Alternative Fuel Demand Boosts Prices of Forest Products
January 7, 2008 — Power companies in the South and Pacific Northwest will drive prices for wood fuels higher as new facilities are built to produce an energy alternative to fossil fuels, experts in the forest products industry said Friday. But the supply of wood chips – a byproduct of lumber production used at pulp mills and power facilities Read more…
Researchers plan three-step process to convert trees to biofuel
January 14, 2008 — A recent grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will allow N.C. State, in partnership with the Research Triangle Institute and the University of Utah, to begin research on a process to turn tree fibers into biofuels. According to J.B. Jett, the associate dean for research and extension of the College of Natural Resources, the grant allocated $2 million to the Research Triangle Institute. Read more…
Lifting State Burn Fire Ban Called Into Question Following Brush Fires
February 12, 2008 — Crews are still fighting brush fires across the state. The N.C. Division of Forest Resources reported 86 fires Tuesday, consuming more than 567 acres. Investigators said they believe some of the fires were caused by outdoor burning. Forest Resources warned people Friday to avoid burning debris over the weekend. The agency and weather officials issued a"red flag warning," but that is just a recommendation for people not to burn outdoors. Read more…
Statewide Burn Ban Back in Effect
February 13, 2008 — According to a press release received this evening from the North Carolina Forest Service, the state is again under a burn ban effective Feb. 14 at noon. "Due to hazardous forest fire conditions and the continuing drought, I am using authority under the law (113-60.25 & 113-60.27) to cancel all burning permits and prohibit all open burning for all 100 counties in North Carolina," wrote NC Forest Service Director Wib L. Owen in the release. Read more…
School taps forest for fuel
February 20, 2008 — With a lumberjack for a mascot, perhaps it's no surprise that the St. Maries School District is turning to the nearby forest to cut its power bill. Beginning next school year, the district will fire up a wood burner at Heyburn Elementary School. Puny trees and branches that would have once burned on slash piles at North Idaho logging sites will be converted into heat for more than 400 students and staff. Read more…
PG and E Buys Carbon In California Trees
February 26, 2008 — Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the big California utility, is buying its first carbon credits for forest conservation, a move that could be a model for other utilities. Under the arrangement, PG&E is making purchases of 214,000 carbon-dioxide emission credits derived from California forest land. For PG&E, the deal is tiny. The credits will be delivered over multiple years; even if they all were delivered in a single year, they’d compensate for only about 1% of the utility’s annual CO2 emissions. But it marks a big purchase in the world of forestry-derived CO2 credits, Read more…
Forest owners losing to timber thefts (Va)
March 10, 2008 — If you have a tract of forest on your property, it might be a good idea to go have a look at it. And make a habit of it, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation advises. Regular inspection of private forests is one of the ways the Virginia Department of Forestry said landowners can prevent timber theft. Thieves annually steal $2 million in trees in the 13-counties of Southwest Virginia that form VDF forester Ed Stoots’ service region. Read more…
Timber Theft Gets Attention (Ky)
March 10, 2008 — Kentucky's county attorneys would have a clearer road to prosecution of timber thefts under a bill sponsored by Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort. Current state law allows for prosecution for theft by unlawful taking if stolen property is worth $300 or more. Senate Bill 171 would include timber among such property. "What we did was say that if a tree is worth taking the time and effort of cutting it down, loading it into a truck and hauling it out, then it's worth more than $300," said Franklin County Attorney Rick Sparks who sanctioned the proposal and has worked with Carroll on it. Read more…
Charlotte ready for cankerworm war
April 4, 2008 — Charlotte is ready to wage war against the cankerworm, as the city plans to begin an aerial attack on Monday morning. Weather permitting, it will be the largest ever aerial spray in an attempt to kill the worm that is damaging trees around the city. Last minute preparations were made on Friday to plan the spray and let the public know about what’s going on. Read more…
Governor Proclaims April 13-19 National Environmental Education Week
April 9, 2008 — Gov. Mike Easley has proclaimed April 13-19 as Environmental Education Week in North Carolina. North Carolina joins 16 other states and the National Environmental Education Foundation in sponsoring a week dedicated to increasing environmental education in the United States. Read more…
AHVS program verifies sustainable forests
April 9, 2008 — In March, the American Home Furnishings Alliance said it will accept the Appalachian Hardwood Verified Sustainable program as meeting its certified wood requirement for its new Sustainable by Design program. The AHFA also recognizes programs sponsored by the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative. The Appalachian Hardwood Verified Sustainable program was unveiled last year by the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc., an 80-year-old hardwood lumber trade organization based in High Point. Read more…
Laurel Wilt Of Redbay And Sassafras: Will Avocados Be Next?
