Forestry & British Timber articles from September 2004

Forestry & British Timber archives from September 2004

BE A SPORT - THINK LEISURE, NOT LOGS.
September 7, 2004... It took the miners, steelworkers and those who worked in Britain's traditional heavy industries a while to realise that, after decades of subsidy, the government just wasn't going to bale them out any more. Structural change in any industry is...

STEMMING THE TIDE - PERISH PONTICUM!
September 7, 2004... They've tried flailing, cutting, hacking, spraying and burning them but still they flourish and rise up in their multicoloured splendour to impress the visitor but infuriate the forester. What else but Britain's most invasive alien plant,...

Worms turn against the weevil.
September 7, 2004... `Clocaenog forest (Clywd) has the largest remaining population of red squirrels in Wales and we now actively manage (it) to provide the right conditions for this elusive species. Any pest control method that is environmentally sensitive should...

`Bikers' timber' - police seek help.
September 7, 2004... Fort Augustus police (01320 36622) are seeking the public's help in their search for the thieves of four tonnes of timber taken from the Lon Mor Quarry in Inchnacardoch Forest in mid-July. It was, Forestry Commission Scotland reports, destined...

`Silting up' - trees to the rescue?(protecting Bassenthwaite Lake area)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... Unsurprisingly, in view of its natural attractions for tourists, the sound - or rather, pressure - of tramping feet is a familiar feature around the Lake District's Bassenthwaite Lake area. Coupled with overgrazing, this has led to this...

From `SOD' to woodfuel.(sudden oak death)(wooldland research)
September 7, 2004... Known throughout the scientific world for its work into Phytopthora ramorum (`sudden oak death'), Forest Research's main scientific centre, Alice Holt, near Farnham, Surrey hosted a visit by forestry minister, England Ben Bradshaw. It was here...

From coast to coast.(forest conservation)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... The nation's most densely populated areas are included in Forestry Commission Scotland's (FCS) newly-named Central Scotland Conservancy (CSC). Stretching from east to west coasts - including Edinburgh and Glasgow - its former remit was confined...

Fountains appointment.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... Jason Sinden has joined environmental services specialist fountains plc's UK Forestry Services as forest analyst. Jason was previously employed as the senior investment manager with FIM Services Ltd. He will be based at fountains' head...

Curtains up on PPP holiday premiere.(public private partnership)
September 7, 2004... 'This offers the opportunity to transform Forest Holidays (FH) from a wholly Forestry Commission-owned and controlled business to a public private partnership (PPP)'. The move, added FC special project manager Teresa Garnett*, would 'enable us...

Squirrel group flies red flag.(protection of Red squirrels)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... Because Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) plans to clearfell land at Newborough Forest, Anglesey, the European red squirrel will be dispossessed of one of its few remaining strongholds in Britain. As it is not listed as an endangered species...

The case of the fleeing footman.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... `It's the kind of species you expect to see in places like Essex and Dorset', said Bill Burlton, Kielder Forest environment officer when the `red-necked footman' moth - Atolmis rubricollis - was spotted in Northumberland just south of the...

Utility skills on test.(AUS Ltd)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... A key part of the Arboricultural Association's national conference (University College of Chester, September 20-22) the AUS Ltd 'Utility Skills Competition' is now in its fifth year and promises to be better than ever. The event, organised by...

The Highlands' triple icons.(Forestry Commission's Forest of Spey partnership conference)
September 7, 2004... The Scots pine is Scotland's only timber-producing native conifer tree'. As such, added the Forestry Commission's John Risby, it made a unique contribution to sustainable rural development as well as boasting environmental and social benefits....

M&M appointment.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... To meet rising demand for its landscape timber ranges, M&M Timber of Worcester has appointed Ian Rickuss as national sales manager. He will be responsible for developing major new accounts for the company's growing range of machine-rounded...

Pride of the Pennines.(Hemplow Wood awarded)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... `It's a model of what can be achieved and shows that small really can be beautiful'. That was the Forestry Commission's Mick Hoban's comment when he heard the news that Hemplow Wood nestling in a Pennine valley was declared the best to take...

