Two hundred years ago, magnificent bottomland forests covered almost thirty million acres across the Southeastern United States. Today, only about ten percent of Arkansas’s lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain still supports these productive and unique ecosystems, but the state has the largest potential area for reforestation. Restoration and protection of the “Big Woods” area of Arkansas is a priority for government agencies and conservation groups. The Big Woods encompass 500,000 acres of federal, state and private bottomland, including the White River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and the Cache River NWR.

Bottomland hardwood forests are riverine swamps. They are found along rivers and streams of the southeast and south central United States, generally in broad floodplains. These ecosystems are commonly found wherever streams or rivers occasionally flood. They are deciduous forested wetlands, made up of different species of Gum (Nyssa sp.) and Oak (Quercus sp.) and Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), which have the ability to survive in areas that are either seasonally flooded or covered with water much of the year. Identifying features of these wetland systems are the fluted or flaring trunks that develop in several species, and the presence of knees, or aerial roots.

Bottomland Hardwoods serve a critical role in the watershed by reducing the risk and severity of flooding to downstream communities by providing areas to store floodwater. In addition, these wetlands improve water quality by filtering and flushing nutrients, processing organic wastes, and reducing sediment before it reaches open water.

By: Chandler Van Voorhis
With GreenTrees, participating landowners now have the potential to sit back and watch their forest grow while revenues increase. Read More »


Most Mississippi alluvial forest restoration plantings have not performed well. The Center for Bottomlands Hardwoods Research has the answers.

Although about 370,000 acres of farmland in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) have been planted in bottomland hardwoods over the last decade, more than 90 percent of the planted sites have not performed well, failing to meet the criterion of 100 woody stems per acre. Attributing these failures to lack of information on how to analyze site conditions and overcome difficult conditions, SRS researchers provided the following guidelines based on research at the SRS Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research in Stoneville, MS.

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A bottomland hardwood forest is basically a “swamp” or deciduous forested wetland. These lowland forests grow along river “bottoms,” and tend to flood during the rainy season. The Mississippi Valley was entirely covered by bottomland hardwood forest at the time of European settlement, when it was the largest extent of that habitat type on earth. For about one hundred years, beginning with the first Swamp Land Act in 1849, the federal government provided incentives to states and landowners to reclaim, or drain, bottomland forests for agriculture or development. Read More »


By: Harvey Kennedy, Jr, James Allen,
We prepared this bulletin to assist you--as a farmer or other private landowner--in reestablishing forests on part of your land. It will be most useful to you if your land is in the Lower Mississippi Valley and your main reason for reforestation is to produce wildlife habitat, either for private enjoyment or as a means of obtaining supplemental income. Read More »

By: James M. Vose, David L. Peterson, and Toral Patel-Weynand, Editors
This report is a scientific assessment of the current condition and likely future condition of forest resources in the United States relative to climatic variability and change. It serves as the U.S. Forest Service forest sector technical report for the National Climate Assessment and includes descriptions of key regional issues and examples of a risk-based framework for assessing climate-change effects. Read More »


By: Chandler Van Voorhis
With GreenTrees, participating landowners now have the potential to sit back and watch their forest grow while revenues increase. Read More »


By: Tom Tidwell
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This public hearing by the House Committee on Agricultural discusses national forest management and it's impacts on rural economies and communities. Click link below to view video.  Read More »


By: Char Miller
"One of the foundational principles of the U.S. Forest Service is water." This observation was made in reference to the impact of the Clean Water Act on the importance to watershed management within the national forests. This insight is now a matter of heightened concern as a shifting climate alters the levels of precipitation across the country. Read More »


By: Bruce Vincent
Rural America and the rest of the nation are experiencing a collision of visions. Rural Americans seek the conservation of their natural resources in combination with economic stability, while urban American visitors to these lands use political pressure to keep these lands pristine. Read More »

The forests of the southern United States are a vital natural asset for the region, the country, and the world. Southern Forests for the Future seeks to raise awareness about this important natural resource and the ecosystem services forests provide, such as fresh water, timber and recreation. Learn more about these forests by exploring the interactive mapping data and other information to highlight key features and trends for southern forests.

