News Archive 2009 PDF Print E-mail

Titles anchor to full stories below. The news archives from 2008, 2007 and 2006 are also available.

 

Forest Guild to Help Massachusetts Prepare New Biomass Sustainability Criteria ^
November 5, 2009 — The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) today announced its selection of the Manomet Center for Conservation Services of Plymouth to lead a team of consultants, including the Forest Guild, to study of issues related to biomass sustainability and carbon policy. Additional team members include the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, the Biomass Energy Resource Center, and other independent forest ecologists and resource economists.

The six-month study will produce a “white paper” that brings the best science to bear as the Massachusetts DOER prepares new regulations to establish sustainability criteria biomass facilities must meet under the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard. This document will have implications for forest biomass and carbon policies throughout New England. Click her to read the entire news release.

Mike DeBonis Named Forest Guild Executive Director ^
October 28, 2009 — The Forest Guild, a nationwide forestry and natural resource membership, conservation, and policy organization announces Mike DeBonis as the new Executive Director. Forest Guild Board Chair Jon Martin says, “Mike is a leader in the forestry profession and possesses the vision, enthusiasm, and steady hand to take on the challenge of leading the Forest Guild in fully representing the members’ dedication to practicing and promoting excellent forestry across the U.S.” Read more here.

Ecological Forestry in the Redwoods ^
October 6, 2009 — In its cover story, “The Super Trees” (October 2009), National Geographic makes the case for ecological forestry stating, "along with high-quality wood, carbon storage, clean water, and wildlife habitat, ecological forestry can bring back another benefit for which redwoods are justly famous: utter awe." The article highlights ecological forestry’s potential to sustain forest ecosystem health with references to Mike Jani and excerpts from an interview with Jim Able, both Forest Guild members. Ecological forestry is the kind of forestry the Guild has been promoting for nearly 15 years. See the web version of the article on the National Geographic website or read more about ecological forestry in the redwoods here.

Forest Wisdom Explores Wildlife and Biodiversity in New Issue ^
August 26, 2009 — Forest Wisdom #14 explores issues related to managing forests for wildlife and biodiversity. Articles range from restoring meadows to maintain rare butterfly habitats in the forests of western Oregon, to safely returning fire to highly fire-dependent forest ecosystems in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, to identifying forest management objectives for a small group of “focus species” whose habitat needs are representative of a wide range of other wildlife in the forests of Maine. Though focusing on a wide variety of wildlife, all of the articles share a common goal of restoring and maintaining forest ecosystem health in order to provide a natural habitat for native species.

Guild to Conduct Research on Fuel Treatment in Mixed Conifer Forests ^
July 2, 2009 — The Forest Guild has received a new grant from the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) to create a guide to fuel treatment practices in mixed conifer forests in California, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. As with the Guild’s previous JFSP project, on biomass removal case studies, this mixed conifer work will combine two strengths of the Guild: (1) rigorous, solution-oriented science and (2) the place-based experience of Guild members. Read more about the project here.

New Forest Guild Position Statement: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Forests ^
June 18, 2009 — The Membership and Policy Committee unanimously approved a new Forest Guild position statement titled Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Forests. Please find this statement attached to this email. This statement was the result of a great deal of discussion and oversight of a dedicated group of Guild members who were part of the Carbon Policy Working Group, a subgroup of the larger Climate Change Working Group. These members also produced a Climate Change Policy statement that was previously approved by the MPC and passed by membership. Congratulations and many thanks to the members of this working group for their service to the Forest Guild.

Carbon Policy Working Group

Ann Ingerson
Bill Keeton
Bill McKay
Louis Blumberg
Ehrhard Frost
Emily Hague
Fred White
Mary Snieckus
Robert Hrubes
Charlie Koch
Eytan Krasilovsky
Zander Evans
Bob Perschel
Howard Gross

The position statement focuses on the current debate in congress regarding climate change legislation that would establish a cap and trade system and allow trading of carbon sequestration and storage credits. It remains to be seen if this legislation will eventually include forest management projects as eligible offsets and how these projects would be regulated.

