Friday, July 31, 2015

FLORIDA LAND STEWARD UPDATE 7/31/15


Florida Land Steward Partners:
Michael Bush, Tony Grossman, Joe Prenger, Chris Demers
Florida Land Steward Partnership Receives USDA Two-Chief Award
Started in 2012 to better coordinate outreach and land management planning efforts for Florida’s private landowners, the Florida Land Steward Partnership recently received the USDA Joint Forestry Team’s Two-Chief Award. Receiving the award are Chris Demers, Michael Andreu, and Bill Giuliano, University of Florida School of Forest Resources and Conservation and Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; Anthony Grossman, Florida Forest Service; Joe Prenger, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and Michael Bush, Natural Resources Conservation Service Florida State Office. This coalition created a first-of-its-kind, one-stop private landowner center to enhance natural resource management capabilities. The center utilizes multiple communication tools to deliver information and technical assistance to landowners, including a website, email listserv, Facebook page, and blog, to distribute land stewardship information and publicize upcoming events. Outreach programs organized and coordinated by Florida Land Steward partners are attended by diverse audiences. The partners also created multi-agency teams to develop whole-property management plans and provide technical assistance to landowners. The Partnership's resources serve as a timely, centralized source of information on forestry, agriculture, and natural resource management. Outreach efforts allow attendees to receive information and services in a unified package, which helps prevent duplication of effort, contradictory messages, or missed opportunities. Partners' outreach efforts resulted in over 54,000 website hits in 2014, email updates sent to over 1,700 landowners and professionals, and over 7,000 calendars distributed annually.

The USDA Joint Forestry Team is a national partnership of the USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the National Association of State Foresters representing state forestry agency executives, and the National Association of Conservation Districts. The Team’s purpose is to make recommendations that result in coordinated interagency delivery of forestry and conservation assistance for working forests, farms, and ranches. Team participants seek to improve the sustainability of the nation’s forests in order to provide optimum levels of public benefits and ecosystem services. More info about these and other awardees is at http://jointforestryteam.org/success-stories



LAST DAY TO SIGN UP FOR WETLAND RESERVE EASEMENT - USDA SEEKS PARTNERS TO PROTECT AND RESTORE WETLANDS IN FLORIDA       
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announces the availability of $17.5 million in financial and technical assistance nationwide to help eligible conservation partners voluntarily protect, restore and enhance critical wetlands on private and tribal agricultural lands. Funding will be provided through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP), a special enrollment option under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program’s Wetland Reserve Easement component, created through the 2014 Farm Bill. WREP was formerly known as the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program. Under WREP, states, local units of governments, non-governmental organizations and American Indian tribes collaborate with USDA through multi-year cooperative and partnership agreements. Partners are required to contribute a funding match for financial or technical assistance. These partners work directly with eligible landowners interested in enrolling their agricultural land into conservation wetland easements.

Wetland reserve easements allow landowners to successfully enhance and protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce impacts from flooding, recharge groundwater and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities. The voluntary nature of NRCS' easement programs allows effective integration of wetland restoration on working landscapes, providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as well as benefits to the local and rural communities where the wetlands exist.

Proposals must be submitted to NRCS state office in Gainesville by July 31, 2015. Contact information can be found on Florida NRCS website.  Visit NRCS’s ACEP webpage to learn more about  wetland conservation options.


SOMETHING BUGGING YOUR TREES?
Do you have pests or a disease in your trees? Leaves or needles wilting, and you don’t know why? Sawdust falling out of your trees, and you don’t know how to save them? There is help: ask your question at the free Forest Health Diagnostic Forum: http://sfrc.ufl.edu/treehealth/forum/.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP VIDEOS  - VIEW AND SHARE!
All the latest videos are on the Florida Forest Stewardship Program home page:
http://sfrc.ufl.edu/forest_stewardship

GOT AN INVASIVE SPECIES PROBLEM?
Go to floridainvasives.org for information, assistance and partnership opportunities.

LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC?
Check the vast array of extension publications available through UF/IFAS on the EDIS publication site:  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/  Wow, there’s a publication about that?



ONGOING SERVICES, INITIATIVES, PROGRAMS:
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FWC REQUESTS REPORTS OF WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS:


UF/IFAS SCHOOL OF FOREST RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION EXTENSION PROGRAMS
See http://sfrc.ufl.edu/extension


FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES WEBINARS
For a calendar of upcoming webinars in a variety of land management topics see:
http://www.forestrywebinars.net/webinar-calendar/month#.T-zLkBhgZys.blogger


UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA CONTINUING FORESTRY EDUCATION CLASSES
See http://conted.warnell.uga.edu/ for the latest offerings.


ALABAMA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION FORESTRY WEBINARS
See http://www.aces.edu/natural-resources/forestry/
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