The New York

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

NovemberlDecember 1996

THE NEW YORK

FOREST OWNERSASSOCIATION

VOL. 34, NO.6

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Bill Minerd, President

1123 Cold Springs Road

Liverpool, NY 13088; 315/451-3712

Jill Cornell, Vice President

703 Johnsonville Rd.Johnsonville,NY 12094; 5181753-4336

Robert M. San", Recording Secretary300 Church Street .

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

Mary Richardson, Treasurer

150 Chatfield RoadElbridge, NY 13060; 315/689-6890

Deborah Gill, Administrative SecretaryP.O. Box 180

Fairport, NY 14450; 716/377 -6060

1997John T. Hastings, Queensbury; 5181798-0248Charles Mowatt, Savona; 607/583'-7006

Norman Richards, Syracuse; 315/472-3696Elizabeth Wagner, Utica; 3151733-7391

1998Jill Cornell, Johnsonville; 5181753-4336Elizabeth Densmore, Machias; 716/942-6600

Robert Sand, Odessa; 607/594-2130Bob Sykes, Elbridge; 315/673-3691

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

Thomas Ellison, Manlius, 315/682-9376

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

AFFILIATE REPRESENTATIVES

Dick Mark, THRIFT; 315/623-9476Donna Rogier, Catskill Forest Assoc.; 914/586-3054

CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVESDon Huber, Allegheny Foothills; 716/549-5025

Tom Hewitt, Cayuga; 315/497-1266

Barry Cornell, Capital District; 5181753-4336Tom Graber, Central New York; 315/255-3662

Jeff Wiegert, Lower Hudson; 914/831-3109Bob Howard, Northern Adirondack West; 3151262-2692

Herb Boyce, Northern Adirondack East; 518/946-7040

Donald Fraser, Niagara Frontier; 716/773-7011

Ernst Spencer, SE Adirondack; 5181792-1726Larry Lepak, Southern Tier; 607/656-8504

Don Schaufler, Tioga, 607/589-6095

Eileen VanWie, Western Finger Lakes; 716/ 367-2849

All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced with-

out prior written permission from the publisher. NYFOAdoes not necessarily support or approve procedures, prod-

ucts, or opinions presented by authors or advertisers.

COVER:THE FALL MEETING - The Catskill For-est Association's Executive Director, DinnieSloman, with NYFOA at Paul Steinfeld'sCatskill property-Gilead Tree Farm. (Seepage 4.)

2 NY FOREST OWNER

FOREST OWNERA publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

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

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 Ian/Feb is Dee 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.

THE MASTER FOREST OWNER/COVERTS PROGRAM

MFO Class of "96 practicing their tree scale stick skills at Cornell's Arnot Forest.(See Page 11)

Table of Contents

Green Certification: Maybe We're Nuts, John Schott 3Fall Meeting, Patricia Kay 4BioMass-For-Energy, Daniel Robison, et al 6NYS Cons. Council Awards, Tim Noga 8Nuts to Meat, John Braubitz 10Master Forest Owner/COVERTS Program, Bonnie Colton 11Chapters/Affiliates 12Leadership ConferencelEditorial Meeting 13The Green Cape That Is Brown, Henry Kernan 14Highlights on the Life of Dr. Hardy L. Shirley, Robert Zabel 16Death and Taxes, David J. Colligan : 18The Pine Bark Adelgid, Douglas C. Allen 20Herbs are Fun, Jane Sorensen Lord 22

NYFOA - 1-800·836-3566 - INFO NOVIDEC 1996

GUEST EDITORIAL: By New Hampshire Landowner-JOHN SCHOTT'

GREEN CERTIFICATION: Maybe We're NutsThere are a lot of nuts out there. Remem-

ber those back-to-earth hippies and theirorganic gardens and "natural" foods? Re-member how we considered this organicnonsense a fleeting fad? Eventually, wesaid, they'll grow up, have babies, and geta job. And now look what's happened!Health food stores proliferate. Organicfarming becomes profitable. And consum-ers are prepared regularly to pay premiumprices for organically produced groceries-at the local farm stand and now from majorsupermarket chains. The market in a veryshort span of time, has become consumerdriven.

Maybe those nuts weren't so crazy afterall, and maybe some of us weren't so verysmart.

Just like now, when it comes to greencertification.A bunch of environmental nutsare boycotting products made from tropi-cal woods in hopes they'll save therainforests. From tree huggers to middle-class "concerned citizens," consumers ofwood products are wanting to know if thewood comes from "properly managed" for-ests. On everything from furniture to fire-wood, little tags are now appearing whichdeclare the product to be "environmentallyfriendly."

Something's happening here. Maybethese nuts aren't so crazy. Maybe it's we inNew Hampshire's timber industry who arenuts.

It's hard to imagine that Home Depotdoesn't know what it's doing when it offerspremium priced "green" products andwhose Environmental Marketing Managersays that Home Depot is "committed" tothe green certification movement. Or whenHome Depot's British counterpart (B & Qit's called) says it intends to phase out by1997 all wood and wood products that failto come from so-called "well-managed"forests.

What's gong on here? We are beginningto hear more and more about 'sustainableforestry' (as in Charlie Moreno's piece inthe Spring issue of the TIMBER CRIER.)Both are linked: A basic tenant of the certi-fication movement is to ensuresustain ability of the forest resource and themaintenance of forest ecosystems.

We also hear a lot of uniformed grum-bling within the industry here in NewHampshire (and elsewhere); there's no se-

NY FOREST OWNER

rious public demand for "green" products;certification would be ridiculously expen-sive; it'll just be another regulatory hassle.Are we going to permit a gaggle of starry-eyed environmentalists tell us how to man-age our woodlands and operate our saw-mills? That'll be the day!

The problem for those myopic foot-draggers among us is that they (and, thanksto them, all of us, including landowners)may miss a moderatively lucrative boat. In-ternational markets may be closed to us, anddomestic marketing opportunities could belost by default to our own stodgy lack ofimagination and creativity.

Unquestionably our fragmented wood-lands ownership and the" chain of custody"issue are daunting problems for New Hamp-shire owners. It is much easier for a large,vertically-integrated operation to obtain andmaintain certification. They can control thewhole process from the forest to the milland its marketing division: and they canmanage their lands on a multigenerationalbasis.

But what of small, independent land-owners who truly manage their woodlandson a sustainable yield basis, are dedicatedstewards of their land, may be labeled en-vironmental nuts by their neighbors, andmay, for these same reasons, be most par-ticularly eligible for green-as-all-hell cer-tification? What can they do?

Alone, they can do precious little. Theeffort must involve a number of players inorder to develop a system which would lenditself to certification. Fortunately in NewHampshire there are a number of open-minded and foresighted organizations andindividuals who are actively exploring (andeven seeking) green certification. Also inNew Hampshire we are fortunate to havethe ideal organization within which repre-sentatives of all required parts of a pilotsystem could discuss its feasibility.

The organization, of course, is theNHTOA [New Hampshire TimberlandOwners Association.]

Would it be possible for our organiza-tion to provide a forum within which seri-ous discussions could take place aboutgreen certification? Could these take placein cooperation with UNH [University ofNew Hampshire] Cooperative Extensionand the Division of Forests and Lands? Atthe least, could the NHTOA Landowner

NYFOA • 1·80()'836·3566 • INFO

Task Force take a look at the subject, per-haps reaching out to the environmentalcommunity in so doing? We may all havesomething positive to say to each otherabout green certification.

We may also prove to be crazy as a fox.

John Schott is a former president of theNHTOA and a former chairman of the NHChapter of The Nature Conservancy. Heswears that he is not a nut.

[This article is reproduced in its entiretyfrom the Fall 1996 Issue of the TIMBERCRIER, a 16 page newsletter publishedquarterly by the New Hampshire Timber-land Owners Association.

The NHTOA of nearly 1500 membersown over 1 million acres of productive for-estland and was founded in 1911. The mem-bership consists of landowners (60%), log-gers (10%), wood processing & other in-dustry supporters (11 %), foresters (6%),and leg/state offices (13%). Membershipdues are assessed according to number ofacres owned, MBF sawed, number oftrucks, cords harvested, etc. - minimumsof $30, $50, or $100 depending uponclass.The income for a budget of $200,000 peryear is provided by membership renewals(almost 50%), contributions (13%), grants(8%), contracted services (11 %) and pro-grams/mtgs & misc. (20%).] .•.

One Single BirthBy Dorothy S. Darling

The first frost seems gentlenow that winter has deepenedinto snow and covered the landwith its bleakness and beauty,spreading crystal on chilled watersalight with a world of starsthat burn deeply into the broad zero sky,and while the nesting limb leansstiff and creaking in the wind,over white fields the snowbirds fly.

The young winter has a bitter thrustbut faith transcends the whims of season,raising the ancient songs of earthto recall that hour of mystery and reasonwhen perfect love and high hope sprungwith joy into the human heartfrom one single birth.

NOVIDEC 1996 • 3

THE FALL MEETINGBy Patricia Kay

An entertaining and delightful potpourri of Catskill crafts and skills, forests, people, forestmanagement, history, hospitality, and fellowship.

A lesson in orienteering.

The Quilting bee.

Fly tying.

On the Forest Preserve.

For what ails ya.

Partners for Wildlife.

4 NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA • 1·800.836·3566 • INFO NOVIDEC 1996

Lillian Steinfeld and the shelter symbolic of the seasonal Sukkothand the temporary shelters built by the Hebrews after the Exodusas they wandered for forty years in the Wilderness. (right)

Paul Steinfeld

Speakers: Peter Smallidge, Cornell Cooperative Extension, (r)Mike Greason, NYSDEC, (c). and Ed White, SUNY ESF, (1).

Paul with pond and the many questions of pond management.

Paul Steinfeld and some of his Gilead Tree Farm waterworks.

