North Puget Sound Chapter Meeting May 15th

Hello North Puget Sound SAF Chapter members, and a special welcome to our new members! Please join us for a tour of the Pacific Rim Tonewoods mill and Utopia Figured Maple Project site, followed by a group dinner at Double Barrel BBQ.

Pacific Rim Tonewoods has been supplying premium wood to guitar makers and luthiers for over 30 years. They specialize in traditional, sonically graded, and torrefied tonewood from spruce species, bigleaf maple, and koa. The Utopia site is one of Pacific Rim Tonewood’s research projects into sustainable production of high-value fiddleback maple. This is an outdoor tour, so please come prepared for inclement weather and walking on uneven terrain. Participants will take their own vehicles, and carpooling is encouraged. 

Join us at Pacific Rim Tonewoods for the mill tour at 1:30 PM on May 15 at 38511 State Route 20, Concrete, WA. At about 3 PM we’ll take a short drive to the Utopia Plantation. The tour will wrap up at Utopia about 5 PM, and then we’ll head to Double Barrel BBQ, 108 West Moore St., Sedro Woolley, for dinner at 5:30 PM, with appetizers and drinks courtesy of the North Puget Sound SAF Chapter (order dinner on your own) where we’ll share news from state and national SAF.

Please RSVP with the button below so we can plan ahead for food, or email Samantha Chang at northpugetSAF@gmail.com. Guests are welcome – invite another forester!

New chapter members can pick up their complimentary WSSAF pint glass at the dinner – same goes for any other members who haven’t received theirs yet. We appreciate your continued membership, and hope to see you there!

WSSAF 2024 Annual Meeting-Don’t miss it!

Coming up fast April 3-5 – Register now

Early bird registration deadline extended for 2024 WSSAF Annual Meeting until March 8th.  After March 8, the price will increase to $250. The field trip is also capped at 40 attendees so don’t delay in registering. Can’t attend in person? There is a virtual option.

Meeting Theme: Forest Practices Act 50th Anniversary: Past, Present, and Future
Dates and Location: April 3-5, 2024 – Grays Harbor College, Aberdeen, WA
Hosted by the Southwest Washington SAF Chapter .
https://forestry.org/washington-annual-meetings/

Registration Pricing
SAF Members*: $200, add-ons banquet dinner $50, field trip $50
Non-SAF Members: $250, add-ons banquet dinner $50, field trip $50
Student Members: $75, add-ons banquet dinner $25, field trip $25
$50*Golden members receive a $50 discount when registering. 

Next year is the 50th anniversary of the Washington State Forest Practices Act. In recognition of this anniversary, the 2024 WSSAF annual meeting will explore how this significant piece of legislation changed forest management in Washington State. Presentations include: RMAP History & Fish Passage and Habitat Restoration Projects, Unstable Slopes and Habitat Conservation Plans.

The keynote address will feature Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands, Washington Department of Natural Resources. Other activities include an icebreaker social and student and early career mentoring event on Wednesday, a silent auction, and Friday field trip. On Friday morning, there will be a Tree Farmer Inspector breakfast hosted by the Washington Tree Farm Program, following by the field trip.

WSSAF 2023-2024 Awards Nominations open

Member nominations are being sought by the Washington State Society of American Foresters (WSSAF) Awards Committee for 2023-2024 for three categories: Forester of the Year, Chapter of the Year, and SAF District 1 Presidential Field Forester of the Year.

To receive the Award nomination form, please contact 2023/24 WSSAF Awards Committee Chair: Bill Horn, email hornbill66(at)msn.com WSSAF Award nominations are due March 5, 2024 and the Presidential Field Forester Award nomination are due to February 15, 2024

To learn more and download the nomination form (PDF)

Presidential Field Forester Award for District 1 (Alaska, Inland Empire and Washington State SAF) will be presented at the next National SAF Convention.

The Washington State SAF Awards will be presented at the 2024 WSSAF Annual Meeting (April 3-5, 2024).

Forester of the Year

To be presented annually to a member of the Washington State Society of American Foresers selected to be recognized by his/her peers for contributing to both the profession and the public through application of his/her professional skills to the advancement of forestry in Washington State and through public service that benefits his/her community or some larger segment of society.  The selection committee is made up of the five (5) previous Foresters of the Year with their chair being the most recent recipient,

Chapter Achievement Award

To be presented to a Washington State Society Chapter which has made extraordinary achievements in membership, service to members, community service, and chapter management and participated in forest policy and legislation in the preceding year.  Chapters are required to submit achievement data for the preceding year to qualify for the award.  This could also be the basis of a submission to National for an Outstanding Local Unit Achievement Award the following year.

Presidential Field Forester Awards

It is appropriate that SAF recognize those members of our profession who actively practice professional forestry in the field.  Practitioners are the true foundation of our profession. Practitioners often operate in nearly complete anonymity, yet their actions are the single most important contribution to the viability and understanding of our profession.  This is where forestry truly happens and it is important that we recognize those who perform the art and science of forestry each and every day.

There are a large number of field foresters in District 1 (Alaska, Inland Empire and Washington State SAF) who should be recognized for their talent and accomplishments.  These deserving individuals can be found in all regions of the U.S. Using SAF presidential prerogative, 11 members — one from each of the eleven SAF districts — will be selected by the District Board Representative to receive an outstanding field forester achievement award each year.

