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Welcome to the Virginia Department Of Forestry

Board of Forestry
Minutes
November 13, 2006

The Board of Forestry met on November 13, 2006 at the Department of Forestry Central Office, in Charlottesville.

Convene Meeting

The formal Board meeting began at 10:03 a.m. on November 13, 2006. Those present were: David Blount, Judy Guse-Noritake, R. Easton Loving, Marvin P. Wilson, III, E. Lee Showalter, C. Harrell Turner, Frank O. Brooks, David Wm. Smith, Floyd H. Miles, Sr., Hillary F. Little, 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. Hearing none, the agenda remained as written.

Recognition of Guests and Visitors

Chairman Turner welcomed Mr. Jim Mooney, Virginia Loggers Association; Mr. Randy Bush, Virginia Forest Products Association; Mr. Gerald Gray, Virginia Forest Watch; Mr. Andrew Smith, Virginia Farm Bureau; Mr. Paul Howe, Virginia Forestry Association; John Carroll and Brad Williams with the Department of Forestry.

Approval of Minutes

Chairman Turner asked if there were any corrections/deletions to the September 11, 2006 minutes. Mr. Showalter made the motion for the minutes to be approved as written. Mr. Loving seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Hearing of Citizens and Delegations

Mr. Howe distributed a copy of Virginia Forestry Association’s magazine, Virginia’s Forests, which included an article on Board members. He invited the Board to join Virginia Forestry Association if they were not currently a member.

Mr. Gray gave the Board a brief overview and a pamphlet on Virginia Forest Watch. He also shared a white paper on VCN Forestry Certification that included a statement on the issue and some background information.

Mr. Bush invited Board members to attend the Legislative Breakfast on Friday, January 12, in Richmond. Information will be sent out shortly.

Information Items

None.

State Forester’s Report

Mr. Little brought a copy of his Stewardship Plan for all Board members to review and see the detail included. He felt this was a great report; very well written.

Mr. Garrison offered to give Board members a tour of the Central Office at the end of the meeting for those that were interested.

Mr. Blount set up a meeting with his local County Foresters and other Regional personnel within his Congressional District. Mr. Garrison offered the opportunity for other Board members to do the same in their area. He asked members to let him know if they had any interest in meeting with local Department staff to ask questions, talk about issues, etc. He also encouraged Board members to stop and visit at local offices as they travel throughout the state to introduce themselves and discuss any issues/concerns. Mr. Blount stated he intended to meet every six months with local Department employees to keep up with issues/concerns. He felt the meeting was educational for him and very beneficial. Other members expressed an interest in having meetings at least twice a year. Mr. Garrison will send an e-mail out to the Regional Forester’s letting them know that Board members would like to have these meetings to discuss issues/ concerns, etc. and ask Regional office staff to make contact with Board members in their Congressional Districts.

Mr. Garrison distributed The State of Chesapeake Forests book to all Board members. He is awaiting an Executive Summary of this book and will distribute to all members once it is received. He asked the Board to review the Goals and Strategies for Sustainable Chesapeake Forests on page 94 of the book. These goals and strategies were endorsed by the Governor’s of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania; the Mayor of Washington, DC; the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; and the U. S. Forest Service. Currently there is a total of 1,436 miles contributed to restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, which is behind the overall goal. New forest protection targets will be established by State Foresters and their Governor by April 2007. More emphasis will be placed on new forests and protecting existing forest buffers.

Interviews are complete for eight (8) Water Quality Specialists within the Department. With the addition of these eight (8) positions, the Department’s staff for water quality will double. These positions will focus on Virginia’s mandates for water quality. Mr. Garrison stated that this program needs to be stepped up in order to meet the Governor’s goals. He suggested the Board create a committee to provide guidance/direction to the Department for accomplishing this goal. Approximately 55 percent of Virginia’s land base drains into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Mr. Garrison restated the Governor’s goal to conserve/protect 400,000 acres of forestland during his term. So far this year, approximately 78,000 acres have been conserved, leaving 322,277 acres left to meet the goal. An additional 100,000 acres per year would need to be conserved to meet the Governor’s goal. Land donations, perpetual easements, tax credit programs, purchases, etc. count toward the goal for acres conserved. Coordination of this goal is assigned to the Secretary of Natural Resources.

The Department of Forestry will hire a person dedicated to forest land conservation efforts. The Department has guidelines established for determining acceptance of a conservation easement, as well as criteria for accepting land for additional State Forests. This individual will be tasked with developing a business plan that will include guidelines/procedures for the Department to hold land, possible partnerships, outreach program (internal/external), training within the agency, as well as external training for landowners to educate them on the benefits of conserving their forestlands. Mr. Garrison requested the Board to create a sub-committee to provide oversight/ guidance on the land conservation effort. The sub-committee would work closely with the State Forester and his staff.

