The New York Forest Owner - Volume 28 Number 6

FOREST OWNERA Publication of the New York Forest Owners Association

November/December 1990

Clearing the Land

.. - ~ ....-.--~-.-----.~ .,----' •..•.

Undershot Waterwheel

OFFICERS& DIRECTORSAllen Horn, President (1991)3978 Pompey Center Rd ..Manlius, NY 13104

Stuart McCarty, rst Vice President (1992)4300 East Ave.Rochester, NY 14618

Richard J. Fox, 2nd Vice President (1991)RD 3 Dresserville Rd.Moravia, NY 13U8

Morgan Heussler, Treasurer900 Port ervi lie Rd.Easl Aurora, NY 14052

John Marchant, Executive DirectorPO Box 360Fairport. NY 14450(716) 377-6060

David Colligan (199:))173Woodbridge Ave.Buffalo, NY 14214

Thomas A. Conklin (991)10 Artillery LaneBaldwinsville, NY 13027

Robert Hellman (19!)2)PO Box 231Brockport, NY 14420

Verner Hudson (1993)246 E. Main SI.Elhridge, NY 13060

Alan Knight (1992)96 Targosh Rd.Candor, NY 13743

Mary McCarty (1!J!J:l)4300 Easl Ave.Rochester. NY 14618

Harold Petrie (1991)RD1,Box117Parish, NY 13131

Sanford Vreeland (1993)PO Box 185Springwater. NY 14560

Don Wagner (1993)RD1, Box 203CGraham Road, Utica, NY 12870

AffiliatelChapter Representatives:THRIFT-Donald Colton5595 Trinity AvenueLowville, NY 13367

Catskill Forest Assn,Donald GilbertCalskill Forest AssociationArkville, NY 12406

Allegheny Foothills ChapterCharles Mowatt .DEC Office, 115 Liberty SI.Balh, NY 14810

Cayuga Chapter-Wendell HatfieldRDIMora via, NY 13U8

Niagara Frontier ChapterBobWhite56 WaterS!.Holland, NY 14080Tioga Chapter ~Howard Ward240 Owego SI .Candor, NY 13743

Southern Tier Chapter-Ilnnald KellicuttIW I, Box 103Lisle, NY 13797

Western Finger Lakes Chapter-Haymond Wager:165 Log Cabin Rd.Victor, NY 14564

THE NEW YORK

FOREST OWNERPublished for the New York Forest Owners Association by

Karen Kellicutt, Editor

Materials submitted for publication should be addressed to: R. Fox, R.D. #3,Box 88, MoraVia, New York 13118. Articles, artwork and photos are invitedand are normally returned after use. The deadline for submission is 30 daysprior to publication in January.Please address all membership and change of address data to ExecutiveDirector, P.O. Box 360, Fairport, N. Y. 14450.Information on advertising can be obtained from Richard Fox, R.D. #3,Dresserville Road, Moravia, N. Y. 13118,

President'sMessageWe had an excellent fall meeting

October 5 and 6 at Margaretville. Ourhost, the Catskill Forest Association,rolled out the red carpet for us and fora change we enjoyed some fabulousfall weather. We learned about veneerlogs, some new ideas about firewoodmarketing and the unexpected resultsthat might happen with timber standimprovement. More extensivecomments about the meeting will befound elsewhere in this issue.The Board of Directors has

delegated to me the job of remindingyou that regular and familymembership dues in the organizationwill increase by $5.00 beginning inJanuary, 1991. These kinds ofdecisions are never popular, but theBoard was persuaded of the necessityfor the raise by several factors.At the present time our costs of

producing the magazine, operatingthe headquarter office, and providingdollar support .to the chapters andaffiliates exceed $10 per member.Added to this is the fact that ourcurrent Executive Director, JohnMarchant, is serving us without pay.We couldn't afford to pay him what heis worth to us, but sometime in thenear future we will have to hire areplacement and we must prepare tobe in a financial condition to do this.

Allen Horn

Our dues structure has remainedunchanged for eleven years. You allhave a first hand recollection of howcosts have escalated over this timeperiod and can see that we are notsquandering your money when wespend over $10 per member forservice to you.We are planning to institute more

member services. This issue of themagazine represents one of them. It iseither four or eight pages longer thanthe traditional 12page issue. We hopeto put out longer issues of The ForestOwner as news and finances permit.The Board and I feel confident that

you will back our decision on thismodest increase.Best wishes to all of you on the

upcoming Holiday Season.

2 FOREST OWNER

our land have been interesting andshould help us draw a more intelligentanswer as to how the Amazoniansshould proceed.

Central New York1790- --Two hundred years ago, a few years

after the Revolutionary War, a thintrickle of land hungry pioneers beganto find their way into this area ofCentral New York. Many came fromMassachusetts and Connecticut

Clearing the Land"Torching the Amazon"With this cry of alarm, the

September 1989 issue of TIMEmagazine focused the world'sattention on the clearing of the rainforests of the Amazon for crop andlivestock production.This vast forest and river system is

nearly as large as the whole of theUnited States. The Amazon River,4000miles long, is the second longestriver in the world. The humid jungle,with trees that tower 200 feet and acanopy so dense that sunlight does notreach the forest floor, teems withan incredible variety of animal andplant life, representing much ofbiological interest and geneticsignificance. The loss of the rainforest could have a dramatic effect onthe global weather pattern and thegreenhouse phenomenon, say worldscientists.Attempts by Brazilians to develop

their country by subsidizing settlersand developers have beendisappointing and much of the land issoon abandoned as the soil is soonexhausted. The poor soil, furtherdepleted of nutrients by the constantfainfall and the ever present scourgeof insect-borne disease, soondiscouraged settlers. Ranchers andspeculators, with the help of incentiveand price supports, gather up theacres and the small farmers andsettlers lose out. In Rondonia, southcentral Brazil, 20% of the forest hasbeen cut and in another state, Acre, asmuch as 4% of the forests have beenlost, with cattle ranchers rapidlyexpanding their holdings. A conflictbetween those that would tap therubber trees and gather nuts, and theranchers brought about the muchpublicized murder of leader Mendes.Mendes had pointed out that thenative people can make a living fromthe forest without destroying it.With the modern world shrunk by

instant communication, a multitude ofscientists and a well informed publichave descended, like a pack ofpeeping toms or sidewalksuperintendents, to tell the bewilderedAmazonians how they should proceed.Much of the advice centers on theremoval of incentives and pricesupports for clearing the land, and on

stopping the ill-conceived plans fordevelopment and giving up the plansfor more hydroelectric plants whichdrown out large areas of the rainforest and provide little power.We Americans think we are well

qualified to advise our neighbors tothe south through our own AmericanExperience. With primitive tools ourpioneers relentlessly, doggedly andwith great determination set about"improving our land". In less than 100years, beginning about 1790in Central

New York, we removed 92% of ourown vast forest cover.Some voices were raised early in

warning that we should stop theslaughter, the terrible waste and savewhat remained of the woods and beginto replace the trees. However, littleheed was paid to these alarmists.The vivid bombardment by word

and picture 'of the American peopleconcerning the plight of the Amazonled me to look back on our ownclearing of the land or conquering thewilderness that we experienced here,especially as it pertains to CentralNew York where millions of acres ofprime forest cover were removed tomake the transformation to anagricultural state. The changes thathave followed this great clearing of

making their slow plodding way by oxcart piled with all their earthlypossessions over little used trails. Thetraveler often had to cut trees andclear the way through the tall, dark,dense unbroken forest of mixedhardwoods and conifers. The two tothree hundred mile trip took morethan a month of hardship andexhausting toil; fording streams,sleeping in the dark forest, findingfood for themselves and browse fortheir animals and being ever alert forIndians and marauding animals.On arriving in this area and finding

their lot in the Boston Purchase orother acres, the pioneer set aboutmaking a log home and clearing aplace to have a garden and space to

(Continued on Page 12)

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1990 3

Addressed in the ordinance are"those activities that most readilyaffect the environment," includingstream crossings and location oflandings and haul roads which cancause soil erosion and sediment ladenrunoff.

