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

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.