OSAF 2020 Annual Meeting Finds Success in Virtual Format
By Julie Woodward and Andrea Watts
By Julie Woodward and Andrea Watts
Wildfire Information Sites
Hub of wildfire resources within Oregon state government. Oregonians: Stay informed and stay safe. As we find out more information about wildfires, this will be a hub to access resources within Oregon state government.
I’m often asked, “Why do people cut down trees?”
The short answer is to address societal demands. Whether for fire safety, habitat management, or supply wood products, the question goes far beyond an economic explanation. Why do we cut down trees is a powerful question in an era where we speak daily of our quest for sustainability. We’ve seen bans on plastic bags or straws, developed electric cars, and certified buildings based on environmental standards. However, collectively, we haven’t carefully considered the role forestry can play in creating a sustainable society.
Here are some interesting links about the eruption and aftermath of Mount St. Helens.
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
ForestEd is your launchpad to grow your potential, navigate your lifelong learning journey, and poise yourself for career success.
Oregon SAF Policy Committee finished their Policy Booklet. It was designed to communicate important forestry issues from a Society of American Foresters' perspective. The intent of this brochure is for it to be distributed to your State Legislators. Though, it could be helpful for anyone who wants to know more about forestry in Oregon. Mark Buckbee successfully lead this project from start to finish.
On January 1, 2020, Tamara Cushing, PhD, began her one-year term as president of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). Founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, SAF is a national organization that represents and serves 11,000 forestry professionals in the United States. Dr. Cushing will continue serving on SAF’s Board of Directors for the next two years, including as immediate past president in 2021.
Forestry and natural resources professionals and students from the Pacific Northwest are invited to participate in the 2020 Leadership
Conference on January 31 and February 1, at The Heathman Lodge in Vancouver,Washington. Participants will gain insights through leadership
lessons from experienced leaders and learn effective communication skills
Oregon State University has selected Thomas H. DeLuca, a higher education leader with deep experience in both natural resource and environmental issues, as the next Cheryl Ramberg-Ford and Allyn C. Ford Dean of the OSU College of Forestry.
DeLuca, a forest soil scientist whose long research career includes more than a decade in Sweden and the United Kingdom, comes to OSU from the University of Montana, where he is the dean of the W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation.
We have a few extra hats available from the winter order: Contact Jeff Grogan to grab yours for only $17. Show your OSAF pride!
Thank you all the participants for completing the 2nd Annual SAFsquatch Scurry 5/10K Trail Run! You conquered the rain showers, muddy trail conditions, and even had a sighting of the SAFSquatch! For the final results please check the Scovel Racing website.
Shout out to OSU Research Forests/OSU College of Forestry SAF Chapter for hosting, 4 Spirits Distillery and the Old Spaghetti Factory in Corvallis for the coupons, financial support from Weyerhaeuser, and all our fantastic Oregon Society of American Foresters members for volunteering!
Still time to Register! Click on the logo for the sign-up page.
On October 4th, the Oregon Society of American Foresters will host its second annual evening trail run, the SAFsquatch Scurry. Run with a forester on a 5k or 10k race, both starting and ending in Peavy Arboretum. Funds raised will benefit the Oregon Society of American Foresters, which is the largest state affiliate of the National Society of American Foresters, representing over 800 Oregonians in forestry and natural resources professions.
On July 19th, a group of 64 foresters came out of the forest and spent the day on the Trysting Tree golf course for the 13th Annual OSAF Golf Tournament. It was a fantastic day to support the OSAF Foundation and there were even rumors of some good golf shots! A big thank you to our gold sponsor Starker Forests as well as all the other sponsors to make the event a success!
National Convention 2019
Louisville is known for bourbon, bluegrass, the Kentucky Derby, baseball bats, and now, as the destination for this year’s SAF National Convention. You won’t want to miss this exciting event, to be held October 30-November 3 at the Louisville Convention Center, featuring over 200 speakers, 80 exhibitors, 20 CFE credit hours, and endless networking opportunities. Approximately 1,300 foresters attend from around the country, and among those in attendance are many under-30 young professionals representing the future of our profession.
What can you expect from this year’s convention? Under the theme of “Goods from the Woods” there will be educational sessions spanning the full range of topics in natural resource management from silviculture, economics, urban forestry, biometrics, and more. Wednesday kicks off with a great slate of tours to showcase forestry in Kentucky, as well as more than a dozen workshops teaching the latest in forest technology and more. On Halloween, be sure to join the night hike in Jefferson Memorial Forest (we’ll provide the flashlights, you provide the costumes!) and on Sunday visit the renowned Mammoth Cave.
Here is where to register and you will find more information too.
On March 7, 2019, the board of the Oregon Natural Resources Education Foundation (ONREF) met to evaluate and award the 2019 grants.
There are four ONREF sub-funds: ONREF, OSAF, Pleasant Hill, and the Terry Selby Memorial. All four sub-funds are managed by the Oregon Community Foundation. At the end of 2018, the total of the sub-funds was $286,360.
The ONREF sub-fund had $50,000 bequeathed to it from Barte Starker’s estate. [Barte was one of the originators of ONREF.] OSAF, in its 2018 year-end gifting campaign, added $4,000 to the OSAF sub-fund, making the OSAF sub-fund second only to the ONREF sub-fund.
When we looked at the 2019 grant requests, we had nine requests totaling $24,822 and only $11,500 available for granting.
Given that the requests were more than double the available funds, there is still a need to donate to ONREF and work towards having more funds available for future grant requests.
Anyone wishing to donate to ONREF can donate through OSAF, Treasurer Steve Cafferata, or should contact John Moriarty at the Oregon Community Foundation, (541) 431-7099. The donor needs to indicate which of the four sub-funds they want their donations placed.
Forest Management: Emerging Challenges, New Solutions, and Telling Our Story
April 17-19, 2019
Best Western Premier, Boulder Falls Inn
505 Mullins Drive, Lebanon, OR 97355; 541-451-1000
Two Oregon State University students from Douglas County were awarded C. Wylie Smith III Memorial Scholarships. The two recipients are Corrine Walters and Chad Bebeau. Corrine Walters is a graduate from Roseburg High School and Chad Bebeau is a graduate from Oakland High School.
Blue Mountain Chapter Chair Richie Gardner and Member Jamie Knight submitted an Op-Ed to the East Oregonian about the life of a forester. They answered the question that many members of the public have; what does a forester do exactly? The article focuses on the attention to sustainablitiy and correcting some of the misconceptions. Read the Op-Ed in the East Oregonian here!
Have you been to our www.forestry.org website lately? Notice anything different?
Two Oregon State University students from Douglas County were awarded C. Wylie Smith III Memorial scholarships. The two recipients are Corrine Walters, a graduate from Roseburg High School, and Michael, a Douglas High School graduate.
Five Umpqua Chapter SAF members engaged with students at the Tenth Annual Umpqua Community College Explore Event (Explore Engineering, Surveying, Forestry, Computing and Computer Science) about career opportunities and pathways in Forestry and Forest Engineering.