Saw chain sharpening by Dave Riordan

Patty Kay is a Master Forest Owner, Class 0/,96, and a member ofNYFOA 's Southeastern Adirondack Chapter. She is known, profession-ally, as- Patricia Kay Photography; (6051 Greens Corner Road; Galway, NY 12074-2203; Phone 5181882-9613.)

NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA - 1-800.836·3566 - INFO 5NOVIDEC 1996 •

BIOMASS-FOR-BIOENERGY.·A NEW AGRI-FOREST CROP SLATED FOR COMMERCIALIZATION

INTRODUCTION

By Daniel J. Robison, Lawrence P. Abrahamson, Edwin H. White and Timothy A. Volk -SUNY ESF

On August 23, 1996 the U.S. Secretaryof Energy, Hazel O'Leary, and Congress-man James T. Walsh, visited the SUNYCollege of Environmental Science andForestry's Genetics Field Station in Tully,NY to announce a $13.4 million award tothe College, and its partners, for the com-mercialization of willow biomass crops asa source of renewable industrial energy.More than half of the award dollars repre-sent investments by NY-based organiza-tions determined to see this newwood biomass crop successfullycommercialized. The commercial-ization project is designed as a 6-year effort to lower technologicaland economic hurdles, in order toenable markets and crop acreageto develop. This effort is based ona College research program under-way since 1983, and the work ofits primary partners-the NYState Energy Research and Devel-opment Authority, NiagaraMohawk Power Corporation, andNY State Electric and Gas Corpo-ration. Together this group hasformed the Salix Consortium topursue this program. Other inte-gral support and collaboration hascome from the USDA through theefforts of Congressman Walsh,South-Central NY RC&D,NYSDEC Saratoga Tree Nursery,and Cornell Cooperative Exten-sion, among others.

The basic idea (see the FOR-EST OWNER, Vol. 32:4 and Vol.32:5) is to grow agri-forest cropsof select willow (and poplar)clones to produce wood biomass for burn-ing with coal (co-firing) in electric gener-ating facilities. Co-firing typically displaces2% to 15% of the coal normally used. Thebiomass could also be burned alone as aboiler fuel for heat, steam and/or electric-ity, or in the longer-term-directly gasifiedinto wood (natural) gas for any number ofuses, bioconverted into ethanol as a fuel ad-ditive, or converted by several methods intoother alcohols, bio-diesellbio-crude or finechemicals.

6 NY FOREST OWNER

CULTIVATION AND HARVESTTrees are established at 6200 per acre in

a double-row design, using hardwood cut-tings which are spring planted into a fullyprepared site (complete weed control). Atthe end of the first growing season the treesare cut to promote multiple-stem coppicegrowth the following spring. From then onthe crop is coppice harvested once every 3to 5 years in the winter. Winter harvest con-serves nutrients, facilitates good coppicegrowth for the next harvest cycle, and fits

capable of producing 5 to 10 dry tons peracre per year. It is envisioned that biomassacreage will expand surrounding powerplants and other wood energy using indus-tries, and new business enterprises will de-velop to facilitate planting stock distribu-tion, planting, harvesting and marketing.Examples of potential businesses include,grower cooperatives, wood fuel brokerages,utility subsidiaries, etc.After biomass is de-livered to the power station, it may have tobe reprocessed for firing. This could entail

course chipping of whole-stems,or pulverization of chips (reduc-ing the wood to sawdust size par-ticles) for co-firing with coal inpulverized coal boilers.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary announcinga $13.4 million project to commercialize willow biomasscrops as a renewable industrial energy resource for NY;the willow crop behind her, in its 3rd growing season, is25-30 ft. tall, ready for harvest this winter, and expected

to yield nearly 30 dry tons per acre; SUNY ESF FieldStation, Tully, NY (photo by R. Gaddis, NMPC).

well with other agricultural operations. Asmany as seven 3-year harvest cycles can beexpected from the initial planting. Plant-ing and harvesting are mechanized. Har-vesting equipment has been developed bymodifying corn and sugar cane harvesters.These machines drive down the doublerows of trees and cut, chip and blow thebiomass into a wagon for transport. Othermachines have been designed to cut andbundle whole-stems, for road-side pick-up.

In this production system, originally de-signed and now operational in Europe(about 50,000 acres in 1996), willows are

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

ECONOMICSThe economic outlook for

wood biomass crops is currentlya cautious one - a precommer-cial one. The analysis is compli-cated. For wood (any kind) tobe an economically attractivefuel for regulated utilities it mustmeet or preferably beat (to ac-count for the cost of retrofittingboilers to burn wood) the priceof the fuel it will displace-mostlikely coal. This translates to $10to $15 per green ton delivered.This is in fact the price range formill residues currently pur-chased by utilities. Other woodfor energy in NY is sold for $20to $35 per green ton delivered.This wood fuel is generally pur-chased by institutions for steam!heat production, where the alter-native fuel (such as heating oil)

is more expensive. Typically these institu-tions do not have access to natural gas lines,as gas is often the least expensive fuel whenavailable. Non-regulated electricity pro-ducers can also afford to purchase woodfuel at more than $20 per green ton deliv-ered, because they can sell the power toregulated utilities at an artificially highprice. The expected deregulation of the util-ity industry is likely to change many of theeconomic attributes of wood energy, but notthe price of fossil fuels, such as the coalwhich utilities can choose to burn alone.

Therefore, for willow crops to be viable

NOVIDEC 1996

for regulated utilities, it must sell for be-tween $10 and $15 per green ton delivered.During the next 6 years the biomass com-mercialization project will be working toreach that price. Current economic analy-sis puts willow in the $15 to $20 per tonrange, but several initiatives are underway

. to lower the price per ton. These include:expected 15% to 20% increases in yieldthrough tree improvement, increased plant-ing and harvesting efficiency, state-levelpolicy changes to encourage the purchaseof local fuels over out-of-state fossil fuels,and reduced establishment and fertilizercosts by using conservation-tillage for sitepreparation and organic soil amendmentsto supplant fertilizers. The ultimate goal isto provide a locally produced re-newable fuel, without adding tothe full cost of energy. By stimu-lating NY's rural economy withthis new crop/fuel and keepingdollars local for fuel purchasesrather than for out-of-state pur-chases, the economic outlook forlocalities and the state is positive.

RATIONALE AND STRATEGYIn NY the crucial question, given our

abundant natural forest resources and thechallenge to make biomass crops economi-cal, is: Why plant these wood energy crops?First, the biomass crop production systemwill enhance the wood energy market inNY and ultimately lead to improved mar-kets for all types of low value wood-onthe stump and as residues. This is becausethe utility industry is a very large poten-tial market, and because the winter-onlyharvest of biomass crops necessitates awood fuel mix of the lowest cost material.Second, as a cropping system (short-rota-tion intensive agri-forestry) it will help toput idle and economically marginal farm-

acidic deposition and extending the life ofolder coal-fired stations (by economicallymeeting Clean Air Act requirements). In ad-dition, wood fuel grown as a dedicatedfeedstock (biomass crop) for power is con-sidered carbon dioxide neutral-for eachpound of wood grown, a pound is burnedreleasing carbon dioxide, and anotherpound is grown sequestering it, etc. Thissystem reduces power station contributionsof greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, byoffsetting the carbon otherwise released byburning fossil fuels-thereby reducing thethreat of global warming. In fact these emis-sion "savings" also have potential monetaryvalue for utilities, thereby increasing thevalue of wood fuel beyond its Btu value.

It is for all these reasons thatthe wood biomass program (SalixConsortium) is aggressivelyworking to commercialize thesystem. The initial geographicareas of focus are central andwestern NY, where the cooperat-ingutilities have power stationsamenable to wood co-firing.Other utility cooperators includethe Burlington Electric Depart-ment in Vermont and GeneralPublic Utilities in Pennsylvania.Within the context of the 6-yearprogram, 500 to 2000 acres ofwillow crops will be establishedwith program support on privateland in the focus regions, and co-operating utilities will create amarket. Additional acreage, with-out program support, will be en-couraged when the market isready. During the program a strat-egy will be followed so that by

the 6th year the system is ready for the com-mercial-open market. A technology trans-fer/outreach and demonstration project forbiomass crops is also underway with USDAsupport and collaboration with Cornell Co-operative Extension. Individuals, groups orindustry interested in more information andbeing on the newsletter mailing list, bor-rowing videos on biomass systems, visit-ing research and demonstration areas, hav-ing program staff make a presentation, join-ing the Consortium, or learning more aboutbioenergy programs and development na-tionwide, should contact one of the authorsat SUNY ESF, 1Forestry Dr., Syracuse, NY13210 or e-mail:

AMERICAN EXPERIENCESElsewhere in the U.S., other

biomass energy systems havebeen designed to fit the local en-vironment. For example, forestindustry in the Pacific Northwestis planting hybrid poplars at widespacings on 7 to 10 year rotationsfor pulp from the bole and energyfrom the bark, limbs and tops (asystem also worked on at ESF);in the Lake States the pulp-en-ergy and willow systems (withNY assistance) are also beingconsidered; in the Mid-West and South, al-falfa stems (leaves removed for animalfeed) and switchgrass are being developedas energy crops; in Florida, Louisiana andHawaii sugar cane residues (bagasse) areused for energy; and throughout the U.S.whole-tree forest chips, wood processingindustry residues, and clean waste wood areincreasingly being used for energy produc-tion. In fact it is estimated that by 2010nearly 10% of the nation's electric power willcome from biomass fuels (up from 1% in1993). More than any other renewable fuel,wood biomass is best suited to the North-east region. Worldwide, enhanced bioenergysystems are sought to alleviatefuelwoodcri-ses, reduce dependency on foreign fuelsources, and reduce pollutants associatedwith fossil fuels.

