Forestry Internet Seminar: Rehabilitate Cutover Stands

Many woodland owners and foresters find themselves confronted by the need to rehabilitate a woodlot that has been logged by the high grade method. Although recognition of the problem has increased, only recently have guidelines been developed to correct this unsustainable practice. On Wednesday April 15th, join Dr. Ralph Nyland for a webinar on “Rehabilitating Cutover Stands”. Dr. Nyland is a Distinguished Service Professor at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Dr. Nyland will cover the steps and criteria to guide forest activities, determine the optimum strategy to salvage the stand, and satisfy the owner’s objectives. This April webinar is a sequel to the February 2009 webinar by Dr. Nyland that covered the impacts of exploitation harvests. A recorded version of the February webinar can be viewed at the ForestConnect website (http://www.forestconnect.info/).

The Forest Connect Internet Seminar Series is an interactive web conference and was the first of its kind in the US. Each seminar uses the Internet to distribute, or webcast, a live and interactive presentation. Since May 2007, web-based seminars have connected forest owners, managers, and practitioners from throughout the United States and overseas. More than 1200 owners and managers from 40 states and nine countries are registered and receiving announcements for the monthly webcasts.

Seminars occur on the third Wednesday of each month. Each webcast is provided live, twice. The initial broadcast each month is from Noon - 1:00 PM with a repeat live broadcast the same day from 7:00 - 8:00 PM, Eastern Time. Participation is as easy as a high-speed internet connection via a web browser. Participants will connect to a secure Cornell Cooperative Extension server to join the presentation. Participants must pre-register once, without charge, at http://www.forestconnect.info/. Email notification of internet URL details for the web conference will be sent to everyone registered.

Web Seminar: Invasive Insects in Your Forest

The PA Forests Web Seminar Center ( http://rnrext.cas.psu.edu/PAForestWeb/) is pleased to announce the April on-line program. Greg Hoover, Senior Extension Associate, Penn State Department of Entomology, will be presenting, Invasive Insects in Your Forest on Tuesday, April 14th at noon and again at 7 p.m. Each seminar lasts approximately one hour.

Some exotic insects have found Pennsylvania forests a good home away from home. This session will explore the most troublesome exotic insects causing damage in Penn?s Woods and the control options available. This seminar also counts towards 1.0 credit of Category 2 SAF CFE credits.

Live seminars are scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month at noon and 7 p.m., skipping July and August. Each session is recorded and loaded onto the Web Seminar Center along with a copy of the presentation and any handout materials. So, if you are unable to participate in the "live" session, a recording of it will be available for you to view at your convenience. Of course, none of the interactive elements will be available when watching the recording.

To participate in the live seminars you must register and have a "Friend of Penn State" user ID. The "Register Now" page on the website will walk you through this process. If you are a member of the Penn State community, you already have your User ID, but we would ask you to register on the website so that you can receive reminders of upcoming programs.

Participation in the web seminar does not require any special software. To view live and previously recorded seminars all you need is a high-speed Internet connection and sound. To register and take part in the live seminars or to view the upcoming seminars schedule, visit http://rnrext.cas.psu.edu/PAForestWeb/.We look forward to having you join these discussions and learning experiences. "See" you there on April 14

Newly Released Estate Tax Planning Guide

The USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station and its collaborators recently released the estate tax planning guide titled “Estate Tax Planning: What Will Become of Your Timberland?” This is the updated version of one of the most widely used tax publications for private family forest owners. The electronic version is available free at: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/gtr/gtr_srs112.pdf

The publication contains 180 pages of practical estate planning techniques and estate tax laws and rules with many examples and applications specifically for woodland property. It is written to assist woodland owners and their advisors­attorneys, consulting foresters, tax preparers, financial planners, as well as state agency foresters and cooperative extension agents.

For more information contact Linda Wang at lwang@fs.fed.us or (404)272-4791, Neal Bungard at nbungard@fs.fed.us or 603-868-7719, or John Greene jgreene01@fs.fed.us or (504) 589-7130.

Timber Tax Management for Family Forest Owners

"I haven't seen this book, but Dr. Hoover has been very active in timber tax issues for many years and guides the website noted below. I suspect this book would be a good invest (and tax deductible) for anyone working in forest tax/revenue arenas."

Peter Smallidge

Cornell Cooperative Extension

The tax treatment of family forests is a very specialized area of taxation. Professor Hoover has devoted his career to making these provisions understandable to family forest owners. Mr. Koontz partnered with Professor Hoover as a graduate student at Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. As part of his graduate program Mr. Koontz learned the tax treatment of timber and created the National Timber Tax Website. He has continued in this role and answers the hundreds of questions submitted to the site.

This publication is intended for family forest owners who don't have immediate access to tax professionals with expert knowledge and experience in this highly specialized field. Although the information included will be adequate for family forest owners needing to report basic transactions, we recommend that all family forest owners work with a tax professional in their vicinity. We have included footnotes citing the authority for almost all of the tax treatments discussed. These can be ignored by most readers. They are intended to provide tax professionals working with family forest owners the information needed to justify the treatment of timber related transactions.

Oder at http://www.timbertax.org/