MFA announces Spring 2009 Field Days program

Mark Your Calendar for MFA’s Annual Meeting and Spring Field Days 2009!

Reprinted by request from the MFA February / March 2009 newsletter

This Family Event is set for New York Mills, Minnesota on Friday evening, May 15, and Saturday, May 16. New York Mills is on Highway 10, 90 minutes northwest of St. Cloud.

Host Bob Sonnenberg and event chair Chuck Erickson discuss the 100-year-old oak cut from this site. (MFA photo)

Friday evening festivities will be held at Mills Creamery, a neat coffee house and café in downtown New York Mills, and will feature:

• Our annual business meeting. Learn what MFA is doing and have a say in our future.
• A social hour with host Bob Sonnenberg and friends tending bar.
• A sumptuous dinner.
• An entertaining program with Master of Confusion, Chuck Erickson, and local story teller,  Chris Schuelke.
• Saturday is Family Day at Sonnenberg Farms, located just a mile north of New York Mills. The whole family gets admitted for just $10.00. That’s $10.00 per carload, not per person!

This day will be worth the drive from Winona, Duluth, or International Falls! Events running continuously during the day will include Project Learning Tree fun for kids, a session on growing shitake mushrooms by Jim Chamberlin and family, educational tours of the woods (either afoot or riding on special People Movers), woody plant ID with Mike Reichenbach, and buckthorn control with Ann Oldakowski. Food will be served all day by the local Lutheran Church ladies group, green Jello and all!

Now this is a wood splitter! See this and other equipment in action. (MFA photo)

A special treat for the first 15 ladies who sign up will be a High Tea Celebration at the Whistle Stop Inn Bed and Breakfast. The cost is $17.00 per person. To reserve your spot right now, send an e-mail to Information@MinnesotaForestry.org and simply say, “Save me a spot at the High Tea!”

We hope to see you in New York Mills in May! Watch for registration forms on our web site (www.MinnesotaForestry.org) and in the next issue of the newsletter. For questions, contact event chairman Chuck Erickson at CYErick@prtel.com or by phone at 218-495-3321.

MFA Five-event Weekend Jan. 9-10 in Cloquet

The Minnesota Forestry Association is offering a “Five-event Weekend” at the Cloquet Forestry Center on January 9 and 10, 2009. The weekend includes workshops on mapping with GPS and teaching kids about forestry, a lumberjack dinner, local MFA chapter meetings, and the annual committee conclave. The event will be a great opportunity to learn, have some fun, and give a bit of your time to a committee that interests you. Don’t miss it!

To Register – Use the Registration Form (PDF) or call MFA at (218) 326-6486
Questions? – John O’Reilly (320) 655-3901. Email: President@MinnesotaForestry.org

Changes to MN woodland property tax rate

Bruce ZumBahlen wrote a guest post yesterday on the Vital Forests / Vital Communities blog describing changes to Minnesota’s property tax. These are exciting changes, favoring active sustainable management through consultation with a professional forester.

Every Minnesota woodland owner should know about these changes! An excerpt:

For the first time, MN has a law that provides the opportunity for woodland owners who are managing their property under a forest stewardship plan to receive a reduction in their property taxes payable in 2009 and thereafter.

Bruce and the Minnesota Forestry Association deserve great credit for their work to advance this issue.

Click here to read Bruce’s summary.
-eli