April 15, 2008 — Scientists with the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), Iowa State University, and the Florida Division of Forestry have provided the first description of a fungus responsible for the wilt of redbay trees along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Read more…
State Fights Creepy, Crawly Invaders From North
April 17, 2008 — North Carolina appears to be poised to become the next state to fight an infestation of Gypsy moths, which have been migrating slowly from Massachusetts since the 1800s. The moths have recently been spotted in counties bordering Virginia. “Right now, it’s knocking on our doorsteps,” said Matt Andresen, manager of the state Department of Agriculture’s Gypsy moth program. Read more…
Dept. of Agriculture to treat gypsy moth infestation here
April 18, 2008 — The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) will treat a gypsy moth infestation in Warren County on April 21, depending on weather conditions and insect development. The treatment will be conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and the Gypsy Moth Slow the Spread Foundation Inc. Read more…
State ag experts fight gypsy moths
April 22, 2008 — State agricultural officials are fighting gypsy moths in Warren County. This week the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will treat a gypsy moth infestation near the Virginia border. State agricultural officials said the moth, originally from Europe, is wreaking havoc on trees in the United States. Read more…
Weyerhaeuser selling Australian operations
May 12, 2008 — Weyerhaeuser Co. said it’s selling the timber manufacturing and distribution businesses of its Weyerhaeuser Australia Group to Carter Holt Harvey for an undisclosed price. The sale will include the Group’s Pine Solutions Australia operation, which includes locations in Narangba, Queensland; Berkeley Vale, New South Wales; Dandenong, Victoria; Adelaide, South Australia; and Gordon, New South Wales. Read more…
Florida Fires Fueled by Urban Growth
May 14, 2008 — Authorities in a Florida town where at least 40 homes have been gutted by wildfires have arrested a man they believe may have sparked the blazes. Read more…
U.S. farm bill cracks down on timber trade
June 3, 2008 — Congress’ new agriculture bill, which looks certain to become law, would tighten rules for lumber imports in an effort to discourage environmentally destructive, illegal logging overseas. Read more…
11 Companies Racing to Build U.S. Cellulosic Ethanol Plants
June 4, 2008 — There are almost a dozen companies racing to build the first next-generation cellulosic ethanol plants in the United States over the next few years. The plants will be built all over the U.S. and will churn out biofuels made from waste, plant byproducts and woody energy crops. It’s no easy task. Not only do these companies have to build pilot and demo plants, but ultimately large-scale, commercialized refineries that can take years to construct and require hundreds of millions of investment dollars. Read more…
Officials: NC wildfire may double in size, close highways to Outer Banks
June 6, 2008 — A wildfire in eastern North Carolina has jumped containment lines and could double in size to more than 50,000 acres, a state Division of Forest Resources spokesman said Thursday. Read more…
Fire foils firefighters
June 7, 2008 — A fire that had already consumed more than 28,000 acres in eastern North Carolina by Thursday burned at least another 1,000 acres by Friday evening, according to forestry officials. At 5 p.m. Friday, the ground fire burning in Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties had scorched 29,970 acres of federal and private property, according to the N.C. Division of Forest Resources. The fire was ignited by lightning Sunday near the Ponzer community in Hyde County. Officials will not predict when the fire will be extinguished, as ground fires in the region often burn for weeks or months. Read more…
Fire moves east
June 9, 2008 — The massive wildfire burning parts of Washington, Hyde and Tyrrell counties and covering other areas of eastern North Carolina with smoke continued to grow Saturday, according to state forestry officials. At 6 p.m. on day six, the fire had consumed 30, 809 acres, charring nearly 900 acres than had burned at that time Friday. A joint firefighting team composed of local, state and federal resources numbering at least 200 people had made progress in containing the fire Saturday. At 6 p.m., the team had contained 40 percent of the blaze — up from 30 percent Friday evening, according to Bill Swartley, the forest service’s chief information officer on scene in Ponzer. Read more…
Evacuations issued for two Hyde County communities
June 11, 2008 — For the ninth day, firefighters battled shifting winds, soaring temperatures and lighting strikes in their efforts to contain the Evans Road fire, which as of Tuesday had consumed 40,195 acres in three eastern North Carolina counties. It is now the largest active wildfire in the United States, according to forestry officials. The 63-square-mile inferno has been 40 percent contained as of Tuesday evening. “At its current rate of spread, the fire should reach the northeastern boundary of the Refuge within the next 12 hours,” Bill Swartley, the forest service’s chief spokesman on scene in Hyde County, said in a situation report issued at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Read more…
Research to preserve hemlock ongoing
June 12, 2008 — Professors and researchers at Camcore, a non-profit international conservation program within North Carolina State University’s Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, are working on a project to preserve the Carolina and eastern varieties of hemlock. An exotic insect, Adelges tsugae, also known as the hemlock wooly adelgid, has become a serious threat to the survival of the Carolina and eastern hemlock populations, according to Robert Jetton, a research associate at Camcore. Read more…
Burning ban issued for Southeastern N.C.
