Inside

• View from the Chair
• Credentialing Report
• Habitat Project
• Council Report
• Forest Closed
• Fall Meeting & Minutes
• Officers & Committee Chairs
• Upcoming Events

Forestry in the 21st Century

Bruce Palmer

December ends a year-long celebration of 100 years of forest conservation in the United States. Our forests have undergone a remarkable recovery over the past century from cutover wastelands to the beautiful, productive forests of today. Forward-thinking foresters and landowners, working together, have made that recovery possible.

I struggled to write the last Centennial Forests column for the Conservationist's News and Almanac section wanting to write something philosophical about the challenges foresters will face in the 21st century managing complex forests on a sustainable basis while providing the goods and services people need.

While I sat staring at my computer, my teen-aged daughter and her friend ran up the stairs berating me for having made Centennial Forests promotional items out of wood. "How could you cut down trees to make wooden yo-yos and tops? What about global warming and deforestation and carbon storage?" they cried.

As I explained to them (for the umpteenth time) about how trees are renewable resources, it occurred to me that education was, and still is, one of our biggest challenges. Managing forests is a complex job. Explaining what we do so people understand is even more complex.

Here was my daughter, who had grown up helping me cut firewood and accompanied me on many hiking and camping trips in the woods, who still did not fully understand that it is okay to cut trees if you do it in a responsible manner.

I suspect that many of her classmates, and Missourians in general, are confused by the mixed messages they hear about the care of our forests. Healthy, productive forests seldom happen by accident. Forest managers make decisions based upon years of scientific study and training. Foresters have many success stories to tell and we need to be telling them over and over again.

Education of the public was one of the primary objectives of the fledgling forestry profession 100 years ago. Education is still one of our biggest challenges as we start our second century.

View From the Chair

We are well into our Centennial year. I hope all members have been able to participate in at least one Centennial activity this year. If not, there is still time. Please make an effort to arrange or participate in an activity or write an article for your local newspaper. One hundred years of professional forest management is a great achievement and there is historical significance of past management everywhere in the state.

MOSAF received a Forester's Fund grant pass through to the Missouri Forest Heritage Center. They used the grant for a display at the Missouri Capitol. The display included pictures and artifacts of turn of the century forestry and wood industry in the state. It also included information about the centennial of professional forestry in the United States.

This has been a busy year for MOSAF. We approved some long overdue changes to our Bylaws this year. The approved bylaws are posted on the MOSAF website. One of the biggest bylaw changes was to replace the Forester's Fund Committee with the Special Funds Committee. This allows us to raise funds for operational expenses as well as other worthy projects. Although a majority of our fund raising will likely still go to the Forester's Fund, we now have the ability to collect for other worthwhile projects.

We had a very successful fall meeting at Van Buren thanks to Justine Gartner and the Program Committee. Thanks to Bob Cunningham and the Ozark Region for the tour of the Midco ruins and Peck Ranch.

The Governor's Chip Mill Advisory Committee completed it's review and submitted it's final report to the Governor. Thanks to all MOSAF members who participated in the process, and especially to Jay Law for his participation and leadership on the committee. Although he was not officially representing SAF, he did an excellent job keeping the committee on track with many forestry issues throughout the process. Other MOSAF members made several presentations to the committee and provided a large amount of information throughout the process, including reviews and responses regarding the draft report.

We began the process of investigating the need and support for forester credentialing in Missouri. Many members responded to an e-mail poll and we spent considerable time discussing this issue at the fall meeting. The Policy-Legislation Committee is now working to draft a position statement regarding our views on credentialing. It appears likely that there may be some legislative action related to professional registration or licensing, and I hope MOSAF will be providing the leadership on this issue.

Ballots for next years officers will be out soon. Please take the time to vote and make a commitment to take a more active role in SAF affairs by volunteering to serve on a committee.

Credentialing Subcommittee Report

At the Fall 2000 MOSAF meeting the membership overwhelmingly endorsed forester credentialing. This endorsement, in conjunction with the national SAF position statement on forester credentialing, has given the Policy-Legislative Committee clear direction to take this process to the next level.

A Policy-Legislative subcommittee, that includes Tim French, Shelby Jones, Jay Law, Doug Enyart and Tom Draper, is working in conjunction with Missouri Consulting Forester's Association representative Scott Brundage to develop enabling legislation language. Enabling legislative language creates a legislative bill, which in turn progresses through the Missouri legislature until it is signed into law by the Governor.