Explore the forests with an interactive map application developed by the World Resources Institute's Southern Forests for the Future project.

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By: Butler, B., Tyrrell M., Feinberg, G., VanManen S., Wiseman L., Wallinger S.
Social marketing—the use of commercial marketing techniques to effect positive social change—is a promising means by which to develop more effective and ef?cient outreach, policies, and services for family forest owners. A hierarchical, multivariate analysis based on landowners’ attitudes reveals four groups of owners to whom programs can be tailored: woodland retreat, working the land, supplemental income, and ready to sell. A prime prospect analysis segmenting landowners according to their level of engagement and interest in land management can be used to improve the ef?ciency of program implementation. Landowners showing low levels of engagement but high levels of interest are of special interest because they are likely to be receptive to a social marketing message and therefore should be a priority target for any such efforts. Using the demographic pro?le of the average family forest owner, newspapers and television were identi?ed as important means for mass communication. Read More »


Since its last release in March 2008, Arkansas has witnessed the closure (including both temporary and permanent closures) of over 93 wood processors according to Directory listings. However during this same period several new mills have begun operation. The March 2011 directory lists a total of 349 wood processors operating in Arkansas.  Read More »


GreenTrees. In addition to planting over 4 million trees with 6 million more to be planted in the next few years as part of the NS contract, C2I has done more to change policy than anyone in recent years. For example, in 2008 we got CP31, 23, 23A and 37 incentives changed. The increased incentives announced in this Notice for CP 31, CP23A, CP23 and CP37 (Continuous CRP) are:
A. A one-time Signing Incentive Payment of $100/Acre.
B. A Practice Incentive Payment totaling 40% of the FSA-authorized establishment (tree planting) costs.
C. An additional 20% increase in the per acre soil rental rate paid each year of the contract.


The Arkansas Forestry Commission's guidelines for a prescribed burn and contract for burning. Read More »


On September 9, the Arkansas Forestry Commission (AFC), Arkansas Forestry Association (AFA) and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Arkansas (NRCS) formalized and sealed with a signing ceremony in Little Rock a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Read More »

The Arkansas Timber Law blog focuses on news and issues concerning timberland owners, forestry, forest preservation, timber processors, and timber products.

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By: Jay Braunscheidel
"More family woodlands will change hands and be sub-divided in the next 10 years than at any point in America’s history." That fact struck me as I was reviewing the newly revised estate planning resource available from the USDA Forest Service entitled: "Estate Planning for Forest Landowners: What will become of your Timberland?" Read More »


By: Brenda Lind
FOR DECADES, CONSERVATION easements have protected open space values such as wildlife habitat, ecologi- cal diversity, recreational access and aesthetics. Working forest landscapes present an opportunity to protect not only these open space values, but also the economic and community benefits that arise from a forest’s production of goods and services. Read More »



A message from the North Carolina State Forester in December 11, 2002, James W. Garner, still prescient today.  Read More »


By: Jon E. Barry

Professional forest management can provide tremendous benefits to landowners. Landowners have the opportunity to produce income from timber sales, develop better wildlife habitat, enjoy more hunting opportunities and provide a better environment for all of us by protecting soil and water resources. Unfortunately, far too few landowners realize that they can have these benefits. As a result, much of the privately owned forestland in Arkansas is not actively managed. Many of the potential benefits to the landowners and to society are being lost.

