landowner workshop April 4-5, 2017, Jefferson City, MO
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 1, 2017
Missouri Chapter, Walnut Council
For additional information contact Bob Ball, President
email: missouri@walnutcouncil.org
phone: (573) 268-7262 (C)
COLUMBIA, Mo – Woodland landowners, foresters, industry specialists and resource agency personnel
will be gathering at the Missouri Farm Bureau in Jefferson City April 4th and 5th to learn how to grow and
manage fine hardwoods. If you love trees and want to learn how to grow them well, the “Missouri
Woodland Conference” is the place to be in April.
Both days will be in a classroom setting listening and to and interacting with professionals and landowners
speaking on a variety of woodland management topics. On Tuesday, the day begins with an update on the
“Missouri Managed Woods” timber tax law and Forestry Division program highlights by Lisa Allen, State
Forester, Missouri Department of Conservation. Following presenters will cover tree identification tips,
managing hardwoods for both timber and wildlife, planning for a successful tree planting, using cover crops
to improve soil health and “Safety in the Woods” by Joe Glenn of Timber Harvest Training. Scott Flynn
with DOW Chemical, will cover using herbicides for preparing tree planting sites, using herbicides in
woodland management and considerations in buying sprayers for both tree planting and timber stand
improvement projects. The first day concludes with a panel discussion on “Financial
Assistance Opportunities” by representatives of the Private Land Services Division of MDC, the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources Soil & Water Conservation Program, and specialists from the USDA’s
Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Wednesday begins with a topic on the minds of many landowners, “Ensure Your Legacy” – the succession
of your forestland to your heirs presented by David Watson of Watson & Company with assistance from
Hank Stelzer, Forester, University of Missouri Extension. Plan to take good notes during “Why Care About
Oaks?” by Daniel Dey, U.S. Forest Service, and “Planning & Conducting a Successful Timber Sale” by Phil
Sneed with Blackwell Creek Forestry.
Following a hot lunch provided by the Farm Bureau chef, the afternoon session kicks off with “Mapping Your
Land & Web Soil Survey” by Liz Cook, GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist, retired from the USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service followed by “Forestry Taxes & Timber Tax Basis by David Watson, Shelby
Jones of Midwest Forest Consulting and Hank Stelzer.
Two panels comprise the mid-afternoon sessions. Several consulting foresters comprise the first panel giving
attendees every opportunity to ask questions of these professionals about how to manage your woods. Then,
in the second panel listen to several landowners offering their advice and tips while fielding your tuff questions.
The conference concludes with a third panel on “Where to Find Technical Assistance” with panelists from
several natural resource agencies and nonprofit organizations.
The agenda and registration form can be provided via email or regular mail, plus the details are posted at the
Missouri Chapter – Walnut Council website: http://www.walnutcouncil.org/state-chapters/missouri.html
The fee for BOTH days is $35 per person payable to “Walnut Council” paid by March 25th, however, you
can register for one day only at a reduced rate. This fee covers two hot lunches, drinks, plus morning
coffee and doughnuts. Consult Trip Advisor for lodging options in Jefferson City at:
https://tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g44526-Jefferson_City_Missouri-Hotels.html
For Immediate Release
March 1, 2017
Missouri Chapter, Walnut Council
For additional information contact Bob Ball, President
email: missouri@walnutcouncil.org
phone: (573) 268-7262 (C)
COLUMBIA, Mo – Woodland landowners, foresters, industry specialists and resource agency personnel
will be gathering at the Missouri Farm Bureau in Jefferson City April 4th and 5th to learn how to grow and
manage fine hardwoods. If you love trees and want to learn how to grow them well, the “Missouri
Woodland Conference” is the place to be in April.
Both days will be in a classroom setting listening and to and interacting with professionals and landowners
speaking on a variety of woodland management topics. On Tuesday, the day begins with an update on the
“Missouri Managed Woods” timber tax law and Forestry Division program highlights by Lisa Allen, State
Forester, Missouri Department of Conservation. Following presenters will cover tree identification tips,
managing hardwoods for both timber and wildlife, planning for a successful tree planting, using cover crops
to improve soil health and “Safety in the Woods” by Joe Glenn of Timber Harvest Training. Scott Flynn
with DOW Chemical, will cover using herbicides for preparing tree planting sites, using herbicides in
woodland management and considerations in buying sprayers for both tree planting and timber stand
improvement projects. The first day concludes with a panel discussion on “Financial
Assistance Opportunities” by representatives of the Private Land Services Division of MDC, the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources Soil & Water Conservation Program, and specialists from the USDA’s
Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Wednesday begins with a topic on the minds of many landowners, “Ensure Your Legacy” – the succession
of your forestland to your heirs presented by David Watson of Watson & Company with assistance from
Hank Stelzer, Forester, University of Missouri Extension. Plan to take good notes during “Why Care About
Oaks?” by Daniel Dey, U.S. Forest Service, and “Planning & Conducting a Successful Timber Sale” by Phil
Sneed with Blackwell Creek Forestry.
