Board of Forestry
Minutes
June 3, 2003

The Board of Forestry met on June 3, 2003, at Airfield 4-H Conference Center in Wakefield, Virginia.

Convene Meeting

The formal Board meeting began at 8:30 a.m. on June 3, 2003. Those present were: Mary T. Bates, McChesney Goodall, III, Melvin L. Harrell, R. Easton Loving, Michael Gordon McGlothlin, E. Lee Showalter, C. Harrell Turner, Anitra B. Webster, Alpheus L. White, Sandra Whitmore, and James W. Garner, James E. Bowen, John M. Carroll and Donna Hoy with the Department of Forestry.

Call to Order

Mr. Turner called the meeting to order.

Ms. Hoy called roll.

Mr. Turner made a motion that additional items be added under Other Business on the agenda: Consolidation of Reforestation of Timberlands Board and the Board of Forestry and a discussion on water quality. Mr. McGlothlin moved that the agenda be accepted with the additions listed above. Ms. Whitmore seconded the motion. All members were in favor of accepting the agenda.

Recognition of Guests and Visitors

Mr. Turner welcomed Dave Froggatt, Chairman, Virginia Chapter of Society of American Foresters; Randy Bush, Virginia Forest Products Association; Bill Bates, Tree Farmer; Wilmur Stoneman, Virginia Farm Bureau; Dan Hammond, H & H Forest Management; Gary Long, President, Ridgerunner Forestry; Jim Wagner, Regional Forester Waverly, John M. Carroll, Deputy State Forester and James E. Bowen, Assistant State Forester with the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Approval of Minutes

Mr. Turner asked if there were any corrections/deletions to the April 29, 2003 minutes distributed earlier. Hearing none, he stated the minutes would stand approved as recorded.

Hearing of Citizens and Delegations

Mr. Hammond, H & H Forest Management and Mr. Gary Long, President, Ridgerunner Forestry, had e-mailed a letter to all Board members on Friday, May 30, addressing several concerns. Mr. Hammond restated the two concerns as the Department of Forestry's administration of the Forest Stewardship Program and the Department marking timber on private lands. He gave an overview of the letter and some additional supporting information for the concerns. Mr. Hammond stated the fee structure was not the issue, but wanted to bring the concern about a decrease in the Stewardship Program to the attention of the Board.

Mr. Gary Long stated that in his area it is hard to get typical landowners to spend money for stewardship plans. He stated the landowners would agree to a plan if they knew it would not cost them. Numbers show that when the Department of Forestry and consulting foresters were charging for this service, the landowners were not requesting this service.

Mr. Hammond stated a concern over the decrease in number of plans. He was informed that federal funding had increased and he feels an internal change within the Department of Forestry has caused the decrease in the number of plans.

Ms. Whitmore asked Mr. Hammond if the concerns had been discussed with Mr. Garner. Mr. Hammond responded that the concerns had been discussed with James Starr at an Association of Consulting Foresters meeting.

Ms. Bates asked Mr. Garner to give the Board some background on the Stewardship Program concern. Mr. Garner stated that decisions were made at the table with the consulting community. When the Department used the fee structure, it was because of concerns from consultants that the Department was unfairly competing with them. The fee was based on a consensus of what should be charged. Once the fee structure was implemented, the program slowed as it was difficult to find landowners that were willing to pay the fees established. The Department made the decision at that point to change to our current program: stewardship plans are free up to 200 acres, and 201+ charge $5.00/acre for total acreage. This change was made in consultation with the consultant forestry community.

Mr. Goodall commented that he has noticed a decline in stewardship plans since the fee structure was implemented. He also pointed out that the smaller tracts that the Department is doing for free would be ones that he, as a consultant, wouldn't do because it would not be profitable for him. Mr. Goodall stated that he feels that the Department is filling an important gap where consultants are not willing to do these smaller tracts. He also stated that he feels the $5.00 per acre is very competitive. In response to the concern about marking timber, he stated that he feels the same way when it comes to small tracts. Mr. Long restated that the landowners do not want to pay and it is important to get the program back on board. He mentioned the program worked a lot better prior to 2001 than the way it is now. He would promote to revisit what worked.

