Af 2016 spring web version

Alabama

Spring 2016

FORESTS IN THIS ISSUE

Titan Homer McGough A Family Tradition: Logger Marvin Sykes Catalyst Charlie Graddick The Coopers

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Contents

Alabama Forestry Association, Inc. Chris Isaacson, Executive Vice President OFFICERS Chairman ............................................Ben Smith, Phenix City President .................................................Gray Skipper, Fulton President-Elect ....................Vaughn Stough, Mountain Brook Secretary .................................Stephan Tomlinson,Tuscumbia Treasurer .............................................Tom Bradley III, Mobile DISTRICT DIRECTORS Black Belt District..............................Doug Bowling, Millbrook Capital District.............................. Jim Solvason, Montgomery Delta District...........................................Frank Mozingo, Toxey Longleaf District .................................Tripp Winters, Chapman Mountain District............................Todd Langston, Stevenson Piedmont District ...............................Chris Langley, Camp Hill Valley District................................. DeWayne Oakley, Florence Vulcan District .................................Trae Bonner, Childersburg Warrior District .......................................Gee Allgood, McShan Wiregrass District......................................Mike Dixon, Eufaula

Spr ing 20 16 | Volume 60 | Numb er 3

Alabama

FORESTS FEATURES Timber Titan Homer McGough

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ABOUT THE COVER

A Family Tradition: Logger Marvin Sykes

11

Catalyst Charlie Graddick

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In Memoriam

17

The Coopers

18

Legislative Wrap Up

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Especially for our tree farmers/landowners: ALC REPRESENTATIVE Chris Potts ................................................................LaFayette

Green Horizons

FOREST FUND REPRESENTATIVE Winston Bryant ..............................................................Heflin

DEPARTMENTS

AT-LARGE DIRECTORS Paul Lohman .............................................................Prattville Hank Bauer.............................................................Perdue Hill Al Bracewell...................................................................Jasper Ryan Mattei ..................................................................Mobile Ray Colvin ...............................................................Tuscaloosa Mena McGowin Morgan .........................................Point Clear Patricia Moody.............................................................Auburn Virginia Macpherson......................................................Fulton Lenn Morris................................................................... Jasper Guice Slawson Jr................................................. Montgomery

Communicating news & information of, about, and for the Alabama forestry community.

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From the Executive Vice President

3

Dean’s Notebook

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The Bear Facts This resourceful black bear found a dinner of bitter holly berries last winter when tasty choices were unavailable. Based on estimates from the Alabama Black Bear Alliance and state conservation officers, there are between 400 to 1,000 black bears in Alabama. Some say the range is at the low end, some say it is higher. Regardless, sightings of black bear have increased. Although classified as a game animal, black bears cannot be legally hunted in Alabama, where shooting at a black bear is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying a potential minimum fine of $2,000. Other penalties for attempting to take a black bear include the loss of hunting and fishing license privileges for three years and possible jail time. So look, but don't shoot! PHOTO BY TES JOLLY

ALABAMA FORESTS EDITOR Sam Duvall GREEN HORIZONS EDITOR Leigh Peters GRAPHIC DESIGN Marie Troy Alabama Forests (USPS #025-358) is an official publication of the Alabama Forestry Association, 555 Alabama Street, Montgomery, AL 36104-4359 and is published five times a year. The AFA reserves the exclusive right to accept or reject advertising or editorial material submitted for publication.

Advertising rates quoted upon request.

Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Alabama Forestry Association, 555 Alabama St., Montgomery, AL 36104-4395.

The Piedmont District Annual Sporting Clay and Turkey Shoot on April 16 in LaFayette was an incredibly successful event, raising a whopping $45,000. Event coordinator Mandy Cain, and her helpers, did a fantastic job, with 60 teams competing in the sporting clays event, and scores of others participating SFI-01273

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

in the turkey shoot and live auction. Here one of the shooters takes a bead on a "true pair" of clays as they ricochet vertically from a trampoline. We have also had great events in Montgomery (Capital District) and Chatom (Delta District) which we will report on more fully in the next issue.

Come explore our web site! alaforestry.org 1

POWER TO THE

LONGLEAF PINE

© 2016 Alabama Power Company

Safe, affordable, reliable electricity is one form of power we provide, but not the only one. There’s the power that ensures our forests stay vibrant for generations to come. A power that could only be called “Power to Alabama.” From Alabama Power.

From Executive Vice President

So, How Did We Get Here?

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”

—Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland enned in 1865, Carroll seems to have captured the essence of our political world today. I was directed to this comparison when, at the end of a day of heated floor debate at the Statehouse, a weary conservative representative exclaimed, “It’s like Alice in Wonderland, what’s down is up and what’s up is down!”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized the truth of that statement. Economists that believe you can spend your way out of a recession with borrowed money; a president that brazenly exceeds his constitutional authority and dares Congress to stop him; a political candidate that promises free college tuition for all when we can’t pay our bills now; state Republicans championing a pro-tax agenda; agency heads that believe money from Washington is actually “free”; education officials who suspend a second-grader for chewing his Pop Tart into the shape of a gun.

So, how did we get here? In short, we’ve strayed from the principles upon which our country was founded— REALLY strayed.

ALICE: If you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison’ it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later.

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ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

In the Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers justified breaking away from British rule by articulating a few cardinal truths… “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.”

Clearly, there is a role for government at the federal, state and local levels. The question is, are these governments doing what they should be doing, are they doing it effectively and are they doing it efficiently? Likewise, are these governments doing things they shouldn’t be doing, AND are we, the taxpayers, being forced to pay for it?

The problem in government today is that elected officials are largely trying to “patch up” what we already have rather than thinking strategically about how government must change.

ALICE: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

CHESHIRE CAT: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

ALICE: I don’t much care where.

CHESHIRE CAT: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.

ALICE: ….So long as I get somewhere.

CHESHIRE CAT: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

The remedy to the “kick the can down the road” mindset of most politicians today is

Chris Isaacson

We cannot continue to allow ourselves to be led aimlessly, deeper and deeper on a journey down the rabbit hole.

to return to principle-based decision-making. At AFA, every policy decision we make and position we take is based on 4 core principles: 1. Smaller, more efficient, less intrusive government.

2. Protection of private property rights.

3. Promotion of free markets and private contracts.

4. Preservation of the rule of law.

So, what can you and I do?

The key lies in the words of our founding fathers, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their Just powers from the consent of the Governed.” WE are the governed and if together we withdraw

our consent to continue to be governed as we are, we can change things. We cannot continue to allow ourselves to be led aimlessly, deeper and deeper on a journey down the rabbit hole. We must unite around a common purpose to change the way we are governed.

“No wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise.”

“Wouldn’t it, really?” said Alice, in a tone of great surprise. “Of course not,” said the Mock Turtle. “Why, if a fish came to me, and told me he was going on a journey, I should say ‘With what porpoise?’ ” You see? s 3

Dean’s Notebook

“Use of Wood Is Good” Is Resonating – School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Is Responding se of wood in energy production, packaging, and high rise buildings in addition to other forest products is on the rise. More use of wood means greater stumpage prices, higher rate of return to forest landowners, more investment into sustainable forest management. As such, I believe that prospects for forests-based economic growth, employment generation, and rural community stability are very bright.

U

Wood for Energy Wood pellets market in Western Europe is growing leaps and bounds largely because of renewable energy targets and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Between 2010 and 2015, its consumption grew from 16 million tonnes to 37 million tonnes (more than 100% increase). By 2020, it is expected to grow to 59 million tonnes.

Here in the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a “Clean Power Plan” to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in 2030 by 30% compared to 2005. If promulgated, states will be required to develop plans to meet the proposed goal. Since wood pellets can be substituted for coal in power generation, the pellets market will likely expand in the U.S. as well.

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Wood for High-Rise Buildings Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), a newly engineered wood product is being used in mid- and high-rise residential and non-residential constructions. CLT is a large-scale, prefabricated, solid engineered wood panel. Although it was initially developed in Europe, it is now gaining attention in North America and other countries. For example, the nation’s first all CLT hotel, built on the site of a former Army troop barracks at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, is expected to open soon. The Lend Lease, a giant Australian developer, has built what they call the world’s tallest timber apartment building at Victoria Harbour in Melbourne, Australia.

Alex de Rijke, founding director of the international architectural firm dRMM, notes that the 18th century was about brick, the 19th about steel, the 20th about concrete, and the 21st century is about wood. More recently it was announced that an 80story tower, if given the green light for construction, will be made of timber — making it London’s first wooden skyscraper and the tallest wooden structure in the world. Oakwood Tower is a proposed joint project by PLP Architecture and Cambridge University’s Department of Architecture.

It’s an experiment in pushing the frontiers of building with wood, and is part of a growing movement to build in timber.

Apparently, the structure can be more fire resistant than steel!

Wood for Packaging Packaging is the third largest industry in the world.

Since 30% of municipal waste comes from packaging, there is a growing preference for biodegradable wood-based

Dean Janaki Alavalapati Auburn University

… an 80-story tower, if given the green light for construction, will be made of timber — making it London’s first wooden skyscraper and the tallest wooden structure in the world. packaging. With an annual growth of 4%, this industry is booming even in times of economic decline. In a few years, it is expected to become a trillion dollar industry, inspiring several forward-looking forest product companies to expand their operations in packaging and cardboard.