TREE CUTTING ORDINANCES

Therefore, the following series ofarticles will address the "problem":1. An article from the media to thequestion. 2. An article from theindustry perspective. 3. Reproductionof a letter to Chemung County officialsfrom the 11 county regional foresterand; 4. in a following issue, a reporton the fall meeting of the EmpireState Forest Products Association(ESFPA) which is dedicatedprimarily to this subject.

Preliminary communications re-garding the control of forest practicesbetween Region 8 Ny'S Department ofEnvironmental Conservationpersonnel and Chemung County andMunicipal Officials, were reported tothe public inaccurately andincompletely. The "problem" waspresented to NYFOA's Board ofDirectors by DEC Forester CharlieMowatt and the Editorial Committeeproposed The NY Forest Ownersmagazine as a suitable forum.

Proposed Timber Ordinance StudiedBy MIKE KAPUSTA

Chemung Bureau Chief,The Corning Leader

ELMIRA - Chemung County couldbe just a few months away fromhaving a universal, county-widetimber harvesting managementordinance.When approved by the appropriate

agencies, Chemung would become thefirst county in the state to have such adocument, said Lee Hanle Younge,environmental consultant."We're taking kind of a novel

approach to this," she said."Throughout New York State thereare various town ordinances, but nocounty has a uniform ordinance.We've been working on this thing formore than a year.The ordinance is being prepared by

the Chemung County EnvironmentalManagement Council and Soil andWater Conservation District, at therequest of several municipalities inthe county.The EMC reviewed a "final draft"

document at its monthly meeting inJuly and recommended several minorchanges, generally for clarification.The panel will meet again to

review and possibly approve therevised ordinance. It then would besent to Chemung County Legislaturefor final approval and to allmunicipalities for ratification,implementation and enforcement.To date, only two of the 11 towns in

the county have ordinances, givingwoodcutters carte blanche operationswithout having to addressenvironmental concerns throughoutthe remainder of the county, Youngesaid.If approved, the ordinance would

require an environmental plan and

4

possibly a bond be posted beforewoodcutters begin any majoroperations of 20cords or more."This doesn't have anything to do

with the homeowner who wants to cuta little firewood on their ownproperty," Younge said. "We'retalking about large quantities here.Basically we just want a good, solidenvironmental plan, and protectionfor the roads, trails and streamcrossings. "The ordinance would not be as

restrictive or cumbersome as thosecurrently in effect in the towns ofElmira and Big Flats. And it wouldactually benefit the cutters, as well asthe environment, Younge said."We feel the loggers and timber

harvesters are owed a uniformordinance," she said. "We really feelit is something the logging communitywould want, so they will know what toexpect when they come in here."The two planning groups have held

several input meetings with loggersand the state Department ofEnvironmental Conservation beforedrawing up the draft ordinance.Input also was sought via survey

from the loggers, and copies of thedraft ordinance were sent to thevarious municipalities for commentbefore the final ordinance was drawn.The ordinance is not to prevent, but

rather to control timber harvestingpractices to protect public safety andthe environment."The timber resource . . . is a

renewable resource with significantvalue that may be harvested," thedraft document says. "(But) if timberharvesting practices are poorlycarried out, they can result insignificant environmental andaesthetic damage to the land and toadjacent lands and waters."

A Letter to: ChemungCounty OfficialsLee Hanle YoungeChemung County EnvironmentalManagement CouncilThank you for sending Dan Parrent

a copy of the Timber HarvestingOrdinance Questionnaire that yourecently sent to the Town and VillageBoards and Highway Supervisors inChemung County. I would like to takethis opportunity to make somecomments and observationsregarding the questionnaire and thecover letter that accompanied it.We, at the New York State

Department of EnvironmentalConservation, feel that the people whoread the cover letter will get theimpression that D.E.C. was involvedin the preparation of thequestionnaire.We feel that it is important that

people recognize that D.E.C. was not(Continued on Page 5)

Custom Signs

-- VOSS SignsDept. NYF. Box 553. Manlius. N.Y. 13104

Ph. (315) 682-6418(Mon.-Fri. 9-5)

Family Owned & Operated jar over 25 years

Vice President - Real Estate

JOHN GIFFORD 716-664-5604 (B)716-487-9709 (R)Broker

TIMBERlAND;':: REALTYSALES. '(cQuisfrloNs .~PRAISALS

,,:ri~~;?~i~";),;"~~~~.'A Division OffORECON,lnc.Crown Building, 100 E. Second Street,

Jamestown, N.Y. 14701

FOREST OWNER

Letter-(Continued from Page 4)

requested to make input into, nor toreview, the questionnaire that wassent out. While we agree that makingan effort to determine the support fora County-wide ordinance and toascertain the extent of the problem isa positive step, we feel that thequestionnaire lacks objectivity;contains ambiguous language; andcould produce data that cannot besubstantiated.It seems that there are two major

issues involved here - damage topublic roads and water quality.Peripheral issues include aestheticsand public reactions to timberharvesting.We readily admit that there have

been instances where loggingoperations have caused erosion andsedimentation problems. But, doisolated incidents warrantcondemnation or regulation of allforest harvesting activities? Otherland use activities (road construc-tion/maintenance, agriculture,development construction, mining)have demonstrated greater potentialfor erosion and sedimentation. So anordinance to control sedimentationmust address all major siltrationsources. The Erosion and SedimentInventory prepared by the U.S.Departent of Agriculture and the Soiland Water Conservation Districtreported the following for ChemungCounty:Land Use Activity Erosion RateCropland, adequately treated(30,768acres) 1.78tons/acre/year

Cropland, needing treatment(12,281acres) 4.55tons/acre/year

Construction sites(54sites) 131.78tons/acre/year

Roadbanks(1,982miles) 116.20tons/mile/year

Streambanks(902miles) 96.31tons/mile/year

Woodland(148,562acres) 0.79 tons/acre/year

A monitoring program, over arelatively short period of time (one totwo years), as has been suggested,would produce solid data (like thatabove) upon which to base decisionsrelative to an ordinance.Damage to public roads is,

apparently the other area of majorconcern. We agree, wholeheartedly,that persons who damage public


property should be held accountablefor their actions, but that thisphilosophy must be applied even-handedly to all users; log trucks,gravel haulers, farm equipment, milktrucks, fuel oil suppliers, sanders andsnow plows, etc., etc. If the issue ofdamage to public roads is real, thenthe County and towns should addressthe situation in the context of a RoadsDamage Ordinance - applicable toall users. If the scope of the issue islimited to roadside loading of trucks,then a regulation requiring off-roadlandings could be fairly simple.It continues to be our hope that

efforts to produce an ordinance (if it isdetermined tha t such is necessary)

Regulating Logging Activities:Is Governments Approach the Answer?

By FRANK ROSEForester, Cotton-Hanlon Co., Inc.More and more communities in

New York State are adopting orconsidering the adoption ofordinances to regulate loggingactivities. Most recently, ChemungCounty, which is located in thesouth-central part of the state,initiated discussions on what would bea county-wide ordinance. Asoriginally proposed, this ordinancewould be implemented by the elevencode enforcement officers in thecounty's eleven towns.The establishment of such ordinan-

ces is of importance to forestlandowners as well as those of usdirectly involved in the forestproducts industry. I would encourageyou to be both aware of and involvedin discussions in your area whichaddress this issue.While the Town of Big Flats in

Chemung County is believed by manyto be the first municipality in the Stateto pass a logging ordinance (1977),such is not the case. According to aresearch paper prepared by GuiliaEarle, a 1984 Summer Aide for the

will be guided by logic, reason andfact, not emotion or opinion. We feelthat there is something to be gainedby having one reasonable, uniformordinance County-wide rather thannumerous town ordinances, eachdifferent in scope, definition andenforcement. We will continue toavail ourselves to you on an advisorybasis if you wish, and look forward tobringing this issue to a reasonableconclusion in a timely fashion.

