| Spring 2018 |
| Idaho Tree Farm Program |
| P.O. Box 2659 • Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 • (T) 208.667.4641, ext 503 • (F) 208.664.0557 www.idahotreefarm.org • admin@idahotreefarm.org |
| Idaho Tree Farm Program
Outstanding Tree Farmer 2018 Kroetch Land and Timber Coeur d’ Alene, ID
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| The annual meeting of our Idaho program was held March 26 at the Family Forest Landowners Conference in Moscow. Turnout was great with over 80 Tree Farmers and guests in attendance. Program President Russ Hegedus gave a short recap of the program and what’s new in Tree Farming then turned to our program awards for 2018. This year the award for Outstanding Idaho Tree Farmer of the Year went to Brian Kroetch of Kroetch Land & Timber and Mica Bay Land Company.
Brian’s family has a long history in forestry, starting with roots in logging & milling in Germany before some of his ancestors immigrated to America and incorporated in the area near Coeur d’Alene in 1921. Over the years they have continued to acquire land and are over 21,000 acres today. Working on a sustained basis, they grow and harvest 5-6 million board feet annually. Brian says, “We are particularly proud of operating a profitable business for the family in a way that’s both sustainable and environmentally sound”. Congratulations to Brian and his family!
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| 2017-2018 Officers• President – Russ Hegedus • Vice President – • Treasurer – • Administrator – admin@idahotreefarm.org (T) 208.667.4641 2017-2018 • District 1 Chair – (T) 208.255.3276 • District 2 Chair – • District 3 Chair –
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| Left to right – Vice President Sean Hammond, President Russ Hegedus, Brian Kroetch, Dana Kroetch. |
| ITFC Annual Meeting (continued from page 1) |
| Our Idaho Outstanding Logger of the year for 2018 is Luke Peterson. Luke and his wife Amy operate Northwoods Forestry near Sandpoint. His fine work may be familiar to many of you from our Fall Tour a couple years back as he had done much of the logging for the Wood family, our 2016 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. Luke began his career in 2004 with just a saw and skidder. He has since expanded the operation to include a processor, buncher, several skidding rigs and a full-time employee. Working with private landowners all around North Idaho, his gives a great deal of attention to leaving a site better than when he entered it. Good job Luke! |
| L-R – Northwoods crew member Matt Henry, truck driver Robert Laude (Woods Crushing and Hauling), Amy Peterson, Luke Peterson our Outstanding Logger of the year, Vice President Sean and President Russ |
| Also honored during our meeting were Outstanding Inspector and Outstanding Logger of the Year for 2018. The award for Outstanding Inspector of the Year went to Steve Cuvala, Private Forestry Specialist for the Idaho Department of Lands in the St Joe Area. Steve has been a long-time supporter of our program as both a dedicated Inspector and a Tree Farmer in his own right as well. In addition, Steve has served many years as our Idaho State Committee Treasurer. President Russ thanked Steve for his long service to our program and presented him with a plaque and embroidered rain parka. |
| Steve Cuvala, Idaho Outstanding Inspector of the Year 2018 |
| Forestry Tour for Southern Idaho
Wednesday, May 16 beginning 8:30 AM |
| Whether you own 10 acres of forest land or 2000, the Forestry Tour for Southern Idaho will provide the tools and information you need to improve the health of your private forest. If you want to harvest commercial timber, limit outbreaks of insects and disease, or reduce fuels near your home, you’ll learn some of the different management practices to accomplish your goals.
The Idaho Department of Lands brings the Forestry Tour for Southern Idaho to Adams County on Wednesday, May 16th. We’ll kick things off at 8:30 a.m. with a coffee social at the fairgrounds exhibition building, hosted by the Idaho Tree Farm Program. Then you’ll learn about “Bugs and Crud” that can affect your forest land, and how to estimate timber volume in “Log Scaling 101,” presented by IDL forestry professionals. We’ll tour Western Timber Company and learn about their specialty lumber products and view a sawmill demonstration at a local mill. In the afternoon, we’ll visit two different private properties to take a look at examples of before-and-after recommended management activities, including pre-commercial thinning, bark beetle control and fuel reduction treatments. Throughout the day, you’ll have a chance to talk with foresters and other resource professionals, loggers, and your fellow timberland owners. We limit the number of participants so that everyone has ample time to ask questions and discuss best management practices. Register now by contacting the Adams SWCD office at 208-253-4668, or email aswd@ctcweb.net. The cost of the tour is just $10 to cover materials. Please bring your lunch and dress for whatever our mid-May weather may throw at us. Loggers and foresters can earn Society of American Foresters continuing education credits for this workshop. For more information, contact John Lillehaug, Private Forestry Specialist with IDL, at 208-634-7125. This Idaho Forest Stewardship Program tour is brought to you by Idaho Department of Lands, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Idaho Tree Farm Program, and the Adams Soil and Water Conservation District. |
| Idaho Tree Farm Committee Approves Fee System |
| As we discussed in the last newsletter our parent organization, the American Forest Foundation (AFF), has indicated they will be passing part of the cost of 3rd party forest certification on to the states. We will need to put together an economic plan to show AFF how we will cover this cost and the Idaho Tree Farm Committee voted at the April meeting to institute a fee system for our members. We created a subcommittee group to look into the specifics implementing this system and the exact cost for each Tree Farmer we would need to assess in order to keep our program fiscally sound. The subcommittee will be reporting back at our next quarterly meeting in July with a recommendation of how to proceed. As we firm these details up we will be passing that information along to our members. |
| Upcoming U of I Extension Forestry Classes |
| Nearly everyone has seen dead trees dotting northern Idaho forests. Most of the trees you notice were killed by bark beetles, but many other insects and diseases kill trees, often in less visible ways.
