News Archive 2008 PDF Print E-mail

Titles anchor to full stories below. The news archives from 2007 and 2006 are also available.

 

Latest Forest Wisdom Focuses on the Southeast ^
December 1, 2008 — The newest Forest Wisdom focuses on the southeastern region with article on forestry trends, drought research and observations, recovering a southern forest treasure, creating local markets for forest products, and the impact of forestland investors on forestry practice. Read the new issue here.

Forest Guild Report Identifies Opportunities for Consulting Foresters in Community Wood Energy
November 26, 2008 — A new report released by the Forest Guild, A Market-Based Approach to Community Wood Energy: An Opportunity for Consulting Foresters, identifies the benefits of community wood energy for rural communities and highlights the central role consulting foresters can play in successful projects. The report utilizes lessons learned from Forest Guild community wood energy pilot projects in Bristol, Vermont and the Mahoosuc Region of Maine and New Hampshire as well as from discussions with Forest Guild members. The report defines a role in these community projects for consulting foresters to develop local networks of family forest landowners to supply wood fuel that is Sustainable, Efficient, Local and Fair (SELF). In addition to consulting foresters, this report may also be of interest to landowners, policy makers, and community activists, who can access the report by clicking here.

Workshop to Focus on Climate Change’s Effect on New Mexico’s Forests and Forestry ^
November 11, 2008 — The Forest Guild and over two dozen partners throughout the Southwest are collaborating to present the New Mexico Forestry and Climate Change Workshop, Thursday, November 20, 2008, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Albuquerque Grand Hotel in New Mexico. The goal of this workshop is to provide foresters and other natural resource professionals with information about climate change’s projected impacts on New Mexico’s forests and potential responses to incorporate into their management decision making. Forest managers, researchers, landowners, students, activists, and the general public are encouraged to attend. Click here for more information.

Forest Guild Report Identifies Strategies for Successful Biomass Removal from Forests ^
October 16, 2008 — The new report released by the Forest Guild, Synthesis of Knowledge from Biomass Removal Case Studies, highlights successful strategies from biomass removal projects from across the country. Through funding from the Joint Fire Sciences Program and help from the U.S. Forest Service and Guild members, the Guild collected over 45 case studies of biomass removal from public, tribal, conservation, and private lands. The report analyzes the themes, strategies, and lessons learned from these examples. Forest managers, landowners, entrepreneurs, and industry partners can access the Guild’s new report and in-depth case studies on the web at biomass.forestguild.org.

News from the Forest Guild Board of Directors: Leadership Transition, Added Strength, and Updated Bylaws ^
October 7, 2008 — Robert Hrubes stepped down as chair of the Forest Guild Board of Directors after nearly a decade of service as chair of the Forest Guild Board and, in a seamless transition, Jon Martin assumed the position of chair on September 29. Barrie Brusila was re-elected as secretary, and Lynn Jungwirth was elected as treasurer. The Forest Guild also welcomed four new members to its Board of Directors in September: Bill Bradley, Kathryn (Katie) Fernholz, Laura McCarthy, and Arturo Sandoval. The Board also approved changes to the Forest Guild's bylaws. For more information, click here.

New Publication Will Help Communities Develop Wildfire Protection Plans  ^
October 3, 2008 — The establishment of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) in 2003 emphasized the use of community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs) to help communities prioritize and implement hazardous-fuel-reduction projects. The Guild and partners have just released a new publication, The Partner Guide to the CWPP Handbook, that highlights successful strategies that communities across the U.S. have used to reduce their risks from wildfire. The guide also provides additional tools and information requested by communities to strengthen their efforts to develop, implement, or revise their CWPPs. The new guide will help some of the 51,612 communities at risk in the U.S. reduce the threat of wildfires. To read the guide click here.

Publications Released for Fighting Fire with Community Action and Preparedness ^
September 18, 2008 — A consortium of Western-based nongovernmental organizations, including the Forest Guild, announces the release today of publications to address the critical need for protection of communities at risk to wildfire. These resources will help communities reduce fire risk through planning and implementing collaborative forest restoration and fuels reduction projects on public and private lands in the wildland urban interface. Click here to read the full news release and access links to the publications.

