Local Kids Raise Money for Toys for Tots

Volume 9 Issue 2
Fall/Winter 2013
Local Kids Raise Money for Toys for Tots
Melissa Regan, Planning/Inventory Forester, MS/LA Timberlands
On December 15, 2012, the kids of Sandy Creek
Hunting Club experienced the joy of giving.
Sandy Creek Hunting Club is a 3,500 acre
Recreational Lease located in Harrison County,
MS and has been a leaseholder with
Weyerhaeuser for many years.
These kids, along with their parents and
members of Sandy Creek Hunting Club, wanted
to do something for the local community to
celebrate Christmas this past year. Working
together, they came up with the idea to raffle off
a small bass boat and trolling motor. A local
convenience store let them use space in their
store to display the boat and motor. By the time
the raffle had ended, and the boat and motor
awarded to the winner, over $2,000 had been
raised for the local Toys for Tots program.
Parents and kids all loaded up and went on a
shopping spree at Toys R Us. From the photo
below, it looked to be a very productive trip. I
Back Row: Dane, Jack
Front Row: Dutch, Kyle, Kinsley Jean,
and Kevin. Photos by Wade Stegall, Sandy
Creek Hunting Club.
imagine the kids of Sandy Creek Hunting Club
had as much joy in the shopping and giving of
these gifts as there was in the receiving.
Sandy Creek Hunting Club, you should be so
very proud of your future leaders!
Editor’s Note: The primary goal of Toys for Tots
is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a
message of hope to less fortunate youngsters
that will assist them in becoming responsible,
productive, patriotic citizens
To host your own Toys for Tots fundraising
event, please visit www.toysfortots.org for
information on how to get started.
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Fall/Winter 2013
Page 1
Species of the South
Dr. Jessica A. Homyack, Certified Wildlife Biologist ®, Southern Timberlands Technology
This time of year, I check the oak trees for signs
of a good mast crop, and if I’m squirrel or deer
hunting, I want to know where the acorns are
covering the ground. But, one important
wildlife tree often escapes my mind, although I
recently located one at the edge of my suburban
backyard. The common persimmon (Diospyros
virginiana) is a slow-growing, medium-sized
tree that occurs across our Timberlands
ownership and can be quite common, often
found along with sassafras, southern pines, and
gums.
Hunters and other outdoors enthusiasts should
learn to identify persimmon because the sweet,
Vitamin-C packed, golden fruit of this tree is
favored by many game and nongame species.
Animals disperse the numerous large, flat seeds
found in the fruit, which need to pass through a
digestive system to germinate. Ripe persimmon
fruit can be incorporated into wine, beer,
puddings, breads, and jams. But, make sure you
eat only the soft, very ripe fruit because unripe
persimmons have a sharp bitter taste. This
member of the ebony family has extremely
close-grained and durable wood that was a
primary material used for golf clubs for many
years.
Persimmon trees have dark gray to black bark
which is broken into small blocks. Leaves are
alternately spaced, toothless and glossy, ranging
from 2-5 inches in size and turning yellow to red
in the fall. Persimmon trees have separate male
and female trees, both of which produce
inconspicuous flowers in the spring. Fall is the
easiest time of year to identify persimmons, as
this is when the female trees bear orange,
cherry-sized fruit (actually a berry) from August
to October.
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You can establish and maintain this attractive
and valuable wildlife tree on your hunting land
or in your backyard. First, when you find a
persimmon tree, mark it, determine if it is a male
or female, and consider opening the canopy up
around it if it has a lot of competition from
nearby trees. The easiest way to add
persimmons to your land would be to plant
several saplings, but be patient, because it could
take 10 years until
Leaves, bark and
fruit of
persimmon trees
are easy to
recognize.
Photos by USDA
and Jessica
Homyack.
trees mature and are able to be identified as male
or female. Remember, you will need trees of
both sexes to produce fruits, so planting a single
tree will not do the trick. Larger-sized
persimmons are difficult to transplant because
they have a deep taproot, so prepare to sit back
and watch your persimmons slowly grow.
As the temperatures cool, I will keep searching
the woods for persimmon trees, and I hope you
will have luck finding this species of the south.