June 12, 2008 — With a week of searing temperatures and lack of moisture leaving trees and other vegetation bone dry, state officials Thursday issued a burning ban for all of Southeastern North Carolina. The ban, which takes effect at noon Friday, comes as a forest fire continues to torch thousands of acres in the northeast corner of the state. Read more…
Officials optimistic that fire is slowing
June 16, 2008 — Sunday may have been the turning point of the Evans Road fire. “It looks like this fire is going to just set now,” said Jody Brady on Sunday. “Unless we have a major wind event, we’ll continue to beef up the fire lines and getting water on this ground fire.” The massive fire has consumed more than 41,000 acres in Hyde, Washington and Tyrrell counties. Nearly 600 personnel are supporting the fight. While it is officially 40 percent contained, officials seemed to be breathing a slight sigh of relief on Sunday. Read more…
Forsyth County Tree Farmers Win Regional Award
June 23, 2008 — A pair of longtime tree farmers in Forsyth County have received a big honor. Jean and Bob Cooper’s Meadowbrook Farm was selected as the Southern Regional Tree Farm of the Year by the American Tree Farm System. The Coopers have owned the farm along Salem Creek in Winston-Salem since 1973. Read more…
Tree-Killing Fungus Officially Named by Scientists
July 1, 2008 — The USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) today announced that an SRS scientist and other researchers have officially named the fungus responsible for killing redbay and other trees in the coastal plains of northeastern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Read more…
Greatest Value of Forests is Sustainable Water Supply Report Says
July 15, 2008 — he National Research Council has released a report stating the forests of the future may need to be managed as much for a sustainable supply of clean water as any other resource however, forest resources will offer no “quick fix” to the insatiable, often conflicting demands for this precious resource. The research team says this new view of forests is evolving, as both urban and agricultural demands for water continue to increase, and the role of clean water from forests becomes better understood as an “ecosystem service” of great value. Read more…
Keeping It Green
August 8, 2008 — Thank goodness for people like Jean and Bob Cooper. In a time when much of Forsyth County is getting paved over, the Coopers have held on to a significant chunk of green space within five miles of Hanes Mall. Their tree farm sets a model that more should follow. Read more…
Timber Industry Felled by Housing Slump
September 8, 2008 — “The only light I see at the end of the tunnel for this business is a freight train of more bad times coming at us,” said Wendell Cramer, owner of Coastal Lumber Co. in Hickory, N.C., who also has mills and consolidation yards in Pocahontas and Randolph counties. The hard times in the lumber industry that Cramer describes as being “hit by the triple whammy of rising fuel costs, decreasing demand and deflation in the value of lumber” is echoing throughout the area. Read more…
Weyerhaeuser named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index
September 18, 2008 — Weyerhaeuser Co. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. It is the only North American forest and paper products firm included in the index, created to track the economic, environmental and social performance of American business. Read more…
Lumber production hits decade low
September 18, 2008 — Thanks to the flagging housing market, lumber production at Western sawmills in 2007 plummeted to the lowest annual volume in more than a decade. Data released Thursday by the Portland-based Western Wood Products Association show that mills in 12 Western states produced 16.32 billion board feet of softwood lumber in 2007, down 9.3 percent from the previous year. The estimated wholesale value of the lumber was $6.1 billion, compared to $6.8 billion in 2006. The volume was the lowest since 1996, when Western mills produced just 15.8 billion board feet. Read more…
Wall becomes first tree farmer to receive conservation award
September 25, 2008 — Someone in the Wall family has been making his living with trees for at least four generations in Davidson County. But Sterling Wall and his family are the first of his clan to be awarded the Conservation Farm Family of the Year Award from the Davidson Soil and Water Conservation District. In fact, Wall is the first tree farmer to ever be given this award locally. The Wall family will be honored Thursday night at the annual awards banquet at the J. Smith Young YMCA. Read more…
