Forest Stewards Guild

Zena Forest virtual tour!
2020-10-21 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Denver)
Custom Douglas Fir Floor by Zena
Register
October 21
10:00 a.m. PT (11 a.m. MT, Noon CT, 1:00 p.m. ET)
Our partners at Zena Forest Products are offering a virtual tour of their forest. Zena is a multigenerational family business in Oregon’s Willamette Valley that makes sustainable hardwood flooring in order to support the robust forest they have been stewarding for decades. Zena Forest is also a Guild Model Forest.
In this free webinar, they will use photos to explore three areas of their forest that are ordinarily too remote to bring visitors to, and they’ll talk about the joys and challenges of each one.

Inclusivity in Cooperative Extension Programming, With an Emphasis on Natural Resources and Climate Change
2020-10-26 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Halifax)
Join the webinar (a “join” button will be available on the page linked to the left. No need to pre-register.)
Title: Inclusivity in Cooperative Extension Programming, With an Emphasis on Natural Resources and Climate Change
Time and Date: October 26, 1:00 p.m. ET
Full details, and the link to join the webinar on the date and time it is held, are available at this Northeast Climate Hub webpage.
Summary: Through a case study from Washington, DC, participants will learn how to get feedback from historically underrepresented groups and tailor cooperative extension programs to people of different races, ages, and academic backgrounds.
Some people, such as minorities and those from under-educated and lower income backgrounds, are typically excluded from conversations surrounding the degradation and improvement of ecosystem structure, function, and services. In an effort to provide an opportunity for under-served populations to be heard, inform content creation in academic courses and in cooperative extension programs, and create experiential learning opportunities for students at our land-grant university, we developed a survey instrument to gather public perceptions and knowledge on natural resources and climate change. This survey was administered in-person by undergraduate students at the University of the District of Columbia and online in Washington, DC.
This webinar is presented by the USDA Northeast Climate Hub. Contact Jennifer Ryan, Science & Technology Training Library content manager, for more information.

Defining Healthy Woodland Soil (webinar)
2020-10-29 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago)
Photo by Jan-Willem Jansens of Ecotone Landscape Planning, LLC.
Register
October 29, 2020
12:00 p.m. MT (11 a.m. PT, 1:00 p.m. CT, 2:00 p.m. ET)
Hosted by the Guild and Ecotone Landscape Planning, LLC.
This webinar will provide information about the ecology of Pinion-Juniper ecosystems, specifically the interactions that occur between the surface and soil ecologies. The webinar:

addresses the interests and knowledge level of landowners, ranchers, and local, volunteer fire fighters,
defines and clarifies different types of Pinion-Juniper ecosystems,
explains what soil is,
covers soil health conditions, and
presents several methods to observe and rate soil health.

We look forward to sharing time with you to focus on principles of soil health in Pinion-Juniper woodlands!

Managing Plantations with the Guild: 3 Regional Examples
2020-10-29 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Halifax)
Register (after registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting)
October 29
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
1 SAF Cat 1 CFE credit is approved
This webinar seeks to spotlight how Guild foresters in 3 separate regions are managing plantations in non-traditional ways. We will provide a brief historical context of how plantations have been managed in each speaker’s region, and how each speaker uses silvicultural techniques to support their own unique style of management, among other things. Following each speaker’s presentation, attendees will be invited to participate in a question and answer session.
Meet our speakers:
Matt Fehrenbacher, Trout Mountain Forestry
Matt Fehrenbacher, Trout Mountain Forestry, Corvallis, OR. A native of the rural Willamette Valley, Matt has spent the last 20 years in the woods of the Pacific Northwest managing private forestlands for a broad range of objectives. As a forest engineer and silviculturist on a large industrial ownership in Oregon he implemented some of the earliest salmon habitat restoration projects crafted under the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. During his ten years as Director of Stewardship at Pacific Forest Trust he was instrumental in the first forest carbon project registered under California’s Climate Action Reserve and directed all stewardship and forest management activities on over 20,000 acres of easement lands. At Trout Mountain Forestry, Matt has developed a diverse client base which includes family forests, non-profit conservation organizations and municipalities. Matt works closely with Pacific Forest Trust on management of the vanEck Oregon Forest, a 7,200 acre forest in Lincoln County conserved under a working forest conservation easement.

