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Welcome to the AHC The Appalachian Hardwood Center (AHC) at West Virginia University, is a jointly supported center of the WVU Extension Service and the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences.
WVU's AHC The Appalachian Hardwood Center (AHC) at West Virginia University, is a jointly supported center of the WVU Extension Service and the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences.
Forestry and Forest Products The Appalachian Hardwood Center (AHC) at West Virginia University, is a jointly supported center of the WVU Extension Service and the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences.
Friday February 10 , 2012

Appalachian Biomass Harvesting and Utilization On-line Bibliography

A new report, "Evaluating forest biomass utilization in the Appalachians: a review of potential impacts and guidelines for management" has been recently completed through a cooperative effort between scientists at both the Appalachian Hardwood Center and the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Research Station. The publication will be available as a General Technical Report in the near future, but in the meantime - an extended bibliography has been published that contains references for more than 200 publications about biomass harvesting and utilization techniques, forest productivity, water quality, wildlife and vegetation diversity, and regional wood supply. The bibliography can be accessed at the Appalachian Hardwood Center's publication database via the following link: Appalachian Biomass Harvesting and Utilization Bibliography. It is searchable as a Adobe PDF document by keyword, author, etc. Please send applicable citations and references that we may have missed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 

Seedlings For Sale

oak-seedling
The West Virginia Division of Forestry (WVDOF) has tree seedlings for sale from its Clements State Tree Nursery to meet any of your Spring planting needs. There is species information, a price list, and ordering information on the Division of Forestry website at http://www.wvforestry.com/ If you have specific questions, contact the Nursery at - ph# 304-675-1820.

 

 

 

   

Free Certified Logger Training Program

West Virginia University’s Appalachian Hardwood Center will offer a six-day Certified Logger Training Program beginning Monday, Oct. 24, and running weekdays through Monday, Oct. 31.

“The logging workforce is undergoing a transformation and requires new well-trained people to provide raw materials to help traditional forest products industries and help new green energy facilities to grow and prosper,” said Ben Spong, a WVU Extension Specialist with the AHC and one of the event’s organizers.

This Certified Logger Training Program provides an excellent introduction, including basic logging skills training and the required training for certification by the state.

“With this training and certification, you will be well positioned to start a career as a logging professional,” Spong said, recommending the training for anyone who is “underemployed, a private forest landowner, a student and most anyone else interested in the field of logging.”

Read the full story @ wvutoday

   

WV Pulpwood Availability

How much pulpwood can reasonably be produced in West Virginia?

In an exercise for the WV Division of Forestry et al., a combination of timber harvest and resource assessment data were used to develop estimates of potential pulpwood production in West Virginia. Harvest data are based on those harvests reported to the West Virginia Division of Forestry under the LSCA program. Harvest data were summarized for each county and year, and a 5-year (2006-2010) average was developed for each county in West Virginia. Pulpwood availability was estimated to be 25 tons per harvested area. While this number can be highly variable, based on a number of factors, this may be our best guess for partially harvested stands in West Virginia.  While it may seem unreasonable to some, knowledge shared with us from other operators in the central Appalachian region help to validate this number.  On a recent pulpwood dominated (very few sawlogs in 27 year old stand) clearcut in Oh, AHC staff were told that the operator was averaging ~67 tons of pulp per acre harvested.  While most harvests in West Virginia are not clearcuts, it does help us put our estimate in perspective.

 

Read more: WV Pulpwood Availability

   

Wood Anatomy and Identification for Conservators

October 20-22, 2011

Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH

The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of
Historic & Artistic Works
in partnership with the Cincinnati Art Museum

Instructors:
Terry Conners, University of Kentucky
Larry Osborn, West Virginia University - Appalachian Hardwood Center

Course Fee: $275, AIC members, $475, non-members

Enrollment Limit: 12
Registration Deadline: September 6, 2011 (if space is available; early registration is advised)

Course and registration info at: http://www.conservation-us.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewpage&pageid=1387

Course Description
This two-and-a-half-day course will be of value to any conservator working with wooden artifacts, such as furniture, sculpture, or ethnographic or archaeological objects.  The goal of the course is to teach a systematic approach to identifying wood using simple tools and techniques, suitable for application to furniture, wooden artifacts, musical instruments, craft, archaeological and ethnographic objects etc. The primary focus will be on commonly used North American and European wood species, but will also include some of the foreign/imported/tropical species most likely to be encountered such as mahogany and mahogany “substitutes.” Wood identification is a visual exercise, so emphasis is placed on visual feature and pattern recognition at the macro and microscopic level, using actual wood specimens.

Discussion topics will also include: basic wood types, structure, and important anatomical features; basic specimen preparation and examination using hand lens and microscopes; important properties of selected wood species, and how those properties relate to specialized uses and objects; and the limitations of wood identification.

The course will include lectures and hands-on exercises, including the use of identification keys and online web-based resources. Set in a museum environment, participants will also view collection objects as examples and are encouraged to bring samples of their own for examination. 
Each course participant will be given their own reference wood specimen kit, course material, and additional wood identification resource material.

   

WV Forest Products Directory

Matthew Borror, Forest Product Utilization and Marketing Specialist, with the WV Division of Forestry has recently released a new searchable directory of organizations in the forest products industry. The directory can be searched by plant type and/or county to refine the search results.  The directory provides a map location, contact information, products purchased and sold, and if the compnay export porducts outside the USA.

http://www.hardwoodswv.com/directory

Comments can be directed to Matthew at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

   

1st Quarter 2011 Timber Market Report

The First Quarter 2011 Timber Market Report (TMR) stumpage price survey results have just been posted.  If you are interested in participating in this survey and receiving printed copies of this report, please contact Ben Spong

Click Here to view the current and historic TMRs
   

Pocahontas County -- Wood Anatomy & Identification Workshop

micro_wood
Time: March 30, 2011 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Location: Pocahontas County
Phone: 304-799-4852
Event Type: Evening workshop
Organized By: Greg Hamons
Come discover the diversity and beauty of wood from Appalachia’s most valuable trees! Learn hands-on tips on how to identify wood and explore wood anatomy from a microscopic viewpoint.

Instructor Larry Osborn with the WVU AHC, will lecture and provide hands-on tips for identifying wood.

For more information or to register for the seminar, contact Greg Hamons (Pocahontas County Extension Agent.; 304-799-4852; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Registration is $5; students free with ID. Light refreshments will be served.

Everyone welcome! No experience needed.
   

3rd and 4th Quarter 2010 Timber Market Report

The combined Third and Fourth Quarter 2010 Timber Market Report (TMR) stumpage price survey results have just been posted.  If you are interested in participating in this survey and receiving printed copies of this report, please contact Ben Spong

Click Here to view the current and historic TMRs
   

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