The Joint Forestry Team and members of NACD’s Forestry Resource Policy Group (FRPG) gathered earlier this month to learn about ongoing projects and connect with partners from the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and others.
The event kicked off on Monday, August 1 in Columbus, Ohio, with a meeting of the Joint Forestry Team (JFT). The JFT is a committee of partners involved in forestry who meet to coordinate their work and strengthen the effectiveness of on-the-ground forestry and natural resources management. The group consists of representatives from NACD, NASF, NRCS, and the USFS. NACD is represented by John McAlpine and Tom Crowe, as well as staff member Annica McGuirk. During the meeting, the group heard updates from the partners, participated in discussions about strategic communications, and made strides to complete their work plan. Meeting in person allowed members of the committee to have a dynamic conversation about the needs of the group and opportunities for continued collaboration in the future.
On Tuesday, the day began with introductions and updates from participating organization and committee leaders, giving NACD’s FRPG chair Steve Hedstrom an opportunity to address meeting attendees and share the recent work of the FRPG. The agenda continued with presentations from Dan Balser, the Ohio State Forester, as well as Brian Bradshaw with USFS, who discussed recent developments in forest products. The day continued with updates from members of NASF and the Southern Group of State Foresters on Keeping Forests’ Traditional Forest Market Initiative, Forest Policy, and The Forest Carbon Network. In the afternoon, attendees participated in an activity focused on creating partnerships in the conservation space and heard updates from USFS, the Agroforestry Center, the Society of American Foresters, and the White Oak Initiative.
A field tour was offered to attendees on Wednesday. The group departed for the Speyside Cooperage, a barrel supplier in Jackson, Ohio, to discuss and observe forest product markets. The group then went to Vinton Furnace State Forest to explore forestry management in practice, with a particular focus on white oak management efforts in the region.
The event concluded on Thursday, August 4, with an opportunity for the Forestry Resource Policy Group to meet in person and discuss their work plan and strategic communications. Throughout the meeting, FRPG members had a chance to network with partners and explore opportunities for districts to fulfill needs in the forestry and wildfire space. Districts are well positioned to be partners in implementing on-the-ground forestry management, wildfire prevention, and recovery.
For more information about how districts engage in Forestry work or to share your district’s Forestry success stories, please contact Annica McGuirk at annica-mcguirk@nacdnet.org.
