Email from Alabama Forestry Association

AFA NEWSROOM V17N46, November 17, 2022

AFA Welcomes Newly Elected Legislators to Montgomery for

State Governance 101

Governmental Affairs Director, Tom Saunders and Grassroots Coordinator, Anna Morgan Duke welcomed 24 of Alabama's newly elected State Legislators to AFA’s "State Governance 101" program. This one-day event provides incoming legislators an opportunity to learn about the inner workings of many state agencies, meet key leaders working in and around state government, and gain important background information on important issues and programs they will be addressing in their new roles. A special thanks to our speakers:

Bill Poole - Alabama Finance Director

Rachel Riddle - Alabama Department of Public Accounts

Katherine Robertson - Alabama Attorney Generals Office

Steve Marshall - Alabama Attorney General

Trip Pittman - Former Alabama Senator

Liz Filmore - Chief of Staff for Gov. Kay Ivey

Susan Wilhelm - Deputy Finance Director,

AL Department of Finance

Young Boozer - Alabama State Treasurer

Othni Lathram - Director, Alabama Legislative

Services Agency

Tom Albritton, Director Alabama State Ethics Commission

AFA Health Care Plan Open Enrollment IS OPEN!

Thru 11/23/2022

Convenient Blue Cross Blue Shield Options To Fit Your Company's Needs

Click the link below to learn more about the Blue Cross Blue Shield plan benefits, options, & how to enroll.

More Information

Steve Marshall Announces Successful Defense Of Trump-Era Endangered Species Act Reforms

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that on Monday, a federal court in California denied a request by environmental groups to set aside the Trump administration’s rules and revive the Obama-era environmental enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.

Marshall said that the court’s decision serves to preserve the more balanced enforcement rules of the Trump administration nationwide, including in Alabama.

Jackson Paper Mill Lays Off Employees, Idles Production

The Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) paper mill in Jackson announced to its employees last week a layoff of virtually all of its 400-plus workers and a temporary idling of the mill.

PCA issued this brief statement through the Jackson mill: “Due to economic conditions and lower demand for our products, we have temporarily laid off workers at the Jackson mill. The mill is currently idled. We fully intend to resume operations after the holidays.”

Impacts Of The US Southeast Wood Pellet Industry On Local Forest Carbon Stocks

We assessed the net impacts of a wood-dependent pellet industry of global importance on contemporaneous local forest carbon component pools (live trees, standing-dead trees, soils) and total stocks. We conducted post-matched difference-in-differences analyses of forest inventory data between 2000 and 2019 to infer industrial concurrent and lagged effects in the US coastal southeast. Results point to contemporaneous carbon neutrality. We found net incremental effects on carbon pools within live trees, and no net effects on standing-dead tree nor soil pools. However, we found concurrent lower carbon levels in soils, mixed effects associated with increased procurement pressures and large mill pelletization capacity, and possible spillover effects on standing-dead tree carbon pools beyond commercial procurement distances. There is robust evidence that although some trade-offs between carbon pools exist, the wood pellet industry in this particular context and period has met the overall condition of forest carbon neutrality.

ForestPAC Sporting Clays Fundraiser - Dec 6, 2022

Mark your calendars for our ForestPAC Sporting Clays Fundraiser at Selwood Farm on December 6! Help us keep and get quality candidates elected! Register now!

Housing Outlook: Is This a Recession … or Not?

After a two-year period of frenetic activity spurred by low mortgage rates and rising home prices, the housing industry has its finger on the reset button. “I think we can confidently say we're now in a housing recession,” says Robert Dietz, chief economist and SVP for Economics and Housing Policy for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

As one indicator, Dietz points to the nine-month decline in single-family builder confidence tracked by the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), which asks respondents to rate market conditions for the sale of new homes. In September, the HMI stood at 46, after peaking at 90 in late 2020, and it was 83 in January of this year—for the HMI, anything below 50 indicates poor market conditions.

2023 Public Policy Series - The State Of Alabama Governance

February 26-28, 2023

Registration and Room Block are open NOW!

Guide To Increasing Utility Pole Production In Pine Plantations

Maximizing financial gain is often a motivating factor in forest management. This motivation, along with local soil conditions, has paved the way for the expansion of intensive pine plantation management in the southeastern United States. In most cases, the most profitable strategy for landowners has been to grow sawtimber as quickly as possible. Intensive treatments, including site preparation, planting improved seedlings, competition control, thinning, and fertilization, are used to accelerate the growth rate of one age class of pine. This, in turn, reduces the rotation age, allowing landowners to realize a quicker return on their investment. During periods of rapid economic expansion, this production model has performed favorably, as sawtimber prices have outweighed the costs of these intensive practices. However, during periods of economic contraction, lower sawtimber prices make intensive management less profitable and, in some cases, can result in a net financial loss.

We receive complaints from loggers, truckers, and mills on an almost daily basis.

These tend to fall into one of three broad categories:

Truckers who have received an “over-gross” ticket in which the state weight crew figure is higher than the mill scale, resulting in a ticket (which subsequently must be resolved in court);
Truckers who were “under gross” but received a ticket for “over axle” or “over tandem.”
Dangerous set-ups, long lines, and high frequency of state weight crew “visits”at specific locations.

Enviva Highlights Support For Its Sustainable Forestry Practices From Independent Regional Forestry Associations

Enviva, the world’s leading producer of sustainably sourced wood biomass, today issued the following statement in response to support it received from independent forestry associations regarding Enviva’s positive economic and environmental impact in the U.S. Southeast:

“Enviva is a proud partner of forestry associations across the U.S. Southeast and appreciates the support of these organizations as we work to achieve our collective goal of ensuring sustainable forestry across our operating footprint.

Forest products are essential for a thriving economy – not just in the southeastern U.S., but also across the globe. Our capabilities allow us to play an important role in meeting increasing demand for fossil fuel-free energy sustainably sourced from working forests in the U.S. Southeast, while prioritizing their continued growth and health.

We are grateful that our partners recognize Enviva’s sustainable practices, which help to ensure the long-term health and productivity of the forests in the region.”

AFA Young Leaders Returns in 2023

Applications are being accepted for the upcoming 2023 Alabama Forestry Association Young Leaders program. The professional development and networking program targets young professionals involved in Alabama’s forest community (landowners, loggers, foresters, wildlife biologists, and other natural resource professionals). In order to increase the influence of forestry throughout Alabama, the program strives to develop a community of forestry leaders. Program fees include five sessions in 2023 (including the AFA Annual Meeting) covering topics such as communications, education, outreach, law, forest products manufacturing, and more. The 2023 cohort will be the seventh AFA Young Leaders group.

Click below to register (Program fees include materials/resources, accommodations, and most meals during the sessions)

Logging Employment Constraints Threaten Forest Industry Growth

The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data on logging employment (covering Q1 2022) showed a 2.5% year-over-year decline in southern logging employment. Falling southern employment is a concern given the geographic shift in forest industry activity towards the U.S. South. The last five quarters of data available in the Southeast and South-Central U.S. marked the lowest logging employment levels on record for those regions. The U.S. logging industry is smaller than it has been since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking data following World War II despite high levels of production (Figure 1). Since timber harvesting levels peaked in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s, through the last reported data in 2016, total harvest levels fell 18% while logging employment declined nearly 40%. Industry output increased over the last five years in step with growing housing demand, suggesting harvest levels rose as well, yet employment continues to fall.