Robert K. MorrisonRegional Forester

cc: Town and Village Boards andTown and Village HighwaySupervisors

NYS Department of EnvironmentalConservation, the Towns of OysterBay and Yorktown in southern NewYork were the first to institute suchordinances in 1959.Between that yearand 1975, seven other communitiesadopted ordinances which, to oneextent or another, regulated loggingactivities. In the 1975 - 79 period, 15more towns, including Big Flats,followed suit. As of 1984, the last yearfor which an accurate count isavailable, a total of 29 out of NewYork's 932 towns had adoptedordinances.Given the fact that there are 932

towns in the State, one might ask, Whywould anyone be concerned about thefact that only 3% of these communi-ties have adopted ordinances? Theanswer is simply this. If your town hasadopted a restrictive logging or-dinance, you 'can be assured of thefollowing results:1. Your freedoms as a landowner

have become more limited.2. Your taxes have gone up to pay

for the administration of theordinance.


NYFOAWoodswalkTHRIFT Founder Dies

ELWIN ROWELL

Elwin Rowell, lifelong advocate ofgood forestry, died July 4th. He hadbeen in failing health for over a year.These simple words cannot begin to

express the magnitude of his influenceduring the 81 years of his vibrant andproductive life.Born in north Osceola near the

center of Tug Hill, his heart wasrooted deeply in the forest and itswelfare.As a member of the Tug Hill

Commission's Forestry AdvisoryCommittee, Elwin recognized theneed for a regional landowner'sorganization, and was the first to putmoney on the table to start the groupnow known as THRIFT.But his membership on that

committee was based on years ofinvolvement in forest-relatedactivities.As a lad, he worked for the

Monteola Hardwood Company,sometimes shovelling snow offskidways, sometimes running thecompany's tote store. Eventually hewent to work at Monteola's saw mill inGlenfield, making broom handlesfrom the lumber edgings.Then when the Keystone Wood

Chemical and Lumber Companyacquired Monteola and madeextensi ve changes and additions,Elwin was one of their carpenters.The new company was barely up

and running when the 1929 stockmarket crash left it in financial ruin.Its land holdings on Tug Hill wereliquidated to satisfy creditors, or wentfor back taxes.Elwin bought over 1500acres during

that time - some still covered withtrees, some clear-cut, and some withlogs still piled on skidways.For the next 60 years, he and his

wife, Florence, managed thoseparcels in addition to their regularwork. They hunted and fished, mademaple syrup, cut cherry logs forHarden Furniture, enjoyed theircamp near the now-vanished railroad,maintained woods roads, markedhiking trails, cultivated in their fivedaughters a deep appreciation fornature, and left Tug Hill a better placefor their having been there.Over the years Elwin was active in

many forestry-related organizationsincluding the Conservation FundAdvisory Board, Lewis County MapleProducers, Adirondack ConservationCouncil, Fish and Wildlife Board,THRIFT and NYFOA.He was honorary parade marshal

for the 1988Woodsmen's Field Days atBoonville. And in March 1990,he andhis wife received the "Friend 0' TheHill" award from THRIFT for theirmany years of active support.

* * *Old woodsmen, like old trees,Increase in splendor as the yearsgo by.

Though gnarled and windblown,They still touch the sky.And when at last they fall,They leave such memories ....Their lives enrich us all!

- Bonnie Colton

The first of the 1991 StatewideNYFOA Woodswalks has beenscheduled for January 26, 1991 atGurnee Woods, between Auburn andSyracuse.Marge and Vern Hudson, owners

and operators of the Gurnee WoodsCross Country Ski Area, have invitedus to learn about cross country skiingas well as learn how they integratethis great outdoor exercise into theirwoodland management program.We plan to start the Woodswalk at

10:00 am and finish by 12:30 pm. Awarm log lodge is available where wecan eat lunch. Bring your own lunch.Coffee and cocoa will be provided.After lunch, you are invited to extendthe skiing experience on your own.Come a little early in order to give

yourself time to strap on yourfootgear. Rental skis and boots will beavailable for $5.00. Bring your ownskis or snowshoes if you wish. Ourhosts advise that the Woodswalk couldeven be negotiated in boots alone dueto the packed nature of the trails.Gurnee Woods is located on

Chatfield Road, south of NYS Route 5,Elbridge. See the accompanying map.Call Marge or Vern Hudson if youhave questions regarding location orany other aspect of this event. (315)689-3948.SEE MAP FOR WOODSWALK ON PAGE 15

FOR F. S T

PEOLEANDTREES

PARTNERSIN

TIME

MEMBER

STEWARDSHIP

WE SPECIALIZE IN LOGGINGAND ALL YOUR FORESTRYWORKBuyers of Standing Timber

A A PEPPE Timber ProductsLOGGING and FIREWOOD

Dept. FMoravia, NY315/497-1760

6 FOREST OWNER

NY State Forest Practice Board WalkThe Fall meeting of the New York

State Forest Practice Board was heldat Lang's Groveside, Acra, NY.Chairman Willard Ives, from Troy,opened the three day meeting byintroducing Bob Bathrick, Director ofthe Division of Lands and Forests,who spoke on the Environmental Bondissue as a number one priority. Otherpriorities included development ofunit management plans for statelands, urban forestry, Forestry 2000,and Forest Stewardship program.Many of these programs aredeveloped with federal money.The State Forest Practice Board

acted on several resolutions, the mostimportant referred to the guidelinesthat are being ignored by some townassessors in evaluating farmwoodlots. This included the resolvethat recourse should be available tolandowners through small claimscourt rather than certiorari action.Another resolution pertained to thebuilding codes for construction usingEastern Hemlock as constructionmaterials. A resolution asking theDirector of the Division of RegulatoryAffairs enact a simplified andaccelerated stream crossing permitprocess was passed unanimously. TheState Forest Practice Board asked theNYSDEC to seek funding for theestablishment of a grant for agraduate student at the StateUniversity College of EnvironmentalScience and Forestry at Syracuse toconduct a ·two year program to

acquire, compile and publish nationaland international information aboutthe restoration of the AmericanChestnut.Region 9 presented a resolution

concerning the lack of a managementplan at the Allegheny State Park. TheCommissioner of the Office of Parks,Recreation and Historic Preservationshould be urged to act with diligenceand speed on the approval andimplementation of this managementplan.

Region 7 presented a resolutionasking for representation on the sitingand advisory board for the dispositionof Low Level Radioactive Waste. Thisresolution was sent directly to theGovernor instead of the DEC Commis-sioner.Stu McCarthy, representing

NYFOA, told of the advantages ofmembership in the New York ForestOwners Association, a viable and wellmanaged organization of peopleinterested in forestry and one of thelargest forestry oriented groups in thenortheast.Dan Weller, Division Chief, told of

the Forestry Stewardship program.This is 50-50match money from thefederal government for non-industrialacres. Landowners should havemanagement plans and may apply forfunds for tree planting.A program being established by the

AgricultureConservation

Stabilization andService called

THRIFTAccepts Canada's InvitationWhen the Canadian Forestry ownership, as they are in this country.

