Woods Wise Wire
Date:
October 8, 2015
Time:
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Location:
Morning – Unity Barn Raisers building,
32 School Street, Unity, Maine; Afternoon - Sebasticook Regional Land Trust’s
Kanokolus Bog Preserve, Unity area.
Description:
This workshop is for landowners, foresters, land managers,
pesticide applicators, and others interested in learning how to identify,
manage and control common invasive plants in woodlands. The workshop consists
of a classroom session in the morning and an afternoon field program.
Presenters include: Nancy Olmstead, Maine Natural Areas Program; Gary Fish,
Maine Pesticides Control Board; Nancy Sferra, The Nature Conservancy; Ronald
Lemin, Crop Production Services – Timberland Division. The field session will
be hosted by Sebasticook Regional Land Trust on one of their nearby properties.
Please bring a lunch! Field session is rain or shine, please dress
accordingly.
Continuing Education Credits:
Maine Licensed Forester and Pesticide Applicator CEUs are available.
Where:
Morning –
Unity Barn Raisers building, 32 School Street, Unity, Maine; Afternoon -
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust’s Kanokolus Bog Preserve, Unity area.
For More Information & Pre-register:
Rose Zoller, Sebasticook Regional Land Trust,
rose@sebasticookrlt.org, 207-948-3766.
Space is limited.
Sponsored by:
The
Kennebec Woodland Partnership, the Maine Forest Service, and Sebasticook
Regional Land Trust, with much appreciation to our speakers from multiple
organizations. http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/projects/kennebec_woodlands/
Date:
October 17, 2015
Time:
9:00 AM - Noon
Location:
Landowner Ben Welch’s Tree Farm in Dixfield. See directions below.
Description:
No Need to pre-register and it is free and open to all, a great opportunity to bring the kids and grandkids out to learn about a well managed forest!
Please join the Upper Kennebec Valley Chapter of the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine for a great tour of Ben Welch’s “Addin’ Rings” Tree Farm in Dixfield. The focus of the tour will be to look at the management of the woodlot through the years, especially his firewood harvesting and layout of trails for firewood harvesting for the small landowner.
Topics we will discuss include measuring tree volume with prism and basal area explained, how to cut a tree with 5 points of information, What to leave for trees, computing rate of growth using and increment borer, wildlife trees, tractor safety when harvesting firewood and thinning and pruning and weeding saws. A lot of good information.
For More Information:
Any questions contact Patty Cormier, patty.cormier@maine.gov or 592-2238.
Directions:
Turn north (west) onto Rt.17 from Rt.4 in North Jay travel about .5 miles to the Morse Hill Road on the left. OR Turn south (east) onto Rt.17 from Rt.2 in East Dixfield and travel about 3 miles to the Morse Hill Road on your right. Continue on this road for 3.5 miles which becomes the Rollins Ridge Road when you get into the town of Dixfield. When you get to the top of Morse Hill watch for the pine plantations across the valley on Rollins Ridge or Severy Hill. You will travel down a steep hill, cross a brook and then up another steep hill (all passible with a little car). Watch for signs that will be posted on the Morse Hill Road.
Date:
Monday, October 19, 2015 (Rain date October 30)
Time:
9:00am - 4:00pm
Location:
Hidden Valley Nature Center, 131 Egypt Rd., Jefferson, ME 04348
Description:
Hidden Valley Nature Center, the Forest Guild, the Maine Forest
Service are offering a Women and Our Woods workshop at Hidden Valley Nature
Center in Jefferson, Maine. This workshop is specially designed to meet the
needs of women woodland owners by presenting a variety of important information
through hands-on learning. Instructors include Barrie Brusila of
Mid-Maine Forestry, Izzy McKay of Stantial Brook Farm, Patty Cormier of the Maine
Forest Service, Bambi Jones of Hidden Valley Nature Center, Amanda Mahaffey of
the Forest Guild, and tish carr of the Wabanaki Center. Through indoor
and outdoor sessions, the day-long course will explore:
- Forest management plans
- Timber harvesting do's and don'ts
- Backyard forestry
- Legal aspects of woodland ownership
- Silviculture, the art and science of forest management
Women and Our Woods empowers women to take on the responsibilities
of forest management and planning and build relationships with other women woodland
owners and forestry professionals. Whether you manage your family woodlot or
work for a conservation organization, this workshop is for you.
Hidden Valley Nature Center was the 2014 Outstanding Tree Farm of
the Year for Maine and the Northeast Region. This workshop is co-sponsored by
the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the Maine Farmland Trust,
and Coastal Enterprises, Inc. The program cost is $45 ($40 for
HVNC/DLWA/SVCA/SWLA/MOFGA members). Some scholarships are available.