Keith Karnes, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Keith Karnes, Forest Manager at Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Cass Lake, MN. Keith is a 2003 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with majors in Forest Management and Forest Administration & Utilization. I have been working for Tribal Forestry since 2004 and have been in my current position since 2006.
Brian Palik, USDA Forest Service
Brian Palik, science leader for applied forest ecology with the USDA Forest Service-Northern Research Station, in Grand Rapids MN. Brian has Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in forestry and ecology. He works broadly on questions related to the ecological sustainability of managed forests through use of operational-scale and long-term silviculture research.

Bruce White, GFR Forestry Consultants, PLLC
Bruce White, Gelbert, Fullbright, and Randolph, Raleigh, NC. Bruce began working with Gelbert & Company Forestry Consultants of Durham, North Carolina as a technician in junior high and high school. After earning his BS in Forestry from North Carolina State University he worked eleven years with Willamette Industries in Chester, SC both as procurement and a land management forester, in the Piedmont of South and North Carolina. He specialized in natural stand and wildlife habitat management on the company land base during this time. In 2004, he started his consulting business, White Oak Forest Management, in Chester, helping private landowners manage their land for multiple use benefits. He also contracted services to other consulting firms such as Gelbert & Co. and their successor, Gelbert, Fullbright, Edwards & Randolph. In March of 2007 Bruce joined Gelbert, Fullbright & Randolph Forestry Consultants, PLLC and is now working with the private landowner client base in both North and South Carolina out of the Raleigh office.

Adaptation Short Course!
2020-11-02 14:00 - 2020-11-19 15:00 (America/Halifax)
Register! ($150/land trust or 5 staffers)
November 2, 5, and 19, 2020 at
11 a.m. Pacific/12 p.m. Mountain/1 p.m. Central /2 p.m. Eastern
Full course information
Course flyer for download
The Land Trust Alliance and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) are offering an online short course for land trusts actively working on stewardship projects in rural, suburban, and urban forests, forested watersheds, and wetland systems.
Land trusts can participate as individuals or in groups up to five. The course will be held over three weeks in November, and includes three virtual live sessions and a self-guided field session, along with assignments and coaching.

Appalachian Cove Virtual Series - Aquatic Biodiversity webinar
2020-11-06 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Halifax)
Photo by S. Austin.
This webinar is the last in a series that replaces an original event entitled Mountain Cove Forest Management and Conservation in the Central Appalachians. That original event will not be held due to Covid-19.
Register (after registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting)
Aquatic biodiversity in Appalachian coves
November 6, 2020
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET
Download the agenda
Approved for 1 CFE credit from SAF. WV Master Logger program credits pending.
The Central Appalachian ecoregion hosts a diverse abundance of plant and animal species. Additionally, this region is said to have the richest temperate freshwater systems across the globe. In this webinar we will look at the richness of the region through the lens of the Cheat River in West Virginia. We will be joined by Madison Ball with Friends of the Cheat for the bulk of the presentations. We will also have an additional special guest speaker, Jeremy McGill from West Virginia Division of Forestry, to speak about silviculture BMPs.
Speaker bio: Madison Ball received her B.S. degree in 2014 in Natural Resource Management, and shortly thereafter moved to Bartow, WV to serve as a Watershed and Fisheries AmeriCorps with the Monongahela National Forest for two years. She also served as a Watershed Technician for WV Trout Unlimited & the US Forest Service, and was a seasonal Environmental Educator with Experience Learning (formerly The Mountain Institute) at Spruce Knob, WV. Madison began her time with FOC as the Monitoring Coordinator in 2018, and was promoted to Restoration Program Manager in 2019, where the program has expanded to include ecological restoration activities such as riparian reforestation and aquatic organism passage improvements.

How to balance forestry and biodiversity conservation? A view across Europe
2020-11-09 05:00 - 2020-11-10 12:00 (America/Halifax)
Register for this online conference
November 9 – 10
5:00 a.m. ET – 12:00 p.m. ET
View the agenda
Various project initiatives over the past years have dealt with the topic of integrative forest management. The question on how to improve the situation for endangered species in multifunctional managed forests (see e.g. INTEGRATE, INTEGRATE+, INFORMAR and oFOREST) is key and these initiatives have thus provided a good overview of the state of biodiversity in European forests. This topic is well established now both at the political level and across Europe, but is also taken up in other parts of the world, mainly in regions which are meeting resource demands of other countries that are/plan to set aside large forest areas. It is thus essential that existing knowledge, experiences and good practices on integrative forest management are made available to all actors in forestry and nature conservation at the implementation level in order to promote biodiversity within the framework of multifunctional forest management.
Conference participants will get a broad overview on options, good practices and lessons learned. It will further allow them to identify common interests and challenges in practice, policy and research, discuss needs for further action while stimulating interaction and field visits within and across country borders.

