Welcome our 30th year Membership and Policy Council!

Malloree Weinheimer of Chickadee Forestry LLC
Written by Colleen Robinson
What an exciting time to be in the Guild and serving on the Membership and Policy Council! Not only is it the Guild’s 30th birthday in 2025, but this is yet another year when the need for the Guild is obvious. Our forests are being challenged from every side. There are solutions, many of which we will learn from forests themselves, and the Guild is here to listen, understand, provide a voice, and work tirelessly for the future of forests and all who depend on them. Our Membership and Policy Council has identified a few ways they will contribute in 2025. These include: 1) continued work on Policy Statements related to Old and Mature Forest Stewardship, 2) more opportunities to connect members with their MPC in educational opportunities and discussions, 3) a focus on uplifting small forest industry, and 4) tending to member needs and next-generation steward support by helping Guild staff with membership-related tasks and initiatives that have been in the hopper for a while.
Please visit the Membership and Policy Council page on our website and get to know these dedicated members. They are your representatives, and the Guild is honored and grateful for them!
Incoming to our MPC:

Jeffrey Smith of Butternut Hollow Forestry.
Thank you to everyone who nominated candidates, who ran for election, and who voted in late 2024. Your two newest Council members are Malloree Weinheimer and Jeffrey Smith. Here is a little bit about them:
Malloree Weinheimer, in Townsend, Washington, started her company Chickadee Forestry LLC in 2018 after spending a decade working for public entities in forest ecology and research. She is passionate about demonstrating that business can be a force for good, rethinking the way we value forest products and simultaneously support the environment, community, and economy, and she is always looking for ways to support the next generation of foresters coming into this field. Malloree shared, “As a small business owner coming from a conservation background, I am very conscientious of ensuring that we are managing forests and creating jobs that are living wage and attractive for the next generation. I am also deeply passionate about supporting more women, minorities, and underrepresented communities coming into this field and feeling welcome.”
Jeff Smith, in Thetford, Vermont, is a semi-retired forester who has been developing and honing his skills in the woods of Vermont and New Hampshire for over 40 years. As a “dirt forester”, his work has always been field oriented, working on private and municipal properties and land owned by conservation groups. Jeff has the distinction of coming up with the name “Guild” during the original gathering at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina! For the past 15 years, Jeff has worked as a sole proprietor of his business, Butternut Hollow Forestry, which he recently turned over to a close friend colleague. Jeff said, “The many threats to the forest are real, but well-sourced forest products will continue to be needed. Thoughtful and humble foresters who incorporate both art and science in their work are ideally suited to balance the needs of the forest with the needs of society, and we need more of them. I am proud to be a founding member of the Forest Stewards Guild.”