The mission of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences (SFWS) is to promote economic, social, and environmental well-being of Alabamians and beyond by creating qualified resource professionals, generating new knowledge, and disseminating information for decision-making. In order to

promote these developing innovations and emerging industries, the SFWS is exploring avenues to expand education, research, and extension activities relating to forest products and packaging. One such initiative is underway between SFWS faculty and others from Auburn’s College of Agriculture, College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, and College of Business to develop an undergraduate program in the area of sustainable bioproducts and packaging! s

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Timber Titan of Alabama’s Forest Industry Editor’s Note: In Greek Mythology Titans were a race of immortal giants of incredible strength. Today, “titans of industry” refers to individuals who made an incredible impact on the development of a particular industry. This article chronicles the life of Forestry Titan Homer McGough.

Homer McGough: Ninety-Eight Years Young & Still Going Strong

By Sam Duvall

Homer McGough was born in 1918, the year the First World War ended and a time when America had about a third as many citizens as today living mostly in small towns and rural communities. hile the wear and tear of 98 years has slowed Homer’s walking gait a little, his mind shows no loss of mental acuity that might be expected of a gentleman less than 2 years away from his 100th birthday.

Before his official retirement in 1983, Homer dedicated 42 years of his life to the wood business, primarily producing and buying crossties and poles for Koppers, a multi-national corporation which provides products and services to railroads, utilities and other large economic entities. AFA President-elect Vaughn Stough worked with Homer for over a decade and took over Homer’s position as Southeastern Procurement Manager for Koppers when Homer retired. Vaughn, who is retired now from McDonald Group Investments in Mountain Brook, thinks of Homer as his mentor and occasionally still visits him at the assisted living facility where Homer lives in Hoover. Vaughn sat in on this interview.

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ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Homer McGough as a young man “dressed to the nines.”

Homer’s good humor and quick wit were evident throughout the interview, as when I asked, “You’re going to make it past 100 aren’t you?” and he quickly responded, “I’m afraid I am!” This prompted Vaughn to chime in, “He’s too close to quit now!” as both men began laughing.

Back to the Beginning Homer McGough was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1918 to Elton Gyron McGough and Mary Stegall McGough. Homer’s father Elton was assistant plant manager for a company that produced crossties for U.S. railroads. Eventually his father’s company was bought out by Koppers, a firm that Homer would work for most of his 42 years in the wood business.

Back then, crossties were hand-hewn and loaded by “shouldermen” who would hoist the 200+ pound crossties onto their 7

Timber Titan Homer McGough

Homer and Margaret, his beloved wife of 55 years who passed away in 1998.

Top right, Homer McGough (center), with his son Albert and daughter-inlaw Linda at the Birmingham-area AFA Regional Reception.

Bottom, Homer McGough (center) with sons Elton (left) and Albert. shoulders and load them one by one into boxcars for shipment to treatment plants.

Homer started his education in Little Rock, but got most of his childhood schooling in Montgomery after his father accepted his company’s job to be a new plant manager in Montgomery.

Homer graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery. When his father was transferred back to Arkansas, Homer attended an Arkansas junior college, majoring in engineering and then transferred to the University of Arkansas where, Homer said, “they had a real school of engineering.” Homer soon learned that junior college had not prepared him for the tough engineering curriculum he was pursuing.

“I talked to the deans and talked my way into the School of Business Administration. I got a business degree in 1940. But all of my minors were in engineering, which came in handy later in life,” Homer said.

When he completed college jobs were hard to find. So Homer turned to his father for advice.

also served as president of the Alabama Wood Preserving Association. Homer’s son Albert was another matter. “He’s a traitor to the cause!” said Homer, jokingly.

Actually, Homer is very proud of both of his sons. While not directly involved in the wood business, Albert is an engineer who has built wood production facilities in a variety of locations, including working with International Paper on a joint venture in Russia that is still ongoing. Elton passed away in 2015, but Albert and his engineering career are still going strong. Both he and his wife Linda spend as much time as they can with Homer. (On the day of the interview Linda brought Homer coffee and cookies.)

After training at Chipley, Homer was sent to Montgomery and started his career in earnest. He spent a lot of time with mill operators and landowners to keep wood flowing into Koppers’s crosstie and pole inventories.

Homer eventually worked his way up to become the Southeastern Procurement Manager for Koppers.

When demand started to slow for crossties, Koppers added utility poles to its product line at a time when the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) was pushing power into the rural areas of America. Demand for poles was also pushed higher during World War Two by the needs of the military.

As with crossties, extensive hand labor was needed early in the pole business to remove the outer bark and inner “skin” to expose the wood for treatment. Koppers was positioned well for treating poles because they already had some of the largest cylinders in the industry for treating crossties. Early in his career, Homer helped facilitate a large land purchase of property owned by Jackson Lumber Company at Lockhart, Alabama. Several big forestry companies, including International Paper and Scott, participated in the purchase of 50,000 acres. Koppers then bought the trees that could be used to make poles for $1 million.

“We put the first pole mill in down there on that property, the first one in the field,” Homer said.

Persistence Pays Off for Homer Although Homer’s father was lukewarm on him getting into the crosstie business, Homer persisted and eventually landed a job with Koppers’s Montgomery office. In those days companies trained new hires to be sure they could do the job.

“I was sent to Chipley, Florida [to a crosstie yard]. I trained under a man who was going with a girl named Jane who had a girlfriend living across the street from her,” Homer said. Introductions were made and Jane’s friend, a pretty young woman named Margaret, soon became Homer’s love interest and then his wife.

The marriage produced two sons, Elton and Albert.

As he had with his father, Homer’s son Elton followed him into the wood business with Koppers where he worked for 33 years. Elton was a plant manager for plants in several states. He 8

Homer Hires Vaughn

Homer McGough sits in front of Vaughn Stough, whom he hired in 1972.

Always looking for bright new talent, Homer hired Vaughn Stough in 1973.

“He hired me right out of college as a forester and we worked together until Homer retired,” said Vaughn. When he joined Homer at Koppers, the company was still strong in crossties and had a bustling trade in poles.

“Koppers had two other territories. Combined, we were ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Above, back in the day, debarking poles was done the old fashioned way, by hand.

Top right, part of the portable pole mill developed by Homer and Vaughn Stough.

Bottom, Homer is pictured at the far right, with a group of potential clients which Koopers flew to Alabama to see firsthand how the company produced its poles.

Inset: Cover of June 1950 Alabama Lumberman noting “a rapidly disappearing sight in the industry is that of ‘shoulder-men’ carrying cross-ties into cars by hand.”

producing 1.2 million poles a year, over 50% of the market,” Vaughn recalled.

Fretting over the difficulty and cost of setting up permanent pole mills, Homer hatched the idea of producing a portable pole mill, akin to the peckerwood sawmills which dotted the forestry landscape until they were slowly phased out by the industry.

Homer’s idea for the portable mill came at a time when business was slow and Koppers was looking for ways to boost revenues. Homer convinced his bosses at headquarters in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania of the viability of the project and secured financing of $50,000. Homer and Vaughn oversaw construction of the new portable mill, a sturdy affair built with oil-field drilling pipe that included a triangular apparatus to feed poles into a machine to remove outer and inner bark so the wood could absorb the creosote—a long way from when men skinned the poles with hand tools.

In their heyday, Homer and Vaughn were overseeing production at nine different directly owned mills, plus buying from numerous independent mills.

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Vaughn recalls his time working with Homer was a blessing and a pleasure. “Homer ran the southeastern wood procurement area for Koppers almost like a family business. We had a family atmosphere. We all worked together, there was very little conflict.

When a family had a problem, we all pitched in to help them outside of work. It was not just a work environment. It was way more than that,” Vaughn noted.

“When I left Koppers, they asked me to write a letter about what I thought about the company, so I wrote this letter,” Homer said. “One of the things I noted was that Raw Materials Department people were a team, from the highest level to the lowest laborer in the field.”

“That’s true,” Vaughn added. “It was a very unique environment.”

Bad Health at the Beginning Almost Dooms the Outcome Homer McGough’s long life is not without irony. A childhood illness made his 98-year odyssey seem very unlikely and contributed to a heart attack that almost killed Homer when he was still 9

Timber Titan Homer McGough a young man. out of whack and had him try several statin drugs. But Homer “When I was a child I had diphtheria which developed into couldn’t tolerate the statins because of joint discomfort. As with his rheumatic fever and gave me a heart problem,” said Homer. The decision about smoking, Homer took matters into his own hands. illness kept Homer from participating in school athletics and “I got out my I-pad and looked for foods that would reduce disqualified him from military service. In fact, health issues cholesterol. Oats was one, I just had a bowl for breakfast,” he said, almost cost Homer the love of his life when Margaret’s family smiling. He also regularly drinks cranberry juice and eats a numopposed their marriage, believing Homer’s future prospects were ber of other foods that are healthy for his heart. bleak. Despite this, Homer and Margaret were married in 1943.

His beloved wife passed away in 1998.

Epilogue on a Life Well-Lived Although Homer and Margaret had a good marriage that proIn addition to Homer’s work with Koppers, he spent 17 years duced their two fine sons, in 1955 it seemed that Margaret’s as a volunteer at Baptist Hospital in Montgomery. He was also family might have been right all along. recognized for work as a volunteer tutor, helping adults in Mont“In 1955 I had a massive heart attack! I was 37 years old,” gomery learn to read. So while Homer’s long life has been a Homer said. He also had a nervous breakdown. I could not bear personal blessing, it has also blessed others. the thought of leaving Margaret alone to raise our two young sons.”

“It seems strange I would be 98 years old with a health probBut Homer always seemed to know when to downlem like that when I was shift on a steep grade. So the first thing he did, in an era young. I really had no when tens of millions of adult American’s smoked cigaidea I’d even live to be rettes, was stop smoking.

