SCHEDULE AND MEETING AGENDA OF THE CUMBERLAND WOODLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION FOR 2015

SCHEDULE AND MEETING AGENDA OF THE CUMBERLAND WOODLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION FOR 2015 January 8th (Thursday): Diana Dellinger and Tyson Myers from NRCS in Carlisle and Chambersburg will speak to us about Grants and Monies that are available to land owners for improvements to their property. The meeting will take place at the Cumberland County Extension Office at 7:00 PM. February 19th (Thursday): Craig Highfield, Program Manager (Forests for the Bay) from The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay will speak to us about improving our Forests and Forest Riparian Buffers to protect the Bay . The meeting will take place at the Franklin County Extension Office at 7:00 PM. March 12th (Thursday): Professor Jim Finley from Penn State will speak to us about creating a Woods in your back yard. The meeting will take place at the Dickinson Township Building, at 7:00 PM. April 18th ( Saturday): Dave Foster will be speaking to us about Foraging in our forests and Dave Cornman will be speaking to us about Propagating Plants. The Meeting will take place at Spring Haven Nursery from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. A simple lunch will be available from 12:00 to 1:00. Donations will be accepted. May 14th ( Thursday): Annett MaCoy from the Cumberland County Extension Office will speak to us about tree identification looking at the leaves and bark. We will also have a contest to identify different cuts of wood. Prizes will be awarded to the top three people that can identify the most woods. Re: Red oak, White Oak, White Pine etc. The meeting will take place at the Cumberland County Extension Office at 7:00 PM. June 11th (Thursday): A representative from DCNR , to be named at a later date, will be speaking to us about invasive trees and plants in our forests and what we can do to get rid of them. The meeting will take place at the Cumberland County Extension Office at 7:00 PM. September 12th (Saturday): Beth Brantley and Craig Houghton will be speaking to us about the improvements to the forests managed at Mt. Alto College and a short demonstration of their Wood Miser portable saw mill. The meeting will take place at Mt. Alto College from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. October 8th (Thursday): Anna Yelk will be speaking to us about the work the Conservancy has been doing the past several years and the work that is planned for the near future. The meeting will be held at the Cumberland County Extension Office at 7:00 PM. MARCH 20TH AND 21ST 2015 : A State wide Private Forest Landowner Conference will be held at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, PA. There will be many topics to choose from and many excellent speakers to present them. There will also be keynote speakers that are very expert in their field as to our Forest Lands. More information to follow before the New Year. Put the dates on your calendar and plan to attend and learn many excellent things about our PA Forests. Some of the above dates are subject to change. As always the public and Dauphin County group are welcome to attend any or all of our meetings. Due to inclement weather we may have to cancel a meeting, you may call the following persons to get information. Fred Peabody, 717-776-3565, Dave Cornman, 717-423-6652, Mike Waldron, 717-677-7317.

2015 Private Forest Landowner Conference

2015 Private Forest Landowner Conference Announced March 20-21, 2015 at Blair County Convention Center Media Contact – Allyson Muth – abm173@psu.edu Altoona, PA: Mark your calendars for the 2nd Private Forest Landowners Conference: The Future of Penn’s Woods, March 20-21, 2015 at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, PA. Hosted by The Center for Private Forests at Penn State and its partners the conference focuses on helping private woodland owners understand how to steward their lands for a mix of values and needs. Pennsylvania has almost 750,000 woodland landowners making decisions on 11.5 million acres of forestland, or 70% of the nearly 17 million acres of forestland in our state. Many of these owners (approx. 500,000) hold 10 acres or less (the average is about 3 acres), but big or small, the decisions all private woodland owners make about their forests affect the well-being of our state’s namesake – Penn’s woods. From suburban backyard habitat to large properties with a focus on hunting or income, woodland owners want to do well by their land. Opportunities to learn more and understanding options and possibilities help ensure that good decisions that demonstrate care for the land are made. Whether your woodlot is one acre or several thousand, we hope you will join us for this day and a half conference where you can learn about your property and how it contributes to habitat, water quality, and woodland diversity. Your land and everyone else’s is part of a larger landscape where we connect with each other and together we care for Penn’s Woods. The conference will include optional field tours, keynote addresses from nationally-renowned speakers, an optional keynote banquet, and myriad opportunities to learn more about the values you hold for your woods and the goals you’ve set for your property. Importantly, you will have opportunities to meet new and old friends who share your passion for woodland values. If you are a woodlot owner in Pennsylvania or beyond and want to learn more about your woods, visit http://ecosystems.psu.edu/private-forest-conference/ or call 1-800-235-9473 (ask for Allyson) to learn more.

