Forests touch lives and livelihoods in so many ways that it is impossible to impose categories on the myriad forest types, plants, animals, products, applications, and motivations associated with forested landscapes and the incredible breadth of people who connect with them. MyMinnesotaWoods / Non-Timber Forest Products exists to increase awareness and appreciation of forest-people connections, and the value of these connections. We envision this online space not as a “website”, but as an “virtual commons” to facilitate:

• Increased awareness of non-timber forest products and resources
• Development and exchange of non-timber information, experiences, and traditions
• Establishment a network for social and economic non-timber resource users and entrepreneurs, managers, and educators
• Linkage of Minnesota’s non-timber resources with national and international partners and opportunities to strengthen our communities

Sizing up an awesome burl

Admittedly, “Non-Timber Forest Product” is a clunky term, but it is one that reminds us there is more to the forest than the trees. To think about NTFPs is to open our minds to the whole: to the range of places, products, people, and motivations. To the ecology, society, policy, and economy. NTFPs are a potential means to connect unrecognized allies who may represent communities that differ geographically, politically, economically, racially, and culturally.

After all,

• NTFPs are diverse.
• NTFPs are used diversely.
• NTFPs activity is diversely motivated.

Consider the potential for the fortification of local economies, management and conservation, natural resource education, and even cross-cultural understanding.

Our maple sap crew

By the way, NTFPs are delicious! The kitchen table is one great way to access this amazing world (but not the only one). I’ve dined on sautéed wild mushrooms and toasted ants in Chiapas, Mexico, on complex teas brewed of forest herbs in the Andes. I’ve snacked on exquisite morels harvested (somewhere outside of) Big Falls, MN, on cattail pollen pancakes with the Minnesota Conservation Corps, and of course on delicious assorted berries and my own maple syrup and wild rice from “my big backyard.”

Steamed cattails sauteed in butter and garlic

I also think of NTFPs as a passport. My work with NTFPs has led me throughout Minnesota, in pursuit of balsam bough pickers and wreath makers, mushroom collectors, basket crafters, and more. Traditional forest products are the foundation for my ongoing work with the region’s Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) communities, for whom forest products such as birch bark and black ash are essential components of an old and rich culture.

Black Ash Basket by M. Benedict

NTFPs have led me to the cloud forests of southeastern Mexico to work with indigenous coffee farmers and to the lowland Maya forests of Mexico and Guatemala, where communities harvest chicle latex used to make chewing gum as well as palm fronds for use in U.S. Palm Sunday celebrations. The very existence of the market for these “eco-palms” is a result of work done at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM).

Tapping rubber in Oaxaca, MX

Finally, the experts on NTFPs don’t reside at the University of Minnesota or in any other single place, for that matter. NTFP knowledge exists throughout the region: in our communities and our families, in the shared and unique experiences of passionate and committed people. If you are one of those people, share some of your knowledge! If you know of one of these people, help us find them.

An incomplete holiday wreath of princess pine, basswood, and ash by John Zasada

Related posts:

1. Nontimber Forest Products: Balsam boughs
2. Nontimber Forest Products: Character wood
3. Harvesting Timber: Overview

Click for the full-sized postcard

On November 20, 2009, a postcard was mailed to owners of 20+ acres of woodland in Itasca County. If you’ve just received a postcard and are looking for more information, you’ve come to the right place.

Naturally, the first step is to develop a Woodland Stewardship Management Plan for your land. A Woodland Stewardship Management Plan is an overview of your property developed with your goals for your land. A Woodland Stewardship Management Plan may qualify you for cost-share funds that can reduce costs for projects like tree planting. There is a fee for the plan, and there may be a delay due to high demand.

Woodland Stewardship Plan Writers Serving Itasca County:

• Deer River Area:
  Terry Keeler,
  1201 Hwy. 2
  Grand Rapids, MN 55744
• Hibbing Area:
  Roger Nelson,
  7979 Hwy. 37,
  Eveleth, MN 55743

Deer River (green) and Hibbing (blue) DNR-Forestry areas in Itasca County

2. Itasca Soil and Water Conservation District

• 1889 East Hwy. 2
  Grand Rapids, MN 55744
  218-3276-0017

3. The Minnesota Association of Consulting Foresters

• PO Box 1171
  Bemidji, MN 56619-1171
  http://www.paulbunyan.net/users/norfor/

Current Property Tax Programs for Qualifying Landowners in Itasca County

1. 2c Managed Forest Land Tax Classification:
This is a new tax classification for vacant wooded land. The class rate is 0.65%, 35% lower than the class rate for 2b rural vacant land. Enrollment requires a registered Woodland Stewardship Management Plan. Landowners must complete the application form CR-2c MFL and provide it to the county assessor to verify that the property qualifies for this program. Learn more about the 2c Managed Forest Lands tax class.