For More Information:
Contact Hidden Valley Nature Center at hvnc.org, bambi@hvnc.org or 200-8840.
Date:
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Time:
8:30 registration, 9:00-12:00 presentation and discussion.
Location:
Winslow Fire Station, 114 Benton Avenue, Winslow, Maine
Cost:
None!
Registration Required:
Registration is strongly encouraged though not required to attend.
Please email morten.moesswilde@maine.gov
to register, or call 441-2895 for more information.
Continuing Education Credits:
Licensed Forester credits pending.
Description:
This presentation is primarily for woodland owners who want to
understand more about their options for harvesting trees on their property –
whether you hope to derive income, to increase future growth and value, to obtain
firewood, to manage wildlife habitat, or other goals. Whether you intend to cut
your own trees, or contract with a logger, this session will cover the most
important questions to address ahead of time. We’ll discuss working with
professionals, forest growth and choosing which trees to cut, stumpage prices,
harvesting equipment and layout, timber harvest contracts, forestry rules and
requirements, and other topics. We’ll also touch on how Tree Growth Property
Tax status might affect your timber harvest planning. Foresters, loggers and
others may also find the discussion interesting and are welcome to attend.
The presenter is District Forester Morten Moesswilde of the Maine
Forest Service. Since the presentation is geared toward helping landowners get
the results you want, we’ll also talk about and provide additional resources
for identifying and achieving your own woodland objectives, both in the
immediate future and for the longer term.
Sponsored by:
This course is sponsored by the Kennebec
Woodland Partnership, the Maine Forest Service, and the Town of Winslow.
The Maine Forest Service (MFS) under
the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry announced that with
the assistance of the Office of the Attorney General, it has resolved three
violations of Maine’s Statewide Standards for Timber Harvesting in Shoreland
Areas rules by Basil Stratton of Fairfield.
The violations occurred on three
separate parcels of land in Alna (Lincoln County), and Orland and Ellsworth
(Hancock County). The violations consisted of: timber harvesting activities
near streams that resulted in soil entering water bodies; the operation of
timber harvesting equipment in waterbodies; and, harvesting too many trees
within the shoreland area.
In
the Settlement Agreement, Stratton agreed to pay $18,800.00 in civil penalties
and pay an outstanding debt of $1,210.00 to the Kennebec County Soil and Water
Conservation District for professional services rendered in remediating the
Alna site. In addition, Stratton agreed to use the services of a licensed
forester for a period of three years to insure that Stratton’s actions do not
create any more water quality violations.
Regional Enforcement Coordinator James Ecker stated that,
“These types of violations often result from inadequate planning and improper
layout of the timber harvest.”
“Our agency focuses on educating and informing landowners,
foresters, and loggers to reduce the possibility of such violations,” said
Maine Forest Service Director Doug Denico. “But, when violations do
occur, we have a responsibility to uphold the law and to protect Maine’s water
resources. We take this and our other responsibilities very seriously.”
The investigation was carried out by Maine Forest Service
staff.
Established in 1891, the Maine Forest Service has as its
mission to protect and enhance Maine’s state’s forest resources through forest
fire protection; technical assistance; education and outreach to a wide variety
of audiences; and enforcement of the state’s forest protection laws.
Maine Forest Service offices are found throughout the state and provide Maine’s
citizens with a wide range of forest-related services.
Jason
L. Smith age 46 pleaded guilty on September 21st to two counts of felony theft,
two counts of Class D theft, and one count of unlawful cutting of trees.
Mr.
Smith was sentenced at Piscataquis County Courthouse to 18 months in Jail with
all but 30 days suspended and was ordered to pay $20,928.08 in restitution to
five different landowners.
The
thefts took place between June of 2012 and October of 2014. The charges
stemmed from Smith harvesting timber and not paying the landowner for all the
timber harvested. The dollar amounts of the thefts ranged from $712.27 to
$7143.65. While investigating the alleged thefts Maine Forest Rangers
also discovered that during the winter of 2014/2015, while harvesting a woodlot
in Blanchard Twp, Smith had crossed a property line and harvested approximately
5 acres of timber belonging to a landowner who lives in North Carolina.
As a result Jason was also charged with and pleaded guilty to a civil charge of
unlawful cutting of trees and was ordered to pay $6633.50 in restitution.
According
to Regional Ranger Jeffrey Currier, three out of the four theft charges
involved landowners who live out of state or out of town. Because they
were not present to monitor the harvesting it was easy for them to be
victimized. Currier added, “Timber is a valuable investment. If you
are unfamiliar with the forest products industry, and considering having your
land harvested, we recommend you consult with a licensed forester.”
Mr.
Smith has a similar theft charge pending in Penobscot County.
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