NY FOREST OWNER

New sign identifying the willow biomass-for-bioenergycommercialization project and its program members, SUNYESF Field Station, Tully, NY (photo by R. Gaddis, NMPC).

land back into production-by farmers orforesters, and by retired farmers or absen-tee landowners. However, this is not a cropfor the poorest soils. To be economicallyproductive, soils of at least moderate pro-ductivity are required. The system is meantonly to be used on currently open land.Land which is now forested, is best man-aged as forest. Third, biomass crops offera host of land-environmental values, includ-ing, reduced soil erosion and chemical useas compared to agricultural crops it mightoffset; enhanced landscape diversity; andas filter strips along riparian areas and live-stock concentrations, it can reduce non-point source pollution. Fourth, offsettingcoal with wood can reduce sulfur and po-tentially nitrogen emissions from powerstations-thereby reducing the threat of

NYFOA • 1·800-836·3566 • INFO

djrobiso@mailbox.syr.edu •

NOVIDEC 1996 • 7

NY STATE CONSERVATION COUNCIL AWARDS TREE PEOPLEBy Tim Noga

There are many people in today's worldthat strive for the conservation of our natu-ral resources. Some of these people standout to where their fellow conservationistsapplaud their work with an award.

Recently the New York State Conserva-tion Council (NYSCC) at it's 63rd annualconvention in Rochester, September 20-22,awarded several individuals for their out-standing work in conservation. Two of theseawards were given to people and programsthat dealt with trees.

The NYSCC is the largest statewideumbrella of sportsman and conservationorganizations. Since it's formation in 1933the NYSCC has brought those with inter-est in the conservation of natural resourcestogether in one united front.

One of it's programs is an annual recog-nition of individuals, groups and programsthat have made an outstanding contributionto conservation. These ConservationAwards are jointly sponsored by theNYSCC and the New York Power Author-ity.

Awards are given annually for the fol-lowing topics:

• Conservation Educator of the Year• Outdoor Education Program of the Year• Youth Conservationist of the Year• Conservation Legislator of the Year• Volunteer Conservationist of the Year• Professional Conservationist of the

Year• Lifetime Achievement Award

Nominees for these awards are solicitedeach year. A person's or program's historyis submitted. Letters of endorsement arealso requested.

In 1996, the Conservation Educator ofthe Year is Bruce Matthews. Mr. Matthewsis a Senior Extension Associate and theDirector of the New York SAREPprogram.

The Conservation Legislator of theYear is Senator Carl Marcellino of theFifth Senate District. Senator Marcellino,as chairman of the Senate EnvironmentalConservation Committee, has seen that 17important conservation legislative billswere passed through the legislative processsmoothly.

The Youth Conservationist of the Yearis given to a group known as the WestIrondequoit Greens. The Greens are agroup of 4-H youths from 5 to 16 who are

NY FOREST OWNER

examples of highly motivated and caringindividuals. The group has chosen to ad-dress environmental issues as its main fo-cus.

The Professional Conservationist ofthe Year is Wayne Trimm. As artist andwriter for NYSDEC, Mr. Trimm has enter-tained and informed many readers ofDEC'sConservationist magazine.

Lifetime Achievement Awards weregiven to Robert Bannister, Grady "Gene"Hocutt and William Reiner. These indi-viduals were given awards for their lifetimededication to the conservation of our natu-ral resources.

The 1996 Conservation Outdoor Pro-gram is the Urban Forest and EducationProgram (UFEP) of the City Parks Foun-dation. This program is a public-privatepartnership of the City of New York De-partment of Parks & Recreation and CityParks Foundation, It is made possiblethrough the generosity of the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund. Representing theprogram to accept the award were MaryLeou, Education Coordinator and TimWenskus, Forester.

The program has made great strides inboth forest management and environmen-tal education. It is unique that it tries to linkboth forest management and education ina predominant urban setting. This projectunfolds on the more than 5,000 acres of for-est distributed among the 5 counties of NewYork City. Until 5 years ago, this land wasmostly neglected. Curriculum, other teach-ing tools and trails are being developed.Elementary school teachers of the NYCschool systems will use such forests as fieldclassrooms. 10,000 students working withprofessionals have restored 550 acres thusfar.

The UFEP opened the Urban ForestEcology Center in the Van Cortlandt Parklocated in the Bronx in 1993. This forestecology center is the only one dedicated ex-clusively to the study of urban woodlands.Over 10,000 students K-12 use this center.Workshops and other events are also heldthere.

In 1996, the UFEP, created a partner-ship between the middle school studentsand the local parks and community groups.The local parks become the classrooms forstudents of all ages to learn the value ofopen spaces in their neighborhoods.

The 1996 Volunteer Conservationist ofthe Year is Herb Darling of Williamsville.

NYFOA.- 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Herb Darling

Mr. Darling is the founder and president ofthe NYS chapter of the American ChestnutFoundation. Herb's love for the AmericanChestnut tree developed from an early age.It grew in intensity as he watched this spe-cies move from threatened towards extinc-tion. Along with Arlene and Stan Wirsig,they started the NYS chapter of theAmeri-can Chestnut Foundation. This included se-curing the needed funding for the chapter'scontinued efforts. These efforts include res-toration projects and educational endeav-ors. Also included is the support of the de-velopment of a blight resistant tree for NewYork State at SUNY ESE

Mr. Darling's love is not only for chest-nut trees. His leadership capacities has himinvolved in other organizations and groups.These include the Buffalo Museum of Sci-ence, Erie County Botanical Society, Na-ture Conservancy, Buffalo Audubon Soci-ety, Ducks Unlimited, Wild Turkey Federa-tion, USDA Resource Conservation Ser-vice, Erie County Environmental EducationInstitute, the Buffalo Club, Boy Scouts ofAmerica, Beachwood Foundation and theGatewood United MethodistYouth Center.

For more information contact theNYSCC at 315/894-3302. .A

Tim Noga is a Director representing Region7 of the NYSCC and Secretary of the Ca-yuga County Federation of ConservationClubs of which NYFOA's Cayuga Chapterisa member.

NOVIDEC 1996

By John BraubitzHow nutritious are nuts?Are nuts as nutritious as meat?These are two questions that came up

in a recent discussion while having coffeein a Skaneateles restaurant.

I don't doubt that nuts are good food,but just how good, I wasn't sure. To solvethis problem, I went to my computer andbrought up a program called "Diet Bal-ancer." It shows you what percentage ofyour individual dietary needs are met withservings of different foods based on yourparticular physical statistics: sex, height,weight, daily activities, age, etc. My wifewas used as a subject; she is 5' 5" and 110lbs. The foods selected for analysis werehickory nuts and chicken breast. After thecomputer was given the amounts of threeounces each, it displayed what percentageof her daily requirements were met by con-sumption of the respective servings.

Some of the obvious comparisons arethat nuts are higher in calories than chickenbut contain fats composed of mono- andpoly-unsaturated fats. Those fats are not be-lieved to be as hard on your cardiac systemas saturated fats and cholesterol.

It may be a surprise to some to learnthat no nuts contain cholesterol becauseonly animals produce cholesterol. Chicken,although not high in cholesterol, does con-tain 71 mg. which is about 25% of the av-erage R.D.A. (Recommended Daily Allow-

INGREDIENT %RDA* CHICK %RDA*HICK

Calories 11 (164cal) 39 (552 cal)Protein 57 (24.7 gm) 25 (10.8 gm)Carbohydrates 0 (0 gm) 7 (15.3 gm)

Total Fat 14 (6.5 gm) 113 (54 gm)

Saturated Fat 12 (1.87 gm) 38 (6 gm)Mono-Unsaturated 16 (2.5 gm) 264 (42 gm)Poly-Unsaturated 9 (1.39 gm) 32 (5.2 gm)Cholesterol 49 (71mg) 0 (Omg)Dietary Fiber 0 (0 gm) 3 (0.9 gm)Vitamin A 3 (22 RE) 1 (5.1 RE)Vitamin C 0 (0 mg) 3 (1.8 mg)Vitamin E 4 (0.3 mg) 15 (1.2 mg)

Thiamine 6 (0.06 mg) 60 (0.6 mg)Niacin 82 (10.6 mg) 7 (0.9 mg)Folate 8 (23 mg) 52 (145 mg)Iron 9 (0.88mg) 18 (1.8 mg)Zinc 7 (0.85 mg) 30 (3.6 mg)*%RDA is calculatedfor Mrs. Braubitz

NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

ShagbarkHickory

ance-for a diet of 2000 cals.). The pro-tein content in chicken was 24.7 grams, buthickory nuts contained only 10.8 grams.Neither nuts nor meat are good sources ofVitamins A, C, and D. Hickory nuts andchicken are only fair sources of Vitamin E,but filberts and chestnuts are excellent. Nutsin general are also good sources ofmagne-sium.

After reading the chart and digesting mysummary, you can make your own decision.I have provided the editor with charts con-taining data on chestnuts, hickory nuts, fil-berts, black walnuts, haddock, round steak,chicken and pork chops. If you would likecopies contact him ...•.

John Braubitz is a Professor in the Sci-ence Department of Cayuga County Com-munity College.

NOVIDEC 1996 • 9

THE MASTER FOREST OWNER/COVERTS PROGRAMBy Bonnie Colton

TheArnot Forest lies in the steeply roll-ing hills southwest ofIthaca. Here, the treecovered slopes give way to a pleasant clear-ing with small log cabins and a large din-ing hall/meeting room. The forest and itsrustic classroom are owned by Cornell andare part of the University's extensive edu-cational facilities.

This is where my husband, Don, and Ifound ourselves on a Thursday evening inSeptember 1995, beginning a four-dayseminar on the many aspects of woodlandmanagement. The inevitable introductionsand explanations were scheduled for thatfirst evening. Informative, but likely toprove sleep-inducing, I thought. It didn'tturn out that way.