65. Yet here I am 98,” “When I was in the hospital, I overheard the doctor said Homer, with a grin. the morning after I had the heart attack talking to a man Hearing this, Stough, in the next room. He said, ‘If you don’t stop smoking, added jokingly, “Homer you’re going to die.’ There was an orderly in my room at has been asking the the time and I asked him, ‘What’s the matter with that good Lord for five more guy in the next room?’ The orderly told me, ‘He just had years at a time, for a heart attack.’ about 25 years now!”

“So I asked the orderly, ‘Do you smoke?’ He said he Based on the Homer McGough is shown receiving a certificate honoring him as did so I told him, ‘I have a pack of cigarettes over there the top adult literacy tutor of the year at Montgomery’s First Bap- odds against Homer that you can have.’ I quit smoking right then and haven’t tist Church. Presenting the award is Dr. Bobby B. Dees, coordinator McGough’s long life, He touched one in I don’t know how long.’ ” of adult and community education programs for the Alabama must have been listening More recently a doctor told Homer his cholesterol was Department of Education. all along! s

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Fall 2015

Logger Dewayne Oakley State Senator Rusty Glover Associate Member ArborGen

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Logging Professional Profile We believe loggers should be celebrated for the part they play in the wood fiber supply chain of keeping wood flowing to the mills.

For Marvin Sykes Logging Is Just a “Family Tradition”

By Sam Duvall

arvin, the 47-year-old owner of M.T. Sykes Logging Company, followed his father William W. “Bill” Sykes into the logging business. Bill Sykes was a U.S. Army NCO who served during the Korean and Vietnam wars. His career included being an army drill instructor who worked young men into shape for combat at basic training, and service as a military policeman (MP). Bill served in the army from 1952 (the Korean War ended in ‘53) and retired in 1972 as a master sergeant/1st sergeant, E-8.

On retiring from the army, Bill returned home to his 60-acre Alabama farm and started Sykes Logging Company by first harvesting the timber on his own land which he partly cleared for raising cattle.

“In 1974 my daddy started logging,” said Marvin, who worked with his father while attending high school at Beulah, Alabama. Shortly after graduating from high school in 1986, Marvin started logging with his father full time.

In 1988 Marvin got married. He and his wife Christie had attended high school and graduated together in ’86. “We did not date in high school, but got together after and married in February 1988. We just celebrated our 28th anniversary,” said Christie Sykes. She and Marvin have a son Colton, 25, who is a 3rd generation logger working with his father, and a daughter, Abby who is 24. Abby is a graduate of Auburn University and teaches kindergarten at Phenix City Elementary School. “She will receive

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Marvin Sykes where he loves to be, in the woods logging.

For Salem, Alabama, logger Marvin Sykes, going into the woods every day to work as a logger is just like the Hank Williams Jr. song, it’s a “Family Tradition.”

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

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Logger Marvin Sykes

Another load of premium logs headed for Dudley Lumber Company in Salem, Alabama. Below left, M.T. Sykes Logging, thinning crew, L to R, Russell McCullars, William “Bubba” Beckwith and crew boss Edd Willingham.

Below right, M.T. Sykes Logging crew 1, L to R, foreman Colton Sykes, Marvin Sykes, Justin Adams, Donovan Thompson, Lanier Gleaton and truck driver, Earnest Chambers.

her master’s degree this December from Columbus State University,” Christie proudly noted.

As with many logging families, Christie keeps the books and manages the internal finances of the company.

Bill Sykes, the patriarch of the family, will be 82 this month (May). He retired from logging in 1999, passing the baton to Marvin. Bill was married to Marlene Hudmon Sykes for 55 years, before she passed away in April 2010.

Marvin Takes Over “I started the business on my own in 1999,” said Marvin, who changed the company name to reflect his status as owner to, M.T. Sykes Logging Company.

Marvin runs two crews, one that handles clearcuts and the harvesting of mature timber and a second crew that does mostly first thinnings.

On the day of this interview, Marvin’s 12

1st crew was clearcutting a 140-acre tract near Cuthbert, Georgia. The tract was about 50-50, pine plantations and natural growth. Timber on the natural growth stand was probably 30+ year-old pine with a few big hardwoods mixed in just to keep it interesting.

Marvin said the sawtimber on the job was going to Dudley Lumber Company in Salem, the pulpwood was going to WestRock at Cottonton and the hardwood was being hauled to Oakcrest Lumber Company at Buena Vista, Georgia.

Asked about production Marvin said, “With both crews, we produce 130 loads or more a week. It just depends. The other crew that does mostly thinning averages 40-45 loads a week. With this crew here (on the Cuthbert site), we have gotten up to 100 loads a week.”

Marvin’s equipment is neither real old nor real new. The equipment used by crew-1 includes a Tigercat 250 loader,

724-E Tigercat cutter, 620-E8 Tigercat skidder, a 748 John Deere skidder and a 750 John Deere bulldozer. The thinning crew runs a 642-K John Deere feller buncher, a 234 Tigercat loader, and a 620 Tigercat skidder. There is also an extra 234 Tigercat that can be used as a backup machine.

Marvin also owns seven trucks, the newest being a 2005 Kenworth and a 2005 Peterbilt. His brother Wayne Sykes also has a contract trucking company that dedicates three additional trucks to Marvin’s logging enterprise.

“I’ve got one truck that’s 16 years old. I got a 1988 R-Model Mack that I drive some myself. It’s a good truck,” Marvin said, adding that the key to keeping trucks and machines running is proper maintenance.

There are also four U.S. Army surplus trucks which Marvin owns that he uses as “pullout trucks.” These machines are beasts with low gearing that will pull just about anything out of the woods no matter ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

1 Sykes’ Crewman Lanier Gleaton replaces a side panel on a skidder after he and Marvin replaced a defective hydraulic fitting, putting the machine back in service. 2 Colton Sykes shows a deft hand handling some 30-year-old pine trees. 3 One of four “pullout” trucks owned by M.T. Logging. 4 One of Marvin’s Tigercat cutters doing it thing.

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what condition the roads are in.

For Marvin, and for his son Colton as well, logging has been a labor of love, despite the slings and arrows that accompany this line of work. “I used to love it,” he said of logging. “I don’t love it as much as I used to, but I still like doing it.”

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Youth of M.T. Sykes Logging Bucks the Trend One thing that distinguishes Marvin’s crewmen from the norm is their youth.

“I have a young crew. The oldest one out here is me (he’s 47).

My son is 25 and this crew (crew-1) has got the youngest people on it. My nephew on the thinning crew (crew-2) is in his 30s and his loader operator is also in his 30s. I’m fortunate to have the young crew I have,” Marvin said.

Like most loggers, Marvin respects experience in his workers.

But he said that given a choice of hiring an experienced worker trained by someone else, or hiring a younger person and training that person to the way that Marvin likes to log, he would go with the latter.

Marvin said he still enjoys “doing the work out here” in the woods, but he is glad Christie handles the paper side of the operation. Still, acknowledges that logging can be a very trying way to make a living.

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

13

Logger Marvin Sykes A recent problem he has faced involved his insurance company insisting that his truck drivers have at least three years of experience driving log trucks. “Where are you going to find someone with three years of experience driving a log truck?

Why wouldn’t someone with a clean driving record who we could train be okay?”

Marvin posed.

For many if not most loggers, transportation is always a problem in need of a solution. “Like right now, we’re driving an hour and a half to get to work,” Marvin said, adding that the logs they were harvesting were going to a mill in Georgia and two mills in Alabama.

“It’s getting tougher and tougher. Everything costs so much more now. You look at the price of these tractors. Or the price of a new pickup truck, even. I guess it takes everybody doing what they do to make the world go around. I enjoy the work more than I enjoy keeping up with what the boss man (his wife Christie) has

Marvin said, noting that it remains to be seen whether these boys will choose the path taken by their father, grandfather and Sykes Family Works and Plays Together great grandfather.

The Sykes family is close knit. They Christie said at least for now the grandlike to work and play together. In the sumsons seem headed that way. mertime, Marvin takes his family boat rid“Colton knew his ing on Lake Harding, entire life he wanted to located about a mile be a logger. He spent from their home. In many days as a toddler the wintertime, Marand throughout his life vin, Colton and Abby in the woods learning enjoy hunting deer from his daddy and and turkeys on the Pawpaw Bill. He family land. started full time logDespite the ups ging after he graduated and downs, Marvin The 2nd and 3rd generation of Sykes family loggers, from high school in hopes to one day retire Marvin (right) and his son Colton.

2008. Even now, Cam and turn the company over to Colton, the 3rd generation of Sykes and Cooper tell us they want to be a “boss” and cut trees just like their daddy running a logging company. But will there and ‘big daddy’ Marvin,” said Christie. be a 4th generation? “I have two little As we said at the beginning for the grandbabies. Colton’s sons Cam (Cameron Marvin Sykes clan, logging is indeed a Jeffery Sykes) who is 6, and Cooper (Marfamily tradition! s vin “Cooper” Sykes) who is 5 years old,” to do,” he said, with a laugh.

A Profile in Public Service Editor’s Note: This regular feature profiles an individual engaged in the political arena.

Charlie Graddick Catalyst for Today’s Republican Party in Alabama The year was 1986.

Top Gun was the number one movie of the year and “The Cosby Show” was the hit on television. The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated and the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded in the Ukraine creating two of the world’s worst disasters. Ronald Reagan was president and the Democrats had regained control of the U.S. Senate. …

n Alabama, events transpired that signaled the beginning of the transformation to a two-party state and eventual Republican domination. Today, Republicans hold all statewide offices and control both houses of the legislature.

But that was not the case in 1986.

