WVFA Mountain State Forestry Winter 2020-21

F E A T U R E D N E W S Mill Creek Fall in Kumbrabow State Forest. Photo by www.ForestWander.com 10 West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry | Winter 2020-2021 www.wvfa.org the cabins. As a West Virginia Division of Forestry forester, I began working on the implementation of forest management under strict permissible cut guidelines. It was great practicing forestry in some of the best cherry, maple, and red oak timber in the world. Big bucks, turkey, bear, and strutting grouse were seen frequently. I continued to work on Kumbrabow timber sales into the eighties and nineties. From 2003–2005, I was fortunate to be promoted to State Lands Forester with Kumbrabow, Seneca, and Calvin Price State Forests as my primary work areas. Unfortunately, much of the forest management on Kumbrabow was put on hold because of challenges to harvesting as a result of endangered species being potentially impacted. I was so desperate to do forestry that I was implementing small rail sales, trading haul road construction for surrounding timber sale right-of-ways, crop tree release, growth studies, and cruising and planning future sales, which was most of what I was permitted to do. I still enjoy fishing, hunting, and hiking in the forest. It is a very unique place. 5 West Virginia has one of the highest proportions of private mature forests in the U.S. Forests have been growing far faster than harvest levels creating the opportunity for the expansion of harvesting and manufacturing the incredible variety of products that can be made, yet we haven’t seen that expansion. What do you see as some of the barriers for expanding that harvesting and seeing manufacturing flourish here in the Mountain State? I believe there are a myriad of factors that deter forest harvest and manufacturing expansion. Past reasons often used were lack of infra-structure, education system, absentee ownership and tax structure. Although improvements have been made, some of these issues still exist. The face of absentee ownership is changing, large tracts are being subdivided. Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) have acquired some of these large tracts, while lumber companies with large acreage are selling their lands. Additionally, we see forest tracts being subdivided into 5-10 acre parcels and permanently taken out of commercial forest management. There are major highway projects currently under construction within the state that I believe will both have negative and positive effects. They will open access for manufacturing, but will also facilitate forest fragmentation. I think that the average, suburban absentee landowner can have negative attitudes toward the forest industry and are looking for an aesthetic, wilderness setting for recreation only. Also, there are hunt clubs leasing lands, often at a premium price. Leased forest lands do not kill enough deer, effecting long- term forest management. I believe the forest conservation incentive legislation in Congress, sponsored by West Virginia Senator Shelly Moore, Senator Capito, and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen could have a positive effect for our privately owned forests.