Region Archives: US East

…The vast majority of Ohio forestland is privately-owned. While many owners may be tempted to cut and sell trees in the state’s commercial timber market, the Nature Conservancy in Ohio’s Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP) outlines a different path forward. The conservation program pays private landowners to protect their forest and capture more carbon. Sustainable Forestry Director Tom Rooney said each participant is guided on how to best care for their individual forest. …These landowners are key to helping Ohio regain lost forestland, Rooney said. When European settlers arrived in Ohio, trees covered an estimated 95% of the state. By the turn of the 20th century, much of the land was cleared to make way for agriculture and industry. Today, only around 30% of Ohio is forested. …Through the program, landowners can sell carbon credits to large companies who want to offset their emissions. 

President Trump wants to ramp up timber production by fast-tracking projects under laws that protect endangered species and other environmental regulations, which could expand logging of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. …The president’s order also directs agencies to convene a committee under emergency regulations that could bypass endangered species protections to clear the way for logging projects. …Environmental groups like the Environmental Law & Policy Center argue that more logging would damage national forests and harm recreation, wildlife and water quality. …A USDA spokesperson said it will continue to protect wildlife under the Endangered Species Act while meeting Trump’s directive.” …Logging advocates like Henry Schienebeck with the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association said stakeholders may have to take a closer look at demand and the capacity of mills to handle more lumber. He said the order represents a golden opportunity for the public to have healthy, well-managed forests.

Conservation Resources, a New Hampshire-based investment firm, has launched a new program for its Alabama timberland. With 15,000 acres of Alabama’s trees in its domain, CR is implementing a program for its holdings that it terms “regenified” management. Regenified is a practice and outcome-based land verification and certification program driving the growth of regenerative agriculture and the adoption of certified products. CR was the first institutional timberland manager to have properties certified by the program. The firm is also perusing the 100 Million Acres Initiative. Founded by partners that include Conservation Resources, the program aims at transitioning 100 million acres — the approximate size of California — nationwide to regenerative management practices. In conjunction with the 10-year initiative, CR pledges to transition 100% of its managed lands to regenerative practices. …The program focuses on restoring the health of the entire ecosystem. It encourages biodiversity, soil health, water conservation and climate resilience.

PELLSTON, Mich. — It is commonly assumed that as forest ecosystems age, they accumulate and store, or “sequester,” more carbon. A new study based at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) untangled carbon cycling over two centuries and found that it’s more nuanced than that. The synergistic effects of forest structure, the composition of the tree and fungal communities, and soil biogeochemical processes have more influence on how much carbon is being sequestered above and below ground than previously thought. …“Time is a playing field, and the rules of the game are things like canopy structure, tree and microbial community composition, and soil nitrogen availability. That means that changes in things like structure, composition, and soil nitrogen are what control forest carbon trajectories, whether quickly or slowly, and whether we are influencing those changes through management or letting them happen on their own terms,” Dr. Luke Nave said.

Don Bragg — one of three inducted into the Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame — was a forester who loved science and sharing that passion with others. The late Bragg joins the Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame roster along with Greg L. Hay and Pete Prutzman. The hall is housed in the Forest Resources Building at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Plaques honoring the three were officially hung this month following last November’s induction ceremony at the Ouachita Society of American Foresters. The Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to forestry in Arkansas, according to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Kirsten Gillibrand

U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Roger Wicker (R-MS) are reintroducing the Forest Conservation Easement Program Act, which would help conserve working forests and give landowners more options to ensure their land is protected. The bill would expand the Healthy Forests Reserve Program and rename it the Forest Conservation Easement Program, which would aim to: Prioritize keeping forests as forests, benefiting the economy and the environment; Help landowners restore and protect habitats for at-risk species while simultaneously increasing carbon sequestration; and Enhance the abilities of the Natural Resources Conservation Service so it can effectively conserve working forests through conservation easements. Landowners would be provided with two options for placing voluntary easements on their land: Forest Land Easements and Forest Reserve Easements.

WASHINGTON — Three former Environmental Protection Agency leaders sounded an alarm Friday, saying rollbacks proposed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin endanger the lives of millions of Americans and abandon the agency’s dual mission to protect the environment and human health. Zeldin said Wednesday he plans to roll back 31 key environmental rules on everything from clean air to clean water and climate change. Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy called Zeldin’s announcement “the most disastrous day in EPA history.” …Zeldin’s comprehensive plan to undo decades-old regulations was nothing short of a “catastrophe” and “represents the abandonment of a long history” of EPA actions to protect the environment, said William K. Reilly, who led the agency under President George H.W. Bush and played a key role in amending the Clean Air Act in 1990. …Environmentalists have vowed to fight the changes, saying it would result in “the greatest increase in pollution in decades″ in the U.S.