This statement establishes the Forest Guild position on a variety of key issues related to trading forest management offsets and offers a number of approaches we believe would improve the chances for sequestration of carbon in our forests while improving the practice of excellent forestry.

The Guild Announces Three New Events ^
June 9, 2009 — The Guild has announced three upcoming events across the country. In the Southwest, the Guild and partners will be hosting a workshop August 3 and 4 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, titled, How to Heat with Woody Biomass in the Southwest. The workshop will provide detailed, accessible information about how to implement community-scaled thermal biomass projects.

Also in August the Guild is planning a Northwest Regional Guild Gathering gathering in British Columbia, August 14-16, to take a deeper look at the natural world we live in and to tour two unique properties and learn about their long-term stewardship management programs.

On November 7-8, there will be a Southeast Regional Meeting in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains on the beautiful campus of Warren Wilson College near Ashville. The meeting will include a tour of the Biltmore Estate forest and a visit to the Bent Creek Experiment Station. For more detail on all of these events click here.

Forest Guild Executive Director Moving On; Interim Executive Director Appointed ^
May 26, 2009 — The Forest Guild Board of Directors formally acknowledges the resignation of Howard Gross, the Executive Director of the Forest Guild. Howard has accepted a position as Program Manager with the Western Conservation Foundation and will be leaving the Forest Guild, effective June 16, 2009.

The Board of Directors has established a search committee and will be conducting a national recruitment process for a new Executive Director in the immediate future. The Board of Directors is hopeful this process will proceed in a manner that minimizes any disruption of ongoing Forest Guild efforts.

The Board of Directors has offered an interim Executive Director position to the Guild’s Southwest Regional Director, Mike DeBonis. Mike has agreed to serve in this role until a new Executive Director has been selected. His knowledge of daily and national Forest Guild activities will help to ensure a smooth transition, and his willingness to serve as interim Executive Director is greatly appreciated.

The Board of Directors expresses is sincere gratitude to Howard for the 2½ years of service he has provided to the Forest Guild. Under his guidance the Forest Guild has increased its presence as a leader in forestry issues nationwide, has increased its paying membership by nearly 20%, and has continued to serve its members. His contributions will be missed. Howard plans to stay in the Santa Fe area and graciously offered to provide continued assistance to Forest Guild as necessary.

Forest Guild Takes on Coordinating Partner Role within the Conservation Forestry Network ^
March 17, 2009 — The Conservation Forestry Network (CFN) announced today that the Forest Guild is taking on the role of CFN coordinating partner. CFN is a collaborative effort of six: the Forest Guild, InterForest, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Manomet Center for Conservation, Open Space Institute, and Northern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service. With funding from the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station, CFN has helped improve forestry practice through 15 workshops in seven states across the country since 2005. Over the last five years CFN has brought together more than 450 experts, researchers, foresters, landowners, and decision makers in workshops to demonstrate how to better use natural models in forestry to achieve ecological and social goals.

As the coordinating partner, the Guild will engage the network by sharing news and events, maintain the CFN website (www.forestguild.org/CFN.html), assist hosts in planning, publicizing, and running ecological forestry workshops, and take advantage of innovative knowledge-sharing modes such as webinars to maintain the dialog between researchers, experts, and land managers. To read the press release please click here, or go directly to the CFN website.

New Forest Wisdom Issue Tackles Invasive Species ^
March 13, 2009 — The latest Forest Wisdom (Issue 13, spring 2009) focuses on excellent forestry and invasive species. It includes Forest Guild member observations, hunches, and experiences with a wide range of invasives across the U.S. Other articles focus on outbreaks of previously obscure native insects, on-the-ground methods to control invasive species, and staying ahead of invasives species in the face of climate change and uncertainty. To read the issue click here.

Jungwirth Delivers Congressional Testimony Regarding Role of Federal Lands and Rural Communities in Combatting Climate Change ^
March 3, 2009 — Lynn Jungwirth, executive director of the Watershed Research and Training Center in Hayfork, CA, and Forest Guild Board member, testified before Congress today about the role of federal lands in combating climate change, including the need for more proactive forest management to adapt to and mitigate for climate change and the vital role for rural communities as active participants in these activities. Jungwirth’s testimony was provided to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives at a hearing regarding the role of federal lands in combating climate change.

