At Your Service Michigan's Conservation Districts:
EAB MONITORING GOES STATEWIDE
By Rick A. Lucas Conservation District Foresters

The emerald ash borer is an exotic insect that was first discovered and identified in Southeast Michigan in the summer of 2002. However, many experts believe the pest may have arrived several years earlier. To the best of everyone's knowledge to date, it has only been found on ash trees. These would include green, white and black ash but not mountain ash, which is a different genus. Since the emerald ash borer plays no favorites to whether the ash trees are located in a landscaped area or a woodlot, all ash trees are potential targets.

The discovery of the emerald ash borer near St. Helens in Roscommon County earlier this spring marked the northern most movement to date of this exotic pest. With this discovery, it confirms what many experts have long feared, that it is only a matter of time before it reaches other parts of the state.

Although the adult beetle is believed to be a great flier, it is not known to fly long distances. The most likely means of long distance travel will be by human movement of ash wood products, more specifically, that of firewood. While firewood may appear healthy and not visibly infested, it may carry the emerald ash borer in its dormant stage. Michigan Department of Agriculture experts have reported finding in excess of 80 EAB larvae in a single piece of firewood length wood.

Because all of Michigan contains seasonal and weekend cottages, a lot of firewood is moved throughout the course of a year. Cottage owners pose a higher risk with the movement of firewood relative to EAB than weekend campers because they tend to store their firewood for longer periods of time whereas; weekend campers tend to utilize what they transport immediately. Firewood checking stations are already being utilized during major holidays and prior to the firearm hunting season and more will be planned for the future to increase traveler's awareness of the potential dangers and in some cases, illegal movement of ash firewood transport. Travelers are encouraged to not transport firewood and to use local sources of firewood whenever possible.

Shifting gears but staying with the same subject matter, in early May most of the 20 Conservation District Foresters working under the Forestry Assistance Program administered through the Michigan Department of Agriculture met in Lansing to discuss how their local influence and expertise could be further utilized in detecting the movement of the emerald ash borer. The session consisted of several overviews and updates from MDA staff and other agency experts regarding EAB in Michigan, Survey Activities and Processes, Eradication and Containment Activities, Regulatory Activities, EAB Timber Harvest, Restoration Opportunities, and lastly the Role of the Conservation District Forester.

Beginning in the latter part of May and continuing into June, CD Foresters in their respective service areas will join in the effort to monitor the presence of the emerald ash borer. During these two months, CD Foresters will be establishing a predetermined number of trap trees per township. Once the location is recorded by GPS coordinates, an ash tree will be girdled at approximately 4 feet high with a six inch wide band one-inch deep. Upon completing this task, the individual will attach shrink-wrap 2-3 feet above the girdled band to which tangle-foot will be applied to. The tree will then be tagged to alert curiosity seekers as to its purpose and intent.

The CD Forester will return to each site during the month of July and August to check the trap trees looking for adult EAB and to reset the tangle-foot. During the month of October and November, the trap trees will be cut down and the bark will be removed to look for galleries of the EAB. If everything goes well, they won't find any galleries. Lastly, the trees will be chipped. Some details may be refined before implementation is complete.

The success of this outlying effort to monitor EAB movement hinges a great deal on communication. Since many CD Foresters have established long-standing relationships with property owners, township officials, county commissioners, local law enforcement, MSU-Extension, and numerous conservations groups, their value to delivering this important step state-wide in a timely manner is essential. The successful prevention and eventual eradication of the emerald ash borer will require the help and cooperation of every agency, resident and visitor to Michigan.

FAMILY FORESTS
 by Bill Cook, Forester & Biologist MSU Extension, Upper Peninsula

Forest management on private, non industrial lands has always been a rewarding activity and has become increasingly important to society. Historically, timber management was the main focus of forestry. This was understood by the World War II generation as a noble form of land stewardship. Everyone benefited from good forest management on private property, especially the owner. Millions of acres across the country were restored and nurtured. Over the decades, the focus on timber management has fallen out of vogue, although its importance has continued to increase, along with stumpage values. Timber management is often perceived as destructive and counter to "higher" forest values. Somehow, forest revenue has been equated with greed. This perspective is entirely false, but unfortunately has become prevalent among many forest owners, especially those from urban areas that purchase land in the great northwoods.

Timber management can easily be used to accomplish multiple landowner objectives, such as wildlife habitat improvement, forest restoration, and visual enhancement. It can even accelerate an "old growth" condition.

Receiving a net income, rather than paying for these practices, is a pretty neat package that too few forest owners seem to realize. Too often, private forests are "left to nature", as if nature has a conscious plan and the forest was beginning from or heading towards some pristine origin. Managers call this phenomenon "benign neglect". In many cases, natural processes will lead to undesirable forest conditions. Forest ecology has a scientific reality that often trumps the romantic notions of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "forest primeval".