Managing Forests for Carbon and Climate Change
2020-11-12 07:00 - 20:30 (America/Halifax)
Register
November 12, 2020
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. ET
Climate change, shifts in disturbance regimes, massive fragmentation and loss of forests, an increasing prevalence of non-native invasive insects, diseases, plants and animals have created considerable uncertainty around how to best care for our forests into the future. In response to these challenges, foresters, forest landowners and ecosystem managers are adapting their management techniques to help keep forests healthy and functional in light of massive environmental changes.
Responsible forest management can help our forests adapt and respond to a changing climate, encouraging the growth of healthy, diverse forests with huge carbon sequestration and storage benefits. Responsible forest management can do all this while producing local, renewable resources; lowering adverse social effects linked to resource extraction and presenting a kinder, more just and more sustainable source of resources.
Join City Market and Ethan Tapper, the Chittenden County Forester, for a webinar discussing the effects of climate change on our forests, and opportunities to manage forests for climate mitigation and for adaptation and resilience in a changing climate.
This class will be hosted on the Microsoft Teams platform. You will receive instructions and a link to join the live event in an email after registering online. We recommend setting up Teams in advance and joining the live event few minutes in early.

Managing Woods and Fields for Wildlife (webinar)
2020-11-12 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Halifax)
Save the date!
Thursday November 12
1 – 2:30 p.m. ET
More information about this event coming soon!
This is the third webinar in a four-part virtual series by ForestHer NC.
About the series: ForestHer NC is going virtual! Presentations scheduled for the March 2020 Managing for Wildlife workshops will now be held as a free, four-part virtual series. Join us as we come together as a statewide community for the first time!

Changing Climates and Forest Insect Impacts in the Northeastern U.S.
2020-11-17 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Halifax)
This is part of the Forest Ecology and Mangament Webinar Series
Registration link coming on November 12…
November 17, 2020
1:00 – 2:00 ET
Presenter: Kevin J. Dodds, Forest Entomologist, U.S. Forest Service, Forest Health Protection
Forests in the northeast face an array of threats, with invasive species and changing climates at the forefront. Warming climates have been implicated in the spread of both native and invasive forest insects. Increased frequency of storms and the severity of these events can create opportunities for bark beetles and other insects to build damaging populations. Increased drought and tree stress result in less resilient trees that can succumb to defoliators and other organisms. Kevin will discuss three projects related to climate and insects, including:

range expansions,
severe windstorms, and
the interaction of drought, tree stress, and defoliation on hardwood forests.

Woodland Owner Webinar Series: Forests for the Birds
2020-11-18 01:30 - 14:30 (America/New_York)
Register
November 18, 2020
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. CT (2:30 p.m. ET)
Do you enjoy watching the birds in your yard? Would you like to help increase their population? Private lands play an important role in protecting bird habitat. Jared Elm from the Ruffed Grouse Society and Duane Fogard from American Bird Conservancy will talk about how you can help create better habitat for woodland birds.
About the presenters:

Jared Elm is a Forest Wildlife Specialist for the Ruffed Grouse Society, covering NW Wisconsin and based out of Spooner. Forest Wildlife Specialists are a partnership position with NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service), WI DNR, and RGS based out of USDA Service Centers assisting landowners with forestry assistance for habitat management, with an emphasis on assisting with Federal Farm Bill programs for forestland owners.
Duane Fogard has been working in field forestry for 20+ years, mostly in Minnesota and Wisconsin. For the last five years, he has been the northeast Minnesota private lands forester for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). Currently, most of his efforts are directed towards ABC’s partnership with USDA/ NRCS, helping forestland owners manage their land for young forest wildlife.

Hosted by St. Croix River Association.

