loaded on trucks. Insmall woodlots and farms, wherewagons or sleighs can be used, treetops and 50 pound bundles of boughscan be loaded by hand.

The value of balsamgrowth per yearper acre is less for oil than forChristmas trees. Utilization for oil of-fers a chance to salvage 25 cents ormore per culled tree at the roadside.The value of one acre of annual growthof balsam boughs for oil piled at theroadside far exceeds the value ofequivalent growth for pulp piled atroadside. Many years growth can beaccumulated in standing pulp.Relatively few years growth can be ac-cumulated in boughs for oil.

S

Investment in an efficient plantcould involve one to four hundredthousand dollars. At present oil pricesthis would be profitable if we paid pulpgrowth rate value for balsam boughs,$2.00 per hour for family labor and amodest allowance for tractors andwagons. Getting an adequate supplyfrom families that have access tobalsam for this size plant might be dif-ficult in competition with current socialprograms and incomes.

Commercial pulpers could supply anadequate flow of boughs for wintermonths and perhaps more if we canperfect the handling methods so as tobudget $4.00 to $6.00 per hour forlabor. This is a dream not yet ac-complished.

Market demand can be expandedwhere commercial users can beassured that a continuing supply willbe available for a product they woulddevelop. Shrewd bargaining can pro-bably raise price a little to close thecommercial pulper's cost gap and tostir more enthusiasm in family labor.

Mr. 8allagh can be contacted at7717 West State St., Lowville, NY13367.

SELECTION

by Robert R. Morrow

Department ofNatural ResourcesCornell University

Individual or single tree selection is apopular method for harvesting trees.Many people are more concerned withthe aesthetic aspects of forest harvestthan sustained yield of a renewableresource. To them, selection is the an-tithesis of clearcut; therefore, it mustbe good. Environmentalists have gain-ed favorable status for selectionmethods in National Forest legislation.Service foresters have often espousedselection cutting as best for the ownersof small woodlands, citing argumentsthat are seldom valid today. Evenunscrupulous loggers find selectionharvest suitable. What other methodcan be so easily interpreted to permittaking the biggest, best, and most pro-fitable trees while leaving the junk foranother generation?

Selection harvest is viewed withfavor by many different people forvarious reasons. But is it really apanacea?

Management Systems andHarvesting Methods

Sustained yield is a central objectivein the management of most forests. Itis obtainable by either even-age or all-agemanagement systems.

Even-ageforests contain standswithtrees of nearly the sameage (within 20years) and crown level. There shouldbe a series of stands, ranging in agefrom new seedlings to mature trees.Harvesting and regeneration of theoldest stand causes it to become theyoungest. Suitable thinning of theother stands encourages growth intolarger size classes. Thus distribution oftree sizes and ages is achieved, allow-ing sustained yield. Even-agemanage-

CUTTING===--ment has fallen into some disfavorbecause of large-area clearcuts thathave not always provided enough ageclass representation or suitableregeneration. Faulty application of amanagement system should not bemistaken for a faulty system.

In all-age forests a single standshould contain trees of all ages, rang-ing from seedlings to mature trees.This ideal rarely occurs and usually on-ly a few age classes are found in anystand. Therefore all-age managementis often called uneven-age manage-ment. Harvesting the few big andmature trees is equivalent to the retire-ment of top executives from a corpora-tion. Theoretically middle executivesmove to the top and junior executivesreplace them. At the other end theyoungest stock boy may be promotedand a new one hired. Unfortunately itdoesn't quite work this way, as manypeople are not sufficiently well-trained,tolerant, or competitive to be pro-moted. As we shall see, it is very oftenthe samewith trees.

