Prescribed Burns, Pests, Taxes Featured At Virtual Forestry Forum
BATON ROUGE, LA.
Forestry professionals attending the online LSU AgCenter 2021 Forestry Forum on Tuesday heard presentations about a wide range of topics, including estate and tax law, the basics of prescribed burns, controlling a pervasive wild plant, possible tax increases, forestry economics and selling timber.
Video presentations from the sessions will be available later for participants who registered for the events.
Niels de Hoop, LSU AgCenter forestry professor, said prescribed burning was a practice of Native Americans. He said the technique is good for wildlife and improves grazing conditions by decreasing the amount of understory on the forest floor.
De Hoop conducts prescribed burn classes, and he said 1,257 people have been certified for forest prescribed burns. In addition, 1,386 have been certified for conducting agricultural burns and 269 have been certified for burning marsh.
He said a certified prescribed burner who follows the proper guidelines is presumed to be non-negligent under Louisiana law (Revised Statute 3:17), but with a caveat. “This law has never been tested in court.”
Lucas Stamper, LSU AgCenter natural resource agent, talked about controlling a weedy shrub called baccharis. He said it grows 10 to 12 feet and outcompetes hardwood tree species, often creating a monoculture. It competes for space, nutrients and sunlight in bottomland hardwoods.
Because the plant is semi-evergreen, a study has shown it can be controlled with the herbicide triclopyr in the winter without significant damage to hardwood trees, Stamper said. However, the herbicide has not been labeled for use by the manufacturer, so spraying the material on private land is not legal.
Gordon Holley, Louisiana Tech School of Agriculture and Forestry professor, gave an overview of timber economics. He said lumber prices have jumped 188% since 2020.
Holley said during the pandemic, more people started building homes and home improvement projects, increasing demand. Speculators also played a role in the price jump, he said.
At the same time, he said, the overabundance of timber has meant landowners have not benefitted from those higher prices. But Holley said he’s optimistic the market will improve.
Buck Vandersteen, executive director of the Louisiana Forestry Association, said he expects more facilities will be coming to Louisiana to process timber products, but existing facilities have been expanded. He said wood processors have started new operations in Mississippi and Arkansas. “I believe we will soon see some exciting new mills coming to Louisiana.”
Vandersteen warned that a $5-per-acre fee on timberland may be brought up in the state Legislature this year.
He also said downed timber from last year’s hurricanes could fuel major wildfires.
Attorney Paul Spillers provided information on taxation and estate laws. He said current federal inheritance taxes only apply for estates exceeding $11 million. He said the Louisiana inheritance tax has been repealed.
Spillers provided details for landowners to save money on capital gains taxes.
Forestry consultant Tim Holland, of Shreveport, provided information on selling timber. He advised making sure a buyer is a member of a professional timber organization, such as the Society of American Foresters. “You want a good, reputable forester who is a member of one of these organizations.” ∆