Development of suitable enabling legislative language will be critical to the success of the forester credentialing process. Enabling legislation defines the credentialing process and could include statements on credentialing requirements, including defining whether it is a registration, licensing or certification process; board of directors makeup, including number and types of members; and recommendations on whether it be a mandatory or voluntary process.

Currently, subcommittee members Shelby Jones and Tim French are gathering and reviewing forester registration and licensing enabling legislative language from other states. From these they will draft suggested language for review by other subcommittee members with eventual submission to MOSAF'S Executive Committee for approval.

Once suitable enabling legislative language is developed, MOSAF will need to explore the political climate to determine the appropriate means of beginning the legislative process. This will include sponsors for the proposed legislation.

It is the subcommittee's recommendation to MOSAF'S membership that we be proactive in the forester credentialing process. The issues brought to light as a result of the Governor's chip mill committee make this an opportune time.

The subcommittee also recommends that the enabling legislation state that the forester credentialing process be mandatory in Missouri. It is the view of subcommittee members this is a defining moment in the management and sustainability of Missouri's forests. Credentialing of foresters can be the cornerstone of the process which will ensure Missouri's forests are treated as they should be.

As this process unfolds other discussions will need to take place simultaneously, such as the possibility of including a grandfather clause. The issue of grandfathering needs to be addressed because mandatory registration or licensing could impact state and federal agency employees. We expect to request assistance of additional MOSAF members as the process develops and will be providing updates on progress to the full membership. A full discussion of developments will occur at the winter meeting at the Natural Resources Conference at Tan-Tar-A.

MOSAF Members Build More Habitat

Bruce Palmer

This may not seem newsworthy since creating wildlife habitat is what many of us do every day. But this habitat was for a different kind of animal--people.

On a hot, windy Saturday morning in September, nine Conservation Department employees and their families met in Grain Valley to work on a Habitat for Humanity project. The work day was coordinated by Helene Miller, MOSAF member, and Shirl Quick, a board member of the Eastern Jackson County Habitat for Humanity.

MOSAF members Phil Sneed, Mike Hoffmann, Larry Lackamp, and Helene Miller take a break during work
on a Habitat for Humanity project in Oak Grove.

When workers arrived, only a poured foundation and a stack of lumber greeted them. By the end of the day, the floor joists and subfloor were installed and two walls were framed and standing. Other Habitat volunteers will work to have the 1200 square foot home framed-in before winter.

For several years, the Society of American Foresters has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to show that professional foresters, in addition to providing habitat for wildlife, plants, clean water and productive soils, are also providing habitat for people. The partnership with Habitat for Humanity highlights the relationship between people, forests and sound forest management. During this year of SAF's centennial, the goal is for members to work on 100 Habitat projects.

Habitat for Humanity builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of volunteers and the homeowners. Habitat houses are sold to families at no profit, financed with affordable, no- interest loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments are used to build still more Habitat houses. In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, homeowners must invest hundreds of hours of their own labor sweat equity into building their Habitat house and the houses of others.

MOSAF members who helped with the Habitat project included Helene Miller, Larry Lackamp, Phil Sneed, Mike Hoffmann and Bruce Palmer. Watch for this construction crew on television next year. The Missouri Outdoors TV crew was on hand to video the construction for the 2001 show.

Kerry Schell

This could be my last word to you as your SAF Council Representative from District IX. If there are some unusual developments or items of discussion at the council meetings in November and December I will convey them to you.

We have two fine candidates for the District IX Council seat. PLEASE VOTE. Give serious attention to the statements of the candidates. Telephone or e-mail them if you have questions about their positions or philosophies which could influence SAF decisions. The members who are elected to the SAF Council this year could influence how your Society will define the "broad field of forestry." This has been a challenge to the council for the past two years, and still remains as such.

In my last newsletter column I reported that I could not support a Council policy to "aggressively attract diverse natural resource professionals to SAF through its programs and policies." I requested comments from you, and I received some input. My position on diversity with respect to gender and race were questioned. I am 100 percent in support of SAF's programs and policies to attract and recruit more women and minorities, with respect to race and ethnic groups, and who are or will become qualified foresters; this kind of diversity we need.