This transformation can be credited, at least in part, to Judge Charlie Graddick.

Charles Allen Graddick, Sr. (born on December 10, 1944 in Mobile) is currently the presiding judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Mobile County, Alabama. Graddick graduated in 1963 from the all-male University Military School in Mobile and in 1967 received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama where he was a member of the politically influential Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In 1970, he received his juris doctorate from Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham after being chosen the class president.

In 1975, at the age of twenty-eight, he was elected District Attorney of Mobile County as a Republican. In 1979, a year in which all major statewide offices were held by Democrats, Graddick was elected Alabama’s attorney general as a Democrat and served in that capacity until 1987. He ran for governor in 1986 and along the way became a transformative figure in

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ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Mobile County Presiding Circuit Court Judge Charlie Graddick

Alabama’s political history.

The 1986 Democratic primary for governor was a “who’s who” of Alabama politics. The race to succeed Governor George Wallace included then Lieutenant Governor Bill Baxley, then Attorney General Graddick, former Governor Fob James and former Lieutenant Governor George McMillan. Over 940,000 voters participated in the Democratic primary. Meanwhile, in the Republican primary only 33,000 votes were cast for the relatively unknown chicken farmer, Guy Hunt from Holly Pond.

The primary, held on June 3, 1986, resulted in Baxley (36.8%) and Graddick (29.33%) headed to a run-off separated by 70,000 votes. The Democratic primary run-off, held on June 24th, saw Graddick surpass Baxley by 8,756 votes, out of the nearly one million votes cast resulting in, at the time, the closest election margin in Alabama history.

Here is where things got really interesting.

Shortly after the run-off election, Graddick was informed by a member of his A.G.’s staff that Paul Hubbert, the powerful head of the Alabama Education Association, wanted to meet with him.

Two days after the election the two sat down at a private home in Montgomery to talk about the election.

According to Graddick, Hubbert congratulated him on his 15

Charlie Graddick

CATALYST—an event, substance or person causing a change victory and proceeded to pull out a legal pad and said that there were some items he wanted to discuss with him now that Graddick was going to be the governor (no one was even considering that the Republican Hunt had a chance of being elected in the general election in November).

Graddick with his white spotted pointer, Millie, and black Lab, Sydney.

On Hubbert’s legal pad was a list of issues important to Hubbert and AEA. Hubbert began by insisting that Graddick would need to back off on his proposal for a “no-pass, no-play” policy for school kids, there would be no teacher testing, no tort reform and that he expected Graddick to support ad valorem tax increases for schools. In addition, Hubbert expected to have a seat at the table whenever education was discussed and that Joe Reed (then executive vice president of AEA) would expect to have at least three appointments to the Graddick cabinet.

Graddick stared at Hubbert for an uncomfortable amount of time and then said, “Do you see a for sale sign hanging around my neck? You can take your list of demands and shove them where the sun doesn’t shine.” [Note: not the exact quote, but close.]

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Not used to being told “no” Hubbert left the meeting visibly irritated.

A couple of days later, Graddick had a telephone conversation with Baxley, who conceded the election to Graddick and offered to help his administration in whatever manner he could.

Graddick with his grandson Charlie III and son Charlie, Jr.

That weekend, Graddick’s campaign chairman, Pettus Randle, informed Graddick that Democratic Party Chairman John Baker wanted Graddick and a few others to come to his house to a cookout and “bury the hatchet.” The primary election and primary run-off elections had been very contentious.

So Graddick went to Baker’s home less than a week after the election to cook steaks and have a few cocktails. Also attending were Al Lapierre and Bill Blount, both later convicted of bribing former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford (Langford also went to jail). Graddick brought Richard Shelby with him. During the course of the evening, Baker stepped out to take a phone call. He returned, visibly shaken, and informed Graddick that there was to be a contest of the election filed.

Graddick was quite surprised at this as he

had just spoken with Baxley and nothing had been mentioned about a challenge.

On the other end of that phone call?

You guessed it: Paul Hubbert.

The election contest involved numerous lawsuits, but at the end of the day, the federal courts determined that Graddick had encouraged cross-over voting by Republicans and that the cross-over voting was in violation of Democratic Party rules.

The court told the Democratic Party to either hold another election or to have its executive committee determine the winner.

The Democratic Party chose not to hold another election (Graddick was polling way ahead of Baxley at this time) and instead appointed a five-member committee to determine the nominee. The committee (hereinafter referred to as “the gang of five”), including current State Representative John Knight, Bill Blount and John Baker, decided that Baxley should be the nominee.

Voter outrage began immediately. Graddick considered a write-in campaign but ultimately chose not to pursue that course.

Hunt was approached by several prominent businessmen from Birmingham and Montgomery to step aside for Graddick but refused.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Voters turned against the Democratic Party and elected Guy Hunt as the first Republican governor since Reconstruction by an overwhelming margin (56.5%), and the Republican Party hasn’t looked back since.

Graddick’s image throughout his political career is that of a fighter and competitor.

In high school, at UMS, he was the quarterback for a team, coached by future Auburn coach Doug Barfield that went 9-1 when he was a senior. The lone loss came against Foley led by quarterback, Ken Stabler. Graddick walked on at Alabama and played for the legendary Paul Bryant—for eight days. Pummeled daily as the scout team quarterback, bruised and bloodied, he hung up his cleats.

Recruited to run for Attorney General

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

In Memoriam in 1978, Graddick was advised by influential Mobile businessman and prominent Republican Arthur Outlaw to run as a Democrat in order to have a chance of being elected. To have his party switch endorsed, he came to Montgomery and met with Democratic Party Executive Director Bob Vance (who later himself was hand-picked to run for the Supreme Court only to lose to Chief Justice Roy Moore) and a little known operative serving as the assistant director of the party named Don Siegleman.

Charlie got his picture taken with the two party leaders and “was always afraid the picture would come out during later elective races.”

As mentioned previously, the 1986 Democratic primary and primary run-off elections were extremely brutal. Fob James called Graddick a liar in television ads.

Graddick’s campaign ran an ad featuring a “frog” which stated: “Being called a liar by Fob James is like being called ugly by a frog.” The add was humorous and stopped Graddick’s fall in the polls. James and Graddick fought for second place in a run-off with Baxley. In the flurry of time between the primary and run-off, Graddick sought James’ endorsement and was told “no” in very flowery terms. Many of James’ supporters did go with Graddick and most of the liberal voters who supported McMillan voted for Baxley.

It appeared that Baxley had the run-off well in hand until a cataclysmic event rocked his campaign. The Birmingham News had gotten credible information alleging that Baxley was having an extra-marital affair involving another member of the news media. Baxley (lt. governor at the time) was using state troopers to escort his mistress, Marie Pratt, to and from trysts at a Montgomery townhome.

The Birmingham News reporters and photographers hid in the bushes at the townhome and got pictures of state troopers with Ms. Pratt. Later at a political forum between Baxley and Graddick leading up to the run-off, The Birmingham News questioned Baxley about the relationship which he vehemently but unconvincingly denied.

Graddick was totally surprised by the turn of events.

“My campaign staff met throughout the night trying to decide what to do with this information. We finally concluded that we couldn’t just let it slip away. The next morning, I called a press conference and denounced the attack on Baxley and called for them (The Birmingham News) to release any and all information they had in order to substantiate their allegations.” With a sly smile Graddick acknowledged “the next day the paper ran a huge above-the-fold picture of the woman sneaking out of Baxley’s townhouse and from that point on I knew we had a good chance to win.” s ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Forestry Loses Four Stalwarts DWIGHT HARRIGAN It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of long-time AFA member and forestry leader Dwight Harrigan of Fulton, Alabama.

Dwight’s family has been involved in forestry in Alabama for well over 100 years. Dwight passed away after a long battle with cancer.

In the summer 2014 issue of Alabama Forests we featured Dwight in our “Timber Titan” series. Dwight served as president of AFA from 1975-76. He also served as chairman of the Board of the Association and spent 15 years as secretary/treasurer of AFA. In his service as a forestry leader, Dwight followed the footsteps of his father Billy Harrigan, who was a founding member of the Alabama Forest Products Association in 1949, which became the Alabama Forestry Association in 1972. Billy Harrigan also served as the 5th president of AFA.

DR. ROBERT PARKER Dr. Robert Parker, a longtime Tree Farmer and AFA member, died recently from injuries from an accident on his farm near Coosada, Ala. He was an avid outdoorsman and tree farmer and also an outstanding veterinarian for many years in his area. Dr. Parker participated in both the Treasure Forest and Tree Farm programs. He and his wife Betsy were named Tree Farmers of the Year in 2013. Dr. Parker was a member of the Alabama Tree Farm Program Committee at the time of his death.

CHARLES KELLEY Many of you know Charles Kelley, the man who served 40 years as head of the Game and Fish Division of the Department of Conservation in Alabama. Charles passed away after a brief illness on March 26. He was 91 years old.

Charles was instrumental in working with forestry families, including the Stimpsons in Mobile, to repopulate the state’s two most popular game species: white-tailed deer and wild turkeys.

Charles was also a World War II vet with 26 missions in a B-17, mostly as the ball turret gunner. He remained in the reserves and national guard and retired as a brigadier general.

ROBERT E. LEE, III It is also with a great deal of sadness that we inform you of the passing of Mr. Robert E.“Bob” Lee, III of Prattville, Alabama, May 25th.

Mr. Lee was a longtime leader in the forestry community in Alabama.

He served as president of the Alabama Forestry Association from 1982-83.

