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MFA Annual Meeting - Register Today!
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 Registration for MFA's Annual Meeting is now open! The online virtual meeting using Zoom Webinar will be held Saturday, October 23 from 10 am - 12:15 pm, and will be free to attend thanks to sponsorship from our friends at Farm Credit East.
The focus of the meeting will be on forest carbon. The world is moving towards compensating forest landowners for the carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services their forests provide. However, there is a confusing tangle of programs around forest carbon for landowners, making it hard to understand what the best choice is. The meeting will work to demystify and explain the various current options and those coming soon. We have some experienced and knowledgeable speakers presenting during the Annual Meeting:
- Eric Kingsley from Innovative Natural Resource Solutions (INRS) will be our keynote speaker. Eric will give an overview of forest carbon and carbon credit programs on the national and regional level that could be of use to forest landowners.
- Dr. Laura Marx from The Nature Conservancy will present on a number of new and forthcoming climate forestry/carbon projects taking place here in Massachusetts.
- Kathryn Morse from NCX will discuss their unique carbon credit program, which uses satellite and other remote sensing of forestland to offer payments to landowners for a one-year carbon credit program (which can be renewed) at no up-front cost to the landowner.
The Annual Meeting will also have some award presentations and a short business meeting.
The Annual Meeting has been approved for the following credits:
- 1.5 MA Forester Credits in Category I
- 1.5 SAF CFE Credits in Category I
- 2.25 MA Timber Harvester Credits
- TBD CT Forest Practitioner CEUs
While the meeting is free, registration is required, and is now open. Click here to register now!
We hope you'll join us on Saturday, October 23rd at 10 am!
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Spotted Lanternfly Is Here!
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 Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive insect native to Asia that was first spotted in the United States in 2014 in Pennsylvania. Since that time, it has been spreading further into neighboring states. The spotted lanternfly is a damaging insect - as it feeds, it excretes a substance called honeydew, which forms a sooty mold and attracts other insects, eventually killing the host plant. Its preferred tree species is the tree of heaven (itself an invasive species), but it also attacks crops like grapes, hops, fruit trees, and maple trees. So it represents a real threat to agriculture, but also forests.
The insect has been spotted in Massachusetts before, typically arriving on landscape plants shipped from nurseries in infected areas. Some of these spotted lanternflies were dead, others alive, but the good news was that these were one-off incidents with no evidence of a breeding population.
That changed last month, when a three-tree infestation of spotted lanternfly was discovered in Fitchburg. Adult insects and nymphs were seen on the site. People are asked to keep an eye out for the insect. If you spot one, take a photo, and if possible preserve the insect in the freezer or a jar with some rubbing alcohol. You are asked to report your findings to the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture (MDAR) using this form (which also has good pictures of the various life cycle stages of the spotted lanternfly).
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New Booklets From UMass Extension
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UMass Extension has released two booklets recently, one new and one updated. Both are free to download.
 The Open Space Handbook is targeted at those interested in land conservation, from town committee members to forest landowners, land trusts, and more. For too long, these interested parties didn't have good resources to explain the process, strategies, and more. Produced with funding from DCR's Working Forest Initiative, this booklet aims to put those tools and resources in the hands of those working to conserve our natural and working lands. Click here to download the booklet.
 Foresters and the Care of Your Land is an updated booklet that helps forest landowners understand how to find, hire, and work with a consulting forester to benefit their properties. A consulting forester will share information with you about the structure and health of your forest, and plan forest management to help you meet your goals for your forestland. Not sure how to get started? This booklet will help. Click here to download it.
Hard copies of both booklets can be requested by contacting Olivia Lukacic at UMass Extension at olukacic@umass.edu.
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2021 RCP Network Gathering - Register Now!
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 Don’t miss your chance to be part of the one-day Virtual 2021 Regional Conservation Partnership Network Gathering on November 18. The Gathering will feature real-world examples and share ideas of how Land Justice and collaborative conservation can be locally-driven, replicated, and scaled-up to create stronger, more equitable, and resilient communities and regions. This event is free, and all are welcome. Learn more and register today by clicking here.
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 USDA's Pandemic Assistance for Timber Harvesters and Haulers (PATHH) is accepting applications through October 15, so you still have a short window to apply if you haven't done so already.
FSA, which oversees the program, recently held a webinar going into more details for the northeastern US. You can view that webinar by clicking here. You need to apply through your county FSA office, and you can find the contact information here. If you haven't applied, there's no harm in calling up your FSA office to learn more and find out if you're eligible - they're ready to help you!
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DCR Tree Steward Training
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 DCR's Tree Steward Training will be held next Thursday, October 14 at Dunn State Park in Gardner from 8 am - 12:15 pm.
Designed for community tree board members, tree wardens, municipal staff, tree activists, planners, and green professionals, this program is centered around the topics and issues of urban and community trees and forests. State and local experts will provide foundation training, with the aim of developing better tree stewardship in communities of all sizes in Massachusetts.
This year’s topics include Pruning Trees, Site Selection & Proper Tree Planting Techniques, Funding Urban and Community Forestry, and more.
The cost of the training is $10 and you must register in advance. You can register online here.
Tree Steward Training is offered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, the USDA Forest Service, and the Massachusetts Tree Wardens’ and Foresters’ Association.
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Family Forest Research Center Releases New Study on Economic Impact of FLP
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 A new study published by the Family Forest Research Center (which is based at UMass Amherst) looks at the local economic contributions of forests in four regions of the country protected through the USDA Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program (FLP). This program provides funding for private forest owners interested in protecting their land. The study found that these lands contribute tens of millions of dollars annually to their communities through jobs and tourism.
Download the article here.
Learn more about the Forest Legacy Program in Massachusetts by clicking here. You can find other resources to support community conservation at MassWoods.org/OSC.
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Penn State Extension Invasive Species Identification Videos and Carbon Credit Sales
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 Penn State Extension has released a new series of videos to help landowners identify invasive species. The short videos (roughly four minutes long) contain images and descriptions of invasive plants and information about how they spread and how to control them.
You can check out these videos on the Penn State Extension website.
Penn State Extension also released some stories from landowners about carbon credit sales on their forestland. As we'll be exploring this topic at our Annual Meeting, this might be a helpful read, as it shows landowners comparing different programs and assessing which is best for them.
Click here to read the landowner stories.
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We periodically bring you new and exciting technology using wood that has a chance to transform various industries.
The latest news is that a Finnish company has built a new plant to make batteries using wood. Currently, graphite is needed to make lithium-ion batteries. This graphite is made of fossil carbon that is mined, and to make 20 million electric cars requires mining 1 million tons of graphite. Instead, the company uses the lignin from the wood (a substance that is removed as part of the pulp-making process) and turns it into a carbon powder to replace the graphite.
The lignin batteries have benefits beyond being made of renewable materials instead of fossil carbon - they charge faster and also provide better performance in cold temperatures (an issue for electric cars here in the winter).
Read more about this innovative use of wood.
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