PFA May 2020 Newsletter

May 2020 | #ForestProud View as Webpage Pennsylvania Forestry Association News You Can Use A Message from PFA President Mark Ott As we continue to deal with COVID-19, I hope that all are doing OK. Personally, EMS calls remain lower than normal. In our zip code, we have had no confirmed cases as yet. We have been able to do much more work in our forest and we are pleased with what we are achieving. We have been attacking our invasive plants with renewed vigor. The result is that we have discovered that our oriental bittersweet problem is much worse than we thought. Bush Honeysuckle, Autumn Olive and Barberry are being chopped off. The strategy we are using is to cut the invasives back to the ground then go back and spray the sprouts. Much less spray is needed - it can be directed at a small sprout rather than a large bush or vine. This method worked great on Ailanthus years ago and we no longer have any of that on the property. I’m afraid this war with invasives will never end. It is encouraging to win a battle occasionally. We have opened roads and trails that time did not permit us to give attention to in the past. We continue that job and have much better access to some far reaches that have had less attention until now. We have established many brushpiles from this work which are already drawing birds and chipmunks. My tree seedling order was cancelled this year by the supplier. We have instead purchased 30 native trees and shrubs which have been planted. The best part of this outside work is watching spring unfold. Hearing and seeing the various woodland birds return. Harvesting fiddleheads for dinner. Looking for the so far elusive morels. Just being out and about is wonderful. Try it if you can. The PA Forestry Association has remained active. We partnered with several organizations to hold an Earth Day webinar which included a screening of a video on Environmental Rights Act of PA followed by a panel discussion. Thank you to all of those who zoomed in to the presentation and thanks to those who coordinated the show. The Executive Committee has continued to meet by phone and the team at Versant Strategies has been working from home so our phones are being answered, mail being dealt with and bills being paid. Congressman G.T. Thompson stated to me that he met with “your people” last fall. Versant, the organization who handles our administrative work are indeed our people. One disturbing incident has been an email scam that appears to have mined our website for a name to use. In this case it was Richard Lewis. It has been brought to our attention that members of the Board of Directors, and potentially other PFA members, have been receiving spam emails on behalf of the Association. These emails make a request for the purchase of gift cards. Please note that the Pennsylvania Forestry Association will not solicit donations in this manner. Additionally, the solicitation contains many errors and inaccuracies including listing the wrong individual as President. If you have any questions regarding any solicitations from the Pennsylvania Forestry Association, please contact the PFA office at 800-835-8065. Apparently scammer’s jobs have been deemed “essential” during the current crisis. What a shame. Our spring issue of PA Forests magazine centered on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day was published and mailed on April 3rd. They then spent a couple weeks in the mail system. My issue arrived on April 20th, just in time for Earth Day. The issue is also available digitally on the PFA website (www.paforestry.org). I hope you enjoy it. In the end we will get through this. I hope you and your families make it through unscathed. Our thoughts are with those who are affected either through their health, finances or life. Hang in there and get outside. Mark Ott President The Pennsylvania Forestry Association PA Tree Farm Update The PA Tree Farm Committee hopes this spring find you well while we hole up in our homes. My husband and I are lucky enough to be living on our tree farm and we have used this time to get lots of brush clearing done. It certainly has been wet enough in southwest PA to grub out invasive shrubs more easily. We even got some tree transplanting done and logs sawed and stickered. When this is all over the property will be ready for a tour! As an added bonus, the exercise and the outdoor air has been good for us. The PFA/PATF Deer Impact Committee has had some successes in their lobbying efforts to the PA Game Commission to control the overpopulation of deer in PA and its effects on forested lands. Some of the changes to deer hunting regulations that are advantageous to tree farmers include: • Two Sunday hunting days for deer- one archery and one after the opening day (which is a Saturday) • Instead of the buck/doe concurrent season for all wildlife management areas, concurrent seasons were