Mr. Lee was instrumental in the creation of the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. He and a small delegation met with the AU Board of Trustees and convinced them of the need for a forestry school, separate from the College of Agriculture. The new school was announced by the president of Auburn University at the AFA annual meeting in 1984. Bob Lee was also involved in the hiring of John McMillan in 1983. John turned out to be the longest serving executive vice president of the AFA, passing the baton to current EVP Chris Isaacson in 2006.

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Associate Member Spotlight Associate Member Spotlight highlights associate members who are invaluable to AFA. Through their dues and sponsorships, associate

The Coopers

members fund AFA’s grassroots activities, including regional receptions and outreach to our members, prospective new members

The Cooper family’s roots are almost 150 years deep in Alabama soil

and other interested parties.

Please learn more about our associate members and support them so they will continue to be an integral part of our association.

At the foot of Government Street in downtown Mobile is Cooper Riverside Park. On the east side is a bronze statue of a man sitting on a bench, his gaze set over the waters of Mobile River. The late Ervin S. Cooper was a member of a proud family tradition that has intrinsically touched the Port City area for well over a century. cottish immigrant Henry H. Cooper and his two brothers first settled in Baldwin County back in the late 1860s. The Coopers were pine rosin farmers, and received handsome wages for this prized caulking material from their naval ship customers. They established lifelong roots in an area which was later called Rosinton, Alabama. Henry Harrison Cooper and his wife, Matilda McKenzie Cooper, had fourteen children; the next to the youngest, Angus R. Cooper, was born in 1877.

Drawn to the water and Mobile’s downtown port, Angus earned his first wages as a tally man, counting cargo on docked vessels. In 1905 he established what would later become today’s Cooper/T. Smith Corporation A rough and tumble Scotsman, Angus R. Cooper, was never afraid to roll up his sleeves. With only an eighth grade education, Angus was learned in his steadfast and formidable work ethic. Cooper left his Georgia Avenue home every morning at four o’clock and walked down to the docks, sweating with each tug of the ropes and pulleys as he unloaded South American cargo. Hours often went well past midnight. Out of practicality, Angus had a simple wooden office with a daybed for resting between shipments of sugar or pineapples.

Tommy’s Terminal was a favorite meeting spot.

Across a tall slate board Angus R. Cooper chalked in the next day’s assignments. By 4:00 a.m. dockworkers had checked the board. “Without emails, everyone showed up on time for work,” says David J. Cooper Sr., Angus R. Cooper’s grandson. It was also at Tommy’s Terminal

S

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ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

that workers received their wages. Angus handed out trademark silver dollars, a heftier payment than an ordinary paper bill.

“On the docks he ruled with an iron hand,” recalls David J. Cooper. “He carried a pair of brass knuckles in his pocket. Yet in his personal life he had a contagious laugh and was a great storyteller. Embellishment was his middle name,” says Cooper with a laugh. David often heard tall stories of ships and exotic cargo arriving at the docks.

In the Depression years, Angus Cooper quietly took care of medical bills for families of employees. In gratitude the Coopers often found collard greens, fig preserves, and eggs left on their back porch.

With the birth of a son, Ervin S. Cooper, in 1911, another Cooper continued in the family business. Soft-spoken, Ervin was the first Cooper family member to graduate from college. With an accounting degree from Tulane University, he first worked for Alcoa Steamship Company in New Orleans and New York before returning to Mobile to lead the family business.

Today David J. Cooper Sr. serves as vice chairman while Angus R. Cooper II is chairman, Angus R. Cooper III is president and Scott H. Cooper is executive vice president.

Now one of the nation’s oldest as well as the second largest stevedoring and marine related firm in America, Cooper/T. Smith employs thousands worldwide on a daily basis. Subsidiaries include warehouses, terminal operations, tugboats, push boats, barges, barge fleeting and floating terminal, woodchip mills, wood yards, mooring operations, ocean going barges, vessel repair, as well as a restaurant and hospitality company. Cooper/T. Smith maintains operations on all three United States coastlines. Foreign operations are located in both Central and South America.

With the ability to handle break bulk cargo with state-of-theart equipment and automation, as well as cost effective movement of cargo to and from ships at port, the company has a worldwide presence. “With huge barge mounted cranes we can transport our equipment anywhere that a customer needs our service. What’s more is that these cranes can be sent virtually anywhere in the world within forty-five days or less,” Angus R. Cooper II explains.

Today the company handles forest products, steel, coal, fertilizer, alloys, ores, as well as grain product cargo. In the last ten years alone, Cooper/T. Smith has handled a staggering 30 million tons of grain.

The company supports many local causes with a special emphasis on UMS-Wright Preparatory School, The University of Alabama, Mobile Carnival Association, and several local churches.

Angus R. Cooper and Ervin S. Cooper’s eagerness to “pay the price,” as David J. Cooper Sr. calls it, is what has made Cooper/ T. Smith a local and international success story. s ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Top: Terminals, Inc., the Mobile-based company destined to become Cooper/T.Smith Corporation, in the 1930s. Angus R. Cooper, shown at left, and his son, Ervin S. Cooper, right.

Bottom: Third generation Cooper family members Angus R. Cooper II, and David J. Cooper Sr., shown with their father, Ervin S. Cooper, at the dedication of a new barge-mounted crane in the 1970s.

“In his personal life [Angus Cooper] had a contagious laugh and was a great storyteller. Embellishment was his middle name.”

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NEWS & VIEWS

Reflections… ow valuable is your Tree Farm? This is a subject that is debated, pondered upon, and even argued about. It most often arises when someone is either approached about selling their propTim Browning, erty or decides to come up RF #1874 with a value to place their Alabama Tree property on the real estate Farm Chairman market. I am not sure anyone can accurately answer the question because value to each and every one of us has such a diverse meaning. I am going to open the subject anyway just to challenge you and share my personal thoughts.

Value as far as standing timber can be appraised and assigned based on current market conditions and fair market values.

We can also establish a basis for the cost of developing certain aspects of a property.

You know and understand the cost of building roads and placing culverts/bridges for infrastructure. It is also easy to assess some value for wildlife viewing/shooting houses, wildlife feeders, established duck ponds, fox pens, rabbit pens, high fences for big game, and even firing ranges. Some properties I have visited over the years have camp houses, lodges, equipment sheds or some other inhabited structures that can easily be assessed a value.

You ask, “Where is this guy going with this?” I am getting to a point that brings out something personal and very hard to assess values for, or put a price on. Hopefully in doing so, you will reflect back as you read this to a personal moment in your life, and just grin, smile, or get that gut feeling that I have now as I type this letter. I am talking about the extrinsic

H

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

value of a forest. It is that moment that your son or daughter harvested that first deer. It was an early morning turkey hunt that yielded not only a rush of adrenaline and smile, but a 20+ pound gobbler. Maybe for some, it was riding a farm tractor all day towing a hay rake behind your mom or dad, who was just a half a field in front pulling the mower. Or perhaps, one of my favorites, a time where you just camped out with the family and cooked on the grill, sat around telling stories, roasted a marshmallow on the fire, and took in the cool night air.

For me personally, I reflect back to fishing trips, both on the river and at lakes or ponds most of the time owned by some of you. The river trips stand out the most. I can remember my brother and me dressing fish for hours as we trot-line fished during periods of high water. Pulling up a trot line while Dad ran the motor, or reaching down to grab that line attached to a box that had been lying on the river bottom for days and yielded all of those good eating channel cats brings back good memories. We would bake in the sun, just a tremendous amount of patience, as we one-by-one, caught our limit of those slow-biting crappie. And man about June, you could smell that brim bed before the boat stopped, while whipping a cricket right over on top of them and fighting a monster brim. Daddy always said, “them crazy bass will strike at anything,” but at 5:30 a.m. there is nothing that compares to a top water bait being pulled through a patch of coon tail grass and hearing “sploosh,” as a largemouth bass just wears you out.

I could go on and on, trust me, but I think the point has been made. When I reflect back on all of this it seems to help all the air quality regulations, environmen-

tal regulations, and water quality regulations a little less painful to swallow. I am not a huge supporter of regulations and hardly believe that it is solely our forest industry causing the bulk of adverse effects to the environment. I do understand them better or have an appreciation for what some of the regulations attempt to accomplish though.

We have more than 77,000 miles of natural freshwater streams, of which 46,970 miles are permanent and 30,030 are intermittent with flows during the wetter seasons in Alabama. All of these streams are impacted and filtered as they flow through watersheds where we manage the forests.

We have more aquatic species of freshwater fish, mussels, snails, and crayfish than any state in the country. Alabama’s forests and “your Tree Farms” are priceless to me!

It is a healthy, viable stand of pine-hardwoods that offer habitat and corridors for wildlife, filter run-off and provide shade to streams, supply the world with forest products, offer jobs to feed families, and create the perfect niche, where I live!

Your friend and Tree Farm chair, Tim Browning.

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Better Together

By Leigh Peters

he Alabama Natural Resources Council hosted the 5th Annual Outdoor Symposium and Banquet at the beautiful Lanark Center in Millbrook, Alabama on February 5th, 2016, with over 150 in attendance. The Awards Banquet is an opportunity to recognize those forest owners and other citizens who have shown exemplary dedication to the wise stewardship of Alabama’s natural resources. In front of an audience of their peers, together with representatives from the community of natural resource professionals, the forum highlights these achievements. In conjunction with the award program, the Council also sponsors a pre-banquet symposium which provided interested landowners and professionals an opportunity to learn new and applied forest and land management techniques from qualified speakers.