Wild Ginseng Workshop Wild Ginseng is the topic of the Wednesday, October 8, Cumberland Woodland Owners’ Association meeting. Dr. Eric Burkhart, Plant Science Program Director at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, is the featured speaker. The meeting will be at 7:00 PM, October 8th at the Franklin County Ag Heritage Center which is located at 185 Franklin Farm Lane in Chambersburg. The meeting is open to the public. You do not have to be a member of the association and there is no cost to attend. The workshop is handicap accessible. If you need specific accommodations, please contact Penn State Extension in advance at 717-263-9226. American ginseng is a native North American herbaceous plant which has unique chemical properties that make it economically useful. Because of its rarity, ginseng is a very valuable commodity. Dr. Eric Burkhart is an expert on this subject and many more items that are edible and grow in the woods. At Penn State's Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center (http://shaverscreek.org/), he provides training and teaches courses on agroforestry, woody and herbaceous plant identification, and nonnative invasive flora. He also conducts research on native plants of economic and conservation importance. The Cumberland Woodland Owners Association (CWOA) is an organization of forestland owners and others interested in forestry issues in south central Pennsylvania. For more information about the meeting or the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association, contact Fred Peabody at 717/776-3565 (email: fredp5@earthlink.net).

May 8 CWOA meeting in Chambersburg

Impact of Gypsy Moth and Emerald Ash Borer On Our Trees Two forest pests are having a tremendous impact on trees locally. Gypsy moths are responsible for significant damage to many hardwood trees in the region. Emerald ash borer is now present locally and is harming ash trees. To learn more about these pests, plan to attend the Thursday, May 8, 2014, meeting of the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association. Nathan Fite, PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry Service Forester for Franklin and Cumberland County, will present information on what Gypsy Moth and Emerald Ash Borer are doing to our local trees and what land owners can do to minimize their impact. The meeting will be at 7:00 PM, at the Franklin County Ag Heritage Center which is located at 185 Franklin Farm Lane in Chambersburg. The meeting is open to the public. You do not have to be a member of the association and there is no cost to attend. The workshop is handicap accessible. If you need specific accommodations, please contact Penn State Extension in advance at 717-263-9226. Gypsy moth is considered the most important insect pest of forest and shade trees in the eastern United States. According to PA DCNR, defoliation by the gypsy moth has killed millions of oak trees across Pennsylvania. Although white, chestnut, black and red oak are preferred, gypsy moth caterpillars also eat hundreds of other tree and shrub species including apple, alder, aspen, basswood, birch, poplar, willow, hawthorn, hemlock, tamarack (larch), pine, spruce, and witch hazel. Although Gypsy moth usually avoids ash, there is now another insect pest killing ash trees in our area. Emerald ash borer feeds exclusively on ash trees in North America and is now present locally. Host species include green ash, white ash, black ash, blue ash, and pumpkin ash. Tens of millions of ash trees have been lost to this pest, which usually kills ash trees within 3-4 years of infestation. The Cumberland Woodland Owners Association is an organization of private forestland owners and others interested in forestry issues in south central Pennsylvania. The mission of the association is to provide information, education and an exchange of ideas to its members and others about the methods and benefits of proper forest management. For more information about the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association and the meeting, contact Fred Peabody at 717/776-3565 (email: fredp5@earthlink.net).

Wild Turkey Habitat Management

Wild Turkey Habitat Management Do you enjoy seeing wild turkeys in your woodlands? Are you interested in learning how to improve habitat for wild turkeys? If so, plan to attend the Cumberland Woodland Owners’ Association meeting on Thursday, April 10. Mary Jo Casalena, Pennsylvania Game Commission Wild Turkey Biologist will speak about “Wild Turkey Habitat and Tips for Managing It.” Her responsibilities as state wild turkey biologist include wild turkey research, harvest, population, and habitat management, and technical committee advisor to the National Wild Turkey Federation. The meeting will be held at 7:00 P.M. at the Cumberland County Extension Office which is located at 310 Allen Road in Carlisle. You do not have to be a member and there is no cost to attend. Directions are available on-line at: http://extension.psu.edu/cumberland/directions. The Pennsylvania Game Commission assists and educates land owners regarding turkey habitat management. To have and keep wild turkeys on a given area, the land must provide suitable turkey habitat. Three critical aspects of wild turkey populations in Pennsylvania are feeding, brooding and nesting. Mary Jo Casalena presentation will focus on creating and managing openings in forested landscapes and managing existing openings like log landings as productive areas for wild turkey feeding, brooding and nesting. The Cumberland Woodland Owners Association is organization of private forestland owners and others interested in forestry issues in south central Pennsylvania. The mission of the association is to provide information, education and an exchange of ideas to its members and others about the methods and benefits of proper forest management. For more information about the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association and the meeting, contact Fred Peabody at 717/776-3565 (email: fredp5@earthlink.net).

Cumberland Woodland Owners Meeting is RESCHEDULED to THURSDAY, FEB. 27

Cumberland Woodland Owners Meeting is RESCHEDULED to THURSDAY, FEB. 27 Due to the weather forecast, the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association meeting on Agroforestry scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 13 has been rescheduled to Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 pm at the Cumberland County Extension Office. If you are aware of any woodland owners in your area who do not have email, please let them know that the meeting has been rescheduled to Feb. 27.