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GEORGIA FORESTRY
TODAYVolume 10, Issue 5
September | October 2014
EXPLORING CONSERVATIONEASEMENT MISCONCEPTIONS
4 September | October 2014
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY is published bi-monthly by A4 Inc., 1154 Lower BirminghamRoad, Canton, Georgia 30115. Recipients include participants of the Forest Stewardship Programand the American Tree Farm System.
Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the publisher, A4 Inc., nor dothey accept responsibility for errors of content or omission and, as a matter of policy, neither dothey endorse products or advertisements appearing herein. Part of this magazine may be reproducedwith the written consent of the publisher. Correspondence regarding changes of address should bedirected to A4 Inc. at the address indicated above. Advertising material should be sent to A4 Inc.at the e-mail address: [email protected]. Questions on advertising should be directed to the ad-vertising director at the e-mail address provided above. Editorial material should be sent to A4Inc. or to Alva Hopkins.
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY1154 Lower Birmingham Road, Canton, Georgia 30115
On the Cover: GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAYPrinted in the USA
PUBLISHER:A4 Inc.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAlva Hopkins
PRODUCTION MANAGERPamela [email protected]
EDITORIAL BOARDWendy BurnettAlva HopkinsJesse JohnsonStasia KellySandi Martin
Roland Petersen-FreyBrian Stone
Steve McWilliams
Steve Raper has worked with
conservation easements for
the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources for several
years. During this time, he’s
encountered several miscon-
ceptions that seem to com-
monly occur. See our article on
page 8 to read more about
them. See story on page 8
5Georgia Forestry Today
FORESTRY TODAYGeorgia
Volume 10, Issue 5 September | October 2014
P.08 Exploring Conservation Easement
Misconceptions
P.13 Message from the Georgia Forestry
Commission Director
P.14 GFC News
P.15 It’s a (SOUTH) Wrap!
New Online Tool Helps Reduce
Wildfire Risk
P.19 ABAC Natural Resource Graduates
Knocking on Door of Opportunity
P.21 Warnell Forms Partnership with
Orianne Society for Research,
Conservation
P.22 The Outdoorsman
Be a Better Shotgun Shooter
P.27 GFT News
September 16-182013 SFI Annual Conference | Le Centre SheratonMontreal | Montreal, Quebec, Canadawww.sfiprogram.org
September 16Society of American Foresters CEO Meet & GreetGeorgia Forestry Commission AuditoriumMacon, Georgia
September 26Plum Creek 6th Annual UGA Benefit GolfTournament | e Georgia ClubStatham, Georgia
OCTOBER 202014 Georgia Division SAF-ACF Annual MeetingTion UGA Conference CenterTion, Georgia | Info: www.gatrees.org
OCTOBER 28-292014 Southeastern Regional Forest Owner andManager ConferenceRainwater Conference CenterValdosta, GeorgiaInfo: www.forestlandowners.com
NOVEMBER 4Georgia General Elections
Forestry Calendar
If you have aforestry event
you’d like to seeon our calendar,please contact
Alva Hopkins atahopkins@a4inc.
com with thesubject line
‘Calendar Event.’
6 September | October 2014
7Georgia Forestry Today
List of advertisers
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College .................................6
American Forest Management ...............................................30
Beach Timber Company Inc...................................................30
Blanton’s ......................................................................................18
Bodenhamer Farms & Nursery...............................................19
Canal Wood LLC......................................................................30
Cantrell Forest Products Inc. ..................................................30
Davis - Garvin ............................................................................24
Farm Credit Associations...........................................................3
Flint Equipment Company.....................................................29
Forest Resource Services Inc. ..................................................30
F&W Forestry Service..............................................................12
HEI...............................................................................................30
James-Bates-Brannan-Groover-LLP ........................................7
International Forest Company..................................................4
LandMark Spatial Solutions......................................................3
Lanigan & Associates ...............................................................21
Meeks’ Farms & Nursery ...........................Inside Front Cover
Morbark ......................................................................................30
Outdoor Underwriters.............................................................19
Plum Creek ...................................................................................5
Rivers Edge Forest Products....................................................30
SuperTree Seedlings.....................................................................6
UPC | Georgia 811 ..................................................Back Cover
Weyerhaeuser .............................................................................10
Yancey Brothers ............................................Inside Back Cover
8 September | October 2014
Exploring Conservation Easement Misconceptions
have been working with con-
servation easements for the
Georgia Department of Natu-
ral Resources for several years.
I’ve negotiated, drafted, and
helped close easements, re-
viewed easements for others,
and advised landowners on deals with
other partners.
During this time, I’ve also heard
and tried to overcome several miscon-
ceptions that seem to commonly occur
concerning conservation easements.
First, some basics to remember
about conservation easements, or
CE’s. They are the end result of a ne-
gotiation between a landowner and an
easement holder. An easement holder
can be a land trust, government
agency, or non-governmental agency.
A landowner and the easement holder
each have aspects of the easement
that are negotiable and non-nego-
tiable; but, like most real estate trans-
actions, there is a lot of give and take
in the middle ground. However, it’s im-
portant that the landowner and ease-
ment holder share basically the same
values and fundamental beliefs. That’s
why matching a landowner with the
right easement holder is one of the
most important aspects of the process.
There is a wide range of groups that
hold easements (for more, http://ga-
landcc.com/land-trust-partners and
http://glcp.georgia.gov/qualified-orga-
nizations.) Some groups focus on a cer-
tain habitat type (e.g., the
Southeastern Cave Conservancy) or a
geographic area (e.g., St. Simons Land
Trust). Others, such as Georgia Land
Trust, take a broader approach.
Some groups are more centered
on natural habitat (The Nature Conser-
vancy is an example), and some more
on ‘working forests,’ such as the Geor-
gia Forestry Commission).
The take-home: If you’re interested in
pursuing a conservation easement,
talk to several groups and find one that
fits. And take note that there are mis-
conceptions. Here are some common
ones.