Unfortunately, the term "diversity" has been extended to mean much more than many of our members realize. The term has become politically appropriate. Some would have it included in any mission statement. I submit there is a communication problem. Some of us are assuming diversity means an appropriate or representative number of one gender or the other, of minorities, of age classes, or perhaps geographic representation.

There are others, who with deliberation, see diversity including (1) philosophy about forest resource stewardship; (2) areas of educational preparation; (3) nationality; and (4) professional specialties or expertise. When the term diversity is used, especially in basic mission statements or policies, it should be qualified. Diversity could be a healthy attribute to an organization. Carried to some given degree it could become a significant detriment.

Hopefully, by this time you have made your plans and reservations to attend our Centennial Celebration in November. It will be a great cost for many of us, but it will be a great part of your Society's history. Do contribute to our Centennial Fund. If you need more information or explanation about our goals, or have any other comments contact us your Council Rep or State Society Chair.

Your Council had a busy, productive, and challenging meeting in June. I will share some of that with you. But first an important reminder: Your State Society Chair receives the minutes of all Council meetings. You have access to them. Your State Society may reproduce them, put them on a website, or communicate the minutes to you in any way. There is a time lag. You will not get the minutes until they are reviewed and approved by the Council six weeks or more.

At the June meeting the Council:

• Offered mixed evaluations of Centennial Fund raising, but each Council member declared commitment to increased efforts to the program.
• Approved the establishment of a line of credit of $500,000 to meet a cash flow problem which is the result of having to meet some early Centennial Celebration expenses.
• Accepted the Forest Education Accreditation Report. Please visit the SAF website to review and examine this report.
• Had a serious discussion of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) and the importance of research in this area to the future of forestry.
• Approved the various awards which are made annually to outstanding members of SAF who excel in selected endeavors.
• Discussed a Field Forester Award. Your chairman has received a communication about this award for this year.
• Voted to send to the membership a referendum to adopt a new Code of Ethics - 8 yes, 4 no.
• Approved the draft of a charter for a Licensing and Regulation Task Force.
• Discussed the qualifications and procedures for a member to become a Professional Member of SAF. Each member should review the requirements for Professional Member and Conditional Professional Member as stated in the Application for Membership.

Forest Closed After Two Arrests

Growing tension over logging in national forest land near Columbia prompted the U.S. Forest Service to make 850 acres of the Cedar Creek Ranger District of Mark Twain National Forest off limits to the public. The closure comes after two people were arrested for allegedly trespassing in the forest and obstructing a logging crew and after reported tree-spiking by protesters.

Anyone found in the closed area of the forest will be ticketed or arrested, said John Bisbee, district ranger for the Cedar Creek, Rolla and Houston districts.

Bisbee said the area in the Cedar Creek district has been closed to protect two timber cuts. The closure is indefinite, he said. "We've done what we have to do to manage the situation," Bisbee said. "We're minimizing the opportunity for conflicts."

A third timber cut, which will thin 156 acres, is scheduled to begin soon within the closed area. That cut has been a source of controversy; activists from Columbia-based Heartwood, a regional forest protection group, have tried to persuade logger Jim Privett of Salem not to cut on the public land. The organization has said it will protest the cut if it happens. Bisbee said Privett has signed a contract and could begin cutting trees soon.

Those opposed to logging in Cedar Creek apparently have taken their efforts beyond protesting. Bisbee said agents found 6-inch spikes driven into trees in the forest. The spikes are a common sabotage tool intended to damage logging equipment or blades in saw mills.

The Forest Service said in a prepared statement that the agency arrested 17-year-old twin siblings Silas and Emma Murphy-Ellis of Vermont this weekend for "trespassing" in the forest. Bisbee said the two were interfering with a logging operation.

The brother and sister deny that charge. They say they were passing through Missouri on their way out West and, while staying with friends in Columbia, decided to camp in the Cedar Creek forest for a couple of nights.

The Murphy-Ellises said that after they awoke to strange sounds in the woods on Saturday morning, they walked to a clearing and found two men with chain saws getting ready to cut down a nearby stand of cedar trees.

"We asked to see a copy of their contract because we thought it was funny that they were logging on national forest land," Emma Murphy-Ellis said. The men left the site and later returned with several Forest Service agents, she said. The agents told her and her brother they had to leave the site immediately or face arrest.

When one of the loggers started his chain saw and began to cut a tree, Emma Murphy-Ellis said she told him to stop. "He endangered our lives by cutting a tree with us right there," she said. The twins said they then volunteered to leave the forest and began packing their belongings but were arrested. They were released from the Callaway County Jail after posting $500 apiece.

