NEWS & INFO BRIEFS
2020 FLORIDA LAND STEWARD WALL CALENDARS ARE HERE!
Tis the season! Get your 2020 Florida Land Steward wall calendar. The annual Florida Land Steward calendar features beautiful photography, habitat management tips, landowner and management highlights, resource contacts and more. These make a great gift and have become a regular part of homes and offices across Florida. First come, first serve to Florida Forest Stewards, Tree Farmers, and other interested landowners. Request your calendar by sending an email to cdemers@ufl.edu with your mailing address.
YOU CAN HELP us to report impacts and continue this wall calendar project. If you have received and used the calendar in recent years, we need to know how it has been helpful. This will also help us to justify and fund this project in coming years. Please help us by filling out this quick 2-minute questionnaire: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6HKR82F
THANKS to those who have already participated!
THANKS LANDOWNERS AND PARTNERS FOR A GREAT YEAR OF FOREST STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM ACTIVITIES!
2019 Forest Stewardship Program Highlights Video (Facebook link)
Program note: in 2020 the name of the Florida Forest Stewardship Program will merge with Florida Land Steward and be called Florida Land Steward Program. We’ll still provide the same kinds of educational and networking services and activities to landowners and partners.
HURRICANE RECOVERY UPDATE: $380 MILLION IN BLOCK GRANTS FOR TIMBER RECOVERY APPROVED
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has allocated $380.7 million in federal block grant funding for Florida farmers devastated by Hurricane Michael, including direct relief for timber producers. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will administer the USDA block grants alongside the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
The funds will compensate timber producers for lost value of their crops damaged by Hurricane Michael, helping them clear downed trees and replant. About $10 million of the funding will also help agricultural producers repair and replace irrigation infrastructure damage from Hurricane Michael. The application process for timber producers to receive the grant funding will be finalized in the next several weeks. We’ll post information as it is available.
More on this from FDACS
AMAZING CREATURES OF THE LONGLEAF PINE FLATWOODS AND SANDHILLS
A wide diversity of remarkable animals reside in longleaf pine flatwoods and sandhill habitats. Check out this story map by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, featuring some of the amazing reptiles, amphibians, insects, and mammals that call longleaf pine forests home; as well as some of the people working to sustain them: Amazing Creatures
FWC SEEKS INFORMATION TO ASSIST PRIVATE LANDOWNERS
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is conducting a study to learn more about how Florida landowners manage land and wildlife. Landowners are encouraged to take part in the survey to provide the FWC insights into landowner preferences and priorities: Link to the survey here.
PRESCRIBED BURN ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FROM ATTACK-ONE FIRE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, TALL TIMBERS RESEARCH STATION, AND ALACHUA CONSERVATION TRUST
Representatives from these organizations are available to meet onsite with landowners to discuss their goals and assist with prescribed burn prescription and implementation.
Attack-One Fire Management Services is funded to assist landowners in Suwanee, Lafayette, Taylor, Madison Counties, and west across the Panhandle, and throughout the state of Georgia. Attack-One can also assist landowners with current or former NRCS contracts if active gopher tortoise habitat is present. Contact Kevin Carter, kevin@attack-one.com, (850) 926-6534
Tall Timbers Research Station is funded by a Longleaf Legacy Landscape project to provide fire consultation, planning, and implementation to private landowners in the Florida Panhandle from Pensacola to Lake City and in west Georgia as far north as the Chattahoochee Fall Line (Columbus, GA). Contact Jeremiah Cates, jcates@talltimbers.org, (850) 381-8707.