Using Fire History to Inform Present Day Management - Fueling Collaboration Panel Discussion
2020-11-19 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Halifax)
Register (for one or more in the series)
November 19, 2020 – Using Fire History to Inform Present Day Management
Noon – 1:30 p.m. ET
This discussion has been approved for 1.5 Category 1 CEU’s by the Society of American Foresters.
Can understanding historical fire data provide insights for supporting today’s desired ecological outcomes? Our panel will discuss their work and your questions on this topic. Check back here for updates, resources, and eventually the recording of this discussion.
This series of interactive panel discussions is designed to encourage collaboration between fire managers and researchers. The series will be built on questions from the registered attendees. Join us for a chance to get the latest in fire science and management and answers to your burning questions.

Bottomland Hardwood Stewardship and Conservation (webinar)
2020-11-19 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Halifax)
Register
November 19
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
Hosted by Enviva, U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, and the Forest Stewards Guild.
The Guild and Enviva will describe their new partnership on wildlife-oriented forestry in bottomland hardwoods. Enviva and the U.S. Endowment will review the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund’s progress for the first five years.
Presenters:

Jennifer Jenkins, Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President, Enviva
Ben Larson, Director of Sustainability, Enviva
Jen Chandler, Southeast Region Manager, The Forest Stewards Guild
Alicia Cramer, Sr. Vice President, U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities

Revealing historical fire regimes of the Cumberland Plateau through remnant fire-scarred shortleaf pines
2020-12-01 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
Register
December 1, 2020
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. CT (2 – 3:00 p.m. ET)
Society of American Foresters and The Wildlife Society continuing education credit eligible
Presenter: Dr. Michael Stambaugh, University of Missouri
Hosted by the Forest Stewards Guild and the Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Consortium
Vegetation of the Cumberland Plateau (USA) has undergone dramatic transitions since the last glaciation and particularly since the onset of widespread logging and 20th century fire exclusion. Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.), one of the most fire-dependent conifers in the U.S., occurs throughout the Cumberland Plateau, but its abundance has declined dramatically since Euro-American settlement and continues to decline.
To better understand the historical ecology of fire within the natural range of shortleaf pine, we reconstructed fire regimes at three new sites throughout the central and southern Cumberland Plateau region based on fire scars on shortleaf pine trees. Fire event chronologies extended back to the 17th-century and revealed historical fire regimes that were frequent and dominated by dormant season and low-severity events. Fires occurred on average every 4.4 to 5.3 years at the study sites before widespread Euro-American settlement, and were more frequent (2.3 to 3.8 years) following settlement. Cumberland Plateau fires may be linked to adjacent ecoregions such as the Eastern Highland Rim to the west.
Among all sites, we found long-term trends in fire activity were similar and fit into a regional waveform pattern of fire activity likely driven by humans (i.e., Native American depopulation, European settlement, and 20th century fire exclusion). In conclusion, the decline in shortleaf pine and other fire-dependent ecosystems across the Cumberland Plateau is due to multiple interacting factors and, based on these data, frequent fire should be considered a historically important ecological driver.

Warming/Changing Winters. Science and Practice: Addressing Forest Climate Change in Maine webinar series #3
2020-12-02 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Halifax)
Register (for one or more in the series)
December 2, 2020
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
Presenters: Sarah Nelson, Conservation Research Director, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Jay Wason, Assistant Professor of Forest Ecosystem Physiology
The Forest Climate Change Initiative and Forest Stewards Guild invite you to join us each month as a panel of researchers, scientists, and stakeholders tackle issues of climate change and how it is influencing Maine’s forests and forest economy. Although Maine’s forest is relatively unique, these webinar topics are open discussions aimed at an audience in or outside of Maine. We believe these issues and challenges that need addressing are similar to other regions. Better understanding and articulating commonality as well as differences will be important for testing effective solutions, particularly when drafting potential policies.

