Forest Stewards Guild

Oak Resiliency Assessment Tool Workshop (hybrid online/in-person)
2021-07-27 09:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Register today (no charge). In-person attendance max of 20 people. Online attendees will receive join information for the meeting closer to the event date.
July 27, 2021
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Optional on-site field tour for in-person attendees only: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary, 30 Peck Road, Wales, MA
This workshop is intended for professional foresters who are managing forested land.

The morning workshop is eligible for 3 SAF category 1 CFE credits.
The afternoon field tour is eligible for 2 SAF category 1 CFE credits.

Draft agenda for download
Join the Forest Stewards Guild, online or in-person, to learn how you can use a web-based Oak Resiliency Assessment Tool to assess the resiliency of oak on land you manage. During the workshop, you will learn why this tool can provide value to you and the landowners you work for, the resources the tool provides, and practice using the tool in a meaningful way to assess the resiliency of oak forests.
In-person attendees please bring:

your own water bottle,
your own lunch and snacks,
a computer.

For field tour:

footware that can get muddy,
insect repellent,
sunscreen, and
be prepared to caravan to the field site in your own vehicle.

We will follow all current local and federal Covid safety guidelines in place at the time of this event.

Tools to Avoid Unwanted Forest Conversion in the Southeast (webinar)
2021-07-27 14:00 - 15:30
Register today After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
July 27, 2021
2:00 – 3:30 pm ET
Agenda for download
Eligible for 1 Category 1 CFE from SAF.
This webinar aims to educate private forest landowners about the industry-wide threat of conversion in the Southeastern U.S. and will highlight several systems-level, long-term approaches that are being developed to conserve working forests in the Southeast. Additionally, the webinar will detail activities that family forestland owners can take to avoid unwanted conversion, including family succession and estate planning, Heirs’ property resolution, and available incentives programs and forest certification programs. All of these can help family landowners avoid forest conversion on their properties.
This webinar includes three 25-minute presentations with time for questions at the end.

Passenger Pigeons: A force of forest disturbance
2021-07-29 13:00 - 14:00
Register today!
July 29, 2021
1:00 p.m. ET
Join the Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers & Scientists to learn how this extinct species impacted forests in the U.S.
Presentations by Dr. Ian Thompson (Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) and Dr. Ben Novak (Lead Scientist, Revive & Restore) will introduce the cultural and ecological significance of passenger pigeons. We’ll consider what their disappearance means in terms of ecological disturbance processes and the implications for forest and fire management today.
From a TNC staffer: “After nearly 20 years in this field, I was disappointed to find out how little I have considered this bird as such an important influence on our historic, current, (and future?) vegetation.
Reviewing a ton of journal articles, I’m amazed how little attention is given to such significant disturbance factor, compared to fire, wind, bugs, and floods, etc.
Ben paints a heck of a picture of what it was like when these birds were around and fire managers and foresters will be able to picture how it related with fire and eastern hardwood forest structure and composition.”
