AFA NEWSROOM V10 NO. 13, July 1, 2015

district meetings and REGIONAL RECEPTIONs well attended Some 73 enthusiastic AFA members and friends turned out at the River Bottom Grill for the Shoals Area Regional Reception last week. At the Auburn event later in the week, over 35 attended the Capital District Meeting and 86 attending the RR. Former AU Head Football Coach Pat Dye was present at the Auburn event the entire evening and seemed to really enjoy visiting with our members and guests. We are hitting the road during the month of July: • Butler Area Regional Reception, July 9th, 6 pm at Ezell’s Fish Camp. • Mountain District Meeting & Guntersville Area Regional Reception, July 16th – DM at 5:00 pm, RR 6:00 pm, at Dream Ranch. • Delta District Meeting & Mobile Regional Reception, July 23rd - DM at 5:00 pm, RR 6:00 pm at Five Rivers. • Jasper Area Regional Reception, July 30th, 6 pm at Musgrove Country Club. Photo: Becky Clifton, wife of former AFA Staffer Ray Clifton, enjoys a chat with Coach Pat Dye.

the boutwells win 2015 regional tree farmer of the year award The Alabama Tree Farm Family of the Year for 2012, John and Ann Boutwell, have been named the Regional Tree Farmers of the Year for 2015, putting them in contention for 2015 National Tree Farmer of the Year! Congratulations to John (right) and his family and we wish them luck in their competition for the national award. Each year the American Tree Farm System recognizes Outstanding Tree Farmers from four regions; Northeastern, North Central, Southern and Western.  One of those regional awardees is designated that year's National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. For a family bio, click here.

congressman palmer to participate in afa 2015 annual meeting Newly elected Congressman Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) has confirmed that he will participate in the Alabama Forestry Association’s Annual Meeting to be held September 13-15th at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama. Palmer will provide a keynote speech and then will moderate a panel of national industry CEOs on Monday morning, September 14th.

alabama now has 23 million acres of TIMBERLAND All it takes is a drive down virtually any road in Alabama for one to come to the conclusion that there is an abundance of timberland – commercial forestland – in the state This conclusion is substantiated by 2014 Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) data which shows that the amount of timberland in Alabama has increased to an all-time high of 23 million acres.  Read more...

SOUTHERN PINE EXPORTS STEADY IN APRIL Export volumes of Southern Pine lumber remained healthy in April. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service recently reported SP exports to be just over 49 million board feet (MMbf) during April 2015. This volume represents a jump of 11% above the same month last year, contributing to a year-to-date increase of 5% when compared with the first four months of 2014. Offshore shipments during April roughly break down as follows: 27.2 MMbf dressed, 10.6 MMbf rough, and 11.4 MMbf treated lumber.

RAYONIER ANNOUNCES LAND PURCHASE JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 30, 2015-- Rayonier Inc. (NYSE:RYN) announced today the company has acquired approximately 18,000 acres of high-quality timberlands in southwest Louisiana and northwest Oregon in two separate transactions from BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group. Both properties are located near existing Rayonier landholdings. Read more...

ip sustainability report MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- International Paper today released its 2014 Sustainability Report sharing progress against its voluntary sustainability goals, a new sustainability strategy and highlighting collaborations that advance sustainability throughout the life cycle of its products. The 2014 report features stories from around the world that collectively capture some of International Paper's key sustainability efforts and impacts. Read more...

Georgia Pacific teams up with aol The FINANCIAL -- AOL Inc. and Georgia-Pacific today announced their partnership on a large-scale, digital custom content campaign for six of their portfolio brands including: Angel Soft, Brawny, Dixie, Quilted Northern, Sparkle and Vanity Fair. Read more...

ISSUE UPDATE! FRA COMMENTS ON h-2b    The introductory text, or "preamble,” to the new Interim Final Rule (or IFR) governing the H-2B Guestworker program suggests that H-2B employers of a "mobile workforce”—such as typical reforestation contractors—have an obligation to provide and pay for these workers’ housing. The requirement to pay for workers’ housing—which we have estimated could place about $75 million in annual costs on the reforestation sector—does not actually appear in the main text of the new regulation. Click here for full release Click here to read FRA Comments to Labor Dept.

