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Director's Note - February 2026

Reminder: Our mailing address is PO Box 6058, Santa Fe, NM 87502

Because of your work and support, there is too much good work happening to even summarize here. Our Annual Review shares successes from across the country and this issue of Across the Landscape adds new stories of our collective positive impact including one of many partnerships with the National Park Service, a member highlight, research, policy, and much more. I should also note, the Guild is hiring a range of positions including a Senior Forester in Maine.

We’re also celebrating a milestone: after 30 years of renting, the Guild finally purchased a building with offices, meeting space, and field crew operations. Thanks to a subsidized loan from the state, the purchase is already reducing our overhead costs and getting more money into ecological restoration.

None of this would be possible without you – the Guild community.

Thank you,

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News from the Forest

Shared Stewardship

Written by Michael McNorvell and Zander Evans

Collaborative approaches to stewardship have become essential for effective management of forest lands across the United States. While multi-partner cooperation in stewardship has existed for decades, “Shared Stewardship” as an official United States Forest Service (USFS) strategy was introduced in 2018 to identify shared priorities, marshal complementary capacities, and work across jurisdictional and geographic boundaries.

Read more

University of Alabama group in front of Caring Days sign

Removing Trees in Culturally and Environmentally Sensitive Sites – Effigy Mounds

Written by Michael Lynch

The Forest Stewards Guild has been working to support the National Park Service on forest stewardship projects throughout the eastern U.S. This month we are in the midst of a project to protect mounds at Effigy Mounds National Monument near Harpers Ferry Iowa.

Read more

Ten Years of Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change

Written by Maria Vicini and the ASCC team

Climate change will impact different forest ecosystems in varying ways, and management strategies to adapt forests to these risks varies across ecosystem conditions, management goals, and desired future conditions specific to the target location. The Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) Network was established in 2009 in response to this need for localized, operational examples of climate adaptation in different ecosystem contexts.

Read more

A Champion of Black Ash and the Forest Community: Celebrating the Career and Legacy of Les Benedict

Written by Rachel Swanwick, Amanda Farris, Tyler Everett, Dr. Tony D’Amato

We celebrate the remarkable career and legacy of Leslie (Les) Benedict, who has provided visionary leadership and dedicated service to the stewardship of forests, championing the preservation of the ecological and culturally important black ash. Benedict, a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in Akwesasne, north of the Adirondacks in upstate New York, recently retired after serving as the Assistant Director of the Tribe’s Environment Division for over 35 years. 

Read more

Staff Updates

Please join us in welcoming new Guild staff:

Alex Kaste, Southwest Project Coordinator
Anna Stearns, Southwest Conservation Manager
Jeremy Marshall, Southwest Senior Forester
Michael McNorvell, Pacific Northwest Region Manager

Upcoming Events

Be sure to register for upcoming events that interest you most. Remember to check out the Webinar Library to catch up on what you may have missed, and watch our events lineup regularly for new Guild-related happenings!

Tuesdays January 13 - April 26 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET	Webinars	Yale Forest Forum – From Timber to Tomorrow: Old Challenges, New Pressures, Changing Paradigms
Mondays January 26 - March 16 10:00 a.m. ET	Online training	Adaptation Planning and Practices
March 4 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET	Webinar	Forests that Fill the Faucet: How Active Stewardship Protects Drinking Water in the Bay State
March 5 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET	Webinar	Ten Years of Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change
March 6 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. ET	Webinar	Forestry at the Dinner Table
March 10 3:00–4:00 p.m. ET	Webinar	Navigating Legacy Planning Conversations as a Forester
March 11 -12 All day event	Knoxville, TN	Knoxville Regional Stakeholder Meeting
April 2 Noon – 1:00 p.m. ET	Webinar	The Silviculture of Ash Stewardship in the Northeast - SAP-Ne Webinar
April 13 - 14 All day event	Bend, OR	RVCC’s 2026 Annual Meeting
April 16 9:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET	Charleston, ME	SAP-Ne Demonstration Site Tour: Bud Leavitt Wildlife Management Area
April TBD More details coming soon!	Webinar	Legacy Planning Tools and Options
May 14 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET	Woodstock, VT	A Spring 2026, Member-Hosted Guild Gathering
September 15 – 17, 2026 Time TBD	Freeport, ME	National Guild Gathering – Celebrating 30 years!