Following a hot lunch provided by the Farm Bureau chef, the afternoon session kicks off with “Mapping Your
Land & Web Soil Survey” by Liz Cook, GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist, retired from the USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service followed by “Forestry Taxes & Timber Tax Basis by David Watson, Shelby
Jones of Midwest Forest Consulting and Hank Stelzer.
Two panels comprise the mid-afternoon sessions. Several consulting foresters comprise the first panel giving
attendees every opportunity to ask questions of these professionals about how to manage your woods. Then,
in the second panel listen to several landowners offering their advice and tips while fielding your tuff questions.
The conference concludes with a third panel on “Where to Find Technical Assistance” with panelists from
several natural resource agencies and nonprofit organizations.
The agenda and registration form can be provided via email or regular mail, plus the details are posted at the
Missouri Chapter – Walnut Council website: http://www.walnutcouncil.org/state-chapters/missouri.html
The fee for BOTH days is $35 per person payable to “Walnut Council” paid by March 25th, however, you
can register for one day only at a reduced rate. This fee covers two hot lunches, drinks, plus morning
coffee and doughnuts. Consult Trip Advisor for lodging options in Jefferson City at:
https://tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g44526-Jefferson_City_Missouri-Hotels.html
The Forest & Woodland Association of Missouri is now an affiliate of the Forest Fire Lookout Association!
Visit them at www.firelookout.org/ . The following is some information on wildfire and fire towers in Missouri. This was included in the October FWAM Newsletter.
Fire Towers and Wildfire in Missouri – A Brief History
Prior to the creation of the Missouri Conservation Commission in 1936, Missouri had a State Forester post in the Board of Agriculture (1925-1931) whose primary role was to control wildfire in the state. Missouri’s first State Forester, Frederick Dunlap, resigned in 1931 when the state legislature did not appropriate funds for forestry. He wrote that controlling forest fires in the Missouri Ozarks was “impossible”. At that time, it was reported that 1/3 of the Ozarks burned annually. Uncontrolled wildfire, along with overharvest of timber, poor harvesting practices and open range, left Missouri’s forests in very poor and unmanageable conditions. The control of wildfire was essential if Missouri’s forests and associated wildlife resources were to recover and be managed sustainably. The importance of healthy forests to the recovery of fish and wildlife resources of the state was recognized by the Conservation Federation of Missouri when it drafted and successfully lobbied for the passage of Amendment 4 to the Missouri Constitution in 1936. This created a constitutionally based Conservation Commission that included not only fish and wildlife authority in Missouri, but also the responsibility for the state’s forest resources. A primary mission of the newly formed Conservation Commission was the control of wildfires.
George O. White was hired in March, 1938 as the first State Forester for the newly formed Conservation Commission. He immediately hired four foresters whose primary job was fire control including public relations and education about wildfires. They worked on four fire control districts that covered approximately 2 million acres in southern Missouri. In 1938, federal funding made available from the Weeks Act of 1911, was used to purchase land for National Forests in Missouri. Their primary responsibility at the time was also fire control and fire protection on federal and surrounding private lands.
State Forester George O. White stated in 1944 that in spite of the past destructive effects of fire which have resulted literally in “Burning an Empire” it is comforting to know that “we can cut and use our forests over and over again so long as their progeny, which is called second growth, is protected from the many fires set by man and the comparatively few set by Jehovah”. In that same year, the Forestry Division split off from the Fish and Game Division, had 53 full-time employees and began using two-way radios which greatly enhanced their ability to report wildfires. The state saw a 22% reduction in forest fire losses in 1944 with 58,000 acres of wildfire reported, but saw the losses rise back to 81,000 acres in 1945 as people began returning from the war. Fire towers were the primary means of wildfire detection during these early years and were an essential tool in setting the stage for successful forest and wildlife management in the state. In 1946, the state legislature passed the State Forestry Act that gave Commission employees the ability to enter upon private land to suppress wildfires. It also included the forest cropland law. This law provided property tax relief to landowners who enrolled their forest land in the Forest Cropland program in exchange for their cooperation in managing their forest land and in protecting it from fire. In addition, the Commission provided priority wildfire protection on enrolled forest croplands.