Fall/Winter 2013
Page 2
It’s Not Too Late To Lease
Even though hunting season has started, there is
still plenty of opportunity to find property that is
not leased. So you ask, why are you sending this
information to people who already lease your
property? Well, you have friends, family
members, and co-workers who do not. Plus, a
good number of our current leaseholders are on
the lookout for new properties to hunt for a
number of reasons.
The www.weyerhaeuserhuntinglands.com page
has been a huge asset not only to Weyerhaeuser,
but to thousands of individuals and clubs
looking for a place to hunt. We take dozens of
calls a week all year long from people wanting
property to lease. The website itself has
hundreds of hits a day; hunting season really
never ends. The ability to complete the online
contract and payment process has been a great
benefit.
leased and help the perspective lessee as best we
can. Providing location maps, aerial photos, and
topographical maps are all just a part of the
service we try to provide to our customers. And,
we will continue to seek ways to improve this
process as technology advances.
We still have thousands of acres available to
lease across the Southern States. Please visit the
website to see if there are any tracts in your
desired area available to lease. Click your state,
choose the parish/county of your interest, and
zoom into the available tracts to view. We
advise that you please view the property before
placing your bid.
The 2013-2014 season is starting with high
expectations. We hope that you have a great
season and return home safely each and every
outing. Please be safe and be great stewards of
our great outdoors.
We try to do the best we can get our properties
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Fall/Winter 2013
Page 3
Food Plot Basics
Ken McCool, Environmental/Recreational Manager, MS/AL Timberlands
When the dog days of summer are winding
down, the local farmer’s co-ops are abuzz, as
trucks with tractors and four wheelers await their
turn to load bags of seed and fertilizer. I can
remember not many years ago when only basic
rye grass, wheat and oats were available. Today
there are literally hundreds of options to choose
from when choosing the “right” seeds for a food
plot. Below are some questions you should ask
yourself before spending hundreds, if not
thousands, of dollars, on food plot establishment
and maintenance.
 What is the soil PH and do we plan to
lime if needed?
Properly managing soil PH maximizes
nutrients available to plants and thus
Strips between planted pines are great for
establishing food plots. Photo by Ken McCool.
requires less fertilizer for a vigorous food
plot. Pelletized lime is more expensive than
bulk lime, but is more easily applied on a
small scale. It is always recommended to
get a soil test done and then lime
accordingly, However, if you are not going
to determine soil acidity, don’t spend money
on lime as you won’t know how much to
apply to reap the benefits.
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 Food plot objectives
Most wildlife managers agree that, within
forested landscapes, at least 2% of your
acreage need to be in food plots to positively
impact the nutritional needs of deer on your
lease. However, if your objective is simply
to attract deer, just about any forage, as long
as it is fertilized adequately, will draw deer
for harvest or viewing purposes.

Annual Food Plots
Historically, hunters have planted annual rye
grass, wheat, and/or oats. Every seed
company now claims to have the magic seed
mix for trophy buck attraction. Although
there are numerous products available that
will provide good quality food plots, it is
important to make sure that any clover seed
in a mix is inoculated. Also, a disadvantage
of purchasing mixes instead of individual
seed bags that you mix yourself is that all
seeds are sewn and covered at the same
depth. If you use clover, it is generally best
to sow it separately after mixing in the other
seeds (usually a wheat/oat/rye combination)
as it does not need to be planted as deep (a
quarter inch vs. 1 to 1 ½ inches).
From the author’s experience
A combination I have found to be very effective
and cost-conscious is a mixture of wheat and
oats sewn together, with crimson and arrow-leaf
clovers applied over the top. This combination
was recommended by a biologist with the
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries,
and Parks and has been used in plantings on
Mississippi Wildlife Management Areas for
many years. This combination is my personal
choice because of the extended months of use
the clovers provide. Of course, it is always good
to check with a local biologist to determine if
there is a preferred mix for your area.
If you are going to spend time and money to
establish food plots, a few extra pounds of seed
per acre are not that expensive and can really
Fall/Winter 2013
Page 4
help establish a great food plot. The mix I
mentioned above calls for 60 lbs of wheat, 60
lbs of oats, and 200/250 lbs of 13-13-13 per
acre, unless a soil test tells you otherwise for the
fertilizer. Approximately 8 to 10 lbs of crimson
clover and 6 to 8 lbs of arrow leaf clover per
acre are recommended over the top to complete
this planting. Recommended planting times are
late September into early October. An addition
of 100/150 lbs of 34-0-0 per acre in midDecember will keep food plots growing and
attractive during the winter months.
