FORESTRY
Woodland Owner Notes eNewsletter
December 2018
NC Counties Will Consider Tax Rate Increase in 2019
Twenty-one North Carolina counties are scheduled for revaluation by the NC Department of Revenue in the coming tax year. This means that all real property in these select counties will be reassessed to current fair market values. This normal "updating of values" may impact landowners enrolled in the Present Use Valuation (PUV) program by necessitating a new forestry plan or may simply reset or lock-in PUV rates until the next revaluation. In any case landowners can apply to the program in the normal January filing or "listing" period, or once again within 30 days of receiving a new valuation or tax card by mail, normally in the April or spring time frame.

Typically the revaluation period increases the demand for forest management plans needed to comply with the Present Use program and landowners interested in updating their plans in time to qualify for 2019 are urged to work with NC Forest Service personnel or their private forester to ensure that their plans are prepared in time to keep in compliance. Now for that list of counties - is one of them yours? Questions? Call or email Dr. Mark Megalos at NCSU Extension Forestry, 919-513-1202 or email: mark_megalos@ncsu.edu
Brunswick
Carteret
Catawba
Gaston
Graham
Henderson
Hertford
Johnston
Iredell
Lincoln
Macon
McDowell
Mecklenburg
Moore
Northampton
Pender
Rockingham
Rowan
Sampson
Scotland
Wayne
USDA Publishes the 2018 Tax Tips for Forest Landowners
The Federal income tax provisions that apply to timber have changed for the 2018 tax year from the December 2017 new tax legislation. To help family timber owners, foresters, and their tax prep professionals in filing their 2018 tax returns, this bulletin provides income tax guidance that is current as of September 30, 2018. To print a copy of the full 2018 Tax Tips bulletin, click here. A reliable source for forestry tax information continued to the timbertax.org.
Nominations for Minority Landowner 2018 Farmers of the Year
Forest landowners and farmers may be eligible to be nominated for the annual award sponsored by Minority Landowner Magazine. State and Federal forestry and agriculture agencies, universities, and community-based organizations are invited to nominate farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who you feel represent good agriculture within their communities. Please prepare a brief narrative describing your nominee for Farmers of the Year, and submit along with a high resolution digital photo. The deadline to submit your nomination is December 28, 2018. All nominees will be included in our 2018 Farmers of the Year issue, which will publish in January 2019. Click here to download a copy of the nomination form.
Might You See One of These the Next Time You Conduct Prescribed Burning?
By now, we have all seen drones, either sitting on display at the local big box tech store, or possibly hovering above someone with a remote control on the ground. For some, you may have even seen it listed on a letter to Santa (yours maybe?). But what may have started out as a military tool or tech toy is rapidly being adapted to various forest management activities. One of those activities is prescribed fire. The photo to the left is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has be retrofitted with a fire ignition system which drops ping-pong-ball sized capsules that ignite on impact. Read more...
Want to learn even more about
Prescribed Burning or Wildlife Management?

NC State University Extension Forestry has a monthly newsletter, Driptorch Digest , all about fire, sponsored by SERPPAS (Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability). If interested, you can even subscribe to the Driptorch Digest using your email address. See and/or print any of the newsletters on the Southeast Prescribed Fire Update website .

Extend the Enjoyment of Holiday Trees
One of the more enjoyable Christmas traditions is to replant a living Christmas tree into your landscape after the holiday season. Living trees are usually purchased as containerized trees grown in pots or as "balled and burlapped" (B&B) trees with a field-dug root ball bundled in burlap or other fabric. Containerized trees are usually smaller and target the “tabletop” Christmas tree market. This article from Extension Forestry describes strategies to ensure these trees can be successfully transplanted into your landscape.
Coming Events of Interest to Woodland Owners

December 7, 2018 (Fr), 1pm to 2pm - Casualty Loss and Income Tax Deductions Related to Timber and Landscape Trees. This is a free webinar featuring tax expert, Dr. Linda Wang. Participate using this link.

January 15, 2019 (Tu), 6pm to 8pm - Bertie County Forestry Meeting. ( location TBA). Call Billy Barlow, (252) 794-5317, for details and to reserve a seat.

January 17, 2019 (Th) , 9am to 3pm - Franklin County Forestry Meeting. Franklin County Extension Office. Call Martha Mobley (919) 496-3344, for details and to reserve a seat.

February 5, 2019 (Tu) , 7pm to 9pm - Harnett County Forestry Association Meeting. Harnett County Extension Office. Call Selena McKoy (910) 893-7530, for details and to reserve a seat.

February 12, 2019 (Tu), 10:30am to noon - Brunswick County Forestry Meeting. Brunswick County Extension Office. Call Mark Blevins (910) 253-2610, for details and to reserve a seat.

April 17, 2019 (We), 9 am to 3:30pm - Project Learning Tree Workshop, Southeastern Forests and Climate Change. Walnut Creek Wetland Center, Raleigh, NC. Click here f or full details and online registration.
Woodland Owner Notes E-news is a monthly email newsletter from Extension Forestry at NC State University. This newsletter is made possible through support from Renewable Resources Extension Act and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The 2018 editors are:

Mary Lou Addor, NCSU, Eastern NC Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, Raleigh, NC
Robert Bardon, NC State University, Extension Forestry, Raleigh, NC
Jim Hamilton, NC Cooperative Extension Service, Asheville, NC
Alton Perry, Roanoke Electric Cooperative, Roanoke Rapids, NC
Colby Lambert, NC Cooperative Extension, Lillington, NC

Send Comments to:  Kelley McCarter , at NC State University, Phone: 919-515-9563. If you received this email as a forwarded message, and like what you see, please use this LINK to join the mailing list.