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Welcome to the Forestry News Page. This
page is intended to be a forestry bulletin board on the Internet. The type of
news that appears here includes national or state forestry news, dates of
conferences and workshops, news about people in forestry, new publications, new
government policies or legislation, and so on. If you have something you want
to tell the world, post it here! If your organization has an event, a
workshop, a conference, a trade show or any other forestry-related event that
you would like to publicize on the Internet; send the details and we'll put it
up for you.
The University of
Georgia's Center for Forest Business (Athens, Georgia, USA) will host The
Timberland Asset: Stable Investments for Turbulent Times conference on March 18
- 20, 2009 at The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation in northeast Georgia.
To learn more or to register, please visit our website at
www.ugacfb.com/timberlandasset.
The
Forest Products Society is pleased to announce the completion of the
Interactive Library expansion project.
The Forest
Products Society is pleased to announce the completion of the Interactive
Library expansion project. The Interactive Library is composed of three
separate databases which together represent a significant compendium of
information on forest products research spanning several decades. Containing
over 22,500 references for technical articles, manuals, and books related to
the environmentally sound processing and use of wood resources, all three
databases are available on the FPS website at
www.forestprod.org.
Forest Products Society
Books
A Guide to More Useful
Woods of the World
edited by James H. Flynn, Jr.
Continuing with
the great information in A Guide to Useful Woods of the World, this book
features: * 71 additional wood data sheets (WDS) bringing the total of
published WDSs to 350, * 2 comprehensive indexes, and * 14 articles from highly
respected professionals in wood-related matters: Richard Crow, Alan B. Curtis,
Mihaly Czako, Eugene Dimitriadis, Robert Goldsack, Ernie Ives, Siegfried
Klotsche, and Regis Miller. A Guide to More Useful Woods of the World was
introduced at the 2007 International Wood Collectors Society (IWCS) Annual
Meeting & Woodfest in Grafton, Illinois in June.
6 by 9 softcover,
376 pages, Item # 7228 $29.95 for FPS and IWCS members ($34.95 nonmembers) plus
delivery charge
A Guide to Useful Woods of
the World cover
edited by James H. Flynn, Jr. and Charles D. Holder
Published in
2001, the first printing sold out! Now reprinted, here's your chance to have a
copy of the definitive statement on 279 woods of the world. The description for
each wood includes: Scientific and Family Names; Common Names; Distribution;
The Tree; The Timber; Seasoning; Durability; Workability; Uses; and Supplies
along with a line drawing, a photomicrograph, and a color photograph of the
wood. Also included are common name, scientific name, and family name indexes
and 3 appendices.
6 by 9 softcover, 640 pages,
Item # 7255 $39.95 for FPS and IWCS members ($44.95 nonmembers) plus delivery
charge
Purchase these books online at
www.forestprod.org/mycart or
phone 608-231-1361, ext. 202.
Forest Products Society,
2801 Marshall Ct., Madison, WI 53705-2295 USA,
www.forestprod.org
World Forestry Congress
2009 - Argentina
First Call for Voluntary
Papers and Posters
From October 18 to 25, 2009,
the international forestry community will meet in the city of Buenos Aires,
Argentina, for the XIIIth World Forestry Congress. During a week,
representatives of the public and private sectors, the scientific community,
foresters, industrialists, professionals and other interested parties will have
the chance to analyze, discuss and participate in the most important forestry
meeting worldwide. Under the theme “Forests in development – a
vital balance”, the Congress will address the sustainable development
of forests from a global and integral perspective.
We invite every interested
person to submit voluntary papers and posters expressing new ideas and
providing information on experiences, theoretical models and interesting
initiatives. Papers will be published in the Congress Proceedings and posted on
the Congress’s official website. On behalf of the XIIIth World Forestry
Congress we launch the First Call for Voluntary Papers and Posters which can be
submitted to the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization
before June 30, 2008.
The information or guidelines
for presentations can be downloaded from our webpage
www.wfc2009.org or be requested by e-mail
to info@wfc2009.org, mail or fax.
Abstracts must not exceed 250 words and the complete paper must not surpass
4.500 words, tables included.
Forest Landowners
Association, Inc.
The Forest Landowners
Association has two publications of interest to the forestry
community.
- Forest Landowner
Magazine- is the source for non-industrial private forest landowners on
issues such as forest and wildlife management, timber tax issues, and forest
policy. .
- FLA Fast Facts weekly
E-newsletter - contains up-to-date forest industry and association
information. Click on the link below to contact Programs Coordinator Josh
Harrell, and have your name added to the mailing list.
For more information,
contact:
Joshua Kane Harrell
Programs Coordinator
Forest Landowners Association, Inc.
