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A note from the Director

Happy New Year!  I’m excited for 2023. With your support, the Guild is stronger than it’s ever been. Members are working across the country to put innovation into practice. This month's article on Aitkin and Carlton counties bat habitat conservation plans is a great example. We’re sharing ideas and solutions. Check out upcoming events on forest-assisted migration for climate change adaptation; the opportunity for Guild foresters to engage in the Family Forest Carbon Program; Queer Ecology, and the effects of Close-to-Nature Forestry on forest birds.  Guild staff are supporting community sustainability through efforts like the Wildland Urban Fire Summit. The Guild staff is growing too – this month we introduce Maggie Mansfield in our Northeast office. And of course, another huge part of the Guild's strength is all our supporters. A huge thanks to all of you who helped exceed our end-of-year fundraising challenge!

I'm honored to be part of it all here with you.

NEWS FROM THE FOREST

The 2022 Wildland Urban Fire Summit

The NM Wildland Urban Fire Summit (WUFS) is New Mexico’s premier event for wildfire preparedness and planning. The event provides a venue for sharing best practices and building professional relationships between practitioners and academics. The Guild played a central role in event development and coordination last year, even more than usual, during challenging times. Read More

Northern MN Counties: a step ahead

In 2014, Aitkin and Carlton counties began conducting ‘bat surveys’ in their county managed forested lands. The impetus was an increasing threat of disease by white-nose syndrome, which is decimating forest-dwelling bats. In 2016, the counties committed to considering the bat in their forestry activities by developing a “Habitat Conservation Plan” for three at-risk bat species (northern long-eared, little brown, and tri-colored). This is a story of that process, involving many Guild members and partners. Read More

Written by Maggie Mansfield

I began working with the Guild in July as Northeast Region Manager and support Guild programs including Women Owning Woodlands and Forestry for Maine Birds. The child of a maple syrup producer, I was steeped in the complexities of New England forests at an early age. I incorporate the conservation, cultural, natural resource, and intrinsic values of our forests into my work, and am privileged to work for an organization that shares my priorities. Read More

Membership and Policy Council Elections are complete!

Please welcome our newest MPC representatives! Bill Wilkinson, Clint Patterson, and tish carr join us for their first three-year term and have already shown great enthusiasm for the role and gratitude for your votes.  Laura Schweitzer was also elected to continue her MPC Chair duties for a second term - something for us all to celebrate! Austin Himes and Jack Singer were very closely behind in the election. We extend a huge thanks to them for running and encourage their candidacy again late this year. In brief, the Guild couldn't lose with this year's slate, and we are so grateful to members for staying current, nominating peers, running as candidates, voting, and serving on the MPC. It's a huge part of our community and community voice for forests.

Upcoming Events

Want Forest Stewards Guild members to know about an event? Have a webinar or project idea? Let us know! Email colleen@forestguild.org. Also, check out our webinar library of recorded webinars you may have missed!

Welcome New Members

Professional members

Affiliate members

Student members

Stewards Circle Donors

Thank you to all of our Stewards Circle donors for supporting the Guild's work! Stewards Circle donors and their regular support makes a huge difference!

Organizational Sponsors

Thank you to our organizational sponsors! Your support is essential to fulfilling our mission of putting the forest first.

Membership updates

Thank you to everyone who keeps membership current.

If you currently have a gift membership, or are not a member and like our work, please join today! 

We are here and happy to help with membership questions and concerns. Send an email to membership@forestguild.org or call 608-395-4724

Giving updates

Thank you from the middle of the woods for your end of year gifts!  Donations matched by our Board of Directors made twice the impact. We are humbled by the Stewards Circle level donations in the past year too. Regardless of match or amount, every gift helps, and every gift is an expression of shared values, which we honor and gratefully put to use in service to forests and all who depend on them. We simply couldn't do it without you! We encourage becoming an organizational sponsor or joining our Stewards Circle anytime. 

We support local commerce. For anything you cannot purchase locally, you can support the Forest Stewards Guild by shopping on Amazon Smile. And share our GuideStar Profile with anyone looking for an upstanding charity.

Notes

Guild member, Ethan Tapper discusses creating complex early successional habitat.

Guild in the news: NM prescribed burns continue with precautions. “There will be smoke in the air, but we’re taking all the precautions we can,” says Sam Berry, the Guild's Southwest Associate Director, who is working to build back trust in controlled burns.

Guild in the news again: New Mexico prescribed burns to continue, with new protocols - KOB.com video.

A Central Oregon Prescribed Fire Training and Learning Exchange (TREX) is scheduled for late April through early May! The application deadline is February 15, 2023 so if you are interested, click here to see the email the Guild recently sent to our Pacific West followers and apply soon!

We are happy to share member and partner news, celebrations, requests for help or collaborations. If you have notes to share with our readers, please send them to membership@forestguild.org.

Publications and Research

The happiest, least stressful, most meaningful jobs in America. Agriculture, logging and forestry have the highest levels of self-reported happiness — and lowest levels of self-reported stress — of any major industry category.

Learning from the Ojibwe: Combining Culture and Dendrochronology Tools. By analyzing tree rings from a culturally significant island and sharing
related knowledge, the partnership is deepening their understanding of
the land, strengthening relationships, and laying the groundwork for further collaboration. 

The Economic Value of Fuel Treatments: A Review of the Recent Literature for Fuel Treatment Planning. Fuel treatment projects are more likely to have benefits that exceed costs if they generate benefits in multiple categories simultaneously.

The 'Forest Carbon Science, Policy, and Management' learning module hosted by the USDA Forest Service Climate Change Resource Center gives a brief introduction to carbon science, forest carbon policy, carbon markets, and forest carbon management. Throughout the module, there are additional resources, tools, and learning opportunities which can be explored for more information on forest carbon decision-making. Updates include enhanced graphics, figures, and animations to increase comprehension and retention of key topics. 

This interactive learning experience was developed by NIACS and the Michigan State University Forest Carbon and Climate Program. The expected time commitment for this module is about 25 minutes.

Published by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, the following Quick Guides were developed as an entry point to climate adaptation planning. 'Love our Adaptation Workbook process, but need a shorter version to help facilitate team discussion? Or maybe you are new to climate adaptation planning and are looking for somewhere to start? Then our new Adaptation Planning Quick Guides will be a perfect resource for you!' There are two versions: A Quick Guide to Adaptation Planning for Natural Resources Professionals and A Quick Guide to Adaptation Planning for Land Trusts. (Developed in collaboration with the Land Trust Alliance to specifically support land trusts and serve as an introduction to the process of adaptation planning). Information for both toolkits was adapted from the USDA Forest Service report Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate Change Tools and Approaches for Land Managers, 2nd edition.

Jobs

Check out the Guild's jobs page today and return often for updates. There are a wide variety of job types and locations open right now!