A good example of "undesirable conditions" can be observed in our jack pine plains. Over the last couple of decades, these "piney woods" have been broken into increasingly smaller parcels where people have built camps and second homes. "Urban splatter" is a particularly descriptive term for these ownership changes.

Meanwhile, the trees have aged. Jack pine maturity attracts the attention of a little bug called the jack pine budworm, which feeds on mature jack pine. Outbreaks kill the trees. Dead trees increase fuel loads. All it takes is one unattended burn barrel or a spark from a passing ATV and we might join California and Colorado in making the national news.

On public and industrial lands, harvest has been used to create a mosaic of age and size classes. This mosaic provides greater habitat diversity, an important landscape feature if you are an endangered Kirtland's warbler. Perhaps more importantly, it significantly reduces the odds of a major wildfire conflagration, which is the natural course of things.

Michigan has the lowest level of management activity on private forests in the Lake States. Yet, many of these forests have some of the greatest potential for both owner satisfaction and societal benefits. Studies show low percentages of forest owners interested in timber management, although this may be a bit misleading. Upon further examination of the data, it becomes clear the majority of large forest owners have timber management as a primary objective. Other studies suggest that once a forest owner becomes aware of the monetary value of their woods, many agree to a timber harvest proposal without fully considering all their options. This is particularly true when little Johnny goes off to college or grandma moves into a nursing home. Too often, these owners experience a degree of dissatisfaction, usually something minor, but occasionally a real harvest horror story. Forest management is a thoughtful process that reaches far into the future and avoids the pitfalls of quick decisions. Assistance from a professional forester is akin to that of a financial retirement advisor or the services of a medical doctor. With some investigation, learning, and planning, forest management can be an especially interesting and enjoyable lifelong pursuit.

Along with these personal benefits of forest ownership, many would argue that there comes a stewardship obligation. People will always need forests. Trends show this to be increasingly true. However, owners will only possess their forest for a limited time, and then must pass it on.

A prominent forest geneticist stated; "The question facing us is not whether to use the forest resource but how to use it wisely for the greatest benefit to man in the long term." Nearly half of Michigan's forest belongs to individual citizens, over 300,000 of them. That's an awesome human resource, if only they might become interested in the many merits of forest management.

FORESTRY TOP TEN ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
by Bill Cook, Forester & Biologist MSU Extension, Upper Peninsula

Too many times, forestry and logging are portrayed as environmentally destructive. However, numerous studies show just the opposite to be true, despite the occasional poor example. Over the last 75 years, forest management has nurtured a nearly miraculous recovery of our nation's forests, including the abundant and productive forests of Michigan.

Sometimes, we forget our history and fail to understand how much our forests have recovered and improved. Other times, we fail to appreciate how forest management has changed and adapted to new conditions and new information. Too often, some people measure environmental health by visual quality.

The following list of "Top Ten Environmental Benefits of Forestry" has been adapted from a recent compilation from the Society of American Foresters.

1. Forestry continues to bring back forests. Until the 1920s, forests were often logged and abandoned. Now, across the country an average of 1.7 billion seedlings are planted annually with billions more regenerated naturally. In Michigan, we plant about 30 million tree seedlings each year.
2. Forestry improves water quality. Foresters carefully manage areas called watersheds and riparian zones (land bordering rivers, streams, and lakes). Water quality is a prime concern. Forests actually help to clean water. The trees, the soil, and bacteria are all part of this process. More than 80 percent of our nation's total precipitation falls on private lands and 70 percent of eastern watersheds are privately owned.
3. Forestry offsets air pollution. Foresters nurture forests. One mature tree absorbs approximately 13 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. For every ton of wood a forest grows, it removes 1.47 tons of carbon dioxide and replaces it with 1.07 tons of oxygen.
4. Forestry can reduce catastrophic wildfires. At the turn of the century, wildfires burned across 20 to 50 million acres each year in the USA. Through education, prevention, and control, the area has been limited to about two to five million acres a year-a reduction of 90%. By removing excess fuels, such as underbrush and some trees, foresters can modify forests to make them more resilient to fire.
5. Forestry helps many species of wildlife. Foresters employ a variety of management techniques to enhance habitat, especially for endangered species. Thinning and harvesting stimulate the growth of food sources. Openings created by harvesting benefit a variety of species. Management can more quickly grow large trees needed for cavity nesters.
6. Forestry builds great places to recreate. Managed forests often produce the kinds of forests and forest conditions preferred by recreationalists. Forests are important for activities such as bird watching, hiking, photography, skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, and camping.
7. Forestry benefits residential environments. Foresters manage forests and trees to benefit communities in many ways. Forests in urban areas reduce storm water runoffs, improve air quality, and reduce energy consumption. For example, three well-placed mature trees around a house can cut air- conditioning costs by 10-50 percent.
8. Forestry provides renewable and energy-friendly building products. Foresters manage forests for timber, a natural resource that grows back. Other building materials, such as steel, plastic, and concrete, might be reused and recycled but cannot be replaced. Wood is renewable and can be produced for future generations on a sustainable basis. Recycling and processing wood also re- quires much less energy than the processing of non-renewable materials.
9. Forestry helps family forests remain intact. Foresters assist family forestland owners, who own 54 percent of all the forests in the USA and 46 percent of Michigan's forest. Owners learn to understand the benefits of managing their forests in an environ- mentally friendly manner.
10. Forestry is good for soils. Foresters' success in growing forests and producing forest products is dependent on their ability to match tree species with soils and to prescribe activities that not only promote forest growth but also enhance and protect soil productivity and prevent soil erosion.