On Friday, July 27th, the Forest Insect and Disease Field Day will give participants first-hand exposure to a wide range of organisms that impair the growth of trees and forests in northern Idaho, including: western pine beetle and other bark beetles; Armillaria and other root diseases; white pine blister rust; Indian paint fungus, pini rot and other stem decays; and dwarf mistletoes. Experts will help participants identify insect and disease symptoms and discuss practical long and short-term methods of dealing with them. |
| Forest Thinning & Pruning Field Day to be held in Bonners Ferry, June 2nd |
| Trees killed by bark beetle attacks always make forest owners ask: “what can we do about it?” Whether you have problems with insects or disease, concerns about fire, or just want to help forest growth, the response from foresters is nearly universal: thin your forest. This is especially true in northern Idaho, where forests frequently become overstocked. Thinning and pruning can favor better adapted tree species, improve tree quality, reduce fire risk, improve access, and enhance many other values. |
| Forestry Shortcourse offered in Sandpoint, Wednesday mornings, June-July, 2018 |
| Many Idaho forest landowners desire a better understanding of how forests grow and how they can better manage their forest property to meet their goals. Furthermore, forest landowners are often required to demonstrate planned, active forest management to qualify for lower forestry property tax rates and cost-share assistance for management activities such as thinning.
This summer, a 6-session program, titled the Forestry Shortcourse, will help enrich forest landowners’ understanding of forest ecology, silviculture, forest health, wildlife habitat, and other forestry topics. In the process, participants are coached by natural resource professionals on how to develop a management plan for their forest. ——————————————————————————————————— |
| For more information on specific sessions in the series, contact Chris Schnepf at (208) 446-1680 |
| “Forest Insect & Disease Field Day” to be held July 27th in Sandpoint |
| Forest Health Updates, Idaho Department of Lands
Current Projects Statewide – Erica Eidson. Forest Health Specialist |
| EDRR funnel traps placed near waste or recycling facilities |
| Another important reminder for this time of year relates to pine engraver beetle management. Now that the weather is warming up, folks are eager to start on forest management projects. Freshly cut (or storm damaged) pine is highly attractive to Ips pine engravers this time of year, as they are just beginning their first flight period. Fresh pine logs and slash on the ground are likely to become infested, and after about 6 weeks, a second generation of beetles can emerge from the down material and move into adjacent standing pine. We are starting to get some calls about this and seeing a number of new pine slash piles cropping up. Here are a few slash management suggestions for this time of year that might be a good reminder to help folks avoid problems with pine engraver outbreaks: https://www.idl.idaho.gov/forestry/forest-health/2017-single-pest-fact-sheet-pine-engraver.pdf
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| Currently, we are hard at work putting out MCH, which is an anti-aggregation pheromone of Douglas-fir beetle. It comes in small pouches or ‘bubble caps’ that can be stapled to trees for 1 year of protection against Douglas-fir beetle. https://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/technology/pdfs/MCH_handbook_11_15_508.pdf Recently burned areas with scorched Douglas-fir and storm damaged areas with recent (still green) Douglas-fir or larch blowdown are particularly good candidates for MCH treatment (Douglas-fir beetle can successfully attack and reproduce in down but not standing western larch). We treated several areas near Kamiah and will be treating additional areas in SE Idaho. Now is the best time of year to put out MCH, because Douglas-fir beetles will be emerging and looking for new hosts to attack soon. |
| This year, Idaho is participating in Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) surveys https://foresthealth.fs.usda.gov/edrr to monitor for invasive wood borers of deciduous and coniferous hosts, as well as for exotic species of Ips bark beetles. We are in the process of placing funnel traps (see attached photos) at 12 sites across the state and will be monitoring them for 12 weeks. We have selected sites in close proximity to wood waste facilities (i.e., transfer stations and wood recycling facilities) or areas that store imported goods with wood packing materials, such as wooden pallets (i.e., shipping yards, granite slab vendors). The idea is that potentially infested wood material may end up at these types of locations, and the EDRR trapping program could help us detect any new infestations at early stages, before exotic insects become established in an area. |
| Events to Highlight
May 16, 2018 – Forestry Tour for Southern Idaho, Adams County, ID June 2, 2018 – Forest Thinning and Pruning Field Day, Bonners Ferry, ID July 19, 2018 – Idaho Tree Farm Committee Meeting, CDA, ID July 27, 2018 – Forest Insect & Disease Field Day, Sandpoint, ID |
Welcome New Members! |
| The Idaho Tree Farm Committee extends a special welcome to the 8 newest Idaho Tree Farm Program’s certified members. Thank you to the District Chairs and Inspecting Foresters for promoting membership in the Idaho Tree Farm Program through the American Tree Farm System®.
As a current member, and a steward of the land, we appreciate your current support of the program and your management of the forestland for pride and pleasure. Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting watersheds and wildlife habitat, conserving soil and, at the same time, producing the wood America needs and uses. |
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Stay Informed….. |
| In case you are ever wondering what is going on at the committee level, our Minutes are now being posted on the Idaho Tree Farm Program website. Just log onto our website for Minutes of previous sessions, contact information, upcoming events, and other news of note to help you in your Tree Farm endeavors. |
| We’re on the Web!
Learn more at: www.idahotreefarm.org |
About Our Organization… |
| The purpose of the Idaho Tree Farm Program is to promote better forest management among nonindustrial forest owners. The vehicle for achieving this aim is the American Tree Farm System® (ATFS), sponsored nationally by the American Forest Foundation (AFF), state wide by the Idaho SFI State Implementation Committee (SFI SIC), and administered by the Idaho Tree Farm Committee (State Committee). |
| Congratulations Kroetch Family!
Make plans to join us on the Fall Tour of their Tree Farms September 2018 |
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