Board of Forestry
Minutes
December 10, 2004

The Board of Forestry met on December 10, 2004 at the Department of Forestry Central Office, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Convene Meeting

The formal Board meeting began at 11:00 a.m. on December 10, 2004. Those present were: Anitra Webster, Judy Guse-Noritake, Mary T. Bates, C. Harrell Turner, Melvin L. Harrell, McChesney Goodall, R. Easton Loving, Michael G. McGlothlin, E. Lee Showalter, Alpheus L. White, and Carl Garrison 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. He stated under Other Business he was adding volunteers to serve on the Nominating Committee.

Approval of Minutes

Chairman Turner asked if there were any corrections/deletions to the November 5, 2004 minutes distributed earlier. Mr. Showalter made a motion for the minutes to be approved as written. Mr. Loving second the motion.

Recognition of Guests and Visitors

Chairman Turner welcomed Mr. Randy Bush, Virginia Forest Products Association; Ms. Ann Duff, Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation; Mr. Jim Mooney, Virginia Loggers Association; Dr. Michael Kelly, Dean College of Forestry, Virginia Tech; Tammy Belinsky, Virginia Forest Watch; Mr. Ed Zimmer, Mr. James Bowen, Mr. John Carroll, and Mr. Mike Foreman with the Department of Forestry.

Hearing of Citizens and Delegations

Mr. Bush commented on the Senate Joint Resolution 75 Draft Report. On the cover page, he stated the study was of incentives to preserve “private”forest land. On recommendations, page IV, recommendation #2, he suggested the Board include some operating parameters for this recommendation. On page V, Mr. Bush suggested under #5 to change the word “restore”.

Mr. Bush stated a member of the Executive Committee Council who had attended the Focus Group meeting commented that on page 3, under Major Focus Group Findings, “There was general support for conservation easements but less support for time limits on those easements.”The member did not feel this was an accurate statement. On page 11, under bold faced text in the first section, Mr. Bush felt the Board should specify where the $50 million would be used.

Information Items

None

State Forester's Report

Mr. Garrison reported the Department is in the process of setting up a continuing education academy on forest management, forest health, etc. for field employees in late September.

The Department has reviewed all applications for forest legacy and has submitted their top three to the U. S. Forest Service for review/approval.

A Forest Spatial Analysis Division will be initiated after the first of the year. This division will include GIS, GPS, satellite imagery, etc. technology to conduct a more in-depth analysis of forestry data.

The Department’s ForestRim Program got national recognition. ESRI, one of the largest technology companies (puts out information on ArcGIS, ArcInfo, etc.), published a full page article on the Department of Forestry’s ForestRim Program in their newsletter, which is distributed nationally.

The Department’s budget will be announced December 17.

Mr. Garrison announced the Department of Forestry Smokey Bear calendar for 2005 is available. This calendar includes a story of Smokey the Bear and a write-up each month on various programs/services available through the Department. This calendar is dedicated to James W. Garner, State Forester, who retired in October.

Three interactive CD-ROM’s are now available (Virginia Wildfire Prevention, Living on the Edge in Virginia, How to Have a Firewise Home). The CD’s are geared toward landowners, children, and the general public. Funding for these CD’s was acquired through a National Fire Plan grant from the U. S. Forest Service.

The Department plans to participate in the statewide radio system (STARS) network due to major interference and concerns with the proposed radio system.

Recommended changes to the water quality procedures are being reviewed again. Mr. Garrison stated one of his priorities is to streamline the procedural operations for the water quality program. The Department is currently looking at procedural changes, changes to the law, and operational changes. These changes will be implemented in phases.

The Department has started a pilot program through the Attorney General’s office on the mediation program for water quality. This program will offer operators the opportunity to seek mediation to try to find solutions before going to a formal hearing. The pilot program will go until July 1, 2005.

Interviews will be conducted next week for a Regional Forester to replace Mr. Garrison and a Public Information Officer for the Central Office. Other positions will be advertised after the first of the year.

Action Items

Chairman Turner reiterated that the purpose of the meeting was for the Board to take a final look at the SJR 75 Study Report before its submission to Senator Ticer and Legislative Services. He asked if the Board had any questions or issues on any of the supporting statements or recommendations as written in the December 1, 2004 copy of the report.

Mr. Showalter recommended that supporting statements and recommendations start with a new page. On page 8, #5, he suggested that the number of acres impacted be included in the report.

Ms. Webster recommended that the format of the report be changed to list the recommendations first and the supporting statements second. There was some discussion about only including recommendations and not including supporting statements. Mr. Goodall thought a brief statement explaining the purpose for recommendations and supporting statements prior to listing each would be beneficial to the reader.

Mr. Loving felt the report needed to include a paragraph in the Preface and Executive Summary recognizing the efforts of the Board in gathering data for the appendix section. He also felt that it should be mentioned that Virginia is one of only two states in the country that has a Land Conservation Tax Credit Program. Mr. Showalter agreed that the efforts of Mr. Forehand should be recognized in the report.