• Itasca County Assessor’s Office
  123 NE Fourth Street
  Grand Rapids, MN 55744
  218-327-2861

2. Sustainable Forest Incentive Act
This program, administered by the MN Department of Revenue, provides woodland owners with an annual incentive payment. This program requires filing a covenant with the county recorders office. You’ll need the legal description of your property, a copy of the woodland stewardship plan map and parcel identification numbers (PID). Be sure to exclude any area that you might develop in the future. For complete details, read the SFIA Fact Sheet. Allow the county recorder two to three months to process your request.

• Itasca County Recorder’s Office
  123 NE Fourth Street
  Grand Rapids, MN 55744
  218-327-2856

To learn more:

• Read Property Tax Relief for Forest Landowners by Mel Baughman and Mike Reichenbach. This publication provides a detailed overview of SFIA, 2c Managed Forest Land, and the Rural Preserves program.
• Workshop: Tax Relief and Incentive Payments for Woodland Owners
  Tuesday, December 1, 2009 from 6:00- p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Grand Rapids. Get all the details here or call Julie Miedtke at (218) 327-7486.
  

Questions?

Contact the Itasca County Woodland Owner’s Answerline 218-327-2815 or itascawoods@co.itasca.mn.us

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Related posts:

1. Itasca County Chipper Days: Neighbors helping neighbors
2. New Itasca County Private Woodland Committee website
3. Property tax relief for Minnesota forest landowners

Property taxes pay for important local government services. They also are a significant annual cost for you, the forest landowner. You may not fully recover costs, such as property taxes, associated with forest management, due to the 30 to 100 year time between harvests.

In addition, your land provides wildlife habitat, watershed protection, aesthetics, and biodiversity that benefit all Minnesotans. Because of the public benefits your forest land provides, the Minnesota Legislature created the Sustainable Forest Incentive Act (SFIA) and 2c Managed Forest Land Classification (Class 2c).  In addition, the Green Acres/Rural Preserves program can be used to reduce ownership costs on sustainably managed forest land. This publication will help you decide which program, if any, best fits your situation.

A recently updated publication by Melvin Baughman and Mike Reichenbach includes detailed overviews of the following information about your Minnesota woodland property taxes:

• Tax classifications and class rates
• How Minnesota’s Green Acres program works, including recent changes
• 2b Rural Vacant Land
• Rural Preserve Program: Qualifications, enrollment, and ending enrollment
• Sustainable Forests Incentive Act (SFIA): Qualifications, enrollment, incentive payment, acquiring enrolled land, and ending enrollment
• 2c Managed Forest Land Classification: Qualifications and enrollment
• Comparison between SFIA and Class 2c
• How to get forest management assistance
• More information

Download Property Tax Relief for Forest Landowners (PDF, updated 12/01/09) by Mel Baughman and Mike Reichenbach.

Related posts:

1. Itasca County woodland property tax postcard
2. New 2c Managed Forest Land tax classification
3. Extension to lead 2c Managed Forest Land outreach

Related posts:

1. Quiz of the Month: October 2009
2. Arbor Month 2009: My Favorite Tree
3. Woodpile newsletter: November 2009

Attached is the premier issue of a new, on-line-only newsletter for woodland owners who have forest management plans. The newsletter was developed with support from the Northwest Minnesota Foundation and executed by the Giziibii RC&D, for projects focused on assisting Minnesota’s woodland owners with the management and enjoyment of their forests.

New issues will be published electronically and quarterly, for woodland owners who have been assisted in the development of management plans by both public and private forestry professionals.

Download the first Woodpile newsletter here. (PDF)

Related posts:

1. MDNR's March 2009 Forest Insect & Disease Newsletter
2. Minnesota DNR Marketplace newsletter
3. Free monthly e-newsletter from Dovetail Partners

Related posts:

1. November 2007 update
2. November 2008 update
3. May 2009 update

The changes will make it easier to find and discuss content, get to know authors, get new content notifications, and find and post material on the new discussion board.