The General Assembly dedicated $2.5 million to the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation for the purchase of easements and/or land acquisitions. There is a push to increase that dollar amount. 25 percent comes off the top for the Virginia Outdoor Foundation to use for administrative purposes. The remaining 75 percent is divided into the following categories: natural area protection, outdoor space and parks, farmland/forestland preservation, and historical area preservation.

The Virginia Land Conservation Foundation is currently reviewing the rules for the land preservation tax credit. They have already held four public hearings across the state to get public input on the review of the criteria for the proposed tax credits. Forestry is included. A tentative meeting date to discuss outcome of the hearings is scheduled for November 17. Mr. Garrison gave each member a copy of the draft Land Preservation Tax Credits Review Criteria for their review.

Mr. Garrison gave an update on the status of SB 238, which was introduced by Senator Ticer during the 2006 General Assembly Session. This proposed bill would separate farmland and forestland into separate categories, which would require a change in the funding formula. The current categories are: natural area protection, outdoor space and parks, farmland/forestland preservation, and historical area preservation. A meeting is scheduled for November 27 with concerned players to discuss this issue further.

The Virginia Forestry Association developed a Task Force of interested individuals to continue discussions on HB14 which was introduced and later withdrew by Delegate Cole during the 2006 General Assembly Session. The Task Force was charged with looking at the big picture and coming up with a solution in lieu of a bill introduction in the General Assembly. The Task Force has developed a training session agenda to help work with county planning staff. The first session will be at Germanna Community College on December 7 and Rappahannock Community College on December 8. Mr. Garrison requested that a member of the Board attend each of these training sessions. The sessions will start at 9:00 a.m. and run through lunch, which will be provided. Mr. Wilson will attend the December 7 session at Germanna Community College and Mr. Brooks will attend the December 8 session at Rappahannock Community College. These two sessions will be evaluated and revised/changed before presenting to all planning districts within the state. Presenters will include Department of Forestry Staff, Department of Conservation and Recreation and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services staff. The final version of the presentation will be forwarded to all Board members once it is finalized.

One of the main discussions at the recent National Association of State Foresters meeting was a change in the make-up of State and Private Forestry within the U. S. Forest Service. Mr. Garrison announced he was selected as one of the two representatives from the Southern Group of State Foresters to serve on a committee to look at the functions of State and Private Forestry. This committee will look at issues facing tighter budgets and future forest program needs. Congress is putting pressure on the U. S. Forest Service to show accomplishments over the years from funding allocations. This committee will develop initiatives to address these issues. This initiative could have effective outcomes for agencies as far as priorities, funding mechanisms, how much will go to specific programs, etc. Mr. Garrison will keep the Board apprised of these meetings and discussions as they move forward.

Mr. Showalter asked the State Forester about predictions for the upcoming fire season. Mr. Garrison reported wet conditions and did not feel the Department would have a major fire season this fall. A few folks are still going out West to assist with fire suppression efforts. This year a total of approximately 13,000 acres was burned for an estimated 1,200 fires.

Action Items

Mr. Turner will serve as Chair and Mr. Loving will serve as Vice-Chair on the Board of Forestry until the June 2007 election.

Committee Liaison Report:

Chairman Turner summarized issues/concerns of the Department of Forestry that the Board should establish as goals for 2007: water quality/riparian buffers, forestland conservation, legislative change in the money formula (separating farm land and forest land into its own category).

Each member was given a list of previous committees for the Board of Forestry and was asked to volunteer to serve as the Board representative on the following:

Committees

Liaisons

Mr. Blount requested an e-mail notification of when and where these meetings will be held. It was suggested that the Department provide the Board with a calendar of the various meetings. Mr. Garrison and Ms. Hoy will develop a calendar for Board members with meeting dates/times/ location.

Ms. Guse-Noritake requested that the State Forester send a copy of his report to all members in advance of the meeting. This would give the Board time to review and prepare for discussion. Mr. Garrison will prepare and send his report in advance of the meetings as requested.

Committee Liaison Report

Mr. Mooney gave a report on the recent Virginia Loggers Association meeting.

Other Business

None.

Scheduling of Next Meetings

The Board of Forestry scheduled meetings for the following dates in 2007:

January 12 -- this meeting will be held in conjunction with the Legislative Breakfast in Richmond. The specific location and time to be determined.

April 10 -- the Board will meet in conjunction with the 2007 Environment Virginia Conference at Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, on April 10-12. The official meeting will be held at 1:00 p.m. on April 10. The specific location to be determined.

August 20 -- the Board will meet in the Department of Forestry Central Office Board Room starting at 9:00 a.m.

November 12-13 -- the Board will tour the Garland Gray Forestry Center on the 12th, lodge at New Kent Conference Center and hold their official business meeting on November 13 at the Conference Center starting at 9:00 a.m.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Chairman Turner made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. The meeting was officially adjourned at 1:13 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 Belinski, 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: Friday, 07-Mar-2008 19:13:28 UTC