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Forest Owner

March-April 1984

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Vol. 22, No.2

THENEW YORK FOREST OWNERS

ASSOCIATIONEditor

Evelyn Stock5756 Ike Dixon Rd.Camillus, NY 13031

In This IssueP. 2 Front Cover; New Members;

Directors

P. 3 President's Message; Letter to theEditor

P. 4-5-6 Urban Forestry: Trees Around OurHomes, by N.A. Richards

P. 6 New York Forest Owner TVProgram; New Treatment for DutchElm Disease

P. 7 The Maple Borer by Douglas C.Allen

P. 8 Deducting Lost Timber From YourIncome Tax, from American TreeFarmer; Natural Target Pruning

P. 9 Forest Bookshelf; Forest PracticeBoard Proposal; AdvertisingAnnouncement

P. 10-11 Many Forest Landowners Pay TooMuch Income Tax: Do You": NewDirectors?

P. 12 Ask a Forester; On the Calendar

FRONT COVERFront cover photo by Dr. Edwin

Ketchledge of the SUNY College ofEnvironmental Science and Forestry,Dept. of Environmental and ForestBiology.

Dr. Alan Haney a professor at War-ren Wilson College, Swannanoa, N.Carolina, views Algonquin Mountainfrom Indian Falls, the most scenic spotin the Adirondack High Peak Region.

Part of the Macintyre Range, Algon-quin is 5,114 feet high and is the secondhighest peak in New York State. OnlyMount Marcy is higher.

Indian Falls is a popular camping spotfor vacationers headed for the hikingtrails on Mt. Marcy.

WelcomeOur New MembersAdirondack League ClubP.O. Box 8Old Forge, NY 13420

Dr. Hugh O. Canham105 Primrose LaneNorth Syracuse, NY 13212

Domenico Crachi, Jr.3 Churchill Rd.Northport, NY 11768

Anna R. DePue3790 Breed Hollow Rd.Horseheads, NY 14845

Ray GiltnerRoute 1, Box 79Nichols, NY 13812

Robert GobleRoute 1, Box 94Nichols, NY 13812

Thomas M. Graber491 Highgate Ave.Buffalo, NY 14215

Rita Hammond8415 Lewis Rd.Holland, NY 14080

Edward HanusBox 80ALupton's PointMattituck, NY 11952

Dennis HillShaver Rd.Harpersfield, NY 13786

Wayne HortonRoute 1, Box 88Nichols, NY 13812

Willard G. IvesP.O. Box 115, RD #1Troy, NY 12180

Mrs. A. W. KoonRD #1, Koon Rd.Auburn, NY 13021

Published by theNEW YORK FOREST OWNERS

NYFOA DirectorsAs of November 1, 1983

(By date their terms expire)1984

•Robert L. Demeree• David H. Hanaburgh• James P. LassoieHarold PetrieNorman Richards'Robert M. SandLloyd G. Strombeck

'WiII complete 6 years as Director.1985

Ken EberleyRichard E. GarrettJ. Claude LeCoursMary S. McCartyDouglas B. MonteithEarl PfarnerPaul Steinfeld

1986Nancy Ferns FineganJohn W. KelleyAlan R. KnightBill LynchGeorge F. MitchellAI RobertsLinda Thorington

New MembersArnold LesterRD #2Groton, NY 13073

William H. Lynch410 State Tower Bldg.Syracuse, NY 13202

Dr. Robert MartinFletcher PointOld Forge, NY 13420

Mark Rosiek322 E. Bloomfield #3Rome, NY 13440

March-April 1984 3

ThePresident's Message

Having just returned from a visit toIsrael, perhaps a few observations aboutits land use and forests are relevant forNYFOA. The most obvious fact is theconversion of barren desert into produc-tive farms and forests. We had notedthis dramatic development on our firstvisit in 1962. I recall an excursion to theDead Sea area, where most of the land-scape resembles a moonscape. Sud-denly, around a bend in the road, greengrass, gardens, and trees hit the senseswith a jolt as we drove into Ein Gedi, akibbutz which had tapped the waters ofdesert springs. Water remains the magickey in this land, and the Biblical recordillustrates this many times. Smallwonder that this country pioneered intrickle-tube irrigation.

Tree planting on a large scale contin-ues as a major undertaking. Most of theplantings have been pine, cypress,cedar, and eucalyptus, and these nowmake sizable forests. Here and there Isaw loaded lumber trucks on the roadsadjacent to forest plantations no morethan 30 years old. Timber is also beingcut as thinnings from some shelter beltsand roadside plantings. Except for fast-growing eucalyptus, there were few big

trees, but much evidence of use of pole-size logs. It was nice to see many chil-dren's playgrounds with play equipmentmade from native pine poles. Most ofthe lumber is still cut from importedtimber. A fascinating development isthat old native hardwoods, such as oakand carob, which had been practicallyeradicated by grazing sheep and goats,have now begun to grow in among theplantings, which are often fenced.

One of our favorite places is a 500-acre landscape reserve, roughly halfwaybetween Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, nearthe little town of Modin, birthplace ofthe Maccabees. Only about 25 yearsago, a small private foundation knownas Neot Kedumim, or Biblical Land-scape Reserve, acquired title to thisparcel, which had been completelyeroded, containing only rock and sand.Now it is a network of gardens, eachwith a Biblical theme. For example, theHill of the Menorah is an olive orchard,because the ancient golden candela-brum, or menorah in the Temple, waskindled only with pure olive oil. Thereare many Biblical references to the olivetree and its fruit, which produced thebest illuminating oil in ancient times.

Plantings at the Biblical LandscapeReserve include cedars of Lebanongrown from seeds from one of the old-est cedars in Lebanon. These weregrown to pole size on the Mt. Scopuscampus of the Hebrew University andrecently they were carefully moved andtransplanted to Neot Kedumim . inModin. There are plans for plantingother forest trees native to Mt. Carmel.