“Rural communities and landscapes need Congress’s attention in preparing for the impacts of climate change. And yet, they can also play a significant role in combating climate change,” said Jungwirth.

Click here to see the full press release, which includes a link to Jungwirth’s testimony.

Private Forests are Key to Offsetting Carbon Emissions; New Industry-Conservation Coalition Calls on Congress to Act ^
February 13, 2009 — A new coalition representing virtually all sectors of the forest community—the forest products industry, conservation and wildlife groups, foresters, private forest owners, academics, and carbon finance groups—today called upon Congress to include private working forests as a central part of federal climate change policy. The Forest Guild has been an active participant in this coalition—called the Forest-Climate Working Group (FCWG)—since its inception last year. The FCWG intends to work closely with Congress and the Obama administration to develop strong forest-climate policy. The coalition recently unveiled its policy platform, which will be refined through further consensus dialogue and policy development. To view the FCWG's press release announcing its platform, click here. To view the platform document, which includes a list of endorsers, click here. 

Registration and website launched for Forest Guild Northeast Regional Meeting April 24-25, 2009 www.forestguild.org/NEmeeting09.html

 

Practicing Forestry in Challenging Times:
Innovative Approaches and Critical Issues
Join the Forest Guild for our third Northeast Regional meeting. This two-day program will explore how foresters, allied professionals, and supporters can practice or promote excellent forestry which upholds the triple bottom line (ecological, social, and financial) in challenging times. The meeting will be held at Camp Yavneh in Northwood, New Hampshire. The meeting will include nationally recognized speakers, detailed discussion sessions, and field tours to demonstrate excellent forestry in practice. Register before March 23rd to receive the early registration discount.

Working Together to Restore and Protect New Mexico's Forests ^
January 29, 2009 — The Guild and its partners helped spread the word about a successful collaboration to advance forest restoration in northern New Mexico by developing a newspaper insert to 29,000 readers of the local newspaper, the Santa Fe New Mexican. The newspaper insert is part of the Guild's continuing effort to build consensus around restoring high priority forest areas. The insert itself provides more information on the project.

Forest Guild 2008 Report to Membership and Accomplishments Summary ^
January 26, 2009 — The Forest Guild recently shared its “2008 Report to Membership and Accomplishments Summary.” This document also reflects on the outlook for the Forest Guild in 2009. Click here to read this document.

Forest Guild Releases First Report Assessing Woody Biomass Harvesting Guidelines ^
January 8, 2009 — Volatile oil prices, concerns about carbon dioxide emissions, and catastrophic wildfires have created new interest in removing wood from forests as an alternative energy resource. In response, states from Maine to Missouri are developing guidelines for the harvest of forest biomass (logging slash, small-diameter trees, tops, limbs, or small trees). Our new report, An Assessment of Biomass Harvesting Guidelines, is the first comprehensive review of these biomass harvesting guidelines. A working group of Guild members reviewed and improved the report. The report also provides recommendations to ensure that new guidelines promote sustainable use of biomass from forests. Click here for more information.

In addition, Zander Evans will be presenting a webinar about the report on Wednesday, January 14 at noon Eastern Time. The webinar is hosted by the National Network of Forest Practitioners and free for Forest Guild members. For more information on the webinar please go to: http://www.nnfp.us/BiomassWebinarsJanFeb09.html


Summary Report, Presentations from New Mexico Forestry and Climate Change Workshop Posted Online ^
January 5, 2009 — The climate in New Mexico is changing. Although the specifics of these changes are uncertain, foresters and other natural resource managers need to include climate change in their plans. To begin to understand and plan for the impact of climate change on New Mexico’s forests, the Forest Guild and the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute—along with two dozen other organizations—convened the New Mexico Forestry and Climate Change Workshop on November 20, 2008.

This workshop brought together managers, scientists, landowners, students, and activists to discuss how forest management can respond to climate change. The workshop combined overview presentations by experts in the field with presentation by four working groups that each focused on a different forest type. Read a summary of the workshop here or visit the web page for multimedia links to the workshop presentations.
 
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