New research by U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) scientists and partners suggests the hemlock woolly adelgid is killing hemlock trees faster than expected in the southern Appalachians and rapidly altering the carbon cycle of these forests. The findings were published in the most recent issue of the journal Ecosystems. Full text of the article is available online at: http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_nuckolls001.pdf.

Boston-based Mascoma Corp. has started producing cellulosic ethanol from wood chips at a demonstration-scale plant in Rome, NY. The plant has opened a year behind the company's original schedule and at less than half its initial production capacity target; the company expects to produce 200,000 gallons of ehtanol at the plant this year.

Portland-based GreenWood Resources is about to wager up to $300 million on China, where soaring demand for cabinets, paper and furniture makes wood a hot commodity. Poised to become one of the first U.S. companies to invest in Chinese timberland, GreenWood seeks fortune by taking Oregon expertise offshore.

President Obama signed the $787 billion economic stimulus bill into law on Tuesday. State forestry agencies are busy creating project proposals that provide jobs and promote economic recovery while improving forest health and reducing the likelihood of catastrophic wildfires. "The instruction we've been given for prioritization is to give the greatest weight to projects that will create the largest number of jobs in the shortest period of time and which will create lasting value for the American public," a BLM official is quoted as saying in the Oregon Mail-Tribune.

Federal, state and local wildland fire personal will participate in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) 2009 conference in Reno, NV, March 22-26. Learn from the experts as they cover operational best practices, innovations and procedures for preparedness and response. Topics covered include firefighter safety, engaging community stakeholders as partners and improving community planning projects. NWCG and NIMS certification available. For the complete schedule and to register, visit www.iafc.org/wui. WUI 2009 is presented by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), in collaboration with the National Association of State Foresters, US Forest Service and US Department of the Interior.

The Forest Climate Working Group has released a consensus platform for including private forest lands in national climate legislation. NASF is one of 30 members in the diverse coalition representing the forest products industry, conservation and wildlife groups, foresters, private forest owners, academics, and carbon finance groups. The group's recommendations advocate helping forest owners by rewarding them for management practices that capture and store carbon and thereby offset industrial carbon emissions. Click above for more...

The National Timber Tax website was developed as a reference source for questions regarding the tax treatment of timber related activities. The site added two new publications recently related to tax year 2008: Timber Tax Management for Family Forest Owners, by Timber Tax LLC, and the article "Income Tax Deduction for Timber Casualty Loss," by Dr. Linda Wang, Timber Tax Specialist, US Forest Service.

The nation's housing slump has slashed Washington state's timber sales projections, drastically reducing payments to counties for schools, hospitals, parks and other local needs. The state agency receives revenue from timber sales on about 2.6 million acres of forested land.

The Senate passed the $838 billion economic stimulus bill today by 61-37. House and Senate negotiators could meet quickly to begin resolving differences in the package. The goal is to pass it in both chambers and send it to President Obama before leaving for a scheduled Presidents Day recess.

Vicki Christensen has left the Washington Department of Natural Resources as Washington State Forester after a 26-year career serving the citizens of Washington State.  Ms. Christensen will be relocating to assume her new position as Arizona State Forester, which begins on March 2. Chuck Turley will be the acting Washington State Forester.

Senator Jeff Merkley responds in the Huffington Post to Republican claims that call restoring forest health and wildfire prevention as "wasteful spending" in the economic stimulus bill: "...there are millions of acres of choked and overgrown second-growth forests. Thinning these neglected forests is essential for restoring forest health and generating thousands of rural jobs....This is a win-win for our rural economies and our ecosystems."

 

As power is slowly restored to the region's customers and roads grow more passable, residents and business owners will attempt to salvage trees - ranging from small saplings to century-old native species in Arkansas and Kentucky.

In an interview in the Christian Science Monitor, USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets head Sally Collins envisions "a new era in which urban industrial emitters of carbon dioxide will partner with private landowners to plant new forests or crops to soak up CO2, or in which revenues generated from a carbon tax will pay for planting trees in federal forests lost to wildfire." NASF representatives met with Collins this week to discuss opportunities to expand ecosystem services markets for forestry in the United States.