Welcome New Members

Thank you all for being part of this community. It's a great time to gift a membership to the Guild too, if you've been considering it!

Professional and Retired Professional Members

Kenneth Canfield, MA DCR DWSP	Hubbardston, MA
Rose Gellman, Smokey House Center	Danby, VT
Douglas Hutcheson, MA DCR DWSP	Ludlow, MA

Student Members

William Bradley, University of Vermont	West Chester, PA
Dean Burwash, Oregon State University	Dallas, OR
Guy Corcoran, University of Maine	Orono, ME
Abigail Frieh, University of Alabama	New Lenox, IL
Ryan Hasko, Michigan State University	Washington, NJ
Kennedi Holmes, University of Massachusetts	Westfield, MA
Jacob Nicholas, Appalachian University	Hendersonville, NC
Nicholas Sibley, University of Vermont	Waterbury, VT
Emily Smith, University of Vermont	Burlington, VT
Braeden Turner, SUNY ESF	Kingston, MA

Notes

Ponderosa Pine Utilization Summit Action Plan captures the insights and opportunities for action that emerged from the November 2025 Summit, hosted by the The Council of Western State Foresters, Forest Products Committee in collaboration with the Forest Stewards Guild, Hardigg Consulting, and the USDA Forest Service.

Eco Foresters Events to Check Out! Guild partners at EcoForesters has a new Timber Loss Relief Program for Forest Landowners event series in western North Carolina check out their website: Outreach Events – EcoForesters.

Climate Smart Communities Free Training Course Build a Stronger, More Climate-Resilient Future. The Climate Smart Communities Initiative is offer a free course called The Steps to Resilience, which guides climate adaptation practitioners and community leaders through the process of identifying local hazards, identifying pressing issues, and implement adaptation and resilience plans.

Grants for Climate Informed Forestry SFI is offering payment-for-practice funding to advance carbon stewardship activities in the Lake States and Northwest US. Successful applicants will respond to the RFP with a plan for implementing climate-informed forest management practices that maintain or enhance forest carbon storage above and beyond business-as-usual management while balancing ecological function.

Help Adventure Scientists Collect Research Data on Forests in OR & WA Want an excuse to visit some remote forests? Adventure Scientists mobilizes and trains outdoor enthusiasts and local communities to collect high-quality scientific data that are difficult to access, require too large a scale, or are too costly to obtain with traditional methods. Learn about their new project to preserve biodiversity in the Pacific Northwest on February 25 webinar And check out their other projects at: https://www.adventurescientists.org/our-projects.html

Climate Smart Wood Group The Climate Smart Wood Group is helping architects, designers, and the building sector procure climate-smart wood products. Read their Climate Smart Wood Group Procurement Guidance and check out their webinar series https://www.climatesmartwood.net/webinars/ (next up Feb 25)

Publications

Wildfire Prevention Costs Less Than Suppression Did your parents ever tell you, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” That adage also applies to wildfire management.

Old-Growth Forest Restoration: 25 Years of Experimentation Read the article on page 14th of the NESAF quarterly by Bill Keeton and Stephen Peters-Collaer.

A View from Vermont Guild member Mike Snyder shares his view of Vermont's forests, H.276, and the opportunities for ecological forestry to strengthen forest health and climate resilience.

Jobs

Check our full jobs page! Currently, the Forest Stewards Guild has many positions open across the country! These include full-time, permanent administrative roles, seasonal internships, and several in between! We also have more position openings coming soon. Please stay updated via our jobs pages linked above and apply or spread the word to qualified candidates who would love to be on the Guild team!