ISSUE 72: WEEK OF NOVEMBER 25, 2019
Recent News
Regional News

  • USDA Block Grants for Disaster Relief Include Payments for Timber Losses
  • UF Extension & FL Forest Service Lead RX Burn Series for Landowners
  • SESAF Annual Meeting: Recovering from the Storm
  • Forest2Markets Describes Southern Timber Price Rebound
  • New Forest Health Alliance Calls for Action to Address Forest Threats 
  • Webinar to Learn More About Forest Economic Contribution Reports 
  • Reports on the Economic Contributions of Forestry and the Forest Industry in North Carolina and South Carolina Now Available
  • Virginia Association of Forest Health Professionals 2020 Conference
  • Growth & Yield and Diversity of Shortleaf Pine Forest Types are New Factsheets from Shortleaf Pine Initiative


National News

  • USFS SRS Scientists & Award-winning Study on Forests, Climate Change & Water
  • Understanding Forest Carbon Management Short Course Open for Registration
  • International Society of Arboriculture Call For Presentations
  • Smokey Bear Awards Deadline Approaching Soon
  • Webinar- State Policy: Advancing Forest Carbon in a Changing Climate
  • NASF Develops Guide for Generating Infographics Using your State’s Biennial Survey Data 
  • FOR/Maine Director Speaks at National SAF Meeting about Cross-sector Forest Economy Collaboration



Funding Opportunities

  • DOD Accepting Pre-Proposals for REPI Program
  • Archived Webinar on Wood Innovations Grant
  • FY20 Forest Service Wood Innovation Grant 
  • Calls for Proposals to Support New Markets for Wood Products in the Northeast Ends Dec. 4th
  • Funding for 1890’s Centers of Excellence
  • NFWF Emergency Coastal Resilience Request for Proposals


Job Opportunities

  • FL Forest Service Urban Forester
  • LSU- Assistant/Associate Professor (Forestry Economics)
Regional News
USDA Timber Block Grants for Disaster Relief Include Payments for Timber Losses
  The USDA announced $380 million block grants for Georgia, Florida and Alabama as part of a broader natural disaster relief package. This includes a timber block which may include cash payments to forest owners who lost their trees. Read the USDA announcement here. This is the first time that forest landowners will receive aid to help recover some of their lost timber value according to American Forest Foundation. In an article here, Forest Landowners Association discusses more of the details of the grants and some of the reaching implications for family forest owners. At this time, many details have not been worked out. Florida commissioner Nikki Fried offers describes what this means for Florida here .

UF Extension & FL Forest Service Lead RX Burn Series for Landowners
University of Florida Extension, Florida Forest Service and other partners are leading a series of workshops to teach landowners; how to write prescribed burn prescriptions, about invasive species and fire; and also hosting 'Learn and Burn' events. The Learn and Burn events are live fire events that allow landowners to practice conducting prescribed burns. Events are: Writing a Burn Prescription: Dec. 5th (Crestview, FL) & Dec. 18th (Chipley, FL). Invasive Species Control and RX fire: December 11th, 2020 (Glen St. Mary, FL). Learn and Burn Workshops: Jan. 22, 2020 (Chipley, FL) and Feb. 18, 2020 (Baker, FL). Find inks to all events and sign-ups here.

SESAF Annual Meeting: Recovering from the Storm
The Southeastern Society of American Foresters will host its annual meeting in Panama City Beach, FL February 23-25, 2020. The focus of this year's meeting is on reviewing the recovery from the Hurricane Michael Storm and looking at what the future holds. Find out more about the meeting here.




Forest2Markets Describes Southern Timber Price Rebound
It is more than ten years after the recession, and timber prices in the South have not returned to levels seen firsthand in the first part of the century. Forest2Markets provides an overview of why. The article also defines the price 'rebound,' and discusses demands and markets that relate to this phenomenon. Read more here.

Webinar to Learn More About Forest Economic Contribution Reports
Forest economists from North Carolina State University (Dr. Rajan Parajuli), Mississippi State University (Dr. Shaun Tanger) and Lousiana Tech University (Dr. Eric McConnell) will demystify forest economic contribution reports in this webinar hosted on the forestry webinar portal. This webinar covers practical guidelines for report users to better understand the terms and numbers in those reports, so that they can communicate the economic importance of the forest sector to their clienteles. Specifically, we will discuss the terminology of input-output modeling, aspects of IMPLAN software and modeling, and interpretation of numbers in the reports. Register for the webinar here. Catch it live December 17, 2019 at 1 pm ET, or see the archived version later.