Louisiana Pacific laying off more employees
October 6, 2008 — Columbus County isn’t the only area feeling the affects of the economy. A large construction based company in Wilmington is down sizing as well. Louisiana Pacific laid off 28 people Thursday. This is the company’s 3rd lay off this year. Louisiana Pacific’s spokesperson said because new construction has slowed during the housing crisis, the engineered lumber they produce is not in high demand. Read more…
Green Energy From Forests
October 14, 2008 — If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, could it make biofuel? NC State scientists are determined to answer this Zen-like question with a less philosophical “yes.” The University is taking a vertically integrated approach to research on using cellulose in trees to make fuel, from harvesting the wood to processing ethanol to converting aging paper mills into biofuel refineries. Read more…
Bob and Jean Cooper Named 2008 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year
October 21, 2008 — The American Tree Farm System (ATFS) has named Bob and Jean Cooper as its 2008 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. The Coopers received the award during the 15th Annual National Tree Farmer Convention in Portland, Oregon this past weekend. This annual award recognizes outstanding sustainable forest management on family owned forestland. The Coopers own Meadowbrook Tree in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Read more…
Timber! Look Who's Loading up on Lumber
October 22, 2008 — We have been concerned for some time about the risks in asset-backed bonds, particularly bonds that are backed by home equity loans, automobile loans or credit card debt (we own no asset-backed bonds). – Prem Watsa, 2004 Letter to Shareholders Read more…
New Method Turns Wood Into Sugar For Biofuels
October 28, 2008 — A new method of producing high efficiency and easily available biofuels from wood, grass and plants could soon be available, according to researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Germany. “With this method, you can even use wood at the beginning of the process. That is why this approach really can be said to allow wood to be converted directly into sugar.” — Ferdi Schth, Lead Researcher, Max Planck Institute Read more…
Going Out On A Limb With A Tree-Person Ratio
November 12, 2008 — Who knew that NASA, charged with looking deep into space, also looks backward at us? For years, NASA satellites have been snapping photos of our oceans, mountains and forests, and sharing them with ecologists and biologists. As a result, says ecology professor Nalini Nadkarni of The Evergreen State College in Washington, “Some of the finest forest ecology studies being carried out today are the result of NASA-funded multidisciplinary collaborations.” Read more…
Is It Your Piano Left In The Forest?
November 25, 2008 — Harwich, Massachusetts authorities reported that a piano is found in the forest. Police used every possible means of information to let the public know about the finding and now they are waiting for the owner to appear. Read more…
Taking Pulp to the Pump: Gasifying black liquor from pulp mills will accelerate second-generation biofuels.
December 13, 2008 — Pulp and paper plants could soon double as biorefineries if financing for a Swedish gasification project is any indication. As gas prices have slumped this fall, threatening to run some biofuels innovators out of business, Swedish company Chemrec has pulled in a stream of grants and investments backing a process for turning the black liquor left over from pulp and paper bleaching into a clean-burning synthetic biofuel. Read more…
NCWoodlands Introduces Blog
December 23, 2008 — NCWoodlands, North Carolina’s independent not-for-profit organization providing private landowners with a voice on national, state, and local issues has started a blog to educate landowners and further the advancement of forestry in North Carolina. Individuals wishing to comment on individual blog entries will require a Google Account. (FREE) All NCWoodlands supporters with a web presence are encouraged to provide a link to the new NCWoodlands blog. Read more…