The attraction of Neot Kedumim isnot only in its loveliness and its illustra-tion of how human will can transform awasteland, but also in its message thatthe Bible is rooted in the land. Not onlyare many of its parables and metaphorscouched in botanical terms and relatedto the agrarian and pastoral lives of thepeople, but indeed the essence of man'srelationship to God is in the quality ofman's stewardship of the land and con-cern for its inhabitants. Consistently theBible's message of God's blessings isphrased in terms of the earth's bounty.

- Paul SteinfeldGilead Tree Farm, Halcott Center, NY

******

Letter to the EditorAmerican Christmas Tree Journal

Editor's Office: Philip H. JonesShelton, CT 06484January 23, 1984

Hi, Evelyn:

Six hundred attended the 4th Na-tional Christmas Tree Conference inSpringfield. Very, very successful -they came from as far away as Minne-sota and Nova Scotia. Some walk-irishad to be turned away as we were wayoverbooked. At Dialogue II, 300 ques-tions from the audience written out theday before were categorized and an-swered by a select panel. The trend inquestions indicated a whole new gener-ation of growers are just starting orthinking about it. Experts and old timegrowers readily agree the so-called glutwill consist of inferior uncared for treesin the future. There may be an ade-quate supply of excellent quality trees ina few years. Choose and cut farms withwell cared for trees should not be toofearful of a ready market.

Sincerely,Phil Jones

4 New York Forest Owner

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Urban Forestry:lREES AROUND OUR HOMES

N.A. Richards

Trees on residential grounds make upa large part of the "urban forest," andtend to be most significant in the dailylives of residents. Good residential treescan increase real estate values, but mostresidents find that living with trees is amixed blessing with benefits counteredby costs ranging from minor annoy-ances to serious problems.

As noted also in my previous articleson urban forestry, space limitations arethe major source of problems with ur-ban trees. Large residential lots, over ahalf-acre, provide space for enjoymentof trees with minimum conflicts. Onsmaller lots where most of us live, care-ful planning and management is neededto achieve this. Problems arise andpotentials are lost by casual attitudes inletting planted or naturally establishedtrees set their own destiny, and assum-ing they will grow to fit our intentions. Itbecomes harder to make changes astrees grow larger, until they cause prob-lems that force us to act. Large residen-tial trees tend to be highly valued, butalso have high liabilities both while livingand when they must be removed. I sug-gest a very pragmatic approach in plan-ning and managing residential trees toserve our purposes.

The potential and problems of treeson moderate-sized houselots are well il-lustrated by my home in Syracuse (notesketch). Our neighborhood generallyhas lots 45 to 50 feet wide and about150 feet deep; slightly above averagefor the city. We chose a double lot,about 1/3 acre, to suit my gardening

hobby and family enjoyment of outdoorliving space. Its location on a hill with asoutherly slope and view also affectedour choice, although this makes our lotwarmer in summer and windier in win-ter than we would like. Our lot obvious-ly can benefit from intelligent use oftrees.

Residential Streets idesFrom a street -front view, public street

trees combine with private trees in frontyards to provide streetside values. Frontyard trees can substitute where publicstreetside conditions are poor for trees,and vice versa. Most front yards on ourstreet are about 25 feet deep; onlyenough space for small trees without in-terfering with the houses. But fortunate-Iy, the public strip on our side of thestreet is fairly wide and free of overheadwires, so it is a good site for large, long-lived street trees to impact both thestreet and the front yards.

Loss of large elms that once lined ourstreet rather harshly exposed the diver-sity of house styles and conditions, al-though some people enjoyed the moreopen view of the neighborhood. Thetwo replacement trees planted alongour double lot are City trees, but thespecies choice, location, and care ofthese is critical to us. The choice ofsugar maple, appropriate for this site,means that these trees eventually willdominate our front yard, but the full ef-fects will be felt by some owner after us.The tree locations potentially impactutility services to our house, ice and slip-pery leaves on our driveway inclinefrom the street, screening of the street-light from our front bedrooms, and thegrowth of ornamentals in our front yard.

Careful early training of the trees togood form should reduce future prob-lems for both the City and us. A publiciprivate partnership must be involved inmanagement of these trees.Trees and Residential Climate

My experience with use of trees tomodify the physical environment of ourlot has taught me three points so far: Allthe physical effects of sun, shade, wind,snowdrifts, noise, and visual screening,must be considered together and overall seasons; residential lots cannot beviewed in isolation from neighbors inconsidering these effects; and common-ly there are no perfect solutions.

Large landscape trees are referred toas shade trees, but in our climate, theirshade value applies to a small part ofthe year and the negative effects ofshade extend over a longer period.Even deciduous trees must be usedcarefully in managing solar effects on ahouse. Bare hardwood branches can in-tercept much of the low-angled wintersun; as a generality about half that ofthe summer shade, and too much forour sun-starved winters in Central NewYork. Also, the idea that winter sunrayspass under tree crowns, while summerrays are blocked, applies only to talltrees with long clear stems; the treesblock winter sun while growing to thisform. Trees overtopping houses aremost effective for summer shading, butare rough on roof maintenance. For our21/2 story house, a tree large enough toshade the roof would be too dangerousto have near the house. Good attic in-sulation is safer and faster.

It is difficult to use trees well on thesouth sides of houses. We have optedfor winter sun and view in our south

March-April 1984

quadrant (SE to SW), and fortunatelyour double lot gives us some controlover this. But our house is not welldesigned to make good use of solar ac-cess, and an ill-effect is that the housepaint weathers twice as fast on thesesides. The easiest way to use trees forsummer shade on houses is at a safedistance directly east and west of thehouse. East trees can delay heating onsummer mornings; west trees can short-en the more intense afternoon heating.One of the maple street trees will even-tually give summer morning shade toour house. Our garage usurps the bestspot for an afternoon shade tree, butbeyond this, a neighbor's large walnutgives us late afternoon shade in mid-summer.

