November 2001 Newsletter

Within a matter of minutes following the 8:00 A.M. opening of the House of Society Delegates (HSD) meeting in Denver, Colorado on September 11, we were stunned by the news that an aircraft had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. A short time later a second airliner crashed into the other Tower. I still do not have words to adequately describe the emotions we all had as the tragic events unfolded over the course of our 2-day meeting.

Nearly all of the HSD delegates and/or alternates were already present in Denver, having arrived on September 10. Jeff Stringer, KT Chair, and I, along with the others had been preparing for our meeting, as well as looking forward to a great SAF national convention. The Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota SAF Societies had worked long and hard to put together what promised to be an outstanding convention. But that was not to be.

I am convinced that every one of us will forever remember September 11, 2001, and know exactly where they were and what they were doing at the time of the terrorist attack on America.

Less then 300 foresters were in attendance. The SAF convention went ahead, but on a very modified and condensed basis. I was most proud of how our SAF leadership handled the proceedings in a most dignified, respectful, and professional manner.

The September 11-12 agenda of the HSD was jam-backed with issues and concerns important to our profession. Of particular interest to every SAF member: dues payment schedules; membership categories; member recognition; HSD funding; accreditation standards; forest product labeling; and various natural resource policies including commercial logging, tree energy, threatened & endangered species, and dispersed recreation.

Jeff and I will be bringing the details of these items to your attention over the next several months and future KT-SAF meetings. We need your input so that we can represent you, and help our SAF to maintain and strengthen the practice of sustainable forestry throughout our country and abroad.

NATIONAL CONVENTION / NATIONAL CRISIS

The HSD: The unthinkable happened on September 11. As those horrible events unfolded in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, our House of Society Delegates worked diligently on our members behalf to complete their agenda by late Wednesday, September 12. At every scheduled break in the meeting, all eyes and ears were focused on the TV strategically placed around the foyer, but, back in session spirited discussion and debate focused on the issues of the Society. I applaud the perseverance of our State Chair and Chair-elects to stay the course under difficult circumstances.

The Convention: The anxiety and emotion of the National Crisis was compounded for the planners/organizers/leaders for our National Convention. Months of planning, preparation, and arrangements were vaporized by the attack. But, bearing these burdens, the dedicated professionals of the Colorado-Wyoming and South Dakota Societies and our outstanding National Staff reorganized the event and modifying the program to make the best of the situation at hand. Truly a remarkable experience for those who attended.

At the National Awards program, I was very pleased that at least one of the Presidential Field Forester Award winners was present at the Convention and it just so happened to be Bruce Wakeland, Indiana SAF Chair-Elect...our Region IX winner. If you see them, please congratulate Bruce and our other nominees, W.T. Bill Williams, Ouachita SAF and John Keesey, MO SAF.

The Council Meeting: Amid the devastation in the east and the flurry of convention triage in Denver, Council conducted a brief meeting. Just a few bullets to report:

A NEW Membership Challenge: President Heissenbuttel announced the establishment of a challenge grant that will be presented to the school forestry program that recruits the most new members by December 31, 2001. Heissenbuttel offered $1,000 of his own money. With the help of Council Members Craig and Doescher and other individuals, over $4,000 was raised for the effort. This amount is still growing. Wouldn=t it be outstanding if one of the Region IX forestry schools takes that prize? But, which one will it be?

Comments on issues, success stories, boast about the new members you recruited .... contact me at <french@socket.net>

KTSAF WINTER MEETING

January 23 - 25, 2001

The East Kentucky SAF Chapter has arranged an excellent program for the Winter Meeting. See the enclosed brochure and then register.

KTSAF WEBSITE

The KTSAF website continues to offer current news and views on forestry in Kentucky and Tennessee. For the Members Only section, the user name is ktsaf and the password is pinchot

News from SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE SAF

Met on May 9 at the YMCA camp on Parksville Lake in the Cherokee NF on the Ocoee RD. Mr. Bob Lewis discussed the SPB impact on this camp and some of the preparation needed before logging operations could start.