At a reception before the banquet,

T

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1 Accepting the Alabama Tree Farmers of the Year Award for the Sid and Vivian Beech Trust are (left to right) James Older, Ms. Vivian Beech, Michael Older, and Greg Stoll. The background shows a prescribed burn at the Beech’s Tree Farm.

attendees were invited to visit with sponsors and exhibitors from the following organizations: Gold level event sponsors: Alabama Wildlife Federation, Alabama State Tree Farm Committee, Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee

Silver level sponsors: Alabama TREASURE Forest Association, IndusTREE, Dr. Robert Parker Exhibitors: Alabama Ag Credit, USDA Forest Service, Association of Consulting Foresters, Meeks’ Farms and Nursery, Outdoor Women Unlimited, and Arborgen

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Congratulations winners!

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3

SuperTree Seedlings After the reception, guests were treated to a banquet meal and program, recognizing those who have made exceptional contributions to natural resources. Before dinner was served, Greg Pate, Alabama State Forester kicked off the evening and introduced the keynote speaker Tom Gothard, from the National Wildlife Federation. After dinner, Dr. Dick Brinker, Dean Emeritus of Auburn’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences emceed the award ceremony.

Tim Browning, Alabama Tree Farm Committee Chair, presented the following Tree Farm awards: 1 ALABAMA TREE FARMER OF THE YEAR Sid and Vivian Beech Trust

Ms. Vivian Beech and family came forward to accept the award on behalf of the Sid and Vivian Beech Trust.

The Beech’s Tree Farm is actively managed as a longleaf pine ecosystem through natural regeneration with the goal of producing quality wood products while enhancing wildlife habitat for game and non-game species. They accomplish all of this through their primary management practices of well-planned thinnings and routine prescribed burning. Hunting stands are utilized and wildlife food plots are planted annually with a variety of cover for deer, turkey, and quail. Wildlife observation is also a use of the property.

They are a charter member of the Washington County TREASURE Forest Chapter, life member & director of the

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

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Washington County Conservation Club, the Alabama and Washington County Wild Turkey Federation, and a Longleaf Alliance supporter. A generous supporter of many worthy causes, Ms. Beech donated a load of logs to Log A Load for Kids in 2010, and in 2015 hosted the South Region Forestry Field Day and Landowner Tour on the property in October.

2 DOUG LINK LEADERSHIP AWARD

Michael Older This recognition goes to any individual who has distinguished themselves from the many others by building the capacity of the Tree Farm program and spreading the message of sustainable forestry.

Michael has been active in the Tree Farm Program and the Tree Farm Committee for over 25 years. He has served the Alabama Tree Farm Committee as the Longleaf District Chairman and as the Certification Committee Chairman. His active promotion of the American Tree Farm program is shown by the fact that he has earned the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Gold-plus Hard Hat Awards having inspected more than 250 landowners. He also received the Wes Meier National Tree Farm Inspector of the Year and has won the Alabama Tree Farm Inspector of the Year 5 times.

3 TREE FARM INSPECTOR OF THE YEAR William “Tim” Browning

This award recognizes inspecting foresters with high activity over the past year, as well as activity in Outreach and

Education. Tim is currently serving as the Alabama Tree Farm Committee chair and as the District Inspector for the Warrior District. He shows his continued commitment to the Tree Farmers and Inspectors he works with on a daily basis.

In 2015, Tim performed over 25 inspections which includes re-inspections and initial inspections. He is currently serving as the chair for the Alabama Tree Farm Committee and the Warrior District Inspector. He is not only an active inspector but also an active facilitator, training professional Tree Farm inspectors across the state.

4 SOUTHEAST REGION TREE FARM

YEAR Cedar Creek Plantation OF THE

John Boutwell and Peggy Autry, of Cedar Creek, came forward to accept the award for the 2015 Southeast Region Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year. In 2015, the former Alabama Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year was announced as the Southeast Region Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year presented by the American Tree Farm System. They then went on to compete for the National Tree Farmer of the Year, representing Alabama, the Southern Region, and Tree Farmers across the nation with distinction.

In addition to the Tree Farm Awards, the following ANRC sponsored awards were presented:

Outstanding Forestry Planning Committees The committees that receive these awards

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Green Horizons

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6

8

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are models of community outreach on all aspects of sustainable forest management.

5 North Region-Cullman County Organized the North Region Forestry Feld Day at Riverwood Farms. Held spring and fall FAWN (Forestry Awareness Week Now) programs for the 1,400 sixth graders in the county.

6 Central Region—Chambers County Conducted teachers in-service program and fall Landowner’s Conference.

7 South Region—Butler County Sponsored a local Natural Resources Youth Camp for area 6th graders nineteen years in a row.

Ken McNabb then presented the following awards: 8 W. Kelly Mosley Environmental Award: John & Mary Sudduth Helene Mosley Memorial TREASURE Forest Awards 9 North Region—Jimmy & Sue Jimmerson of Cleburne County 10 Central Region—Rolling Mountain Plantation, The Neighbors Family of Coosa County

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10 11 South Region—Cedar Creek Plantation, John & Ann Boutwell and Peggy Autry of Butler County These awards began with a generous endowment to Auburn University.

This endowment is used to publically recognize individuals whose activities and achievements have resulted in the wiser and better use of Alabama’s natural resources. s

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Got the rainy day blues?

Earn CFEs & PLMs while you wait for the sunshine.

www.alaforestry.org/cfe ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Unsung Hero

By Lamar Dewberry

he benefits of being a Tree Farmer often go beyond wood, water, wildlife, and recreation. The people you meet as you work towards the objectives of your management plan can leave an invaluable impression on you. In a time when you hear more of the bad and less of the good, it is important to reflect on the goodness in others. That is what I aim to do in telling this story.

It was in March of 1993, i.e. “Snowstorm ’93.” It was the snowstorm of a lifetime. We had 16 inches of snow in some of the most elevated parts of the state. A logger was cutting some timber for me when this happened. It would appear as the most inopportune time for a logging operation to be occurring on our property.

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ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Going into our property is two acres, owned by a man named George Kelly. Mr. Kelly has a son who is paralyzed and in a wheelchair from an accident of a car falling on him while he was working on it. The county dirt road going into the property had snow drifts in it as high as the dozier.

These were caused by the high winds in the mountains. It was a mile down this road to the house where Mr. Kelly lived and then another quarter mile to where the dozier was parked at the logging deck.

The road was completely impassable and Mr. McVey, the logger, thought of the Kellys and the predicament they were in.

He left his home in the snow on the hazardous road and was able to get to the dirt road but there was no way he could get

Logger McVey dozing the Kelly’s snow-filled road after the “Snowstorm of ’93.” down it. He then parked his 4-wheel drive truck and walked to the dozier in some of the deepest snow the county and state had ever experienced. You would probably be safe to say he risked his safety and possibly his life to walk in to his equipment to help others.

My family and I had ridden up to the property to see what things looked like and I saw a dozier coming out the dirt road making it passable for the Kellys to get out. How long would the Kellys have been trapped in their own house? What if they would have had an emergency?

Mr. Kelly said that morning he heard 25

Green Horizons something that sounded like the logging equipment but he knew the loggers were not working because everyone was snowed in. Soon he saw Mr. McVey on that cold dozier coming by his house then clearing the dirt road to the paved county road so the Kellys could get out.

The snow was still piled up on the side of the road two weeks after the storm.

Over 20 years have passed since this occurred. I recently saw Mr. McVey eating breakfast and thought about that time and how an ordinary person went out of his way to do an extraordinary act of kindness for someone. As a Tree Farmer, I was able to witness a logger become an unsung hero. s The Dewberry family checks on the roads. Abby Dewberry Stewart (age 10) and Nathan Dewberry (age 12) are dwarfed next to the snow banks.

Alabama Tree Farmer Among the 2016 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Regional Finalists

Nick Granger and Allen Varner recognize Mike and Joan Newman (pictured center) at a Field Day event held on their property. The Newmans generously share their Tree Farm with others on a regular basis. Mr. Newman has often stated,“Nobody owns the land except God. We are all just caretakers to pass it down—hopefully in better shape than we received it.”

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nnually, the Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year (OTFY) award recognizes private landowners who have done an exceptional job of forest management on their property and are also actively promoting sustainable forestry. Through this award program, these individuals are honored as leaders in good forestry while their land demonstrates the benefits of good forest management.

The purpose of the award is to: • Promote sustainable forest management, • Recognize outstanding Tree Farmers and the foresters who work with them, • Inspire other landowners to manage their land for good stewardship, • Engage candidates in efforts to influence legislation affecting private forest owners, where applicable, and • Cultivate champions for American Forest Foundation (AFF) initiatives.