National accessibility.(Incentive offered through competitive bidding.)(National Forest)(Midlands enterprise)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... Open-access land in the National Forest (NF) has more than trebled since 1991 to 12000 acres (4918ha). What was remarkable, the NF Co* commented, was that most was voluntarily offered on private land - thanks to the incentive offered through...

John Risby takes the helm at Huntly.(Forestry Commission)
September 7, 2004... One of John Risby's first tasks when he took over as Forestry Commission Grampian Scotland conservator was was to help establish the region's forestry forum. One of the first such bodies that the Scottish Executive is establishing across the...

Pride of place - the London plane.(Forestry Commission)(London Woodland Advisory Group)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... `London is a great city and the many more trees envisaged in the Tree and Woodland Framework (TWN) will help its development as a world city'. Forestry Commission chairman Lord Clark was speaking at Wellington Arch, Hyde Park at the launch of a...

Growing with timber.
September 7, 2004... November 2004 is the closing date for entrants to Forestry Investment Management's* (FIM) latest forestry fund. The cash raised will be mainly invested in woodlands with productive, older age-class crops of Sitka spruce with the target of...

Letter: WGS Closure.(Letter to the Editor)
September 7, 2004... From Tom Compton 'Sir, on the day that the WGS closure was announced our local Forestry Commission officer kindly rang to say "you'd better get that scheme in tonight's post". We duly did, much to our and the owner's relief. Like many...

Letter: Get back to the roots.(Letter to the Editor)
September 7, 2004... From Malcolm Carrington 'Sir, I have been reading FBT magazine for as long as I can remember, when it appeared as a supplement to the 'Timber Trades Journal' in the early seventies. In all those years I have never known a time of such...

Letter: Answering questions at Askham.(Letter to the Editor)
September 7, 2004... The closure of the English woodland grant scheme and the Forestry and Timber Association (FTA) `level playing-field manifesto' to be launched this month (September) at the APF Exhibition will be major themes at the October 14 FTA conference....

Operation osprey.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2004... Two osprey chicks in the Tweed Valley forest park have been safely ringed so that wildlife rangers can monitor their progress over the coming years. Above: Forestry Commission ranger Will Huckerby braves the heights to retrieve one of the...

WoodWISE: The view from the sharp end.(Woodwise Forestry)
September 7, 2004... In which our monthly contracting contributor Nick Hilton of Woodwise Forestry* continues the saga of the troublesome beech... I suppose for those of you who have been on the edge of your seat waiting with baited breath for the outcome of...

Chopwell champions centuries of skills.(Chopwell forest festival)
September 7, 2004... The north of England's 'biggest and best woodland event - the Chopwell forest festival - was staged in the woodland park of that name on the northern hills of the Derwent Valley on the edge of the Tyneside conurbation. Susan Burke reports on...

Not shooting a line - game for a grant?(bird shooting)
September 7, 2004... `I was hooked from an early age', writes David Taylor. "Do you shoot?" asked a happy client whose problems I had helped to solve with an entirely gratuitous bit of knowledge. And I graduated from Division Three of shooting - flighting reluctant...

New `king of the forest' rules over Eildrig's Sitka.
September 7, 2004... `It was heartening to see a manufacturer take the risk showing off its machinery, working at full pace on a most demanding site', reports Hilary Burke on Valmet UK's Komatsu Forest (KF) demo days on July 9-10. `While many, certainly outside the...

Ireland's sensitive duo: Harte and Soul.(Inisfree Logging)(log harvesting )
September 7, 2004... Small sites and strict environmental constraints can undoubtedly erode the timber contractor's productivity. However - as Eoghan Daly reports - one Irish operator in this sector manages to achieve positive results despite the introduction of...

Testing Touareg.(Volkswagen Touareg)(Product/Service Evaluation)
September 7, 2004... Our man in the driving seat, consultant Eamonn Wall takes the luxury VW Touareg for a spin and looks forward to driving the Tdi version. Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 2002, the Volkswagen Touareg went on sale in the UK in May 2003....