From the NC Division Chair...

All the News – North Carolina
Summer Issue 2010
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North Carolina News

By Mike Thompson
2010 NC Division Chair

Summer Meeting

The North Carolina Division Summer Meeting is scheduled for June 2 – 4 at Little River Golf & Resort, 500 Little River Farm Blvd., Carthage, NC.  Located in the Sandhills of Moore County on Highway 15-501 between Pinehurst and Carthage, the resort offers excellent accommodations for both business and leisure, including a first-class golf course.  The Sandhills Chapter is hosting this meeting.  Several Sandhills members, comprising the planning team, are working hard to bring all of this together.  We hope you’ll be pleased.  For more details about Little River, please visit their web site at www.littleriver.com.  For details about registration, please visit the summer meeting link on our Division web site.  So put together a golf foursome and earn some CFEs to boot!  It doesn’t get any better than this.

On the technical side, we’ve chosen the theme “Forest Land Management in an Age of Increasing Urbanization.”  One thing that all foresters can all be sure of, whether we work in the private or public sector, is that there will be more people in the state tomorrow than there are today.  North Carolina is a very popular state to move to.  The inexorable population increase and resulting decline in timberland acreage that will occur over the next few decades is simply a fact of life that we can only adapt to, not change.  More forests will disappear as they are replaced by the physical  infrastructure that is necessary to support human populations.  At the same time, the people we serve will continue to expect the steady flow of forest-based goods and services that they have become accustomed to.  More than likely, they will be urban folk who are far removed from the land and resources that sustain them.  Conflict is inevitable.  This begs the questions: “What will the forests of the future look like?  How do we adapt to changing circumstances?  What policies, tools, and techniques do we need to adopt to get the job done?”

Science and Technology Chair Dave Andres has come up with an excellent program of speakers who will attempt to provide some answers to these questions. 

• First, we will examine the North Carolina Forest Assessment being developed by the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources.  The Assessment is a periodic review of the past and current condition of our forest resources and a projection of the future condition of these resources.
• Next, we will explore the nature of the nation’s private forest landowners, a land base where much forest management activity takes place, through the National Woodland Owner Survey.
• Forest management challenges at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) will continue to increase.  Professional foresters will need new knowledge and skills to cope with the unique situations there.  The Changing Roles Program, a WUI professional development program designed to provide foresters with the special tools they need, will be described.
• After our awards luncheon, we will examine Local Land Use Regulations Affecting Forestry.  In recent years, the General Assembly has passed new laws regulating forestry practices at the local level.  They are too numerous to mention here, but you can prepare for the meeting by going online and reading the NCSU Forestry Extension publication “Ordinances, Laws, Regulations, and Programs Affecting Forestry in North Carolina.”  It’s an excellent resource.
• In mid-afternoon, using Prescribed Fire and dealing with Invasive Species in an urban environment will be spotlighted.  Prescribed fire, often described as the most effective and least costly forest management tool at our disposal, will undoubtedly face challenge from urban dwellers who live close to the scene of the action.  Will the use of prescribed fire survive?  Will the practice be so modified that the costs outweigh the benefits?  These are legitimate questions that deserve serious consideration.
• Finally, as time goes on and families mature, the breakup of forested tracts into progressively smaller pieces continues.  With it comes a host of problems, most notably in timber harvesting.  How will the state’s logging force cope with ever-smaller tracts?  What equipment will be needed?  What will be the minimum operable tract?  A presentation titled Logging Challenges and Innovations – Adapting to Urbanization will attempt to answer these and other questions.
• On Thursday, we will host a Spouse’s Pottery Tour of the Seagrove area.  We will begin with a tour of the pottery program at Montgomery Community College in Troy, where students will demonstrate the unique Japanese firing technique called Raku.  Afterward, stops will be made for lunch, then at Jugtown Pottery, Ben Owen Pottery (recently featured on UNC-TV), and the NC Pottery Museum in Seagrove before returning to Little River.  Lunch and transportation will be provided.  Opportunities to browse and shop during the day will be available.
• On Thursday night, we’ll have a Pig Picking Social complete with an array of refreshments and musical entertainment provided by two “RFs” (real foresters).  
• On Friday, two Field Trips are planned – one to North Carolina State University’s 1,169-acre James Goodwin Forest, located near Carthage, and one to a local Tree Farm managed by a Sandhills chapter member.  Management of both areas will be discussed with an urbanizing population in mind.  Transportation will be provided.

To sum up, we have done our best to put together a program that you, the members we serve, will find both informing and relaxing.  The weather should be mild and the dogwoods exquisite, so put in your reservations, grab your golf clubs, and come join us.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Executive Committee Meeting

Several members of your Executive Committee met at NCDFR Region 2 Headquarters on March 18, 2010 to discuss business.  It was a long meeting, lasting almost five hours, but much was accomplished.  By the time this is published in The Trail Blazer, you will already likely have received a copy of the minutes.  Therefore, I’ll take this opportunity to reiterate some of the more important discussion points.

Policy/Legislation Committee Chair Tony Doster briefed us on suggested draft positions that are acceptable to the broadest forestry community.  He will draft them quickly and send them to ApSAF and the national office for approval prior to them being circulated among North Carolina members for review and discussion.  The first issue revolves around the Environmental Management Commission and the definition of woody biomass proposed for use as fuel.  The second major issue concerns the LEED Green Building Standard, which requires the use of wood certified only by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  This is a concern because it excludes wood certified by other programs of interest to foresters, including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Tree Farm Program.

The Executive Committee (ExCom) spent much time developing a budget for the coming year.  In the past year, we have received requests for grant money for many worthwhile causes that either promote the science and practice of forestry, advance the mission of our Society, or recognize the voluntary service of members to SAF.  In 2009, ExCom members approved disbursements from Division funds for CFE stipend payments ($1,380), student sponsorships to attend the ApSAF winter meeting ($300), grants to the NC Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy ($1,000),  the NC Tree Farm Program ($400), the NC State Natural Resources Academy for the Stan Adams Scholarship ($700), and awards to members ($1,091).  In considering the 2010 budget, the ExCom increased the amounts in some of these categories and decreased them in others.  The bottom line is that we have identified $6,250 in disbursements that we would like to make as your representatives, depending solely of course on the amount of revenue that is received.  Last year, we received $1,048 for NC Division dues from ApSAF and $500 from the State Board of Registration for Foresters for CFE support, for a total of $1,548.  The revenue shortfall is obvious.  Therefore, if these grants are to be continued in 2010 (and the ExCom thinks they should be), either a steady infusion of cash will be necessary or Division funds ($16,284 as of March 18) will need to be drawn down.  The alternative is to preserve our cash balance and greatly reduce the amounts requested.  You can help in this effort.  Please be alert to ways that your chapters can raise funds or otherwise make donations to the Division treasury so these worthwhile projects can go forward.

In summary, I hope all of you have a healthy and productive summer.  See you at the Summer Meeting, June 2-4, at the Little River Resort in Carthage.