Shade and solar access can be man-aged more easily for outdoor livingspaces than for houses. The southwestexposure of our back door lawn is pleas-ant in spring and fall but gets too hot insummer. To change this fairly rapidly, Iplanted three black locusts at the edgeof the lawn; their location a compromiseamong several considerations. Aftergrowing nearly 40 feet tall in 10 years,they provide a nice patch of summermid-day shade, but also cast some win-ter shade on my greenhouse. The fast-growing trees have required .annualpruning to train them to the best possi-ble form for our purposes, but also areeasily replaceable. Having observed theproblems from one of the present trees,I am now starting a new one in a betterlocation for my greenhouse. The lightcrowns of shade-intolerant species suchas locusts produce light shade in bothsummer and winter; we find their sum-mer shade adequate in our climate, andtheir winter shade less troublesome thanthat of traditional shade trees such assugar maple.

Our exposed lot could benefit fromtree windbreaks. One usually thinks ofevergreens for winter windbreaks, butdeciduous trees and shrubs can also beeffective in the right place. A porouswindbreak of deciduous plants reduceswind speed by friction, causing a mod-est reduction for a distance several timesthe height of the break. A dense wind-break - dense trees or buildings - di-verts wind over and around it; greatlyreducing wind close-in, but less at a dis-tance where winds eddy back behindthe break.

Windbreaks are not all benefit: Re-duced wind can settle additional snowand dust particles on an area, and causeuncomfortable heating at times. So the

5

Sun during the day and year at the backyard door of the author's home. The December timeline isnearest the top of the photo; the sun reflection shows that the photo was taken at 2 p.m. in July.Reflected objects would cast shade on this point at the times indicated: The house (left) casts morn-ing shade latest in the summer; the young locust trees (upper right) are shading only in winter atthis stage of their growth, while a neighbor's large tree (lower right) is screening summer sunsets.

location and form of windbreaks is atricky matter on small properties. Largespruce and hardwoods on the other sideof our neighbor's lot gives our lot a goodbreak from northwest winds. Winterstorms in Syracuse often come from thesouthwest, and we have space in our lotfor a break from this direction. But in-stead, we have opted for a view, andconcentrated on winterizing our house.

Tree and large shrub screens can re-duce noise effects on residential lots bydirect scattering of sound waves, byproducing pleasant wind-sounds thatpartly cover offensive noise, and by pro-viding a psychological screen from noisesources. There usually is not enoughspace on lots for tree mass to significant-ly reduce noise transmission by scatter-ing, so the other factors may be moreimportant - for example, in the effectsof a large street tree in front of a house.Our neighborhood is about 50 % tree-canopied, so perhaps all three effectsare involved in our general impressionthat our lot is quieter when the trees arein leaf. All our neighbors' trees contrib-ute to this.Trees and Gardening

In our climate, trees conflict with gar-dening through shading and loss ofmoisture within a distance of at least halfthe height of the trees, while less intenseeffects of roots can extend much far-ther. I find options for shade gardeningrather limiting in our area; they are bet-

ter farther south where the benefits ofshade balance adverse effects for awider range of plants. Although lawnsof shade-tolerant grasses can be grownin at least moderate shade, they havelow resilience for withstanding activeuse there. There is wide variationamong trees in their effects on lawns:Norway maple is one of the worst be-cause of heavy foliage over a long sea-son; black locust is one of the best be-cause of late leaf-out, light foliage, andas a legume, nitrogen fixation beneficialto grass growth.

Leaf litter from street and residentialtrees is certainly a problem, both for res-idents and for communities that mustspend public money for their collectionand disposal. I collect neighbors' leavesfor composting in my vegetable garden.But in our cool climate, I am unable tomaintain enough heat in leaf piles tocompost them over winter, so I usethem in the spring as part-rotted mulchthat breaks down over the summer.

The dual role of ornament and foodmakes fruit trees attractive for residentiallots. But fruit trees require an open areafor sunlight and for air circulation to re-duce diseases. The several fruit treesaround my garden are a mixed blessing.They require good pruning, and controlof the many insects and diseases, forgood fruit; otherwise the drop of worth-less fruit is a nuisance. I am unable toget good fruit without spraying, which is

6 New York Forest Owner

This honeylocust, over 140 years old and still healthy, is growing in the spacious garden of "Lor-enzo," the John Lincklaen estate in Cazenovia. It may be the oldest surviving introduction of thisspecies to Central New York from farther west in the country. Recently, honeylocust has beenpopular for planting in cramped downtown spaces in cities, but commonly, it does not live beyond25 years on these sites.

odorous and leaves trees rather barrenfor insectivorous songbirds. My ratio ofwork to yield from our fruit trees mustbe charged largely to recreation. Fruittrees left to grow semi-wild for wildlifeare best confined to the back of a lot.

The many factors that must be bal-anced in making good use of trees onresidential lots call for considerable

foresight. It would be nice if trees couldbe moved around like furniture; I havedone this with some of the smaller treeson our lot. But more practically, weneed to observe and predict the valuesand problems of trees on our lotthrough the seasons - shade trees inDecember, windbreaks in July - beforetaking actions to improve these re-sources.

MARCH"The stormy March is come at last

With wind, and cloud, andchanging skies;

I hear the rushing of the blastThat through the snowy valley flies.

Ah' passing few are they who speakWild stormy month in praise of thee,

Yet though thy winds are loud and bleakThou art a welcome month to me.

For thou, to northern lands againThe glad and glorious sun dost bring

And thou hast Joined the gentle train,And wear'st the gentle name of Spring.

And in thy reign of blast and stormSmiles many a long, bright summer day

When the changed winds are soft and warmAnd heaven puts on the blue of May."

-Bryant

Why Men Survive"I do not believe the greatest threat to

our future is from bombs or guided mis-siles. I don't think our civilization will diethat way. I think it will die when we nolonger care - when the spiritual forcesthat make us wish to be right and nobledie in the hearts of men. Arnold Toyn-bee has pointed out that 19 of 21notable civilizations have died fromwithin and not by conquest from with-out. There were no bands playing andno flags waving when these civilizationsdecayed; it happened slowly, in thequiet and the dark when no one wasaware ...

