“The ‘Family Tree’ and Heirs’ Property Rights: Connecting People, Land, and Legacy” with Sam Cook and Natalie and Nikki Jefferies and host Jamie Lewis

Productive agricultural land remains elusive for many landowners and agricultural professionals are often limited in helping them due to complicated legal and social issues. This is particularly true for forestland owned as heirs’ property—property with multiple owners, each of whom inherited their shares. A new documentary film “Family Tree” looks at this issue heirs’ property rights through the eyes of land owners throughout North Carolina and those advising them. In the film you meet forester Sam Cook, who advises two sisters, Natalie and Nikki Jefferies, who are not only landowners but are advocates for family forests. Webinar host Jamie Lewis will speak with Natalie, Nikki, and Sam about the issue of heirs’ property and their experiences as natural resource managers.

Natalie and Nikki Jefferies are inheritors of a family legacy rooted in the land. These two sisters are more than mere stewards; they are advocates for the profound significance of family forests. Through their involvement in “Family Tree” shines a light on the importance of family forests, they hope to inspire others to embrace their role as custodians of the earth and to recognize the profound impact that individual actions can have on the collective well-being of our planet.

Sam Cook is the executive director of Forest Assets and VP of the Natural Resources Foundation for the College of Natural Resources at NC State University, the former Director of Forestry Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation, and is Immediate Past President of the Society of American Foresters.

Jamie Lewis is the historian at the Forest History Society. He hosts the Society’s monthly webinar series “Conversations in Forest History.”

About the Webinar Series

From wildfires to habitat and species loss to illegal logging, it seems that barely a week goes by that we don’t read or hear something alarming about our forests. And while concerns about our forest future are valid, emphasis on the negative to the exclusion of all other news can be overwhelming and overshadow all that is working in how we manage and conserve our forests.

During our special webinar series, we are offering insightful programming by focusing on the theme of Forest Optimism as a way to tell the stories of what is working across the spectrum of forestry and related research, industry, land management, and conservation efforts.

We acknowledge the challenges that are facing our forests. At the same time, we want to explore and share some of the work the public and private sectors, Indigenous peoples, local communities, the forestry profession, nonprofits, and universities have done to help ensure that our forests and the communities that depend on them flourish now and into the future.

To register, visit: https://foresthistory.org/education/fhs-webinar-series/forest-optimism/