FALLOUT FROM WOTUS Implementing the newly published Clean Water Act jurisdiction rule will fall to the states if Congress succeeds in blocking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from using federal funds to "implement, administer and enforce" it, water attorneys tracking the rule making told Bloomberg BNA. Read more...

  
new director named for sWCC and AACDC       

Effective July 6, 2015, Dr. William E. Puckett will assume the position of Executive Director of the State Soil & Water Conservation Committee (SWCC) and the Alabama Agricultural & Conservation Development Commission
(AACDC). Read more...

lynn wilson named natural resources director for Lp

Jun 17, 2015. /Lesprom Network/. Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) names Lynn Wilson as Natural Resources Director. This is a new position with LP. As natural resources director, Wilson manages all of LP’s forestry activities in North America, which include the purchase of more than 11 million tons of wood annually for the company’s 21 mills in the U.S. and Canada, management of crown lands in British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec, several regional forest resources offices, as well as LP’s sustainable forestry efforts in conjunction with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI®). Read more...

CORRECTIONS FOR 2015 DIRECTORY

falkville FFA wins state competition 

Forestry FFA teams from across the state gathered in Auburn on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, for the Alabama FFA Forestry Career Development Event. After the general knowledge exam, equipment identification, and map interpretation portions of the competition at Auburn University’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, students traveled to the Cat Training Center for lunch catered by Price’s Barbeque House and the outdoor field exercise phases of the competition.

The event, which encourages students to consider careers in the forest industry, is hosted by the Alabama Forestry Foundation and supported by numerous industry volunteers.  Special thanks to volunteers: Leh Bass, Mark Bass, Mark Bond, Boyd Christenberry, Parker Cox, Jerry Dwyer, J.C. Lester, Dick Martin, Joe Roberson, Robert Sanders, Jerry Schwarzauer and Troy Walker.

Congratulations to the Falkville FFA Forestry Team (pictured above) on winning first place in the competition!  Good luck in competing at the National Forestry Career Development Event in Louisville, Kentucky, in October. Contact: Ashley Parkman Smith, office 334-481-2133 , Cell 334-614-5048, Fax 334-262-1258. 

Supreme Court Rules Against epa on coal regulations

In a major win for the energy industry, the Supreme Court ruled recently against the Environmental Protection Agency's effort to limit certain power plant emissions -- saying the agency "unreasonably" failed to consider the cost of the regulations. 

high COURT supports PRIVATE PROPERTY rights

last tree farm inspector training session july 9

The Inspector Training Workshop serves as an opportunity for new inspectors to be trained as well as inactive inspectors to be certified to the current 2015-2020 Standards of Sustainability. The last one for this year will be held on July 9.

IMAGINE..., a wooden EMPIRE STATE BUILDING!

PLEASE DON'T SHOOT THE BEARS!

Heflin, Ala. - After allegedly shooting at a black bear seen in Heflin, Ala., on June 16, 2015, a
local man has been charged with breaking the state’s bear protection laws. While classified as a
game animal in Alabama, there is no established black bear hunting season in the state. Black bears are also protected by state law due to low population numbers. The shooter was arrested and released pending an Aug. 5 hearing. 

NEW certified BURN manager SCHEDULE SET

LOG A LOAD heading down the home Stretch!

With half of the fund-raising year gone and over $140,000 raised, it remains to be seen if Log a Load for Kids can reach it's goal of raising $200,000 before the year runs out. The last event, a golf tournament in the Wiregrass District at the Troy Country Club had a good showing and added several thousand dollars more to the pot. (We'll have a full report in a later issue).

In other words, it's time for Log a Loaders to fish or cut bait. Remaining events for 2015 include: 

• September 18. Kronospan will hold its Mountain District Golf Tournament at the Silver Lakes course in Gadsden. Tee off at 8 am.
• September 19. Piedmont District Annual Bow Shoot at Waverly, Alabama.
• November 6. Annual Charlie Hughen Memorial Sporting Clay & Skeet Shoot at Westervelt Lodge, Aliceville.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR BOOKS ON FORESTRY

We now have two books that you can use to learn more about forestland management and the history of the  forest products industry in Alabama. These books make outstanding gifts for birthdays, Christmas and any other gift-giving purpose. The book on the left, Green Gold: Alabama's Forests and Forest Industries, provides the first comprehensive history of forestry in Alabama, from when the Indians cleared forests for agriculture to the modern era.

The book on the right, Managing Forests on Private Lands in Alabama and the Southeast, is probably the best book every produced on managing forests for timber production and for preserving water and wildlife resources.      

If you are interested in owning either or both of these books, contact Liz Chambers at (334) 481-2135 or lchambers@alaforestry.org.