Association (CFA) met in London, Both governments are beginning toOntario, the last week in September, realize that financial incentives aretwo members of THRIFT were on needed to encourage the kind ofhand to share what's going on in stewardship needed to keep theseforestry in this area. Don and Bonnie forests producing and healthy.Colton, Lowville, president and Fullerton had visited both theprogram coordinator for the Tug Hill Catskill and Tug Hill regions lastregional affiliate of NYFOA, attended spring to investigate active forestlandthe week-long seminar by invitation of owner groups in those areas and toWilliam Fullerton, recently retired explore the feasibility of forming suchdirector of CFA. groups in Canada. The Coltons wereCanada's drive to involve private then invited to CFA's Annual Forestry

forestland owners in active Extension Seminar to share theirmanagement practices stems from experiences in THRIFT. It is hopedthe alarming speed at which its that a "cross pollination" of ideasforests are being devoured to feed from both sides of the border cangrowing industry and consumer benefit forest ecology in bothdemands. Much of Canada's countries. -BMCremaining forests are in private

"Envirothon" involves schoolsthroughout the state. A five personteam effort from NYS schools arejudged on their knowledge of wildlife,soils, forestry, aquatics andenvironmental issues. Six statescompeted in the National Envirothonhosted by the Muskingum Soil &Water Conservation District. NewYork State was represented by HomerCentral School of Homer, NY withPaul Vormvald as advisor. The NewYork State Forest Practice Boardvoted a $100.00 prize to the winningschool in 1991.A discussion of timber bridges

brought to light that they cost less toestablish and are more economical tomaintain than steel and concretebridges. Many counties and towns arereluctant to their use, but shouldconsider the taxpayers.The final day of the session included

the election of officers. Chairman ofthe NYS Forest Practice Board 1990-1992 is Dean Frost of Region 7Binghamton, NY. The Secretary'sservices will be provided by MikeGreason, DEC Representative fromAlbany. Treasurer is Verner Hudsonof Region 7, Elbridge, NY.The session ended with best wishes

to Willard Ives and a large thank youfor his work with the Forest PracticeBoard.

Submitted by Verner Hudson,Ch. NYFOA Legislative Com.

Woodswalk Proved'High Point' ofFall Meeting

Brilliant blue sky and sunlit leavespainted a colorful backdrop forNYFOA's fall woodswalk nearMargaretville. Forty-some membersbraved the climb up the mountainsideto see the Tuscarora Hunt Club'srecent TSI work.Ferns carpeted the clearings, and a

picturesque old stone wall meandereddown the hillside where cattle werepastured just a few decades ago. Theyoung hardwoods that had sprung upin the intervening years had needed



Send Questions to:Wes Suhr, R.R. 1, Box 59BOswegatchie, N.Y. 13670Ask a Forester

Editor's Note: Due to a productionerror, a portion of Wes Suhr's EarthDay article was omitted from the lastissue. It is being reprinted in itsentirety. Our apologies to Mr. Suhr forthe error.The World set aside April 22, 1990

for man to observe the condition ofEarth and, from that observation, todevelop awareness, desire and actionto form a healthier planet over the nextdecade. It was a global recognition ofthe obligation each country has tosupport the health of planet Earth.How are we doing after Earth Day,1990?Frankly I am disappointed in ourgovernment's response, which shouldbe leading the nations in restoring andenhancing the global environment,yet continues to request "moreresearch" before acting. In the longrun, our collective concern or lack ofit will affect our health, happiness,freedom and eventually our survival.LISTENWe hear the concern for a healthy

environment all around us - it seemsthat at least once each week, the newsmedia reports another incident ofenvironmental degradation. Has thefrequency of these events increased ordo we just hear more about it withtoday's greater concern? I think bothcases are true - the technology of ourmodern world has created moreproblems for the environment than ithas solved, and we are beginning torealize there are limits to ourresources, that the damage done maytake decades to correct or may beirreversible in some cases.Some may say, "Ah, don't be a

'doomsdayer' - it will all be solved intime". But when do we begin reducingthe damage, to say nothing ofpreventing it? Consider ourenvironmental "black list":global warmingacid raingeneral atmospheric pollutiondepletion of ozone layerforest devastation (destruction by

fire, atmospheric pollutants anduncontrolled cutting)

pollution of oceanspollution of soil (chemical/thermal/

radioactive waste dumps)pollution of ground water (see above,

plus biological/effluent dis-charge)

After Earth Day .pollution of streamflow (all of above,

plus sedimentation)erosion of soil (wind/water erosion

due to mis-management)destruction of scenery and open space

(dumps, urban sprawl)noise pollutiondestruction of wildlifedestruction of human life (drought,

pestilence, starvation, greed, waroften all a natural consequence ofthe above damage)

All this is occurring world-wide, andwe have done little to reverse it. Lis-ten to the consciousness of the NativeAmerican:"The white man, through his insensi-tivity to the way of Nature, hasdesecrated the face of Mother Earth.The white man's advancedtechnological capacity has occurredas a result of his lack of regard for thespiritual path and for the way of allliving things. The white man's desirefor material possessions and powerhas blinded him to the pain he hascaused Mother Earth by his quest forwhat he calls natural resources. . ..This must not be allowed to continuefor if it does, Mother Nature will reactin such a way that almost all men willsuffer the end of life as they now knowit. ... The Great Spirit, Massau'usaid that man was to live in Harmonyand maintain a good clean land for allchildren to come." (A portion of aHopi letter written to PresidentNixon. Source from New York Times,August 1979.)

And listen to the consciousness ofAmerican youth:

"We must look funny to Someone,Tumbling through the universe locked

in a death grip with our tiny ballEarth and ripping her busily topieces, trailing a stinking film ofgas and pieces of satellites andmushroom and dust clouds.

Think of her new.An unspoiled country lying open to the

sun.

• • What?Think of oceans of beauty, instead of

scattered puddles, muddy anddrying up.

What can make the heart ache morethan a billboard?"

(A poem by Terry and Renny Russellin On the Loose, published by the Sier-ra Club, San Francisco, 1967.) .

Can we develop our collective con-sciousness now to begin reducing thedamage?

GOALSIf we want a " ... good clean land

for all children to come ... " then wemust take action now. Each of usshould develop an Earth Ethic Corenvironmental ethic, if you prefer) toguide our actions along these goals:

". A sustainable society, built uponthe efficient use of renewable ener-gy and recycled resources.

• Human health, dignity, and free-dom.

• Biological diversity.• Peace and social justice.• Respect for na ture."CNov-Dec 88 BPA JOURNAL: "Pro-posing a Global Priority: Earth Day,1990" by Denis Hayes, Chairman ofRenew America and the National Co-ordinator of Earth Day 1970.)

There is a strong connectionbetween these goals and the messageof spiritual leaders :" ... respect for life, and above allthe dignity of the human person, isthe ultimate norm for any soundeconomic, industrial or scientificprogress ... A harmonious universeis a cosmos endowed with its own in-tegrity, its own internal dynamicbalance. This order must be-respec-ted . . ." "The earth is a commonheritage. We are interdependent.From this follows the necessity ofan internationally doordinated ap-proach to the management ofEarth's goods."


l 8 FOREST OWNERr= -----.:

After Earth Day ... What?(Continued from Page 8)

(Feb. 4, 1990 OUR SUNDAY VISI-TOR: "If You Want Peace, Respectthe Environment" by Father BasilPennington - a translation of PopeJohn Paul II's 1990 World Day ofPeace message.)

ACTIONWhat can we do in our own neigh-

borhoods? We can start by discussingthe meaning and importance of theseglobal goals with our friends andneighbors. Apply them to ouractivities which may impact theenvironment. Examine local policies,politicians, subdivisions,construction, waste disposal systems,etc. by asking the question, "Does thisactivity bring us closer to or furtherfrom these widely shared globalgoals?" Attend all local meetings,especially town board meetings,where you will have a voice inexpressing how you want your taxdollars spent on local actions thatoften affect environmental health.Insist on LAND USE PLANNINGfor all local, State and regionalprojects so that environmental valuesare treated as importantly aseconomic values. These plans shouldcontrol the "developments" orvarious uses of land to:• Efficiently allocate space and re-

sources• harmonize with surroundings• reduce infringement on open space• reduce impact on adjacent re-

source values.Our actions should be

communicated in open, cooperativeand productive ways - not withcombative, confrontation tactics thatserve to divide and extend theproblems. A current example of thelatter are the actions of anorganization called EARTH FIRST!with their efforts to save virgin timberout West. Be aware - there is abranch of Earth First! in theAdirondacks. They advocate terroristattacks on local logging and clearingoperations by "monkey-wrenching"equipment (damaging skidders,dozers, etc.), pounding spikes intotrees to be cut, pulling survey stakes,etc. They claim this is their "non-violent" right and "American way" ofimpressing their desires. Yet, peoplehave been injured because of their

Through management planning thismature black cherry was marked forcutting by a forester. It's "death" willregenerate hundreds of seedlings.

tactics, both directly (spikes in trees)and indirectly through demonstrationviolence.America has room for large areas

of designated wilderness and formanaged or sustained yield forests toproduce wood products - we mustprotect both types of areas for ahealthy, sustainable society. We mustall realize that environmental caremakes good economic sense in thelong-run, and that we must join handsto achieve it. Members of allorganiza tions wi th opposingviewpoints can interact withdemocratic dialogue to achieve con-structive resolution in the trueAmerican tradition. We will achieve a"respect for nature" and a"sustainable society" only through"peace and social justice". and arespect for human dignity.