If you own forested property consider how you are managing the resource. Contact a forester for professional advice. That forest might be more than what you think.

® LOG-A LOAD-FOR-KIDS

The Wanigan, Michigan Forest Association's educational trailer, made its upper peninsular debut in Baraga on April 14 and 15. The occasion was a Log-a-Load project set up by Byron Sailor, a Michigan DNR forester and member of the Baraga school board, and John Stenvig, a partner of Quality First Forest Products, Inc, a logging company.

It was time to treat the Baraga school forest. Byron and John discussed the options and thought it would be a good place to do a Log-a Load. Log-a Load is when the owner of the woodlot, in this case the Baraga school district, would get the stumpage value for the trees harvested and all the profits made by the logger are donated to a charity, in this case the Miracle Network for Children. Everything just seemed to fall into place. The site was next to a major highway, so there were no weight restrictions on loads. The ground at the site was good for a spring harvest and this was also the normal slow time for the loggers. What more could you ask for? How about students? This would be a perfect chance to demonstrate logging techniques and explain why it's done. Ray and Debbie Hansen, John Stenvig's partners, jumped in and helped organize the event.

715 students from kindergarten through eighth grade, plus students in high school conservation classes, came from the Baraga, L'Anse and Stanton Township school districts, as well as the Sacred Heart Catholic School in L'Anse. Besides a firsthand look at logging, students received a basic education on trees and forests from loggers, a tour of the educational trailer, a picnic lunch (donated by local vendors) and a goody bag filled with a pencil, ruler, forest facts, candy and a red pine seedling.

The students weren't the only ones out in the woods. Besides their teachers, Rep. Rich Brown and Sen. Michael Prusi also took this opportunity to observe logging in action and talk to the loggers themselves.

Byron, John, Ray and Debbie had such a tremendous response from the schools that they had to turn away three schools. They are going to coordinate with Mead-Westvaco to take students out to some of their logging sites. Hats off to them for promoting sustainable forestry and educating our students!

STUDENTS - TREE FARMERS -FOREST INDUSTRY

In 1989, the Michigan Tree Farm Committee established a Natural Resources Scholarship. The purpose is to encourage educational use and proper management of school forests and to increase awareness and understanding of natural resource and forest management.

The student must be a college bound senior pursuing any curriculum. They must do a project on their school forest property, and if it is not already, certify it in the Tree Farm system. The project can be of any kind, either on the ground, such as mapping, harvesting, planting or trails. Or it can be a paper project such as formation of a forestry advisory board, planning, setting up educational stations as examples.

It is best for a student to do an independent project rather than with other students as part of a class. Project work from a previous year is eligible and often it is better to start as a Junior so field work can be done in the summer.

The student must complete an application which contains several essay questions; have a report of their project; and two letters of recommendation. The application must be received by the committee by APRIL 2ND of each year.

Depending on the number and quality of applications, at least one $1000 and several lesser scholarships will be awarded. The student receives the check and a certificate, the school gets a wooden plaque recognizing their support. It is donated by the Michigan Forest Foundation.

The project does require work, not just filling out a form. Not all students will win due to a lack of funding. The contacts students make, and the experience and knowledge gained is invaluable. We encourage students to contact local professional Foresters for guidance.

Sponsors this year include $1000 from the Weyerhaeuser Company foundation, $250 from Louisiana Pacific, $250 from Mead, plaque from MFF and $750 from Forestry Consultant Pete Beuhler.

Tom Stone Scholarship Chair PO Box 10  Indian River, MI 49749