Gary Goff, program director, began bytelling us about the New York Master For-est Owner/COVERTS Program, an un-wieldy name for the information packedcourse we were beginning. The idea is toprovide additional training for people whoare already actively managing their woods,so that they in turn can be a resource andencouragement for their woods-owningneighbors. Such trained volunteers wouldhelp to fill the gap left by cutbacks in state-provided forestry services.

Some were put off by the term "forest.""A forest is a large tract of land coveredwith trees", said one man, "All I own is asmall woodlot." Someone else offered, "Ifyou have half-a-dozen trees you manage,you have a forest," he said. Most of us wereforest owners, but we still didn't see our-selves as "Masters" of the subject. Thatfeeling would grow about as fast as a treedoes. "The term COVERTS (pronouncedlike "cover"), meaning good ruffed grousehabitat, refers to the co-sponsor, TheRuffed Grouse Society, and is symbolic ofthe importance of habitat to all wildlife.The NYS Forest Stewardship Program isthe other principal sponsor. The NYS DECand NYFOA are cooperators to the NYMaster Forest Owner/COVERTS Pro-gram."

There's academic terminology, there'sbureaucratic jargon, and there's just plaintalk. We heard all three and learned to ad-just our ears to the many voices seeking acommon goal-improvement of foresthealth, productivity, and wildlife habitat.

We listened to the Arnot Forest Direc-tor, Charlie Smith, the Arnot Forest man-ager Don Schaufler and Bill Lacey, Direc-

10 NY FOREST OWNER

tor of Cornell Cooperative Extension. Eachwas a gem of knowledge and inspiration.Their wisdom, condensed, says: You areresponsible for your own education. Wejust provide the opportunities.

Next on the evening's agenda were acouple listed as "Experienced Master For-est Owners," Donald and Suzanne Groszof Naples (MFO Class of'92).1t was theirjob to encourage the newcomers with a peptalk and success stories. But we were infor a surprise ...

Don started by saying he couldn't un-derstand why he was chosen for this task.Their forest management experience, hefelt was minimal compared to many of us.Their real interest in wood, he explained,while motioning to Suzanne, who sat pa-tiently holding a violin and bow, was infinished wood products. He took the vio-lin and showed us the satiny finish of thespruce top and the deep and shining grainof the maple back. He pointed out the rose-wood tuning pegs and the tougher-than-steel Brazilian pernambuco wood in thegracefully curved spine of the bow.

Then he handed the violin and bow backto his wife. "This is the way wood singsfor us," he said. Suzanne cradled the in-strument beneath her chin and the log hallwas transformed into a concert stage. Welistened with delight as 300 year old mu-sic filled the room with the lovely, liltingcadences of J. S. Bach's "Gavotte for Un-accompanied Violin." When she finished,the applause outdid the size of the crowd.

Don stood before us again, while tell-ing us that both he and Suzanne had trav-eled all over the world as concert musi-cians. They had met people from manycountries and had seen sights difficult todescribe. One marvel was a Shinto Shrinein Nara, Japan. The building was 46 sto-ries high and made entirely of wood! Theshrine had been built on two huge cypresslogs floated over from Korea. It was 900years old.

Don showed us some of the gifts giventhem by hosts in different countries. Therewere bamboo chopsticks from Japan anda delicately carved St. Thomas's Crossfrom Scandinavia. From Russia there washand carved cups, their designs coloredwith pigments from herbs and roots. Hedemonstrated for us a Kareilian wood bellfrom Finland. This device is made fromtwo pieces of spruce, one partially hol-lowed out, fastened together by a cord. It

NYFOA • 1·800-836·3566 • INFO

can be heard for miles in the cold northernair.

The Grosz's have other family treasuresmade of wood, too. There is a classic boatthat came to them from Dan's father. FromSuzie's side of the family comes an ancienthemlock cane owned by the family through11 generations.

"When you are talking about wood,"Donald Grosz told us. "you are talkingabout people's lives."

In that one sentence he summarized thewhole meaning and purpose of the semi-nar. We would go on to learn somethingabout communication skills, managementperspectives, biodiversity, timber trespass,forest ecology and economics, tree identi-fication, timber harvesting, log grading,sawmill operations, wildlife habitat en-hancement, boundary marking and forestrelated organizations. But what it all cameback to was the fact that people's lives areintertwined with forests.

I thought of the almost spiritual experi-ence of looking up through the branchesof a towering shade tree, seeing the intri-cacy of the limbs and twigs and distinc-tive leaf forms and colors. I thought of thelovely forested hillsides that adorn andnourish our landscapes. I thought of theunique pictures found in the swirling grainsof sawn lumber.

Several years ago, we harvested somecull trees in our woodlot. We removeddamaged or stunted trees that were crowd-ing good crop trees. We cut some over-mature sugar maples no longer beingtapped. Some went for sawlogs, some forfirewood.

We had an inexperienced logger atfirst. He neglected to cut the tapped sec-tion off the bottom of the maple butt logsand the sawmill sent back a slice with 17tapholes in it and the message to, "Eitherbutt them, or don't send them." I was fas-cinated by the beauty of that piece ofwood. I stared at it for a long time andtold my husband not to throw it out, be-cause there was something special it hadto say. I just hadn't discovered it yet.When I did, the wood began to sing forme: "WOODS WISDOM." .A

Bonnie and Don Colton were awardedNYFOA's Heiberg Award/or 1992. This ar-ticle was reprinted/rom Lowville's weeklynewspaper in which Bonnie has a regularcolumn entitled, ROUNDABOUT..

NOVIDEC 1996

MFO/COVERTS Volunteers Attending the September 1996 TrainingAlbany County Andy DufresneGerard A. Langhauser Chautauqua County CCE73 Derbyshire Rd 3542 Turner RdFeura Bush, NY 12067 Jamestown, NY 14701518-768-2094 716-664-9502

Allegany CountyJames A. Hart54 Bellehurst Dr.Rochester, NY 14617716-544-8480

Roger C. Penhollow4063 Pancake Hill RdBemus Pt, NY 14712716-386-2111

Rick White1819 Obi-Portville RdPortville, NY 14770716-933-6063

Timothy J. Piotrowski3135 Donelson RdJamestown, NY 14701716-483-1864

Broome CountySteve Supa62 Harrington RdJohnson City, NY 13790607-786-9798

Erie CountyFred Thurnherr7885 Center StHolland, NY 140807l6-941-3248

Cattaraugus CountyThomas and Jeanne Brown9303 Sisson CrossMachias, NY 14101716-353-8336

Jefferson CountyJohn Donaghy31669 NYS 26Philadelphia, NY 13673315-642-5639

Donald M. Huber9308 Ryther RdAngola, NY 14006716-549-5025

Lewis CountyJohn and Betty WoodsRR 2, Box 166-CLowville, NY 13367315-376-2129

Chautauqua CountyDaniel N. Anderson3193 Chautauqua Ave.Ashville, NY 14710716-763-1168

Madison CountyCarl D. Stearns212 Scottholrn BlvdSyracuse, NY 13224315-446-6634

NY FOREST OWNER

The 1996 graduating class o/NY MFa/COVERTSvolunteers at Cornell's Arnot Forest.

Oneida CountyRon Chauncey7871 Yager Rd.Blossvale, NY 13308315-245-0296

Onondaga CountyEdward and Marilyn Dixon6690 Bush RdJamesville, NY 13078315-677-3145

Ontario CountyRichard A. Larson7585 Modock RdVictor, NY 14564716-924-2966

Orange CountyPenny WatkiusPO Box 912Port Jervis, NY 12771914-856-6467

Oswego CountyWilliam H. Schriever540 State Rt 49Cleveland, NY 13042315-676-5908

Saratoga CountyPatricia Kay and Ken Rayna6051 Greens Corner RdGalway, NY 12074518-882-9613

Schoharie CountyHans and Joan Kappel167 Main St., PO Box 646

NYFOA • 1·800-836·3566 • INFO

J

Altamont, NY 12009518-861-8753

Steuben CountyJerome M. Witter7111 St. Rt. 432Addison, NY 14801607 -359-3811

Sullivan CountyMarianne ArnoldPO Box 190Westbrookville, NY 12785914-754-7841

Kenneth J. Stewart221 Burnt Hill RdRoscoe, NY 12776607 -498-5409

Wayne CountyGeorge RT. Yancey, Jr.402 Grace Ave.Newark, NY 14513716-344-4369

Westchester CountyEugene J. McCardle70 Cabin Ridge RdChappaqua, NY 10514914-945-0504

Yates CountyRaymond L. Wager5236 Dunton RdMiddlesex, NY 14507716-554-4236

NOVIDEC 1996 • 11

CHAPTERS/AFFILIATESWESTERN

FINGER LAKESJim & Barbara Minor hosted a

woodswalk on their woodlot in SchuylerCounty August 10th. Bruce Robinson (Pri-vate Consulting Forester) and Jim Peek(Asst. Regional Forester NYSDEC) werein attendance to discuss developing andimplementing a SIP for the Minor prop-erty. There was a tremendous amount ofdiversity with open fields, forested sec-tions, hedge rows, fruit trees, and futuresites for new ponds. There was even an oldfoundation from a house. For those thathad time, we were treated to a boat rideon Seneca Lake at the Minor cottage. Abig thanks to Jim & Barbara for a greatwoodswalk.

Approximately 8-10 WFL members at-tended the fall meeting in the Catskills the28th and 29th of September, CFA did asuperb job! They held the rain for thewoodswalk in the preserve on Saturday andeven made sure it was sunny for the greatwoodswalk on Paul Steinfeld's propertySunday. It was rumored they will be bid-ding for the fall meeting next year,also.