Reports on the Economic Contributions of Forestry and Forest Exports in North Carolina and South Carolina Now Available
South Carolina Forestry Commission recently released a new report on the 'Economic Impact of SC's Forest Products Export Cluster'. Read it here. Dr. Eric McConnell and Clay Altizer, Louisiana Tech University and North Carolina Forest Service respectively, authored a new report exploring a unique approach to quantify the value of the forest export chain, read it here. In addition, a new article was published in Forest Science exploring the results of their analysis and the impact to North Carolina's economy. Find it here.
National News
USFS SRS Scientists & Award-winning Study on Forests, Climate Change & Water
USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) scientists Jim Vose and Dave Wear contributed to an award-winning study that addressed the complexity of interactions between climate change and water resources in relation to forest vegetation. Overall, they found an increase in the use fo water by forest vegetation, which was significantly correlated with longer growing seasons. Longer growing seasons are related to higher 'minimum' temperatures, especially in spring and autumn and mean more growth. Read more here. 

Understanding Forest Carbon Management Short Course Open for Registration
This course was developed by Michigan State University in partnership with the USDA to provide natural resource professionals a solid introduction to forest management specific to carbon. Areas covered in this course include carbon cycle and storage science, policy overview, project case studies, management considerations, measurement basics, and available tools and support. Find out more here. The self-paced course opened mid-November and closes in mid-February.

International Society of Arboriculture Call For Presentations
The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) is hosting a call for presentations for their 2020 annual International Conference. The event, which is being held August 9-12, 2020 in Albuquerque, NM, includes educational sessions led by industry leaders from around the globe. There is a focus on practice, technology and research in urban forestry and arboriculture. The range of topics for presentations include practical arboriculture, trees and people, urban forestry, sustainability and diversity and more. Deadline is January 3, 2020. Find more information here.

Smokey Bear Awards Deadline Approaching Soon
Individuals, agencies, teams, or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to prevention of human-caused wildfires for at least two years are eligible for nomination. Advertising campaigns, informational programs, training, wildfire risk assessments to prevent ignitions, committee leadership and more are examples of these types of wildfire prevention services. Find out how you can nominate yourself or others here. Deadline is December 15, 2019.

 

Webinar- State Policy: Advancing Forest Carbon in a Changing Climate
The Forest Carbon Working Group Learning Exchange Series continues December 4, 3 pm ET, with a presentation on advancing forest carbon in a changing climate. This event is free and is open for registration here . Find information on the whole series here.

NASF Develops Guide for Generating Infographics Using your State’s Biennial Survey Data
The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) has developed a tool for creating infographics based on data from a state or region. Using the information state forestry agencies submitted for the 2018 NASF Biennial Survey and NASF Performance Measures, NASF created an interactive online form that allows users to display data points and statistics specific to a given state or region in an infographic format. This tool is housed on an open-access website and can be reached here.

FOR/Maine Director Speaks at National SAF Meeting about Cross-sector Forest Economy Collaboration
Forest Opportunity Roadmap/Maine (FOR/Maine) leads a collaboration that includes industry, communities, government, education, and non-profits working together to re-develop Maine’s forest economy. The group is working to diversify Maine’s wood products businessesses, attract capital investments and develop economic opportunities in communities that have been impacted by mill closures. The U.S. Economic Development Administration’s support helped lead to the creation of FOR/Maine. The group spent two years on research and strategy development to develop a Roadmap towards building a more diverse $12 billion forest economy. Read more about their process and outcomes here. 

USFS iFertigate App Designed by SREF Available on iOS & Android
iFertigate, a mobile app designed to assist with fertigation calculations has been released on iOS and Android platforms. The Application, designed and built by Southern Regional Extension Forestry applications specialist Daniel Drummond, was built to help with the careful calculations required for applying soluble fertilizer through the irrigation system (fertigation). Users of the app can access macro and micronutrient concentrations of various fertilizer mixes and then create and store their own calculations. This app was built for the US Forest Service's Reforestation, Nurseries and Genetics Resources' (RNGR) program and website . Find out more about the app here.
Funding Opportunities
DOD Accepting Pre-Proposals for REPI Program
The Department of Defense (DOD) is accepting pre-proposals for the 2020 Readiness Protection Integration (REPI) Program Challenge. The deadline for pre-proposals is 8 pm, Jan. 24, 2020. The REPI Challenge includes awards up to $15 million that fund land conservation or management activities that help to prohibit development that is incompatible near DoD installations, ranges or bases. Partners should coordinate closely with staff at local installations or ranges before developing the proposals. The REPI challenge is also working to encourage private sector sources to use market-based approaches to advance program goals. Read more on the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities website here. Access the REPI website here.