1) A conservation easement requires
that you allow the public to access
your land.
This can be true, but usually it isn’t.
The public can access your property if
you and the easement holder agree to
that. (Remember, the easement
process is a negotiation.) However, in
probably 99 percent of all CEs, the
public is not allowed access.
An example of when it’s true is
when the DNR holds a conservation
easement on property adjacent to a
wildlife management area, and the
landowner allows the property to be
used as part of the WMA. But that is
very unusual. Most landowners and
easement holders aren’t interested in
public access.
2) A conservation easement allows
you to ‘keep doing what you’ve
been doing’ on your property.
I’ve seen this statement in an article on
CEs. However, how true the statement
is depends on what you’ve been doing
with your property.
Take, for example, a landowner
who has been converting natural pine
stands to plantations and using herbi-
cide to kill a wiregrass understory.
Since the disappearing wiregrass habi-
9Georgia Forestry Today
IBy Steve Raper
This thinned and burned pine standis a working forest portion of the RedHills conservation easement.
j
tat type is a conservation value that
most land trusts recognize as ex-
tremely important, they’re probably
not going to allow eliminating it as part
of an easement they would hold.
However, if you’ve been farming
with good conservation practices on
300 of your 500 acres, cutting and
managing timber using best manage-
ment practices on 100 acres of pine
plantation, and you want to conserve
100 acres of old bottomland hard-
woods, plenty of easement groups
would agree to allow you to ‘keep
doing what you’ve been doing.’
3) I can’t place a conservation ease-
ment on my entire property be-
cause all of it isn’t ‘special.’
I worked with a landowner who had
about 200 acres of bottomland hard-
woods that were of a species compo-
sition and slope position that made
them fairly unique. The remainder of
his property was in pine plantations
and pasture (all of it well managed).
His goal was that, after his death, the
property would remain basically what
it is now: a well-run farm that also con-
tained unique bottomland which is pri-
marily left as-is for ecological
purposes.
He wanted the 200 acres of bot-
tomland protected by a conservation
easement, but had trouble under-
standing that the well managed pas-
tures and commercial timberland
could also be protected with a CE. An
easement could allow the farm to sus-
tainably produce useful products;
allow the bottomlands to remain
undisturbed; and protect the entire
place from being converted to house
lots or other development.
4) A conservation easement on my
property means I can’t cut tim-
ber.
There is a range of options concerning
timber harvesting allowed in a typical
conservation easement, depending on
the stand type and the goals of the
landowner and the easement holder.
At a minimum, harvesting should ad-
here to state best management prac-
tices. Sometimes, only salvage
harvesting of timber is allowed after a
natural incident such as a tornado or
ice storm. However, if the stand is a
pine plantation, harvesting is often al-
lowed as before. An exception to this
would be if a plantation can be re-
stored to more natural conditions, and
the landowner and holder agree that
restoration is a goal.
If the stand is ecologically unique or
rare, there probably will be more re-
strictions placed on harvesting, or har-
vesting may not be allowed. Again, it’s
a negotiation—it depends on the
landowner’s values and goals, and on
the easement holder’s values and goals.
5) A conservation easement will
lower your annual ad valorem
taxes.
A conservation easement places re-
strictions (maybe minor, maybe major,
probably both) on your property. Ex-
amples of restrictions could be:
• Subdividing the property.
• Cutting timber in some areas.
• Developing the property.
• Building more than, say, one
house on the tract.
These restrictions, by their very na-
ture, lower the market value of prop-
erty. If the market value is lower, it
follows that property taxes (i.e., ad val-
10 September | October 2014
11Georgia Forestry Today
The terms of most conservation easements allow food plots, but not planting invasive, non-na-
tive vegetation. Sometimes the size and number of food plots is regulated.
orem taxes) will be lower. The reality,
however, is that sometimes this hap-
pens and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s a
matter that should be discussed with
your local tax assessor. But don’t count
on lower taxes as you weigh whether
to enter into a conservation easement.
6) If I donate a conservation ease-
ment, then I should have no out of
pocket expenses.
It seems intuitive that a donation
should be ‘free’ to the donor. Yet,
that’s not how it typically works for a
CE donation.
The landowner usually reaps a fi-
nancial reward through federal and
state income tax incentives (a deduc-
tion for federal taxes and a credit for
Georgia taxes). However, the
landowner will face several, significant
up-front costs—costs that will hope-
fully be recovered when the income
tax benefits are reaped.
Examples of these costs include a
survey, appraisal (typically a complex,
expensive one compared to one you
had done when you re-financed your
house), attorney and accountant fees,
the state tax credit application fee, a
land trust endowment, and a baseline
documentation report. The total cost
will vary widely depending upon the
deal; however, you’re looking at thou-
sands of dollars to complete the
transaction.
You must do the math to see if you
can expect the income tax benefits to
more than offset these up-front costs
in a reasonably timely manner. That
math exercise is way beyond the scope
of this article.
Conservation easements are an ef-
fective and widely-used tool to protect
rural, productive, and ecologically sig-
nificant land. However, there are many
nuances. If I can explain these miscon-
ceptions in more detail, or if you just
want to discuss the conservation ease-
ment concept in general, please feel
free to contact me. v
12 September | October 2014
Steve Raper provides private landowner assistance for the Nongame Conservation Section of DNR’s Wildlife ResourcesDivision. He can be reached at (404) 242-4295 or [email protected]
A mountain stream on a Murray County tract protected by DNR-held conservation easement.