"If America is to grow great, we muststop gagging at the word "spiritual."Our task is to re-discover and re-assertour faith in the spiritual, non-utilitarianvalues on which American life has reallyrested from its beginning."

-Laurence M. Gould

New York Forest OwnerTV Program

Set your clocks and calf your friends!

MarchMs the day and 6:00 a.m.is the time. Channel 5, WTVH

is the station.

A half hour show will be broadcast onChannel 5 by the New York ForestOwners Association which will be of in-terest to forest owners and others in-terested in the future of our woodlandsand managing them for greater enjoy-ment, use, and profit, for ourselves andour children.

The TV program will be aired Mon-day, March 12 and can be seen onWTVH Channel 5 at 6 a.m. in thefollowing counties:

Broome, Cayuga, Chemung,Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Erie,Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson,Lewis, livingston, Onondaga,Madison, Oswego, Rochester, Monroe,East Oneida, West Oneida, Utica,Seneca.

Promising NewTreatment For

Dutch Elm DiseasePHYTON-27™ is a new EPA regis-

tered treatment for Dutch elm diseaseprevention and control. It is the onlyproduct label-recommended for use intrees with more than 5% disease thefirst year, and in most cases it providestwo to three years prevention, accord-ing to the manufacturer - SourceTechnology Biologicals, Inc.

Complete information, instructionsand prices on PHYTON-27 and injec-tion equipment are available fromSource Technology Biologicals, Inc.,P.O. Box 1984, St. Paul, MN 55111.

Arbotect-20 S Merck and Liqnasan-BLP both have been used and proven.They are registered and Widely used inthe treatment of elm disease.

G. Lanier, Ph.D.SUNY College of Environmental

Science & ForestrySyracuse, NY

i1

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March-April 1984 7

The Maple Borerby Douglas C. Allen

Forest Entomologist, College ofEnvironmental Science & Forestry

Syracuse, New Yorkand

Lewis J. StaatsExtension Specialist, Uhlein-Cornell

Experimental Sugar BushLake Placid, New York

Few scenes distress a woodlot ownermore than scarred tree trunks. This un-sightly damage is of special concern tomaple syrup producers, because a sugarmaple's ability to produce sap is, for themost part, determined by tree vigor andgeneral health. The sugar maple borerrarely kills trees, but it can be a majorcause of trunk and crown damage insugar bushes. In some regions, inci-dence of borer activity is low, but inmany areas, 25 to 50 percent of thesugar maples may be attacked. Recog-nition of borer damage and an under-standing of the ecological conditionsthat favor the insect will help woodlotowners reduce the economic impact ofthis pest.

Figure 1. Sugar maple borer adult.

The adult sugar maple borer is a blackbeetle distinctly marked with brightyellow bands of varying width andshape (Fig. 1). The beetle is approxi-mately one inch long, and it belongs toa group commonly referred to as long-horn beetles, a name evoked by theunusually long antennae, or feeler-likestructures, that are attached to thebeetles' head.

The beetle deposits one to a few eggsin crevices or holes that it chewsthrough the bark, usually on the basal20 feet of a tree trunk. Many trees areprobably used for egg laying, but the

more vigorous ones are able to over-come the newly hatched larvae. Follow-ing egg hatch, the white, grub-like larva(Fig. 2) enters the tree and feeds be-neath the bark. Eventually it excavates a

Figure 2. Larva of sugar maple borer in theoverwintering cell.

shallow transverse or oblique feedinggallery in the sapwood and inner bark(Fig. 3). As a result of this girdling,which is similar in effect to the damagecaused by an axe blaze or logging scar,large branches above the feeding sitemay be killed. This is important to sugarbush operators, because the amount ofsap produced by a tree is primarily afunction of crown size. Larval feedingalso destroys inner bark tissues in a largearea adjacent to the site where feedingactually takes place. A large cat-facedscar or area of exposed wood is oftenproduced (Fig. 3) and a significant por-tion of the tree trunk may be renderedunusable for tapping. Sugar mapleborer scars are not always easy todetect. Sometimes they are conspic-

Figure 3. Damage caused by larval feeding.Arrow indicates transverse feeding gallery.

uous, but often the damage is hiddenbeneath slightly cracked and loosenedbark (Fig. 4). The presence of the larvalgallery engraved on the surface of theexposed sapwood (Fig. 3) distinguishesscars caused by sugar maple borer feed-ing from scars that are caused by otheragents, such as fungi.

The borer requires two years to com-plete development from egg to adult. Inpreparation for overwintering during thesecond year, the fully grown larva exca-vates an oval, 3/8-5/8 inch diametergallery that penetrates the sapwood to adepth of 2-4 inches (Fig. 2). This mayseverely degrade the first board that issawn from that part of the log. In addi-tion to this physical damage, borer at-tack stimulates a physiological responsein sugar maple that protects the tree, butmay further reduce the quality of lum-ber cut from previously infested sawlogs. For example, chemical barriersand callous tissue develop in the vicinityof borer injury. This is the tree's way ofcompartmentalizing the damage to pre-vent invasion of healthy tissue by wood-inhabiting microorganisms. The callousimparts a twisted grain to newly formed

Figure 4. Appearance of loosened and crackedbark that often conceals borer damage(arrows).

wood adjacent to the wound, while thechemical barrier results in a mineralstrain, giving an undesirable color tolumber cut from the injured portion ofthe log.

Recently completed research at theState University of New York, Collegeof Environmental Science and Forestry,showed that successful sugar mapleborer attacks are generally limited tosugar maples that have been stressedand are in a weakened state. For themaple syrup producer, a program ofproper sugar bush management that en-courages maximum sap production,rapid growth and vigorous trees will

8 New York Forest Owner

help to reduce the incidence of damage.For example, proper thinning of standsduring the highly susceptible pole timberstage, when tree diameters are between5 to 11 inches, is especially important ina program of preventive maintenance.If saw timber is the management objec-tive, removal of previously damagedtrees is also recommended to improvethe quality of the residual stand andallot growing space to sound, and pre-sumably, more valuable trees.