Webinar on Wood Innovations Grant
Access the archived webinar where Wood Innovations Coordinator Kevin Naranjo presented November 14th. The webinar included a presentation on components of the wood innovation grants, priority areas and discussions of past projects that were funded. After the presentation, there was a question and answer session.

FY20 Forest Service Wood Innovation Grant
The US Forest Service Wood Innovations Grant is now open and final grant applications are due to regional coordinators by 5:00 pm ET on January 15, 2020. The U.S. Forest Service requests that proposals substantially expand and accelerate wood energy and wood products markets throughout the United States to support forest management needs on National Forest System and other forest lands.Interested grant applicants are highly encouraged to engage with the Regional Wood Innovation Coordinator, Kevin Naranjo, (kevin.naranjo@usda.gov) early in the grant process for technical guidance and review, prior to final submission. The Southern Region was successful in having 11 grants awarded in FY19. All of the grant awardees reached out for assistance. The application and instructions are available on the Wood Innovations web page .

Funding for 1890’s Center of Excellence
Letters of Intent are now being accepted for 1890's Centers of Excellence. Letters are due by Friday, December 6, 2019. Full applications will be requested from institutions or consortiums selected by NIFA. View Request for Applications here.

Calls for Proposals to Support New Markets for Wood Products in the Northeast
An initiative called the Future Forest Economy is accepting proposals for new ideas, products and markets that can increase demand for wood across northern New England and New York. The deadline for concepts is December 2, 2019. The initiative — a cooperative effort of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, and the Northern Forest Center — grew out of a congressional mandate to support the development of markets for wood products. Over the next three years, the Initiative cooperators will invest $2.6 million in sub-grants to expand innovation, create market demand and create conditions that will allow businesses and communities to benefit from these innovations. To be eligible for funding, projects must impact a county or counties within the service region of the Northern Border Regional Commission. Projects must have clear and direct benefit for the wood products sector, but private companies cannot receive direct financing through this project. Eligible applicants include government, Native American government and organizations, nonprofits, and public and private institutions of higher education. Full criteria are detailed in Appendix I of the Call for Concepts. The initiative has identified priority activities for each objective, which are detailed in the Call for Concepts available here.
Job Opportunities
FL Forest Service Urban Forester
Florida Forest Service is seeking a senior forester for Bradenton, FL to provide technical assistance in urban and community forests. The candidate will provide technical assistance to a variety of municipalities, commissions and more, in addition to assisting in wildland fire response, when needed. View full posting here.


Louisiana State University- Assistant/Associate Professor (Forestry Economics)
This twelve-month tenure track position carries both extension (80%) and research (20%) responsibilities. Extension duties include the development and implementation of a statewide education program in forest economics and management targeted at landowners and professional foresters, with potential emphasis in the areas of financial management of timber resources, understanding timber markets, and price trends. Application deadline is December 31, 2019. View full job description and apply here.
Upcoming Events:


December 4-6, 2019 | Atlanta, GA
This conference offers two tracks, one for landowners and one for professionals. The landowner track is a "bootcamp" style experience to help heirs property owners start to resolve their land issues. The second track is a comprehensive workshop on issues related to heirs property that can assist professionals.

December 8 - 10, 2019 | Opelika, AL
The 2019 PAWC will be held at the Auburn Marriott Opelika & Kellogg Conference Center, Tuskegee University. This forum will allow anyone who is associated with the agricultural industry to engage with others in the field and explore the latest developments in agriculture and outreach. Register here.

December 9-10, 2019 | Athens, GA
Southern Forestry and Natural Resource Management GIS Conference
Southern Forestry and natural Resource Management GIS Conference (SOFOR GIS) will be held in Athens, GA December 9-10, 2019. Registration for the event is open. The conference includes research presentations and technology demonstrations as well as three keynote speakers, Mark Books (GeoDendro), Peter Eredics (ESRI) and Mark Milligan (F4Tech).

February 23-25, 2019 | Panama City Beach, FL
The Southeastern Society of American Foresters will host its annual meeting in Panama City Beach, FL February 23-25, 2020. The focus of this year's meeting is on reviewing the recovery from the Hurricane Michael Storm and looking at what the future holds.

May 3-6, 2020 | Bend, OR
The Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals bi-annual conference will be held in Bend, OR and hosted by Oregon State University Extension team. The conference will include field trips, interactive sessions, presentations and more.
VIEW FULL CALENDAR:
Southern Regional Extension Forestry | www.sref.info | lboby@sref.info