Heartwood member Devin Scherbel of Columbia said a member of his group bailed out the twins. The Murphy-Ellises are scheduled to face trial on Nov. 17. Both they and Scherbel vehemently deny spiking trees. Forest Service spokeswoman Carol Trokey said that the spiking remains under investigation.

The Forest Service referred comments on the arrest to spokeswoman Charlotte Wiggins, who did not return a phone call this morning.

Scherbel said the closure will affect the group's plan to be involved with Privett's impending timber cut.

"There's a $5,000 fine for stepping over that line," he said. "We definitely wanted to watch what he was doing. Now we won't get to see it until it's long done."

Fall Business Meeting Minutes

The meeting was convened at 7:07 p.m., September 21, 2000, at Big Spring Park, Van Buren.

Mike Hoffmann recognized students in attendance and Don Young from Westvaco. Charlie Santhuff was also recognized as being the most recently retired SAF member in the society. Cliff Smith and Ann Koenig were introduced as new members.

The minutes from the winter meeting were approved as written in the MoSAF newsletter.

Mike Hoffmann highlighted the goals for this year as being: increasing SAF membership, improve professional forester's visibility to the public, Centennial Celebration publicity, being proactive in regards to the chip mill issue and proceeding with the development of the Missouri Forest Resource Committee. Jay Law was thanked for representing forestry as a member of the Governor's Committee on Chip Mills. Jay represented the Missouri Conservation Federation.

Treasurer's Report (Dennis Rhoades)
Checking account balance, at the First National Bank of Columbia, as of 8/11/00 is $6528.40. Deposits of $1265 (this meeting's registration) and $2366.75 have not been posted to the account yet. Included in recent deposits were two checks from the National SAF, one for $2,200, the Heritage Center grant, which will be paid out immediately and $126.75 for State Society dues. We currently have two CDs at the Conservation Employee's Credit Union, as of September 20, 2000, totaling $25,135.49; one 6-month CD at 6.02% for $13,058.44, and a 12-month CD at 5.48% for $12,077.05. Both CDs mature in November. There was brief discussion as to how much money was SAF's and how much was PLT's. A through audit is needed and would be appreciated. The actual operating funds for SAF are very limited.

Audit Committee (Doug Young)
No report

Communication Committee (Jennifer Battson)
No report

Awards Committee (Carl Hauser)
No Fellow was nominated from Missouri for this year's ballot. The forms to nominate for the Karkhagne Award are available at the meeting. The deadline is October 1. An electronic format is available contact Carl. Tim French is on the ballot for election to SAF Council. The importance of voting was emphasized and discussed. Dennis Rhoades, past SAF Steering Committee Chairman for the Missouri Natural Resources Conference, was presented with a framed print for his team work representing SAF for the 2000 conference.

Centennial Celebration (Bruce Palmer)
The summer reading program and Centennial photo exhibition have been a big hit at the public libraries this summer. The four sets of photos are booked at libraries and nature centers through the end of the year. We may extend the showing after the first of the year if the photos remain in good shape and if there is still demand from the libraries. The Kansas City and Springfield regions held Centennial special events earlier this year. Northwest and Central regions have events scheduled for October. More media kits are on hand and there is still time to hold special events and promote the Centennial.

Membership Committee (Mike Morris)
Current membership is 204; 192 professional members and 12 student members. A fall barbecue for the student chapter is in the planning stage.

Nominating Committee (Steve Spezia)
Nominees for Chair-Elect this year are Dennis Rhoades and Wally Brumfield. Nominated for Secretary/Treasurer this year are David Massengale and John Fleming.

Newsletter (Bruce Palmer)
The fall issue deadline is October 15. Please send any and all contributions before October 15.

Policy-Legislation Committee (Tom Draper)
Certification issue will be discussed in detail tomorrow. Total maximum daily load (TMDL) is a current issue we all need to be tracking. A white paper may be needed to express MoSAF stand on the issue. C.A.R.A. is not a done deal yet, however SAF may need to recommend how funding can be used. SAF needs to have a position on CARA.

Program Committee (Justine Gartner)
Tomorrow the tour will start at 8:00 a.m.