eorgians who live incities, as well as thosewho call the countryhome, heard a lotabout wildfires overthe summer. Smokey
Bear celebrated his 70th birthday, the Dis-ney movie, ‘Planes: Fire & Rescue’ made abig splash, and real-life wildfires out west lednewscasts nationwide. Despite some rain-fall, scattered fires in Georgia also managedto damage more than a few acres of land. Be-ginning in July, the number of wildfires andthe acres burned increased above what wehad been experiencing in the previousmonths of 2014. We attribute this increaseprimarily to summertime lightning stormsand an increase in the drying conditions inthe southern part of the state. The growingbuzz about wildfire is a good opportunityfor all of us in the forestry industry to learnmore about our vulnerability to the threatof wildfire and tangible ways we can protectour forestland, our property, and ourselves. Did you know that wildfire recordshave been set four out of the last eight yearsin Georgia? Since 2007, we’ve experiencedtwo of our worst fire years (FY2007 andFY2011), and two with the least amount of
fires and damage (FY2010 and FY2014).The five year average of acres lost to wildfirein Georgia is 46,407. While humans areknown to be the root cause of most fires,variations in weather patterns are playing arole in prevention and suppression efforts.That has mandated increasing levels of ex-pertise for Georgia Forestry CommissionProtection professionals, firefighters, andgovernment leaders across the state. Fortunately, new tools and increasingawareness are supporting that effort. In thisissue of Georgia Forestry Today, you’ll readabout ‘SouthWRAP’ (the Southern Wild-fire Risk Assessment Portal), an online serv-ice created by the Southern Group of StateForesters and patterned after a similar pro-gram in Texas. SouthWRAP utilizes pre-populated data on topography, fuels,communities, fire weather scenarios, andother critical factors that help pinpointwildfire risk at specific locations in Georgiaand 12 other southern states. Landowners,civic leaders, and firefighters will all benefitfrom this modern tool that supports wild-fire mitigation and prevention efforts.Check it out at www.southernwildfirerisk.com and start exploring ways it canhelp you and your community enhance pro-
tection from wildfire. Georgia Forestry Commission profes-sionals statewide joined Smokey Bear in Julyfor the premier of the movie, ‘Planes: Fire &Rescue.’ It was great to be linked to such anentertaining movie with a positive message,and it gave our team the perfect opportu-nity to share information about GFC serv-ices, wildfire prevention, and to displaysome of our firefighting equipment and ve-hicles. Thanks to all who joined us for thisfun event, and if you haven’t seen the movieyet, do so. It's for kids of all ages! And while you’re at it, it’s not too lateto wish that ‘ageless’ fellow, Smokey Bear, ahappy 70th birthday, and continue to sharehis timeless message. Be careful with thebirthday candles and remember that, “Onlyyou can prevent wildfires!”
Sincerely,
Robert FarrisGFC Commissioner v
13Georgia Forestry Today
Georgia Forestry Commission
Message from the Director
Dear GFT Reader,
Robert Farris
G
14 September | October 2014
Sales are very brisk for the most popular varieties of
GFC tree seedlings, so act quickly if you’re planning
to order! According to GFC Reforestation Chief JeffFields, longleaf pine is almost sold out and persimmon, anexcellent soft mast producer for wildlife, will soon run out.Other species with low inventory include crabapple, swampchestnut oak, and cherry bark oak. Advanced cycle loblollyand slash pine are still in good supply. Discounts are avail-able for 100,000 pines and 10,000 hardwoods. To order,visit www.gaseedlings.org, visit your local GFC office orcontact the Flint River Nursery at 229-268-7308. e
GFC News
A new Georgia law strengthening timber sale regulations and increasing protection
for forest landowners went into effect July first. House Bill 790 brings change to manyparts of the timber sale process, including scale tickets, civil damages for unauthorized timberharvesting, unintended harvest protection for landowners, statute of limitations for damages,and the authority of GFC law enforcement officers to enforce all laws relating to the protec-tion, security, conservation or sale of timber transactions. For more information visitGaTrees.org. e
Proposed rules from the Environmental Protection Agency
governing waters of the US are available for review.
Landowners and the forestry community are encouraged to learnmore about these proposed rules and how they may impact youroperations. A comprehensive Web site that provides informationand instructions on submitting your comments can be found byvisiting http://ditchtherule.fb.org/. e
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) regulations are now in place in Georgia to pre-
vent the insect's spread, while allowing limited wood movement from
the quarantined counties in metro Atlanta. This forest pest will kill allspecies of the ash genus. It has been moving southward from Michigan over thepast decade and was first detected in Georgia in 2013. For more information onEAB and current regulations, visit http://www.gatrees.org/forest-management/forest-health/eab/index.cfm. e
Research for most any type of project today begins at the com-puter. From shopping for tools to finding a specialized serviceprovider or deciding which tree species to order this plantingseason, online investigation is the first undertaking for much ofthe population. e worldwide web provides an immense assort-ment of information and data that helps us make sound deci-sions. Every day, it gets easier and faster to manipulate theproducts we choose virtually.
In Georgia, a new online tool has been unveiled that enablescivic leaders, wildland fire managers, and landowners alike toidentify the risk that wildfire poses to their communities. eSouth Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal, or ‘SouthWRAP,’ is auser-friendly mapping application developed by the SouthernGroup of Sate Foresters (SGSF) that displays data that figuresinto fire scenarios, such as fire weather, landscape features, andeven home sites. It uses the latest technology and data to identifywildfire risk in Georgia and 12 other southern states, which canbe vital to wildfire mitigation decisions.
“In 2005, the Southern Group of State Foresters released anassessment of wildfire risk across the entire South,” said Frank Sor-
rells, Protection Chief at the Georgia Forestry Commission. “e‘Fire in the South’ assessment is a detailed, written report thatprovides data about different areas’ wildfire vulnerability, mapsfuel levels, and classifies risk levels. at’s an awful lot of valuableinformation that could enhance people’s safety,” Sorrells said.
e challenge became communicating the contents of that30-page document to people who could use it via a number ofchannels that weren’t necessarily designed for this purpose. esystem needed to be readily available and easily understood.
e data was first harnessed in 2012 for online delivery byTexas A&M Forest Service through a US Forest Service grant.e Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (TxWRAP) waslaunched to help users understand the risk of wildfire throughoutthe Lone Star State.