 

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By: T.J. McEvoy
Almost everyone in forestry has heard of land trusts since they have become a common fixture especially in areas that are rapidly urbanizing. But the unfortunate perception of many forest and farm owners is that land trusts are not to be trusted because their real purpose is to steal private property and pull lands out of production. Nothing could be further from the truth, but critics rely on false ‘private property’ threats to turn land owners away from land trusts even before owners understand how they work. A forest owner who knows how land trusts operate is more inclined to protect lands from development than owners who know little about this highly innovated to protect forest lands from development. Read More »


By: Amos Eno

Recently I made a presentation to the Society of American Foresters (SAF) at their annual conference. My overall theme was that working forests, not wilderness areas and parks, are the prospective foundations of our prosperity in the 21st century. Professional foresters are well aware of this point. The challenge is convincing urban America and policymakers of the urgent need to reverse an overburden of regulation and wilderness designations that has turned once glorious forests into tinder kegs of off-limits timber.

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By: K Gregg Elliott
In the world of forest carbon offsets, it’s absolutely essential to understand seven general terms with very precise meanings.  

• real
• additional
• permanent
• verifiable
• quantifiable
• leakage
• reversal

These concepts apply to all offset projects, but each type of project has its own methodology for calculating offsets.  In the case of California’s Cap & Trade program, which allows qualified forest carbon offsets from anywhere in the U.S., projects may consist of reforestation, improved forest management, and avoided conversion (i.e. easements).  No matter what the type of forest offset project, this simple ”improved forest management” example serves to demonstrate how these important concepts apply.

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By: K Gregg Elliott
The first U.S. market for forest carbon offset projects implemented anywhere in the U.S. will open in 2012.  The state of California, as in so many things, is poised for a for a first. Under its Global Warming Solutions Act, known as AB32, the Golden State will establish the nation’s first compliance carbon market to allow forest carbon offsets. California’s carbon market, which opened in January 2012, will be the second largest in the world, after the European Union, and the largest in North America. New England’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is currently North America’s only compliance market for carbon emissions but does not allow forest carbon offsets.

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Dovetail Partners, Inc. has created an interactive map of organizations that provide resources, information, and assistance for people interested in planting trees. Each organization offers opportunities to get involved, whether it’s planting trees or making donations for trees and seeds. Click here. 
It’s no secret that planting a tree is one of the best actions that you can take to improve and protect the environment. What you may not know, however, is that there are already hundreds of programs and efforts dedicated towards planting trees. By planting trees, we can improve air quality, harbor wildlife, and reduce carbon emissions that affect our climate. 



By: Forest Trends



By: Gary R. Herbert and John Hickenlooper
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Arkansas is a heavily forested state, with 56% of its 33.3 million acres in forest. Forests, sometimes considered the “workhorses” of the environment, provide many economic and ecological benefits to human communities and wildlife. According to the Arkansas Statewide Forest Resource Assessment (PDF), the state’s forests are affected by six major issues:

• water quality impacts from forestry and urbanization
• invasive species affecting forest health
• forest fragmentation and parcelization
• a need to increase forest landowner knowledge and management
• climate change
• appropriate fire management

Industries derived from forestry play a significant role in Arkansas’s economy. The state’s Forest Resource Assessment (PDF) estimates that almost 30,000 jobs derive from forestry, logging, wood products, pulp and paper. Furthermore, the 2003 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan estimated wildlife-related recreation is a $1 billion industry, enjoyed by half of the state’s adult residents.

Good forest management is important to maintain forests as a source of timber and wood pulp. However, that is just the beginning. Forests also provide wildlife habitat, recreational resources, aesthetic values, clean water, and clean air including the sequestration of carbon.

Best Management Practices, or BMPs, can help improve forest management. Developed by experienced practitioners or management and research organizations, they are based upon the best available science. BMPs will often save landowners money in the long term even as they improve the condition of forest resources in the short term.

The following are a selection of BMPs culled from various national, regional, state and local sources. Each is available for download as a pdf.

