Board of Forestry
Minutes
January 10, 2008
The Board of Forestry met on Thursday, January 10, 2008, at the Virginia Forestry Association Office in Richmond.
Convene Meeting
The formal Board meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on January 10, 2008. Those present were: C. Harrell Turner, Anitra B. Webster, David Blount, Judy Guse-Noritake, R. Easton Loving, Marvin P. Wilson, III, E. Lee Showalter, David Wm. Smith, Hillary F. Little, Frank Brooks and Carl E. Garrison, III and Donna Hoy with the Department of Forestry.
Call to Order
Chairman Turner called the meeting to order.
Ms. Hoy called roll.
Changes and Adoption of Agenda
Chairman Turner asked if there were any changes that needed to be made to the agenda. Mr. Garrison requested to add FIA publication and Southern Forest Future Project to the State Forester’s Report. Mr. Blount also requested that Mr. Garrison cover the Department’s organization restructure in his report. The agenda was changed to reflect those additions.
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Turner asked if there were any corrections/deletions to the November 13, 2007 minutes. Ms. Webster stated a correction was needed under Committee Liaison Reports, last paragraph, should read “Ms. Webster attended the COVES Conference at VMI on bio-fuels”. Mr. Little made the motion for the minutes to be approved with the noted correction. Mr. Loving seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Recognition of Guests and Visitors
Chairman Turner welcomed Mr. Randy Bush, Virginia Forest Products Association; Mr. Steve Walz, Senior Advisor for Energy, Governor’s Office; Mr. Ron Jenkins, Mr. John Carroll and Mr. Brad Williams with the Department of Forestry.
Hearing of Citizens and Delegations
None.
Information Items
Mr. Steve Walz, Senior Advisor for Energy Policy, with the Governor’s Office gave an update on Virginia’s Energy Plan and Biofuels. The Plan was required by the 2006 General Assembly, and was prepared by a broad-based advisory group representing citizens, consumers, the environmental community, and Virginia energy producers. The Plan would reduce the rate of growth in energy use by 40 percent, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent, and seeks to increase in-state energy production by 20 percent.
The Plan establishes four broad goals for energy:
- Increased energy independence through expanded conservation and efficiency, and increased in-state energy production. The conservation and efficiency actions could reduce the growth rate of energy use by 40 percent, resulting in a leveling of per-capita energy use over time. The Plan calls for increasing in-state energy production by 20 percent through expanded production of traditional, renewable, and biofuel sources.
- Expanded consumer education on energy use. Increased educational efforts will arm citizens with the information they need to make smart decisions about how they use energy.
- Reduce 2025 baseline greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent. The Plan also recommends the creation of a Climate Change Commission, which would assess the level of Virginia’s carbon emissions, assess what the consequences might be for Virginia if climate change is not addressed, and address what other actions Virginia should take to meet this goal.
- Capitalize on economic development opportunities and increase research and development in four strategic areas – nuclear technologies, alternate transportation fuels, coastal energy production, and carbon capture and storage. The Energy Plan Report can be viewed online. (English; PDF format)
State Forester's Report
Mr. Garrison gave each member a copy of Virginia’s Forests, 2001 publication. He mentioned that the data in this publication is updated every five years and the 2001 data has been updated. An information sheet with updated data for 2006 was included in each Board members packet. Mr. Garrison stated this was excellent reference material on species in Virginia and quantity. The 2006 information should be available by the end of 2008 or 2009.
Mr. Garrison talked about the Southern Forest Futures Project Workshops. Mr. Garrison encouraged Board members to attend the February 26 session in Blacksburg. Two web cast meetings will also be offered. Additional details regarding the workshops can be found at the SFFP Web site: www.srs.fs.usda.gov/futures. At the time of the meeting, specific locations for the workshops had not been determined.
Mr. Garrison invited the Board to attend the Department of Forestry Personnel Camp on May 20-22 in Blacksburg, Virginia Tech Campus. It has been three years since the last Personnel Camp. The focus of this meeting is personal development, team building, education, future of agency/forestry, etc. Mr. Garrison reported this event will focus on the big picture. He asked Board members to notify Donna Hoy if they plan to attend this event. Mr. Showalter requested that attending Board members and/or Department staff give the Board a report on the outcome of camp, how it went, perspective of employees, feedback, etc. Mr. Smith plans to attend Personnel Camp.
The Fire Academy will be held June 3-8, 2008 at Longwood University. The Resource Management Academy will be held September 22-26 at Smith Mountain Lake. Mr. Garrison extended an invitation for Board members to attend these training sessions.
Mr. Garrison gave the Board an update on the Southern Forest Land Assessment. The Board requested that Mr. Scrivani be invited to the July meeting to talk about how the data will be used and update the Board on the plan.