The sugar bush operator should usecareful judgement, however, beforecondemning a tree. It is not necessary toremove sugar maples at the first sight ofdamage. As long as a tree pays its wayin terms of sap production, it should bepreserved.

Deducting Lost TimberFrom Your Income TaxLosses not compensated by insur-

ance or other means may be deductedfrom ordinary income the year of theloss (Section 165 IRS Code). There aretwo kinds of deductions under this sec-tion.

A non-business casualty deduction isallowed only if it exceeds 10 percent ofan individual's adjusted gross incomeplus $100. It must be claimed as anitemized deduction.

A business or investment casualty lossmay be deducted in full without meetingthe 1O-percent-plus-$100 test. It mayalso be subtracted directly from gross in-come without itemizing deductions.Timber holdings used as business prop-erty or at least an investment can comeunder these less stringent rules.

The loss must be sudden and unex-pected with emphasis on suddenness.Timber first damaged by fire and thengradually destroyed by insects or dis-ease would result in the fire being acasualty loss, but with the insect or dis-ease infestation not being deductible.

Common losses that are deductiblewould be from fire, sleet, hail, icestorms, hurricanes, tornados, floodsand wind. There have even been casesresulting from plane crashes, automo-bile accidents and similar events.

Disease or insect infestations leadingto damage or loss generally have notqualified as a casualty loss, but therehave been some exceptions recognizedsuch as fatal damage to ornamentaltrees by southern pine beetles.

Damaged but still usable timber can-not be considered a loss under IRS rul-ings. Usable timber should be salvaged

and the gain or loss from the salvagedetermined using the same proceduresas a normal sale.

Some relief from tax on salvage in-come is possible under a 1980 IRS rul-ing. This permits a deferment of thefederal income tax on any portion of again attributed to a timber salvage sale ifthe gain is reinvested in qualifiedreplacement property. Replacementproperty has been considered to bestanding timber, bare timberland,timberland and timber, capitalizedreforestation costs on land purchasedafter the loss, and capitalized reforesta-tion costs on land owned prior to thecasualty. The reinvestment must takeplace within two years.

Sometimes there is no adjusted basisand therefore no deduction. For exam-ple, natural growth "old-field" timber inwhich the owner has no cost. the woodmay have a high market value, but thebasis is zero.

If a landowner loses only part of histimber, the deductible loss must be com-puted by formula as in this example:assume that a tract of timber had beenpurchased in 1968 for a total of$20,000. The purchase price wasallocated as follows: $12,000 to landand $8,000 to timber. In the spring of1983 the stand was damaged by a tor-nado. No timber had been cut nor cap-

ital improvements made since the pur-chase, and a late 1982 cruise showed atotal salable volume of 240,000 boardfeet. The tornado rendered 100,000board feet worthless with no salvagevalue. The depletion unit equals $33.33per thousand borad feet ($8,000 divid-ed by 240) and the deductible loss istherefore $3,333 ($33.33 multiplied by100). The loss is taken on the 1983 in-come tax return.

For young timber, acres can be usedinstead of volume measurements. Themeasurement of value is based on thecost allocated to establish the younggrowth. In all cases losses must beestablished by fair and reasonablemeasurement. Good records andphotographs are helpful, newspaperclippings reporting the destruction andother documentation. If you think youhave a loss, it would be wise to employa consulting forester to examine thetimber to determine the loss.

The form used to file a casualty lossclaim is IRS Form 4684 "Casualties andThefts." For more information consultIRS Publication 437 ''Tax Informationon Disasters, Casualties and Thefts."These should be available from yourlocal IRS office.

- The American Tree FarmerNovember-December 1983

Natural Target PruningDr. Alex Shigo of the Northeastern For-est Experiment Station has studied treedecay for many years and has developedpruning instructions that promotewound healing and minimize decay.

Natural Pruning Steps1. Locate the branch bark ridge.2. Find Target A, outside of branchbark ridge.3. Find Target B, swelling wherebranch meets branch collar.4. IfB is hard to find, drop a line atAX. AngleXAC = angleXAB.5. Stub branch to be pruned.6. Make cut at lineAB.

CUTFIRSJ

FOR LIVINGOR DEADBRANCHES

ToRemove Top:Cut line DE at an angle approx-imately the same as the angle ofthe Ebranch bark ridge.

According to Shigo, the best time toprune is in the late dormant season orearly spring before leaves form. His rec-ommendations follow:

LIVINGBRANCH

HARDWOODS

*Cut behind the branch bark ridge.'Leave stubs.'Cut branch collar.'Paint cuts, except for cosmetics.'Leave flat top when topping.

Best Time to Prune:Late dormant season or early springbefore leaves form.

D

(

RANCH BARK RIDGE

Fa!'more information write: Dr.Alex Shiga, N ortheasiern Forest Ex-periment Station, r.o. Box 640,

TOPPING Durham,NH03824.

March-April 1984 9

FORESTBookshelfA Guide to Federal Income for

Timber Owners. U.S.D.A., AgricultureHandbook No. 596. Fee: $4.75.Farmer's Tax Guide, publication No.

225, update annually. Fee: Free.

The Timber Owner and His FederalIncome Tax, U. S. D. A. , AgricultureHandbook No. 274. Fee: $1.40.

Information about timber taxes isavailable from: The Superintendent ofDocuments, U.S. Government PrintingOffice, Washington, DC 20402.

Many Forest Landowners Pay TooMuch Income Tax: Do You? GeneralReport SA-GR 18, revised January,1981, United States Dept. of Agricul-ture, Forest Service, SoutheasternArea, Atlanta, GA 30367.

Women in Forestry. Topics pertain-ing to the growing number of profes-sional women engaged in forestry andits related fields are covered in "Womenin Forestry," a journal that is publishedquarterly.

It provides information for women onsubjects related to the natural resourceprofessions and associated socialscience fields, the use and conservationof natural and cultural resources, andissues of administration and personnelof special interest to women.