By: Mary Hightower, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Drought puts trees under chronic stress, leaving it vulnerable to attacks by disease and pests that a healthy tree could normally survive. Read More »


By: Maryland Cooperative Extension
Forest stewardship is the management of forest resources in a way that meets the needs of the current owners, but does not adversely affect use by future generations. It requires that the owner have a sense of responsibility, know the opportunities, be aware of the consequences of actions, and be guided by objectives. A forest stewardship plan is a working guide that allows the landowner to maximize the wildlife, timber, recreation, aesthetic value, and other benefits of owning woodland. A good plan combines the natural and physiographic characteristics of the woodlot with the interests and objectives of the owner to produce a set of forest management recommendations. This plan, if followed, should transform the forest into one that is enjoyable and productive for the owner and future generations.  Read More »


By: Terence Boyle
A number of resource managers, politicians, the general public and other stakeholders have called for a re-examination of the policy for forest management and strategies for fighting wildfires on public lands. Read More »


A practical guide to ways agricultural producers can profit from the growing environmental marketplace from American Farmland Trust, 2010. An in-depth 55-page handbook that introduces and surveys the types of environmental markets, how to get involved including evaluating financial returns and assessing risks, and what farmers and ranchers can do to encourage these markets.

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This is a 7-page fact sheet that covers life history, food requirements, habitat and forest management to benefit Bobwhite. Read More »


A brief handbook from the Arkansas Forestry Commission that covers how to plant, weather, spacing, and suppliers in the state Read More »


A 50-page document from the Arkansas Forestry Commission gives the definitive treatment for streamside management zones, roads, harvesting, chemical use, site prep, reforestation, fire and soils. Read More »


This article summarizes the history, benefits, conditions and techniques for prescribed burning. Read More »


The Arkansas Forestry Commission's guidelines for a prescribed burn and contract for burning. Read More »


A Prescribed Fire Association is a group of landown- ers and other concerned citizens that form a partnership to conduct prescribed burns. Prescribed burning is the key land management tool used to restore and maintain native plant communities to their former diversity and productivity for livestock production and wildlife habitat. Native prairies, shrublands, and forests supply the majority of livestock forage and much of the wildlife habitat in the U.S. Without fire, many native plant communities become dysfunctional and unproductive. Research has clearly shown that there is no substitute for fire.  Read More »


As a landowner, you may be approached by a logger or forester to have a “high grade” harvest of your woods, which they typically call “selective cutting.” Selective cutting refers to a harvest that does not cut all of the trees.

However, there are many forms of selective cutting. While high grading does leave trees after the harvest, the critical issues to consider are whether the harvest will meet your immediate goals and if the remaining trees will best meet your future goals.

All woodlands do not provide equal benefits. The number, size, type, and quality of the trees left after harvesting all affect what your woods will become in the future and, as a direct result, what benefits your woods will provide to you and those that follow. High grading generally takes the best trees and leaves the rest, and may not meet your needs. Read More »


Defines stormwater and its associated management issues and gives guidelines for the use of trees to filter and mitigate the effects of stormwater in developed areas. Read More »

BMPs oriented more specifically toward energy efficiency, invasive & native species, farms & agriculture, water quality and wildlife habitat are also available.

The Arkansas Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) states, “The 2008 farm bill established a new set of national priorities for federal assistance for private forest conservation. Those priorities are to conserve working forests, protect and restore forests, and enhance public benefits from private forests. The bill also directs states to conduct a statewide assessment of forest resource conditions, trends and threats in order to receive federal forestry assistance funds. Each state also must prepare a strategy for addressing the identified threats, and describe the resources needed to address those threats.”

What follows are downloadable PDF documents from the Arkansas Forestry Commission that inclide the Arkansas Statewide Forest Resource Assessment, particularly the eight priority rural and urban forest landscape areas designated in the plan, which in many respects build upon or incorporate the goals of the State Wildlife Action Plan.

Downloads
Arkansas Forest Resource Strategy - A comprehensive strategy for investing resources to address management and landscape priorities (1.4 MB PDF)
Arkansas Forestry Resource Assessment & Strategy - The full 226 page document containing the assessment in addition to the strategy (38 MB PDF)
Forest Landowner Manual - This publication outlines management options the non-industrial, private landowners of Arkansas may use to meet their management objectives while conserving natural resources. (1.3 MB PDF)