CALL ONE CALL FIRST BEFORE DIGGING

With tree planting and other yard activities occurring now with the nice weather, you need to know where buried cables/lines are in your yard.

His manner of operation was simple. He went into the wilderness with a bag of apple seeds on his back until he found a likely spot for planting. There he would clear the land by chopping out weeds and brush by hand. Then he planted his apple seeds in neat rows and built a brush fence around the area to keep out straying animals. His nurseries varied in size. Some were only an acre or so, others covered many acres.

He did all of the work himself, living alone for weeks at a time with only the Indians and wild animals for companionship. He never carried a gun or weapon of any kind. He was a deeply religious man who lived by the Golden Rule and had no fear of man or beast. Indians accepted him as a friend, and he is reputed to have talked at times to the wild animals who watched him as he worked in his nurseries. Undoubtedly, they sensed his kind and gentle nature. Once, it is reported, he was caught in a snow storm and crept into a hollow fallen tree for shelter, He found it occupied by a hibernating bear and her cubs, but spent the night there nonetheless. There is no report, however, of how much space he kept between them and himself.

John Chapman was a practical businessman as well as a sincere Christian. Somewhere, somehow, he had caught a vision of the wilderness blossoming with apple tree orchard after orchard of carefully nurtured trees, whose fragrant blossoms and promise of a fruitful harvest for the settlers. Willingly he endured the hardship of his wilderness life as he worked to make his dream come true. His sturdy young trees lightened the hearts and lifted the spirits of many settlers, for there is a suggestion of a permanent and loving home when one plants fruit trees around a cabin.

He sold his trees for a few pennies each, accepting any of the coins current on the frontier. Some had no cash, and from those he accepted a simple promise to pay at a later date. Few failed to deep their word. He sometimes accepted payment in used clothing.

He preferred to walk, carrying his precious apple seeds and the simplest of camping gear on his back. He also used a boat, canoe, or raft to transfer larger loads of seeds along the many waterways. Customarily, he obtained his apple seeds every fall. At first, he went back to the cider presses in western Pennsylvania where he selected good seeds from the discarded apple pressings. He washed the seeds carefully and packed them in bags for planting the following spring. In later years, as cider presses were located in the new territory, he gathered his seeds closer to home.

There is no way to estimate how many millions of seeds he planted in the hundreds of nurseries he created in the territory lying south of the Great Lakes and between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This was his service to mankind.

John Chapman never married, but he loved people and especially children. As the settlers moved into the wilderness, his lonely nights were few because he was a welcomed guest at every cabin. Many a night after the simple meal, he would hold them all enthralled with his stories or read to them from the Bible or from some of the religious material he carried.

The Forestry Shortcourse is a practical, intensive and fun learning experience for natural resource professionals, teachers, college students, forest landowners and others who want to learn more about trees and forests. Through in-class classes and hands-on field sessions, you=ll increase your forestry knowledge and skills in the principles of forestry, forest ecology and management, wildlife and forests, agroforestry and community forestry in Nebraska. The Forestry Shortcourse is held every two years. Registration is limited to 35. We expect the course to fill fast, so register now to attend the 2001 session! More detailed program and registration materials are attached. Sponsored by the UNL Cooperative Extension Service, UNL School of Natural Resource Science, UNL Division of Continuing Studies, the Nebraska Forest Service, and Nebraska Natural Resource Districts.

For more information and a brochure contact Jeanine Lackey at 402-472-9869 or jlackey2@unl.edu. You can also view and print the registration information from the NFS web page (www.nfs.unl.edu/) and follow the link to the Calendar and to the Shortcourse.

CHOOSING A HEALTHY TREE

There is a wide range of landscape material to choose from for the American public these days. It seems like there are retail stores selling landscape trees on every block! Be careful to chose the best and most healthy tree. Since your selection will be part of the landscape for many years, being Apicky@ and choosing the best tree can also result in less establishment costs (replacements) and maintenance work in future years.

SMOKEY BEAR OFFERS ADULTS NEW FIRE MESSAGE

Smokey Bear, the renowned bear of fire prevention, is offering adults a new message: AOnly You Can Prevent Wildfires.@ Smokey=s new advertising campaign debuted April 23 and is a slight variation on his 54-year-old pitch, AOnly You Can Prevent Forest Fires.@ The new ad is part of a three-year campaign designed to bring the fire-prevention message to adults. The effort is a joint effort of the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. National networks are expected to begin airing the commercial in May.

For more information, visit the NASF website at: http://www.stateforesters.org/smokey.html

To view Smokey Bear=s official website, go to: http://www.smokeybear.com

The disastrous fire season of 2000 (including the Los Alamos, NM prescribed fire gone bad) brought with it the initial public perception that fire is bad. However, natural resource professionals are trying to counter that misconception and teach that not all fires are bad (see associated article in this newsletter about Smokey=s new fire message).

