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South-central United States forest landowners were surveyed to determine their forestry-related educational needs and appropriate methods for promoting effective programs covering desired topics. The majority of respondents had not participated in past educational programs because they were unaware of their existence. Therefore, forestry professionals and university Extension personnel should inform and encourage nonindustrial private forest…

At one time the term “colony” was loosely defined as: any geographic region that exported raw materials to the “home country” and then purchased those materials back as value added products. By that economic measure, the U.S. is quickly becoming a colony of Asia . To many hardwood companies the situation looks hopeless… While direct…

[ North Carolina ] A forest summit held Wednesday in Stanly County addressed the growing concern of development in the state. In the past decade, more than a million acres of woodland has been destroyed in North Carolina , primarily for real estate development. Since about 90 percent of the state’s woodlands are privately owned,…

Warmer waters would diminish population in Va. , researchers say [ Virginia ] Researchers warn that if current climate projections hold true, warmer temperatures could mean fewer trout in Virginia ‘s 2,300 miles of wild trout streams. And one model indicates rising temperatures could take 97 percent of the trout habitat in the southern Appalachians…

[ China ] Researchers have found soils in an old-growth forest in southern China are storing carbon at a rapid rate. If common to the soils of other old-growth forests, the finding could add combating global warming to the reasons for preserving them from logging, some scientists say. The finding from soils in southern China…

[ California ] While preserving and restoring forests is unquestionably good for the natural environment, new scientific studies are concluding that preservation and restoration of forests outside the tropics will do little or nothing to help slow climate change. And some projects intended to slow the heating of the planet may be accelerating it instead.…

[ Florida ] Woodland Estates residents wanted to do something to reduce the threat of wildfire engulfing their rural community. Last week, Woodland Estates became the first neighborhood in Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Manatee and Sarasota counties to become a Firewise Community. The national program encourages residents in wildfire-prone areas to reduce fire-feeding vegetation and build…

[ Mississippi ] Richmond, Va.-based Intrinergy is gearing up for a $10.5 million project to build a biomass energy generator at a paper mill in Wiggins. The project at the Cellu Tissue Coastal Paper plant could be the first step in providing the southeast Mississippi timber industry with an outlet for its products during a…

[ Canada ] West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. says it’s poised to become North America’s second-largest lumber producer when it completes a deal to buy 13 sawmills from International Paper for approximately US$325 million. The sawmills are in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas, and have a combined annual production capacity…

Sens. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have teamed up to form a new Senate caucus with the express purpose of promoting development of a domestic coal-to-liquid fuels production industry. The senators want to address U.S. reliance on foreign sources of oil through expanded use of coal, a resource found in abundance domestically. Coal…