On July 11 the Chapter met at Camp Jordan near Chattanooga. Ms. Linda Harris, Sr. Field Representative for TVA’s Resource Stewardship Program, discussed water quality and riparian zone management.

The Chapter met on Sept. 20 at the East TN Nursery. Mr. Paul Ensiminger gave a tour and discussed operations of the nursery. The nursery is located in Delano, TN and covers 500 acres along the Hiwassee River.

FOREST CERTIFICATION BROADCAST

What: A multi-agency educational event for landowners, natural resource professionals and others interested in finding out the latest information on forest certification. Certification of forest practices and products is an international phenomenon that involves the U.S. forestry community and general consumer. There are currently numerous certification programs, and although certification of land and forest products is not currently a requirement, there remains a lot of confusion. The Cooperative Extension Service - Southern Region in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service, Southern Group of State Foresters and others is sponsoring a live event to

provide factual information and educational insight on this major natural resource issue. Topics to be discussed include:

When: Tuesday evening, December 4, 2001 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Central Time (7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Eastern Time).

Where: Satellite downlink sites are currently being determined however if you have access to satellite downlink equipment and would like to organize an event in your area, please contact one of the regional co‑coordinators (see below) or visit the website at www.soforext.net/certification for more information.

To see if there are sites planned for your area contact your state representative listed below. He or she may be able to assist you with setting one up if there is not one planned for your immediate area.

Kentucky - Jeff Stringer, Extension Forester, jstringe@ca.uky.edu, (859) 257‑5994

Tennessee - Wayne Clatterbuck, Extension Forester, wclatterbuck@utk.edu, (865) 974‑7346

A live, satellite workshop for forest landowners involving the southeastern states broadcast from Clemson University. MTF II is a more advanced version of MTF I that was offered the previous two years. A 3‑hour program on each of seven consecutive Tuesday nights beginning February 5, 2002 (7:00 to 10:00 ET). This program is primarily for forest landowners, but professionals may want to attend. Subjects include:

TIMBER TAX WORKSHOP

A one day seminar given by Larry Bishop of the USDA Forest Service and Larry Tankersley of UT Extension. Audience is professional foresters, landowners, professional tax preparers and accountants. Speakers will address timber tax issues as they relate to private forest landowners.

January 29 Memphis
January 30 Columbia
January 31 Knoxville

No fee. Contact Larry Tankersley for info (865‑974‑7977, ltanker1@utk.edu)

2001 FFA CONVENTION

Rick Wilcox

The Kentucky Tennessee SAF staffed the Booth at he FFA National Convention in Louisville on October 24^th thru the 26^th. Rick Wilcox, Cindy Wilcox, Alan Fowler, Ken Negray, Dave Walters and four members of the Indiana SAF, greeted some of the 50,000 FFA members and their advisors.

This year FFA members were again asked to put a pin in their hometown. Last years map was a part of this years SAF display. The FFA members were challenged to locate more hometowns than last year. Last year 2,700 pins were put in the map. This year 3,500 pins located hometowns. This year the SAF booth was the first booth as they entered the Career Show. It is impossible to tell if our presence at the Career Show is making a difference. But as we asked students to pin their hometown or take a card with our web site for information on forestry for school reports we were making individual contacts with the students and their teachers. For many this moment may be the only contact they will ever have with a forester and forestry. For others this may be the start of a quest for more information about forestry and it=s influence on their lives. With 3,500 pins put in the map and approximately the same amount of information cards and teachers fliers passed out, it is estimated that over 10,000 people stopped in front of our booth. Our contact may have been for only a few seconds but that is more than most booths at the Career Show received.

Most people didn=t bother to read our display. Yet many asked questions about the display, or asked where they could get copies of the posters we used. Some pointed to the pin they put in our map last year. This is interesting because there are two or three other organizations that have FFA members putting pins in maps. Yet they are able to identify our display and map as the one they put a pin in. We were in a different location than last year. Something keyed them into our organization.

We contacted members from every state, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and exchange students from several foreign countries.