Our next meeting will focus on deermanagement: DEC's party permit system,rights of the landowner, how to post, andthe all time favorite-s-seedling devastation.

LOWER HUDSON

At a party September 27th which cel-ebrated the birthday of Sue Kelly (I), Con-gresswoman for NY's 19th District, Suebecame a member of NYFOA through abirthdy gift of Robert Bamber Marshall (r),whcih included the latest issue of the maga-zine and NYFOA 'sproperty sign. Congress-woman Kelly is an avid outdoorswomanand enjoys her forest in Katonah.

12 NY FOREST OWNER

CAPITAL DISTRICT

Members of the Capital District survey tornado damage in Columbia County.

Our chapter had a Tornado DestructionWoodswalk in early summer of this year. Adevastating tornado in May 1995 destroyedor damaged 49 homes in Columbia Countyleaving 11,000 people without power forseveral days. The wind funnel traveled 15miles with wind speeds recorded up to 157miles per hour. Approximately 1,400 acresof forest were leveled. Tom Stundze, DECRegion 4 Forester for Columbia County, leda group of 30 woodswalk participants to

affected woodlots to look at different"cleanup" strategies-reforestation involv-ing heavy site preparation, salvage sales,and leaving restoraion to nature. Much ofthe downed and damaged timber was oflimited value because of the forceful twist-ing to which the trees were subjected. Se-verely damaged forests left to nature willbe impenetrable for a period of years, andit was estimated that it will take at least 80years to recover to their former condition.

SOUTHEASTERN ADIRONDACKS

Bill (I) & Olga (r) Badgley, & Ron Cadieux, NYSDEC Forester.

Bill and Olga Badgley were recipients of our chapter's frrstAnnual "Forest StewardAward."The presentation was made at our annual picnic which was held at Ernie Spencer's property onSaratoga Lake September 14.A review of the Bradley's natural resource management accom-plishments shows an annual effort to improve and contribute that begins in 1982!

NYFOA • 1·800·836.3566 • INFO NOVIDEC 1996

LEADERSHIP CONFERENCEIEDITORIAL MEETINGBy Dale Schaefer

September 7 and 8 was a perfect week-end to be inside for NYFOA's LeadershipConferencelEditorial Meeting held at theCortland Holiday Inn. Upon reading that,if you're a woodland owner, your firstthought would probably be, "Is the authora forest owner?" Nearly all forest owners Iknow can't wait to get outdoors in some wayor another. TSI, cutting firewood, or justenjoying a walk in the woods are all goodexcuses to be outside in the forest. How-ever, with the effects of the hurricane cross-ing the state, all that rain looked pretty goodfrom our dry conference room inside. Therewere also very important topics to discuss!

Attendees were: Jill & Barry Cornell-Capital District; Mike Greason-NYSDEC; Jerry Michael & LarryLepak-Southern Tier; ElizabethWoods-THRIFT; Bill Minerd & TomGraber-Central New York; Bob Sand-Tioga; Dick Fox - Cayuga; Betty

Densmore-Allegheny Foothills; DonFraser-Niagara Frontier; Jim Coufal-SUNY ESF; John Marchant, Jim Minor,Eileen Van Wie & myself-Western Fin-gerLakes.

The editorial workshop began afterlunch on Saturday. Newsletter editors hada wonderful opportunity to interact andshare ideas or try to solve some of theirproblems. We had time to view everyone'snewsletters to discuss layouts & graphics(and see what ideas we could steal fromeach other!) Since I have never been in-volved with producing a newsletter, otherthan writing an article, my eyes wereopened to all the details. Copy writing, lay-out, printing, circulation, postage & mail-ing, just to name a few. A big thanks to allthe editors and circulation people for ournewsletters and magazine. It seems certain,that even better newsletters will result fromthe seminar.

Sunday morning, we dove into the lead-

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ership portion of the workshop. Some ofthe topics included membership, Bylaws,ideas for woodswalks, how to run afundraiser and how important they are tothe financial health of each organization,and of course the biggest question-"Howto get more members volunteering and in-teracting?" These are problems that mostvolunteer organizations face. Discussingthese issues brings to light new ways ofhan-dling them, and to let someone strugglingknow they are not alone.

Hopefully, more editors and leaders canmake the next conference. The food wasgood, accommodations comfortable, dis-cussions inspiring, and as always the fel-lowship a special pleasure.

We are particularly grateful to BobSand, John Marchant, Jim Coufal, &Mike Greason for their inspiring and in-teractive review of their past leadershiproles and their suggestions for the futuredirection of NYFOA in the forest commu-nity. A

Route 20 BluebirdResearch 'frail

This summer a long anticipated dreambecame a reality. The Route 20 BluebirdResearch Trail, which started in SchoharieCounty now stretches across the entire statefrom the Massachusetts border to the Penn-sylvania border, 410 miles.

The eastern half from Cayuga Countyto Massachusetts as well as the extremewestern portion from Buffalo to the west-ern border with Pennsylvania is about 90-95% complete. The remainder of the trailis 75% complete and should be done by theend of the year.

There are approximately 1750 boxesdotted along the trail with another 250 moreto be added to complete the trail.

The Adopt-A-Box Program, which hasprovided funding for this impressive con-servation effort now has 640 boxes adoptedto date. Installation of the Adopt- a-Box tagshas been in progress and all those partici-pating in this program will be notified ofthe location of their boxes prior to nextspring's nesting season

To participate contact: Kevin Colton;2043 Worden Road., Seneca Falls, NY13148 (315/568-6534).

This briefwas adaptedfrom BluebirdNews,the newsletter of the New York State Blue-bird Society.

NOVIDEC 1996 • 13

THE GREEN CAPE THAT IS BROWNBy Henry Kernan

Five centuries ago and more the Portu-guese were groping along theAfrican coast.Their objectives were fabulous-far-offspice islands, scarcely what they sighted375 miles into the mid-Atlantic off thecontinent's western-most point. There werenine volcanic islands; steep, barren, wind-swept and uninhabited by man or beast.There must have been seabirds then, andsea turtles and a native flora the like ofwhich we can only guess at today.

The Portuguese chose to return, beforelong, bringing with them goats, Indian com,and the hoe culture of their African slaves.This trio has had a profound effect uponthe Cape Verdean landscape. Combinedwith the erratic, torrential rainfall, they havecreated horrendous problems of soil ero-sion.

The Portuguese were to stay until 1975,a 515 year record of colonial longevity.

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14 NY FOREST OWNER

-

Cape Verde Islands(arrow)

Why they chose to stay and defend an areaslightly larger than Rhode Island against in-numerable, destructive attacks by Englishand Dutch navies and pirates is comprehen-sible only in the light of their strategic po-sition. Cape Verde became a warehouse andstaging point for the New World and FarEast trades in spices, slaves and whales. Bymid-century of the 1800's all three were indecline. Cape Verde languished and fell intothe long colonial torpor of the recent past.American involvement was principally withcrews for the whaling ships which accountsfor the many Cape Verdeans in eastern Mas-sachusetts today.

Other groups of Cape Verdean emigrantslive in California, in France, Holland andBrazil. They are descendants of Africanslaves and of Portuguese colonial officialsand soldiers. In all, the overseas groupsnumber more than the island population ofless than half a million. They leave becausetheir homeland, for all the strange, austerebeauty of the mountains, lands and sea, isdesperately poor, with few resources andlittle hope of feeding the people let alonegenerating wealth for their uplift. The coun-try lives on the receipts of foreign aid andthe help sent home by Verdeans abroad.

For those who stay at home, water domi-nates every aspect of their lives; the con-trol of water, the use of water and the searchof water. In truth how and how much rainfalls are enough to discourage and driveaway all but the poorest. From Octoberthrough July rain seldom comes at all. The

landscape turns from sparse green to sparsebrown and steadily to more burning hot barerock and sand. Suddenly the clouds break.Torrents of rain are pounding slopes androaring down canyons laden with mud. Theproblem is no longer the search for water,but the control and use. Rock structures helpin the short run, but the long term endeavoris toward more in the ground and less scour-ing stream banks and beds.

The all-pervasive field crop is flint com.In early summer farmers clear their crop-lands of whatever free-ranging fuel-gath-erers and animals are left. They neither burnnor plow. Once the ground is moist, theysow their seeds of corn and beans in hillswherever their broad, short -handled hoe canturn up a bit of soil. They find such placeson the steepest and most isolated slopes.Weeding and harvest take. the rest of theyear, but still leave six months of respitefrom farm work.

One response to such seasonal idleness,and to droughts and floods has been to buildstone water-control structures. The simplestare rock walls laid along a contour to im-pede the runoff of falling rain. Where therunoff flows into gullies, rock dry wallsdisperse the kinetic energy of the fallingwater. The stream bottoms need largerstructures. There the Soil Conservation Ser-vice builds check dams both to control theflow of water and to accumulate the silt loadof the water behind the dam. Thereby, thelands under intense cultivation, increaseyear by year. They are small patches of gar-

NOVIDEC 1996NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

den crops and fruits seen as lush exceptionsto the dreary fields of corn and beans.

Such public works fit in well with theround of farm work They employ thou-sands upon thousands of otherwise idle andnearl y starving rural households. The num-bers built each year run into the thousands.They are having a profound influence uponthe landscape and upon the supply, use andcontrol of water. They also allow the ruralpeople to survive even the worst drought,such as the latest, which came to an end in1986 after 16 years.

Further stages of structural complexityare the subterranean catchment dams. Theyextract water from saturated soils by releas-ing gravity pressure into an undergroundgallery. Thence a flowpipe leads to the irri-gation system.

