Peter Smallidge's Blog (114)

Planning Family Forests - How to Keep Woodlands Intact and In the Family

A new book is almost on the shelf.  Thom McEvoy, professor emeritus of Univ VT extension forestry has written a book titled the same as this blog entry.  I'll attach the flyer, and paste some content below.  I haven't seen the book, but look forward to receiving my copy soon.

Peter

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About the book…

It took nine years to complete this project for reasons explained in the book’s Preface. The book contains stories of…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on March 22, 2013 at 12:48pm — No Comments

Scheduled maintenance

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that MING needs to perform some simple but necessary maintenance on this site on Wednesday, March 27. They will need to take the site down at 10 pm Pacific for about 3 hours during which they will simply show a message asking folks to check back later. Thanks in advance for your patience while they tune up the site!

Added by Peter Smallidge on March 21, 2013 at 5:32pm — No Comments

Forest thinning for productivity and health

The March 20, 2013 webinar was on the opportunity for forest owners and foresters and loggers to thin woodlots to improve tree growth, vigor, and health.  The outline of the webinar included: the context for thinning, what to expect from thinning, forest development and clues for thinning, selecting the correct trees, strategies for thinning, and cautions plus concerns. 

Thinning provides an effective strategy for woodland owners to improve the growth of their trees.  If the…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on March 20, 2013 at 6:30pm — No Comments

New herbicide fact sheet - basal bark treatments with lower concentrations

Penn State University Cooperative Extension, via Dave Jackson (many remember Dave from his great webinar a few months back) has released a new fact sheet on the use of basal bark treatments to control undesired hardwoods in woodlots.  Dave reviews the protocols for using basal bark treatments, including the dose and strategy for using the common forest herbicides in basal bark application.  Dave also shares his recent research on how to time treatments to use significantly less chemical…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on March 8, 2013 at 11:00am — 1 Comment

Restore NY Woodlands Presentations

Several of the presentations being offered through the ForestConnect program relate to the NYFOA Initiative "Restore New York Woodlands."  To aid those who saw the presentation, and those who didn't, I provide here links to the presentations as downloadable pdf files.  For more information about the…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on March 1, 2013 at 6:05pm — No Comments

Conifer Tree Identification - Webinar and Resources

Conifers are an important and visually distinct component of the northeastern landscape.  They are important because of those qualities that allow them to be utilized for lumber, pulp, biofuels, fence posts, etc.  They are also important because of the diversity they bring to the woods for wildlife, aesthetics, and watershed protection.  Learning to identify conifers is fun, and relatively easy given the few common species we will find in a local woodlot.



The webinar on conifer…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on February 20, 2013 at 2:46pm — No Comments

Hardwood Tree Identification - Webinar and Resources

Hardwood tree identification is an important first step towards understanding and valuing our woodlots.  Once we can identify each species, we can begin to assign different values to those species, and the roles they play in helping us achieve (or impede) our ownership objectives. 

Hardwood tree identification goes beyond looking at leaves.  Leaves are apparent for only a few months of the year, and even then leaves are…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on January 17, 2013 at 10:48am — No Comments

Forest Owner Tax Tips 2012

Hi All:

Tax tips to help you obtain your legal tax savings associated with timber related revenue.

Pete

TaxTips2012-Final.pdf

Added by Peter Smallidge on January 14, 2013 at 11:50am — No Comments

Woodland Owner Timber Tax Guide

Hi All:

This just out from our friends at the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area.

For your information and for sharing…

Just posted on the U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Area website. A new/updated publication titled Federal Income Tax on Timber: A Quick Guide for Woodland Owners   This document is a the 4th version of a document that started as the Federal Income Tax on…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on January 9, 2013 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Stressors of Forest Trees - Managing for Forest Productivity

Stress is a common and normal component of trees in forests and sugarbushes.  Stress can be classified by a number of factors, including duration, extent, severity, source, and the context of the tree.  By understanding the stress agents that trees must contend with, owners and managers can anticipate the problem, help forests develop in ways that the likelihood of stress is reduced, reduce the impact of the stress on the trees and ensure that recovery from stress is a thorough and…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on December 19, 2012 at 10:01pm — No Comments

Timber Harvesting - Working with Foresters and Loggers

Woodlot owners who are interested in harvesting trees will want to work with carefully chosen foresters and loggers.  Many good foresters and loggers are available, and they can help owners accomplish their ownership objectives.  Laurel Gailor of CCE Warren offered a webinar on this topic on November 21, 2012.  Links and attached files are available here.

noon recording

Evening recording…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on November 21, 2012 at 5:37pm — 1 Comment

Adirondacks - Private lands become public

For those with interest in the public/private land transfer debate, or in the use of lands in the NY Adirondack Park, this will be of interest. Lands originally owned by Finch-Pruyn were sold several years ago to the Nature Conservancy and remained managed forest land. As the lands move into state ownership, if they are within the Adirondack Park boundary (AKA "the blue line") they will become forever wild. This linked article below suggests there are (which I don't doubt) some aesthetically… Continue

Added by Peter Smallidge on November 19, 2012 at 7:42pm — No Comments

Forests as carbon sinks

For those of you tracking the conversation about the role of forests as a carbon sink, here is a recent post addressing the IUFRO's anticipated list of non-negotiable thresholds. Basically, forests need to consider biodiversity and local people/communities, not just maximize carbon sequestration. Link is here.…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on November 19, 2012 at 7:34pm — No Comments