Government Approach-(Continued from Page 5)

3. The viability of your local forestproducts industry has been negatively.affected.

Let's very briefly examine each ofthese impacts.1. Many of the ordinances already

My Woods HaveGone Fern EnoughWhile walking through my woods

and some other recent NYFOA-sponsored jaunts (HuntingtonEcological Forest and TuscaroraHunt Club), I encountered what myDEC Forester, Steve Davisondescribed: Examples of regenerationproblems within the larger contexts ofmanagement and stewardshipcommon, throughout the state -FERNS. Despite my mother's fancy,the fern market will not pay the taxesnor will ferns feed a family, human orotherwise.From their heyday during the

Carboniferous Period, 250 million orso years ago, the fern population iscurrently almost trivial: and fernsare, therefore, less prominent in theplant battle for sun and space, soil andwater. However, I have sizable fernpopulations on two woodlots: bothparcels received TSI and foresters tellme that the trees can still lose thebattle with the ferns. A little fern, itappears, can go a long way.I want to do something to affect the

battle favorably on the side ofdiversity, wildlife, forest products(value of), and all the other multipleuses (including the memory of mymother). WES SUHR, The NY ForestOwner's Forester (RR 1, Box 59B,Oswegatchie, NY 13670) has oftenbemoaned the lack of readerquestions. OK Wes, what can ownersdo about limiting ferns, stripedmaple, and other growths in theunderstory?

Dick Fox

implemented and some of those nowbeing considered (including ChemungCounty's as originally drafted)attempt to legislate good forestmanagement. You, as a member ofNYFOA, and my company, as a long-time member of the forest productsindustry, can sympathize with thisintent. Not only does poor forestmanagement offend us visually, for acompany like Cotton-Hanlon, poorforest management also represents avery real threat to our future since itjeopardizes the long-term supply ofour raw material.But as much as we applaud the

desire to encourage good forestmanagement, and as much as we



Exploring What Stewardship IsEditor's Note: The following

remarks made by John Marchant, ourExecutive Director, were presented inan address at the Western NY ForestStewardship meeting held at SUNYGeneseo College on September 15, oneof three held in the state. The uniqueperspective given to stewardshipmerits the attention of all ourmembers.

By JOHN C. MARCHANTMy first recollection of the term

·stewardship in its present contexthappened about a year ago. Wordbegan to filter down, that asubstantial amount of money wasgoing to be made available from theCongress to the DEC, to address whatis fundamentally the long statedmission of the New York ForestOwners Association. Namely, "toencourage the wise management ofprivate woodland resources in NewYork State". We ultimately became amember of the StewardshipCommittee, began putting proposalstogether with a variety of otherorganizations and finally arrived at aseries of programs of which we werefairlyproud.As you might expect, a great

number of definitions of stewardshipbegan to be bandied around. Eachsource of definition exhibited its ownparochialism and words like: it's justwoodlot management, or justmultiple-use, or just wildlife habitatgeneration, or clean air, water andsoil protection etc., just old concepts,wrapped up in new words. But therecertainly was enough variance indefinitions, and optimism orpessimism about whether they couldever succeed, that I becameconvinced that we were truly in thechaos-before-the-order phase ofgetting things usefully defined.Although some order does exist

?ow, I'm still concerned enough aboutits breadth and full understandingthat I'd like to take a still differentapproach with you this morning.Having been involved with several

massive reorganizations in theindustrial sector, with the help ofnumerous high powered consultantswho always succeeded in driving us onto ever increasing levels of chaos I,

recalled one technique which did havesome merit. It is called, "a helicopter-fly-over of the final state." Imaginewhat the New York State forestenvironment would look like if thestewardship concept is achieved inevery conceivable way. What arepeople doing and saying? How issociety acting? What role isgovernment playing? What are thetrees doing? What does wildlifehabitat look like? What has happenedto recreation and carbon-dioxidescrubbing and watershed andendangered species?T?e basic idea is simple; if you

ca? t fully define exactly what you're~omg to do or how you're going to doit, at least get a clear picture of whatit s~ould look like; if and when you doachieve your complete desired state.Now each of us will have a slightlydiffere~t picture; but I venture to say,those differences will not be all that~reat wi~h respect to the principleissues. Smce I have the podium andthe gavel and the charge, you're stuckat this time with hearing mine. Youhave the rest of the day to alter agreewith or completely change the' ones Ipresent; but I hope to at least providea different context medium whichmight lead you to take some differentapproaches.. O.K., it.'s the year 2000and we're upin the hehcopter looking down and thisis what I see:

1. Five million of the 13.5 millionacres of non-industrial private forestoperating with sound managementplans. Diversified to meet manyindividual owner's needs butintegrating into a balanced overalleffect for: timber production wildlifehabitat improvement, recre~tion andclean. air, water and soils protection;?ut m all. cases, having greatlyImproved vigorous growing stock.2. Predominately satisfied

woodland owners and stewards.Enough financial compensation somost can feel they are at leastbreaking even for their roles asstewards of our forests and in manycases actually showing a profit for theeffort. A feeling of prestige fromsociety as a whole that they aremakmg a valued difference in an areaof significance to society.

3. An attitude within our societythat taking very good care of ourforested lands is vital to our survivaland valued way of life and that thepeople involved in such endeavors areto be respected and properlycompensated for their commitmentsand efforts.

4. A real junk wood marketconsisting of a number of processingplants strategically distributedthroughout the state. These plants areprofitable and are financiallycompensating woodlot owners for allthe TSI (timber stand improvement),required to bring their forested landsinto good management. This wouldundoubtedly improve some kind of anowner's cooperative to provide aguaranteed level of materials supply.

5. Good access roads throughoutthe 5 million acres of managedwoodlands, all financed in the sameway as the TSI work, as a benefit offeeding and processed wood productindustry or as added value from wellprepared timber sale contracts.6. Greatly improved recreational

opportunities through improvedrelationships between an increasinglyenlightened society and privatelandowners.7. Strong tangible incentives to

MINIMIZE fragmentation of existingforest tracts, making it attractive tokeep f~mily control over manygenerations and making it attractiveto maintain existing managementplans intact whenever fragmentationdoes take place.8. A society, and its legislative

leaders, which, because of effectiveeducational efforts, has a firmunderstanding of the basic principlesof natural resource management as itapplies to our local conditions. Asociety that makes judgements on allthe facts available instead of the selfserving biased positions presented bythe entertainment center of the world'the broadcast news media. 'Now that we've had our little

fantasy, let's get our head out of theclouds, our feet back on the groundand think about what all this couldmean and how we might be able to useit constructively. Remember thepurpose of this exercise is to focus onwhat is actually happening in the end


10 OWNER FOREST OWNER

Stewardship (Continued from Page 10)

state as a result of stewardship, nottrying to define what stewardshipitself is. Rather: What are peopledoing and thinking? What is in placeand working? What tangible benefitsare actually accruing? As I saidearlier, each of your views is likely todiffer from mine; certainly no oneview will be all right or all wrong. Theimportant thing is to visualize thatend state situation.

