July 08 

Welcome to this month's E-News.

"Have your say or keep quiet" was a quip overheard from a passionate forester as a colleague moaned about the recent influx of consultations inviting input from ICF' members. He made a valid point. 

In our July E-News we highlight five new consultations and remind you of four still on the go. We cannot underestimate the importance of ICF members giving input into consultations where your experience will make a difference. We also encourage you to use your designation (MICFor or FICFor) with any feedback, flagging that you are a chartered forestry professional. You've earned it, so use it.

Please forward your E-News to any colleagues that you think may be interested in receiving it and don't forget to add icf@charteredforesters.org to your address book so you don't miss any issues.  You can view archived issues of E-News on the ICF website under Publications and Services. 

And, as always, please do use the ICF Members' Area Discussion Forum to exchange views with fellow members or alternatively email ICF.

shortcut to sections - click on headings below:

ICF News | General News | Developments

Consultations  | Events & Training

Showing off
Will you be at the Arboricultural Association Conference or the APF Show in September and have an hour or two to help man the ICF stand? Are you exhibiting your company at any other shows this year or next and could help promote ICF? If you answer yes to either question then contact Betsy Andrews.

Free environmental online publication for Members
A new benefit from ICF's membership of the Society for the Environment is that members can order a free online subscription to "Energy and Management", the bi-monthly publication formerly produced by Defra. To register for your free copy visit the EAEM website .

ICF Council news
Bill MacDonald FICFor, Chair of the ICF's Carbon Group, has posted an ICF Position Statement for carbon offsetting in the Members' Area Library.  

Vacancies 
Check the ICF Members' Area for the latest job vacancies. 

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Ruddock launches one-stop shop for adapting to climate impacts
Climate Change Minister Joan Ruddock has launched a new information hub that will help businesses, planners, and others to adapt to climate change. The website offers easy access to the most comprehensive collection of resources on adapting to climate change available in the UK. It includes details of how the climate will alter, links to practical tools for adaptation, and examples of what is already being done around the country. More

Government launches strategy for sustainable construction
The Government has published the Strategy for Sustainable Construction which pulls together all the various initiatives of its Strategy for Construction into one publication. It shows how far and how fast the government is moving in the areas of Responsible Sourcing, Life Cycle Analysis and Whole Life Costing. These are areas where wood has a distinct competitive advantage. Free download here.

Scotland boosts development of woodland crofts 
In a move to support the development of woodland crofts, Sandra Holmes has been appointed as the new Woodland Crofts Projects Officer with a role of kick starting the initiative to get woodland crofts up and running. The initiative is being funded jointly by Forestry Commission Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Woodland crofts have the potential to support and sustain rural livelihoods, with community groups owning and managing woodland for economic, social and environmental gain. Under the National Forest Land Scheme, land for woodland crofts has been added as a fourth option along with existing options of community acquisition, land for affordable housing and sale of surplus land.

Royal praise for award winning FCS office
Forestry Commission Scotland's state of the art Smithton office won royal plaudits for its sustainable features when HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay visited in June. The showcase building and its eco-friendly credentials has also been picking up awards, winning an Inverness Civic Trust Award in 2007, the Scottish Architects Award 2007, and the Sustainability prize at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland Awards 2008. 

Hawnby is top of tree 
The Hawnby Estate in the North York Moors has received one of the most prestigious prizes in forestry, this year's John Boddy Rose Bowl, awarded by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and judged by the Forestry Commission and The Royal Forestry Society. The estate manages 2,000-acres of mixed-woodland around the village of Hawnby, near Helmsley, runs a thriving timber business and includes one of the most important collections of ancient woodland in northern England. Judges were impressed by the major efforts being made to restore many of these areas, particularly initiatives such as the the high rise winch system in Gowerdale which provided a solution to restoring its mix of habitats on the steep and sensitive terrain.

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English Woodland Grant Scheme registration advice
To avoid the predicted September bottleneck of registrations, you should submit your Single Business Identifier (SBI) detailed land registration as soon as possible. Please note that cross compliance checks on farms and woodlands is likely for one percent of all schemes. Applicants should also note the terms of the scheme, particularly in relation to the 10 month rule and the single payment scheme, and should read the Minutes of the recent Applicants Focus Group Meeting and the main Guidelines It is encouraging that around 2260ha of planting was achieved in England last year against the RDPE target of 2200 ha. More

New advice note on red band needle blight
A new Research Note from Forest Research presents the latest information to help foresters manage affected forests. It provides information on the causal agents, the pathogen lifecycle, and the disease's symptoms, distribution and impact. It also discusses the options for control and management, and considers the likely future of the disease in Britain. Download a free PDF version of "Red band needle blight of conifers in Britain", from the "What's new" page of the Forestry Commission website or call Forestry Commission Publications on 0870 121 4180 for a free hard copy (quote stock code FCRN002).