Another response to the patterns of cli-mate, rainfall and seasonal idleness on thefarm has been to plant trees and shrubs. Themost in vogue are the generaProsopia,Acacia, Parkinsonia, Atriplex and Cajanus.The practice is to place each seedling in asmall basin during the season of rains. Be-cause of the discontinuity of the plantingsites scattered among fields, steep slopesand rocks, the measure of progress is notarea but number. A dozen or so plantingprojects account for over 1 112 million ayear. The sum has now passed 16 million.The results are doubly impressive on theselandscapes of barren waste.

For centuries the soils merely washedaway and the people starved by the tens ofthousands. Today more than twenty coun-tries have programs of aid to shore up aneconomy isolated by hundreds of miles ofocean yet entirely dependent upon importsfor survival. Other than humans, CapeVerde has little to export to pay for whatthe country needs. Hence the aid programsand hence the survival. In a sense, the out-side world is paying the century-long debtsof piracy, slavery, famines and the colonialtorpor that allowed all three.

Were the Portuguese sailors to have thechoice today, they might think twice be-fore landing on what they saw; They mightturn back and leave these islands to the birdsand turtles, the rains, the clouds, the sun-shine, the booming surf and the long-lostgreeneries that gave the Cape Verde Islandstheir name. Very few remnants of that long-lost wilderness remain; and they are, alas,only those well beyond the reaches of hu-man endeavor. .•.

Henry Kernan is a consulting forester inWorld Forestry, a Master Forest Owner; anda regular contributor to the NY FORESTOWNER.

NY FOREST OWNER

FORESTRY AWARD TOEXTENSION EDUCATOR

Laurel Gailor, Extension Educator with

Cornell Cooperative Extension-Warren

County, has been awarded the annual NYS

Forest and Woodland EnhancementffREE

FARM award, sponsored by the National

Association of County Agricultural Agents

(NACAA). She also placed third at the

Northeast regional level. The purpose of the

award is to recognize NACAA members

who are conducting outstanding educa-

tional programs related to forest enhance-

ment/tree farming. Nominees from the

northeast were evaluated on the basis of

their educational programs designed to: (1)

build awareness of the importance of the

nation's nonindustrial private forests; (2)

increase understanding of the importance

of protecting forests for the public good

through proper management and utiliza-

tion; and (3) enhance understanding of for-

est issues.Laurel is involved with the biennial

Christmas Tree Growers Assoc. workshops,

the annual NYS Maple Production School

held via satellite, forest management work-

shops for woodland owners, forest ecology

and silviculture programs for timber har-

vesters, and pest management workshops.

She is a member of the Greater Adirondack

Resource Conservation and Development

Council Forestry Committee, and the NY

Logger Training Committee at the regionallevel. As well, she regularly cooperates with

the Northeastern Loggers Association on

workshops held in Warren County, such as

"Buying of Standing Timber", "Logging

Aesthetics", and OSHA Safety Standardsfor Loggers. .•.

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NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

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NOVIDEC 1996 • 15

Selected Highlights on the Professional Life ofDr. Hardy L. Shirley, Dean Emeritus at SUNY-ESF

By RobertA. Zabei,Professor EmeriitusOur readers will be sadden to learn of

the death of Hardy L. Shirley, Dean Emeri-tus of State University of New York, Col-lege of Environmental Science and For-estry on July 24 at the age of 95. His re-tirement home was in Elizabethtown, NewYork (Adirondacks) where he had beendeeply involved in the management of afamily forest business until his last fewyears.

Hardy Shirley, already a recognized na-tionalleader in forestry, after a 16-year pe-riod with the U.S. Forest Service, came tothe College in 1945 as the Assistant Deanto assist in the program and enrollment ex-pansions of the post-World War II period.He was appointed Dean in 1952 and served

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16 NY FOREST OWNER

in this capacity until his retirement in 1967.His 22-year period of College service wasa time of rapid transition from a large un-dergraduate teaching institution into thelargest forestry college in the nation withtripled graduate enrollment and greatly ex-panded instructional and research pro-grams.

Public service and extension activitieswere focused and enlarged to better meetthe needs of forest landowners and the for-est products industry. New departmentalprograms were introduced in forestry eco-nomics and forest chemistry. Special pro-grams in world forestry, cellulose, poly-mers and water resources were introduced.

During his 22-year tenure, College fa-cilities were both modernized and morethan doubled in size. Four major buildings(Baker Laboratory---chemistry and woodproducts; Illick Hall-biology and wild-life management; Walters Hall-pulp andpaper; and Moon Library) were con-structed. A dormitory wing was added tothe Ranger School. Also, the 4000-acreHeiberg Forest, near the main campus, wasadded by land exchange and successivepurchases to better support campus teach-ing programs in silviculture, biology andwildlife management in addition to fac-ulty research.

In one of Dean Shirley's first annual re-ports to the Board of Trustees are the statedobjectives of promoting the interest offor-est landowners and providing expert ser-vices to New York's forest landowners andforest products industries. These recordsalso indicate the major role he played inthe planning and organizing of the firstForest Landowners Forums. Meetings inthe falls of 1961 and 1962 at the College,also sponsored by the New York State For-est Practice Board, led to establishment ofthe New York Forest Owners Associationand Volume I of the "Forest Owner" ap-peared shortly thereafter in July 1963. Inthese early formative years of the Asso-ciation, Associate Dean Svend Heiberg andProfessor Floyd Carlson also played im-portant supporting roles. Dean Shirley wasthe recipient of the New York Forest Own-ers Association's first Heiberg MemorialAward for his many contributions to NewYork Forestry.

Hardy Shirley received a B.A. degree in

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

DEAN HARDY L. SHIRLEYPhoto taken the year of his retirement-1967.

mathematics (Phi Beta Kappa) from Indi-ana University in 1922 and a Ph.D. in plantphysiology and forestry from Yale Univer-sity in 1928. He then spent about 16 yearswith the U.S. Forest Service, first as a plantphysiologist and silviculturist at the LakeStates Experiment Station and later succes-sively as the Director of the Allegheny andNortheastern Forest Experiment Stations.

His accomplishments elsewhere at thestate, national and international levels wereimpressive. A few examples are: He wasDirector of President Eisenhower's Advi-sory Panel on TImber and the Environmentin 1972; he was instrumental in the UnitedNation's FAO's (Food and Agriculture Or-ganization) establishment of forestry train-ing centers at the universities of theAndes,Phillipines and Puerto Rico to train forest-ers from underdeveloped countries; he wasEditor-in-Chief of the Journal of Forestryfor several years; he served as president ofthe Syracuse Council of the Arts and Sci-ences which proposed the Everson Museumof Art; he chaired the United Nations' FAOpanel on forestry education. For his manypublic and professional services and par-ticularly his leadership role in world for-

NOVIDEC 1996

estry, he received honorary degrees fromthe State University of Finland, Helsinki,in 1958 and from Syracuse University in1966.

His many publications and technical ar-ticles were primarily on drought resistanceand photosynthesis in forest trees. Text-books he authored were Forestry and ItsCareer Opportunities (McGraw-Hill, 1952)and Forest Ownership for Pleasure andProfit. written with Associate Dean PaulGraves (Syracuse University Press, 1967)He was a member of numerous scientificsocieties and a fellow of the Society ofAmerican Foresters and the American As-sociation for the Advancement of Science.

His legacy to forestry will be in theminds of his many students, faculty asso-ciates and colleagues who were imbuedwith his love of forests and conviction ofthe breadth and importance of forestry andits proper practice in national and worldaffairs.

His wife Mary Connard of Easton, Penn-sylvania preceded him in death in 1983. Heis survived by three children, Frank Shirleyof Vaughn, Washington, Jon Shirley ofBoulder, Colorado and Emily Castner ofHollis, New Hampshire.

At the family's suggestion contributionsto his memory may be made to the Societyof American Foresters Endowment Fund5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland20814-2198 or the Hardy L. Shirley Me-morial Fund at SUNY College of Environ-mental Science and Forestry, 1 ForestryDrive, Syracuse, NY 13210. .•.

Dr. Robert A. Zabel is Professor Emeritusat SUNY ESF and for most of his profes-sional career researched and publishedworks in wood decay and stains.

30+ Years Experience

ROBERT DEMEREEProfessional Forestry Consultant

Timber Sales- Management PlanningTax Law • Tree Planting

3987 Northway DriveCortland, NY 13045-9317

Telephone:(607) 753-0497

NY FOREST OWNER

New York ChapterSociety American Foresters

January 29-31, 1997 at the Sheraton 4Points in Liverpool NY, the New York Chap-ter of the Society ofAmerican Foresters willhold their annual meeting with the focuson "The Maine Referendum: Lessons forNew York." Abstracts of accepted posterswill be distributed in registration packets.Abstracts should be submitted in MicrosoftWords or Mac Formatted disk or submit viae-mail to:LFPP4MIKE@aol.com. Allabstracts not to exceed 350 words, to in-

. elude references, and received no later thanDecember 11, 1996. Submit to:

MichaelVirga, Lyons Falls Pulp and Pa-per Inc. PO Box 338, Lyons Falls, NY13368.

SOME SIP STATSA recent Forest Service report indicates

New York strongly leads the northeasttwenty states implementing the Steward-ship Incentives Program (SIP). Since itsinception in 1991, New York forest own-ers have gained: 807,000 acres of forestmanagement plans qualifying them for SIPcost sharing; reforested 2,790 acres underSIP-2; precommercially improved 9,718acres of woodland under SIP-3; installed107 acres of windbreaks under SIP-4; pro-tected soil and water resources on 723 acresunder SIP-5; improved 130 acres ofripar-ian or wetland areas under SIP-6; improved5,887 acres of wildlife habitat; and en-hanced recreational opportunities on33,690 acres.

This means that since the beginning ofDEC's service forestry program with thecreation of the New York Forest PracticeBoard in 1946, forest management planshave been prepared covering more than9,000,000 acres. To place this in perspec-tive, there are 14.5 million acres of pri-vately owned forest in the state. Plans aredeveloped at landowner request only; sothese programs are more effective than theyhave been acknowledged to be. .•.