Mr. Hammond restated that he felt the question was why are the plans not getting done when the Federal funding level is coming at an increasing rate. Ms. Whitmore asked Mr. Hammond if the Federal money referred to is all earmarked for the stewardship program. Ms. Whitmore asked the State Forester to provide the Board with a report giving the breakdown of Federal money and number of plans over the last couple of years.

Mr. Turner questioned if the fall in stewardship plans is happening throughout the South. Mr. Garner stated that it varied from state to state. Some states are similar to Virginia, and others that are holding their own.

Ms. Bates questioned if the new FLEP cost-share program can be used for management plans. Mr. Garner stated that the Department has included the cost of stewardship plans in the plan for FLEP money. At this point we don't know the rules for granting cost-share funding and the total amount of funding for Virginia.

Mr. Hammond expressed his concern about the Department of Forestry's policy to allow service foresters to mark timber on private lands. He stated that this competes with private practice. Mr. Goodall stated that consultants are "marketers" and know the market condition and know what constitutes saleable marking jobs and he isn't sure Department of Forestry personnel are in a position to effectively do that.

Mr. Long stated that he thought consultants consider themselves hand-in-hand cooperators with the Department. However, he emphasized that as a consultant, he would like to be more hand-in-hand cooperators with the Department in order to accomplish mutual objectives. Mr. Turner questioned if Mr. Hammond and Mr. Long were representing the concerns of the Association of Consulting Foresters. Mr. Hammond stated that the concerns were not based on the full body of consultants due to time constraints. Mr. Long stated that the presentation today was not the consensus of the Association of Consulting Foresters, but hopes in the future that the Association would get consensus on issues and make this type of presentation in the future. Mr. Turner felt that concerns from the Association of Consulting Foresters should be made by an official representative of the group so that the Board will make sound decisions based on the consensus of the Association.

Mr. Loving asked that the State Forester prepare an information report for the Board prior to the next meeting. Mr. Turner stated that an official representation of the Association of Consulting Foresters is needed before this concern is addressed. Mr. Garner will provide a report to the Board. He would like to get input on specific information the Board would like to see included in the report. The specifics can be e-mailed to him by August 1 or sooner. Mr. Garner stated he would include the rules on FLEP and EQIP, budget information, information from other southern states on the stewardship program numbers, etc.

Mr. Harrell asked if the Federal funds had specific earmarks for the funding. Mr. Garner reported that part of the money is used to pay the salary of a Wildlife Biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, $30,000 is given to Virginia Tech for their landowner newsletter, and the Department's operational budget. Mr. Turner requested that a copy of the report be provided to the Association of Consulting Foresters.

Information Items

Dr. White had e-mailed a "talk sheet" to all Board members to use when visiting legislators. He met with three of legislators and reported they were very receptive to his visit and the information he shared with them. He provided this "talk sheet" as a tool for other Board members to use if they so desire. Mr. Showalter stated he felt the "talk sheet" was a good idea. He made some suggested additions/changes/questions to Dr. White's "talk sheet" and asked that Mr. Garner look at his comments and redistribute to all members once he has reviewed.

State Forester's Report

Mr. Garner asked Ms. Brown, GIS Manager with the Department, to give a follow-up demonstration on the Forest Resource Information Management Program presentation she made at the Board of Forestry orientation. Ms. Brown gave a detailed demonstration of the Forest Resource Information Management Program. She walked through all of the tool bars and drop down menus of options for adding data layers to produce needed information. Data layers include: number of fires, woodland homes, dry hydrants, census data, etc.

Mr. Garner announced that the Water Quality Task Force would meet in the Central Office Training Room on July 8, at 10:00 a.m.

He reported that the Department's Budget Reduction Plan is in place. The Department is moving ahead with the biennium budget process.

The process of hiring a Training Director and 11 field positions (foresters and technicians) has been started. These positions are identified as critical vacancies.

