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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Jamie & John Mirick:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Re: developing a conservation easement for
the Granville ACF orchard</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I was glad to see John has started the process of
developing a template for easement agreements. He and I had talked at past
mtgs about collaborating on this but we had not actively connected on
it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Here is the status on my end for developing an
easement agreement for the Granville orchard. With help from a friend I am
slowly clearing the trees and brush from the remainder of the current fenced
orchard area to create a space that will be about 3/4 of an acre. My
understanding is that for BC3F2 orchards we want a minimum of 3/4 acre plots
[please confirm that I'm correct here]. Once the new area is cleared the
plantable area within the fence will be .70 to .75 of an acre based on my recent
rough measurement. If this is too small for a BC3F2 orchard plot then I
need to know and will stop the work of expanding this plot. Also, if the
plot is not large enough for the next generation then there is little reason to
create an easement unless we want to protect the 5-10 BC3 trees that will
hopefully survive the innoculation process. [This BC3 orchard should be ready
for innoculation next year.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Since I'm determined to use a portion of our
land for a TACF-MA BC3F2 plot I've measured another field that is at least .75
of an acre. That too will take a bit of clean up to be ready for
planting. It is not fenced but could be. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I'd prefer to use the first field for the
conservation easement with TACF-MA because it is set to one side of our main
acreage and it already has drip irrigation installed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Could one of you or Charlotte or Fred confirm for
me that the plots for BC3F2 nuts must be of a certain minimum size. Before
I proceed with John on the conservation easement I want to be certain that I
have chosen an appropriate area for the easement and for the next generation
planting.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>On a different subject, I went up to the Granville
State Forest last weekend to check on the Am. Chestnut that the State Forester
had informed us about. The tree is about 8"dbh, shows no signs of disease
on the main trunk, possible disease presence on an upper branch, and about 20-30
burrs. It would be accessible to a smallish bucket truck in dryer
weather. It's about 50 ft down a woods road off a main road through the
Granville SF.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>John Meiklejohn</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>