Carbon Markets Panel for Landowners
2020-12-02 18:00 - 19:15 (America/New_York)
Register
December 2, 2020
6:00 – 7:15 p.m. CT
Join us for a virtual panel discussion about the science and management of carbon sequestration on private lands! New policies are helping landowners earn money by capturing carbon in woodlands, grasslands, and agricultural soils. Yet carbon trading may not be the best option in all contexts, and navigating the regulations required for participation can be a daunting task.
In this panel discussion, get an introduction to the science and logistics of carbon sequestration on private lands from scientists, industry leaders, carbon market participants, and critics.
Our panelists include:
Angela & Anthony Waupochick, Menominee Forest Managers
Charlie Mitchell, Journalist and Organizer at the Wisconsin Farmers Union
Gregg Sandford, PhD, Research Scientist in the UW-Madison Agronomy Department
Jeff Cole, Credit Sales at Carbon Forest Works
Jonathan Shears, Family Forest Carbon Program and American Forest Foundation
Josh Parrish, Director of the American Forest Carbon Initiative for The Nature Conservancy
Jon Stewart, an Oregon landowner working with Forest Carbon Works
Tim Leiby, Landowner and Early Participant in Carbon Markets
Moderated by:
Kylie Clay, Forest Carbon and Climate Program, Michigan State University
Organized by:
Tyler Byrnes, Anna George, Ben Iuliano, Gabriela Motta, Ben Nickley, Niko Tutland, Tierney Bocsi, and Adena Rissman, in partnership with the UW Madison Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology.

Minnesota Forest Management and Wildlife Habitat Summit
2020-12-08 09:00 - 2020-12-10 12:00 UTC
Register ($50 SFEC members and students, $100 SFEC nonmembers. Includes exclusive access to recorded content.)
December 8 – 10, 2020
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CT
Agenda
CFE credits are pending.
Originally planned as a large symposium modeled after our October 2017 event, this is offered by the University of Minnesota’s Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative (SFEC) in collaboration with the Minnesota Forest Habitat Collaborative. During three, 3-hour sessions, we’ll dig into:

how much forest-dependent wildlife habitat is enough,
how that answer varies by species group and habitat type, and
how we determine how much is enough at the landscape and site levels.

Expect a series of short presentations with active online discussion.
Each session will include time for both presentations and active discussion. We’ll treat this like a short online course, with optional readings and other resources before each session. Expect active engagement and plan to get out of it as much as you put in!

Human Wildlife Interactions and Identifying Wildlife by Tracks, Marking, and Scat (webinar)
2020-12-10 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Halifax)
Save the date!
Thursday December 10
1 – 2:30 p.m. ET
More information about this event coming soon!
This is the third webinar in a four-part virtual series by ForestHer NC.
About the series: ForestHer NC is going virtual! Presentations scheduled for the March 2020 Managing for Wildlife workshops will now be held as a free, four-part virtual series. Join us as we come together as a statewide community for the first time!

Wildfire Management on Rural Lands
2020-12-14 10:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Register (Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar)
(Self study price is $299. Save $100 when registering 3 or more people)
December 14, 2020
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CT (11 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET)
Continuing education credits of several types are available. See registration page for details.
Included:
Wildfire Science and History – J. Bailey
History of wildfire in the American
West Causes and effects of wildfire
Effect of fire on built environment
Land use planning
Federal, state and local fire planning
Creating Resilient Landscapes – J. Bailey
Managing vegetation
Managing fuels
Adapting Communities to Fire Risks – D. Lasky,
Reducing possibilities for ignition – M. Matonis,
Reducing fuel – C. Marshall
Protecting community assets
Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP)
Responding to Wildfires – D. Lasky
Responding safely and efficiently to fire Structure protection
Strategies to limit spread of fire Public safety concerns

East Jemez Landscape Futures: A collaborative approach to post-fire (webinar)
2020-12-15 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Halifax)
Register
December 15, 2020
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. MT (1:00 CT)
The East Jemez Landscape Futures (EJLF) project is a collaborative, landscape-scale approach to help guide future planning and research efforts in the severely altered landscapes of the eastern Jemez Mountains. EJLF seeks to address uncertainty by building a network of land managers, scientists, artists, NGOs and interested community members to inform future management, identify research needs, and capture stories from individuals and communities who were affected by these changes.
This webinar will share the EJLF experience and lessons learned responding to the complex questions of post-fire landscapes.
Hosted by the Burned Area Learning Network and the Southwest Fire Science Consortium
Presenters: Colin Haffey, Sasha Stortz, and Savannah Lehnert