O.K. Having done this exercise whatdoes it all mean. Can we reallyachieve it? Certainly not in all itsaspects, thinking so would be totallynaive. But is PART OF A HOLISTICVIEW which is vitally importantalthough trying to get our armsaround the entire problem by thinkingon such a large scale is both futile andfrustrating.

On the other hand I submit thatthinking only in terms of the smallindividual building blocks which wealways hope will construct into ourdream state is equally as futile. But afutility we very frequently don't seebecause CONCENTRA TING ONSMALL BLOCKS gives us that warmsecurity that we are doing somethingwhich somehow will lead us to wherewe want to go.What we are faced with is a very

dangerous rock and a hard place. Therock is that big picture which isbeyond realistic attack and probablyour full comprehension as well. Thehard place is that collection of allthose individual blocks, which takenby themselves will never be arrangedto lead to our desired goals. Thedanger, is that we are easily deludedthat we are moving in the rightdirection because we are doingsomething.

So the task is to identify thosesmaller building blocks which we canall get our arms around, and makesome good progress toward gettingthem in place but, at the same time,keep in mind that whole picture andan understanding of how eachindividual block will fit into thatbigger picture and will indeed makethe appropriate contribution to it.To a great extent almost all of those

stewardship building blocks areknown and have been worked at for agood many years. Woodlotmanagement plans; education of thepublic, politicians, and land owners;improved habitat for wildlife; greater

access to private forests forrecreation; protection of our forestsfrom unscrupulous buyers andincompetent loggers; enhancedabilities to provide clean air andwater and hold our precious soils inplace; to name a few. They are ALLworth working on right now as theyhave been in the past. So what ismissing tha t would allow us tosucceed this time around when wehave failed so consistently before? I'lltell you what is missing. It's that thingwhich all of us, particularlyprofessionals working in our chosenfields, have the greatest desire toachieve but seldom do:INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY.Let me illustrate that idea.

Certainly our past efforts to teach theprinciples and fundamental values offorest management have not beenvery successful, whether it's towoodlot owners, legislatures, or thegeneral public. Part of that problem isbecause it's difficult to visualize orteach a cycle which takes 180years tocomplete, such as a full cycle ofnortheastern hardwoods. 180 daysfor a tomato crop is one thing but 180years is really tough. But what aboutthe use of modern computer graphics.It's quite possible to generate astatistical yet realistic forest andwatch it grow on a variety of timescales.Why not apply these techniques to

enhance the ability to visualize andteach these principles? We clearlyneed a more creative approach toeducating others who really have tounderstand our problems.Another example is talking about

increasing the number ofmanagement plans generated withoutconsidering the route by which thenecessary TSI work can becompensated. Don't just generatemanagement plans but think about anacccompanying cooperative of forestowners or whatever else can providerevenue to support the low grade workneeded to implement mostmanagement plans. And don't turn togovernment to provide a "free" wayout: First of all it's never free aswitnessed by European practiceswhere it's always associated withconsiderable and limitingrestrictions. Besides what we reallywant is that good old American waywhich is independent, self sustaining.Be innovative and think about the

whole chain of events not just the frontend.The need has never been greater

nor the situation more amenable. Wesimply have to find better ways ofintegrating those individual blocks sothey are not only compatible butsynergistic as well. Am I implyingthat we have nothing but one hell of amess on our hands and that this newstewardship concept is here now tosave us?No way!! We have a wonderful

place to start from, particularly inNew York State. Good programs haveproduced worthwhile, lasting resultsfor many years.Many of you here today can take a

lot of credit for some of those resultsand they all add up to a very goodbase. Let's certainly take heart inwhat we have.I think, however, that this kind of

perspective has to be practiced by allof us. Professionals, volunteers andanyone else, providing effort andsupport to our stewardship cause. It isparticularly important for those ofyou who are in a position to affectdecisions and results through thedirection of other people.

Please, let these holistic conceptsaffect your planning processes.Please, provide a workingenvironment for your people whichwill encourage them to be innovativeand creative. I can assure you fromvast personal experience that thepeople closest to the ground will havemost of the good ideas about what isneeded. Listen to them and give themyour respect. Your job as plannersand managers is to use those humanresources and their ideas to get uswhere we have to be.I think we might have said from the

very beginning that we already knewwhat stewardship is. We just may nothave been as sensitive to what it couldreally be and more importantly whatis keeping us from achieving it in thefullest sense.I sincerely hope that some of these

thoughts will be of value as youparticipate in this workshop today. Iurge all of us to think broadly abouthow the individual pieces, which eachfinds of particular interest and wantsto pursue, will integrate into thebolder picture.


Clearing the Land - (Continuedjrom Page 3)grow crops to feed the family and his Ianimals. The trees were cut that seed ~:p t:~~~~' cp~~~~~al,h~miock bardkcould be planted with little "an ogs anpreparation, directly in the weed-free ~~~~~rs~~t~:r~afte~ ~own-river andduff among the stumps. Time was Th I di mar e s.short as winter was not far off and the e n ians taught the settlers howfood staples brought from home would tOhI?ahkemaple slyrup and r.n.aplesugarsoon run out \~ IC were we come additions to theThe trem~ndous task of clearing the 7~~~~~eo~x~::t~~Ounda ready market

land would start in earnest after a .cabin and a shelter for livestock had Woo~ ashes, carefully gatheredbeen built. To clear an acre or two or from .flreplaces and from the hugethree was a good year's work. quantity of tree trunks, limbs andClearing a farm of 100acres or more branches burned to clear the land,often took the spare time of a could be sold as gathered or could begeneration. leached out and boiled down to makeFar and away the great bulk of the potash. This pro~uct brought $5 to $10

forest material was of no use to the per hundred weight. The yield wassettler. Many tons of trunks, limbs such ~s to often pay the cost of landand branches had to be disposed of clearing. Potash found a readyand the easiest way to do that was to market both at home and inburn it. The settler, as time commerce f~r soap making, dyeing,pe~mitted, cut the trees, preferably and the scourmg o~wool.while in leaf, and felled them so as to Every.commumty had one or moremake windrows or piles which on a bla~ksmlths and, as coal was notbreezy dry day were set afire. After available, every blacksmith and tinthe swirling smoke and towering worker ?eeded ch.arcoal ~o heat hisflames had died down, the trunks and forge. WIth wood in plentiful supply,limbs that remained were cut into the charc~al maker could turn timepieces and either piled about the a?d labor mto cash and help to clearstumps and burned or were snaked to hISacres.a favorable slope where the trunks Nearly every community had acould be rolled into a "burn" and kept tannery so the demand for hemlockburning for days and weeks. The thing b~rk ~or tanning was great. Anto do with a forest was to get rid of it ~lls~oncal marker in Marathonand he who improved his land by indicates that a tannery there used 16clearing it was a good man. full cords of hemlock bark daily. ThisThe stumps of some species such as bark sold for $8 to $10 a full cord and

basswood, birch, maple, beech, etc. of.ten th~ logger cut the hemlock treeswould soon rot out. Others, as pine WIth.no intention of using the lumber,hemlock, oak and chestnut would take leavmg t~e logs to rot in the woods.many years to rot. When well dried Saw mills soon dotted the streams.some stumps would burn even into th~ A stream. of any size might haveroots. Pine stumps, being shallow seve.ral mill dams and ponds on it,rooted could, with much labor, be tur?mg the ~ndershot water wheelspulled out and set on edge to make a which tu~ned m the spring when waterstump fence that would hold livestock. was available and running an up andTruly, the pioneer who settled in down saw. Lumber not needed to

