ESFPA E-News

Sign Up for ESFPA June Dinner

On June 14th, the day prior to the ESFPA Board Meeting, we are welcoming our members and their guests to join us for an evening social hour and dinner at the Holiday Valley Lodge in Ellicottville, NY. 

Our guest speakers will be New York Senator George Borrello and Baillie Lumber President Jeff Meyer. The itinerary for the evening is as follows:

• 5:00 p.m. -Social Hour at the Holiday Valley Lodge Sunrise Banquet Room
• 6:00 p.m.- Welcome from NY Senator George Borello and remarks on the 2023 legislative session 
• 6:30 p.m.- Buffet Dinner
• 7:30 p.m.- Remarks from Baillie Lumber President Jeff Meyer about the state of the hardwood industry. 

This event will be a great opportunity for learning and networking with top industry professionals and the Board of ESFPA. If you are interested in attending this event, please call ESFPA at (518) 463-1297, the deadline for event attendance is June 1st. Rooms will be available through Holiday Valley Lodge until May 14th; to book a room call (716) 699-2345.

The fee is $20 per person, and we would like to thank our sponsors for all their support, without which this would not have been possible: Cotton Hanlon, Wagner Group, Farm Credit East, Keister Consulting, and Gutchess Lumber. 

Feel free to send this invitation to your employees and peers. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Banning the Use of Glyphosate on State Lands

Pursuant to legislation adopted in 2021 with Chapter amendments in early 2022, DEC has adopted regulations prohibiting the use of Glyphosate on state lands.  The notice of adoption was published in the May 3^rd State Register and can be found on pages 26-29.

There are limited exceptions for the use of Glyphosate where a suitable substitute does not exist.

27th Annual Adirondack Research Consortium Conference

The Adirondack Research Consortium is hosting their 27th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks, "Climate Change in the Adirondack/North Country Region – Mitigation, Adaptation, and Implications” on May 18^th and 19^th, 2023 at The Conference Center at Lake Placid, Lake Placid, NY.

See the entire program overview here.

Featured Conference Presentations by:

• Aaron Mair- Adirondack Council
• Curt Stager- Paul Smith’s College- (he will also be presented with the 2023 Elizabeth Thorndike Adirondack Achievement Award on May 19th)
• Grant Domke- US Forest Service

Register for the conference by clicking the link below:

Dr. Ali Kosiba Forest Carbon Landowner Webinar Recording Available

Via Innovative Natural Resource Solutions LLC

If you weren't able to attend the April 12 webinar on forest carbon and climate adaptation for forest landowners, you can still watch the recording of the event here. 

Dr. Kosiba, Vermont's Extension Forester and one of the region's premier experts on forest carbon and the role forests play in climate change mitigation, presented a wide-ranging talk that covered many areas of these topics of interest to anyone curious about forests role in the environmental issue of the generation. 

Revised NLEB Guidance from DEC

As we reported previously, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had issued Guidance on the Northern Long Eared Bat (NLEB) for sustainable forest management and timber harvesting on April 11^th to reflect the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USF&WS) change in designation from threatened to endangered effective April 1, 2023.

The USF&WS issued their interim guidance here and here on March 6^th and DEC issued their guidance on April 11^th.  Following the April 11^th release of DEC’s guidance there were some interpretations by DEC suggesting no timber harvests could be conducted from April 1 to October 31.  Hearing of several harvests that were stopped ESFPA reached out to DEC noting that these interpretations were not what either the USF&WS or DEC’s guidance were supposed to be for sustainable forest management and harvests in the active season.

DEC has acknowledged the problem and released revised guidance on May 3^rd.  this makes it clear that while there is an “area of concern” within 5 miles of a known hibernacula or 1.5 miles of a known roost tree, sustainable forest management including timber harvests may occur during the “active season” subject to the following provisions:

For tree cutting to occur during the active season, the following are required to comply with the FWS interim guidance and avoid permits:

• No tree cutting occurs within 150 feet of known roost trees.
• No tree cutting occurs within 0.25 miles of a known hibernacula.
• Leave snag and cavity trees uncut unless their removal is necessary for protection of human life and property.
• If any bats are observed flying from a tree, or on a tree that has been cut, tree management activities in the area should be suspended and DEC Wildlife staff notified as soon as possible. A permit may be required to continue work, or you may have to wait until November 1 to resume activities.

If all of the above are incorporated into the project, forest management may proceed during the active season without a likely take of NLEB and without a permit from either DEC or USF&WS.” 

ESFPA is recommending that in submissions for permits involving sustainable forest management or Notice of Commercial Cuts for 480-A harvests that applicants attest in writing to either:

• The activity is not within 5 miles of a known hibernacula or 1.5 miles of a known roost tree.  Or
• If they are within 5 miles of a known hibernacula or 1.5 miles of a known roost tree during the active season (i.e. April 1 to October 31):
  • They will not cut trees within 150’ of a known roost tree.
  • They will not cut within 0.25 mile of a known hibernacula (any time of year).
  • They will leave snag and cavity trees uncut unless their removal is necessary for the protection of human life and property.
  • They will look for bats.

Hopefully this eliminates any confusion or misinterpretation of the DEC guidance.  Please advise us if you incur anything else.

Emerging Forest Products

The northeast region is seeing a new range of forest products being manufactured.  A wood-based insulation plant in Madison, Maine begins operations this month.  A biochar facility is under construction at a Maine sawmill.  Two biofuel projects have announced facilities in Maine, looking to use former pulp mill sites to make liquid biofuel.  On top of all of this, other projects are in development, bringing a range of new opportunities for forest products manufacturing across the region. 

Innovative Natural Resource Solutions (INRS) presented on these issues at the both the New England Society of American Foresters meeting and a recent FRA Forest Forum – see the entire presentation here.