“We have a large wildfire problem in Texas,” said TomSpencer, Predictive Services Department Chief for Texas A&MForest Service, “but local governments weren't included in thefire mitigation plans because they couldn't measure the problem.TxWRAP provided ways to quantify the wildfire situation andgot officials working with our folks to identify mitigation ap-
it’s a (soUtH)Wrap! New online tool Helps reduce Wildfire risk
15Georgia Forestry Today
On average, Georgia loses 46,000 acres annually to wildfire.
By stasia Kelly
proaches and move forward.” Spencer worked with Web designers,
project leader Curt Stripling, and others todesign a user-friendly site that delivers grassroots fire mitigation tools, and he’s proudof the results TxWRAP is delivering.
“is represents a business modelchange toward providing information tocounty and local levels that hasn’t beenprovided in the past,” Spencer said. “Itgives them a new level of understandingand it opens up so many doors.”
Building on Texas’ success
Opening doors to new audiences inter-ested in wildfire prevention makes FrankSorrells happy.
“SouthWRAP is very user-friendly,”he said. “Our fire chiefs and GIS folksmade tweaks with the vendor to cus-tomize the program for Georgia, and thispast summer a series of training sessionswere held so that GFC could understandhow everything works. We wanted to beready to help our customers utilize the
Web site,” said Sorrells.With the launch of www.southern
wildfirerisk.com, visitors are able to pe-ruse an astonishing amount of informa-tion about their surroundings. e Website’s ‘Overview’ explains the product’s keypriorities:• Identify areas that are most prone to
wildfire.
• Identify areas that may require addi-tional tactical planning, specificallyrelated to mitigation projects andCommunity Wildfire ProtectionPlanning.
• Provide the information necessary tojustify resource, budget, and fundingrequests.
• Allow agencies to work together tobetter define priorities and improveemergency response, particularlyacross jurisdictional boundaries.
‘SouthWRAP’ users are generally classi-fied in one of three categories: ‘PublicViewer,’ ‘Professional Viewer’ or ‘Com-munities at Risk Editor.’
According to Sorrells, home andlandowners should visit ‘Public Viewer’ toquickly determine their risk of wildfire. Byclicking that button and then going to‘Getting Started,’ the user can take a help-ful tour of the site that explains its manyfeatures. (A detailed User’s Manual is alsoavailable.) SouthWRAP visitors are ableto search for their property by address orplace name, then zoom and pan to pin-point the area sought. e ‘Reference Lay-ers’ section includes rankings of thatlocation’s Wildland Urban Interface riskindex, burn probability, fire intensity scaleand community protection zones, amongothers. Next, a Base Map is chosen; amongthem—topographic, imagery, and streetviews. Map Tools further allow users toexplore layers in depth. Finally, the‘What’s Your Risk’ tool allows users to cal-culate the potential fire capacity for theirspecific location with a Draw Point tool.Another link supplies recommended ac-
16 September | October 2014
GFC's Alexandra McDavid provides prescribed burn services that help reduce
the risk of wildfire.
Explore your property orcommunity’s fire risk at
www.southernwildfirerisk.com.
For information about prepar-ing your home for the risk of
wildfire, visitwww.firewise.org.
17Georgia Forestry Today
tions for reducing one’s risk of wildfire.While registration is not required for
access to the ‘Public Viewer’ portal, it isnecessary to gain access to the ‘Profes-sional Viewer’ part of the Web site. Useraccounts are granted by GFC and SGSFmanagers. is area is designed for gov-ernment officials, fire managers, and haz-ard mitigation planners and providesadvanced capabilities and additional mapthemes. According to the Web site, keyfeatures of this application include the ca-pability to define a project area, generatea detailed risk summary report, generatequick maps, and export and downloadGIS data pertaining to wildfire risk.
“Bridging the gap between knowingwhat needs to be done and getting thework done is where SouthWRAP willprovide tremendous value,” said EricMosley, Georgia Forestry CommissionWildfire Mitigation Specialist. “e in-formation pinpoints where high risk situ-ations exist, so I can work with GFC chiefrangers to determine where mitigationwork needs to take place. I’ll also be ableto go meet with county planners andshow them where to mow, where to takepreemptive action,” Mosley said.
Professionals such as Mosley and oth-ers with responsibility for wildfire mitiga-tion and suppression have access to specialtools under the ‘Professional Viewers’ tab.
Among them is the capability to manageproject areas for which risk summary re-ports will be generated or data will be ex-ported. While only one project area canbe selected and ‘active’ at a time, multipleproject areas can be created and savedacross sessions. ese are stored on theSouthWRAP server and are accessiblefrom remote locations. Creating projectscan be done on a map or from Shapefile,which allows the user to upload existingShapefiles from their computer. Risk sum-mary reports generated may include sta-tistics, maps, and charts of all key riskassessment input and output datasets, pro-viding comprehensive details in a formatthat is easily integrated with other docu-ments and programs, including the Mi-croso Word™.docx format and the ESRIArcGIS 9.3 file geodatabase.
Only a few professional fire managershave access to the ‘Communities at RiskEditor’ portal, where SouthWRAP’s pop-ulated data is actually manipulated. A se-lect group of personnel within theGeorgia Forestry Commission, US ForestService, and GIS function have authorityto go into the system and update areaswhere mitigation work such as prescribedburning, pruning, and other forest man-agement practices have been completed.By regularly inputting these types of activ-ities, the site will stay current and its cal-culations accurate.
“Within half an hour, everything wasburned.”
Lynn Dugger has become somewhat of apublic relations agent for fire preventionand the responsibility of individuals to dowhat's needed to guard against disaster.He knows the value, first hand, of clearingland and keeping flammable brush and de-bris away from his home. Dugger and hisfamily live on 15 wooded acres in JonesCounty, and a few years back, while theywere out to dinner, their house burned tothe ground.
“We don’t know what caused it;maybe a chimney fire or an electric fire,but it could just as easily have been a forestfire,” said Dugger. “We went out to dinnerand within half an hour, everything wasburned. We built back, and we did makesome changes.”
Some of those changes included ahome redesign to a single story structure,which could make evacuation with chil-dren easier in case of fire. Several treeswere removed and the yard space was ex-panded, leaving more distance betweenthe house and the woods.