Harvesting and regeneration are thekeys to sustained yield by either even-or all-age management. Typicalharvest and regeneration methods canbe briefly summarized, as follows:

Individual tree .selection -In-dividual or adjacent treesharvested, leaving very smallopenings. Useful only for long-lived, tolerant trees that canreproduce and grow in con-siderableshade.Group selection-Groups of treesharvested, creating openingsoften ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 acre.Useful for several intolerantspecies, if openings are sufficient-ly large, aswell as for tolerants.Shelterwood- Two or threeharvest stages, thus: (1) Apreparatory cut to open the standand encourage advanced

6

A fAN

reproduction, (2) A shelterwoodcut, often leaving about half thecrown canopy (usually the biggertrees) to provide more seed andprotection from frost, wind, sun,etc., and (3) Removalof residuals.Useful for most species and ex-posed sites. Harvesting residualswhile minimizing damage to newstand can be a problem.Seed tree-Often about 20 seedtrees per acre are left to provideregeneration. Especially useful inpine stands with insufficient initialreproduction.Clearcut-AII trees removed andreplaced by natural or plantedregeneration. Especially useful forthe more intolerant species, over-mature stands, and stands with agreat deal of cull resulting fromprevious "high grading" ordisease. Patch (as little as0.5 acrein size) and strip clearcuts com-monly are preferable to large-areaclearcuts.Note that the principal difference

between these methods is in the open-ness of the stand following harvest.All-age management requires speciestolerant of shade and is promoted byindividual tree selection. Even-agemanagement is applicable to all speciesand is promoted by shelterwood, seedtree and clearcut methods. Groupselection is often associated with all-age management, but can be used topromote even-aged groups of intoler-ant as well as tolerant trees withinforest stands.

Problems with IndividualTree Selection

The first problem with the individualtree selection method is that it hasonlylimited applicability. Its success re-quires tolerant species. This excludesmany of our most valuable easternhardwoods - white ash, tulip poplar,black cherry, basswood, birches, oaks, .

EA FOR NORTHEASTERN FORESTS?

and so on. Numerous long term ex-periments show that sustainedapplica-tion of selection cutting reduces thenumber of these intolerant speciesandleadsto a more simple forest of maple,beech, and sometimes hemlock.

The second problem is more subtleand less well known. Roach haspointed out that harvesting the fewmature trees is not enough to maketheselection method work. It is alsonecessary to thin in al/ the lower ageclasses - including small poles andsaplings, Of course this has not beendone; it is too expensive.With increas-ing labor costs, the Scandinaviansandothers have largely given up the in-dividual tree selection method becauseit is too costly.

Sugar maple is one of the most pro-minent as well as one of the mosttolerant trees in the eastern forest. It isable to live in the shade, but does notcontinue to grow there. It is com-monplace to see thousands of seedl-ings, a foot or so tall, existing fordecades without significant growth inunthinned stands. Saplings oftenbecome suppressed, making onlyenough photosynthate to cover thecost of respiration. Taller trees becomedeformed or flat-topped as they areunable to grow into unthinnedcanopies. After a selection harvest,these old, slow, and sometimesdeformed trees are poor candidatesforsucceeding crops.

Even the very tolerant hemlock hasdifficulty growing in its own shade.Younger age classes seldom occurunder hemlock overstories, exceptunder conditions of ecological distur-bance or mortality. Unfortunately,beech and hop hornbeam, usuallyundesirablespecies, appear to be mostcapable of succeeding where the in-dividual tree selection method is ap-plied without suitable thinning in thelower age classes. Examples of their

success are too commonplace.Presence of abundant deer, whichprefer more valuable species forbrowsing, enhances the growth ofbeechand hornbeam.

The third problem with individualtree selection relates to the kinds offorests now available. Many nor-theastern hardwood forests area resultof very heavy cutting, including clear-cutting, for sawlogs, charcoal, or otherproducts late in the last century. Thusthey are already essentially even-agedstands, or sometimes two- or three-aged where unmerchantable beech orother undesirableswere left. The con-tinued imposition of individual treeselection harvests on those even-agestands amounts to little more than"high-grading," and will eventuallygreatly reduce the sustained yield ofquality wood.

Getting Back to theMiddle of the Road

Recent debates about Americanforestry have featured two grosslydivergent harvest methods - clear cutsand selection cuts. The middle roadhas been nearly forgotten. Researchissomewhat limited, but the evidencesuggests that group selection, shelter-wood, and patch or even strip clearcutharvests deserve more trial and use,especially in the Northeast. They cer-tainly offer more flexibility in obtainingmost forest objectives.There will be some additional costs.