Woodland owners of Britain

I thought a discussion of woodland owners in G.B. was interesting (here).  The article give a brief profile of a few owners, why they bought their land, what they plan, and the arrangements of ownership. It seems there is some concern in that region about a fungus that is killing the ash trees, which they call "ash decline."  This seems to be different from what we know as "ash decline" in…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on November 11, 2012 at 8:11am — 1 Comment

Management for the Next Forest - Forest Regeneration

Today's ForestConnect webinar was on the topic of "Management for the Next Forest."  More simply stated, what barriers limit successful forest regeneration, and what management options will overcome these barriers.  This is a topic that attracts some broad attention.  However, patterns of forest regeneration vary across the Northeast, with fewer restrictions often where there are fewer deer.  Deer and interfering vegetation are the common barriers that many owners and managers…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on October 17, 2012 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Webinar - Land Ownership and Transfer: Options and Opportunities

The ForestConnect webinar on June 20, 2012 focused on understanding the legal implications of different options and opportunities for transferring land from one owner to another.  Typically this might involve transfers between generations, but other transfers were addressed.  Attorney Elizabeth Sillin offered an outstanding context to understand the different types of ownership transfer options, and provided examples for how those transfers might be implemented.  For those interested in this…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on June 25, 2012 at 7:47am — No Comments

Beech management - testing strategies

I recently had the good fortune to join a group hosted by the foresters at Landvest near Kane, PA for a walk and talk in the woods.  There were 8 of us in total, from Landvest, PSU Cooperative Extension, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, and Cotton-Hanlon. Beech is a nice species, but due to the confluence of invasive insect & fungus, the tree interferes with other species and a multitude of ownership objectives.  The question at hand, as a general context for the gathering, was…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on June 20, 2012 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Honey bee selection of native trees - webinar

Dr. Thomas Seeley never ceases to impress audiences with the clarity and richness of his presentations.  Today's webinar was no different.  Participants learned the key features of a desirable honey bee hive tree, how the scout bees communicate and debate the virtues of the tree they visited, and the process of moving the swarm into their new home. To quote one participant commenting about the quality of the webinar... "David Attenborough couldn't have done it…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on May 16, 2012 at 8:11pm — 1 Comment

Emerald Ash Borer Webinar April 18, 2012

My thanks to Mark Whitmore for a great webinar on EAB status, management and pesticide guidelines.  My apologies for the delay in providing links to the webinar recording.  As you will see, there are reasons to remain optimistic about the near term future of ash, but also some essential planning that must take place.

Noon webinar link here

Evening webinar link…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on May 16, 2012 at 6:09pm — No Comments

Lumber from local woodlots

Here is a nice story about creating lumber from your woodlot.  (here)  Tom Gavin has an interesting blog about a variety of topics. 

Below are some pictures of a fifth generation Wood Mizer, unrelated to the above story link.…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on April 11, 2012 at 11:43am — No Comments

Forum

Small-Scale Logging

Started by Peter Smallidge in Project Profiles. Last reply by John McNerney Apr 15. 4 Replies

Small-Scale Logging: Sugarbush and Woodlot Management Issue:  Many woodlot owners and maple syrup producers want to be more active in gathering logs or firewood from their property.  Often there are too few acres or too few trees to attract a…Continue

Tags: yourself, harvesting, woodlot, management, it

How to get rid of buckthorn

Started by Randy Williams in Woodlot Management. Last reply by John McNerney Apr 15. 1 Reply

I have some property where the best timber was harvested several years before I purchased it.  There are now many areas where the buckthorn is so thick that nothing will grow under it.  I am looking for suggestions on how to get these areas back…Continue

Replanting after timber harvest with climate change in mind

Started by Ben T. in Woodlot Management. Last reply by Patrik Schumann Mar 26. 1 Reply

Hi Everyone,I’ve been wondering what tree species are going to thrive over the next 50+ years as the climate warms in New York and I’m curious if folks are enhancing plantings of particular tree species for future commercial harvest with warmer and…Continue

Rust Colored Hemlock Bark

Started by Carl Albers in Woodlot Management Dec 31, 2023. 0 Replies

Picture of a hemlock with rust colored bark.  When I cut a nearby tree, also with rust colored bark, it was infested with HWA.  Attached picture shows a Logrite ATV arch in use.Continue

Rust Colored Hemlock Bark

Started by Carl Albers in Woodlot Management Dec 31, 2023. 0 Replies

The hemlocks in my woodlots have been infested with hemlock wooley adelgid (HWA) for at least three years now.  Lately I've noticed some of them having a rust colored bark and I wonder if this is normal and that I just didn't notice it previously? …Continue

How to control mature white pine and hemlock to allow enrichment planting of hardwoods

Started by Peter Smallidge in Woodlot Management Nov 28, 2023. 0 Replies

I had a question about control of mature white pine and hemlock to improve sunlight for enrichment planting of hardwoods.  Following is my response, but I would like to know if anyone else has any experiences to share with control of these to…Continue

Story in Northern Woodlands Magazine on Deer Impacts

Started by Brett Chedzoy in Woodlot Management Aug 8, 2023. 0 Replies

This Spring we had an opportunity to speak with writer John Litvaitis about the big picture of deer impacts on the hardwood forests of the Northeast.  I posted the original story from the summer edition of Northern Woodlands to the…Continue

Ash blonding effect on lumber quality

Started by Jeff Joseph in Woodlot Management. Last reply by Jeff Joseph May 5, 2023. 2 Replies

Question: In Peter Smallidge's most recent "Ask a Professional" column for NYFOA's Forest Owner magazine he stated that some log buyers will reject ash that shows outward signs of "blonding" on the bark. Is this because the wood will change…Continue

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