Seed bed establishment is a critical aspect of
establishing quality food plots. A quality seed
bed gives all your seed a chance for germination.
That is, the ones turkeys and other birds don’t
find prior to germination. Most food plots are
established by bush-hogging existing vegetation
followed by disking and planting. However, an
approach that makes the disking easier exposes
more soil (which is the goal of disking), is to
bush hog in late August, wait about 2-3 weeks,
and then spray with a broad spectrum herbicide
(e.g., glyphosate products such as Roundup®
and generics). Allow the grass/weeds to die for
1-3 weeks and then disk and plant. Any
standard disk can be used to prepare the seed
bed, just be sure most of the food plot is
composed of bare, overturned soil; this may take
several passes with the disk.
Clover can be managed to produce
forage year round for several years.
Photo from www.informedfamers.com
After seeds are sown and fertilizer is broadcast,
both should be covered using a regular drag
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harrow or by a light disking if a harrow is not
available. After covering the wheat and oat
seeds, the clovers can then be applied over the
top of the seed bed. Depending on the quality of
the seed bed, using some type of screen harrow
may be appropriate. If a fine seed bed is
present, harrowing may not be necessary.
Culti-packers are excellent to use to ensure seed
and soil contact and can be used in place of
harrowing.
Small farm tractors are perfect when managing
food plot areas. Areas need to be approved by a
Weyerhaeuser representative and should pose no
erosion risk. Photo by Ken McCool.
If you want to provide some summer forage for
deer and turkey, you can manage the clover into
the growing season. This can be accomplished
by mowing the clover 1-2 times per year. You
may also have to apply an herbicide to kill grass
and weeds; there are several available that will
do this without harming the clover. Properly
managed, clover plots can last for several years
before needing to be reseeded.
As with most undertakings, you generally get
out of it what you put in it. In the case of food
plots, quality work up front usually produces
quality food plots, no matter what mixture you
choose. Again, when it comes to seed, more is
better to a point. Go out and put in your own
test plots and see what works best for you.
Growing and managing quality food plots are
almost as much fun as hunting itself and will add
to your overall hunting experience.
Fall/Winter 2013
Page 5
It’s What We Do
Ryan Giddens, LAP/Land Use Forester, AR/OK Timberlands
As you roam about your hunting lease
throughout the year, you will probably see some
familiar forestry activities. Most of you are
accustomed to logging operations, whether it is a
clear cut or thinning. Some of you have at some
point and time run across tree planting crews.
While these practices are critical for future tree
rotations, they are only our most visible
activities to the casual observer. We also use a
myriad of other treatments during a rotation some of these activities are visible right away,
while others may take a few weeks or months to
be noticeable.
If you have a new clear cut on your lease, you
can expect several activities to take place before
the tract is actually planted. On tracts that have
a lot of residual hardwood or pine, we will apply
some selective herbicide, via ground application
with a skidder or by helicopter, in May or June.
The affects of the herbicide will start to show up
in few weeks or so depending on weather
conditions. The purpose of the treatment is to
temporarily reduce residual trees and brush to
Aerial spray with a helicopter in the A/O
region. Photo by Ryan Giddens.
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create a good growing environment for pine
seedlings. Once the seedlings are established,
we may come back in a year or two and apply a
banded herbicide treatment (just along tree
rows) to temporarily reduce vegetation
competing with pine trees. This work would be
done from July through September.
A D-8 dozer “ripping” a tract in the A/O region in
preparation for planting. Photo by Ryan Giddens.
Although all tracts are not chemically site
prepared, all tracts are mechanically prepared for
planting. Most of this work is completed during
March through October depending on the
ground conditions. I get a lot of questions about
the timing of this work. A general rule of thumb
is that if a clear cut on your lease has been
finished before July, then it will be site prepared
that same year. If it is finished later than July,
then it will more than likely be site prepared the
following year. It will be evident when we have
site prepped an area of your lease, as you will
notice beds of soil or rips in the ground. This
will then give you a chance to plan accordingly
for stand replacement as you will already know
where the new rows of pine trees will be and
which direction the rows will be oriented.