Mr. McGlothlin stated he felt the Board had reached a point where it was just beginning to learn the issues and know what questions to ask. Ms. Webster agreed. She felt the Board had developed a good document, but that the Board was just starting to ask questions that needed to be answered for the document to be complete.

Mr. Loving stated he felt it was appropriate for the Board to recommend further study on issues and questions that had arisen from information gathered in the report. With limited resources of the Board and the Department of Forestry, Mr. Loving recommended that further study be deferred to institutions that have tools and resources to complete the study. The Board could serve as a facilitator, but Mr. Loving felt a lot of work was already being done by others.

Chairman Turner asked Board members if they wanted to go forward with the six recommendations, with the understanding there are a lot of issues that the Board still needs information on, but as a Board, are willing to facilitate and be involved in future studies to identify other impacts on private forestlands.

Chairman Turner questioned if there were any recommendations that the Board could not support or if there were any suggested changes to the language.

Mr. McGlothlin recommended a wording change in supporting statement #1. He did not agree with, “compensation for landowners if they are encumbered by local ordinances”. Chairman Turner recommended removing, “including compensation for landowners if they are encumbered by local ordinances”and to end the sentence after Right to Practice Forestry Law. He also recommended adding, “the Board of Forestry will cooperatively work with other state entities to identify ordinances that now have an impact on the practice of forestry”, after the first sentence. It was also recommended that “subsequent”be changed to “possible”strengthening...

The Board agreed with supporting statement #2 and #3 and had no recommended changes. The statements remained as written.

On supporting statement #4, Ms. Bates questioned “who”would send letters to Virginia’s Congressional delegation. Mr. Garrison recommended changing this statement to read, “The Board of Forestry supports the elimination of federal estate tax requirements…”Mr. Showalter recommended adding at the end of the supporting statement, “The Board of Forestry requests that state legislators work with federal representatives to get the federal estate tax repealed.”

The Board agreed with supporting statement #5 and had no recommended changes. The statement remained as written.

The Board moved to accept the following recommendations. On recommendation #1, Mr. McGlothlin requested a statement be included that states the locality has the right to set their own tax rate. Mr. Showalter recommended changing “through”2005 to “during”2005. The Board agreed to these changes.

Mr. Garrison suggested changing the wording on recommendation #2 to: Increase funding for the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation to “conserve forestland”and remove “acquire”and “conservation easements”. Mr. Loving recommended a bullet be included that states: the Board recommends, where possible, that funding be dedicated to easements associated with the preservation of private forestlands as opposed to fee simple acquisitions. Ms. Guse-Noritake recommended that the second bullet be changed to read: These are programs under which localities compensate property owners for restricting future “development”of their land. The Board agreed this was a good change.

The Board recommended that a statement be included linking a reference from incentives for the private forest landowner to preserve their forestland to the Study Resolution.

On recommendation #4 (originally #5) to create six forest conservationist positions within the Department of Forestry, Mr. Garrison recommended that the word “Restore”be changed to “Provide”. The Board agreed with this change.

The Board was supportive of recommendation #5 (originally #4) for the General Assembly to fully fund the Reforestation of Timberlands Program. No changes were made.

The Board felt a bullet should be added that included a statement on hardwood stand improvement. Mr. Garrison suggested including a statement on incentives that could be made available for improving the hardwood component to improve the resource. The Board agreed that a hardwood bullet needed to be included. Mr. Foreman stated that the following bullets will be included in the recommendation: term easement concept, The Right to Practice Forestry Law, hardwood research, and income sources to pay for incentives.

Chairman Turner requested rewording the recommendation to, The Board of Forestry “is willing to facilitate a continued”legislative study…instead of “requests a one year extension to this…”
Mr. Foreman recommended wording it where the request for further study was in the first sentence and then add a second sentence which includes facilitation of the study. Mr. McGlothlin recommended removing “and strengthen”and add ….The Right to Practice Forestry Law and also review local ordinances and “the affect of development on forestlands”and consider…

Mr. Garrison recommended that he and Chairman Turner get together as soon as possible to present the SJR75 final report to Senator Ticer.

Committee Liaison Report

Committee reports were tabled until the next meeting.

Chairman Turner asked for volunteers to serve on the Nominating Committee. Ms. Webster and Mr. Showalter volunteered to serve on this Committee and bring nominations for next year’s officers to the April meeting.

Other Business

None

Scheduling of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Board of Forestry will be April 11, 2005 at Virginia Military Institute in conjunction with the Environment Virginia Conference.

The tentative schedule of dates for future meetings was set for June 21, September 27, and December 7, 2005. These dates and locations will be confirmed at upcoming meetings.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Chairman Turner made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. The meeting was officially adjourned at 2:20 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. 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
Mr. Charles F. Finley, Jr., Forest Landowners Association
Mr. Andrew Smith, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation

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

Last modified: Friday, 07-Mar-2008 19:13:27 UTC