If you would like to assist in the FFA Career show next year contact Ken Negray (270) 388-2504. Ken will be leading the effort to make next years show even more meaningful than the last three.

FORESTRY BMP RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM TO BE HELD IN ATLANTA 2002

The meeting Forestry BMP Research Symposium will be held April 15-17, 2002 in Atlanta. This is the first meeting to focus exclusively on forestry BMP research. It is being held to facilitate and disseminate research in the eastern United States (east of the Rockies) to improve the ability of forestry Best Management Practices to protect water quality and other forest resources. Specific goals of the symposium are to:

1. Communicate BMP research findings among scientists and to BMP foresters;

2. Discuss methodological issues in BMP design, effectiveness and compliance studies;

3. Catalogue BMP research needs from a variety of perspectives; and

4. Discuss directions for new research and outreach.

The first afternoon will be a plenary session with a variety of speakers. The remaining two days will feature a combination of invited presentations in plenary sessions and several concurrent sessions of contributed papers and posters. Topics will include: BMP compliance and effectiveness studies; harvesting and site preparation; non-water quality aspects of BMPs; riparian management zones; stream and wetland crossings; roads, skid trails, landings, and fire lines; silvicultural chemicals; special management areas; social aspects of BMPs; statistical design and analysis of BMP studies and water quality measurements; and bioassessment.

Meeting sponsors are the American Forest and Paper Association, American Water Resources Association, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, International Paper, Mead Coated Board, National Association of State Foresters, National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, Temple-Inland Forest Products Corporation, University of Georgia Warnell School of Forest Resources, USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA Forest Service, Virginia Tech, and Willamette Industries

For more information and to receive further program information and a registration form, please e-mail registration@src-ncasi.org or phone (352) 377-4708 Ext. 0. See also: www.trout.forprod.vt.edu/meetings/bmp.htm

For questions about the program, contact Jim Shepard, NCASI; phone (352) 377-4708 ext. 227; e-mail jshepard@ncasi.org.

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

One of the real pleasures of being editor of the KTSAF newsletter comes as I put the mailing labels on it. Not only does this mean another issue is about done, but I see the names of former students and foresters I have met during the 30 plus years I have been in Tennessee. It brings back many great memories. I also see names of people I do not know and I look forward to meeting you.

One thing that concerns me is that some SAF members do not have current addresses. I urge you to check your address, phone numbers and email address in the membership directory on the national SAF website. Please update anything that is not current.

NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE

UT‑FWF held a ten year academic program review on Nov 5-7. The review team of Harold Burkhart, VPI; Dan Keathley, Michigan State; Kelly Robbins, UT‑Animal Science; Ron Yoder, UT-Biosystems Engineering; and Gary McCraken, UT‑Ecology conducted a comprehensive review of the department. The department’s 86 page self study report is available on the departments web page http://fwf.ag.utk.edu

The new director of the Tennessee Forest Products center is Dr. Tim Rials. Tim came to UT-FWF after serving 12 years with USFS Southern Station in Pineville, La. Tim is a wood chemist and will be further developing his research program in this area along with providing leadership for the TFPC.

Enrollment for fall semester is down a little in wildlife and fisheries science and about the same in forestry. The graduate enrollment is up 43%. The PhD program in Natural Resources has been approved by all university faculties, administrators, and the UT Board of Trustees, and is pending final approval by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

The USFS-FIA unit has begun relocate to Knoxville. The UT-USFS partnership is greatly strengthened by this FIA move to UT. One new graduate student has already begun her work under this cooperation.

A new National Park Service scientist has been reassigned to UT-FWF . Dr. Ray Albright (BS and MS University of Kentucky, PhD from SIU) will work closely with FWF faculty in research and graduate education programs related to the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit programs on campus. His specialty is forest hydrology and watershed planning.

NEWSLETTER

2001 HOUSE OF SOCIETY DELEGATES SAF NATIONAL CONVENTION - DENVER

Gary Schneider, KT Chair-elect

NATIONAL CONVENTION / NATIONAL CRISIS