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Directors Note - September 2025

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

This e-newsletter issue highlights what makes the Guild great: people! Members like Carl sharing their passion for forests and all the intertwining elements like delicious mushrooms! Early career stewards like Daniel and Jonathan diving into their vocation through experiences with the Guild and our partners makes us humble and proud all the same time!

And you! Thanks to everyone in this community, forging a healthy future for people and forests. If you haven’t had a chance to renew for the current membership year yet, please renew here today. Reminder letters will be mailed next week.

And if you’re not a Guild member yet, please use this link to join us. Don’t let financial hardship keep you out of the Guild. Let us know you need temporary assistance with your membership and we can help. We want you here.

Thank you,

Zander

News from the Forest

A Day in the Life of a Long-term Forest Monitoring Technician

Written by Daniel M. Semmel

My alarm rings out the sound of chiming bells at 6 in the morning, though I don’t need it as the birds have already started singing their sweet songs outside. The warm rays of the sun are beginning to creep through the blinds of my window, and I stir into awareness as my feet hit the cool floor. Summer mornings are colder here in northern Vermont than they are in my home in southern Connecticut.

Read more

University of Alabama group in front of Caring Days sign

Guild Member, Carl Struck, Hosts 30th Anniversary Celebration Event in New Mexico

Written by Daisy Smith and Carl Struck

At the end of July, member Carl Struck graciously hosted a Guild Gathering at his 40-acre property in Peñasco, New Mexico, to celebrate 30 years of the Forest Stewards Guild. This was one of three commemorative events of the year so far.

Read more

Beauty in the Bog: A Natural History of Eastern Larch

Written by Jonathan Grabowski

From early June to late August, I worked on the Refuge Stewardship Partnership project with the Guild as a Forest Monitoring Technician. Most of my time was spent trudging through the bogs at the Nulhegan Basin of the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge, installing 56 long-term forest monitoring plots. Read more

Staff Updates

Please join us in welcoming new Guild staff:

Andreas Wion, Forest and Fire Science Manager
Ami Kane, Chief Development Officer

Upcoming Events

There are many Guild and partner events this autumn— Don’t forget to check out the Webinar Library to catch up on what you may have missed, and watch our events lineup to stay in the loop with all Guild-related happenings coming up.

Tuesdays September 2 –December 2 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET	Online Speaker Series	Frontiers in Forest Carbon Crediting
Thursdays, September 4–December 4 12:00–1:00 p.m. U.S. ET	Online Speaker Series	A History of Scientific Forestry: From Extraction to Ecosystem Management
Sept 17 - Sept 20 All day event	Ripton, VT	Northeastern Old Growth Conference
September 24 1:00 p.m. CEST	Webinar	Delivering EUDR: FSC & Collective Actions for a Deforestation-Free Future
September 24 5:00 – 7:30pm MT	Taos, NM	An Evening of Water Stories
September 24, 25 All day event	Bartlett, NH	Northeast Silviculture Institute Training Session 1
September 26 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. PT	Rainier, OR	Forestry for the Birds: Columbia Stock Ranch Tour
September 27, 28 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET	Williamsburg, ME	8th Annual Specialized Chainsaw Safety Workshop
September 29 - October 2 8:00 am - 5:00 p.m. ET	West Lafayette, IN	NCFPW 2025: Application of Digital Technology for Forest Health
September 30 – October 2 All day event	Los Lunas, NM	2025 Wildland Urban Fire Summit
October 3 10:00 am – 1:00 pm ET	Greensboro, VT	Forester Workshop: Forest Management Techniques to Improve Forest Diversity, Bird Habitat, and Climate Resilience
October 4 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET	Greensboro, VT	Walk the Woods: How Good Forest Management Helps Forests, Birds, and the Climate
October 7 Time: TBD	Black Lake, NM	Fall 2025 Broadcast Burn in Black Lake, NM
October 7, 8 9:00 - 5:30 p.m. CT	Cloquet, MN	Northern Forest Birds Network Fall Conference
October 9 - October 11 October 9, 1:00 pm - October 11 1:30 pm	Cloverdale, OR	Northwest Innovative Forestry Summit 2025
October 14, 15 All day event	Stewartstown, NH	Northeast Silviculture Institute Training Session 2
November 18 -20 All day event	Flagstaff, AZ	Ponderosa Pine Utilization Summit

Welcome New Members

Thank you all for being part of this community. We are in the second month of a new membership year running July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026! It's a great time to join the Guild and an essential time to renew your existing membership, if you haven't already.