Fall/Winter 2013
Page 6
There are also management practices that take
place after the trees are mature enough to be
thinned for the first time. Most thinned stands
are pruned to a certain height to promote growth
of high quality, clear wood (free of knots) for
lumber production. From a hunting perspective,
this provides an excellent opportunity to hunt
“new” ground. The combination of thinning and
pruning greatly opens up stands, allowing
visibility and growth of abundant wildlife food
and cover. Pruning occurs throughout the year
so there is a good chance you may run into some
of the crews during hunting season. All of the
pruning contractors should be wearing hi-viz
Ground fertilizer application in the A/O region.
Photo by Shane Szczerba.
fertilization schedule usually runs from March to
April for spring applications and from October
through December for fall application. There
are two ways in which fertilizer is dispersed
onto the ground. One is using a skidder with a
large spreader on the back and the other is using
an airplane. Fertilizer pellets will be visible on
the ground until enough rain falls to incorporate
them into the soil. Because this activity is done
for the most part during hunting season, you
may hear the buzz of an airplane overhead or the
sound of a tractor in the woods. These
momentary disruptions are outweighed by
growth of wildlife food and cover on by the
newly fertilized ground.
Pruning crew in action in the A/O
region. Photo by Shane Sczerba.
clothing, so spotting them should not be a
problem.
Following pruning, trees are fertilized to provide
additional nutrients for future growth. The
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These are just a few of the management
practices that go on during the year. Each
Weyerhaeuser lease across the South should
expect some or all of these practices from time
to time. Depending on the size of your lease,
you could experience these activities on an
annual basis. We appreciate your cooperation as
we manage our forest and please let know if you
have any questions about the above mentioned
forestry activities.
Fall/Winter 2013
Page 7
Common Deer Diseases and Parasites
Dr. Bronson Strickland, Assoc. Extension Prof., Certified Wildlife Biologist®, Mississippi State Univ.
With my job as an Extension Wildlife Specialist,
I get a lot of emails every fall with pictures of
deer with some sort of problem. Below, I
describe the five most frequent diseases and
parasites that I get questions about. More than
likely, if you handle a few deer this fall, you will
see one or more of these.
Hoof damage caused by EHD. Photo
by Bronson Strickland.
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), also
known as bluetongue, is caused by a group of
viruses spread by biting midges, or gnats. These
viruses can kill up to 50% of a deer herd (as
demonstrated in the Midwest this past year), but
more commonly, mortality rates are less than
15%. Some deer die within a few days of
exposure, some live for a few weeks before
succumbing to the virus, and others are
relatively unaffected by the virus. Deer
populations in the southern U.S. are confronted
with these viruses much more frequently than
their northern counterparts and have developed
some immunity, while deer populations in
northern latitudes may only encounter the
disease every five to ten years and suffer much
higher mortality rates. Deer that die from EHD
are commonly found near creeks, rivers and
ponds because the diseased animals experience
very high temperatures and want to cool their
bodies down. Deer that contract the virus, but
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don’t die from the disease, usually fully recover
but often show external signs in their hooves.
Damaged, broken or cracked hooves are a sure
sign the deer contracted EHD. Many hunters
report seeing abrasions on a deer’s front “knees”
and “chest,” this is because the hooves are so
tender and difficult to walk on that deer will
actually push their bodies on the ground or try to
walk on the knees. The good news is that if you
harvest a deer with these signs, the meat is
perfectly fine to eat. Just remember, this is a
very common disease and over your hunting
career you will likely see at least one of these
animals at the skinning shed.
Cutaneous fibromas are commonly found on
the skin of deer and are simply warts. My very
first deer had three fibromas on its shoulder, so I
became aware of this condition at an early age.
The fibroma may be very small, like the size of a
grape, or as large as a softball. Most of the time
there will be very few (if any) fibromas on a
deer, but every once in a while the head or neck
of the deer will be covered. Although fibromas
may look grotesque, they are contained on the
skin of the animal and do not affect the meat.
Fibromas are a result of virus spread by some
A young buck with a fibroma. Photo
by Southeast Coop. Disease Study.
biting insects and usually regress in 6-8 weeks.
Unless a deer has many large growths that affect
how the deer sees, hears, walks or eats, the
Fall/Winter 2013
Page 8
animal is not harmed by the fibromas. Indeed, it
may look awful, but the deer is usually just fine.
pose no health risk to the deer and will naturally
exit the nasal cavity when mature.