Group selection is not well-suited tothe record-keeping needs of large in-dustrial forests. But, if applied with im-agination, it can achieve manysatisfactions for the owners of smallforests who own 60 percent of thiscountry's forest land. Residualharvestin shelterwoods is costly, but it can beaccomplished with some of the smallerskidding equipment while leaving mostof the new stand intact. Patch clear-cuts are adaptable to bigger firms as

7

well as small. Size and shape of open-ings can be adjusted to fit the pur-poses. Small openings or strip cutsmay be more suitable for wildlifehabitat. Large openings may reduceharvest costs as well as the proportionof edge trees whose value may bereduced by epicormic branching.

In northeastern hardwood forests,abundant deer pose a regenerationproblem regardless of the harvestmethod- One solution is to make anadequate thinning (similar to thepreparatory cut in a shelterwoodlseveral years ahead of maturity tostimulate suitable reproduction prior toharvest. Where deer are abundant orbrowse is inadequate, suitablereproduction means an adequatenumber of desirable stems with ter-minal sh.oots above browse level.

Formost species, seedling reproduc-tion is preferred over sprouts. Pre-harvest thinning can promote germina-tion and growth of seedlings. To avoidsprouting from cut stumps, they canbesprayedwith keroseneor fuel oils.

Compartments andEven-Age Management

Of course group selection' shelter-wood, and patch clearcut methodspromote even-age growth. But thisneed not mean large areas of forestwith little diversity. In an earlierpaper, Iargued for a return to forest manage-ment based on the use of relativelysmall compartments or managementunits. The use of small compartmentsencourages establishment of forestpriorities, integration of multiple uses,work planning and motivation, andmore diversity over all of the forest.The use of group selection, shelter-wood, and/or patch clearcut harvestmethods fits appropriately into thecompartment system and is workablefor the owners of small 40 acrewoodlots as well as those with largerforests.

laerg, ~aDservatiaD Tied to ForestsThroughout the United States we

are being faced with periodic energyshortages and escalating fuel costs.We are slowly realizing that our fossilfuel resources are limited and thatalternatives must be considered.Though not an alternative, energyconservation has long been seen as ameans of slowing the consumption ofnonrenewable natural resources suchas coal, oil, and natural gas.

Since the days before -Gifford Pin-chot, the first chief of the U.S. ForestService, the practice of conservationhas also been advocated for our forest,one of our few renewable naturalresources. Even though forests are avery important economic, aesthetic,and ecologic resource, they areconstantly being subjected to variouspressures as our population andeconomy continue to grow. Thesepressures undermine the natural func-tioning of forest ecosystems.

The continuing loss of functioningforest ecosystems and the energy crisisare inseparably linked together. Hence,the conservation of natural fossil fuelsis closely related to the conservation ofnatural ecosystems, as was recentlystated by F.H. Bormann of YaleUniversity's School of Forestry and En-vironmental Studies, in the December1976issue of BioScience.

Important Resource

With the increased interest in solarenergy research, it is ironic that weoften forget that nature provides uswith a means to collect and store solarenergy- photosynthesis. In thisbiochemical process, water and carbondioxide combine to form high energysugar compounds, thus "storing" aportion of the sunlight energynecessary to drive this reaction. Allhigher animal life is dependent upon

byJ.P. Lassoie Cornell University

the ability of green plants to store solarenergy.

Photosynthesis is relatively ineffi-cient as less than 1per cent of the solarenergy is actually captured. However,the total amount on an areas basis isvery significant. For example, a hec-tare (2.47 acres) of northeasterndeciduous forest annually converts theequivalent of about 14 times theamount of electrical energy used by anaverage American household in 1 year!Only recently of this stored energy byburning firewood; the rest ends up asvaluable wood products or is left in theforest to decompose.

Forests are important to theeconomic and social well-being op-portunities that they provide. In addi-tion, wood products, either fiber orchemical derivatives, are usedthroughout society. These productsare especially valuable, because woodis a renewable natural resource that isproduced with relatively little pollutioncompared to its non-renewablesubstitutes. Revenues from wood andits products account annually for about2 per cent of the gross national pro-duct.