I

Fountain Forestry

Quality Managementof

Land and Timber, Forest Management'limber Sales, Forest Investment ConsuHing'limber Appraisal and Valuation, Forest Taxation, Forest Practices and Wetland Laws, Land Use Planning, Conservation Easements, Land Sales and Brokerage, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wildlife and Recreation, Accounting Services

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

Tupper Lake, NY 12986

TeUFax: (518) 359-3089

17

This brief was first printed in the Septem-ber Newsletter ojNYFOA's Capital Dis-trict Chapter. .

NYFOA • 1·80()'836.3566 • INFO

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

• CHRISTMAS TREE MANAGEMENT• FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANNING• FOREST RECREATION PLANNING

• WOODLOT IMPROVEMENTS INIMMATURE STANDS

• WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

• FOREST TAXATION PLANNING

(716) 665-54771894 CAMP ST. EXT.

JAMESTOWN NY 14701

. NOVIDEC 1996 •

DEATH AND TAXESBy David J. Colligan

Recent letters to the editor of this publi-cation have asked questions regarding life-time giving. The last article written by thisauthor gave an overview of estate and gifttaxes, as well as the types of ownership thatforest owners commonly use for their treefarms. This article will focus more narrowlyon lifetime gifts and address some of thequestions that have been raised in the let-ters to the editor.

Gift TaxesA quick review of the gift tax rules

should be addressed prior to discussing theadvisability of lifetime giving. Under theFederal tax scheme, gifts can be given dur-ing one's lifetime without the payment oftaxes until the "unified" credit (for gift andestate taxes together) is exhausted. Trans-lated into a dollar figure, this means that anindividual may pass up to $600,000.00. Thelaw does provide for an exemption fromall gift taxes for gifts up to $10,000.00 perperson per year per donee (the person whoreceives the gifts). This provides estateplanners with a wonderful opportunity toplan the orderly distribution of assets on aregular gifting schedule avoiding all taxesfor gifts and retaining the unified credit forpost-mortem estate planning.

Ownership IssuesBefore considering how to structure a

lifetime gifting program, each individualmust take a closer look at the manner inwhich assets are owned. Among marriedcouples, there is a tendency to own every-thing jointly, with right of survivorship(Tenants by the Entirety). This means, thaton the death of the first spouse, these as-sets avoid the legal review known as pro-bate and go directly to the surviving spouse.This generally happens even if there is noWill, or if the deceased spouse's Will speci-fies otherwise. At first, this may meet acouple's expectations and appear to savetaxes on the first death, but instead of bothpersons enjoying the $600,000.00 Federalexemption previously referred to, only thesecond spouse's estate can take advantageof the $600,000.00 exemption. The firstspouse's exemption would be lost. There-fore, a good starting point in attempting to

18 NY FOREST OWNER

plan for lifetime giving, as well as estatetax planning is to try to balance the assetsowned by each spouse to make them asclose as equal as possible. Many times thisinvolves breaking up jointly held propertyinto individual ownership or transferringsubstantial property interest from onespouse with a large amount of assets to thespouse with considerably fewer assets.

How and What to GiftAs previously stated, the $10,000.00

annual exclusion from gift tax impositionprovides a powerful planning device for in-dividuals of all financial strata. If there is aspouse involved, the annual exclusion canbe doubled to $20,000.00, even if the giftedpr~perty is titled to the name of only onespouse. (A gift tax return must be filed,however.)

If property is transferred to a minor, becareful about naming yourself as guardianfor the minor, as the property transferredmay be included in your estate, and there-fore, it is wiser to name someone else asthe infant's guardian.

The worst way to gift anything is by cre-ating a joint account because that createsnumerous legal questions of ownershipfrom gift and estate tax perspectives as wellas Medicaid considerations. High basisproperty (cash or recen tly purchased assets)are often desirable assets to be gifted, asthey create the least amount of income taxliability for the recipient of the gift. Rap-idly appreciating property is desirable togift, as it greatly lessens the burden uponthe estate by transferring the assets beforethe appreciation occurs. Gifts of appreci-ated property to charitable organizationsmay result in a tremendous income tax de-duction in the year of the gift, and shouldbe considered by anyone with charitabledonative intent.

Many of the members of NYFOA havespent a lifetime managing and caring fortheir forested lands. They now wish to giftthese cherished assets to their loved ones,so that their work and plans can be contin-ued indefinitely. However, transferring realproperty is difficult, as reducing the gift to$10,000.00 increments is virtually impos-sible. The tree farm is an integrated parcelwith various values depending upon front-

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

age, timber growth, accessibility and otherfactors. That is why I have recommendedin previous articles, that persons wishingto transfer their tree farm should considerforming a family limited partnership andtransferring ownership of the tree farm toit, so that individual units can be gifted tolimited partners within the family, while thegeneral partners retain all management con-trol and authority. These individual unitswould also be subject to a minority andmarketability discount which can greatlyaid in the rapid transfer of value to the newowners.

A well-planned lifetime gifting programcan achieve many of the objectives thatpeople wish to achieve while avoiding therisks of holding on to the assets until theyare exposed to estate taxes or possible Med-icaid recoveries. Everyone reading this ar-ticle should pause and consider whether itwould be wise to transfer some assets dur-ing their lifetime. Even if your total assets(including life insurance proceeds) do notexceed $600,000.00, a lifetime gifting pro-gram can be an integral part of a well-planned estate to maximize the dual goalsof successful asset transfer and estate taxavoidance. ~

Dave Colligan, a member of NYFOA'sNiagara Frontier Chapter, is a practicingattorney with a Buffalo law firm (Watson,Bennett, Colligan, Johnson & Schechter;600 Fleet Bank Building, 12 FountainPlaza; Buffalo, NY 14202) and regularlyprovides articles on legal matters of inter-est to forest owners.

-- VOSS SignsDc:pt. NYF. Box 553. Manlius. N.Y. 13104

Ph. (315) 882-8418(Mon.·FIf. 9-51

NOVIDEC 1996

Austere in its bleak, twisted beauty

And rooted i1 the depths 01 cold earth,

The bare tree stands with its garland of snow

As though in homage to the dead below.

Between the balTetl limbs shadows creep

With promise of stillness and sleep,

Held in the grasp of the winter's might

An4 all embraced "" the dark of night.

- Dorothy Darling

FARM CREDIT

IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT"WINTERSCAPES",the series ofphotos ©1986 by Patricia Kay

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

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19NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO NOVIDEC 1996 •

..... _ -._---------------------------------------.,

THE PINE BARK ADELGIDBy Douglas C. Allen

While working in some white pine plan-tations this summer, I ran across a few un-usually heavy infestations of this common,aphid-like insect. It occurred to me thatmany landowners in New York who havewhite pine on their property undoubtedlyencounter the pine bark adelgid (ah-dell-gid) and may be curious about its identifi-cation and significance.

APPEARANCEInfestations of the pine bark adelgid are

very conspicuous. Once the insect settlesdown and begins to feed, it excretes a white,cottony-like wax over its body. Heavily in-fested sections of tree trunks and the un-derside of large branches look as if white-washed (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. The trunk of the white pine on theleft is heavily infested with pine barkadelgid. Compare this to the two adjacent,uninfested trees.

20 NY FOREST OWNER

BIOLOGYAdelgids comprise a small group of suck-

ing insects that are confined to needle-bear-ing trees and are closely related to trueaphids. Many species have complicated lifecycles and utilize more than one host; a lifestage or stages occurring on pine, otherson spruce ... The pine bark adelgid is foundpredominantly on the smooth-barked stemsand branches of white pine only, and its lifehistory is relatively straight forward. It over-winters as an immature female (as is thecase with many species of adelgids, malesare rare in populations or are lacking alto-gether) on white pine bark. Females ma-ture in the spring and deposit eggs beneaththeir wax covering (Fig. 2). After emerg-ing from the egg, the first stage nymph(called a "crawler" because it is the onlystage with functional legs and capable ofdispersing) roams over the surface of thebark until it locates a suitable place to in-sert its thread-like mouth parts. The insectfeeds by removing fluids from cells locatedjust beneath the bark. These cells consti-tute a tissue called phloem (flow-urn), whichis used by plants for the downward trans-port of food produced in the foliage throughthe process of photosynthesis.

Most adults are wingless and remain onthe host from which they originated. Windand possibly birds may inadvertently trans-port a few individuals from tree to tree.

INFESTATIONS ARE SPOTTYTypically, infestations consist of single

trees scattered throughout a stand or, occa-sionally, the populations encompass a smallgroup of trees. We do not know enoughabout the adelgid's biology to explain whyone tree can be heavily infested and the in-sect is totally absent from an adjacent treeof the same size.

This pattern may be explained by theinsect's reluctance to disperse once a colonybecomes established. Also, it is quite pos-sible that the species is adapted to a verynarrow range of microclimatic conditionsand/or is attracted to a unique set ofphysi-cal and chemical properties that make sometrees more susceptible to an infestation thanothers. Smooth bark appears to be the onlyobvious common denominator of infestedtrees. White pine in all crown positions anddiameter classes are susceptible.

NYFOA • 1·800-831>-3566 • INFO

Fig. 2. Close-up of the waxy covering ex-creted by adelgids.

CONSEQUENCES OF AN INFESTA-TION

Past experiences with this native adelgidsuggests that infested trees are not perma-nently damaged. The principle impact isaesthetic once populations become highenough to detract from the appearance ofwhite pine in parks, recreational areas orindividuals used around homes as ornamen-tals. .•.

This is the 29th in the series of articles con-tributed by Dr. Allen, Professor ofEntomol-ogy at SUNYIESF. NYFOA has prepared abook of these articles for distribution to thepublic at a cost of production; please con-tact the editor for details.