Louse flies
(left; photo
courtesy
Southeast
Coop.
Disease
Study) are
seen by just
about everyone field dressing a deer. Have you
ever noticed those little critters crawling around
on a deer’s belly that you thought were ticks?
Actually, those are louse flies, also called deer
keds. You’re probably thinking how can that be
a fly? – there’s no wings. Well, you’re exactly
right. The adult flies have actually shed their
wings. Many people think they are small ticks,
but upon closer inspection, you will notice the
louse flies only have six legs, not 8 legs. The
deer serves as a host during part of this
parasite’s life stage. The wingless adult
produces eggs, which grow to larvae and pupae
and then fall off the deer. On the ground, the
winged adult emerges from the pupa and
searches for another deer to start the cycle over
again. So, seeing louse flies on deer is
completely normal and causes no damage to the
meat.
Arterial worms are a nematode known to the
scientific community as Elaeophora schneideri.
I’ve only seen a few of these in my career, but I
was reminded of this parasite white conducting a
camera survey this past year. A symptom of this
parasite is what appears to be a swollen jaw, or a
mouth full of cud. So how does the arterial
worm affect the jaw? Well, the worm lodges in
the carotid artery and more or less clogs the
artery and reduces blood flow to the jaw region.
In turn, the jaw area becomes weak and often
results in food compaction and sometimes tooth
loss. So how do these worms get inside deer in
the first place? Larvae produced by the female
worm will slowly migrate through the deer’s
circulatory system and become ingested by
horse flies while feeding on deer. The horse fly
then feeds on another deer and the arterial worm
larvae get in to the bloodstream of their new
host. The larvae grow to adult worms and the
Nasal bots are the larvae of flies in the genus
Cephenemyia. Have you seen a deer during the
summer that appears to be running and jumping
around swinging its head back and forth?
Typically, this is a deer trying to avoid a bot fly.
This pesky fly will actually use a deer as a host
to incubate its larvae. The bot fly will land on
the deer’s nose and quickly deposit eggs that
migrate to the nasal cavity and begin to grow.
I’ve received many phone calls over the years
describing how these “fat little worms” kept
falling out of the deer’s mouth and nose while it
was hanging upside down on the skinning shed.
These are simply the larvae of the bot fly. Other
than being extremely uncomfortable for the deer
(imagine a stuffy nose for months!) the larvae
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A doe showing signs of an arterial worm
infection. Photo by Southeast Coop. Disease.
Study.
cycle begins again.
The key message is that these are common
diseases but deer impacted by these diseases are
perfectly safe to eat. Also realize that these five
diseases and parasites are just the tip of the
iceberg relative to all the maladies that whitetailed deer encounter and have adapted to live
with, but these are the ones you most likely see.
Fall/Winter 2013
Page 9
Black Bear Management in North Carolina
Dr. Jessica A. Homyack, Certified Wildlife Biologist ®, Southern Timberlands Technology
Every hunt club president in North Carolina is
used to receiving a survey from Weyerhaeuser
each January because we have been either
mailing out paper surveys or emailing links to
electronic surveys since 1993. In the survey, we
ask a series of questions about hunter effort,
hunter methods, and success related to the black
bear season in eastern North Carolina. As these
hunt clubs know, we regularly share our results
with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission, the state wildlife agency that
manages black bears. In turn, the Wildlife
Resources Commission uses this information to
set harvest levels and understand important
issues for bear hunters. This cooperative
relationship with the Wildlife Resources
Commission exemplifies how Weyerhaeuser, as
a large private landowner, is committed to both
sustainable management of forests and wildlife
populations using managed forest landscapes.
viewing opportunities for this impressive and
now abundant carnivore.
But, the story wasn’t always so rosy for black
bears in North Carolina. Like many other games
species, black bears experienced large-scale
population declines in the late 1800’s to early
1900’s due to factors including over-hunting and
habitat degradation. Several decades ago, black
bears were only distributed in the eastern and
western extremes of the state and there were
concerns that conversion of second-growth
forest to pine plantations could have negative
effects on black bear populations. In response,
the North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission, worked with us to regulate hunting
on Company lands and to establish black bear
sanctuaries, where bears were not hunted. Other
regulations included only allowing a portion of
clubs to hunt bears, having quotas, and a harvest
based quota. Later, as bear populations
increased, all hunt clubs were allowed to
harvest bears in counties where it was
legal, and eventually hunting bears with
dogs was allowed in 2001.