P.O. Box
450209
Atlanta, GA 31145-0209
Toll-free: 800-325-2954
Fax:
404-325-2955
jharrell@forestlandowners.com
Website:
www.forestlandowners.com
USDA Forest Service
Information - Electronic Mailing List
If you would like to receive
official information from the Forest Service, complete the short form at . .
.
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/subscription/
. . . and select the topics
that you wish to receive. You will receive a welcome email message shortly
after you subscribe. The Forest Service will use the information you provide
only to send you official Forest Service information.
The Top Ten Environmental
Benefits of Forestry - courtesy of the SAF
Forestry is bringing back
forests. - Until the 1920s, forests were often logged and abandoned. Now,
across the country an average of 1.7 billion seedlings are planted annually.
That translates into six seedlings planted for every tree harvested. In
addition, billions of additional seedlings are regenerated naturally.
Forestry helps water
quality. - Foresters carefully manage areas called watersheds (areas where
we collect our drinking water) and riparian zones (land bordering rivers,
streams, and lakes). These are places where maintaining water quality is the
primary concern for foresters. Forests actually help to clean water and get it
ready for us to drink. The trees, the soil, and bacteria are all part of this
process. Forest cover protects and nurtures the soils that are the key to water
retention, filtering, and quality.
Forestry offsets air
pollution. - Foresters nurture forests, which are sometimes called "the
gills of the planet." One mature tree absorbs approximately 13 pounds of carbon
dioxide a year. For every ton of wood a forest grows, it removes 1.47 tons of
carbon dioxide and replaces it with 1.07 tons of oxygen.
Forestry helps reduce
catastrophic wildfires. - At the turn of the century, wildfires annually
burned across 20 to 50 million acres of the country each year. Through
education, prevention, and control, the amount of wildfires has been reduced to
about two to five million acres a year--a reduction of 90%. By marking and
removing excess fuels, such as underbrush and some trees, foresters can modify
forests in order to make them more resilient to fire.
Forestry helps
wildlife. - Foresters employ a variety of management techniques to benefit
wildlife, including numerous endangered species. For example, thinning and
harvesting create conditions that stimulate the growth of food sources for
wildlife. Openings created by harvesting provide habitat for deer and a variety
of songbirds. Thinning can be used to accelerate growth and development of
older trees that are favored by owls and other species. In order to enhance
salmon habitat, foresters also carry out strategic tree plantings and monitor
forest health along streams in order to keep the water cool and reduce
sediments.
Forestry provides great
places to recreate. - Foresters manage forests that provide recreational
benefits to communities. Forests are important areas for such recreationists as
birdwatchers, hikers, nature photographers, horseback riders, skiers,
snowmobilers, and campers. And because foresters put water values high on their
list of priorities, the rivers and lakes in forested areas provide such
recreational opportunities as fishing, canoeing, and rafting.
Forestry benefits urban
environments. - Urban foresters manage forests and trees to benefit
communities in many ways. Forests in urban areas reduce stormwater runoffs,
improve air quality, and reduce energy consumption. For example, three
well-placed mature trees around a house can cut air-conditioning costs by 10-50
percent.
Forestry provides renewable
and energy-efficient building products. - Foresters manage some forests for
timber and produce a renewable resource because trees can be replanted. Other
building materials, such as steel, iron, and copper, can be reused and recycled
but not replaced. Wood is a renewable resource which, in addition to being
recyclable, can be produced anew for generations to come on sustainable managed
forestlands. Recycling and processing wood products also requires much less
energy than does the processing of many other non-renewable materials.
Forestry helps family
forests stay intact. - Foresters help family forestland owners, who own 54
percent of all the forests in the US, understand the benefits of managing their
forests in an environmentally friendly manner. Better management of private
forests means that those forests will remain healthy and productive. Many
endangered species spent at least part of their time on private land, more than
80 percent of our nation's total precipitation falls first on private lands and
70 percent of eastern watersheds run through private lands.
Forestry is good for soils.
- Foresters and natural resource managers are dependent on forest soils for
growing and managing forests and, to a large extent, forest soils are dependent
on resource professionals and managers. Foresters' success in growing forests
and producing forest products is dependent on their ability to understand soil
properties and to then match species with soils and to prescribe activities
that not only promote forest growth but also enhance and protect soil
productivity and prevent soil erosion.
NEW REPORT: Climate Change
Poses Challenges for U.S. Forestry
Washington, DC –
One-third of U.S. lands are covered by forests, making forest ecosystems one of
the nation’s most prominent natural resources. In addition to their
contribution to biodiversity, water quality, and recreation, forests also play
a significant role in the U.S. economy, and forestry or forestry-related
enterprises are the dominant industries in many U.S. communities. According to
a new study by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, the U.S. forestry
sector will face a number of challenges in the next century due to the impacts
of climate change.