Dugger also worked with GFC’s EricMosley to conduct some needed pre-scribed burning on the Duggers’ forestedland and Mosley provided fire preventioninformation that has been sharedthroughout the neighborhood.
“ese are mostly tracts of ten-plusacres,” said Dugger. “I’ve been talking tomy neighbors and explaining how easy itis to plan a prescribed burn and run themasticator out here. I'm thrilled at the re-sults I got by working with Eric on theseprojects,” Dugger said.
Dugger has also been venturing intothe virtual fire suppression resource ofSouthWRAP and said he likes what he sees.
“It’s pretty neat. I really want to findout more,” Dugger said. “Our experienceshowed us how quickly a fire can spread,so I want to learn the program and under-stand how I can benefit as a landowner -and keep my family safe.” e
SouthWRAP provides an easy, online mechanism for information exchange
that can lower Georgia’s risk of wildfire.
18 September | October 2014
19Georgia Forestry Today
TIFTON—No one has ever found amoney tree but there continues to be a lotof money in trees. And freshly mintedbachelor’s degree graduates in natural re-source management at Abraham BaldwinAgricultural College are out to make theirmark in the forest industry.
“Tens of thousands of timber prod-ucts come from Georgia,” Dr. WilliamMoore, Department Head of Forest Re-sources at ABAC, said. “Since timber is arenewable resource, it gives sustainabilityto both the product and the economywhich provides growth for the state.”
Since initiating the Natural Re-source degree with majors in forestry andwildlife in 2011, ABAC has turned outgraduates who find jobs in the largesttimber-producing state in the Southeast.A total of 212 students are now enrolledin the program.
Nearly 600 students are enrolled inagriculture related bachelor’s degrees,which is the biggest factor in the Schoolof Agriculture and Natural Resources set-ting an all-time enrollment record with al-most 1,100 students this fall.
A Georgia Forestry Commission re-port revealed that total economic activity
generated by Georgia’s forest industry asmeasured by output, employment andcompensation topped $28.9 billion in2012, according to an article in the“Coosa Valley News.”
The University of Georgia Coopera-tive Extension Service said Georgia forestsmake up some 24.8 million acres. Forestsnow cover 67 per cent of the land areastatewide, a good reason why there are1,400 forest products manufacturers inGeorgia.
The increasing number of studentsinterested in Natural Resource Manage-ment has helped to fuel an enrollment in-crease at ABAC, bucking a statewidetrend. During the 2014 fall term, ABAC
enrolled nearly 3,400 students from 151of Georgia’s 155 counties, 19 states, and24 countries. Almost 1,300 of those stu-dents lived on campus in apartment-stylehousing.
In addition to the degree in naturalresource management, ABAC offersbachelor’s degrees in diversified agricul-ture, turfgrass and golf course manage-ment, biology, business and economicdevelopment. Under the broad umbrellaof rural studies, ABAC students can alsoearn bachelor’s degrees in social and com-munity development, politics and mod-ern cultures, and writing andcommunication.
Speaking of money not growing ontrees, ABAC offers a quality education ata fraction of the cost. The College was re-cently recognized as Georgia’s only BestValue School. The Best Value School des-ignation is determined by a rigorous qual-ification process, which generally takesthree to four months.
Cost of attendance and hands-on ed-ucation are just two reasons ABAC isCollege Done Right. Visit us in Tifton,Georgia to learn the many other reasons.v
aBaC Natural resource Graduates Knocking on door
of opportunity
An international nonprofit organizationdedicated to the conservation of imper-iled reptiles and amphibians has partneredwith the University of Georgia to collab-orate on conservation efforts for thesespecies and their habitats.
e Orianne Society, a worldwideconservation organization, is now work-ing with researchers from UGA’s WarnellSchool of Forestry and Natural Resourceson several projects that focus on the con-servation of reptiles and amphibians andtheir habitats. Mike Clutter, dean of theWarnell School, said that by combiningresources, UGA and the Orianne Societyare able to collaborate more effectively ona global conservation initiative.
“We both have a serious and sincereinterest in the conservation of thesespecies,” he said.
e Orianne Society has a long his-tory of working with a diverse number ofinterdisciplinary partners to develop andimplement efforts to restore jeopardizedherpetological species. e new collabo-ration with the Warnell School will allowthe Orianne Society to build a stronger af-filiation with researchers across UGA,Clutter said.
Oen overlooked in conservationpolicies, reptiles and amphibians are vitalto biodiversity on Earth as they helpmaintain the sensitive ecological balancewithin their ecosystems. ey also play animportant role in pest control, and thevenom of some of these species may beused to treat diseases such as cancer anddiabetes. However, many reptile and am-phibian populations are declining due tohabitat loss and degradation, disease, anddeliberate persecution.
“Conservation of reptiles and am-phibians is important, just as important asthe conservation of other species, but rep-tiles and amphibians are the ones that fewpeople care about,” said Chris Jenkins,CEO of the Orianne Society. “Our part-
nership with UGA provides a strong forceto promote and implement science-basedconservation for these species.”
Researchers from Warnell and theOrianne Society have collaborated on sev-eral projects, and a UGA undergraduatestudent is currently conducting one of thefirst ecological studies of canebrake rat-tlesnakes in the Piedmont region, a speciesdeclining rapidly throughout its range.Members of the Orianne Society recentlytraveled to UGA’s Costa Rica campus todiscuss potential international programpartnerships, including the organization’swork with black-headed bushmasters.
In addition to the Warnell School,the Orianne Society is working withUGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine onprojects requiring surgeries, such as trans-mitter implants, and the organization alsosubmitted the first case of snake fungaldisease to UGA’s Southeastern Coopera-tive Wildlife Disease Study, or SCWDS,unit.