The publication contains a variety ofarticles, reviews, and announcementsfor and by women professionals. Sub-scriptions for the journal are $15 peryear for non -students and $10 per yearfor students. Subscription orders maybe sent to: Editor, Women in Forestry,Laboratory of Anthropology, Universityof Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843.

Gypsy Moth Regulations. TheAnimal and Plant Health InspectionService of the U.S. Department of Agri-culture has issued a booklet, "Don'tMove Gypsy Moth," which explains tohomeowners a new regulation designedto restrict the interstate movement ofthe gypsy moth.

The 12-page color illustrated pam-phlet includes maps showing high andlow risk areas and non-regulated areas.The text and photos discuss the prob-lem of the gypsy moth, its life stages,and how to prevent the spread of the

pest into new neighborhoods.Particular attention is devoted to

ways to inspect for presence of the gyp-sy moth, do-it-yourself inspection tech-niques, a check list of items to inspectfor egg masses and what to do withthem once they are discovered. Thepublication also provides sources of ad-ditional information about the newregulation concerning interstate move-ment of outdoor household articlesfrom areas infested by the gypsy moth.

Free, individual copies of "Don'tMove Gypsy Moth" may be obtained bywriting to: APHIS Distribution Service,Rm. G187, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hy-attsville, MD 20782.

ATTENTION!All Forest Owners

PROPOSALOfficially, the State Forest Practice

Board is proposing to draw all± 300,000 forest owners in New YorkState into a proposed Empire ForestAssociation. A part-time Executive Sec-retary would be hired to do this. TheDepartment of Environmental Conser-vation has appropriated $15,000.00the first year, $10,000.00 the secondyear and $5,000.00 the third year topay for this Executive Secretary. Dueswould be $15.00 per year. Memberswould be offered a Comprehensive Lia-bility Insurance as follows:

Charge Coverage$ 75 $100,000$100 $200,000$150 $300,000

The motivations behind this proposalare somewhat obscure. The legal posi-tion seems to be that the FPB can dothis but the DEC cannot. The DEC (DanWeller) has a low opinion of the effec-tiveness of the FPB, but must use theFPB to attain some objective not entire-ly clear. Apparently, the FPB and DECwould like to use the NYFOA as anucleus for this Empire Forest Associa-tion and absorb it into the EFA. TheNYFOA has had some communicationwith DEC through Carl Wiedeman andDan Weller. The NYFOA has had somecommunication with the FPB throughMike Demeree and Sally Bogdonovich.Communication has been neither franknor comprehensive, nor has the fullmembership of NYFOA been involved.

For the first 5 years of its existence(1963-68), the NYFOA was providedan executive secretary (Floyd Carlson

and his secretary) by the N.Y. StateCollege of Forestry at Syracuse. WhenFloyd retired, this service was discon-tinued. Since 1968 the NYFOA hasbeen supported and operated entirelyby its membership. It is a strong self-supporting organization. It operates onan annual budget of about $8,000.00 ofwhich the "Forest Owner" consumesabout $5,500.00. We have a reserve ofabout $6,000.00. We are operationallyefficient and financially sound. In thelight of the strength and substance of theNYFOA, the Empire Forest Assn. has a"Pink Elephant" appearance.

Over and above the real motivationsfor this proposal, the NYFOA would bereluctant to be so absorbed by a mythi-cal Empire Forest Association.

What does the DEC expect to get forthe $30,000.00 three-year contribu-tion? It would cost less for DEC to get4,000 new members to join theNYFOA. The NYFOA could then sup-port its own executive secretary, and itwould still be independent of the FPBand DEC.

This proposal requires an expressionof opinion from the entire membership.Send your opinions to the Editor of theForest Owner. David H H b h- aVl . ana urg

Something NewHas Been Added

AdvertisingThe New York Forest Owner

will have a new feature in futureissues. Advertising. Our member-ship is spread over all parts of thestate as well as twenty-two otherstates and three foreign countries.

We can help build your businessthrough our service.

Few things can unify individualsmore successfully than planningtogether to reach a goal that noone could reach alone. It meansthey share desires, ideas, effortand most likely, achievement.

ADVERTISING RATES1 or 2 3 6

per per perissue issue issue

1/2 page $80.00 $60.00 $50.008" x 6"

1/3 page $40.00 $35.00 $30.006" x 6"

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10 New York Forest Owner

Many Forest LandownersPay Too Much Income Tax:

DO YOU?United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service Southeastern Area

General Report SA-GRI8Revised January 1981

What Income is Taxable?In the first place, probably only 40

percent of your net timber income istaxable. If you're like most forest land-owners in America, your net incomefrom the sale of standing timber can betreated as long-term capital gains - ifyou have owned the property at least12 months and meet certain other re-quirements. But remember, the time tothink about your income tax is before -not after - you sell your timber.

To be eligible for capital gains bene-fits, you must qualify under one of thefollowing three categories. If you qualifyfor more than one category, find outwhich one best fits your situation. This isa key factor in receiving capital gainsbenefits.

1. Lump-sum Sale, This is for land-owners who are not in the timber busi-ness and who sell their standing timberon a lump-sum basis. In other words,you sell standing timber outright for afixed sum, agreed upon in advance. Butremember, you don't have to own asawmill or other manufacturing concernto be classified as being "in the timberbusiness." Many times the deciding fac-tor is how often you make a sale! Youshould check very carefully before yousell your timber on a lump-sum basis be-cause of the danger of losing capitalgains tax benefits.

2. Sell as Cut, This is for land-owners who sell their timber under acutting contract, whereby the timber issold at the time it is cut. Under this ar-rangement, timber is sold on a unit basis(board feet or cord, for example), andpayment is made only for those unitsactually cut. Be careful about this! Thecutting agreement has to be wordedcorrectly to qualify the income forcapital gains treatment. See a tax ex-pert. The advantage of this category isthat you can be classified "in the timberbusiness" and still qualify for capitalgains benefits.