Central New York had a tremendous replace obsolete log cabins could beundertaking in clearing his land for us~d. to build new homes andcrops and pasturage for the livestock buildings,especially when compared with <?nly the best lumber and logs werehomesteading on the grass covered rafted down the river to southernprairie of the mid-west. However the markets. Pine logs were cut andprairie farmer had no wood' for skidded to the landing on the riverbuildings nor for fences, tools and bar:k, then rolled into the river as thefuel. As more settlers moved into this sprmg freshets came. The logs werearea and communities were b.ound together in rafts of variousorganized, the woodland settler could SIzes depending on the river size.produce and sell for cash -several Larger rafts contained from 100,000toproducts from his acres of forested 200,000board feet (enough to build 20land. There was a good market for homes). Three to five rafters were

required to operate the sweeps and to~eep the raft from snagging on rocks,Islands, bridge abutments etc. Withexperience, rafters could negotiate~ven low dams and average 50 milesin a day, tying up at night. The tripdown fiver was a real experience. Ifall went well in about six days therafters had reached their destinationand were ready to start home on footfor the 300 mile return trip loadedwith an axe, large aug'er andnumerous pieces of rope. Raftersmade several runs down river duringthe spring as the forest cover allowedthe runoff and prevented the drying ofthe streams. Millions of feet of thebest white pine were sent down riverto Baltimore, Pennsylvania andVirginia. Some local lumber found itsway into the rebuilding of the NationalCapitol and Senate Chamber after itwas burned by the British in the Warof 1812.Whether or not there was a good use

of the trees, clearing the land went onrelentlessly, year after year bythousands of settlers. By 1845the' firstcensus of New York State showed thatabout 40% of the acres in New Yorkhad been "improved" by clearing.Some land was soon found to be

unsuitable for agriculture and thestruggle to crop it was given up. Veryshallo~ soil, we~ land, steep slopes,stony fields, erosion and very acid soil~ll mad~ cropping unprofitable andimpractical. Some settlers gave uptheir whole farm after a few lean cropyears had depleted the naturalfertility. Some moved onto nearbyfarms and some went west where theland was more fertile.

- Dr. Charles LeahyWhitney Point,

NYFOA Charter Member

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12 FOREST OWNERL

organizer! They need our assistanceand encouragement.In the meantime, we have to be

concerned about "the care of feeding"of the chapters already in being. TheTioga Chapter covering the countiesof Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga andTompkins is a case in point. HowardWard, Chairman, hasn't had the timeto devote to the chapter with the resultthat it has been inactive for two years.Weare in the process of trying torevitalize it since there are eightymembers in the chapter and since itserves Ithaca with so much to offerfrom the faculty and staff at Cornell.Reviving it has to be on top of theagenda.There is a great need for even more

chapters if we are going to playamore active role in the stewardshipprograms and activities and decisionsof the state. If you want to help, wecan provide the how-to and otherassistance. My number is (716) 381-6373.

Chapter Development Full Speed Aheadcompiled for the use of the chapterleadership. Each chapter isrepresented on the NYFOA board ofdirectors.The good news is that in addition to

the Niagara Frontier Chapter, thereis the potential of three more chaptersbeing formed this year all in theeastern part of the state. Joe Messinaof Albany is getting going withorganizing a chapter in the threecounties around Albany. DonPeterson is working on one for thethree counties in the northeast cornerof the state and John Hastings isconsidering starting one covering thearea in between those of Joe and Don.If you want to help, let me know andI'll put you in touch with the right

By STUART McCARTYFor several years the development

of new chapters has been the firstorder of business for NYFOA toachieve growth in membership. Thereare several advantages to thisobjective, which to be brief can besummarized as follows: Chaptersbring the activities of NYFOA to ourmembers and, thus, increase thevalue of membership many fold.With the establishment of the

Niagara Frontier Chapter in theBuffalo area earlier this year, we nowhave six chapters which, along withour two affiliates, gives us a good basefor expansion. Guidelines for chapteroperations are in place and a list ofspeakers and activities is being

Government Approach-(Continued from Page9)actively support all efforts to promoteit, we are 100% opposed to any actionwhich attempts to legislate it bytelling a landowner what he/she canand cannot do on his/her ownproperty. It is our strong belief thatonly those activities which threatenthe public health, safety, and/or wel-fare should be controlled by ordinanceand as much as we hate to seeirresponsible harvesting activities, ifthese activities do no harm toneighbors or town roads or adjacentstreams, government has no right tocontrol them.2. Secondly, the age old adage,

"You don't get something fornothing," applies to the enforcementof an ordinance just as well as to thepurchase of a car. Enforcement costsmoney. And if we're talking aboutpassing an ordinance which will resultin some town employee doingsomething that isn't presently beingdone (let alone something he or shemay not be trained for) we're talkingabout tax dollars being spent to coverthat expense - your tax dollars.3. Lastly; the forest products

industry employs over 88,000people inNew York State, has an annualpayroll of over $1,100,000,000, andmakes up almost 6% of allmanufacturing jobs in the state.Anything which threatens the healthof this industry - whether it's adecline in forest health, a collapse in


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size can provide are as follows:- Vigorously growing trees

freshen the air that humans breatheby removing carbon, and addingoxygen.- Soil is protected from erosion by

wind and rain by stands of trees thatgrow on land.- Purity of water in the soil and

aquifers is protected from man-madecontaminants that normally are notpresent in abundance on tree coveredland.- Diversity of wildlife habitat in a

dynamic form of ever changingforests (that include open fieldsgrowing into trees; brush land;dense stands of saplings; areas oflarge trees; individual dying,decaying, and dead trees; andnaturally "destroyed" stands causedby wind, snow, fire, or "old age" -that will initiate regeneration andnatural succession of plant speciesthat commonly leads to the growth offorests of new trees) benefits avariety of animal species - that


Forests' 'Highest and Best Use'May Be 'Preserved' Forestlands

By DAVID W. TABERDepartment of Natural ResourcesLogging occurs the world over,

wherever forests are cut to meetpeople's immediate (short-term)needs. Historically, in the U.S. aswellas in other parts of the world, logginghas been done to clear land to makeway for farming, villages, cities,railroads and highways; and toprovide the raw material wood tomeet the needs of societies throughoutthe world.Recently, it has been recognized by

more and more people throughout theworld that "destruction of forestecosystems" can be permanentlydamaging to biological diversity, thequality of mankind's environment,and even "life" (survival) on planetEarth. But not all forestlands arepermanently changed to non-forestland uses.Some forests are. maintained as

working forests to produce a varietyof ecological and other societalbenefits that include the production ofwood-based products for consumers.Actually, harvesting treessilviculturally can preserve forestsforever while protecting thefoundation of forest land thatcontributes significantly to the qualityof life of many people who, withoutowning the woods reap, a variety ofbenefits.1. Many of the ordinances already

implemented and some of those nowbeing considered (including ChemungCounty's as originally drafted)attempt to legislate good forestmanagement and my company, as along-time member of the forestproducts industry, can sympathizewith this intent. Not only does poorforest management offend usvisually, for a company like Cotton-Hanlon, poor forest management alsorepresents a very real threat to ourfuture since it jeopardizes the long-term supply of our raw material.But as much as we applaud the

desire to encourage good forestmanagement, and as much as weactively support all efforts to promoteit, we are 100% opposed to any actionwhich attempts to legislate it bytelling a landowner what he/she canand cannot do on his/her own proper-ty. It is our strong belief that only

those activities which threaten thepublic health, safety, and/or welfareshould be controlled by ordinance,and as much as we hate to seeirresponsible harvesting activities, ifthese activities do no harm toneighbors or town roads or adjacentstreams, government has no right tocontrol them.2. Secondly, the age old adage,

"You don't get something fornothing," applies to the enforcementof an ordinance just as well as to thepurchase of a car. Enforcement costsmoney. And if we're talking aboutpassing an ordinance which will resultin some town employee doingsomething that isn't presently beingdone (let alone something he or shemay not be trained for) we're talkingabout tax dollars being spent to coverthat expense - your tax dollars.Specifically, some of the bounties

that forests of a few acres or more in

Forest Stewardship involves commitment by landowners, policy makers, andthe "general public" to the federal Forest Stewardship Assistance Act of 1989'sgoal, relative to privately owned forest land, of "applying economic resourcemanagement principles to benefit current and future landowners and the public."Here Bob G. Blackmon (left), Chairman of the Forestry Faculty at the SUNYCollege of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF), in Syracuse, N. Y.,talks in a "forest-landscaped outdoor classroom" with Richard Fox, of the NewYork Forest Owners Association during a USDA Forest Service/NYS DECfinancially supported August Workshop on techniques for promoting the benefitsof Forest Stewardship in New York State. In total, nearly 150people were involvedin Forest Stewardship Workshops held in 1990 at SUNY ESF, SUNY Geneseo, andWest Point to address how privately owned forests can be "preserved" to meet theneeds of a variety of people with different interests and goals. SUNY ESF, NYSDEC, and Cornell Cooperative Extension jointly sponsored the workshops.