“Our partnership with UGA is animportant step in advancing the conserva-
tion of imperiled reptiles and amphib-ians,” Jenkins said. “UGA gives us theamazing opportunity to work with someof the strongest students in the world andthe opportunity to help develop some oftomorrow’s conservation leaders.”
e Orianne Society has establishedoffices at White Hall Mansion, located inthe 840-acre Whitehall Forest managedby the Warnell School for research pur-poses.
The Orianne Society
e Orianne Society is an internationalnonprofit organization dedicated to theconservation of imperiled reptiles and am-phibians around the world. e organiza-tion’s efforts began with the restorationand conservation of the eastern indigosnake, the longest native snake species inthe U.S. e Orianne Society has ex-panded its focus to work with a diversegroup of partners to help guide conserva-tion efforts for reptiles and amphibiansand their habitats. For more information,see www.oriannesociety.org. v
Georgia Forestry Today 21
Warnell forms Partnership with orianne society forresearch, Conservation
Dean Mike Clutter holds a gopher tortoise, one of the animals the Orianne Society
and Warnell will be studying. Photo by Sandi Martin
22 September | October 2014
Be a bettershotgunshooter
Guide Curt Wiggins says that if his dog Bogart ever learns to drive,they wont need him anymore.
By John Trussell
The OUTDOORSMAN
23Georgia Forestry Today
ou think you're ready for a covey bust, but
you’re really never fully ready, and the quail
always seem to surprise you!
The Boykin spaniel, named Bogart, was on
solid, lock-down point. The guide, Curt Wig-
gins, silently motioned for me to ease on in
closer to the covey that was hidden in the
thick brush. My shotgun was in the ready position, and I
was tense, full of anticipation as Curt instructed the dog to
“Get them up!”
The dog eased into the high grass, and the air exploded
with the rapid beating of wings and brown blurs. My body
told me to hurry, hurry, they’re getting away! But my mind
said, “Ok stay calm, you can do this!” There were about
eight quail in the covey, and they split up rapidly, headed
in all four directions of the compass. One quail batted his
wings quickly as he sped away, but as he settled into a glide
at 30 yards, I managed to get a good bead on him and
dropped him into the grass. The next quail to catch my eye
was moving to my right and gaining altitude through the
pine branches. I fired and only made the pine needles sway,
a clean miss! Bogart continued to harass the grasses, nosing
for more quail, and soon one more tardy quail shot straight
up. By now, all the other quail were out of range, and this
bird had my full attention. It flew between two large pine
trees, and since I was guilty of injecting lead pellets into
pine timber in the past, I just kept the barrel steady on the
quail and waited until it cleared the trees. Now, almost out
of range, I threw a load of number eights after it, and the
quail took a hard dive into the grass.
Bogart, eager to please, ran over to the spot and soon had
the quail gently wedged in its mouth. Curt called to the dog,
and it slowly, shyly came back to him and dropped the dead
quail in his outreached hand. “Good boy” exclaimed Curt.
His owner’s admiration confirmed, Borgart was recharged
and headed to find more quail. That was the start of an-
other great quail hunting outing at Quailridge Plantation,
near Norman Park, Georgia.
Quailridge Plantation offers classical bobwhite hunting
in open longleaf pine woods in the heart of Georgia’s best
quail country. It’s located in the famed quail plantation belt
between Thomasville and Albany, Georgia, which encom-
passes more than 300,000 acres of prime pine forest. On
more than 4,500 acres of gently rolling terrain at Quailridge,
the open forest floor is covered with mature pine trees, cov-
ered under by wire grass and dotted with food strips.
Quailridge Plantation has always had a special place in
this hunter’s heart since I hunted there about 15 years ago
with Charlie Dickey, that great outdoor writer from Talla-
hassee, Florida, who is now chasing quail in heaven. Dickey
wrote many various stories on quail, dove, and other hunt-
ing adventures, along with humor articles for many years.
He was a gentle soul and a hero of World War II, although I
never heard him speak of it. He is very fondly remembered
by many outdoorsmen, including this writer. He loved to
hunt at Quailridge and visit his great friend, Edwin Norman
and his son, John Norman.
Since 1969, Quailridge has been entertaining guests
from all areas of the nation with the finest plantation quail
hunting, best trained dogs, experienced guides, and com-
fortable lodging with delicious southern home cooked
meals. Over ninety percent of the guests are either repeat
or referrals, says Quailridge Plantation founder Edwin Nor-
man. His goal is to keep hunters coming back each year to
enjoy the superb quail hunting in beautiful native quail
cover in a friendly atmosphere, steeped in traditional south-
ern hospitality.
Today, Quailridge Plantation continues the fine south-
ern quail hunting tradition and many members of the Nor-
man family help with its operation. John Norman is the CQO
(Chief Quail Officer) and he is assisted by his sister, Ellen
Norman Adams, along with family members Scott, David,
Randy, Henry, and many dedicated quail guides. John
earned his B.S. degree, (he calls it a negotiated settlement)
from the University of Georgia in zoology and still closely
follows UGA football, through thick and thin. He says his
dad, Edwin, started in the quail preserve business many
years ago when a friend, Victor Beadles, owner of Beadles
Timber Company, asked him to take some family members
quail hunting. That was the beginning of a great friendship
and business relationship, as the Normans still lease some
John Norman, of Quail Ridge Plantation, heads thefamily operation.
Y
quail hunting lands from Beadles Tim-
ber Company.
Victor Beadles says that quail
hunting and mature timber manage-
ment is a good marriage of mutual
needs because both the quail and tim-
ber benefit from intensive manage-
ment practices. He and John Norman
both believe in appropriate forest
management, like prescribed burning
and forest thinning, to keep the forest
healthy and provide the right balance
of food, cover, and general habitat for
quail. Victor Beadles also has his own
quail plantation, called Samara Planta-
tion. He says naturally regenerated
long leave pines, when grown to ma-
ture sizes and thinned, make great
quail habitat.