…Taylor, Liberty, Nassau and Dixie counties were “critically dependent” on forestry, according to the most recent analysis by the University of Florida’s Food and Resource Economics Department, with the industry accounting for more than 20% of jobs in each. Amid the economic challenges, some timber owners in these communities turn to a copper-colored side hustle: pine straw. The woody needles can be raked annually, offering earlier, more consistent income than timber alone. Profit margins are slim, but generally enough to pay the land’s taxes: a compelling business for producers whose land is already planted in pine. …In a tumultuous timber market, baling pine straw can bail out landowners.

University of Florida: Managing Pine Stands for Straw Production

A new proposed bill would provide real property tax incentives to landowners who voluntarily place permanent protective easements on their forested lands. State law currently provides real property tax reductions for landowners who manage a minimum number of acres of their land for timber production for a period of at least ten years pursuant to a timber management plan approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Landowners who meet these criteria receive a real property tax exemption of up to 80 percent of the assessed valuation of the lands subject to the approved timber management plan. The new bill would provide similar real property tax relief for landowners who place at least ten acres of forested land under a conservation easement that ensures that the tract will be permanently maintained as wild forest land and prohibits the cutting, removal or destruction of trees on the tract (with certain exemptions such as DEC-approved actions to address invasive species).

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. — The still-burning Carolina Forest wildfire highlights the need for more investments into education and prevention programs, the state’s top forestry officials told lawmakers Wednesday. “The agency’s risk of losing these important positions reduces its ability to implement successful prevention campaigns, and (to) assist communities with wildfire mitigation projects which would result in more, larger wildfires and more damage to homes,” Scott Phillips told a Senate Finance subcommittee. “I want to give you a real-world example. At the Covington Drive fire, there were two communities that were severely impacted: Walkers Woods and The Reserve at Walkers Woods,” Phillips said. “Those two communities had very different outcomes.” While no structures were destroyed, Phillips said homes in The Reserve were damaged, while those in Walkers Woods weren’t, since the latter is part of Firewise USA –– a nationwide preparedness program spread across 42 states.

Winter in the South can bring about a sharp change in conditions that impact forests and their many inhabitants. However, new research from the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources finds that, despite these seasonal shifts, forest management efforts are supporting healthy bat populations. As white nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease, ravages bat populations, wildlife ecology and management professor Steven Castleberry wanted to ensure all other aspects of bat livelihood were being maintained. “There’s nothing really we can do about that disease. All we can do is continue to provide proper habitats,” Castleberry said. “As those populations recover, we ensure that those quality forests and habitats are still there.”.. Castleberry points out that most privately owned forests already provide a suitable balance for bats during the winter. Moving forward, forest managers should maintain this equilibrium rather than make drastic changes.

Paul Jackson

Louisiana Tech University has named Dr. Paul Jackson the new director of the School of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry. Jackson, a faculty member with more than 12 years of experience at the University, brings a wealth of knowledge, passion, and leadership to his new role. A native of Hargis, Louisiana, Jackson has made significant contributions in both the classroom and the community. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Northwestern State University, a Master of Science in Environmental Biology from Louisiana Tech, and a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Auburn University. Jackson has taught several plant science courses at Tech, including greenhouse management, pest management, landscape plants, and landscape design and contracting. His research focuses on tree seedling nursery management, with the goal of improving seedling quality and survival rates for successful planting.

HORRY COUNTY, S.C.  — As the Covington Drive fire in Carolina Forest reaches Day 11, the South Carolina Forestry Commission told News13 the agency will cover all its costs associated with fighting the blaze but that it’s “too early to know” what the actual price will be. “We will cover all our costs associated with the fire — personnel, food, lodging, equipment, etc,” the agency said. “Since the Southeast Compact was activated, we will reimburse the Florida IMT for their costs — personnel, food, lodging, equipment. As with all large incidents of this type, there will be expenses we don’t even know about yet that we will have to pay for.” The forestry commission said since the fire management assistance grant was approved, FEMA will reimburse agencies and fire departments for 75% of approved costs. 