The Kelleter tower near Sullivan became the Commission’s 15th fire tower when it was dedicated in November, 1941. In that same year, the Conservation Commission declared forest lookout towers off limits to the public so saboteurs could not destroy them or use them for signaling, due to the war gripped mentality of the nation. 55 fire towers were in operation or under construction in 1948 and by 1960 Forestry Division operated approximately 70 fire towers. In 1966, MDC operated 102 fire towers and the US Forest Service operated 43 fire towers in Missouri. The last fire tower added to MDC’s network was the Proctor tower in Morgan County in 1975. Several other towers were either moved or replaced after 1975, but no new towers were added. Many towers, especially the wooden towers were taken down in the 1970’s and 1980’s as the wood decayed or the towers were not used due to the increased use of aircraft for fire detection.
In the early years of Forestry Division, fire towers were the primary method of fire detection in the state, but by 1970, they accounted for detection of only about 40% of the wildfires reported. By 1989, fire detection from towers tapered off to only 18% of all reported fires in the state. Due to the reduction in the number and size of wildfires, the emphasis of the fire program turned from detection and suppression by Department staff, to training and equipping rural fire departments so that they could serve as the first line of defense against wildfires. This, along with higher rural populations including phones in rural areas, additional personnel for road patrols, scanners and aerial detection, reduced the importance of fire towers as the primary fire detection tool. In areas of the state with lower fire occurrence, towers were no longer needed and were dismantled or sold. Today, approximately 60 MDC fire towers remain standing from the high of over 105 MDC fire towers that once stood in Missouri. About 30 of the remaining towers are still used occasionally for fire detection in the more remote areas of the state but due to improved communications and other methods of detection, they now account for only a small fraction of the fires detected in Missouri annually.
Fire towers in Missouri include a variety of styles, heights and manufacturers, but most are 100’ steel towers manufactured by the Aermotor Company of Chicago. The Aermotor Company also manufactured most of the 60’ steel towers in the state, but we also have (or once had), towers as short as 50’. We have a number of towers that are 68’, 72’, 80’, 85’ and 120’ tall. The style and height of the tower used was dependent on cost, what was available as well as the elevation of the tower site and the surrounding topography. A few of the towers had “catwalks” or a walking platform around the outside of the cab. Most of the towers are metal but several of the early towers were constructed of wood. Twelve of Missouri’s fire towers were acquired as surplus military property where they once served as observation towers during WWII. A few of the towers were oil derricks with steel ladders rather than stairs to access the cab or platform. Regardless of the style or height, fire towers were the primary means of wildfire detection in Missouri from the late 1930’s though the 1960’s. Forest management was not possible without the control of rampant wildfires in the state, so fire towers were the most important tool for foresters in the early years of the Commission’s operation and as such, are indirectly responsible for the healthy forests we enjoy today.
Fire Towers are located on high elevations where they provide a 360° view of the surrounding country. From the towers, towermen are able to see smoke from wildfires and either take action on the fire themselves or report the fire location to other personnel. A “fire finder” or compass along with a map of the surrounding land is used to locate the approximate location of visible smoke (fire) from the tower. As more towers were erected, shots from two or more towers plotted on a map could more accurately pinpoint the location of the fire. Two-way radios transmitted “shots” from 0-360° to a dispatcher with a map of the entire fire district. The dispatcher could then plot the shots from two or three towers on the larger district maps to “cross” the multiple shots for a much more accurate fire location. Osborne fire finders were installed in the cabs of fire towers to provide more accurate shots and fire locations. Once they were set up, they were more accurate than a hand-held compass in reading the direction of the smoke from the tower in fractional degrees, but also had scaled vertical sights that more accurately estimated the distance from the tower to the smoke. They included a map of the surrounding landscape with a metal band that aligned with the sights and crossed the map to assist the towerman in pinpointing the location of the distant smokes.