Saying Yes to Wildlands and Woodlands
2020-12-15 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Halifax)
Register
December 15, 2020
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. ET
The webinar will demonstrate that protecting both wildlands and woodlands is an effective approach to addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and economic security, and it should prove interesting to people who are simply curious about forest conservation to experts who work in related fields.
Summary:
How can New England best protect its forests as the region sits at the precipice of climate change, biodiversity loss, development, and forest fragmentation?
The answer to this question often falls in one of two camps: either conserve forests as working lands that provide timber and other forest products, or protect them as wildlands without timber harvesting. In this critical and timely discussion, two region-wide conservation organizations who approach forest protection from seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum will show how the strategies of protecting wildlands—forests largely left in a natural and undisturbed condition—and woodlands—forests managed to provide wood products—are not in conflict, but can in fact be complementary.
Hosted by New England Forestry Foundation, Northeast Wilderness Trust, Highstead Foundation, and Harvard Forest

Opening the Burn Window - Fueling Collaboration Panel Discussion Series #2
2020-12-17 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Halifax)
Register (for one or more in the series)
December 17, 2020 – Using Fire Seasonality to Open the Burn Window
Noon – 1:30 p.m. ET
This discussion has been approved for 1.5 Category 1 CEU’s by the Society of American Foresters.
How can we use science-based reasoning to support burning outside of the dormant season? Our panel will discuss their work and your questions on this topic. Check back here for updates, resources, and eventually the recording of this discussion.
This series of interactive panel discussions is designed to encourage collaboration between fire managers and researchers. The series will be built on questions from the registered attendees. Join us for a chance to get the latest in fire science and management and answers to your burning questions.

Forest Biodiversity and Species Shifts. Science and Practice: Addressing Forest Climate Change in Maine series #4
2021-01-06 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Halifax)
Register (for one or more in the series)
January 6, 2020
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
Presenters: Erin Simons-Legaard, Assistant Research Professor in Forest Landscape Modeling
The Forest Climate Change Initiative and Forest Stewards Guild invite you to join us each month as a panel of researchers, scientists, and stakeholders tackle issues of climate change and how it is influencing Maine’s forests and forest economy. Although Maine’s forest is relatively unique, these webinar topics are open discussions aimed at an audience in or outside of Maine. We believe these issues and challenges that need addressing are similar to other regions. Better understanding and articulating commonality as well as differences will be important for testing effective solutions, particularly when drafting potential policies.

Woodland Owner Webinar Series: Farms and Forests
2021-01-13 13:30 - 14:30 (America/New_York)
Register
January 13, 2020
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. CT
Do you farm on your property and also have woods? Use the woods on your property to your advantage. Combining forestry and agriculture practices can help improve the environment around you while increasing the productivity of your land. This webinar will explain what agroforestry is and how you can apply some of these practices to your property. We will also discuss some cost share opportunities to help you with these projects.
About the presenters:
Gary Wyatt – Gary Wyatt is an Agroforestry Extension Educator and Extension Professor with the University of Minnesota Extension in the Extension Regional Office in Mankato, MN. Gary promotes sustainable Agroforestry practices that are economical and protect our soil, water, wildlife and natural resources. Current issues include: Silvopasture, living snow fences, invasive species, windbreaks, riparian buffers, forest farming, bio-energy crops (willows & poplars), eco-system services, tree and shrub selection, community & school food forests, edible and decorative woody plants and non-timber forest products. Gary has more than 36 years of Extension experience in Minnesota.
Agroforestry: What is it and landowner funding sources.
Agroforestry practices have been used to sustainably manage land for thousands of years around the world. Agroforestry is the intentional combining of agriculture and working trees to create sustainable farming systems. There are five Agroforestry practices: windbreaks, alley cropping, riparian buffers, silvopasture and forest farming. All of these systems integrate agriculture and forestry plants and practices to produce multiple land and economic benefits.
Learn about these practices plus landowner funding to support the adoption of these Agroforestry systems on lands in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Emerald Ash Borer in Your Woods - What is a Landowner to Do?
2021-01-13 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Halifax)
Register
January 13th
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Join Vermont Coverts and the Northfield Conservation Commission for a program on the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) – with necessary information for homeowners and landowners. This program stands alone but follows the November 12th program that covered important background information on EAB. In this program we will focus on issues most often faced by landowners and their forestry and woodlot concerns. Russ Barrett will be joined by Rose Beatty, consulting foreste, Paul Frederick, Wood Utilization and Wood Program Manager (who will talk about ash markets quarantine issues), and Chris Olson, Addison County Forester to offer guidance and answer your questions.

