| ** | January 8, 2012 | Red Hills Small Farm Alliance - Growing Here Workshop: Timing the Seasons, Turkey Hill Farm, Leon County. Site Selection, Choosing Seed Varieties. Presenters will include Stewardship Landowner Miss Louise Divine from Turkey Hill Farm, Miss Katie from Full Earth Farm, and Miss Lilly from Native Nurseries. Cost is $30 or $80 for all 3 workshops in series. Discount for Alliance members. Three ways to register: Download Registration Form here and mail a check. Register with an Alliance Member at any market or through the online market. Email smallfarmalliance@gmail.com for details, although this pretty much has all details. | | January 11 | Forest Stewardship Workshop: Invasive Exotic Plant ID and Control, 9 am - 3 pm CT, UF-IFAS Okaloosa County Extension Office, 5479 Old Bethel Road, Crestview, FL 32536-5512 . Registration fee of $10 covers lunch and materials. Pesticide applicator Continuing Education Units approved, SAF CFEs pending. Details and registration online: http://fsp-workshop011112.eventbrite.com/ | | January 19 | How to Monitor Plant and Animal Phenology, 9 am - 12 pm, UF-IFAS Levy County Extension Office, 625 N. Hathaway Ave (Alt. 27), Bronson, FL 32621. The term phenology refers to recurring plant and animal life stages, such as flowering or seeding, bird migration or insect emergence. Monitoring phenology can help us understand how plant and animals are responding to climate change and variability. The USA National Phenology Network (www.usanpn.org) is asking people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and record phenology via Nature’s Notebook. The data collected by Natures’s Notebook is entered in to a national database accessible to all and will help us understand how we can adapt to changing climates and environments. Free Training. To Register Call (352) 486-5131 or email ewillcox@ufl.edu | | January 21 | Forest Stewardship Tour, Pine Ridge Sanctuary, Property of Barbara and Terry Glancy, Miami-Dade County, 9 am - 1 pm. $10 fee covers lunch and materials. Date moved from 1/19 to 1/21/12 . Having earned much recognition for their hard work and exemplary conservation ethic, the Glancy family is looking forward to hosting a Forest Stewardship Tour at their Pine Ridge Sanctuary in Miami-Dade County. The Forest Stewardship Landowners of 1997 and 2011 Florida Land Stewards of the year, they are exemplary stewards of one of Florida’s most endangered ecosystems, the Pine Rockland. For more about the property and their orchid nursery, see http://www.PineRidgeOrchids.com. Details and Registration online: http://fsp-tour011912.eventbrite.com/ | | January 27-28 | Agritunity 2012, West Central Florida Agricultural Educational Center, 7620 SR 471, Bushnell, Florida. AGRItunity 2012 is the 6th edition of a regional farm conference and trade show featuring the most current useful information available for farmers and ranchers - large and small. See link on event title for details and registration. | | January 31 - February 2 | Natural Areas Training Academy: Conservation Site Assessment and Planning, Ordway-Swisher Biological Station, Melrose, Florida. Fee of $380 includes registration, workshop materials, and lunch each day. Lodging: Cabins are available at the Gold Head Branch State Park for $40 per night. Reservations can be made through the registration website: http://natacsap2012.eventbrite.com. For more information, please visit our website at: http://wec.ufl.edu/nata or contact the workshop coordinator: Sarah Friedl, sefriedl@ufl.edu, (850) 875-7153. | | February 12 | Red Hills Small Farm Alliance - Growing Here Workshop: Natural Pest Management, Miccosukee Root Cellar, Leon County. With Trap Crops, Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants = Fewer Pests. Presenters include Neil Miller, entomologist with USDA, and Dr Stuart Reitz entomologist and editor for the Journal of Economic Entomology. Cost is $30 or $80 for all 3 workshops in series. Discount for Alliance members. Three ways to register: Download Registration Form here and mail a check. Register with an Alliance Member at any market or through the online market. Email smallfarmalliance@gmail.com for details, although this pretty much has all details. | | February