<RREP Photo by Taber)

14 FOREST OWNER

II

Woodswalk - High Point-MAP FOR WOODSWALK - JAN. 22 - GURNEE WOODS

(Continued from Page 7)

some thinning, although there was no AUBURN ~quantity of sawlogs ready to harvest. ~

~The resulting cut was processed on:>:l ~site into bundles of firewood, and

C') 0.;..

wrapped in plastic mesh, for sale to c::~ BAKER RD. ~

the metropolitan market. z [Tl

According to Lou Tirrito, a forester['Zj

C') V1 \.~['Zj

0 ~who had worked with the project, the ~ ')

deer seemed to know that the sound of 0 ~U) 0chainsaws meant dinner time. They ~ 0 H

tJ) ['Zj HAMILTON RD.converged on the newly-felled trees to z t'" c....['Zj 0 0~feast on the tender tops provided for ~ :>:l 0~ >them. (The contract specified that the ['Zj 0

Zt'" .loggers were not allowed to carry ['Zj

U)

firearms.) For the hunt club, that~~created an ideal situation. It also

provided plenty of forage and cover Elbridgefor grouse and wild turkeys. Now, the ...:201'~~ •.. ,._.~ Ntrees that were left will have a betterchance of becoming good sawlogs,while providing cover for deer and SYRACUSEcontinued erosion control on the steephill SIdes.Attendance for the Full Agenda was

60members.Bonnie Colton

* * *

TreeGardening

This corny-sounding advice is atakeoff on Mary McCarty's peachypresentation at the-fall meeting.If you carrot all about your woods,

lettuce help you turnip some ideas tomake them healthier than they havebean in the pasta. First of all, don'tcotton to the strip-and-split nuts. Thenbe careful that fire doesn't leave yourtrees chard.Peas, folks, if you don't have a

management plan, you'd butter getgoing. If you don't know how, get theoponion of a professional forester. Ifyou plan your work and work yourplan, you'll have a formula that can'tbe beet. Don't be a cabbage-head andsquash these good ideas, or yourprofits could leek away.Getting along without a plan is the

pits. So protect your sprouts, pruneyour saplings, and pear your lossesfor a berry, berry good harvest. You'llhave a healthier forest, and liveappley ever after!

-BMC

Forests'-(Continued from Page 14)

change over time, includingsongbirds, birds of prey, reptiles, andmammals.In addition, in many urbanized

areas where society consists of highpopulations of people, as well as whatwas once "really rural" (lowpopulation density) countrysides thatnow support many wood-framedhomes of commuters and retirees,trees and forests are cherished by thearea's inhabitants and visitors, alikefor the beauty and naturalness theyprovide.In communities, where acres of

woods are "preserved" fromsubdivision, excavation, paving withasphalt, and "development" intohousing lots, the trees and forestscommonly provide some of thefollowing types of important benefitsto the area's travelers and residents:peace, tranquility, beauty, solitude,spiritual invigoration, freedom fromunnatural man-made structures,fewer people, and less trafficcongestion than would otherwise bepresent.Numerous beautifully forested

hillsides and tree-covered roadside-borders, that many people appreciateas a free benefit of their environment,are owned by property-tax-payingindividuals and families. Although

landowners possess forests as anasset, their investments in "openspace" (uncultivated fields andforests both of which are always invegetative transition) are oftenconsidered a valuable contribution tosociety by the tourists, commuters,and residents of an area. Thereforethe forest owners, in some ways, canbe considered as benefactors whoevery day are making a contributionto those "open space" admirers who,without paying property taxes on theforested environment, in which oraround which they live and/or travel,receive a variety of significant forest-based benefits.Property taxes, according to many

forest owners, are consistentlyreported as being excessively high(costly) on many of their acres ofprivately owned forested propertiesthat depend on little if any of thegovernment services which requiresupport by taxpayer dollars. Perhapsthe best way to promote and preservethe "highest and best use" basis forsociety relative to some acres ofprivately owned forests, both atpresent and in the future, is topromote and implement policies thatwill allow some private, tax-payingforest owners to be able to financially"preserve" their forestlands for themany benefits they provide to society.

15NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1990

R.D. #1. Box 103Lisle. N.Y. 13797

L

Ncn-Proh+ Orq,U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMarathon, N.Y.

13803Permit No.2

-I

_I

WOODLOT CALENDARNovember 8:8:30 am: Sheraton Inn, Ithaca;

"Local Control of Timber Har-vesting", Empire State ForestProducts Association Fall meeting(518) 463-1297November 10:Woodswalk: Al Brown/Ralph

Gennarino lands near Gerry,Chautauqua County: TSI, Boundarylines, Beech salvage (607) 583-7006.November 14:7: 30 pm: Meeting - "Forest

Pathology," Bruce Robinson

Government Approach-(Continued from Page 13)the housing and/or furniture industry,or increased costs of operationbrought about by proliferating andfrequently unnecessary regulations -truly affects the balance and health ofour state's economy.Many of the companies making up

this industry are, like Cotton-Hanlon,family-owned enterprises which havebeen in the lumber business forgenerations. The ever-growingburden of increased Federal, State,and local regulations threatens thevery existence of many of theseoperations - has, indeed, pushedsome over the edge and out ofbusiness during the past 5 years.While well-intentioned, widespreadimplementation of regulations such as

WOODLOT CALENDARRochester, Coop. Extension, WesternFinger Lakes (716) 924-2589.December 4:Hulbert House: Boonville: 6:30 pm:

"Report on the Canadian Connection"and election of officers: THRIFTAffiliate (315) 376-5595.Mid-January: Binghamton:"Your Regional Forest Practice

Board CReg. 7)", Southern TierChapter: (607) 849-6611.Mid-January:Potluck Dinner at Holland -

tentative: Niagara Frontier (716) 537-2803

those being discussed in ChemungCounty would almost certainly forcemany other companies out ofbusiness.I am not trying to convince you that

there are no logging jobs which causeproblems for neighboring properties.There are loggers who operateirresponsibly, and it is up to all of uswho care about the resource, butespecially those of us who depend onthe resource, to do whatever we can toweed those individuals out. There isno room in this business for a loggerwho habitually has little regard forthe resource which puts food on histable, the owner who sold him thatresource, or adjacent landownerswhose properties might be impacted

January 26:NYFOA WOODSWALK

GURNEE WOODS X-COUNTRYSKIING Elbridge WARM (SeeArticle Inside (315) 689-3948February 9,10:Cabin Fever Festival: Fillmore

Glen State Park: Moravia: DraftAnimals, Rides, Woodsmen, Food:Cayuga Chapter (315) 497-1078.For Jan/Feb Forest Owner CalendarInserts-(315) 497-1078:FAX: to FOX (315)

497-1078

by the logger's irresponsible activities.But legislating one more

opportunity for government to controlwhat should be our private affairs isnot the answer to this problem. You,as a forest landowner, can help get atthis problem by doing the following: Ifyou are going to sell timber, makesure you know who you're dealingwith. Ask for references from thelogger(s) you are considering for thejob. Check those references. Werethey happy with the job? With thepay? And if at all possible, visit one ortwo of the logger's nearby jobs. Youwill probably only sell timber once ortwice in your lifetime. It is up to you,not government, to see that the loggerdoes a good job.

16 FOREST OWNER

The New York Forest Owner - Volume 28 Number 6

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