The ecological and environmentalfunctions of natural iorest ecosystemsare extremely complicated and oftenare neglected for their economic func-tions. This is unfortunate as forests ex-ercise considerable control over reg-ional and local patterns of climate,hydrology, circulation of nutrients,erosion, and the cleansing functions ofair and water; aswell as over the statusof streams, lakes, and undergroundwater supplies (seefigure).

Pressures on ForestsThough the value of forest

ecosystems is readily identified, theyare under increasing pressurefrom cur-rent land use decisions associatedwith

8

our technological-industrial-urbandevelopment. At best, these preseuresresult ! ' ecological functioning of theforest ecosystem; at worst, theircomplete destruction. Pressureson theland SBriace arise from a combinationof urbanization and transportation,mismanagement, and air pollution.

Annually, urbanization and transpor-tation needs convert 740,000 acres ofrural land for other uses. Such conver-sion primarily occurs peripheral to ex-panding urban centers where a varietyof environmental stresses associatedwith industries, homes, highways, andrelated activities radiate outward intosurrounding forest lands.

Mismanagement of our naturalresources has characterized 8bedevelopment of the United States.Forests have been no exception. Theprogressive exploitation of thisvaluable resource marked the march ofAmerican frontiersmen from the Atlan-tic Seaboard to the Pacific Coast. Eventoday, many forests are inappropriatelymanaged and harvested resulting inlong-term degradation of the forest'spotential. This is indeed unfortunate asecologically and economically soundmanagement techniques are currentlyavailable that do not cause significantdamage to the forest ecosystem, whilestill providing an adequate supply oftimber and wood products forever.

Air pollution is a newly recognizedpressure on the forest ecosystem andis one that is complex and difficult toadequately assess. The northeasternportion of the United States is poten-tially very susceptible to air pollutiondamage, owing to its particularregional weather patterns and largemetropolitan centers.

In some areas of North America, airpollution has been so severe that entireecosystems have been destroyed. Inother areas, only pollution-sensitive

plants are lost, and a change in thevegetation comprising a forestecosystem occurs. The ecological im-pact of such a shift in species composi-tion on total ecosystem functioning isdifficult to document and is as yetundetermined. In addition, more subtleeffects, such as reduced growth,reproductive potentials, and deco osi-tion rates; and increased insect anddisease susceptibility are even moredifficult to assess. However, these ef-fects are potentially the mostdangerous in the long run.

Inseparable LinkAs forests are destroyed, or radically

modified, their economic, social, andecological functions are similarly lost orreduced. In order to maintain the samequality of life, these functions mustthen be replaced by extensive and con-tinuing investments of fossil fuelenergy. Replacements must be foundfor wood products, erosion controlsmust be built, reservoirs enlarged, airand water pollution technology im-proved, flood control works improved,air conditioning increased, and newrecreational facilities must be provided.

These substitutions represent an ex-treme tax burden and a constant drainon the world's energy supplies. Thegreater demand for these resources inturn causes further pressure on the re-maining forest ecosystems, whichresults in still more consumption offossil energy to replace lost naturalecosystem functions.

An active energy conservation pro-gram in the United States serves 2main purposes. First, there are thebenefits associated with slowing theconsumption of non-renewable energy

, sources. This is not a solution to ourlong-term energy needs, but suchmeasures can buy the time necessaryfor the, development of ecologicallysound alternatives. Equally importantis that the wise use of these resourceshelps to conserve natural forestecosystems with their numeroushuman benefits.

Since they are inseparably linked,the conservation of both our fossilfuels and our forest ecosystems needto be considered together. Action inconcert with the development of newenergy technologies, such as solarpower will help provide an amenablequality of life in the future.

•Detnces to

Protect seeali HfjS

from Deer BrowsiHfj

by David A. Marquis

Principal Research SilviculturistNortheastern ForestExperiment Station

Warren, Pa.

from Forest ServiceResearch NoteNE-243-1977

Severe browsing of tree seedlings bywhitetailed deer has resulted incomplete regeneration failures in manysections of Pennsylvania, and plantingof areas that fail to regenerate naturallyis futile unless the planted seedlingsare protected against browsing. Onepromising way to protect both naturaland planted seedlings is to place plasticor wire-mesh tubes around the seedl-ings to protect their terminal leadersuntil they grow above the reach ofdeer.