The Pew Center report,
Forests and Global Climate Change: Potential Impacts on U.S. Forest
Resources, explores the challenges climate change will pose to forest
ecosystems and related economic enterprises over the next century.
“Changes in forest
productivity, the migration of tree species, and potential increases in
wildfires and disease could cause substantial changes to U.S. forests,”
said Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
“Moreover, these ecological impacts will have direct implications for our
economy. The timber industry in the southern United States is particularly
vulnerable.”
The key conclusions of the
report include:
Forest location,
composition, and productivity will be altered by changes in temperature and
precipitation. Climate change is virtually certain to drive the migration
of tree species, resulting in changes in the geographic distribution of forest
types and new combinations of species within forests. In addition, climate
change is likely to alter forest productivity depending upon location, tree
species, water availability, and the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2)
fertilization.
Changes in forest
disturbance regimes, such as fire or disease, could further affect the future
of U.S. forests and the market for forest products. Increased temperatures
could increase fire risk in areas that experience increased aridity, and
climate change could promote the proliferation of diseases and pests that
attack tree species.
U.S. economic impacts will
vary regionally. Overall, economic studies indicate that the net impacts of
climate change on the forestry sector will be small, ranging from slightly
negative to positive impacts; however, gains and losses will not be distributed
evenly throughout the United States. The Southeast, which is currently a
dominant region for forestry, is likely to experience net losses, as tree
species migrate northward and tree productivity declines. Meanwhile, the North
is likely to benefit from tree migration and longer growing seasons.
As a managed resource, the
implications of climate change for the forestry sector are largely dependent
upon the actions taken to adapt to climate change. The United States
currently has vast forest resources, and more timber grows within the United
States than is consumed each year. If professional foresters take proactive
measures, the sector may minimize the negative economic consequences of climate
change.
A number of challenges
currently limit our understanding of the effects of climate change on forestry.
Existing projections for future changes in temperature and precipitation
span a broad range making it difficult to predict the future climate that
forests will experience, particularly at the regional level. Thus, current
projections could fail to accurately predict the actual long-term impacts of
climate change for the forestry sector.
Part of “Impacts”
Series
Forests and Global Climate
Change: Potential Impacts on U.S. Forest Resources, was prepared for the
Pew Center by Herman Shugart (University of Virginia), Roger Sedjo (Resources
for the Future), and Brent Sohngen (The Ohio State University). It is the ninth
in a series of Pew Center reports examining the potential impacts of climate
change on the U.S. environment. Other Pew Center reports focus on domestic and
international policy issues, climate change solutions, and the economics of
climate change.
USDA Forest Service
International Programs
USDA Forest Service
International Programs invites you to visit our website to view our November
2002 update of "What's New?" This feature highlights the current events and
work of the Forest Service worldwide, including new international projects and
updates on ongoing Forest Service efforts.
By visiting
http://www.fs.fed.us/global/wsnew/welcome.htm you can learn about
the efforts by Russian and American scientists to conserve the Siberian tiger,
its prey and their habitat. In addition, you can find out about outcomes from
the 21st Session of the North American Forest Commission, during which Forest
Service Chief, Dale Bosworth, and the United States delegation met with
counterparts from Mexico and Canada as well as representatives from the Food
and Agriculture Organization. Together, the Commission discussed forestry
challenges and activities in North America since 2000.
Also, you can read about other
recent events involving International Programs. This includes a Jordanian
Princess' visit to National Forests to discuss arid land management strategies;
a meeting to discuss environmental security in the Arabian Gulf region; a new
tool?a photo series?that land managers can use to assess and prevent wildfires,
and the ongoing conservation of birds that migrate across Russia, Japan, Canada
and the United States. In addition, this website also features ways for
environmental organizations in the United States to participate in the 2003
World Forestry Congress.
For all the latest news on
International Programs, please visit
http://www.fs.fed.us/global/wsnew/welcome.htm
To learn more about the USDA
Forest Service International Programs, please visit our website at
http://www.fs.fed.us/global
Community Forestry
Newsletters
Community Forestry
Connections - seeks to inform and encourage the long-term health and
prosperity of small, privately owned woodlots, their owners, and their
communities. CFC also highlights events, activities, and resources for
individuals and groups interested in independent third-party certification of
family forests and wood products.
Certified Forestry News -
is now being replaced by Community Forestry Connections, a newsletter which
seeks to inform and encourage the long-term health and prosperity of small,
privately owned woodlots, their owners, and their communities. CFC also
highlights events, activities, and resources for individuals and groups
interested in independent third-party certification of family forests and wood
products. A monthly news bulletin highlighting events, activities, and
resources for individuals and groups interested in independent third party
certification of forests and wood products with a focus on the Great Lakes
Region.
Conferences, Seminars and
Meetings - the following websites maintain up-to-date listings of forestry
events. If you know of any websites that should be listed here, please let us
know and we will try to include them.
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