Davis College
News/Events

The West Virginia University Appalachian Hardwood Center Hardwood Center invites the public to attend a Forest Stewardship Program Landowner Tour from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 21, 2008, at the property of Timothy Fink, Tornado, Kanawha County. Refreshments and snacks will be provided following the tour.

The third site of this year?s Forest Stewardship Landowner Tours will be on the property of Timothy Fink. The Appalachian Hardwood Center is excited to provide area residents an opportunity to see first-hand the implementation of the various management techniques applied to this tract in the heart of West Virginia. Come out and support the Forest Stewardship program and the management of the state?s private forests!

Property Overview:
The Fink family has owned these 172 acres since 1992. A tour of the site last year demonstrated the ?pre-harvest? processes related to selective cuts. Since then, 91 acres were harvested in this fashion. The goal of this cut was to generate revenue and to establish access throughout the property. This tour will showcase the results of the harvest performed on this tract.

In designing the road system and selecting which trees to harvest, water quality was highly prioritized. Environmental protection and aesthetics were greatly taken into consideration for this sale. We will see how the harvest did not impact the viewshed from the residence and discuss the reasoning the timber selected for harvest. In addition, Mr. Fink has conducted invasive control on a variety of species, with more focus on tree-of-heaven and Japanese stiltgrass which are establishing in the recently harvested area.

Tour Overview
Agenda
1:00 Meet at the Fink House.
1:10 Introductions and Overview of FSP program. Handouts will be provided.
2:00 Begin to explore forestry activities on walking property tour.
3:30 Return to vehicles for refreshments/snacks and final discussion.
4:00 End of tour

To sign up for the tour or for more information please contact Elizabeth Tichner, tel: 304-276-0113, e-mail: etichner@mix.wvu.edu.