WVFA eNews Weekly

Industry News

On rainy Saturday, September 12, a tour with the Tree Farmer of the Year - Allen Glasgow - was held on his Morgan country tract. About 50 attendees learned of his frugal ways to get forest regeneration and attract a lot of deer. Dr. Glasgow and conservation agents, who have helped him with his wildlife and forestry efforts, conducted walks-in-the-woods focusing on conservation practices, high-yielding tulip-tree stands and tree plantings. The turnout was excellent and spirits high even in what was at times heavy rainfall (that was part of the fun). The WV Tree Farm Committee and WVU Extension sponsored the event, which included lunch. Dr. Glasgow is pictured (near center, facing the camera).

AWP Opens Smoot Sawmill

From an article by Daniel Tyson of the Register-Herald

The sawmill that shares this small community’s name was filled with activity Monday morning. Employees were unloading enormous tree trunks, feeding roaring saws, and sorting wood by source and grade. Those activities are signs the Smoot sawmill is making a comeback after a blaze engulfed the facility in December 2013, destroying half of the production building where timber is cut and sorted.

About 150 people gathered Monday to eat pork barbecue, cole slaw and potato salad as the mill’s parent company, Allegheny Wood Productions Inc., officially reopened the completely rebuilt facility. AWP’s President John Crites II (pictured second from left) told the audience the company is dedicated to Smoot and operating "this mill in this community."

The mill was one of three purchased from Beckley’s New River Hardware in late 2014. The rebuilding allowed AWP to convert the sawmill into a state-of-the-art facility. During a tour, visitors observed sawyers using lasers to properly align timber and consulting information panels for instructions. The mill’s 28 employees returned to the Smoot sawmill last month after nearly a year of traveling to another sawmill in Beckley. When the Smoot facility reopened, all new equipment was purchased as part of $3 million in additional investments to the acquisition costs, company officials said.
(also pictured John Crites, Sr. - far left, U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins - second from right, and Tom Plaugher. Vice President of Operations - photo by WVFA Staff)

Migratory Birds

By Kathy Beckett, Steptoe & Johnson

On September 4, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ("MBTA") only criminalizes acts related to hunting or poaching, not omissions that unintentionally kill birds. US. V. Citgo Petroleum Corporation, et al., case number No. 14-40128, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas). Looking toward the Eighth and Ninth Circuits that a "taking" is limited to deliberate acts done directly and intentionally to migratory birds, the Fifth Circuit concluded that the MTBA convictions for the death of migratory birds that landed in uncovered tanks must be reversed. Referring to the common law definition of take, the Court concludes, "one does not reduce an animal to human control accidentally or by omission; he does so affirmatively." The opinion emphasizes the fact that the MTBA definition of "take" does not include qualifying terms like "harm" or "harass" which would had signaled Congress’ intent of expanding the term to include negligence or unintentional acts. The Fifth Circuit decision rejects the MTBA decisions rendered by the Second and Tenth Circuits. The Court distinguishes its opinion from those decisions by emphasizing a review of the definition of "take." The reasoning is that to be convicted of a criminal act, there must be an affirmative action not an unknowing or involuntary act.

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