SAF Centennial +25

Have you ever read stories of the “old timers” and marveled at the good old days? What will later generations know of us?

This is your chance to become an author with little effort. We would like members of the Washington State SAF to contribute a memorable forestry experience. This could be a short story of something that happened to you or someone.

Please write a paragraph or a page and submit by September 1, 2025. A special photograph could also be added. (Don’t send an original you want returned. A copy made on a color copier is inexpensive and color copies of black & white photographs produce very clear images.)

Submitted copy and photographs become the property of the Society of American Foresters and it reserves the right to reject, condense, or edit for clarity.

Questions or to submit, contact Steve Ricketts at sgricketts(at)Olympus.net.

UW SEFS Instructor and WSSAF member Robert Swain recognized

Each year the University of Washington’s College of the Environment recognizes outstanding members of the College community via the College Awards and this year School of Environmental and Forestry Sciences (SEFS) instructor, Robert Swan, was selected by Dean Maya Tolstoy to receive the 2024 College of the Environment Exceptional Mentoring of Undergraduates Award. This award recognizes significant contributions to the development of undergraduate student research and the intellectual vibrancy of the College of the Environment.

Robert, a past UW SAF Student Chapter Chair has made significant contributions to ESRM 304 – one of three interdisciplinary courses here at SEFS that makes up the core of the Environmental Science and Resource Management curriculum. 

The Awards Committee and Dean Tolstoy were impressed at the number of nomination letters received from students and faculty alike on behalf of Robert. This award is a fitting recognition of the multitude of ways Robert has supported undergraduates both publicly and behind the scenes in the pursuit of their degrees. Robert’s nominators shared that Robert is an extremely knowledgeable and helpful mentor, generous with his time and expertise, and that he goes above and beyond providing students with valuable training by serving as a reference, supervising projects and providing community and networking opportunities.

UW and WSSAF are clearly lucky to have Robert as a SEFS Instructor!  Congratulations!

Join WSSAF and WFPA for 2025 Legislative Reception

Please join members of the Washington State Society of American Foresters (WSSAF) and Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) on January 16th at the Hands-On Children’s Museum, 414 Jefferson St NE in Olympia at 6:00 PM for the 2025 Society of American Foresters Legislative Reception!

This event is an opportunity for you to connect with your lawmakers at an event focused on forests and the work that we do. With it being a budget-setting year, it’s especially important we communicate to legislators the importance of forest management to the Evergreen State.

The Legislative Reception is hosted by the Southwest Washington Chapter in partnership with Washington Forest Protection Association; light refreshments will be provided.

PNW SAF Leadership Conference 2025

Save-The-Date for the 2025 PNW LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

The 2025 PNW SAF Leadership Conference is scheduled for Feb 27th-28th at the world famous Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA.

Hosted by Washington State SAF, this year’s Leadership Conference theme is “Growth and Resilience”.

Details and registration coming soon at https://www.forestry.org/pnw-leadership-conference

WSSAF Commissioner of Public Lands Candidate Forum

The WSSAF Commissioner of Public Lands Candidate Forum is coming up on October 7th, 2024, 6-7:30 PM and will take place at the Norman Worthington Conference Center at St. Martin’s College in Olympia, WA. Click here to check out additional details and the registration link on the calendar page.

Be Wary of Email Scams

The world of purchasing Gift cards “scam” has reached several members of Washington State Society of American Foresters (WSSAF). Recently some members of WSSAF have received an email originating from WSSAF Chair Samantha Chang requesting the purchase of Gift cards on behalf of WSSAF to donate to a veterans group.

We confirmed with WSSAF Chair Chang that this email request to purchase gift cards on behalf of WSSAF is bogus.

In this very real email request the sender states that they need a “favor” and have limited access to phone coverage. They direct the purchase of gift cards in dominations of $100 from local sources and then indicate once the gift cards are purchased to send a confirmation email them. Once the email is received they will direct where the Gift cards are to be sent.

Please be wary of this email request.

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.

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