Trials of various types of individualprotection devices conducted over thepast 5 years have shown that cost andeffectiveness vary greatly. This reportdescribes the results obtained withvarious devices and makes recommen-dations on their use.

Conclusions andRecommendations

These studies and trials have shownthat several types of wire or plastictubes can be erected around treeseedlings to protect them from deerbrowsing. In terms of cost and effec-tiveness, the two most promisingdevices are a 4- to 6-inch diameterplastic tube with small mesh and a 12-inch diameter tube constructed ofchicken wire. Both types need to be atleast 5 feet tall to provide adequateprotection in areas of heavy browsingpressure, such as exist throughoutPennsylvania. The plastic protectors

9

are more expensive than those made of'wire, but are somewhat quicker tofabricate, and they offer the added ad-vantage of protection against rodents.

Efforts are now underway by theU.S. Forest Service and the plasticmanufacturers to develop a plastic pro-tector that would be more easily sup-ported and would be less expensivethan present tube-stake combinations.

The mininum number of seedlingsthat must be grown above deer brows-ing height is probably somewhere bet-ween 100and 200 per acre. If an entireregeneration area were to receive pro-tective devices, the total cost wouldrun between $115and $230per acre forchicken-wire protectors plus plantingcosts if natural seedlings were not pre-sent. This cost is high; but until somecheaper method is found, the use ofprotective devices seems necessary onsome areas if they are to remain inforest production. The use of in-dividual protective devices is usuallycheaper than protecting the entire areawith a deer-prooffence.

Use of currently available naturalregeneration guidelines could reducethe number of regeneration failures toa minimum. But even in areasclassified as successfully regenerated,heavy deer browsing frequentlycreates pockets where stocking is in-adequate. These nonstocked areascanreduce yields by important amounts,and the selective use of seedling pro-tectors in such areas could bring theentire area to full stocking. Protectorsalso provide an opportunity to improvespecies composition by ensuring pro-tection of species that are preferential-ly browsed (such as red maple andyellow-poplar), or-if combined withplanting - of introducing genetically-improved stock or species now absentfrom that site.

my Woodlot inJefferson Countyby AI Roberts, Jr.

I was a youngish forester working inLowville in 1953. I had a wife and threechildren, age one to four years old.(and unkriown to me at the time, threemore to come). As far as I could see,providing a college education for thekids on a forester's salary was out ofthe question. So I decided, unilaterally,(my wife said I was nuts) to make myfortune growing Christmas trees. Ilocated a 127 acre abandoned farm onTug Hill, borrowed $150 from my NewYork State Retirement and was inbusiness. Yes' $150 was the full pur-chase price.

What I had bought, according to theTown Assessors on grievance day,was one of the best farms in theTownship. But it really wasn't. Ithadn't been farmed in at least tenyears, and had gone through a sale forunpaid taxes. Town, County andschool taxes amounted to. fifteendollars a year, which wasn't much, butit was ten percent of the purchaseprice. It was assessed for $1800.,which the assessors on my plea reduc-ed to $1200. Within a year or two theCounty had a County-wide reassess-ment and my farm received an assess-ment of $300. There were no buildings.There were twenty-five acres ofwoods, twenty-five acres of swampand alder and sixty-seven acres for mylittle money-making Christmas trees.

For the next few years I planted tenthousand trees a year. And every time Isank the mattock in the ground I saidto myself, there goes another dollar forMargaret, Liz and Vicki's education.Well, as any of you who have everbeen in the Christmas tree businesscan suspect, it never happened. By1964 I had planted 68,000 trees and in1959 I had been transferred toCortland, 100miles from tbe trees.

Meanwhile, way in the back cornerof the property was the twenty-fiveacres of mistreated Northern hard-woods, mostly beech and maple.Almost as an afterthought I wentthrough the routine of doing thinningand cull removal over a period of fouryears, with the encouragement and

help of the A.C.P. program. Also, inresponse to the request of theneighboring owner I built or rebuilt 30chains (1980ft.) of fence.