While WSSAF will recognize a nominee for District and National Presidential Field Forester, the actual District and National selection, meeting National selection criteria, will now be submitted through the National online submission portal site by March 15.  The site should be reached at eforester.org/awards which will then forward the information to the District board member who will then forward their selection to the SAF President.   

WSSAF Recognizes its Golden Members 2020-2023

On August 3, 2023, the Washington State Society of American Foresters (WSSAF) held its Golden Member Appreciation Luncheon in Fife, WA to recognize SAF members who achieved Golden Member status (50 years of SAF membership) in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Twenty-six members were honored at the luncheon, and several were on hand to accept their plaques.

Also in attendance were previously recognized Golden Members who came to support the new golden Members and to network. In addition to recognizing the Golden Members, Chris Schnepf, SAF board member for District 1, provided a national update, and Andrea Watts, the SAF Northwest Office manager, gave an update on activities at the Northwest SAF Office.

Sponsors of the luncheon were Nuveen Nature Capital, Weyerhaeuser, American Forest Management, Robert Bass, and TTG Forestry Services; the venue sponsor was Wade Boyd.

This Golden Member Appreciation Luncheon has been held annually since 1996, apart from a brief hiatus
from 2020-2022 due to the ongoing pandemic.

Originally organized by South Puget Sound Chapter, the luncheon serves to acknowledge and honor senior members for their half-century membership in SAF. In 2017, SAF’s House of Society Delegates awarded the South Puget Sound chapter with a national recognition award for diversity & inclusion in recognition for organizing this annual luncheon. The luncheon is now organized by WSSAF.

Seeking Volunteers for the 2023 Washington State Fair

Come to Puyallup between Friday, September 1, and Sunday, September 24, to see, smell, and taste The Fair and help staff the Washington State Society of American Foresters booth in the Expo Hall, located near the Gold Gate entrance.

Shifts are 3 or 3 1/2 hours, and there are 2 or 3 shifts a day. The shifts start at 10 a.m. or 12:00 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. depending on the day. The Fair is closed all Tuesdays – Sept. 5, 12, and 19 as well as the first Wednesday – Sept. 6, 2023.

In return for your help, we offer a free entry ticket, access to free parking, and shuttle service from at least one of the parking lots. Tickets will be available mid-summer. 

This document lists the currently available shifts, and contact Gene McCaul at mccauls1234(at)msn.com to sign up.

WSSAF Member Elected Fellow in 2023

SAF recently announced SAF members who were elected Fellow in 2023, and WSSAF’s John Ehrenreich, Jr. was one of these Fellows!

The Fellow Award is a prestigious award that recognizes an SAF member for long-standing service to forestry at the local, state, and national levels. The SAF Fellow is recognized as an ambassador for the advancement of forestry. Nominations are accepted from any SAF member in good standing. Awardees are recognized during their local state society meetings and during the SAF National Convention. 

RECOGNIZING SEVEN NEW CANDIDATE CERTIFIED FORESTERS AND CERTIFIED FORESTERS IN REGION 1

Congratulations to the following professional foresters who became SAF certified as Candidate Certified Foresters or Certified Foresters in 2022. The Certified Forester credential is for SAF members and non-members promoting excellence in the stewardship of our nation’s forest resources through enhanced professionalism in forestry.

Cody Davis, CF
Gregory Howisey, CF
Alexander Pancoast, CF

2023 Tour of Washington Forestry Calendar Available for Preordering

This year, the Washington State SAF (WSSAF) and the Washington Tree Farm Program (WTFP) again partnered to produce the 2023 Tour of Washington Forestry calendar! For this calendar, the members of WSSAF and WTFP outdid themselves in capturing what sustainable forestry looks like in Washington State.

We are asking for a $25 donation per calendar, and we recommend preordering your calendar to guarantee availability.

Calendars may be ordered online here. If you want to pay by check, please fill out this order form, and mail it and the check to Washington Tree Farm Program PO Box 1814 Olympia, WA 98507.

Thank you to the WSSAF volunteered their time to produce this calendar, including Marisa Bass, Don Hanley, Jenny Knoth, Josh Meek, Luke Semler, and Andrea Watts. WTFP volunteers included Margaret Ellis, Jon Matson, David New, Tammie Perreault, and Elizabeth Ide,

Catch the Premier of The Big Burn: American Experience on September 7, 2022

The Big Burn: American Experience will air on KCTS on September 7, 2022, at 10:00 p.m. This documentary is based upon Timothy Egan’s book, The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America.

To learn more about the documentary, visit https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/burn/#film_description.

It’s Time to Volunteer at the Washington State Fair!

For a number of years, the WSSAF has hosted a booth at the Washington State Fair. Most exhibitors at The Fair pay a substantial amount, but after many years of working with The Fair and the longtime dedication of many people such as John Bergvall, and the building superintendent who is a fellow SAFer, we have been invited back each year without a fee. Others in the building include Wash. State Trappers, Washingtonians for Wildlife, Tacoma Water, Rails to Trails, Boy Scouts, and others.

WSSAF needs volunteers to help staff the booth and provide outreach to the public for our profession. In return for your time, volunteers receive free admission to The Fair and access to free parking. To sign up for volunteer shifts, please fill out this form https://forms.gle/gHhrn87yksdYTfyAA.