September 21, 2024
8am – 4pm, Northwestern REC Community Forest, Cambridge Springs, PA
This field conference is all about forests – threats, management practices, and ways that we can enhance their resilience and overall health. The day will be full of field-based presentations and walks on critical and emerging topics related to forest stewardship and conservation. Pre-registration is required and all are welcome! See below for the conference program, with new information added regularly as speakers are confirmed!
Attention Forest Professionals – This conference qualifies for Society of American Foresters CFE credits! (7 category one credits and 1 category two credit)
$10 – Members of FSF or NWPWA
$30 – Non-Members
Free for children under 7
Schedule of Events
8:00 AM – Registration Begins
8:45 AM – Welcome Remarks and Introductions
9:00 AM – Opening Address – 20 Years of FSF: Reflecting on the Past and Looking to the Future
9:30 AM – Morning Breakout Session 1
Introduction to Nature Watercolors (Rosalie Haizlett) – Limited Space
In this all-levels workshop, we’ll go over the complete watercolor process, from pencil sketch to final painting. Weather permitting, we’ll start the class with a 15-minute walk to see what natural subjects we can use for inspiration, taking photos and making observations of what we see along the way. Then, we’ll use a combination of living references that I’ve collected prior to the workshop and reference photos to bring our lovely muses to life on the page. Watercolor painting supplies will be provided, but you are also welcome to bring your own kit if you prefer.
Space is limited for this workshop and pre-registration is required. Please indicate your preference for participating in this session in the registration form linked above. You can also call 814-694-5830 or email [email protected] to pre-register for this session. Interested participants will be confirmed in the order registrations are received.
Horse Logging Demonstration: The Role of Horses in Sustainable Forestry (Pat Maloney)
The careful felling of trees and the use of horses to skid logs out of the woods are cornerstones of FSF’s sustainable forestry approach. Join Pat, one of FSF’s Directors and former horse logger, for a demonstration and discussion of this process and the nuances that help to minimize residual damage to the forest during a harvest.
Woods Walk: Beginning Management of a Newly Conserved Woodland (Guy Dunkle and Troy Firth)
The newly conserved Northwestern REC Community Forest will be managed by FSF as a sustainable working forest, benefiting forest resilience and ensuring a steady supply of sustainably produced logs that support the local community. FSF foresters Guy Dunkle and Troy Firth will lead this woods walk to discuss the history and current state of the forest, exploring how the present condition is informing management and stewardship decisions. Guy and Troy will explain FSF’s guiding principles in conducting a sustainable harvest that balances art and science to create a more resilient, diverse future forest.
Twilight of the Hemlocks and Beeches (Tim Palmer)
At once an artistic celebration, scientific inquiry, and heartfelt eulogy, Tim’s presentation, based on his book Twilight of the Hemlocks and Beeches, will explore the problems our most cherished eastern forests face from exotic insects and pathogens.
10:45 AM – Break
11:00 AM – Morning Breakout Session 2
Horse Logging Demonstration: The Role of Horses in Sustainable Forestry (Pat Maloney)
The careful felling of trees and the use of horses to skid logs out of the woods are cornerstones of FSF’s sustainable forestry approach. Join Pat, one of FSF’s Directors and former horse logger, for a demonstration and discussion of this process and the nuances that help to minimize residual damage to the forest during a harvest.
Forest Legacy Planning: Moving Towards the Decision Point (Paul Roth)
Planning for your forestland after your tenure can be a daunting task. Forest legacy planning allows current owners to create structures and processes to allow for seamless transition of the land, as well as the stewardship ethic. In this session, the Finley Center for Private Forests’ Paul Roth will discuss the steps to take to get to forest legacy planning, and walk you through the planning process, common conservation models for your land, tips for navigating potentially difficult conversations with family, professionals to assist, and best practices to ensure it goes smoothly.
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is Here: Panel Discussion (Jim Altemus, Tim Palmer, Kelly Culbertson, and others)
For many years, Crawford County had been the state’s only holdout from hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), but the pest was discovered in the County in late 2023. Hemlocks are a keystone species of critical importance to forest and cold-water stream ecosystems and this disease has the potential to shape our forests more significantly than any other tree pest in the past century. DCNR Forest Health Program Specialist Jim Aletmus will begin this session with an overview presentation about HWA’s ecology, spread, impact, and treatment options. Following the presentation, Jim will join a collection of panelists representing different areas of HWA expertise for a discussion and audience Q&A around management approaches, landscape changes, and adaptation in light of HWA.
12:15 PM – Lunch (Provided)
1:30 PM – Introduction to the Northwestern REC Community Forest
2:30 PM – Afternoon Breakout Session
Introduction to Nature Watercolors (Rosalie Haizlett) – Limited Space
In this all-levels workshop, we’ll go over the complete watercolor process, from pencil sketch to final painting. Weather permitting, we’ll start the class with a 15-minute walk to see what natural subjects we can use for inspiration, taking photos and making observations of what we see along the way. Then, we’ll use a combination of living references that I’ve collected prior to the workshop and reference photos to bring our lovely muses to life on the page. Watercolor painting supplies will be provided, but you are also welcome to bring your own kit if you prefer.
Space is limited for this workshop and pre-registration is required. Please indicate your preference for participating in this session in the registration form linked above. You can also call 814-694-5830 or email [email protected] to pre-register for this session. Interested participants will be confirmed in the order registrations are received.
