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Nov. 30- Dec. 1: Forestry Executives Meeting, Montgomery, Ala.
Dec. 1: Logger Chapter Meetings, 2 hrs CLE:
* Winnfield-Mama D's
* Amite-La Carreta's
* Pineville-Stalnaker's
Call LFA for more info.
Dec. 2: Southern Forest Heritage Museum, General membership and board meeting, 10 a.m.
Dec. 8: Tree Farm Managed Group, LFA office, 10 a.m.
Dec. 8: Endangered Species Meeting, LFA office, 1:30 p.m..
Dec. 12: La. Forestry Commission meeting, La. Dept of Ag and Forestry office, 10 a.m.
Dec. 10-Jan. 28: Smithsonian Exhibit, Southern Forest Heritage Museum, free admission.
Tuesday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 - 4 p.m. Call (318) 748-8404 for information.
Dec. 23 and Dec. 26: LFA office closed for Christmas.
Jan. 3: LFA Board of Directors meeting, Country Inn and Suites, Pineville, 1:30
Jan. 3: SFI SIC committee,. LFA office, 10 a.m.
Jan. 3: LFA Administrative Affairs,
11:15 a.m., LFA office
Jan. 3: New Board Member Orientation, Noon, LFA office.
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Biofuel plant announced for Central Louisiana
Production will start in 2014
Sundrop Fuels, Inc. will build a $450 million plant off I-49 in Alexandria to use natural gas and woody biomass to produce "green gasoline." The plant announced by Gov. Bobby Jindal Nov. 22 will use 600,000 tons of chipped green wood each year. Financing is already in place for the project and there will be about 150 production and research jobs initially at the facility. |
Congress delays H2B rules till Jan. 1, 2012
No ruling yet from U.S. District Judge Dee Drell
Congress has delayed the new Dept. of Labor wage rates under the H2-B laws governing guest workers until Jan. 1, 2012. Many industries like forestry and seafood are affected by the potential new higher rates. The lawsuit brought by several groups including the Louisiana Forestry Association asked that the court block the new rule implementation. The case has been taken under advisement in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. No ruling has been handed down yet.
If the new rules do go into effect, it will raise the wages about 70% in Louisiana. Most tree planting contractors use guest workers under the H2-B program. The new rule requires they be paid the "prevailing wage" in an area. In Louisiana, that would increase from the old rate of $9.60 per hour to $16.31 per hour. It would also increase overtime rates as well.
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LFA sends Groundwater Management concerns
Study conducted of groundwater needs
The Louisiana Forestry Association sent comments to the Dept. of Natural Resources Office of Conservation pointing out the important role forest landowners have in recharging water resources in the state. C.A. "Buck" Vandersteen, made the comments on the behalf of the LFA.
The comments asked that incentives for landowners to plan for water conservation needs were appropriate and forest industry should not be penalized or curtailed from using groundwater. Incentives can be applied to convert to surface water where practical. Also Vandersteen said that the Office of Conservation should monitor the drilling of wells and the status of groundwater resources.
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Pesticide application available
No new rules applied
The EPA has released the general pesticide permit for applicators. Those in Louisiana can follow label instructions, keep a copy of the pesticide permit, and continue normal procedures. No notifications of use are necessary. For more information, see the front page of the website at www.laforestry.com
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More endangered species possible by USFW
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife may add more than 400 new species to the threatened and endangered list. U.S.Fish and Wildlife is accepting public comment on the plan through Nov. 28 with any new rule taking effect in June. The LFA Endangered Species Committee will be monitoring the action.
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CLECO issues RFP for biomass
Utility has conducted test burn on biomass
The Central Louisiana utility is seeking landowners, loggers and industry to supply woody biomass for a pilot program to use it as a supplemental fuel source for power generation. A Request for Proposals and contract terms are available on the CLECO website. A meeting on the proposal is scheduled for Dec. 15. For more information click here. |
Housing Market starting to move up
Late November numbers better
The Wall Street Journal said the housing market was starting to show a pulse with more construction of single family homes and a pickup in demand for mortgage loans. Economists do expect foreclosure processes to speed up with liquidations peaking in 2013. The Journal concluded that six years after home sales have peaked that the market may be close to the bottom.
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Successful Tree Farm Assessment
Louisiana Tree Farms Certified
Louisiana Tree Farmers successfully met the requirements of the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) Certification program annual review and assessment by the third-party auditing team from PricewaterhouseCoopers. This assessment process is a part of our international endorsement by the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and provides ATFS with an opportunity to better understand how to enhance programs and provide landowners with the tools they need to manage their forests on the ground. Congratulations to Louisiana Tree Farmers, inspectors, and Tree Farm Committee members for this accomplishment.
For a summary of the findings, click here. |
Condolences to our forestry family
We offer our sympathies to three forestry families who have lost loved ones:
* Janice S. Muslow, mother of Steve Muslow, died Oct. 29 in Shreveport.
* Joe Elder of Elder Wood Preserving in Mansura, died Oct. 9.
* Myrthlee Vanhoof, mother of LFA staffer Janet Tompkins, died Nov. 10.
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This is our email newsletter to our members! We send these timely bulletins only to our members who have an email address on file. You can always view this on our website at www.laforestry.com.