Forest Guild Professional Members Approve Guild Climate Change Policy Statement ^
September 10, 2008 — The Forest Guild’s professional membership recently approved a Forest Guild Climate Change Policy Statement.  This policy statement focuses on outlining management that (1) enhances forests’ ability to adapt to climate change and (2) mitigates the effects of climate change through increased carbon sequestration and storage.  This Policy Statement was developed by a subgroup of the Guild’s Climate Change Working Group and unanimously supported by the Guild’s Membership and Policy Development Council.  In a voting period that closed on September 5, 2008, 96% of Forest Guild professional members participating voted in favor of Forest Guild Climate Change Policy Statement. This Policy Statement may be found by clicking here.

New Issue of Forest Wisdom Covers Woody Biomass from Many Perspectives ^
September 2, 2008 — In the Fall 2008 issue of Forest Wisdom, six authors tackle the different facets of woody biomass utilization. Articles cover the lessons learned and strategies for successful biomass removal from forests, appropriate scale of utilization, the connection between oil prices and low-grade wood prices, the technological aspects of burning wood, the community aspects of biomass energy, and the potential risks of exporting wood pellets. Read the new issue here.

New Guide To Wood Energy Shows Communities How To Save Money, Replace Oil, Support Excellent Forestry ^
August 28, 2008 — Against a backdrop of soaring heating costs projected to affect the Northeast this winter, the Forest Guild, Vermont Family Forests, Northern Forest Alliance, Robert Turner of RJ Turner Company, and the Biomass Energy Resource Center have been testing a community wood energy plan in Bristol, Vermont, that saves money, reduces dependence on foreign oil, combats climate change, improves forest health, and supports local industries and workers. In 2006, Mt. Abraham Unified High School (Mt. Abe), located in Bristol, Vermont, installed a woodchip heating system. A broad-based group of students, teachers, and local residents wanted to ensure that wood used to heat the new system would be sourced in a way that is “Sustainable, Efficient, Local and Fair (SELF).” The process that the community went through and the lessons they learned are compiled in a just-released, easy-to-follow, step-by-step resource guide by Caitlin Cusack entitled "Harnessing the Power of Local Wood Energy: Ensuring a Sustainable Supply of Woodchips for Your School." Read the full news release, report, summary, or one page abstract.

Forest Guild Trains Youth Crews ^
July 8, 2008 — For more than two decades the Forest Guild has supported community-based forestry, forest restoration, and youth education and development in New Mexico. This summer is no exception. The Forest Guild’s Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) consists of 46 crew members and six crew leaders from six New Mexico forest-based communities (Las Vegas, El Rito, Cuba, Jemez, Mountainair, and Silver City). Through the YCC, the Forest Guild teaches these youth the skills to pursue a career in forestry or related sciences and develop the understanding and character to become strong community leaders. For more information click here.

Guild Designates Arcata Community Forest as Newest Model Forest ^
June 1, 2008 — The City of Arcata's combined Arcata Community and Jacoby Creek Forests have been named as a "Model Forest," the Guild's top designation for excellent forestry in the United States. Located in northern California, Arcata's Community and Jacoby Creek Forests total nearly 2,100 acres of mainly coastal redwood forests.

Mark Andre, forest manager and director of Arcata's Environmental Services Department, explains that, "Arcata's Community-based forest management approach has provided multi-resource benefits for decades including wildlife habitat, sustainable timber harvesting, recreation,  and education. The Forest Guild is a highly regarded organization so this recognition is something that the City, staff, and Arcata citizens can be proud of." For more information click here.

New Issue of Forest Wisdom available ^
May 29, 2008 — Issue number 10 (Summer 2008) of Forest Wisdom focuses on land protection issues including the legacy of African American land ownership, how and why we take our forests for granted, tax benefits of conservation easements, and Maine's controversial Plum Creek development proposal. Read the new issue here.