Alabama Tree Farmers Mike and Joan Newman, were recently named as one of two finalists for the 2016 Southern Regional OTFY. As a 2014 recipient of the Alabama OTFY, the Newmans are an example to landowners everywhere. Their commitment to sustainable forestry, through active forest management has resulted in a Tree Farm worthy of this honor. s

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ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Alabama Tree Farm Committee Black Belt District Bart Adams (334) 410-0608 Capital District Walter Cartwright (334)-240-9324 Delta District Benji Elmore (251) 275-3283 Longleaf District Mike Older (334) 222-0379 Mountain District Todd Langston (256) 434-4712

State Chairman Tim Browning (205) 367-8232

Piedmont District Amy Gaddy 256-447-1006 Valley District Johnnie Everitt (256) 383-4376 Vulcan District Jason Dockery (256) 734-0573 Warrior District Tim Browning (205) 367-8232 Wiregrass District Heather Wierzbicki (334) 855-5394

Tree Farmers— Ê Ê

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Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê ÊIs Your Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Tree Farm Ê Ê Ê Ê Information Ê Ê Ê

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Current? Ê

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Outreach & Education Chair Allen Varner (334)-240-9308 Certification Chair Lamar Dewberry 256-396-0555

Chris Isaacson (334) 265-8733 Doug Link (251) 564-6281 Salem & Dianne Saloom (251) 867-6464 Charles Simon (334) 222-1125 At Large Directors Jim Solvason Tim Albritton (334) 372-3360 (334) 887-4560 Carolyn Stubbs John Boutwell (334) 821-0374 Board Development (334) 365-9221 Chair Don East Tom Carignan (256) 396-2694 (334) 361-7677

n 2016, the American Tree Farm System marks its 75th Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê anniversary and we hope you will join in celebrating this Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê milestone. Sharing the successes of Tree Farm helps raise the Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê profile of our family woodlands and woodland owners. ATFS Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê would not be the program it is today without the people who Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê helped mold it along the way. Tree Farmers, inspectors, volunÊ Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê teers, community leaders, and forest partners all have a hand Ê in the Tree Farm system. Please consider sharing your stories Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê of these individuals that have overcome challenges or done Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê something incredible in the name of forest stewardship. Send Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê your stories and pictures to lpeters@alaforestry.org. s Ê Ê

I

We Need to Hear From You! Ê

Vice Chairman Lamar Dewberry (256) 396-2485 Financial Committee Chair Heather Wierzbicki (334) 855-5394 Awards & Recognition Chairs Paul Hudgins (334) 376-9114

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✁ Tree Farm #:

Tree Farm County:

GPS coordinates if available:

Tree Farm Name:

Tree Farm Organization (if LLC, etc.)

Contact Name:

Contact Address:

Phone:

Cell Phone:

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City/State: ZIP:

Non-contiguous tracts?

Y

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Forested acres change?

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e r u t a N o t s id K g in t c e n n Co Nature is a grea great at teacher! T Try ry this outdoor activ a activity ity – it’ it’ss safe, fun, and ed educational. ducational.

Tree® r activ activities children’ss creative and critical thinking skills ities build children’ Project Learning T ree® while they learn what the env ironment needs to remain healthy and sustainable. environment

Sounds So unds Around

Literature Co Connection nnection

Our ears are constantly being bombarded with sound – so much so that we automatically “tune out” a lot of it. This activity helps children “tune in” to the sounds of their environment and helps them to explore the sounds of nature.

Nature provides us with many unforgettable sounds. Breezes whistling through the leaves, birds singing early in the morning, and streams gurgling over rocks are just some of the sounds children recognize.

Sound helps animals in a number of ways. Explain to children that having ears on opposite sides of our heads enables us (and other animals) to judge the location a sound comes from.

Find a safe, comfortable outdoor space where children can sit quietly. Then have them close their eyes and listen to the sounds around them for several minutes.

Try T ry using your hearing with The Listening Walk, W alk, by P Paul aul Showers. In this book, a young girl takes a quiet walk with her father DQG LGHQWLÀHV WKH D QG LGHQWLÀHV WKH different sounds they hear hear. r. T Take ake your own walk and give it a try try. y.. W Will ill you be surprised?

Ages 3-6. ISBN: 9780064433228.

• Provide pencils, crayons, and paperr,, and ask children to make a “sound map.” They can put an X in the middle of a page to represent themselves, and then use pictures or words to show the locations of the sounds around them. Encourage them to use lines to show directions and distances.

• When reviewing the sound map, ask children: Which sounds did you like most? Least? What else did you hear?

What might have caused the sounds you heard? pecial adaptations forr seeing • Ask children to name some animals that are active at night. Do they have any special and hearing in the dark?? For example, foxes have large ears for picking up small sounds. Have children mimic IR[ HDUV E\ FXWWLQJ RII WKH ERWWRPV RI SDSHU FXSV DQG JHQWO\ ÀWWLQJ WKH FXSV RYHU WKHLU HDUV VHH H[DPSOH ourr map afterr listening with below). How does this change what you hear? Can you add any new sounds to your these new ears?

Make-Your-Own Make-Your-Own Animal Ears

PL LT improves children’s environmental awareness, critical thinking skills, and academic performance.

• Attend a workshop near you to receive PreK-12 PLT activities, ideas, and materials.

• Encourage your child’s school to incorporate outdoor door learning and PL LT T. • Contact your Alabama PLT State Coordinator: Brandy Cole, bcole@alaforestry.org, 334-481-2128

www.plt.org

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Adapt d

Legislature Update

2016 Regular Session Produced Budgets and Little Else Y

ou can distinguish most legislative sessions by either what did or what did not get done. For the 2016 Regular Session which ended on May 4th, there was way more that did not get done than did.

But as with all things legislative, that might not be a bad thing.

What was the biggest accomplishment of our 140 lawmakers (35 Senators, 105 House members) in the 2016 session?

ANSWER: Passage of the two state budgets which is, after all, the Legislature’s primary constitutional responsibility.

Education Budget Lawmakers appropriated $6.327 billion for the new fiscal year which starts on October 1, an increase over this year’s expenditures of $327 million. Appropriations also funded a 4% pay raise for most teachers and education support personnel who earn less than $75,000 annually, 2% for those who earn above that amount.

General Fund Budget The Legislature approved a $1.847 billion General Fund Budget, which almost nobody was fully satisfied with, especially Gov. Robert Bentley. The governor wanted an additional $100 million for the state Medicaid Agency. Lawmakers found an additional $15 million late in the session, then drew a line in the sand. The governor tried to cross the line by vetoing the budget, but was easily overridden by both houses.

Because lawmakers did not give Gov. Bentley what he asked for to fund Medicaid, he has threatened to call them back in a special session. It remains to be seen whether the governor will follow through.

In one of the two special sessions Bentley called last year also to try to get more money for Medicaid and for prisons, lawmakers did nothing. With everybody ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

involved in the process facing another election in 2018, except Bentley, it will be hard to get legislators to do anything that smacks of raising taxes.

There was way more that did not get done than did. But … that might not be a bad thing.

What Else Didn’t Get Done?

THE FUEL TAX Rep. Mac McCutcheon introduced a bill that would have increased gasoline and diesel taxes by 6-cents a gallon (a $200 million increase in revenues) immediately and also automatically adjust once every four years for the next 12-year period. The money would be plowed into infrastructure projects on the roads and highways of Alabama. The fuel tax was never brought to the floor of the House for a vote. The Senate had indicated it would not pass and House members did not want to get hung out on a pro-tax vote that had no chance of becoming law.

A threat that the fuel tax bill would be brought up existed until there were only 2 legislative days left in the 2016 session. At that point there was not enough time to pass it through both houses and it died.

the counties. Currently, 99% of the tax on diesel fuel is directed to ALDOT, while the current tax on gasoline is distributed 55% to ALDOT and 45% to the counties. AFA supports allocating the existing diesel tax in a similar fashion to that of the gasoline tax.

BP SETTLEMENT An effort was made during the 2016 Session to use the settlement of the BP oil disaster as a means of putting more money into Medicaid and also paying back money the Legislature borrowed during the Great Recession to keep the state budgets afloat.

Because of conflicting proposals and the lateness it was introduced in the session, the bill did not pass.

AFA’s Position: The Association supports suf-

AFA’s Position: AFA supports a policy of hav-

ficient funding for rural infrastructure, particularly the repair and replacement of about 1,000 bridges that are posted. But AFA believes there is adequate funding for this purpose if existing fuel tax revenues are allocated fairly between ALDOT and

ing all one-time payments in excess of $5 million placed into the Alabama Trust Fund. The BP payment’s meet this criteria.

In addition, AFA supports a policy of the state repaying its debts out of the ongoing operational appropriations of general fund 29

Legislature Update agencies through savings generated by reducing the overall size of government.

Recognizing that our position is not universally supported by the Legislature and knowing that, absent a consensus plan, the BP payments will not be used in a fiscally responsible manner, AFA does support monetizing the BP payments for the purpose of retiring state debt.

With everybody involved in the process facing another election in 2018, except Bentley, it will be hard to get legislators to do anything that smacks of raising taxes.

PRISON CONSTRUCTION BILL Although the session started out with fairly broad agreement that Alabama’s overcrowded and understaffed prisons need to be overhauled, in the end it was not to be.

Gov. Bentley pushed hard on his $800 bond issue plan to overhaul the whole system.

The proposal would cost $50 million a year for 30 years ($1.5 billion). After a smaller

version of the funding vehicle was put in play by lawmakers, it was caught up in the log jam at the end of a session and killed.

AFA’s Position: AFA supports prison reforms passed in the 2015 session and believes that adequate time should be given to see if this results in positive improvement in the prison crowding challenge.

With respect to new construction, AFA supports a fiscally responsible and transparent solution. The original construction bill has a $50 million annual payback requirement. If sufficient savings are not generated to cover that cost, it will fall back onto the financially-stressed General Fund. If new prisons are determined to be the answer, AFA supports building one at a time, rather than a massive construction project. AFA also believes a “design, bid, build” model for construction is better for taxpayers than the proposed “negotiated” no-bid solution sought by the governor. s

FORES FORESTRY F ORESTR TR RY Y SOLUTIONS SO SOL S OL LUTIONS UT T ONS T AT TH THA AT MEET MEET M YOUR YOU Y O R OBJECTIV OUR OB O OBJECTIVES. BJE ECTIV VES VES. S. Fifty Fifty ifty Years Year Y ears ear rs and a d Growing an Grro Gr owin wing g www.fwforestry.net www.ffwf wfor orestry or est stry y.net ett BROCK MA MAY AY Y Hamilton, AL 205.952.9369

T.R. CLARK T.R. LaFayette, AL 334.864.9542

HUNT LEASE & TIMBERLAND LIABILITY INSURANCE

Let us get you covered.