Don't forget YDMT funding available
If you own a sites where Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust can help create or restore native broadleaf woodlands, please contact Chris Lodge on 015242 51002 or email: chris.lodge@ydmt.org or visit the YDMT website.

Chris also has information on the North Yorkshire Aggregates Scheme for people affected by quarrying.

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Your input is invited on these new consultations....

Vegetation fire consultation  aimed at providing a framework for recording vegetation fires in the UK. UKVFS is a private project and the outcome of this project will be templates and data sets to record vegetation wildfires and prescribed fires. The focus is to provide an evidence-based approach to vegetation fires, currently lacking in national reporting. It will also look at the impact on: Sustainable Development, Ecosystem Services, Communities, Risk Management Planning, Habitats and Species and Tackling Climate Change. Deadline: 15 August. More

"Restoration of open habitats from woods and forests has been published by Forestry Commission England. It is available at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/england-openhabitats and sets out the problem that FCE is trying to resolve, the desired outcomes, other issues that need to be taken into account, and some policy options. Senior projects officer, Dominic Driver, advises that the next step is to collate evidence about the effect on outcomes and issues and work out implications for delivery mechanisms.  If you can help, email Dominic by 15 August.

Gangmaster consultation (Defra): you have until 20 October to respond to the Defra consultation. The Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 established the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to implement and operate a licence scheme for labour providers operating in the food chain. The Gangmasters Licensing (Exclusions) Regulations 2006 fine tunes the scope of the scheme by specifying circumstances where a person does not need to obtain a licence. This consultation seeks views on whether forestry should be removed from the scope of the scheme (page 15). See the document at Defra's website. 

European Commission proposal for the "Health of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - Defra is consulting on the The Health Check, a scheduled review of the major CAP reforms of 2003, which could have potentially significant implications for farmers across the EU, for the environment and for cutting prices for consumers. The 12 week consultation seeks comments on the proposed improvements to the Single Payment Scheme, improving market orientation, and responding to new environmental challenges. Responses will inform the UK's approach to the negotiations. Ends 1 September. More

Woodlands for Wales - what next?  is a public consultation to revise "Woodlands for Wales", the strategy for trees and woodlands in Wales first published in 2001. The consultation focuses on 5 key themes: Welsh woodlands, responding to climate change, woodlands for people, a competitive and integrated forest sector and environmental quality. Download the consultation at www.forestry.gov.uk/wwstrategy or in Welsh at  www.forestry.gov.uk/strategaethcg or phone Jane Holloway, FC Wales, on 0845 604 0845. Ends 14 October.


There's still time to join these consultations and surveys
'Managing Ancient and Native Woodland - England Practice Guide' from Forestry Commission England. Closing date: 22nd August . More
Coppice Survey of South East England: The survey will look at where coppice has been cut between 1st September 2007 and 31st August. Email Debbie.
National Forest Consultation for the new implementation plan to support its 2004-2014 strategy. Closing date: 30 September. More
Phytophthora ramorum (sudden oak death) and Phytophthora kernoviae consultation from The Forestry Commission, Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government. Closing date: 10 October. Documents and further information at www.forestry.gov.uk/planthealth.

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Dates set for East England Ignite Woodfuel Training
Two three-day courses will run in Suffolk and Bedfordshire in September and October. The three day course provides a thorough grounding in woodfuel production and supply for those involved in the sector, whether it be producers, users, advisors or policy makers. More 

Hylobius Management Support System Training Day:Forestry Commission run course, Ae, Dumfries-shire, 4th August. More
Arboricultural Association Seminar: Trees in the Planning Process, New Lanark Mill Hotel, New Lanark, 14th August. More
Ignite Woodfuel Supply Training Course: Brecon Beacons, Monmouthshire, 3rd-5th September. More 
National Forest Wood Fair: Public event, Beacon Hill Country Park, 25th August. More
CCFG Annual Event in Scotland: Drumlanrig Estate, Dumfries-shire, 4th September. More
ICF Wales Regional Group Study Tour to Poland: Silvicultural methods in both production and conservation forests in the country. Contact Hugh Wheeldon urgently to check available places. 7th - 12th September. More
Ignite Woodfuel Supply Training Course:At the Greenlight Trust near Bury St Edmunds, 9-11 September. More
Cheap as Wood Chips - What Value the Urban Tree seminar: Himley Hall, Dudley, Midlands, 10th September. More
CCFG Technical Meeting: Lowland Broadleaf Woodland, 10th September. More
Arboricultural Association Conference, Canterbury, 14-17 September. More
The Woodfuel Supply Chain Conference - Sharing Experience: Warwick, 15th-19th September. More
International Energy Association Woodfuel Chain Supply Conference: Cannock Chase, 14-19 September. More 
APF 2008 (International Forestry Exhibition): Cannock Chase, 18-20 September. More

RFS August events: North West Midlands, Edistone Woods, Llanfyllin, 13th Aug; Southern, Northmoor Trust Reserve, Little Wittenham, 21 Aug.  For details visit http://www.rfs.org.uk/

View full events list

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