Nolan'sSporting Supplies

Outdoor Equipment Specialist

37 • 47 Genesee StreetAuburn. NY 13021

315/252·7249

NOVIDEC 1996

The Stewardship ofNorthern Hardwoods

Kim B. Adams, Douglas C. Allen,Paul D. Manion & Lawrence P.Abrahamson

State University of New YorkCollege of Environmental Science and Forestry

Syracuse, New York

SPECIAL FOR FOREST OWNERSArecent publication of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry: "Stew-

ardship of Northern Hardwoods: A Forest Owner's Handbook" is now available.Authored by K.B. Adams, D.C.Allen, P.D. Manion and L.P. Abrahamson, 84, 8 112

by 11, glossy pages contain 32 black and white descriptive photographs intended fortree identification purposes and 67 color photographs detailing a principal diagnosticfeature of tree disease. Nine common deciduous trees of New York and their problemsare appropriately keyed.

The publication is written expressly for the forest steward and a must-have guide tomanagement of the woodlot.

The cost is $10.00 per copy payable to SUNY Research Foundation and covers thecost of postage and handling with the surplus to provide funds for additional printings.The initial printing costs were funded by Stewardship Incentive Funds. Mail check toKimAdams. College of Environmental Science and Forestry, ESF Extension, OneForestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210.

CONSULTING FORESTER. NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

VINCENT P. CHEBETAR, JR. ACF

Assisting Woodland Owners Since 1967

996 Arnett Blvd.Rochester, NY 14619(776) 235-7341

NYS Cooperating ConsultantMember: NYICF, ACF, SAF

NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

A pplication (or use facsimlle) forMembership in the New YorkForest Owners Association.

IlWe would like to support good forestry

and stewardship of New York's forestlands.

( ) IlWe own acres of wood-land.

( ) IlWe 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)

INDIVIDUAL $20

FAMILY (or co-owners) $25

CONTRIBUTING $30-$100

SPONSORING $101and up

MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES:

Six issues of the NY FORESTOWNER, woodswalks, chapter meet-ings, and two statewide meetings for all

members.

PLEASE make check payable toNYFOA and SEND TO:

NYFOA,IncP.O. Box 180.

Fairport, New York 14450

NOVIDEC 1996 • 21

By Jane Sorensen Lord, PHD, OTR, NDI love seeing you at meetings. It is fun

to get your feedback and to hear your tales!Lurking around city street trees gather-

ing ginkgo leaves for a tincture!Ordering seeds because you weren't

sure what yarrow looks like in the wild andyou do not want to die of non-yarrow poi-soning!

Storing a Mason jar foil of dried colts-foot for a year in your pantry because youweren't sure how to use it.

It is fun, isn't it?Medicinal doses of herbs are found in

store-bought extracts that have been steamdistilled by factories regulated by the Foodand DrugAdministration. Most extracts aremade to be taken sublingual in dosages ofnumber's of drops. Sublingual dosing by-passes the stomach and the herb is takeninto the blood stream almost as quickly asa subcutaneous shot. Supposedly thestrength of an extract is 10 times the po-tency possible through any methods we canuse at home.

Homemade medicines are consideredfolk medicine or tonics. They may be takenseasonally like worming tonics orregularlylike burdock for your heart or ginkgo foryour mind. The herbs are being used "pre-ventively."

The weakest herbal potion is a tea (aninfusion, if you use leaves; a decoction, ifyou use roots.) If you are going to drinktea because you don't feel well, you willneed to drink a lot. Old recipes for con-sumption call for 32 teaspoons in a quart,of which you will drink at least two daily!I see using weak tea to cover a nutritionaldeficit in a similar way as I may take aVitamin A because I didn't eat yellow veg-etables. Sort of a nutritional Band-Aid that

won't store.Tinctures made from high-proof vodka

pulls the essence from herbal material mak-ing a potion which is taken in teaspoon totablespoon doses probably as strong asover-the-counter preparations. A tincturetakes up to 8 weeks to steep. Logicallyroots and stems take longer than leaves.The tinctures will keep for years. Very littlecan mask the taste of most tinctures. Evenwhen aged, I need to mix them with or-ange or grapefruit juice.

Historically many herbs were smokedby rolling them up or putting pieces ofplant on a hot ember in a dish held to thenose and mouth. In my experience this isthe fastest way to get herbs to act. Mymother is mildly allergic to my cats whenthey are shedding. Rather than take abenedryl which knocks her out, we roll amullein cigarette which clears her up be-fore the cigarette is half gone.

Part of the reason the medical commu-nity is wary of the use of herbs is becausethe dosage information is imprecise whencompared to pharmaceuticals. That meansthat if you choose to use herbs, you haveto pay exceedingly close attention to yourbody. The safest way to use many herbs istopically. You swipe herbs you cured in oils,witch hazel or rubbing alcohol on yourpulse points.

I am sure that herbs work well for me inso many ways because I am involved andpartly in control of my own well being andhealing.

Learning about medicinal plants is anongoing process which is supported by theright attitude. No matter what, you are notgoing to learn all the plants even thoughyou will learn about them for the rest of

22 NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO

Yarrow, Miifoil

your life. You'll make mistakes. I've madeany number of preparations that were in-active-plant look-a-likes.

The best way to learn, I discovered, isnot to use herbals to identify the plants.What I do is to use wildflower and weedguides; then, when I know what it is, I checkthe herbals or medicinal plant guide to seewhat they do. I have become confident inknowing that a plant is medical.

What I did in the beginning was to col-lect only plants that have odors. I wouldput them in separate baggies to bring backand examine and identify at my leisure. Youwill find the need to reference more thanone source for identification because draw-ings and photos don't always look like yourversion of the plant. It becomes a fun chal-lenge.

The best part is when you finally figureout that what you found is what you hoped.When you go back out, pick some moreand make a pot of tea that warms your bodyand tickles your soul!

•••Dr. Jane, a regular contributor; is a MasterForest Owner and Certified Tree Farmer.She has aprivate consulting practice in Oc-cupational Therapy and NaturopathicMedicine and teaches on the Faculty ofHealth at Indianapolis University.

NOVIDEC 1996

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

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

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

For SaJe- A well-managed timberland tract in Ellenburg, NY consisting of191acres near Upper Chateauguy Lake. ASking $85,000. For more details contactBen Hudson at Wagner Woodlands and Co., P.O. Box 128, Lyme, NH 03768(603) 795-2165.

READY TO BUILD: 22.7 Acres, surveyed, good well, septic test approved, 15acres of beautiful woods, very private, shed and garden, 5 minutes fromCobleskill. Call 5181234-3984

FOR SALE: 611 acres mix woods with streams and over 4000 ft. frontage onprivate 3/4 mile-long lake, borders state land-Fulton County-l hour west ofAlbany-$115,000 RRSTERGAS, Broker, 518/762-4484.

ADVERTISINGRATES

Per Insert:

Display: $210 - perfull page or 30 cot, in.;$7 percol. in.

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

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

(315) 497-1078

Circulation 1800.

Tree Sf-arIn the dawn of morning's light,before the day was warm and bright,a tiny tree star came in sight.

Alone, it hung upon a leaf,by chance I saw it therebefore it vanished in the air.

Uke a diamond it sparkled with the changing lightso with the slightest nod of eye, it changed from red, to green,to blue, to brilliant white.Suddenly, its myriad crystals coalesced,and quickly dripped from Sight.

In the dawn of morning's light,before the day was warm and bright,I watched a tree star form, and live, and grow,and then I watched it fall from Sight.

-James E. Coufal ©1995

NY FOREST OWNER

FORECON INC.Forestry - Recreation - Ecology - Conservation

• Timber Sales & Appraisals• Timberland Appraisals• Management Plans ~.• TimberTaxation Plannin~~• Wildlife Management t!~~-..~• Trespass Evaluation ~ ~• ExpertTestimony . ~• Real Estate Sales SelVice~• Certified Appraiser on staff

Now With 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

NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - Hi/FO NOVIDEC 1996· 23

\l\lFL

nEBBIE GILL ASSOC.J_ ~'C.~vc(~c~sT OWNERS!'-IEI."l {JI" ....,\ I .""'~"""

PO BOX 180"T'~lv 144S0F~:\IHP()P. , "i

R.J. Fox, EditorRD#3, Box 88Moravia, NY 13118FaxlPhone (315) 497-1078

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!

••.•~ .•~ •

•

NYFOA SPECIALSThe following promotional items especially designed for

NYFOA may be obtained from Deborah Gill, AdministrativeSecretary; PO Box 180, Fairport, NY 14450; (716) 377-0391or 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 9.00Member Sign 2.00 Long -sleeved Shirts 13.00Pewter Lapel Pins 4.00 Sweatshirts 16.00

PLEASE PROVIDE SIZE & PHONE NO.

For Information OnE-Mail, Estate Planning, Land Trusts,

Timber Theft, Master Forest Owners .Call our FREE information Database

and Debbie will get the answers for you.INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.

1-800-836-3566

24 • NY FOREST OWNER NYFOA - 1-800-836-3566 - INFO NOVIDEC 1996

Non-Profit Org.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMoravia, N.Y.

13118Permit No. 21

FOUNDED 1963

WOODLOTCALENDAR

NOV 2: CDC&SEA; 9:30AM;NYSDEC Saratoga Nursery;Saratoga Springs; 5181753-4336,798-0248.

NOV 5: THRIFT; lOAM; HardenFurniture Factory Tour;McConnellsville; 315/245-1000.

NOV 6: WFL; General Mtg.; DEERSeason; 716/367-2849 (eve.)

DEe 9: THRIFT; Holiday Party;Lowville Presbyterian Church.

JAN 29-31: NYSAF; The MaineReferendum - NY Lessons;Liverpool; 315/348-2208.