Reggie Thaxton, Georgia DNR’s
Chief Quail Biologist, says that over its
Georgia range, quail have declined 90
percent since the 1960s, due to large-
scale farming and timber management
practices. This drastic decline is due
primarily to the loss of quality early
successional habitat (i.e. native
grasses, legumes, weeds, briars, bugs,
and shrubs). Restoring this habitat
type across Georgia’s landscape bene-
fits quail, numerous songbirds, rabbits,
wild turkey, deer, and many other
wildlife species, improves water qual-
ity, reduces soil erosion, and can en-
hance local economies by stimulating
quail hunting and wildlife viewing, says
Thaxton.
But positive changes are taking
place now. In recent years, the Georgia
DNR and many private land owners
have taken many beneficial steps that
have seen quail populations rebound
across the state. Thaxton says that
Bobwhite quail are an open prairie
with grass-forb-shrub species. Gener-
ally, they need clumped native grasses,
mixed with canopied (24"-60" high)
weeds and legumes, interspersed with
shrub, briar, and other woody thickets.
Together, these habitat components
provide nesting cover, brood range, es-
cape cover, loafing sites and food at all
seasons. Quail populations are maxi-
mized where this grass-forb-shrub
habitat is contiguous across thousands
of acres. Shaded woodlands, creek
drains, wetlands, river bottoms, and
fescue, bahia, or Bermuda grass pas-
tures/hay fields do not provide suit-
able habitat for bobwhites.
Additionally, says Thaxton, these
woodland and wetland cover types
serve as source habitats for predators,
which may negatively impact quail
populations on surrounding lands. Pri-
September | October 201424
Georgia Forestry Today 25
mary predators of quail are raccoons,
possums, armadillos, snakes, and bob-
cats. Coyotes are not thought to be a
major threat to quail, but fire ants can
destroy six to ten percent of quail
nests, says Thaxton. Land owners who
have lots of problems with predators
can apply for a special Georgia DNR
predator permit. However, he says the
best option is to provide widespread
distribution of food and cover to
spread out and reduce predator op-
portunity.
There are several methods to in-
crease quail populations on your
land, and if landowners provide suit-
able habitat, quail numbers will come
back over time. Although restocking
wild quail is an option, Thaxton says
it can only be used on properties
over 1,500 acres where the land-
owner has taken intensive manage-
ment changes in the land before the
stocking can take place. Thus for the
average land owner, making specific
land changes and working to get the
native quail population to rebound is
the best option.
Thaxton says that prescribed burn-
ing is one of the most cost-effective
and efficient tools available for manag-
ing quail habitat. Prescribed fire: 1) in-
creases insect, legume, and soft mast
food abundance; 2) improves ground
layer vegetation structure to enhance
nesting cover, brood range, and insect
and seed foraging conditions; 3) helps
control hardwood invasion into the
forest midstory; 4) decreases the
abundance of invertebrates that para-
sitize quail; and 5) decreases the
chances of wildfire.
Prescribed burns should be ap-
plied to forest stands that have at least
40 percent of the ground in direct sun-
light. Burning is of little wildlife value
in shaded woodlands where sunlight
cannot reach the forest floor. Pre-
scribed burns should be conducted so
that approximately 30 to 50 percent of
the land is left unburned to provide
food, nesting, and escape cover.
Thaxton recommends that land
owners place at least 15 percent of for-
est stands into two to five acre open-
ings. Manage these openings by strip
disking during late October through
February where one-third is disked
each year. Within this range of disking
dates, adjust timing of disking based
on results. Ideally, disking should pro-
duce stands of ragweed, beggarweed,
partridge pea, and other ‘quail
friendly’ plants. Rotate disking across
fields so there is always a succession
of growth from bare ground up to
three years of vegetative growth.
Strip plantings of grain sorghum or
Egyptian wheat within fields can pro-
vide supplemental winter foods and
may be especially important on sites
with poor native food production. Ro-
tate strip plantings along with the
fall/winter disking so that one-third to
two-thirds is fallowed each year. Fields
also can be planted to partridge pea;
fall/winter disking will encourage it to
volunteer back in future years. Man-
agers should observe the results of
one year of disking before planting, as
an abundance of native seed may be
present.
Here, guide Curt Wiggins takes a short break to gather birds and waterdown the dogs.
This beautiful male Bobwhitethought there was too much actionon the ground and took refuge ona tree limb.
26 September | October 2014
There are many great resources
for improving the quail management
of your land, and the most important,
and the first thing to do, says Thaxton,
is to confer with a state wildlife biolo-
gist to properly assess the needs of
your land. Call a professional wildlife
biologist within Bobwhite Quail Initia-
tive’s East office at (706-554-3745),
Central (478-296-6176), or Southwest
(229-420-1212) for more information.
The Bobwhite Quail Initiative (BQI)
provides technical assistance to private
landowners, on a voluntary basis, to
increase quail populations through
habitat restoration. The ‘Support
Wildlife’ vehicle tag and matching
grants finance the BQI program. Habi-
tat management plans are available to
anyone regardless of property type or
size. There is a wealth of great quail
management info at the Georgia DNR
website—georgiawildlife.com—type
‘quail’ into the search block. The Tall
Timbers Research Center, headed by
Dr. William Palmer, is a highly regarded
information resource for the areas of
fire ecology, game bird management,
vertebrate ecology, and forestry. See
their Web site talltimbers.org. Other
great resources are the Joseph W
Jones Ecological Research Center, near
Newton, Georgia—go to
jonescenter.org.
For a listing of all of Georgia’s out-
standing quail plantations, go to ulti-
matequailhunting.com e
Back in the early 1970s, Edwin Norman(right) hosted a writerfrom Field and Stream magazine, and writer Charlie Dickey
(kneeling).
In late spring, the Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) and the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers (Corps) released aproposed rule that identifies the watersthat are jurisdictional under the federalClean Water Act (CWA).
e proposed rule would redefine thescope of federal power, expanding the listof water features subject to regulationunder the CWA.
is proposed expansion of Waters of
the United States (WOTUS) introducescostly new administrative burdens forstates and forest landowners.
e proposed expansion also createsconsiderable legal uncertainty over wherewater quality stands and total daily maxi-mum loads apply. e expanded defini-tion will create considerable uncertaintyover where mandatory Best ManagementPractices (BMPs) for certain forestry ac-tivities will apply.
e expansion of WOTUS invitescitizen lawsuits which can be costly anddisruptive to forestry operations, and cancreate significant and prolonged eco-nomic uncertainty.