A couple fire towers have been moved and modified for public use and education including the old Hollister tower that was moved to the Henning Conservation Area and modified to provide a 40’ overlook platform for visitors to the area. The Rocky Mount tower was shortened and moved to the Runge Conservation Nature Center for education and interpretation. The Warrenton tower was moved to Ft. Leonard Wood to be used as an observation tower on their gunnery range. The Mount Hulda tower was given to the US Forest Service for use in the Cimarron National Grasslands in Kansas. Several towers were lost to tornadoes including the Dogwood tower (Douglas County) in March, 1973 which was replaced, and the Neosho tower (Newton County) in May, 2008 that was not replaced. Many of the remaining standing towers are visited by the public, however most have only limited or no access due to vandalism and liability concerns. Public access is controlled by gating access to the tower site, removing the lower few flights of stairs or locking the access to the cab. Due to the age and limited use of these towers along with regular vandalism, maintenance of the towers has become a problem in some areas. These issues are being addressed though disposals, limiting public access to the tower site and/or tower and regular inspections and repairs to the towers.
Fire towers and the men and women who used them were the sentries of the Missouri Ozarks for over four decades. Many still stand as reminders of the important role they played in the protection and recovery of Missouri’s forests and tell of the unique cultural history of the rugged Missouri Ozarks and the rugged people who lived and worked here.
Visit them at www.firelookout.org/ . The following is some information on wildfire and fire towers in Missouri. This was included in the October FWAM Newsletter.
Fire Towers and Wildfire in Missouri – A Brief History
Prior to the creation of the Missouri Conservation Commission in 1936, Missouri had a State Forester post in the Board of Agriculture (1925-1931) whose primary role was to control wildfire in the state. Missouri’s first State Forester, Frederick Dunlap, resigned in 1931 when the state legislature did not appropriate funds for forestry. He wrote that controlling forest fires in the Missouri Ozarks was “impossible”. At that time, it was reported that 1/3 of the Ozarks burned annually. Uncontrolled wildfire, along with overharvest of timber, poor harvesting practices and open range, left Missouri’s forests in very poor and unmanageable conditions. The control of wildfire was essential if Missouri’s forests and associated wildlife resources were to recover and be managed sustainably. The importance of healthy forests to the recovery of fish and wildlife resources of the state was recognized by the Conservation Federation of Missouri when it drafted and successfully lobbied for the passage of Amendment 4 to the Missouri Constitution in 1936. This created a constitutionally based Conservation Commission that included not only fish and wildlife authority in Missouri, but also the responsibility for the state’s forest resources. A primary mission of the newly formed Conservation Commission was the control of wildfires.
George O. White was hired in March, 1938 as the first State Forester for the newly formed Conservation Commission. He immediately hired four foresters whose primary job was fire control including public relations and education about wildfires. They worked on four fire control districts that covered approximately 2 million acres in southern Missouri. In 1938, federal funding made available from the Weeks Act of 1911, was used to purchase land for National Forests in Missouri. Their primary responsibility at the time was also fire control and fire protection on federal and surrounding private lands.
State Forester George O. White stated in 1944 that in spite of the past destructive effects of fire which have resulted literally in “Burning an Empire” it is comforting to know that “we can cut and use our forests over and over again so long as their progeny, which is called second growth, is protected from the many fires set by man and the comparatively few set by Jehovah”. In that same year, the Forestry Division split off from the Fish and Game Division, had 53 full-time employees and began using two-way radios which greatly enhanced their ability to report wildfires. The state saw a 22% reduction in forest fire losses in 1944 with 58,000 acres of wildfire reported, but saw the losses rise back to 81,000 acres in 1945 as people began returning from the war. Fire towers were the primary means of wildfire detection during these early years and were an essential tool in setting the stage for successful forest and wildlife management in the state. In 1946, the state legislature passed the State Forestry Act that gave Commission employees the ability to enter upon private land to suppress wildfires. It also included the forest cropland law. This law provided property tax relief to landowners who enrolled their forest land in the Forest Cropland program in exchange for their cooperation in managing their forest land and in protecting it from fire. In addition, the Commission provided priority wildfire protection on enrolled forest croplands.
The Kelleter tower near Sullivan became the Commission’s 15th fire tower when it was dedicated in November, 1941. In that same year, the Conservation Commission declared forest lookout towers off limits to the public so saboteurs could not destroy them or use them for signaling, due to the war gripped mentality of the nation. 55 fire towers were in operation or under construction in 1948 and by 1960 Forestry Division operated approximately 70 fire towers. In 1966, MDC operated 102 fire towers and the US Forest Service operated 43 fire towers in Missouri. The last fire tower added to MDC’s network was the Proctor tower in Morgan County in 1975. Several other towers were either moved or replaced after 1975, but no new towers were added. Many towers, especially the wooden towers were taken down in the 1970’s and 1980’s as the wood decayed or the towers were not used due to the increased use of aircraft for fire detection.