To better gauge response of hunting
leaseholders to these changing black
bear regulations, Weyerhaeuser initiated
the annual survey and it has continued
ever since. With years of these surveys
now in hand, we have learned that bear
harvest levels on the more than 500,000
acres of land managed by Weyerhaeuser
in eastern North Carolina closely track
Black bears are a common site in eastern North
Carolina. Photo by Joe Hughes.
And through this cooperative relationship, black
bears have greatly increased their population
size, providing excellent hunting and wildlife
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the harvest of bears in the entire eastern
portion of the state. Importantly, as we
have watched the annual harvest of
black bears rise from less than 100 bears/year in
the 1970’s to more than 1,000 bears/year in
Fall/Winter 2013
Page 10
eastern North Carolina, the Wildlife Resources
Commission has confirmed that intensive pine
management is compatible with a growing bear
population. In fact, bears have continued to
spread towards the central portion of the state so
that black bears may one day be distributed
statewide. Through our surveys, we have found
that the proportion of hunting clubs that actively
hunt bears has remained stable through time and
that hunt clubs generally do not perceive
conflicts between bear and deer hunters, likely
because most clubs only have a small percentage
of members that go after black bears, because
many bear hunters still hunt and do not use dogs,
or because most bear hunters hunt less than 10
days total.
In addition to our bear survey, we regularly
communicate information to our lease holders
about important programs run by state wildlife
agencies. In North Carolina, the Black Bear
Cooperator program, where successful bear
hunters extract a small premolar tooth from
harvested bears and send it to the state agency, is
one such example. Colleen Olfenbuttel, the
biologist responsible for bears in North Carolina,
runs the tooth submission program and stresses
that the Wildlife Resources Commission needs
“teeth from all bears, young and old, big and
small, so we can accurately estimate the bear
population. Participation in the program has
tremendously helped the NCWRC monitor the
bear population and better assess proposed
changes to hunting seasons.” Teeth are sent off
to a lab in Idaho where bears are aged by slicing
a very thin layer of the tooth off and counting
the rings of cementum annuli that form, much as
growth rings in trees are formed. Hunters that
submit a bear tooth receive a blaze orange
cooperator hat for their efforts. For instructions
on how to extract a tooth and where to send it,
please visit www.ncwildlife.org/bear.
North Carolina is the site of some world record
black bears and only time will tell whether any
lease holders will harvest a bear for the record
books this year. I thank
all the Weyerhaeuser
leaseholders for
completing the annual
survey (be on the lookout
in January) and wish the
bear hunters best of luck
for a successful and safe
hunt during 2013!
The range of black bears in North Carolina has greatly expanded
since the 1970s. Photo by North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission.
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Fall/Winter 2013
Page 11
Invasive species spotlight: Mile-a-minute vine
Cierra L.S. Ward, CCF, RF, Planning Forester – NC Timberlands
Editor’s Note: Invasive species, both plants and
animals are a growing threat to native species
and ecosystems. It is critical to identify and
control/eliminate invasive species as much as
possible. We will occasionally highlight
invasive species in this newsletter and ask our
leaseholders to help us locate invasive species
on our land so we can take appropriate actions.
Recently, an extensive infestation of mile-aminute vine (Persicaria perfoliata) was
discovered along the roadsides in the
northernmost
portion of our
NC Timberlands
ownership. A
very invasive,
noxious weed,
mile-a-minute
vine is an
herbaceous,
annual, trailing
vine that is a
prolific grower
and a very
Mile a minute vine.
heavy seed
Photo by Cierra Ward.
producer. A
peculiar looking plant, its leaves are shaped like
an equilateral triangle and its stems are armed
with recurved barbs. This pest, native to
southeast Asia, comes to us from the north, with
confirmed infestations ranging from New York
to Virginia (www.eddmaps.org).
Our challenge is to aggressively manage this
species to prevent spread within our
Timberlands. It appears that herbicide
application is the only feasible control
mechanism. Unfortunately, because seeds are
viable for up to 6 years, years of control with
herbicide is necessary to control the vine.