We’d love your thoughts on the new site.  Leave as little or as much info as you want on our fast feedback form.

Thank you!

Related posts:

1. Discussion board is back
2. Perspective: Problems (and solutions) with Minnesota's property tax code
3. Under the discussion board's hood

This month’s features:

• Response: Dauerwald, ecological forestry, and late-successional structure
• North Central Forest Management Guides: Bottomland hardwoods
• John Latimer’s Northern Minnesota phenology report
• Meet a Minnesota Logger: Tom Kruschek
• Protecting tree seedlings from deer
• Featured link: Tree ID resources from MNTCA.org
• And, as always, discussion board, upcoming events, news, poem of the month, and a quiz.

Read this month’s update here.

Related posts:

1. October 2009 email update
2. February email update is out
3. August 2009 email update is out

This month we feature a two-part video response to Tom’s question and the ensuing discussion from Tony D’Amato, silviculturist at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Forest Resources.  Tony’s first video addresses the concept of natural disturbance-based silviculture.  His second video addresses a somewhat related concept, of active management to restore late-successional structure. Tony discusses how ecological forestry can complement other approaches like production forestry and multiple use sustained yield forestry on the landscape.

Ecological forestry: Natural disturbance-based silviculture

Links:

• Minnesota DNR’s Native Plant Community Field Guides
• Natural disturbance and stand development principles for ecological forestry

Ecological forestry: Restoring late-successional forest structure

Links:

• Restoring Late-successional Forest Structure, by Tony D’Amato and Paul Catanzaro (PDF)
• More info and links on restoring late-successional and old growth characteristics from MassWoods.net.

Your turn

How does (or doesn’t) ecological forestry fit into your woodland plans?  Why or why not?  Leave a comment below or add to the initial discussion begun by Tom.

Related posts:

1. Silviculture and Carbon in the Cloquet Woods
2. November email update is out
3. Thinning Minnesota conifer stands

The last of the meadowhawk dragonflies will put in an appearance in early November. These small, bright red, insects are among the last to fly about in the fall. A warm day or two in the early part of the month will send them out in a last and probably fruitless search for other flying insects.

Flickr photo “Ruby Meadowhawk” by Jim Frazier. Original.

If you have been observing them throughout the fall you may have noticed them flying in tandem with the female periodically touching her abdomen to the grass. She is depositing eggs. Her strategy is to place her eggs on stalks of grass that will be inundated in the spring. Once awash the eggs will begin to develop and the larval stages will terrorize the shallow ponds and lake edges until late summer when they will emerge and terrorize the flying insects.

Those eggs mistakenly laid in the grass that may be your lawn will likely never develop. No one is perfect and least of all the meadowhawk dragonflies, but what they lack in foresight about those areas likely to flood they make up for in sheer numbers of eggs laid. Some of them will end up underwater and the species will survive.

Flickr photo “Dragonfly” by Chris Coomber. Original.

In the case of the meadowhawk dragonflies they survive the winter as eggs or larvae, but what about the Compton’s tortoiseshell or Mourning cloak butterflies? How do they survive the cold? They over-winter as adults and without an approach to overcome the cold they would freeze and die. For many insects the strategy is freeze avoidance.

There are three elements to freeze avoidance. First, the insect produces an anti-freeze which circulates in the blood. These special proteins bind with any ice crystals that may form keeping them small and preventing them from doing damage.

Second, they produce sugars and sugar based alcohols which act to lower the freezing point of any water in the body. These typically take the form of glycerols that by mid-winter may constitute 20 to 25% of the insect’s total body weight.

Flickr photo “Chionea species” by C Wood. Original.

The final part of a freeze avoidance strategy involves finding a dry location. Staying away from water and the resulting ice is imperative. Ice can act as a nucleator for the development of further ice crystals. The butterflies must find secure dry locations, other insects might construct waterproof cocoons or some other personal protection, but the butterflies lack this ability. This perhaps explains why I find so many of them in my garage.

John Latimer is well known throughout northern Minnesota for his phenology work. He appears weekly on KAXE radio in Grand Rapids, and audio and twitter archives are available here. His work is a frequent feature on MyMinnesotaWoods.  This article also appeared in the Duluth Senior Reporter.  It is printed with the author’s permission.

Related posts:

1. Northern Minnesota phenology report: June 2009
2. Northern Minnesota phenology report: July 2009
3. Northern Minnesota phenology report: May 2009