Fourth Annual Vallecitos Sustained Yield Unit Conference ^
May 13, 2008 — Las Comunidades, in collaboration with the Forest Guild, is sponsoring the 4th Annual Sustained Yield Unit Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2008, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. at the El Rito campus of Northern New Mexico College. This year's conference will focus on using information that has been gathered by geographical information system (GIS) to help decide what areas of the forest will be treated. As each data layer, such as vegetation type or fire risk is introduced, expert speakers will illustrate what is displayed and discuss what it means. This information will be combined according to priorities expressed by the participants to map out and plan activities for the Vallecitos Federal Sustained Yield Unit (VFSYU) Collaborative Forest Restoration project. For more information click here.

Maine Forest Guild Testifies on Plum Creek Balanced Easement ^
May 13, 2008 — Forest Guild members in Maine came together this past winter to comment on the Plum Creek proposed Balanced Conservation Easement. The Maine Guild members restricted their comments to the question of whether the easement and associated documents offer significant assurance that the forest conditions will be improved and whether that improvement can be used as a mitigating balance to the proposed development. They analyzed this easement using an eleven-level evaluation system suggested in our report Ensuring Sustainable Forestry through Working Forest Conservation Easements. Their conclusion was that the Plum Creek easement is not offering an adequate level of assurance that the forest will be improved, mainly because the easement and associated plan fail to include clear, measurable goals and objectives that meet professional and scientific standards to ensure productive, multiple-use forest management. Bob Perschel wrote an opinion piece on the conservation easement, which is available here. Also available are the Maine Guild member's testimony and an executive summary of the testimony to the Land Use Regulatory Commission.

Local Youth Work with Hoopa Crew to Reduce Forest Fire Risk, Improve Forest Health ^
April 16, 2008 — With the New Mexico fire season now upon us, youth from the Chimayo Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) and a visiting Hoopa crew of Native American youth from Arizona and California have been working together to reduce the fire risk and improve the health of forests near the northern New Mexico village of Chimayo. The seven Chimayo YCC crew members (all over 18 years old) are veterans in their third year of fire prevention and forest restoration work in Northern NM. Under the management of Chimayo YCC director, Suellen Strale, the Chimayo crew is being trained for fire assignments and emergency response situations. This spring Strale arranged to have the Chimayo crew team up with a professional Hoopa crew sponsored by The Tribal Community Civilian Corps (TCCC) that receives funding from the Corporation for National Community Service and the Hoopa Tribe of California. The Hoopa crew members (from CA and AZ) are all trained first responders, fire fighters, and certified for low-angle-rope rescue among other qualifications. For more information on the Forest Guild's YCC program, click here. For a full media release, click here.

Analysis Shows American Forests Contain Enormous Carbon Reserves ^
April 10, 2008 — A report released today by The Wilderness Society emphasizes the enormous carbon reserves held by forests in the contiguous states - roughly equivalent to more than 20 years of current United States greenhouse gas emissions from industrial and other sources. Across the country, public and protected forests generally store the most carbon. The analysis also cautions that existing carbon measurement tools have significant limitations due to gaps in the underlying data: old growth forests, in particular, may be undervalued. One of the report's authors, Ann Ingerson, is a Guild member. Northeast Region Director Bob Perschel and Guild member Jerry Franklin are quoted in the news release and Bob participated in the press conference for the report.

Forest Guild to Testify Before U.S. Senate about Innovative Forest Restoration Legislation
March 31, 2008 — Howard Gross, executive director of the Forest Guild, will testify before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate on Tuesday, April 1, 2008. Gross will be supporting the Forest Landscape Restoration Act, S. 2593, a bill to establish a program at the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to carry out collaborative ecological restoration treatments for priority forest landscapes on public land, and for other purposes.

"The Forest Guild supports the Forest Landscape Restoration Act’s intent of encouraging ecosystem restoration at the landscape level with a focus on reestablishing natural fire regimes, reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire, stimulating forest restoration businesses in rural communities, and reducing wildfire management costs," says Gross. For more information, click here.

