MS State Develops Smartphone App that Tests Lumber Strength

Mississippi State University's Department of Sustainable Bioproducts has developed a smartphone app called "Smart Thumper." This app uses soundwaves or vibrations to determine the stiffness for individual pieces of lumber. Stiffness is directly related to lumber strength. This app is expected to drastically cut down the cost of lumber test equipment, which was previously priced around $84,000. The app will help the sustainable building sector, as contractors can use the app to select the best lumber that is least likely to sag over time. This app is available on iOS for $5. Learn more about Smart Thumper, or download it now.

UK Releases From the Woods Kentucky Radio Program and Podcast

The University of Kentucky (UK) Department of Forestry and Natural Resources has created From the Woods Kentucky, a weekly radio program and podcast. The series features specialists to talk about diverse subjects such as landscape ecology, fungi, bats, wood products, watersheds and more.

22 episodes of the series have been completed and another 15 are planned for this spring. The first 22 episodes are available on Apple Podcasts as well as online in UK's archive. The series airs on UK station WRFL 88.1 FM at 11 a.m. every Monday. Start listening to From the Woods Kentucky .

UK to Host Integrated Pest Management Field School in March

The University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture, Food and Environment will host an integrated pest management (IPM) field school on March 6, 2019 in Hopkinsville, KY. The field school will offer information on IPM strategies on the following topics: weed control programs to best utilize herbicides, pasture productivity, understanding and managing the soil nitrogen cycle understanding and management, insect monitoring, and studies to manage the bean leaf beetle. Pesticide Applicator CEUs available.  Learn more about the IPM Field School.

Clemson Extension Opens Registration for 2019 Forestry Focus Program

The Newberry County Forestry Association and Clemson Extension have opened registration for the 17th Biennial Forestry Focus program. The program occurs on March 9, 2019 in Newberry, SC from 9 AM to 3:30 PM EST. The aim of the program is providing education for both landowners and professional foresters with topics covering: quail habitat management, current and upcoming forest health issues, the logging industry in South Carolina, timber taxes and succession planning. Participants should register by March 1, 2019 in order to secure a spot. The registration fee is $10. Continuing education credits available. Learn more.

Duff Fire Science and Management Workshop in Southern Pines, NC Open for Registration

Hosted by the Southern Fire Exchange and held at Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve in Southern Pines, North Carolina, this workshop will attempt to bridge the gap between science and management when it comes to issues related to duff in southeastern upland ecosystems. The workshop includes presentations and a field tour covering the latest information related to pine mortality associated with duff accumulations and management strategies for mitigating tree losses due to duff build up. For more information or to register, click here.

Multi-Agency Florida Land Steward Program Includes Monthly Newsletter and Blog

The monthly newsletter, written by Chris Demers- Extension Forester of Univeristy of Florida Extension (UF/IFAS)- is a multi-agency Florida Land Steward program. Partners include UF IFAS, Florida Forest Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, NRCS, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Tree Farm. To find out more about the program, click here. To check out the content of the monthly newsletter- click here. To access the blog, click here.

New Extension Publications Explore the Benefits of Poplar & Willow

Washington State Extension has released a new paper discussing the triple-bottom line benefits of poplar and willow species for wood energy production (WEP) in the United States. The publications, including case studies, were put together by a team of Extension, practitioners, and researchers across the country including, Southern Regional Extension Forestry's Interim Coordinator, Leslie Boby. ' A Roadmap for Poplar and Willow to Provide Environmental Services and to Build the Bioeconomy’ outlines how woody energy crops can be grown in environmental applications for renewable energy markets. The paper provides a summary of information and recommendations including how poplar and willow can provide a wide array of positive environmental benefits that mutually benefit the social and economic spheres as well. The publication is part of a discussion series and case studies that further highlight the benefits of poplar and willow grown in environmental applications. Locate the discussion series is within the lead document. Funding for this project came from USDA NIFA bioenergy projects including the Southeastern Integrated Biomass Supply System (IBSS) project. Read more about the benefits of poplar and willow.

SREF Assists with GA Landowner Learn & Burn Workshop

SREF helped plan a landowner Learn and Burn workshop on February 8, 2019 in Lumber City, Georgia at the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve. The workshop included presentations on burn planning and objectives, liability and laws, cost-share opportunities, smoke management, and firing techniques and also included a prescribed burn on a 19 acre slash and longleaf pine stand. Attendees actively participated in the burn and gained hands-on experience using different techniques, with mentoring provided by over a dozen experienced burners. Fourteen landowners and forestry consultants participated in the workshop. The workshop was planned by the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability, North Carolina State Extension, SREF, the Orianne Preserve, the Longleaf Alliance, Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, with funding by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Another Learn and Burn is planned in DeRitter, Louisiana on February 27, 2019. Learn more about Learn and Burn workshops here.

AFF Recruiting Forest Landowners to Share their Disaster Recovery Stories in DC

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) organized a "fly-in" event for landowners to share their stories of catastrophic loss from the recent hurricanes and wildfires with members of congress. The event is an opportunity for landowners to meet with their congressional members face to face and relay the immense challenges they have faced. Scholarships are available. For more information on this event, please click here.

Buy America Executive Order Applies to Lumber 

In late December 2017, the President issued a new executive order to prioritize the purchase of USA-made goods- including lumber- in federally-financed infrastructure projects. The decision to include US wood products came in part due to the advocacy of the Forest Landowners Association (FLA). In order to provide the White House with an economic analysis of the timber industry, the FLA commissioned a national and state-level impact study detailing the economic boost to the wood products value chain, its employees, and the broader economy as result of a Buy America timber policy. Read the impact study, or learn more about this Executive Order.

Senate Approves Largest Public Lands Bill in Over a Decade 

The United States Senate approved a major public lands bill 92-8 on February 12, 2019. The bill proposes 1.3 million acres of new wilderness, expands several national parks and creates four new national monuments. The measure, the largest public lands bill considered by Congress in a decade, combines more than 100 separate bills that designate more than 350 miles of river as wild and scenic, creates 2,600 miles of new federal trails, and adds nearly 700,000 acres of new recreation and conservation areas. The bill also removes 370,000 acres in Montana and Washington state from mineral development. The measure also reauthorizes and provides funding for the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act until 2022, a law that protects the habitat of more than 380 species of birds. The bill is currently under consideration in the House of Representatives. Learn more about this Bill.

Assist the CU Lab of Ornithology With the Great Backyard Bird Count 

The Cornell University (CU) Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society will hold the 22nd annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) from February 15-18, 2019. GBBC is a free event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the four-day event. They must report their sightings online at birdcount.org. Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the Cornell and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment. The National Audubon Society has also developed an app to report these sighting in real time. Those who would like to participate in a group for the event are encouraged to reach out to their local Audubon chapters. Learn more about the GBBC or download the Audubon Bird Guide app.

Call for Papers for 2019 Intl. Soc. of Forest Resource Economics Meeting

Abstracts are due March 1st for the 2019 International Society of Forest Resource Economists (ISFRE) meeting to be held in Columbus, Ohio (May 14-15, 2019). Oral or poster presentations are welcome as well as student posters. The theme of this meeting is: Resources, Markets, Policies and People: The Broadening Scope of Forest Economics. Find out more information here.

Hardwood Industry Releases New Economic Impact Study

The hardwood industry contributes nearly $400 billion dollars to the economy and employs nearly 21 million people according to a new economic impact study. This study was funded by 13 member associations of the Hardwood Federation. Read more in the report found here.

Southern Regional Extension Forestry | www.sref.info | lboby@sref.info