Hunting and Land Stewardship in Vermont: Webinar and Discussion
2021-01-13 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Halifax)
Register
January 13
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Sponsored by Vermont Land Trust
Want to learn more about the history and influence of hunting on the ecology of our forests? Take part in a one-hour presentation and discussion about hunting in Vermont – with a special focus on the Champlain Islands. Join South Hero Land Trust, Vermont Land Trust, and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers to learn about the history of wildlife conservation in Vermont and North America, and to hear perspectives on hunting from hunter and non-hunter stewards of the land.

Tree to Table. #1 in the Local Wood: Grow, Build, Live webinar series
2021-01-20 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Halifax)
Register
January 20, 2021
2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET
Explore the connections between sustainable forestry and craft woodworking using NEFF’s new conference tables as an example.
Webinar participants will get an in-depth account of the design processes and sustainability considerations that went into creating a set of custom tables from local, sustainably harvested wood. Mitch Ryerson, a master carpenter and Professor of Sustainable Furniture Design at MassArt, will tell the story of how his students developed a set of conference tables for New England Forestry Foundation, from wood sourced from local forests managed according to the organization’s Exemplary Forestry standards.
The discussion will explore the connections between sustainable forestry and craft woodworking, giving insight into how local wood can be used to create beautiful and sustainable goods to meet the challenges we face from global climate change. Participants will hear from Mitch about the features and details of the tables, as well as the creative and prototyping processes the MassArt class engaged in to design them. Together with Massachusetts Woodlands Institute Executive Director Emily Boss, we will then talk about the growth and harvesting practices used for hardwoods in New England, and the positive climate benefits of forests, forestry, and furniture making.
About the full webinar series:
Massachusetts Woodlands Institute, New England Forestry Foundation and Northern Woodlands present the Local Wood: Grow, Build, Live webinar series. Join us as we explore examples of how to grow, build, and live with beautiful and sustainable local wood products at different scales—from furniture to homes to institutional buildings. We will hear from presenters about their experiences working with local and regional wood, what role the material and forestry can play in a sustainable economy, and new technologies and applications for wood products that can help mitigate global climate change and spur innovation.
Three 90-minute webinars will explore these themes through conversations between the presenters and staff leaders at Massachusetts Woodlands Institute and NEFF. We hope you will join us in these engaging discussions on the beauty and benefits of this local resource for communities across Massachusetts and New England.

Fire and a Changing Climate - Fueling Collaboration Panel Discussion Series #3
2021-01-21 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Halifax)
Register (for one or more in the series)
January 21, 2021 – Fire and a Changing Climate
Noon – 1:30 p.m. ET
This discussion has been approved for 1.5 Category 1 CEU’s by the Society of American Foresters.
Can we use climate predictions to plan future fire management and research? How are we adapting now? Our panel will discuss their work and your questions on this topic. Check back here for updates, resources, and eventually the recording of this discussion.
This series of interactive panel discussions is designed to encourage collaboration between fire managers and researchers. The series will be built on questions from the registered attendees. Join us for a chance to get the latest in fire science and management and answers to your burning questions.

Adaptation Planning and Practices training
2021-01-25 14:00 - 2021-03-15 15:00 (America/Halifax)
Register (registration ends December 20, 2020)
January 25-March 15, 2021
The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub are offering the Adaptation Planning and Practices training as an online course for forest and natural resource managers.
This unique opportunity provides hands-on training in considering climate change information and identifying adaptation actions for natural resources management professionals working in forests and natural ecosystems. Participants will receive coaching and feedback while using the Adaptation Workbook to develop their own real-world climate adaptation project. The course consists of seven web sessions with work time occurring between sessions.
Information will focus on forest ecosystems, urban forests, and forested watersheds in the Midwest and Northeast, but applicants from other regions should apply and may be accepted if space allows.

What’s Happening On (and under) All That Snow?
2021-01-25 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Halifax)
Register
January 25, 2021
7:00 p.m. ET
Join the Londonderry Conservation Commission for a virtual presentation with Wildlife biologist Tom Rogers from The Nature Conservancy. Tom will lead us through a photographic journey of winter in the Green Mountain State, immediately followed by a question and answer session. We’ll find out: how Vermont’s wildlife make it through our cold, snowy winters, what’s going on under all that snow, how is climate change affecting all of this and what can we do to help wildlife make it through the winter?