Mr. Garrison discussed the proposed Senate Joint Resolution requesting the Board to continue its study of providing ecological services incentives to private landowners to help them hold and preserve their forestland and receive compensation for the ecosystem services they provide. Mr. Garrison stated he was not privy to discussions prior to the introduction of this bill and had not had the opportunity to discuss with Senator Ticer. He was not supportive of the bill, and felt the resolution was premature because of work that had not been completed at this time. The Board agreed with Mr. Garrison that the resolution was premature because of the lack of data/work completion by the Ecosystem Services Working Group. It was consensus of the Board that after the completion of the Ecosystem Services Working Group, the Board would be in a better position to move forward with recommendations/support of such a resolution. The Board requested Mr. Garrison relay the consensus of the Board to Senator Ticer and recommend that the resolution not be introduced in the 2008 legislative session.
The Board suggested that Mr. Garrison provide them with talking points for the two Department of Forestry bills. Mr. Garrison stated the talking points would be e-mailed to each member.
Mr. Jenkins provided each member with a copy of bills with a potential impact on the Department of Forestry. The Department has two bills in this session. One increases the minimum threshold at which public bidding is required for sales of trees taken from state forests to $50,000. Currently, the State Forester is required to solicit bids if the underlying value of the trees is greater than from $10,000. The other bill would clarify the right of the State Forester or his designees to enter and inspect any forest lands or logging operations to carry out the provisions of Virginia’s forestry laws. The law continues to provide that no action for trespass may lie against the State Forester or his designees for actions taken in the performance of their duties.
Ms. Noritake shared a draft bill relating to the conservation of trees during the land development process for air quality improvements in any other county, city, or town that is located, in whole or in part, within a non-attainment area for ozone. The Board discussed issues relating to this bill during last year’s General Assembly Session. Ms. Noritake stated the issues of concern had been addressed and the language in this draft was agreeable by all interested parties. The Board’s initial reaction was favorable for this draft; however, due to the fact that the members had no opportunity to review the bill prior to this meeting, they were not in a position to offer an official opinion/position at this time. Ms. Noritake was asked to relay the initial reaction of the Board as being favorable. Once Board members have time to review the draft in-depth, they were asked to give comments to Ms. Noritake.
Mr. Garrison discussed the Department’s trial organization restructure of combining Region 3 (Charlottesville) and Region 4 (Farmville) into one region. He reported the merge would help to create open positions for reassignment to other needed positions throughout the state and would help the Department adjust for lack of additional funding for positions. This restructure is set for a six month trial basis and will be evaluated after six months. This structure should produce long-term savings in some positions and facilities.
Action Items
Chairman Turner opened the floor for volunteers to serve on the Nominating Committee. Mr. Little and Mr. Brooks will serve on this committee. Nominations will be brought to the July meeting.
Committee Liaison Report
The Northern Virginia Urban Forest Round Table met in November to discuss issues of rapidly developing areas and other forestry issues.
The Virginia Forest Products Association will hold its 50th Year Celebration in Williamsburg on February 15-17.
The Virginia Forestry Association will hold its annual meeting on April 17-20
at the Hotel Roanoke. The topic of that meeting will be “Market Driven
Conservation”.
The Logging Expo will be held May 16-17 in Richmond.
Mr. Showalter requested the Department report to the Board on the outcome of the Environment Virginia Conference at the July Board meeting. The Board will not participate in the conference this year.
Other Business
Mr. Garrison recognized Mr. Little as a certified forest stewardship landowner for the work he has performed on his property and presented him with a forest stewardship sign.
Scheduling of Next Meetings
The next meeting of the Board will be April 27-29, Eastern Shore. Details are being worked on and the Board will be advised of final arrangements in the near future.
Adjournment
There being no further business, Chairman Turner accepted a motion that the meeting be adjourned. The meeting was officially adjourned at 4:26 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna Hoy
Recording Secretary
c: Board Members
Dr. J. Michael Kelly, Dean, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech
Mr. J. R. Bush, Virginia Forest Products Association
Mr. Paul Howe, Virginia Forestry Association
Mr. David E. Anderton, Jr., Association of Consulting Foresters
Ms. Tammi Belinsky, WildWood
Mr. Steve Brooks, Virginia Forest Watch
Ms. Ann Duff, Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
Mr. Jim Mooney, Virginia Loggers Association
Mr. Gerald Gray, Virginia Forest Watch
Ms. Donna Pugh-Johnson, Virginia Agribusiness Council
Ms. Martha Moore, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation
Mr. Roger Sherman, MeadWestvaco Corporation
Ms. Staci Henshaw, Auditor of Public Accounts
Mr. Charles F. Finley, Jr., Forest Landowners Association
Mr. Andrew Smith, Virginia Farm Bureau
NOTE: Tapes of Board meetings are on file in the Office of the State Forester.
Last modified: Monday, 19-Oct-2009 15:02:51 EDT
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