Looking at including the Reforestation Tax Credit in with the Department of Agriculture's BMP Tax Credit. Mr. Garner has visited with the Farm Bureau Forestry Committee and Mr. Stoneman made the recommendation to include the Reforestation Tax Credit in with their tax credit.

A copy of House Resolution 1904 was included in the Board's packet. This Resolution is on the President's Forest Health Initiative. Mr. Garner asked that members review Title 3, 4, and 5, especially Title 3, Watershed Forestry Assistance Program. Title 3 passed the House and hopes it will pass the Senate.

The Sandy Point deed has been accepted. A dedication and signing of the deed will be held later this summer in King William County. This tract has a total of 1200 acres on the Mattaponi River.

Mr. Garner reported that he has not received the IRS ruling from Dr. Haney. Dr. Haney will prepare a background paper for the Board. Mr. Garner will send to all members when it is received.

The Department has received three consecutive exceptional audits. Mr. Garner stated that three consecutive exceptional ratings is something to be very proud of and he complimented his staff for doing an outstanding job of managing the money.

Mr. Garner shared a Report of Revenue - Comparison by Program spreadsheet prepared by our Fiscal Office. He asked the members to let him know of any questions once they had a chance to review the information.

Mr. Garner sent the Board a copy of the Department of Forestry's Vision and Preferred Future by 2014 that was developed by the Strategic Management Team. He asked for comments/reactions from the Board on this document. The preferred future is the Department's vision of what the forest resource should look like in 2014, not that the Department will be the one that gets it done, but will be a partnership among various entities. The bottom portion is what the Department of Forestry will accomplish by 2014. Mr. Garner stated the goals, objectives and strategies have not been developed. Mr. Carroll and Mr. Foreman are currently working on the goals.

Mr. Turner questioned if other agencies would work together on these issues. Mr. Showalter had the same question and felt we should address in the plan to work on cooperative efforts with Federal agencies because of the quantity of Federal land in Virginia. He felt it was worth mentioning in the bottom section -- by 2014 the Department of Forestry will. He gave a copy of his comments/changes/questions to Mr. Garner for incorporation into the document. Mr. Goodall, Mr. McGlothlin, Mr. Loving, and Ms. Whitmore also stated they had some suggested changes. Mr. Garner asked that comments/changes be sent to him via e-mail and he would incorporate into the document. He will send the revised document to the Board for review.

Action Items

None

Committee Liaison Reports

Mr. Loving reported that he had attended the Loggers Association meeting. The Loggers Association would welcome the opportunity to host the Board at some point.

Mr. Turner reported that Mr. John Burke would extend an invitation to Secretary Schewel to visit his tree farm. He will recommend that Mr. Garner and a field forester accompany Secretary Schewel on this visit. Mr. Turner and Ms. Whitmore plan to set up a meeting later this summer with the Secretary to discuss facts as included in Dr. White's "talk sheet".

Ms. Webster attended the Forest Family Meeting (formally called the Forest Council of Virginia). Most attendees had been associated with the Forest Council of Virginia. Members included Delegate Albo, Delegate Abbitt, Delegate Hogan, Virginia Forestry Association, Virginia Forest Products Association, International Paper, Georgia-Pacific, Smurfit-Stone Corporation, consulting foresters, etc. Ms. Webster reported that the need for a forest interest group is becoming more apparent within the legislative community. This group is interested in seeing that there is a networking of some type that can be a positive force in the educational process of Virginia's legislators, especially those individuals not familiar with the total ramifications of forestry. The group also recognizes the need to represent all forestry concerns. The next meeting is scheduled for June 24. Mr. Turner stated that the forestry community needs to get the message out on how important forestry is to the state.

The goals of the Forest Family Group are:

• Have a strong relationship with the family and friends of forestry
• To build a more forceful lobbying reputation in the General Assembly
• Improve and preserve the interest of forestry

Mr. Turner stated that he and Ms. Webster would keep the Board informed of this group's progress. When Mr. Turner receives the minutes from this meeting, he will send a copy to all members.