Lifetime Members

Barrie Brusila, Mid-Maine Forestry,

Warren, ME

Professional and Retired Professional Members

Todd Waldron, Winnakee Land Trust

Chestertown, NY

Student Members

Alizabeth Atkison, Allegheny College	Meadville, PA
Andrew Persante, New Mexico Highlands University	Albuquerque, NM
Anna McKenna, Allegheny College	Wexford, PA
Bella Allickson, Century College	Saint Paul, MN
Ben Rothman, University of Alabama	Birmingham, AL
Brooke Barlow, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Cooper Mann, University of Alabama	Franklin, TN
Dawson Thomas, Allegheny College	Meadville, PA
Evan Kurpakus, Allegheny College	Valencia, PA
Grey Baldwin, University of Alabama	Dothan, AL
Hailey Richardson, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Ian Dombach, Allegheny College	Meadville, PA
Jaewoo Choi, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Kana Furukawa, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Laney Bennett, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Lauren Myers, University of Alabama	York, PA
Lila Beck, University of Alabama	Asheville, NC
Lily Lehnhardt, Allegheny College	Meadville, PA
Logan Marlatt, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Lucas Evanko, Mississippi State University	Starkville, MS
Mateo Craven, Warren Wilson College	Asheville, NC
Matthew Wymer, University of Alabama	Leesburg, FL
Matt Gunning, Allegheny College	Perkasie, PA
Max Taddeo, Allegheny College	Solon, OH
Melania Lloyd, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Melina Bandouveres, University of Alabama	Somersworth, NH
Miles Wyckoff, University of Alabama	Franklin, TN
Millie Hoksbergen, University of Alabama	Paint Rock, AL
Mikko Horsley, Allegheny College	Meadville, PA
Parker King, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Riley Sherman, State University of New York College	Indianapolis, IN
Samantha Adams, Allegheny College	Conneaut Lake, PA
Sharon Moon, Allegheny College	Meadville, PA
Stefan Giggey, University of Maine	Lakeville , ME
Tayton Alvis, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Utkarsh Choudhury, University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
Willa Smith, University of Alabama	Cullman, AL

Notes

Guild efforts are getting attention!

Tweaking traditional forestry to enhance forest bird habitat Lynch, Forest Stewards Guild region director, discusses the recently completed "Forestry for Minnesota Birds" project. This is part of the "Bird Decline" series.

Aaron Brown and the Minnesota Star Tribune focus on the work of Guild and partners, and the new Forestry for Minnesota Birds Guidebook. It's getting lots of attention this summer! Today’s column touches on that amusing transition, but also expands a conversation I’ve been having with readers about forestry and resource management. The best management plan is one that takes into account everything — the economic outcome, sure, but also the health of the forest, wildlife, people and communities that are part of our world.

FSC National Risk Assessment FSC International launched the revision of the FSC US Controlled Wood National Risk Assessment so that it will align with the revised FSC-PRO-60-006b FSC Risk Assessment Framework. The public consultation has been slightly delayed and is now scheduled to run from Sept 5-Oct 4, 2025. We will send a link to facilitate written participation in the consultation when it is ready.

The Yale Forest Forum has two speaker series this fall that will be running concurrently on Tuesdays and Thursdays respectively. These events are listed above in this e-newsletter, or details are also in the links below. On Tuesdays, Sept 2 - Dec 2 at noon ET, a Frontiers in Forest Carbon Crediting series will examine foundational issues in forest carbon accounting and crediting, focusing on both major critiques and proposed solutions. Attendees will hear from researchers with emerging solutions and ideas to improve carbon accounting. This series builds upon the fall 2022 and spring 2023 carbon speaker series. And on Thursdays, Sept 4 - Dec 4, the A History of Scientific Forestry: From Extraction to Ecosystem Management series will examine how European practices influenced the development of forestry in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. Attendees will hear from scholars and practitioners from various fields, including forestry, history, ecology, sociology, and environmental studies. The series builds upon the spring 2025 forest history series.

Public Consultation for the Draft of the Revised FSC US National Risk Assessment (NRA) Public consultation on the draft of the Revised FSC US NRA started September 5, 2025 and runs through October 4, 2025. You can find the relevant documents and the written survey at this link. Please note that you will be required to first register for or sign into the FSC Consultation Platform to participate in this consultation. (Alternatively, the link is also be available on the FSC Country Requirements Schedule page.) From FSC: We have nine indicators (of 64) for which we have found “non-negligible” risk regarding: health and safety, forest conversion, forest degradation, high conservation values (HCV1, 3 & 6), and the commercial use of GMOs. We have survey questions specifically about these indicators and their recommended mitigation measures, and would really value your input on these indicators as well as the ones with “negligible” risk. In addition to the written survey, please note these two other public consultation opportunities: an in-person meeting in St. Louis, MO on Sept. 11 & 12 (info and registration here) and a virtual meeting on Sept. 19, from 12:00-3:00 pm EST (register here). We look forward to improving the draft based on the expert feedback we receive.

NM State Land Office and Forest Stewards Guild Announce Planned Fall 2025 Broadcast Burn in Black Lake, NM. Prescribed broadcast burns are a vital part of long-term forest and watershed management in the Southwest. Many of these landscapes are naturally adapted to fire and depend on periodic, low intensity burns to stay healthy. Conducting prescribed burns during the cooler, wetter fall season allows land managers to safely reduce the accumulation of flammable litter and branches (hazardous fuels) before the next fire season. This proactive approach lowers the risk of severe wildfires threatening nearby communities. In addition to protecting lives and property, prescribed burning supports forest health, preserves water quality, and enhances wildlife habitat. Learn more about Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico at www.facnm.org. More information on smoke, human health, and a HEPA Filter Loan Program can be accessed by visiting https://facnm.org/smoke.

Publications

Looking for help adapting to warmer temperatures, more wildfire, and shift species? The Forest Stewards Guild has joined a growing registry of adaptation practitioners. Guild members across the country can help landowners and communities respond to changing climate, precipitation patterns, and spreading invasives.

Tree diversity increases productivity Additional scientific validation of something that the Guild knows well: diversity increases forest productivity. Increasing tree species richness and trait dissimilarity enhanced individual tree growth by 7–13% on average.