granted for 10 areas, however the harvest allocation was reduced in these areas. • If your land is part of DMAP, one hunter can now get up to 4 tags. This allows for “alpha” hunters to harvest more deer. The Game Commission is still discussing some of the issues, especially for the areas effected by Chronic Wasting Disease. Comments on changes in the season are being accepted until May 7, 2020. Please continue to contact the Game Commissioner for your area to relay the effects of deer overpopulation on your forest. In other business, the Committee has been planning for its annual tree farm inspections. Inspections are not occurring at this time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but as soon as the restriction for travel are lifted and it is deemed safe, inspection season will start. Gary Gilmore has agreed to be the PATF Inspection Coordinator. He along with the Area Chairs will be managing the inspections. This is going to be a short season for inspections so, as a tree farmer, if your forestry management plan is more than 5 years old than you can use this time to prepare for an inspection. Start looking over the plan and making notes on what was accomplished, new issues on the property, or new plans Call an inspector to talk about your ideas (Find an Inspector here). We are not encouraging any face to face visits at this point in time. But you and your inspector will be ready when visits are once again allowed. In the meantime enjoy springtime in your forests and stay safe. Gay Thistle PA Tree Farm Co-Chair Forestry Happenings During the Pandemic PSU Offers Free Online Courses UPDATE: This offer has been extended until May 10th! PSU Extension is offering the following forestry courses for free through May 10th: Understanding Forests: Education for the General Public Sections 6 Length 9 hours Free Learn practical knowledge and skills about forest trees, wildlife, and water, as well as forest ecology, management, and silviculture. Teach for Forests: Forest Education for Teachers and Youth Leaders Sections 6 Length 9 hours, 30 minutes Free Learn about trees, wildlife, water, and ecology. Learn to teach children and teens with activities and through curriculum recommendations. Earn Act 48 credits. Woodland Stewardship: Management Practices for Landowners Sections9 Length12 hours Free Learn about forest ecosystems, management, and stewardship practices, as well as wildlife, water, tree identification and measurement, and legacy planning. Forest Taxation: Forest Finance and Timber Tax Education Sections13 Length8 hours Free Tax professionals and forest landowners learn about finance, taxation, and timber sales and taxation in order to save money on taxes. Earn 8 CFEs or 8 IRS CEs. Pond Management for Rural and Farm Pond Owners Sections: 6 Length: 8 hours FREE Learn basic pond maintenance and how to address common pond issues including excessive plant and algae growth, nuisance wildlife, and fishery management. More information available here. PSU Extension Webinar on Spotted Lanternfly in Forest Ecosystems Penn State Extension is offering a webinar, Spotted Lanternfly in Forest Ecosystems, on Tuesday May 19 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. This webinar is modeled after the SLF information that was going to be presented at the canceled PA Forest Health Update. This webinar will be an expanded version, at 3 hours. Registration is required, but is free. Credits are available: 2.5 SAF (Cat. 1) credits 3 ISA credits 0.75 SFI credits Information here: https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-in-forest-ecosystems-spring-2020-briefing Maryland Forests Association Hosts Biomass Webinar Series Forest Stewardship is critical to the health of Maryland’s environment and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. But, healthy forests are the result of deliberate maintenance and management, which costs money to accomplish. Creating markets for the wood material products that are generated by forest maintenance could help cover these costs and provide local economic benefits, jobs, and wages. Demand for wood material products not used for construction and manufacturing could also serve as an affordable, sustainable, locally accessible, source of energy using advanced energy technologies. How does this renewable energy opportunity balance with forest conservation and preservation priorities? This five-session webinar series will highlight available technologies, economic competitiveness, ease of installing and operating biomass energy systems to examine how Maryland commercial and institutional consumers can benefit from the adoption of thermal biomass energy solutions. Speakers will share case study examples of successful projects and discussions will cover a range of economic, operational, environmental, policy, and regulatory considerations.

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