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... an invitation to anyone to come and
have a tour of some natural and planted forestland down there in Mississippi...
In November of 2007 a forester by the name of Dr. Glenn
Hughes wrote a thoughtful and detailed comment in response to a blog entry
about the International Day Against Monoculture Tree Plantations. Glenn talked about his experience working
with forestland owners in Mississippi
and how it was difficult to tell the difference between natural regeneration
and planted pines where he does his field work.
As part of his comment, Glenn made an invitation to anyone to come and
have a tour of some natural and planted forestland down there in Mississippi.
Of course I was skeptical about Glenn’s claim that there is
very little difference between natural stands and planted stands of pines so I
replied with a comment that I would like to take him up on his offer. Well, Glenn’s obviously a real doer kind of
guy and the next thing I know he has taken the time and effort to organize an
open house for me and others on the Lambert Tree Farm outside of Sumrall, MS,
complete with multiple presenters and a full day schedule looking at issues
such as:
·
Understory
development in natural and planted pines
·
Role
and use of prescribed fire
·
Wildlife
habitat management
·
Invasive
species management
·
Timber
products and harvesting
The open house was scheduled for Friday March 28, 2008 and I
have been looking forward to going for the last couple of months. Unfortunately, my schedule has conspired to
make the trip impossible for me and I called Glenn today to inform him of the
bad news.
I am writing this blog because the open house will go on as
planned and I would like to make the brochure available for anyone who lives in
the area and who might be interested in attending this event. Not only do I believe it will be very
informative, but I am also interested in getting the perspective of the
information that will be presented from someone who understands and supports
the mission of Dogwood Alliance. In that
spirit we have posted the brochure here. If you live in the area and can make the open
house we would love to hear what you thought about it.
And Glenn, thank you for your efforts in putting this open
house together after our initial conversation and I do apologize for not being
able to make the trip down there.
Sid
Cullipher
Executive
Director
Dogwood
Alliance
828-251-2525 x11
828-280-6013
cell
www.dogwoodalliance.org
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We have had the field day planned for some time now, and I would encourage anyone interested to read the brochure that is posted, register for the field day, and come see for yourself if pine plantations on the outer coastal plain are "lifeless." I am sorry that Mr. Cullipher's schedule does not permit his attending.
The field day will be at the Lambert Tree Farm, which consists of both natural and planted pines. A biologist from the U. of Southern MS will examine understory differences in planted and natural pines. A forester will discuss the use of prescribed fire. A retired forester who spent 25 years managing forestland for wildlife habitat will discuss pine plantations and wildlife management. A wildlife biologist with the US Fish & Wildlife Service will discuss problems with invasive plant species, and a timber buyer will discuss timber harvesting.
We have a number of private landowners that will be attending, but as of this morning we had no one from the Dogwood Alliance or this web site register. This is unfortunate, as I think it is important for people with different perspectives to see what is actually occurring on the ground.
I guarantee that you will learn from this field day, and again invite you to attend.
Glenn Hughes, Extension Forestry Professor.