Board of Forestry
Minutes
April 10, 2007
The Board of Forestry met on April 10, 2007, at Neikirk Hall, Virginia Military Institute in Lexington.
Convene Meeting:
The formal Board meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on April 10, 2007. Those present were: 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:
Vice-Chair Loving called the meeting to order.
Ms. Hoy called roll.
Changes and Adoption of Agenda:
Vice-Chair Loving asked if there were any changes that needed to be made to the agenda. Mr. Garrison asked that Farm Bill be added under State Forester’s Report. The agenda was changed to reflect that addition.
Approval of Minutes:
Vice-Chair Loving asked if there were any corrections/deletions to the January 11, 2007 minutes. Mr. Blount made the motion for the minutes to be approved as written. Ms. Webster seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Recognition of Guests and Visitors:
Vice-Chair Loving welcomed Mr. Randy Bush, Virginia Forest Products Association; Ms. Tammi Belinsky, Virginia Forest Watch/WildLaw; Mr. Andrew Smith, Virginia Farm Bureau; Mr. Rob Farrell, Mr. Brad Williams, Mr. John Carroll, and Mr. Ron Jenkins with the Department of Forestry.
Hearing of Citizens and Delegations:
Ms. Belinsky distributed a copy of a letter referencing the Environmental Impact Statement for the I-73 location study and gave some brief comments to the Board.
Information Items:
None
State Forester's Report:
Mr. Jenkins gave an overview of the 2007 legislative session. There was one amendment in the Governor’s budget to include $245,000 for the Department’s Integrated Forest Resource Information System (IFRIS). Another amendment was for an additional $1.6 million to allow the Department to purchase additional interest in the Brumley Mountain State Forest in Washington County. The Department now has funding to purchase roughly two-thirds of the Brumley Mountain tract.
There were several pieces of legislation for the Department that passed. Mr. Jenkins gave an overview of each. The first was a bill introduced by Delegate Abbitt to allow the Department of Forestry to sell permits for hunting and trapping on state forests via the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries website.
Delegate Abbitt also introduced a bill which designated one-eighth of the proceeds generated by the State Forests to go to the Counties of Appomattox, Buckingham, and Cumberland and one-eighth to be expended by the Department. These funds will be used to enhance recreational opportunities in the State Forests located in these three counties.
Delegate Ware introduced a bill that addressed the disbursement of moneys from the Virginia Land Conservation Fund. The bill spells out the threshold for distribution of the funds, which are to be distributed by September 1 of each year. If the fund has less than $10 million, 25% will go to the Virginia Outdoor Foundation’s and 75% shall be divided equally among these four grant categories: natural area protection, open spaces and parks, farmlands and forest preservation, and historic area preservation. If the fund has more than $10 million, the distribution of funds changes for the grant uses. In this case, farmland preservation and forestland conservation are separated. The funding split is as follows: 25% would go to the Virginia Outdoor Foundation and the remaining funds would be divided equally among these grant uses - natural area protection, open spaces and parks, farmland preservation, forestland conservation, and historic area preservation. Mr. Jenkins reported typically this fund does not have more than $10 million.
He also reported that the 2008 budget as compared to 2007 has the same funding appropriation for salaries.
Mr. Garrison reported that the Department had hired Mr. Rob Farrell as the Assistant Director of Forestland Conservation at the Central Office. Mr. Farrell will focus primarily on forestland conservation efforts. His tasks will include setting strategic goals for the agency for land conservation, characterize property needs for DOF (easements, fee acquisitions, donations, etc.), and how DOF will enforce easements once acquired. Currently, the Department is working to close on seven tracts totaling 7,828 acres (Brumley Mountain, Dragon Run, Cove II, and 4 parcels in New River Valley). In addition, there are eleven different parcels totaling 4,953 acres where different landowners have approached the Department to hold easements.
The Department is still trying to locate funding for the Big Woods Tract, which was part of approximately 200,000 acres that International Paper and The Nature Conservancy were working together on. The Department wants to be in a better position to be the holder of easements and lands in the future as opportunities present themselves.
Mr. Garrison requested guidance/direction from the Board to review some of the policies/ procedures that Mr. Farrell is working on. He would also like feedback from the Board on ideas for funding sources so the Department can build a pot of funds to use for future land acquisitions.