3. Use in Own Trade or Business,Landowners who cut their own standingtimber and sell sawlogs, poles or pulp-wood as a part of their trade or businesscan claim capital gains benefits underthis category. This is also for land-

owners who cut their own timber anduse it in their trade or business (asawmill owner, for example). In eithercase, though, owners must cut theirown timber.Examples:

You are about to sell timber that wasestablished 30 years ago and feel itwould be easier to make a lump-sumsale. You have made only two thinningsales in the past, so you may considerselling your timber on a lump-sum saleand file under Number 1, as shownabove.

If you have made timber sales on afrequent and regular basis in the pastand are ready to make another one, sellyour timber on a "sell as cut" basis. Thisway, you will be assured of capital gainstreatment if you follow the necessarysteps mentioned previously underNumber 2.

If you cut your own standing timberand sell logs or some other product, youwould file under Number 3, above.

Expenses of SaleRemember, the amount you receive

from the timber sale may not be yournet income. It's not all clear profit if youhave certain types of costs or expenses.You can deduct "expenses of sale" suchas:

• tree marking expense• scaling costs• cruising costs• consulting fees• temporary road construction and

improvements connected with thesale with a useful life of one yearor less.

Capital ExpensesYou can recover "capital expendi-

tures." These costs are capitalized andrecovered as the timber is harvested.Examples are:

• Purchase price of timber, in-cluding survey and legal fees. Butdon't forget, you have to deter-mine the value of the land at thetime of purchase and subtract thatamount to know the purchaseprice of the timber.

• Site preparation, includingremoval of existing vegetation.

• Tree planting, including wages,tools and equipment.

Operating ExpensesYou can deduct "operating expen-

ses" incurred each year, such as:• Cost of tools of short life or small

cost• Equipment maintenance costs• Salaries, wages and professional

fees (excluding your own time)

• Interest on mortgage paymentsconnected with the timber

• Certain taxes connected with thetimber

• Depreciation allowance for equip-ment.

Reforestation Tax Incentives.On October 14, 1980, Public Law

96-451 was enacted which includesnew reforestation tax incentives. Thereforestation incentive is a 10-percent,investment tax credit plus a 7-yearamortization on the first $10,000 ofcapitalized reforestation expenditureseach year. The incentive applies toqualifying reforestation expenditures in-curred after December 31, 1979.Therefore, capital expenditures forreforestation after 1979 that qualifyunder Public Law 96-451 can berecovered over a period of 7 years in-stead of when the timber is harvested,as described earlier in this article.

Casualty LossesWhat does the Internal Revenue Ser-

vice consider as a casualty loss? A cas-ualty is the complete or partial destruc-tion of property resulting from an iden-tifiable event of a sudden, unexpectedor unusual nature. Ice storms and hurri-canes cause casualties. So do forestfires, sleet storms, hail, and floods.Death of trees from insect or disease at-tacks may not result in a casualty loss onbusiness property, but death of trees onresidential property usually qualifies.However, you should check with the In-ternal Revenue Service or a tax experton possible new developments on cas-ualty losses before filling out your taxreturn.

Tax laws on timber casualty losses be-come more understandable if youremember one important principle: todeduct a casualty loss, proof of a cas-ualty - flood, hurricane, etc. - is nec-essary as well as proof that your loss oc-curred directly as a result of the cas-ualty. Take photos and save newspaperclippings as proof of the casualty. Keepsales receipts, contracts, appraisal docu-ments, or other verification of yourproperty's value.

Casualty loss deductions are limitedto the owner's adjusted basis in the tim-ber. This is the total capital investmentminus those capital expenditures pre-viously recovered through either timbersales or other casualty deduction.Worth of the timber on today's markethas nothing to do with the casualty lossfor income tax purposes (except wherethe fair market value is less than theowner's cost). For example, suppose

March-April 1984 11

your entire timber stand, worth$100,000 on today's market, isdestroyed. The unrecovered capital in-vestment in the timber, say, is $50,000,counting tree planting costs and othercapital expenditures over the years. Thedeductible casualty loss would belimited to $50,000. If you lose only partof your timber compute the loss asfollows:

1. First, divide your adjusted basis onthe timber by the number of boardfeet or other units of timber in thetract. This gives the adjusted costper timber unit. The InternalRevenue Service calls this thedepletion unit. In the case of youngplantations, acres can be used in-stead of board feet or cords.

2. Multiply this figure by the volume oftimber or number of acres destroy-ed. This is the deductible loss.

Of course, if the insurance or salvagevalue received by the owner is equal tothe amount lost, then the owner has noloss, for tax purposes.

Revenue Ruling 80-175On July 7, 1980, the Internal Reve-

nue Service rules that if timber downedin a hurricane is salvaged and sold, thetax on the gain will be deferred if theproceeds are reinvested in reforestationon the same land or on qualified re-placement property. The ruling specifi-cally covered earthquakes and volcaniclosses, but logically would encompassall casualties. Replacement propertywould likely consist of standing timber,bare timberland, timberland and timber,reforestation costs on land ownedbefore the casualty, or reforestation.costs on land purchased after the cas-ualty.

SummaryIn summary, be prepared to show

proof on five points:

1. Nature of casualty and when it oc-curred.

2. The loss was the direct result of thecasualty.

3. Ownership of the timber.4. Cost of the timber and other expen-

ditures.5. Amount of insurance or salvage in-

come received or recoverable.

Record KeepingCapital gains and tax deductions

point up the value of record keeping tothe timber owner. Bookkeeping needn't

be complicated. All that's needed is anorderly listing of original costs and ex-penditures as they are made, backed upby appropriate receipts.

Examples:1. Cost of timber to you - purchase

price of property less cost of landand improvements. Volume at timeof purchase.

2. Establishment costs - site prepar-ation and tree planting.

3. Cost of management services suchas consulting fees.

4. Cultural practices which improvethe quality of your timber stand.

5. Timber sales receipts.6. Up-to-date volume (Periodically

adjust for growth.)

If you feel you qualify for any of thebenefits discussed here, you shouldseek additional information. Somesources are:

Your State forestry agencyConsulting foresterQualified tax consultantExtension forestry departments ofyour land-grant universityLocal or district offices of the Inter-nal Revenue Service.