Insurance provided by the Alabama Forestry Association & Davis-Garvin Insurance Agency Find more at www.alaforestry.org or call 334-481-2135

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ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

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ForestFund is in its fourth decade of providing workers’ compensation cost savings for employers and employees who harvest, transport, manufacture, buy or sell forest products. Sure there are other programs that provide workers’ compensation coverage, but do they measure up to ForestFund when it comes to Stability, Savings, Service and Safety? Make the call to ¿QG RXW *HQHUDO /LDELOLW\ TXRWHV DUH DOVR DYDLODEOH For a quote, call Kelly Daniel at ForestFund: (334) 495-0024

By Ashley Smith

W

ith more biodiversity than any other state east of the Mississippi River, Alabama provides ample occasions to see, enjoy, and learn about the many species found throughout the state.

Wonder of Woodlands allows individuals to experience firsthand the biodiversity of Alabama with hands-on workshops on the wonder of Alabama’s woodlands. With five main physiographic regions, forest habitats differ significantly from the state’s Coastal Plains to the northern boundaries. Each eco-region hosts natural communities of plant and animal species and has unique characteristics.

The Wonder of Woodlands Alabama sessions begin in the Coastal Plain and highlights gopher tortoise, a true keystone species. Indoor/outdoor learning sessions provide info on this species in addition to others, including the gopher frog, indigo snake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake.

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Alabama’s forestry community contributes significantly to the protection of Alabama’s natural areas by keeping much of the area in forestland.

Upcoming Events (CFE and PLM credit hours available) Wednesday, September 14, 2016 • 9:00 am Wehle Land Conservation Center, Midway Questions or information 334-614-5048 Wednesday, September 21, 2016 • 9:00 am Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center, Andalusia Questions or information 334-614-5048 Online course coming soon at www.alaforestry.org Wonder of Woodlands is made possible by a grant from Sustainable Forestry Initiative and through the efforts of numerous project partners.

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

Alabama Teachers Conservation Workshop Auburn, Alabama • Monday, July 11, 2016– Thursday, July 14, 2016 Forest Ecology Alabama is blessed with abundant water and diverse soils leading to plant and animal biodiversity greater than most places in the world. In the workshop, learn about soils, water, biodiversity and Alabama’s five major forest types defined by the state’s physiographical regions. Enjoy field trips to the university arboretum to learn tree identification. Have fun with hands-on Project Learning Tree activities from the award-winning curriculum.

s to n la p e k a m e s a le P g attend this excitain & education ll environmenta workshop.

Forest Management Hear about forest issues from specialists and learn how invasive species, tree diseases, and many other threats are reduced through active land management.

Visit with private to landowners to hear why they own forestland, what they hope to achieve in ownership, and techniques they use to achieve their goals.

Forest Products Sustainably managed forests provide a multitude of products, like paper as well as ecosystem services like clean air and water. Learn how the Sustainable Forestry Initiative in Alabama strives to achieve these goals. Visit a paper making lab and tour a paper mill to learn the chemistry behind paper products.

About the Workshop The Alabama Teachers Conservation Workshop (TCW), designed for teachers and agri-science educators as well as non-formal environmental educators, focuses on forest ecology, management, and products through guest speakers, field trips, and hands-on activities. The goal is to demonstrate the importance forests have to the environment and economy of Alabama. Teachers receive valuable classroom resources including: field guides, posters, Project Learning Tree guides, activity kits, and more.

The workshop agenda has been reviewed by the Alabama Department of Education and designated as an AMSTI Affiliate Program. Earn 40 hours of CEUs (STIPD title TCW341).

This is a highly active workshop. Come prepared for field trips, nature walks, and Alabama’s summer weather. In addition to the scheduled activities, participants enjoy networking with other educators as well as environmental specialists from throughout Alabama. Scheduled activities start early morning and end at night.

Registration Hotels, meals, and materials are paid by sponsors. A $75 registration fee reserves your spot in the program and is refundable with at least a two-week notice prior to the workshop. Registration is available online at www.alaforestry.org.

A Commitment to Conservation Since 1970

For more information, please contact: Ashley Smith 334-614-5048 asmith@alaforestry.org or Brandy Cole 334-481-2128 bcole@alaforestry.org

Sponsored by Alabama Forestry Association

Teachers Conservation Teachers ConservationWorkshop Workshop Summer Educators SummerWorkshop Workshopfor for Educators July 11-14,2016 2016 July 11-14, Auburn,Alabama Alabama Auburn,

S Sponsors

This workshop is sponsored by the Alabama Forestry Foundation, by the Alabama Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Alabama F Forests Forever Foundation, Alabama Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Implementation Committee, and members of Alabama’s forestry community including landowners, loggers, foresters, forest products companies, and forest-related businesses.

Eligibility

Kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers are invited to apply.

Pre-service teachers (rising seniors in accredited college of education) as well as environmental educators are also accepted.

Subjects

Accommodations d r

Project Learning Tree ®

Requests for

Costs CSponsors cover the cost of meals and lodging for participants.

A $75 registration fee reserves your spot in the workshop.

s How to Apply

A $75 registration fee reserves your

Complete the attached application and mail it with your $75 registration fee to: Teachers Conservation Workshop Alabama Forestry Association 555 Alabama Street Montgomery, AL 36104

Pre-service teachers (rising

Workshop includes forestry, tree identification, wildfire, water quals ity, energy, and other environmental issues related to managing Alabama’s natural resources. Field trips include all aspects of plantS growing, harvesting, and processing of timber. Project Learning ing, Tree® and other hands-on environmental curricula will be incorporated into the workshop.

Participants will stay at The Hotel at Auburn University. Accommodations are based on double occupancy room.on Requests for Accommodations areper based roommates will be honored when possible.

36104 Questions?

QIf you have questions, call the Alabama Forestry Foundation,

334-265-8733, or send an email to asmith@alaforestry.org.

Pictures from previous workshops are available on the Alabama Forestry Association Facebook page. We hope you make plans to Pictures from previous attend this summer!

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We hope you make

Teachers Conservation Workshop Application p

Name

School

School mailing address

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Home mailing address

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School phone

Home phone

Grade(s) taught

Subject(s) taught

H

Email

S

E

Roommate request

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Shirt size

Home phone Shirt size

Project Learning Tree trained (circle) YES NO

Subject(s) taught

Project Learning Tree trained (circle) YES NO ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

McKinley & Lanier Forest Resources, Inc.

Index to Advertisers AFA & AFFILIATED PROGRAMS AFA Advertising s 334-481-2120....................................................................................................................................10 AFA Annual Fall Metting s alaforestry.org ........................................................................................................................32 AFA Hunting Insurance s alaforestry.org.........................................................................................................................30 AGRICULTURAL LENDING Alabama Land Banks Associations s AlabamaAgCredit.com .............................................................................................6 First South Farm Credit – South Division s firstsouthfarmcredit.com.......................................................Inside Back Cover CONSULTANTS—FORESTRY F&W Forestry Services s fwforestry.net ..........................................................................................................................30 Larson & McGowin s larsonmcgowin.com ......................................................................................................................10 McKinley & Lanier Forest Resources, Inc. s mlforestry.org................................................................................................36 DEALERS – WOOD SUPPLIERS Choctaw Land & Timber s choctawlandandtimber.com..................................................................................................36 FINANCIAL SERVICES Trustmark Bank s trustmark.com ............................................................................................................Inside Back Cover FORESTRY EDUCATION Alabama Forests Forever Foundation s alaforestry.org ...................................................................................................35 Forestry Continuing Education s alaforestry.org/cfe .......................................................................................................24 Project Learning Tree s plt.org ........................................................................................................................................28 FOREST PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS Cooper/T.Smith s coopertsmith.com..................................................................................................................Back Cover Jasper Lumber Company s jasperlumber.com.................................................................................................................20 INSURANCE Forest Funds alaforestry.org............................................................................................................................................31 The Witherington Insurance Group s witheringtoninsurance.com..................................................................................36 LANDOWNERS (COMPANIES, INDIVIDUALS & TRUSTS) Westervelt Company s westervelt.com...........................................................................................................................30 LOGGING CONTRACTORS Mid-Star Timber Harvesting, Inc. s midstartimber.com...................................................................................................20 LOGGING EQUIPMENT Thompson Tractor s thompsontractor.com .............................................................................................Inside Front Cover PRINTERS Craftmaster Printers s craftmaster.com ..........................................................................................................................36 SEEDLINGS ArborGen LLC s arborgen.com..........................................................................................................................................14 International Forest Company s interforestry.com ...........................................................................................................4 Rayonier s rayonier.com .................................................................................................................................................20 Weyerhaeuser s weyerhaeuser.com.................................................................................................................................20 Whitfield Farms & Nursery s whitfieldpineseedlings.com ..............................................................................................36 UTILITIES Southern Company s alabamapowercompany.com..........................................................................................................2 Southern Loggers Cooperative s southernloggers.com...................................................................................................32

507 Energy Center Blvd. Suite 303 Northport, AL 35473 Phone: 1 (800) 247-0041 • Fax: (205) 344-6950 www.mckinleyandlanierforestresources.com

Land & Timber Management Services Forest Management • Timber Sales • Land & Timber Appraisals Forest Inventories • Harvest Scheduling GIS and GIS Mapping • Real Estate Sales • Estate Division

where ideas

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1200 Elba Hwy., P.O. Box 448, Troy, AL 36081-0448 Office: (334) 566-1477 • Fax (334) 566-7986 Email: wig@troycable.net • AL WATS: (800) 239-1477

ALABAMA FORESTS | Spring 2016

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