“Good Stewards of your timber for over 30 years”.

Burns Forestry
Text Box: Publications Text Box: WATER SYMPOSIUM The second annual water symposium, hosted by the Texas Forest Landowners Council, was held at the Stephen F. Austin College of Forestry in October. Mike Harbordt of Temple Inland gave an overview of the Water situation in Texas. His quick facts include: We are not running out of water; just where it is located. Agriculture is the largest water user and industry is second (cooling process) Five out of ten people don’t have piped water. In Texas, the surface water belongs to the state and water rights are issued on a “first come, first serve,” basis. Ground water belongs to the surface owner and accounts for 60% of water used in Texas. Ground water conservation districts regulate it. The Edwards Aquifer is the exception – it is regulated by the state. The Gulf Coast and Carizo-Wilcox are two major aquifers found in East Texas. The state is divided into 16 regional water-planning districts, charged with developing a 50-year water plan and amending it every 5 years. The Texas Water Development Board oversees this process. Several key issues that Region 1 (East Texas) will examine on the next plan include: Feasibility of a pipeline from Toledo Bend. Feasibility of Lake Fastril. Impact of proposed LNG facilities in Beaumont on water supply. Helping small communities develop their water supply. Bill Goodrum, also with Temple Inland, spoke on ecological services. He reported that stream mitigation credits currently sell for $10,000 per acre and wetland mitigation credits sell for $5000 per acre. Selective harvesting in mitigation banks is possible, but can be difficult. For more information on the 2006 Water Symposium, see the October issue of “Texas Forestry”. WILDLIFE TAX EXEMPTION A Travis County jury decided in September that small acreage can qualify for tax incentives for wildlife management. The jury ruled that a landowner had fulfilled the requirements for a wildlife management appraisal on 4 acres in the Bee Cave area and was not too small to provide valuable habitat to endangered species like the warbler and other indigenous Texas wildlife. In 2001 the Appraisal District began removing agricultural use and wildlife management status from all properties with less than 20 acres. The jury decision emphasizes that it is not the size of the tract, but the management that must be evaluated. USFS PAYMENTS TO COUNTIES The Bush Administration has extended the USDA Forest Service payment program to counties for one year. The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act has paid over $2 billion into counties in the past 6 years to make up for lost income from reduced timber sales on National Forests. Earlier this year the President proposed a phase out of the annual payment program along with the sale of approximately 300,000 acres of National Forest land. RAYONIER TEXAS PURCHASE Rayonier has announced that it has entered into agreements to purchase approximately 1,760,000 acres of timberland in six states for $160 million from funds managed by GMO Renewable Resources, LLC. They expect the transaction to close by the end of the year. The largest single block of 750,000 acres is located in New York, the remaining acreage being in five southern states – Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas. The transaction includes 31,000 acres in Angelina, Polk, and Tyler counties. This acquisition will increase the company’s holding in the United States to 2.2 million acres. TEXAS PROPERTY TAX REFORM Governor Perry has created the Texas Task Force on Appraisal Reform (TFAR) to study and address concerns on sky rocketing property appraisals. TFAR has been charged with developing recommendations to improve the current tax appraisal process so that taxpayers are not burdened with rising tax levies. Tom Pauken, President of TWP, Inc., Dallas, will serve as chair of the Task Force. NEW CONSERVATION EASEMENT RULES Congress raised the annual deduction a landowner may take from their annual income to 50%, up from 30%. Qualifying farmers and ranchers may deduct up to 100% of their income and the cumulative deductions for high-value easement donations may now be spread over 16 years instead of 6 years. The bill also includes reforms in setting the value of easements and tightens the rules for appraisal on historic buildings. CALIFORNIA SPOTTED OWL The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) declined to list the California spotted-owl under the Endangered Species Act, ending years of legal wrangling. After several court decisions, a public comment period, and consideration of new data, the FWS published its decision. Most California Spotted-Owl populations in the Sierra Nevada are stable. The California Spotted-Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) is a close relative of the Northern Spotted-Owl (S. o. caurina) and the Mexican Spotted-Owl (S. o. lucida). The decreasing risk of wildfire was a key to the viability of owl populations. Catastrophe wildfires can wipe out owl habitat.

California Spotted Owl

While wildfires decrease habitat for the nearly endangered species the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service have declined to list the Owl as an endangered species. 

Text Box: Fall News letter 2006