Ms. Noritake suggested a briefing paper/pamphlet be developed that shows what the funding is needed for and why it’s important for the Department when meeting with legislators and other groups to seek support for funding. Board members also requested feedback on which Congressional District potential land is located in, so they can provide that information to their legislators. Mr. Garrison will provide this information to the Board.
Mr. Garrison shared copies of several graphs on the Federal budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2008, and some fact sheets prepared by the Southern Group of State Foresters. He mentioned five major line item proposed decreases in funding that would affect the Department’s budget. Those line items were Cooperative Lands, Forest Stewardship, Forest Legacy Program, Urban and Community Forestry, and the State Fire Assistance Program. All of these programs show proposed decreases in funding levels, which could impact the federal dollar allotment for the Department. If approved, these decreases will affect the following areas within the Department’s budget: land conservation, forest health, grants to localities, employee salaries, training for firefighters, fire programs, personal protection equipment, etc.
If the proposal passes as presented, there will be approximately $750,000 federal budget reduction for the Department. The proposed reductions are the result of the high cost of fire suppression activities out West.
Mr. Garrison encouraged Board members to contact their local representatives for funding support and use the fact sheets as talking points.
Board members were given an information sheet on Redesigning State and Private Forestry (S&PF). Mr. Garrison is a member of the S&PF Redesign Board to review current trends affecting trees and forests. This committee will focus on addressing issues of national importance and sustaining a diverse range of public benefits from forests and trees.
Every state will conduct a state assessment of critical forested areas and needs. Once assessments are complete, each state will be required to write an annual action plan to address where their needs are and what direction they are going. Currently, the Department does not have such a plan. Mr. Garrison stated he would be looking to the Board for help in reviewing
and providing comments on the plan before it is submitted. Resources will be awarded to states through a competitive process for projects that achieve measurable results towards the national goals and optimize the achievement of public benefits from forests.
Mr. Garrison reported there are a lot of forestry interest groups that are working very diligently on proposals for the Farm Bill. He shared a 2-page fact sheet entitled: Private Forests are at Risk: The Need for Action in the 2007 Farm Bill and a Summary of Recommendations put together by the National Association of State Foresters with Board members. The recommendations pertained to the Forestry Title, Conservation Title, and Energy Title in the Farm Bill.
Mr. Garrison will e-mail the Board a list of Virginia representative’s Congressional Committee assignments. He asked Board members to use these fact sheets as talking points and make contact with their local representatives and discuss the need for forestry to be included in the Farm Bill and encourage funding support for forestry.
Action Items:
Mr. Garrison reported that seven more land conversion meetings are being planned across the state. The Department will meet later in April with the other agencies involved to finalize meeting dates, locations, and changes to the presentation. It is anticipated the next round of meetings will be held the end of May/first of June. Once dates and locations are set, Board members will be notified. It was requested that at least one Board member attend each of the sessions. These meetings will be scheduled during the day and will take approximately three hours. County and local government representatives will be invited.
Committee Liaison Report:
The Forest Resource Committee (Lee Showalter, Judy Guse-Noritake, and Frank Brooks) will work with Mr. Farrell on land conservation efforts. Mr. Farrell will provide talking points on land conservation for Board members to use when visiting legislators. The Committee will ask Mr. Farrell to make a presentation to the full Board at the August meeting. Mr. Showalter recommended Mr. Farrell share draft copies of goals, guidelines, etc. with the Committee as they are developed for review/comment/input. A conference call will be scheduled for the Forest Resource Committee to discuss this issue once they have received and reviewed information from Mr. Farrell.
Mr. Wilson reported he attended the Urban Forestry Roundtable meeting in Woodbridge in February and a Virginia Forest Watch event in Floyd County on March 24.
Ms. Webster reported that the Virginia Forestry Association Annual Meeting is scheduled for April 20-21 in Williamsburg. The topic of bio-mass is on the agenda.
Other Business:
None
Scheduling of Next Meetings:
The Board of Forestry will meet on August 20, 2007 at the Department of Forestry Central Office, at 9:00 a.m.
Adjournment:
There being no further business, Vice-Chair Loving made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. The meeting was officially adjourned at 3:43 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: Friday, 07-Mar-2008 19:13:29 UTC