To learn how we can preserve existingEPA and Corps regulation of WOTUSunder the Clean Water Act, attend the2014 Forest Landowner Policy Summit inAtlanta, Georgia on August 14th. e
27Georgia Forestry Today
Dr. Dale Greene has been named the War-nell School’s interim associate dean for ac-ademic affairs. Greene has been teachingat Warnell since 1986, and choosing himas interim associate dean was a logicalchoice for Dean Mike Clutter. Greene hasdistinguished himself among Warnell’sfaculty over the past 28 years for his sup-port of, and research focusing on, theforestry industry. He has been recognizednumerous times over the past threedecades for his work, including interna-tional service awards, three national writ-ing awards, from the Forest ResourcesAssociation, several UGA teachingawards and honors by the GeorgiaForestry Association for his support of
forestry in the state.“Dr. Greene brings a wealth of expe-
rience in natural resources managementand teaching in this new role,” Cluttersaid. “He has been recognized on numer-ous occasions as an outstanding teacherboth within Warnell and by the Univer-sity of Georgia. His long-standing role aschair of our curriculum committee addsto his familiarity with our programs andtheir academic missions. I know he is ex-cited about the possibilities that this newrole brings.”
Greene said he is humbled to beasked to serve in this leadership capacity.“I look forward to working with our stu-dents and faculty in keeping our academic
programs successful,” Greene said.As interim associate dean of academic
affairs, Greene will oversee promotionand tenure of faculty, Warnell’s under-graduate programs, graduate programs, re-cruitment and placement efforts, andinstructional technology.
Greene joins other distinguished col-leagues in leading efforts to improve War-nell’s programs. In addition to DeanClutter, Warnell’s leadership includes As-sociate Dean of Research Scott Merkle,Associate Dean of Outreach Mike Men-gak and Assistant Dean Steven Castle-berry. e
NEWSDr. Dale Greene named interim associate dean of academic affairs
EPA’s Waters of the US proposal introduces costly burdens for forest landowners | From Forest Landowners Association
The Fish and Wildlife Service has pro-posed to list the Northern Long-Eared bat(NLEB) as an endangered species pro-tected under the Endangered Species Act.
The key restriction proposed by theFish and Wildlife Service is to avoid cut-ting timber from April 1st to September30th where there is bat habitat. This willhave a tremendous impact on private for-est landowners across 39 states.
The NLEB’s range is enormous and
encompasses much of northwest
Georgia.
The current proposed restrictions wouldput a halt to summer logging across thecountry and have little impact on helpingthe species to recover as the sole threat tothese bats’ populations is a non-nativefungal disease discovered in 2006 calledWhite Nose Syndrome (WNS) which hasa near 100 percent mortality rate and forwhich there is no known cure.
As currently drafted, there could be anumber of negative outcomes specific tothe forest industry, including:• Restrictions on warm season timber
harvesting from April to October
• Limiting activities within five-mileradius of bat hibernacula
• In known or potential summer habi-tat, restrictions will be in force within1.5 mile radius of any known roosttree or three miles from any locationwhere NLEB has been captured oracoustically detected.
• Example from interim guidance as aconservation measure for protectingthe bat - “retain and avoid impactingpotential roost trees, which includeslive or dead trees and snags equal to orgreater than three-inches diameter atbreast height (dbh) that have exfoliat-ing bark, cracks, crevices or cavities.”
Any activity that involves removing sum-mer roosting trees could impact thespecies and result in an unlawful take.However, tree clearing restrictions thatmay be imposed would likely have a min-imal impact on preserving the species orpreventing the spread of WNS. USFWSacknowledges, “[e]ven if all habitat-re-lated stressors were eliminated or mini-mized, the significant effects of WNS onthe northern long-eared bat would still bepresent.”
Unfortunately, the ESA is not wellstructured to address non-human threatssuch as WNS, so USFWS will likely focusfinal guidance to preserve the bat on allconceivable human-induced impacts totry to slow bat population decline—eventhough USFWS recognizes that humanactivities, including timber harvests, havenever had an appreciable negative effecton the species to date. e
Map source: US Fish & Wildlife Service
28 September | October 2014
Proposed listing of the Northern Long-Eared bat could affect 39 states, including Georgia | From Forest Resources Association
29Georgia Forestry Today
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY DIRECTORY OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY DIRECTORY OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES
BOBBY D. BROWNRegistered Forester GA Number: 2164Licensed Realtor GA Number: 165520
20364 GA Hwy #3 Thomasville, GA 31792(229) 221-3016 [email protected]
FOREST RESOURCE SERVICES INC.Specializing in Land and Timber Management & SalesBuyers of Land and Timber
in Georgia and the South
Canal Wood LLC
601 North Belair Square, Suite 21
Evans, Georgia 30809
Phone: (800) 833-8178
E-mail: [email protected]
BEACH TIMBER COMPANY INC.128 Beach Timber Road
Alma, Ga 31510Office: (912) 632-2800
Gary Strickland OwnerForesters Available
We Buy [email protected]
Todd Hipp (803) 924-0978 [email protected] Hipp (803) 924-4131 [email protected] Hipp (803) 924-5940 [email protected]
Helping Grow Your Future
www.hippenterprises.com
C A N T R E L L F O R E S T
P R O D U C T S I N C .We buy all types of timber.
In Woods Chipping
1433 Galilee Church RoadJefferson, GA 30549
Office: (706) 367-4813 Mobile: (706) 498-6243Home: (706) 367-1521
LAMARCANTRELL
September | October 201430
GEORGIA FORESTRY TODAY DIRECTORY OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES
31Georgia Forestry Today