Does the Black Hills need a viable timber industry to help manage its forests? Absolutely. Recently, U.S. Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson and South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden have been pressuring U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to increase timber harvesting in the Black Hills National Forest. Paradoxically, this may lead to the demise of the Black Hills timber industry. The quantity of trees suitable for logging — known as the standing timber inventory — in the Black Hills National Forest has been in contention for at least 10 years. …If the amount of timber harvested in the Black Hills returns to levels that are not sustainable, the timber industry could cut itself out of business. The forest already has few options for finding more timber.

On Thursday in a joint statement, the Vermont Woodlands Association (VWA) and Vermont Loggers Education to Advance Professionalism (LEAP) announced they are merging. “As many of you know, VWA and LEAP have always shared a common goal—supporting responsible forest stewardship and the professionals who implement the practices that keep our forests healthy, productive, and resilient. With the upcoming retirement of David Birdsall as Executive Director of LEAP, VWA and LEAP are working to bring LEAP under the VWA umbrella as a continued program.” …Bringing VWA and LEAP under one roof will better support Vermont’s forest stewards, landowners, forestry professionals, and loggers and strengthen our collective commitment to forest stewardship and professionalism. We are excited about this new chapter and the opportunity to continue supporting Vermont’s woodland community together.

Legislation introduced by the Alabama Forestry Association would significantly worsen the condition of local and state roads and bridges, as well as hinder safety inspections of commercial vehicles. “The legislation is to allow significantly heavier axle weights to be hauled by large trucks — a move that is difficult to comprehend when the truckers already complain of sky-high liability insurance rates and serve as the primary target of advertising by personal injury law firms,” said Alabama Department of Transportation Deputy Director George Conner… “The math is simple: heavier truck axle weights are exceptionally dangerous and destroy roads and bridges; even heavier axle weights will be more dangerous and will destroy roads and bridges even more quickly.” …The Forestry Association’s proposal would increase the legal limit for a single axle from 20,000 pounds to 22,000 pounds while increasing the legal limit for two axles (tandem axles) from 34,000 pounds to 44,000 pounds.

CHEYENNE, Wyoming — Rep. John Eklund thought back a half century, to an era when commercial sawmills processing Wyoming timber abounded and logging was the Equality State’s third-largest industry. “We should be able to get back to that,” the Cheyenne Republican said Tuesday morning in the Wyoming Capitol. …Commercial logging in national forests around the country, including Wyoming, has fallen off dramatically from its heyday. Cut and sold timber has stagnated at a fraction of what it was from the 1950s through the 1980s for three decades running, U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows. …Trump’s order isn’t the only prospective policy change afoot that could revitalize commercially cutting American forests. The “Fix Our Forests Act,” has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and moved to the U.S. Senate. The bill, proving divisive in big commercial timber country, would further expedite environmental reviews — and could potentially have immediate impacts in Wyoming.

Angela Bartholomay

BOTTINEAU – Angela Bartholomay, an associate professor of Science at Dakota College at Bottineau, is the recipient of the 2025 Project Learning Tree (PLT) Leadership in Education award. Bartholomay has been honored for her work promoting environmental stewardship through education for more than 30 years, according to a DCB news release. PLT, an initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), is an award-winning education program that advances environmental awareness, forest literacy and green career pathways, using trees and forests as windows on the world. The Leadership in Education award recognizes educators who make significant contributions in their state to PLT and youth environmental education. …Bartholomay, along with Butch Bailey, a forester and instructor for Mississippi State University Extension Service, and Susan Cox, Conservation Education coordinator for the USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region, will be honored at the 2025 PLT Annual Conference in Clemson, South Carolina, from March 10-14.

The US Department of Agriculture revoked a federal tree-planting grant to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful in a move the nonprofit’s CEO Kranowitz said may be the result of anti-DEI initiatives coming from the Trump Administration. The money would have helped KIB plant more trees throughout the city, and those plantings should not be all the same kind of tree, Kranowitz explained. The $400,000 grant for urban forestry projects was awarded to the organization in January through the Arbor Day Foundation, but was then clawed back on Tuesday. There’s growing evidence that words like “biodiversity” are being targeted by federal agencies bent on terminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives across the country. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins recently cancelled a federal contract in Hawaii for an agency meeting on biodiversity and has identified and canceled other training programs on environmental justice claiming they run “contrary to the values of millions of American taxpayers.”