Prescribed fires are introduced into natural systems to help that ecosystem from becoming Aunhealthy@. A new video that shows the importance of prescribed fire was distributed throughout the Forest Service. The video, Prescribed Fire: Maintaining the Balance, was filmed on the Mark Twain NF, MO, and focuses on using prescribed fire to maintain healthy forests.

For copies of the video or CD-ROM version, contact Karl Perry, Office of Communications, at 202-205-0963 or e-mail at kperry/wo. 

Steven D. Rasmussen
District/Extension Forester
Northeast Res. & Ext. Center
601 E. Benjamin Avenue, Suite 104
Norfolk, NE 68701-0812
Phone: (402) 370-4024
FAX: (402) 370-4010
E-mail: srasmussen2@unl.edu

NFPA=s National Fire Safety Survey findings: Although the U.S. has a higher fire death rate than Canada, Western Europe and the Pacific Rim, the majority of Americans are very confident about their fire safety.

Approximately 90% of fire fatalities are in the home and 90% of the fatalities occur during the sleeping hours 10 p.m. to 6 am. Many people have the attitude that Afire only happens to other people.@ But until fire strikes their business, home and family, fire prevention is ignored. Once fire prevention week comes and goes each October, little thought is given to fire prevention until next year=s campaign. Fire prevention is a year round job. Every year! It is your job!

Fire suppression is a necessary and vitally important service. It is, however, Aafter-the-fact.@ The use of the fire retardants or fire stops are logical Abefore-the-fact@ steps that should be taken. This includes smoke detectors, alarms, sprinklers, and extinguishers. 

FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS

The use of flammable liquids on the farm and ranch are a part of normal daily activities. These products range from gasoline, diesel fuel, oils and solvents to cattle dip. These liquids can be found almost anywhere on the farm and in almost any quantity. Most liquids of this type are stored in the shop and maintenance areas. Also found in these areas are most of the sources of ignition needed to cause problems. Extreme caution needs to be taken with these products. Several prevention tips to be followed are:

1. Flammable liquids should be stored in a designated area away from all sources of heat such as welders, grinders, heaters, electric motors and hot engines.

2. Flammable l liquids should be stored in Underwriter Laboratories approved containers. Plastic milk jugs, pop bottles, glass gallon jars and coffee cans ARE NOT approved containers.

3. Use flammable liquids in well ventilated areas. Flammable liquids vapors can travel great distances to an ignition source.

DEBRIS BURNING WILDFIRES

$Agricultural burning of fields and waterway;

$Burning of trash and piles of residue;

$Burning of roadway ditches and Irrigation ditch banks;

$Burning in dumps and landfills; and,

$A controlled fire which escapes its confines.

• Get a Permit to Burn from your local Fire Chief.

• Don't burn when the wind is blowing over 15 mph.

• Mow or disk a fire break around the area to be burned.

• Have persons experienced in burning help.

• Don't burn an area too large for the amount of help available.

• Have the proper equipment available.

• Consider alternatives to burning.

• When in doubt, don't burn.

• A permit is not needed when burning small amounts of trash in a burn barrel.

• Always use a heavy top screen on a burn barrel to prevent flying embers.

• Don't burn when it is windy.

• Have a garden hose handy, just in case.

• Reuse items - find someone else who can use it, have a yard sale, or donate it to a resale organization.

• Recycle newspaper, office paper, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, magazines, aluminum, metal and acceptable plastics.

• Compost leaves and plant clippings.

• Chip brush and clean wood to make mulch or decorative chips, or use it as heating fuel in wood stoves or boilers.

• Dispose of allowable waste materials at a licensed landfill. For more information about what items may be disposed of at licensed landfills, contact:

For information on regulations covering other types of burning contact:

Each year nearly 2000 FIRE-FIGHTERS, rural board members, city administrator, attorneys, fire officials, and community leaders from Nebraska and many other states in the nation attend this function to learn and share ideas about fire prevention and fire suppression. This is the largest fire school of its type in the nation. This is your school and your state. The responsibility is yours. Make plans now to attend the Nebraska Fire School. The dates are: May 18-19-20, 2001, in Grand Island, Nebraska.

• Fire spreads 1100% in the first four minutes.

• Heat rises at 90 feet per second or approximately 60 m.p.h.

• Electric stoves are involved in 53% of home appliance related fires.

• Most cooking fires are the result of carelessness.

• Never overload extension cords or wall outlets.

• Do not allow children to play around space heaters, hair dryers or irons.

• Fuel lawn mowers and gas powered tools outdoors.

• Never smoke while refueling mowers and gas powered tools.

• Never use gasoline as a cleaning solution.

• Always store gasoline in a tightly closed U.L. approved container ----- OUTSIDE The Home!

 

Bob E Vogltance, Fire Resource Manager
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
441 S. Colfax
West Point, NE 68788
(402) 372-5665
E-mail: bv55315@navix.net