Alachua Conservation Trust has a prescribed fire specialist available to assist private landowners with burn planning in Alachua, Putnam, Marion, Levy, Bradford, Clay and portions of Flagler, Volusia, Lake, Sumter, and Citrus Counties. Contact Barry Coulliette at act.barryc@gmail.com
FUNDING AVAILABLE TO COVER CONSULTANT FOREST STEWARDSHIP MANAGEMENT PLAN PREPARATION
The Florida Forest Service has received funding to help cover the costs for private natural resource consultants to write Forest Stewardship plans covering hurricane resiliency and/or longleaf pine management. Eligible Stewardship plans must include information and recommendations related to: forest resilience and recovery following hurricanes, forest and landowner preparedness for hurricanes, and/or resources available to assist private forest landowners following hurricanes and/or longleaf pine establishment, restoration, improvement, and management for landowners with longleaf stands or those who want to establish longleaf pine on appropriate sites.
Compensation rates and additional information are provided in the Forest Stewardship Program Consultant Plan Preparation Agreement available at: https://forms.freshfromflorida.com/11268.pdf. This form also serves as the application for reimbursement. All applications that meet requirements as described above will be considered in the order in which they are received. Please contact Jennifer Tucker-Jenks at Jennifer.Tucker-Jenks@FreshFromFlorida.com or your county forester for more information. Find your county forester at https://www.freshfromflorida.com/CountyForester
FLORIDA FOREST SERVICE REQUIREMENTS FOR OPEN BURNING IN HURRICANE MICHAEL IMPACTED AREAS
Due to the massive amounts of tree debris on the ground throughout the area affected by Hurricane Michael, the FDACS Florida Forest Service has new requirements for open burning in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Liberty and Washington Counties. The Florida Forest Service created two geographical zones, primary and secondary, to identify hurricane-impacted areas with specific open burning requirements. Burning within the heavy impact zone will require pile burner certification. Details on the zones and requirements here.
FLORIDA PROJECT LEARNING TREE PARTNERS WITH FOREST LANDOWNERS
This fall, two forest landowners generously hosted Project learning Tree (PLT) professional development trainings. Ben and Louann Williams, Wetland Preserve, LLC (Putnam County) and Ken and Lynetta Griner, Usher Land and Timber (Levy County) provided unique opportunities for educators to explore and learn about working forests while experiencing PLT’s hands-on activities that can be integrated into classrooms to teach youth about trees, forests, and the environment. See photos from these events on the Florida Land Steward news blog.
If you are interested in hosting a PLT training on your property contact Elise Cassie, ecassie@ufl.edu.
FIND ASSISTANCE WITH THE FLORIDA LAND STEWARD PARTNERS WEB MAP TOOL
This interactive web-based map allows landowners to identify resource information and assistance programs available at the local watershed level. The Peninsular FL Landscape Conservation Cooperative map provides the map interface. Access the map here: http://viewer.apps.pflcc.databasin.org/v1/index.html.
More about this effort and how to use the tool here.
SOMETHING BUGGING YOUR TREES? – CHECK OUT THE SOUTHERN FOREST AND TREE HEALTH DIAGNOSTICS FORUM
Hosted by a group of forest and tree health specialists with Southeastern universities and agencies, we are here to help identify pests and diseases in your forest or your backyard, and to recommend a solution, if appropriate. Join the group and report your tree health issue! Visit the new Forest Health Diagnostic forum on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthernTreeHealthDiagnostics/
INVASIVE SPECIES PROBLEM?
Go to floridainvasives.org for information, assistance and partnership opportunities.
The new UF/IFAS Invasive Species Programs site is a portal to UF/IFAS programs addressing invasive species of all taxa. Check it out!
REPORT QUAIL AND OTHER WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS
To help restore the state’s northern bobwhite quail populations, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is asking private landowners to report sightings of bobwhite quail on their land. Report northern bobwhite quail sightings at MyFWC.com/QuailSighting
The FWC also seeks reports of these species:
LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC?
Check the vast array of extension publications available at the University of Florida IFAS on the EDIS publication site: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ Wow, there’s a publication about that?
HAVE AN EVENT OR RELATED NEWS TO SHARE?
Drop a line to Chris Demers, cdemers@ufl.edu
More news and info at the Florida Land Steward Blog
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