Three years after planting the firstScotch pine they needed shearing. Thefirst year or two wasn't bad. But by1959 they were out of control,especially since by then I lived 100miles from the trees. I didn't havemoney to hire help, so for a few yearsmy wife and I farmed out the kids withtheir Grandparents, and we campedout on the lot for a week and sheared.We sheared ten hours a day rain orshine, but could never get all the workdone. Between inadequate shearingand snow breakage, our total salesover a period of several years was onlyabout two thousand trees. The educa-tion fund got nothing as we im-mediately spent all the money receivedon Christmas presents for our evergrowing family.

So now we have sixty-seven acres ofplantations. The white spruce andbalsam look nice and by the time I ameighty years old there may be somepulp to cut. At today's prices each treewill be worth about twenty-five cents.The Scotch pine embarrassesme everytime I walk through it. Clay soils and

Tug Hill snows have devastated it intobent and crooked monsters. Howcould I, a forester, be responsible forsuch a mess?My wife was right. I wasnuts.

I was a failure in my original inten-tions. But wait a minute. Things hap-pened that I had never thought or evendreamed would happen. Let's look atsome of them: - First, over the years Ihave come to truly love the place. Andthough I can't say the same for mydear, faithful, hard shearing wife, Ireally have enjoyed the hours of workand eager anticipation I have spentthere. Second, last year to even mysurprise I sold $2200 worth ofsawtimber stumpage out of the wor-thless twenty-five acres of woodlands Ihad treated twenty years ago, and thewoods is still in better shape than itwas when I bought it. Third, the taxesare still less than a dollar an acre, andthe property is under the old FisherTaxLaw. And fourth, and wonder ofwonders, my $150 property is nowworth at least $25,000and represents avery cheap life insurance policy for mywife and kids.

Incidently, the kids have gotten theircollege education without theChristmas trees.

Sawlog Price and Market Reportby A. W. Roberts, Jr.Committee onNaturalResources & Land Use

The demand for hardwood sawtim-ber at the present time is excellent. Atleast in the Central New York area thedemand seems to be considerably ab-ove the amount immediately available.At least two of the large buyers I knoware cutting timber within a week or twoof buying it. This is in contrast to theusual situation of having timber boughta year ahead of when it will be cut.

In two recent sales I have made forowners the price of the hard maple,cherry and ash have exceeded $125perthousand board feet, Doyle rule. Prices

10

vary considerably from region to regionwithin the State, and of course theyalso vary from woodlot to woodlot de-pending on quality, accessability andthe manner in which the timber is sold.The best way to obtain full value fortimber is to sell it by competitive bid-ding.

The foreseeable future seems to in-dicate continued high demand and per-haps price increases. But if membershave been thinking about selling somemature timber, now is the time to sellit.

The Editor of the Forest Owner andthe Committee on Natural Resourcesand Land Use would welcome mem-bers' questions on this subject.

Arr@ V@ill] HAP~Ywoli[[u V@ill]rr W@Od~01?

by Richard V. LeaWoods Walk Committee

As Chairman of the Woods WalkCommittee, I have been pondering thebest way to be of service. I re-read anumber of back issues of the ForestOwner and the satisfaction receivedfrom woodland ownership is very ap-parent. It seems to be that it might beinteresting to determine the variety ofreasons why members of NYFOA en-joy woodland ownership.

I know each of us was asked to fillout a questionnaire when we joinedNYFOA, but viewpoints change overtime. Jim Lassoie made reference tothe range of responses to that ques-tionnaire in his article in the May-JuneForest Owner as to who we are. I'd liketo obtain a short statement in theowner's words on why you own yourwoodland, together with the sizeof thewoodland ownership involved. Even ifyou own no land and Jim Lassoie in-dicates that 15% of NYFOA membersin this group own no land, an expres-sion of the reason for belonging toNYFOA will be helpful. I'll assemblethe replies and report back to you all ata later date.

A better understanding of why ourmembers hold forest land would bemost helpful to the Association, par-ticularly the officers and committeechairmen, in planning activities. Theycannot wait for guidance from themembership, however, but must carryout their assigned tasks.