Operational restrictions, including thorough
cleaning of logging, site preparation, mowing,
and road maintenance equipment prior to
removing them from areas of infestation have
been adopted to prevent spreading mile-a-minute
seeds to new areas.
While birds, ants, small mammals, and water
are the primary seed dispersal agents of mile-aminute vine, we believe that our current
infestation likely began with a few small patches
and was spread throughout the tract by roadside
mowing activities being performed by the lease
holder. The lease holder agreed to discontinue
mowing activities and, because of their frequent
presence on our ownership, can be used as a
resource to track the spread or decline of the
weed and should be included as part of our
future mile-a-minute vine management
activities.
The vine poses a significant threat to young
forests because of its ability to rapidly grow over
top of other vegetation (think kudzu), blocking
out light.
Weyerhaeuser Outdoors
Fall/Winter 2013
Mile-aminute
vine is an
aggressive
invasive
species.
Photo by
Cierra
Ward.
Page 12
Meet Your Weyerhaeuser Recreational Team
Barbara Nowaczyk
Barbara Nowaczyk joined Weyerhaeuser in 1984 working at a Wood
Products Facility in Marshfield, Wisconsin in their Information Technology
Department. In 1993 she relocated to the Corporate Offices in Federal Way
WA, working in various IT organizations. In 2003 she became associated
with the Timberlands IT organization, where she most recently became the
Southern Timberlands IT Manager and a member of the Southern
Timberlands Recreational Management Team. Barbara currently lives in
Hot Springs AR. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, gardening, and
watching Green Bay Packer football.
Todd Purvis
Todd Purvis Joined Weyerhaeuser as the Recreational Land Use Forester,
managing the recreational leasing business for the North Carolina region, in
July of this year. Todd is a lifelong resident of Beaufort County, North
Carolina, where he resides with his wife Penny and his two daughters, Anna
and Carla. Todd is a graduate of Wayne Community College, with an
Associate’s Degree in Forestry. Todd spends most of his free time offshore
fishing and raccoon hunting.
Take a child hunting this fall! Photo by Darren Miller.
Weyerhaeuser Outdoors
Fall/Winter 2013
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Weyerhaeuser Recreational Team Contacts
Arkansas/Oklahoma Region
North Louisiana Region
Ryan Giddens 870-286-4363
13972 Hwy. 278 W
Dierks, AR 71833
[email protected]
Peyton Weeks 318-238-7228
5810 Hwy 1 Bypass
Natchitoches, LA 71457
[email protected]
Mississippi/Louisiana Region
North Carolina Region
Melissa Regan 601-731-7915
211 Armstrong Road
Columbia, MS 39429
[email protected]
Todd Purvis 252-229-9592
1785 Weyerhaeuser Road
Vanceboro, NC 28586
[email protected]
Mississippi/Alabama Region
Ken McCool 662-245-5217
29 Tom Rose Road
Columbus, MS 39701
[email protected]
Photo by Darren Miller
Weyerhaeuser Outdoors
Fall/Winter 2013
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Weyerhaeuser Outdoors
Fall/Winter 2013
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WEYERHAEUSER OUTDOORS ON FACEBOOK
Have you found us on Facebook yet? Our page name is “Weyerhaeuser Outdoors”. Our goal is to
provide a quality experience for all outdoors enthusiasts. On the Weyerhaeuser Outdoors page, you can:




Catch up on the latest outdoors news and information, both in Weyerhaeuser and in your local
community;
Interact with other enthusiasts;
View photos of nature and wildlife, and post your own photos;
Brag! Let’s see the results of your hunts and outdoor adventures!
Be sure to go to the Weyerhaeuser Outdoors PAGE and click the "like" icon at the top of the page. This is
where you'll find the latest news and info about Weyerhaeuser Outdoors. And, the best place to share your
stories & photos. If you aren’t sure about how to use Facebook, just ask your teenager or your grandchild;
they will have you social networking in no time!
We want to hear from you!
We are looking for hunt club members to submit questions (wildlife management, forestry, hunting, etc.), ideas for
articles, comments, and photos to include in future newsletters. We would also like to feature different
Weyerhaeuser hunting clubs in our newsletter. If you have something of interest for us or are interested in having
your club profiled, please send an email to [email protected] and we will work with you to get a
story on your club into a future newsletter - Editor
Weyerhaeuser Outdoors
Fall/Winter 2013
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