Other Business

Consolidation of Reforestation of Timberlands Board and Board of Forestry

Mr. Turner stated that he had discussed this with Mr. Youngblood, Chairman, Reforestation of Timberlands Board. Mr. Youngblood is opposed to combining these two boards because the representation on the Reforestation of Timberlands Board covers forest industry and landowners that are concerned about where the severance tax money goes. The Board of Forestry is appointed by the Governor and covers each Congressional District and may not reflect the people who are paying the severance tax. The Board members agreed that industry representation may be lost by consolidating these two boards. It was also pointed out that no cost savings would result in consolidating these boards. Dr. White stated he felt the combining of the two boards would cost more since the Board of Forestry would need to convene for at least an additional day and that would result in additional costs. The Reforestation of Timberlands Board members do not get travel reimbursement. Mr. Turner asked Mr. Garner if anything had developed on consolidating these two boards. Mr. Garner stated that he would appear before the Sub-Committee on September 16 to answer questions about this issue. Mr. McGlothlin asked for Mr. Turner's opinion on this issue since he had previously served as Chair for the Reforestation of Timberlands Board. Mr. Turner felt like representation from industry would be lost depending on how the members are appointed. He also stated that there is a higher level of detail on the Reforestation of Timberlands Board and it may not get the full attention it needs on the Board of Forestry. He also felt that if the industry representation is taken away, industry could very well not support the severance tax. In his opinion, need to have two boards to cover their specific issues. Mr. McGlothlin made the motion that the Board of Forestry oppose the consolidation of the two boards. Ms. Bates seconded the motion. All members were in favor of the motion.

Water Quality

Mr. Turner stated that at a previous meeting the Board had decided that water quality would be a top priority of the Board. He opened the discussion on how the Board would
like to proceed to look at water quality. Since the next Board meeting will be in Southwest Virginia, Mr. Turner felt that would be a good time to have a field tour which included water quality issues. Mr. McGlothlin stated the terrain in his area is at least a 40-degree slope and when it rains, if the vegetation is not replaced, it causes flash flooding and severe erosion. Timber theft is another issue that he would like to get more information for the Board. He offered to have speakers at the next meeting to provide more information on water quality and timber theft.

Ms. Webster stated she would like to visit areas to see how water quality is handled. Ms. Bates felt it would be good for someone to walk the Board through the water quality process from beginning to end. Mr. McGlothlin offered a visit to a properly managed water quality site and a site that has problems so the Board can see the issues in his area.

Mr. Loving suggested that Dr. Mortimer, or one of his graduate students who recently wrote a thesis on timber theft, be invited to address the Board on timber theft.

Mr. Garner reported that a Sub-Committee of the Water Quality Task Force walked through the Department's water quality process to see if it could be streamlined. The Sub-Committee has finished their report and it will be distributed at the Water Quality Task Force meeting on July 8.

Mr. Turner will work with Mr. Garner's staff and Mr. McGlothlin to arrange the field tour and speakers to provide more information to the Board on water quality and timber theft issues.

Scheduling of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Board will be September 28-30 with the 28th being a travel day, a field trip/tour on the 29th, and the official Board meeting at 8:30 a.m. on September 30. Details will be forthcoming.

January 27 has been tentatively set for the meeting following the September 30 meeting at Breaks Interstate Park. This meeting will coincide with the 2004 General Assembly Session.

Dr. White extended an invitation for the Board to meet in the Shenandoah Valley for a future meeting.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Mr. Turner made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. The meeting was officially adjourned at 11:45 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Donna Hoy
Recording Secretary

c: Board Members
Dr. Gregory Brown, VPI
Mr. J. R. Bush, VFPA
Mr. Paul Howe, VFA
Mr. Cliff Rexrode, ACF
Ms. Maxine Kenny, WMMT News
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

NOTE: Tapes of Board meetings are on file in the Office of the State Forester.

Last modified: Friday, 07-Mar-2008 19:13:20 UTC