26-29 | 2012 Southeast Deer Study Group (SEDSG) Meeting, Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Sandestin, FL . This will be the 35th annual meeting of deer biologists, managers, researchers and enthusiasts. See link on event title for details and registration. | | February 28-29 | Prescribed Fire Techniques for Wildlife: a Training for Private Landowners, UF-IFAS Leon County Extension Office, 615 Paul Russell Road, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Registration $45, deadline for registration February 20, 2012. Training Participants Qualify for Certified Prescribed Burn Manager CEUs. To view training schedule or to register go to http://www.fltws.org. For more information contact Emma Willcox at (352) 486-5131 or ewillcox@ufl.edu | | March 11 | Red Hills Small Farm Alliance - Growing Here Workshop: Fertility Management, Full Earth Farm, Leon County. Manage fertilty with Compost and Cover Cropping. Presenters will include the Man in Overalls, Nathan Ballantine along with Farmers Aaron Suko and Stewardship Landowner Herman Holley. Cost is $30 or $80 for all 3 workshops in series. Discount for Alliance members. Three ways to register: Download Registration Form here and mail a check. Register with an Alliance Member at any market or through the online market. Email smallfarmalliance@gmail.com for details, although this pretty much has all details. | | March 24 | Florida Wildflower & Garden Festival, DeLand, FL. For more information, contact David Griffis at 386-822-5778 or dgriffis@co.volusia.fl.us. | ** |
| News & Info Brief FLORIDA LAND STEWARD PARTNERSHIP TO LAUNCH IN 2012
Private lands in Florida provide a wide variety of services that benefit landowners and society, including recreational opportunities, economic activity, clean air, groundwater recharge, fish and wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, water filtration, and improved quality of life. The owners, or stewards, of these lands have diverse goals and objectives for their properties, which frequently include some combination of agriculture, forestry and wildlife habitat management and conservation. The Florida Forest Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and University of Florida Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and School of Forest Resources and Conservation, along with a many of other agencies and organizations, have been supporting the management and conservation efforts of private landowners for many years. These agencies and organizations provide support to landowners in the way of technical and financial assistance, developing resource management and conservation plans, and disseminating information through newsletters, websites, workshops, field days, and other means. In order to more successfully deliver consistent and effective information and better cater to the diversity of land ownerships and management objectives across the state, these natural resource agencies and organizations are working together on a new initiative, the Florida Land Steward Partnership. Partner agencies and organizations are collaborating more closely to develop and provide information and technical assistance that helps enhance the natural resource management capabilities of landowners. This includes the production and statewide distribution of a quarterly newsletter, a yearly calendar, and other printed materials. The next issue of the Florida Forest Steward newsletter will be the inaugural issue of the Florida Land Steward. It will have a new look but will continue to provide the information and resources you have come to expect such as the regular timber price update, events calendar and feature articles on the most current and relevant issues pertaining to private lands and conservation. Program partners are also working closely together to coordinate workshops, tours, field days, and other trainings. In addition, a Florida Land Steward website has been developed and is now online. This site serves as a centralized source of information on land and natural resource management. Learn more about the Florida Land Steward partnership and our collective resources for landowners and resource professionals at http://www.flsteward.org/. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCH TEAM RECEIVES GRANT TO DEVELOP PINE-BASED BIOFUEL A University of Florida-led research team has won a three-year, $6.3 million grant to develop genetically improved loblolly pine trees that yield greater amounts of terpene biofuels for transportation fuels. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Project Agency – Energy, or ARPA-E. It’s part of a $156 million funding package dedicated to 60 innovative clean-energy projects. The researchers hope to bring about a five-fold increase in the amount of terpene produced by loblolly, making it cost-competitive with petroleum-based fuels. Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, said the grant award demonstrates the university’s leadership in biofuel research. “Loblolly pine is economically important throughout the Southeast because it’s widely used for lumber and wood pulp,” Payne said. “By developing loblolly’s potential as a sustainable biofuel source, we can add a new dimension to its value. That has long-term benefits to the entire region and will provide greater economic security for our residents.” Loblolly pine is planted on more than 25 million acres in 10 southeastern states. The forest products industry provides 5.5 percent of all jobs in the region, according to UF figures. The research team is led by Gary Peter, a professor of forest genomics with UF’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation. The team includes John Davis, a UF forest resources professor, and personnel from the University of California – Berkeley, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and ArborGen LLC, a leading commercial supplier of genetically improved loblolly seedlings. FOREST SERVICE'S “FORESTS TO FAUCETS” SHOWS LINK BETWEEN HEALTHY FORESTS AND DRINKING WATER The USDA Forest Service Forests to Faucets project uses GIS to model and map the continental United States land areas most important to surface drinking water, the role forests play in protecting these areas, and the extent to which these forests are threatened by development, insects and disease, and wildland fire. This assessment provides information that can identify areas of interest for protecting surface drinking water quality. The spatial dataset can be incorporated into broad-scale planning, such as the State Forest Action Plans, and can help identify areas for further local analysis. In addition it can be incorporated into existing decision support tools that currently lack spatial data on important areas for surface drinking water. This project also sets the groundwork for identifying watersheds where a payment for watershed services (PWS) project may be an option for financing conservation and management on forest lands. On a macro scale, the Forests to Faucets data identifies areas that supply surface drinking water, have consumer demand for this water, and are facing significant development threats—all important criteria for successful PWS initiatives. In perhaps its most important role, this work can serve as an education tool to illustrate the link between forests and the provision of surface drinking water—a key watershed-based ecosystem service. For more see:
http://www.fs.fed.us/ecosystemservices/FS_Efforts/forests2faucets.shtml THE NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION TEAMS UP WITH USDA TO ASSIST LANDOWNERS WITH LONGLEAF PINE FOREST RESTORATION
The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are teaming up to help landowners who currently have longleaf pine on their property and need help with management and/or landowners who are interested in restoring longleaf pine to their property. Through this partnership, NWTF certified biologists will develop a conservation plan for landowners in North and Central Florida. Once a conservation plan has been finalized, the NWTF will then work with NRCS to determine what type of financial assistance they can qualify for through NRCS’s Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP), one of the incentive programs offered via the Farm Bill to private landowners. Interested landowners are encouraged to contact the Florida NWTF regional biologist, Derek Alkire dalkire@nwtf.net, cell: (352) 262-2373. http://www.nwtf.org/nwtf_newsroom/press_releases.php?id=13493 REPORT FOX SQUIRREL SIGHTINGS
The fox squirrel, named for its fox-like tail, is a charismatic mammal approximately twice the size of the common gray squirrel. The coloration of the fox squirrel is highly variable, ranging from a creamy tan to all black. In Florida, the fox squirrel can be found in almost every county, but the distribution is patchy and not well understood. To better understand fox squirrel distribution, A new research project, conducted by the University of Florida Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, is asking members of the public across the state to report their fox squirrel sightings at the following website: https://public.myfwc.com/hsc/foxsquirrel/GetLatLong.aspx
Thanks for your help! Questions? Please Contact Courtney Hooker foxsquirrel@ifas.ufl.edu TIMBER TAX TIPS FOR 2011
Tax rules for timber vary depending on whether your woodland is personal use, investment, or business property. You must make this determination each tax year. See this link for more: http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Extension/florida_forestry_information/events_calendar/files/TaxTips2011.pdf FOREST STEWARDSHIP & OTHER EVENTS AND PRESENTATIONS ONLINE See this link for recorded presentations and materials from past Forest Stewardship Program events: http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Extension/florida_forestry_information/events_calendar/online_events.html |
