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Director's Note - March 2025
Happy spring! I hope you're all able to get outside and enjoy the signs of new growth. There are some great opportunities to walk in the woods at upcoming Guild Gatherings in Arcata, California, and Tallahassee, Florida, and at home with reflections from our virtual event. There are more on the horizon!
The policy environment in Washington, DC, seems to be emulating spring’s rapid weather changes—unpredictable and unsettling. The Guild remains nonpartisan, guided not by political affiliation but by our commitment to forests and communities. Still, we have an essential role in educating decision-makers at all levels about the value of stewardship. Just yesterday, Guild staff toureda community firewood harvesting project that is reducingwildfire risk with our Congresswoman. Last week, Congress tookan important step by boosting wildland firefighter pay—an effort informed in part by conversations led by the Guild’s Wildfire Resilience Coalition.
Because we know what works in the woods, our voice continues to be critical as policymakers grapple with complex questions, from protecting old forests to sustaining the benefits of public lands. We fulfill this role in direct alignment with our mission: promoting and practicing responsible forest stewardship. Whether we are sharing insights with landowners seeking practical solutions, helping communities prepare for wildfire, convening professionals around new research, or providing real-world context to policymakers, we are advancing a culture of stewardship in every conversation we have.
The Guild’s strength comes from its community—without you, there would be no Forest Stewards Guild, and forests would lose a powerful advocate.
Thank you,
News from the Forest
Planting Trees for a Purpose with the University of Alabama’s Forest Stewards Guild Chapter
Written by Lily Roehrig
This past February, a group of passionate students from the University of Alabama’s student chapter of the Forest Stewards Guild took a break from their studies and rolled up their sleeves to give back to the community. Read more
Reflections from the Guild’s All Hands All Lands Winter Crew 2024-2025
Compiled by Carlos Saiz
The winter of 2024-2025 was warmer and drier than normal here in New Mexico, but for the Guild’s Winter Crew, it was full of unforgettable journeys with pockets filled with experiences that gave them a taste of everything. Their stories go much further than what their words can describe, but here’s a quick peek at what they have accomplished.
A Collective Effort – Community Wood Banks in New Mexico
Written by Juan Lemos and Rachel Bean
The Zuni Mountains Collaborative launched the Wood for Life program to connect forest thinning projects with communities in need of firewood. Through collaborative efforts of the Forest Stewards Guild, U.S. Forest Service, and the National Forest Foundation, wood is delivered to local distribution hubs.
The partners of the 2-3-2 are no strangers to nearly insurmountable challenges. Almost ten years ago, some folks met at a bar in Chama to discuss the increasing wildfire crisis, and how to coordinate forest restoration across state lines and the Continental Divide.
Maine Guild Gathering – a 30th anniversary celebration series event
Welcome New Members
Thank you all for being part of this community.
Professional and Retired Professional Members
Connor Crouch
Columbia, MO
Norman Bourg
Takoma Park, MD
Shannon Gillen, West Virginia Land Trust
Charleston, WV
Mairin Glenney, USDA Forest Service
Eden, UT
Zachary Hough Solomon, Michigan Technological University
Duluth, MN
Adrian Leighton, Intermountain West Joint Venture
Missoula, MT
Ella McDonald, UMaine
Orono, ME
Laura Moser
Volcano, CA
Arianna Porter, SWCA Environmental Consultants
Albuquerque, NM
Rosalee Reese
Monte Vista, CO
Adam Webster, West Virginia Land Trust
Morgantown, WV
Affiliate Members
Les Benedict, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe
Akwesane, NY
Pamela Hines, Trout Mtn Forestry
Portland, OR
Student Members
Carlos Andres Vazquez Baur, NM State Uni
Santa Fe, NM
Quentin Boccaleri
Biloxi, MS
Shinya Burck, University of Idaho
Santa Fe, NM
Melissa Mauk, Oregon State University
Salem, OR
Simran Pandey, Mississippi State University
Starkville, MS
Bipin Paudel, Mississippi State University
Starkville, MS
Ethan Riebsomer, Santa Fe Prep School
Santa Fe, NM
Notes
Guild efforts are getting attention!
The Whole Deal, by Peter Hayes.Editor’s note: Guild founding member Peter Hayes writes often at The Forest Returns website, calling “stories of rebuilding and restoring the health, wealth and resilience of forests – near and far”, “good news.” His latest essay in the Looking to Forests collection is titled The Whole Deal – From Attractive Concept to Impactful Action. The essay reflects on the meaning of reciprocity, and how he and his family have considered the practical expressions of their relationship to forests they’ve engaged with for decades. This is one in a growing set of writings and opportunities the Guild and Guild members are engaged in, to continually reflect on our underlying relationship with forests and what, in our 30-years of Guild-style practice, is inherent, yet still missing at scale – needing the attention and leadership of the Forest Stewards Guild community and our partners to bring back.
Good Fire: Restoring New Mexico's Forests [video]. Southwest Program Manager Rachel Bean and Deputy Director Eytan Krasilovsky are featured in this video produced by The Nature Conservancy about how the Guild, The Nature Conservancy, the New Mexico State Land Office, the Village of Angel Fire, the Moreno Valley Fire Department, and others came together in fall 2024 to return fire to the forest as part of community and watershed protection efforts. Guild staff and the Forest Stewards Youth Corps were also an important part of the team!
The researchers behind this publication used models to project statewide treatment costs for various policy scenarios, and identify areas for forest fuel reduction treatments based on wildfire hazard potential and proximity to the wildland-urban interface.
New Mexicans talk about what mass firings mean for the future of public lands"The impacts of what’s happening right now are going to be felt for years, if not decades, and it’s going to be really hard to rebuild morale, faith and trust after this." says Guild Deputy Director Eytan Krasilovsky about the recent unprecedented firings at federal land management agencies. Read more in this article from Searchlight New Mexico.
The Guild depends on support from donors and members. Thank you for all you do to support our collective vision of ecologically, economically, and socially responsible forestry.
Stewards Circle Donors (new or recently renewed gifts)
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