Education Committee (Carol Trokey)
The Education Committee still plans to get the listing of meetings and courses that we are aware of, and that qualify for continuing education, on the MOSAF web page, so stay tuned. Anyone interested in submitting a CFE package or who have questions, need forms, etc., contact Carol Trokey. If you have training, meetings or courses that you would like evaluated for continuing education credits, please contact the committee and this can be provided. Remember, continuing education over a 3-year period is the requirement for a CFE certificate.

Forester's Fund Committee (Dennis Rhoades)
The Missouri Natural Resources Conference has a surplus of funds built up over the past 13 years. The quad-society has appointed a committee made up of two member from each society to discuss what to do with the surplus funds. A portion of these surplus funds may become available to MoSAF. Justine Gartner and Dennis Rhoades will represent MoSAF on this committee. The new MoSAF charter now allows the Forester's Fund to raise funding for local projects to be used by MoSAF. This announcement lead to an out-of-order wild spree of donations lead by Gene Brunk and followed by matching donations from all the Fellows and numerous members. A double count of the donations by Dennis Rhoades and Darrel Dostal confirmed $131 dollars had been donated and an additional $5 was donated by Ralph Allison the next day for a total of $136 dollars raised in less than five minutes.

Resolutions Committee (Joe Walker)
No report

Teller's Committee (Bill Kickbush)
The bylaws passed; 61 yes votes and 4 no votes. The importance of voting was emphasized again.

Old Business
None

New Business
The first Karkhagne awarded to Dr. Richard Smith in 1982 was sent to SAF national office to be displayed at the National SAF Convention in a time capsule as representative of forestry in Missouri. National was impressed with the Karkhagne Award.

MoSAF was awarded the Ol' Pinch Award for having contributed the highest per capita funding to the Forester's Fund last year. The trophy is on display in Jefferson City at MDC headquarters. The Centennial display will be on display at the Capitol Building until November 1.

Jay Law reported that there is support for registration or licensing of foresters with legislative and economic development support. Gene Brunk and the Society personally thanked Jay Law for his representation of foresters on the chip mill committee. MoSAF response to the Chip Mill Report is on the MoSAF web site.

Tim French announced that the 500th SAF Certified Forester in the nation was Tom Alley of MoSAF.

Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.

thE-forester

By now you may have seen thE-forester, the new SAF e-mail newsletter. thE-forester is a free member benefit. It delivers the latest SAF and forestry news directly to members via e-mail on a regular basis. thE-forester provides members with timely information on:

• SAF policy and media updates
• What's new on the SAF website
• Breaking forestry news
• Convention deadlines and events
• Member benefits
• And much more!

As a member benefit, all members who have submitted their e-mails to the national office are receiving thE-forester unless they have unsubscribed. Members may subscribe by submitting their current e-mail address to the national office at safweb@safnet.org. Currently, over 7,000 members are receiving thE-forester. This is about 40% of our membership (ONLY 80 members out of ~7000 have unsubscribed after four issues!). We have had a very positive response from members regarding the value of thE-forester.

November 16-20. SAF National Convention, Washington, DC. For information see www.safnet.org.

November 18. Third Annual Central Region Woodland Stewardship Conference, Lied Conference Center, Nebraska City, Neb. For more information, contact Wayne Wittmeyer 573/751-4115 x 3627 or wittmw@mail.conservation.state.mo.us.

January 16-17, 2001. Agroforestry Training for Natural Resource Professionals, University of Missouri, Columbia. For more information, contact Dusty Walter, technical training specialist at (573) 884-7991 or email: WalterW@missouri.edu.

January 31-February 2, 2001. Missouri Natural Resources Conference, Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach

February 6-8, 2001. Trees and Utilities National Conference, Lied Conference Center, Nebraska City, Neb. Contact: National Arbor Day Foundation, PO Box 81415, Lincoln, NE 68501; 888/448- 7337.

March 6-8, 2001. Social Issues and the Environment, Lied Conference Center, Nebraska City, Neb. Contact: National Arbor Day Foundation, PO Box 81415, Lincoln, NE 68501; 888/448- 7337.

March 26-28, 2001. Building With Trees Conference, Lied Conference Center, Nebraska City, Neb. Contact: National Arbor Day Foundation, PO Box 81415, Lincoln, NE 68501; 888/448- 7337.

May 1-3, 2001. Urban Wildlife Management Conference, Lied Conference Center, Nebraska City, Neb. Contact: National Arbor Day Foundation, PO Box 81415, Lincoln, NE 68501; 888/448- 7337.