In the early years of Forestry Division, fire towers were the primary method of fire detection in the state, but by 1970, they accounted for detection of only about 40% of the wildfires reported. By 1989, fire detection from towers tapered off to only 18% of all reported fires in the state. Due to the reduction in the number and size of wildfires, the emphasis of the fire program turned from detection and suppression by Department staff, to training and equipping rural fire departments so that they could serve as the first line of defense against wildfires. This, along with higher rural populations including phones in rural areas, additional personnel for road patrols, scanners and aerial detection, reduced the importance of fire towers as the primary fire detection tool. In areas of the state with lower fire occurrence, towers were no longer needed and were dismantled or sold. Today, approximately 60 MDC fire towers remain standing from the high of over 105 MDC fire towers that once stood in Missouri. About 30 of the remaining towers are still used occasionally for fire detection in the more remote areas of the state but due to improved communications and other methods of detection, they now account for only a small fraction of the fires detected in Missouri annually.
Fire towers in Missouri include a variety of styles, heights and manufacturers, but most are 100’ steel towers manufactured by the Aermotor Company of Chicago. The Aermotor Company also manufactured most of the 60’ steel towers in the state, but we also have (or once had), towers as short as 50’. We have a number of towers that are 68’, 72’, 80’, 85’ and 120’ tall. The style and height of the tower used was dependent on cost, what was available as well as the elevation of the tower site and the surrounding topography. A few of the towers had “catwalks” or a walking platform around the outside of the cab. Most of the towers are metal but several of the early towers were constructed of wood. Twelve of Missouri’s fire towers were acquired as surplus military property where they once served as observation towers during WWII. A few of the towers were oil derricks with steel ladders rather than stairs to access the cab or platform. Regardless of the style or height, fire towers were the primary means of wildfire detection in Missouri from the late 1930’s though the 1960’s. Forest management was not possible without the control of rampant wildfires in the state, so fire towers were the most important tool for foresters in the early years of the Commission’s operation and as such, are indirectly responsible for the healthy forests we enjoy today.
Fire Towers are located on high elevations where they provide a 360° view of the surrounding country. From the towers, towermen are able to see smoke from wildfires and either take action on the fire themselves or report the fire location to other personnel. A “fire finder” or compass along with a map of the surrounding land is used to locate the approximate location of visible smoke (fire) from the tower. As more towers were erected, shots from two or more towers plotted on a map could more accurately pinpoint the location of the fire. Two-way radios transmitted “shots” from 0-360° to a dispatcher with a map of the entire fire district. The dispatcher could then plot the shots from two or three towers on the larger district maps to “cross” the multiple shots for a much more accurate fire location. Osborne fire finders were installed in the cabs of fire towers to provide more accurate shots and fire locations. Once they were set up, they were more accurate than a hand-held compass in reading the direction of the smoke from the tower in fractional degrees, but also had scaled vertical sights that more accurately estimated the distance from the tower to the smoke. They included a map of the surrounding landscape with a metal band that aligned with the sights and crossed the map to assist the towerman in pinpointing the location of the distant smokes.
A couple fire towers have been moved and modified for public use and education including the old Hollister tower that was moved to the Henning Conservation Area and modified to provide a 40’ overlook platform for visitors to the area. The Rocky Mount tower was shortened and moved to the Runge Conservation Nature Center for education and interpretation. The Warrenton tower was moved to Ft. Leonard Wood to be used as an observation tower on their gunnery range. The Mount Hulda tower was given to the US Forest Service for use in the Cimarron National Grasslands in Kansas. Several towers were lost to tornadoes including the Dogwood tower (Douglas County) in March, 1973 which was replaced, and the Neosho tower (Newton County) in May, 2008 that was not replaced. Many of the remaining standing towers are visited by the public, however most have only limited or no access due to vandalism and liability concerns. Public access is controlled by gating access to the tower site, removing the lower few flights of stairs or locking the access to the cab. Due to the age and limited use of these towers along with regular vandalism, maintenance of the towers has become a problem in some areas. These issues are being addressed though disposals, limiting public access to the tower site and/or tower and regular inspections and repairs to the towers.
Fire towers and the men and women who used them were the sentries of the Missouri Ozarks for over four decades. Many still stand as reminders of the important role they played in the protection and recovery of Missouri’s forests and tell of the unique cultural history of the rugged Missouri Ozarks and the rugged people who lived and worked here.
Thanks for your Support!
Amendment #1 passed with over 80% approval! Missouri continues to be a leader in conservation thanks to our citizens.
Amendment #1 passed with over 80% approval! Missouri continues to be a leader in conservation thanks to our citizens.
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