©2023 New York Forest Owners Association
All Rights Reserved.
By Greg Lessord
NO, we are not announcing a rewards program.....OR.....are we?
As this article is being penned in mid March 2019, the NYSDEC is in the
midst of holding hearings throughout the state and via webinar to put
forth information and receive public comment concerning the forestry tax
law, RPTL part 480a regulatory reform.
While
this tax law is utilized by many very large commercial forest land
owners and timber investment management organizations ( TIMO's ) to
receive an 80% reduction in property taxes, private woodland owners who
have 50 or more contiguous acres and are willing to commit them to
sustainable harvesting practices through a written forest management
plan can also benefit from the 80% tax reduction.
With very little advance notice of the DEC's public stakeholder hearing
schedule, NYFOA president Art Wagner was able to get the word out to
the membership along with the NYFOA position statement regarding 480a
regulatory reform. I along with WFL vice-chair Dale Schaefer attended
the first meeting held February 26th at Finger Lakes Community College (
FLCC ) and both signed up to speak to a full house as did nearly 20
other concerned landowners. I presented the official NYFOA position
statement which supports the DEC's effort along with a list of potential
revisions. They include simplifying the application process, modifying
and streamlining the required work schedules, computerizing 480a
documentation requirements, revising the 480a handbook and definitions
to simplify and ensure consistent interpretation of regulations all
across the state; and finally to allow for forest regeneration, young
forest initiatives and wildlife habitat improvements to fully
participate within the 480a program. Hopefully, the end result should
increase 480a participation, decrease landowner burdens, decrease DEC
administrative efforts and streamline processes.
NYFOA would also like to see the 50 acre minimum reduced to 25 acres
in an effort to combat the ever increasing threat to subdivide land or
highgrade those forests because of New York state's over the top tax
burden. However this requires legislative action and will not be part of
DEC's immediate (regulatory) focus. To date, NYFOA's state board has
ensured that we have representation at every DEC stakeholder meeting
across the state to insure our voice is heard regarding 480a.
Why are we doing this and why should you care? Because the bulk of
forest land in this state is owned by private persons like you and I who
individually often have little to no advance knowledge of bills or
regulations that have a dramatic effect on our ability to own, protect,
work in, enjoy, retain, pass down or leave a lasting legacy. With so
much time and effort being spent by our chapters keeping all of us
informed in areas of invasive species management, wildlife habitat,
vernal pools, chainsaw safety, timber stand improvement, maple sugaring,
tree and shrub planting, how to seminars, woodswalks - you get the
picture - and probably the main reasons you joined or at least are
familiar with NYFOA. All more than worth the price of membership on it's
own.
What garners
little press and is often overlooked or not realized is the behind the
scenes advocacy occurring on a daily basis by an all volunteer
organization (with the exception of two paid, part time employees). In
an effort to inform and educate legislators and a broader audience
interested in forest health, we have aligned ourselves with other
organizations who share many common issues and goals. Among them the
Quality Deer Management Association ( QDMA ), The Nature Conservancy (
TNC ), the Audubon Society, and others . NYFOA also works closely with
professional organizations such as Society of American Foresters (SAF )
and the Empire State Forest Products Association ( ESFPA ). We have
developed excellent relations with applied forestry professionals at
Cornell University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
at Syracuse, and Paul Smith's College.
John Bartow Jr. the executive director of ESFPA has been a good friend
to NYFOA and has generously shared his deep understanding of
legislation being considered in Albany that could have a direct effect
on our members (e.g. 480a regulations contemplated, clear cutting
regulations, timber harvest pre-notification, proposed funding for
private forest owners to receive state cost sharing benefits to
implement invasive control, timber stand improvement, deer management
etc.) As of this writing some of the bills ESFPA has on the radar
include:
Periodically several board members travel to meet with legislators and /
or their staffers directly to discuss hot button issues. Often these
people have no direct contact with lands and forests. NYFOA's director
of organizational development Mike Zagata has taken a NYS Senate
staffer on a tour of a sawmill and a lengthy walk in the woods in order
to explain NYFOA's main agenda points. Such interactions help immensely
to broaden the understanding of our needs and concerns and those of the
forest itself . NYFOA's Restore New York Woodlands ( RNYW )
initiative, spearheaded by Jerry Michael, is currently partnered with a
dozen other organizations who collectively are working with NYSDEC to
address the lack of forest regeneration. RNYW is the centerpiece of
NYFOA's agenda crafted to address the main reasons why NYS forestland is
experiencing a severe difficulty in natural regeneration. The key
reasons for this include interfering vegetation/invasives, the need for
timber stand improvement, and the negative impacts of excessive deer
browse. Quality Deer Management Association is one of our partners and
is on board with this hot button topic.
Other key areas of concern are the Young Forest Initiative and creation
of early successional habitat to bolster song bird, grouse, rabbit,
pollinator and many other populations that diminish greatly or become
non-existent in the mature forest structure. The list here is by no
means complete and new challenges continually manifest themselves.
So if you're not a member, won't you please join us? And if you already
are, THANK YOU! And new this year is the Life Member option.
America's Forests: providing clean air, pure waters, renewable energy, carbon sequestration, building products, recreation, wildlife habitat, jobs and so much more to everyone. Please help us to manage them wisely for generations to come.
NYFOA
PO Box 541 Lima, NY 14485
PHONE: 800-836-3566
EMAIL: info@nyfoa.org
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