For example, in planning for the1978 year, it was suggested that theWoods Walks be scheduled in differentparts of the State so members couldattend without extensive travel. Thequestion of timing can be important aswell - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter -which is more desirable? If there isenough interest, several could be plan-ned in each area to provide for local in-terest. Walks could be scheduled in the

.f'

Adirondacks, the Hudson Valley orNiagara Frontier if so desired. Anothersuggestion was to provide an occa-sional Woods Walk on an interestingpublic or large private forest for varie-ty. All it takes is an expression of in-terest. So while you are writing aboutyour own land to me, I'd appreciate it ifyou would also state your wishes onthe Woods Walks program.

Next I'd like to talk about themechanics of a Woods Walk. If youhaven't been on one, I'm sure you'veread about how pleasant they are. Put-ting one on is not difficult. It's like hav-ing a group of friends drop in, onlyeasier. Sure - a bit of planning isnecessary - when, where, how to getthere, where to park, weather pro-blems, and similar logistical itemsshould be thought about to makethings easier. The itinerary is yourchoice of course, but make it easy onyourself so you enjoy it as much asyour company. The Woods WalksCommittee can provide you with a sim-ple checklist and help in the planning ifdesired. Think about putting one on inyour woodlot, and if you are at all in-terested, please let me know while youhave pen in hand for the above.

To sum up this rambling request,your thoughts on these three itemswould be greatly appreciated by theWoods Walks Committee and, I'msure, the NYFOA.

1. Reasons and satisfactionsreceived from forest land owner-ship.2. Location and types of WoodsWalks of interest.3. Your interest in having aWoodsWalk on your woodlot.Your reply to the last two items by

the end of January will give our Com-mittee a chance to plan while the snowis deep. So send your notes to my ad-dress as shown on the masthead of theForest Owner and earn the thanks fromall our members aswell asmine.

11

FEEDBACRMr. Howard O. WardSt. John Associates1117Front StreetBinghamton, New York 13905

Dear Howard:I read with a great deal of interest

the article Forestry Beginnings in theSouthern Tier of New York State wh-ich appeared in the November-Decem-ber issueof New York Forest Owner.

It was a very fine article, and I en-joyed reading it. I plan to passmy issueon to our middle school principal andhope that he will refer your article to7th grade students who are studyingNew York State history.

Best wishes for a happy and healthyholiday season.

Sincerely yours,Norman J. SweeneySuperintendent of SchoolsChenango Forks Central SchoolsChenango Forks, NY

W QQdsTalksby A. W. Roberts, Jr.Committee on NaturalResources & Land Use

One of the ways the Forest OwnersAssn. serves its members is by pro-viding a means of exchanging ideas,views and information among themembers. One of the means for doingthis isWoods Walks, where one ownerinvites all interested members to cometo his woods and walk through it withhim and talk about it.

But most members are limited bytime and distance (and perhaps inertia)from participating. Perhaps the nextbest thing would be for an owner towrite an article for publication in the" Forest Owner" telling about hiswoods (we could call it a woods talk)and then all the members could readabout it.

To see how this idea goes over Ihave submitted a story about my firstwoods ownership to perhaps act as aguide, inspiration or challenge to otherowners to contribute. We urge anyoneto share his pleasures of ownershipwith the rest of us by sending an articleto the Editor: - Mr. James Briggs.

Lake Pleasant, N.Y.12108

PermltNo.4

Nonprofit Organizationbulk rate

U.S. POSTAGE

James N. Briggs, EditorP.O. Box 112

Lake Pleasant, NY 12108

II>111!I

John F. DavisMarietta, NY 13110

/

You're Not AloneThere are 200,000 other forest owners in New York.

Why not invite them to join NYFOA today?

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE NEWYORK FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

(Pleasesend to:)

Mrs. Helen Varian, Membership Secretary204 Varian Rd., Peekskill, N.Y. 10566

I would like to help advance forestry in New York State.I enclose my check payable to the New York ForestOwners Association, Inc.

I own _ acres forest land inCounty, N.Y.I do not own forest land but I support Associa-tion's objectives.

ANNUAL DUES

(Pleaseunderline choice)

Junior Member (Under 21) $1

Regular Member $7

Family Membership $'12(husband, wife)

Contributing Member $12 - $29Sustaining Member $30 - $99Supporting Member , $100 - $499Sponsoring Member $500 and up

Name _

Address _

________________ Zip Code _