| From
the President's Desk
Greetings to all
of you from the Southern Forestry
Consultants family and family of companies.
We hope you are having a wonderful
Spring. The woods are bursting with
activity, as animals and plants go
through the traditional rituals of
birth and re-growth. The welcome rains
have given a vibrant feel to everything
natural, reminding us of just how
important the balance of nature is.
Along with the renewal of spirit
and life in the natural world this
time of year comes a seemingly endless
number of meetings and conferences
associated with politics, associations,
and academia. We have urged your participation
through the years, in this newsletter
and by other means, in the political
process by whatever means you are
comfortable with and it is no less
important now
than ever before. As I compose this
article I am leaving for a symposium
entitled “Sustaining Family
Forests”, and would like to
emphasize to you how important this
topic is. The legacy of family forests
is swiftly disappearing as the “me”
generation plots its next strategy
to squeeze every last nickel out of
every last acre of land left to their
stewardship, and as the federal government
continues its blind leading the blind
policy of estate tax structure that
forces many to liquidate their holdings
upon the passing of the patriarch
of the family. Simply put, we need
PERMANENT tax relief so that heirs
are assured that the family’s
land and timber assets are not unfairly
treated at the time of death and so
managers of the assets can manage
for the long term and not (just) the
short term. Timberland assets are
far different than other capital assets
in that they are not as liquid, they
take longer to mature, and they do
in fact provide certain societal benefits
that are more important now than ever
before (e.g. clean air, clean water,
green space, etc.). Please remember
whenever you
contact your elected representatives
to mention this important issue as
it simply spans generations of all
Americans.
We are constantly planning for timber
sales, herbicide applications, reforestation
and other timber stand improvement
activities, so please contact one
of our foresters or wildlife biologists
if you have any questions regarding
your assets. We are very busy and
sometimes get behind staying in touch,
but we always welcome your questions
and comments and look forward to a
healthy discussion about improving
the productivity of your stand of
trees. We
truly are grateful to have the opportunity
to provide our services to you, and
want very much to continue our relationship
for years to come.
Michael Dooner, President
|
2 Mb) 