Forest Legacy Planning: Moving Towards the Decision Point (Paul Roth)
Planning for your forestland after your tenure can be a daunting task. Forest legacy planning allows current owners to create structures and processes to allow for seamless transition of the land, as well as the stewardship ethic. In this session, the Finley Center for Private Forests’ Paul Roth will discuss the steps to take to get to forest legacy planning, and walk you through the planning process, common conservation models for your land, tips for navigating potentially difficult conversations with family, professionals to assist, and best practices to ensure it goes smoothly.
Woods Walk: Beginning Management of a Newly Conserved Woodland (Guy Dunkle and Troy Firth)
The newly conserved Northwestern REC Community Forest will be managed by FSF as a sustainable working forest, benefiting forest resilience and ensuring a steady supply of sustainably produced logs that support the local community. FSF foresters Guy Dunkle and Troy Firth will lead this woods walk to discuss the history and current state of the forest, exploring how the present condition is informing management and stewardship decisions. Guy and Troy will explain FSF’s guiding principles in conducting a sustainable harvest that balances art and science to create a more resilient, diverse future forest.
Woods Walk: Welcome to Your Community Forest
What is a community forest? How will you be able to interact with this new public space? This session will offer a sneak peak on future plans for the Northwestern REC Community Forest. We will hike a trail that was recently built by the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps and enjoy the scenery while discussing proposed events, uses, and improvements to the site. Your input is welcome!
3:45 PM – Conference Evaluations & Departure
Jim Altemus has served as the Forest Health Program Specialist (western area) with the PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry since November 2022. Previously, Jim held Forester roles with the Bureau of Forestry’s Forest Health Division (2015-2022) and Inventory and Monitoring Section (2014-2015).
A reluctant lawyer with an affinity for green things, Kelly Culbertson founded the Cook Forest Conservancy (CFC), primarily in response to the threat posed by Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). Cook Forest State Park may be the “last, best” stand of Eastern Hemlock, and this keystone species now faces the threat of HWA, invasive plants, climate change, and development. The CFC coordinates and facilitates any efforts to preserve our old-growth forests in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Guy Dunkle is a Land Manager with the Foundation for Sustainable Forests, with over 19 years of experience practicing sustainable forestry across northwest PA and western NY.
Troy Firth is the Founder and President of the Foundation for Sustainable Forests, with over 45 years of experience practicing sustainable forestry and production of maple syrup. Troy is the recipient of the 2019 WeConservePA (formerly Pennsylvania Land Trust Association) Lifetime Conservation Achievement Award and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Western Pennsylvania Environmental Award.
Rosalie Haizlett is an illustrator, author and educator whose mission is to celebrate the hidden wonders of the natural world through art. Haizlett has been an artist-in-residence at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with the National Audubon Society at Hog Island, and at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. In 2022, she was awarded the Eckelberry Fellowship for distinguished wildlife illustrators. Haizlett has taught nature-focused art workshops in schools, national parks, and REI stores and has also instructed tens of thousands of students through her online courses. The author of Watercolor in Nature and the forthcoming book Tiny Worlds of the Appalachian Mountains, she lives on the edge of Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. See rosaliehaizlett.com for more information.
Pat Maloney is a skilled woodsman and practitioner of sustainable forestry. For some years, he cut trees alongside horse-logger Ray Blystone on FSF-owned properties, and is a maple syrup producer and forest manager at Firth Maple Products. Pat holds a B.S. in Natural Resources from Northland College.
Tim Palmer is the award-winning author and photographer of thirty books about forests, rivers, conservation, and the environment, including Trees and Forests of America and America’s Great Forest Trails. He has been involved in conservation since 1970 and has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Rivers, the Conservation Achievement Award for Communications from the National Wildlife Federation, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State University. Tim’s book, Twilight of the Hemlocks and Beeches, won the Ansel Adams Photography Award from the Sierra Club. See timpalmer.org for more information.
Paul Roth serves on the Council and Executive Committee of the Finley Center for Private Forests at Penn State. Paul is a forest landowner, an avid outdoorsman, and has always found great enjoyment in the woods. Born in Erie, PA, and a resident of Pennsylvania for most of his life, he also holds an affinity for New England, where he spent his middle and high school years in central Maine. He earned his undergraduate degree in History with a minor in Philosophy from Mercyhurst University in 1995 and his masters in forestry at Penn State in 2003, where he continued to work through 2005. From 2005 – 2013 he was with the PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry in the Forest Planning & Information Division and served as the Chief of the Resource Inventory & Monitoring Section from 2010-2013. He was twice awarded the Department’s Secretary’s Achievement Award during his tenure. From 2013 – 2019 he served as a Senior Adviser to the Director of a Washington, D.C. based non-profit that focused on natural resource and energy policy advocacy at the federal level. In 2015, he reinitiated his pursuit of a doctorate at Penn State, which he received in 2019 under the direction of the late Dr. James C. Finley, which focused on conservation-based estate planning. In 2019, he started a consulting business and has served clients in the natural resource, philanthropic, advocacy, academic, and non-governmental organizational sectors. He’s served on the Board of Directors of the Mt. Nittany Conservancy as its forest subject matter expert since 2017. Paul has three wonderful children, Alden, Conor, and Maddie, ages 15-20, who are a constant inspiration to him, and resides in the State College area of central PA.
We have received your registration to participate in Jim Finley Stewardship Day on August 25 at Caldwell Creek. Thank you!
We will be in touch with more information as the date approaches. We look forward to working alongside you in August!
We have received your registration for the March 17th Vernal Pool Exploration event. Thank you!