Forest Guild op-ed: Trees Exquisitely Designed as Carbon-Eating Machines ^
March 10, 2008 — The Forest Guild's Northeast Region Director, Bob Perschel wrote an editorial for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette News in Massachusetts bases on the Guild's recent report Climate Change, Carbon, and the Forests of the Northeast. In his op-ed, Bob makes the point that trees are great at storing carbon from the atmosphere and therefore, New England needs to both reduce conversion of forests to other land uses and also increase the amount of carbon that forests are now storing. To read this op-ed, click here.

New Issue of Forest Wisdom Explores Forestry in the Lake States ^
February 28, 2008 — This issue of Forest Wisdom explores a cross section of the challenges facing Guild practitioners in the Lake States and examples of strategies they are successfully pursuing on the ground. Articles focus on ecological classification systems, wildlife management areas, woody biomass utilization, forest certification, the Ford Forest, and a forest practitioner profile. Read the new issue here. 

Save the Date for the Forest Guild's 2008 Annual Meeting: "Forestry in a Changing World: New Challenges and Opportunities" ^
February 21, 2008 — Join us October 29-November 1 where the piney woods meet the live oaks in Sandestin, Florida, for the Forest Guild's 2008 annual meeting, "Forestry in a Changing World: New Challenges and Opportunities." Our focus will be on climate change and the new challenges and opportunities facing our forests. We will be exploring the resilience of our ecosystems and discussing many of the challenges and opportunities resulting from the increasing stresses and market demands on our forests. We are just beginning to develop the program, but topics will include biomass markets and their impact on forestry, forest restoration and management in a context of climate change, and new ways for excellent forestry to thrive under these changing conditions. For more information click here.

Forest Guild op-ed: Ask Candidates about Stewardship Commitment ^
February 13, 2008 — Forest Guild Executive Director Howard Gross recently penned an opinion piece for the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper (2/10/2008, p. F-3) that discusses the need for greater federal investment in comprehensive restoration and stewardship of our nation's forests in a manner that strengthens and leverages adjacent rural communities, workforces, and economies. To read this op-ed, click here.

Forest Guild Helps Write Two New Guides to Southwestern Forest Restoration ^
February 1 , 2008 — The Forest Guild, in collaboration with Crane Collaborations, the Four Corners Institute, and the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute is pleased to announce two new publications titled Short Guide for Developing CFRP Restoration Prescriptions and Social and Economic Issues in Landscape Scale Restoration.  The documents are targeted at the U.S. Forest Service Region 3’s Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) audience but are relevant to all those working in ponderosa pine, piñon-juniper, southwestern mixed conifer, and bosque (riparian) forest types across the Southwest.

The Short Guide for Developing CFRP Restoration Prescriptions gives current, straightforward, and plain-spoken restoration advice for the four forest types on how to develop site specific restoration prescriptions.  The document does not provide one-size-fits-all prescriptions but instead offers recommendations on process and structure to consider when developing a site specific restoration approach.

The Social and Economic Issues in Landscape Scale Restoration is intended to be a concise reference guide for land managers, foresters, community groups, and others engaged in forest restoration to review when scaling up from the stand or project level to the watershed or landscape scale.  This document, primarily in response to recommendations from land managers and scientists on the need for restoration efforts to cross land jurisdictions and occur at the landscape scale, emphasizes economic scale and capacity, multi-jurisdictional issues, desired future socioeconomic conditions, and the social and cultural landscape context.

Paired together, the documents provide a balanced guide to forest restoration project planning, including workforce and utilization factors and implementation with an eye to an adaptive management approach.

The New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute has also released a new document titled Wildlife Monitoring for the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program, which provides land managers and others interested in forest restoration simple, affordable, and reliable wildlife monitoring methods for select breeding birds, elk, mule deer, and wild turkey.

Internship Position Available with the Guild ^
January 11, 2008 — The Forest Guild is seeking a graduate level student to work on forest related issues in New Mexico. The internship is based out of our Santa Fe office and will assist Forest Guild staff in a variety of ongoing community forestry, biomass and youth training initiatives.

 
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