Cost-Share PaymentsCost sharing payments are available

from the Federal Government throughthe Agricultural Conservation Program(ACP) and the Forestry Incentives Pro-gram (FIP) for such practices as sitepreparation and tree planting andtimber stand improvements. The Reve-nue Act of 1978 and the Technical Cor-rective Act of 1979 provided that cost-sharing payments associated with capi-talized reforestation expenditures wouldbe considered tax-free income. If thecost-share payment is related to timberstand management expenses, the pay-ment must be included in gross income.However, because a deduction may beallowed for such expenses, the net ef-fect may be identical to the exclusionfrom gross income applicable to refor-estation expenses.The tax-free income provision of the

Revenue Act of 1978 applies to thosecost-share payments which are deter-mined by the Secretary of the Treasuryas not increasing substantially the an-nual income derived from the property.As of this writing, the Treasury Depart-ment has not ruled on whether FIP orACP payments substantially increase

~ - -------- -----------------~--~--------~~~

the annual income derived from theproperty. Until the ruling is provided,the Technical Corrective Act of 1979allows you to treat cost-sharing pay-ments for reforestation expenses as tax-free income. Check with a tax expert forthe latest developments.

Important: If you have failed to claimany of the benefits or deductions explainedin this article during the past 3 years, youstill have time, in many cases, to file anamended tax form and seek reimburse-ment.

Prepared by Keith A. Utz, Forest Financeand Taxation Specialist, Southeastern Area,USDA Forest Service, Atlanta, Ga. 30367.

• #7'tt'

NEW DIRECTORS?Anyone interested in being a Director

of the New York Forest Owners Associ-ation is invited to write to David H.Hanaburgh, Box 122, Buchanan, NewYork 10511.

!U! • !CiJ 3 !U! !Of!

A state-police colleague of mine oncereceived a call from a woman who ask-ed him how to baste a turkey. After astun~ed moment, he, being a fairlygood cook, described the procedure.

Then he asked, "But why would youcall the state police to find out how tobaste a turkey?"

There was only a slight hesitation be-fore she replied, "Well, you knew,didn't you?" and hung up.

-Reader's Digest, 12/83

Evelyn A. StockEditor

5750 lke Dixon Rd.Camillus, N.Y. 13031

200 FAM 0384DEAN EDWIN C JAHN:l.09 HI L.LC F1EElTSYF{(ICUE;;E

F~()tIDI) \' :l.;':::;? 21.j·

Non profit org.bulk rate

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

Camillus, N.Y.13031

Permit No. 57: •• '" $ J

"' .•.,ON THE CALENDAR",

'"March 10, 1984:

Meeting, Board of Directors, 10:30a.rn., D.E.C. Office in Binghamton.March 12, 1984:

6:00 a.rn., Channel 5 WTVH, For-estry Program by New York ForestOwners.April 24-26:

Forest Management and the SpruceBud-Worm, Burlington, Vermont.April 28:

New York Forest Owner's AnnualSpring Meeting in Ithaca.June 5-7:

Second New York Forestry Con-gress, "Managing Conflict in Forestry"at College of Environmental Scienceand Forestry in Syracuse.

August 17, 18, 19:New York State Woodsmen's Field

Days at Boonville. The New York StateWoodsmen's Field Days, Inc. will besponsoring the largest attended forestindustry show in the northeast. In con-junction with this weekend, they print a9" x 12" souvenir-type program whichis read by attendees at the field days anddisseminated after the weekendthroughout the northeast.Sept. 17

Fall Meeting, Sagamore, on Rac-quette Lake.Sept. 20, 21, 22:

Live Feed Show (live forestry exhibi-tion and demonstration) at The ArnotForest, Cornell University.

ASK A FORESTERby AL ROBERTS

RD3, Box 7Cortland, NY

2/2/84Dear Evelyn,

The following letter was sent by theBoard of Directors to protest the pro-posed cutback of the DEC Forest Ran-ger force from 88 (the corrected figure)to 38. The latest news is that Commis-sioner Williams has arranged a compro-mise whereby no one will be fired, butthe cutback will be accomplishedthrough retirement, death, etc. Eventhe compromise is unacceptable, as thetotal force how in place is needed. If anyof the members care to support thisposition, they could write to GovernorCuomo and Commissioner Williams.Williams' address is: CommissionerHenry Williams, 50 Wolf Road, Albany,NY 12233. .'

Sincerely,Al Roberts

January 30, 1984The Honorable Mario M. CuomoGovernor of New York StateExecutive ChamberState CapitolAlbany, NY 12224Dear Governor Cuomo:

I am writing you at this time on behalfof the New York Forest Owners Associ-ation. As you probably know, thisorganization represents the forestowners of New York State who own 90percent of the 18 million acres of forestland in the State.

We would like to state that our organ-ization is strongly opposed to the pro-posed cutback in the Forest Ranqerforce from 83 Rangers to 33. This forceis already small enough considering it ischarged with care, custody andcontrolof 31/2 million acres of State owned for- .est land and has responsibility for firecontrol and Search and Rescue on thewhole 18 million acres. .' _

Our organization feels that ;th~pres-ence of Range.rs on-our State and pri-"vate land is a strong deterrent againsttheft of standing forest products and ar-son in the forest lands and they alsoserve as experts in the area of Searchand Rescue. A reduction in the forcewill mean a reduction in protection andcare and custody on our forest lands.

We also strongly feel that this isanother example of cutting at the lowestlevels, the people who actually performthe jobs across the State while not ad-dressing the problems of a burgeoningbureaucracy at the middle managementlevel; simply another case of too manyChiefs and not enough Indians.

We wish you would address this mat-ter carefully and give it your greatestconsideration and reverse the proposedcut of this very worthwhile group ofdedicated personnel, who have formany years served the forest resourceand the people of the State of NewYork.Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

A.W. Roberts, Jr.Acting President, NYFOA

cc: Commissioner Williams