Chequamegon-Nicolet co-hosts Ecological Forestry Workshop

Learning how to apply the concepts of Ecological Forestry to sustainable forest management

(Contributed by Linda Parker, 715-762-5169)

Over 50 forestry professionals representing government, industry and private enterprises from three states came to Wisconsin to learn how to apply the concepts of Ecological Forestry to sustainable forest management systems. The Forest Guild in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, the U.S. Forest Service Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and the Northern Research Station, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Conservation Forestry Network hosted an Ecological Forestry Workshop on October 7th and 8th in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin. Instructors included the esteemed researcher Jerry Franklin of the University of Washington.

Increasingly, forest managers and policy makers are looking at natural disturbance regimes and stand development patterns as guides for forest management. "Incorporating these ideas into existing and emerging sustainable forest management practices is at the heart of an ecological forestry approach" said Brian Palik of the Northern Research Station and a co-organizer of the workshop. As a part of this workshop participants learn the importance of biological legacies, to recognize the role of stand development processes and disturbances, and appreciate the role of recovery periods between disturbance events. The Workshop also addresses how to apply ecological forestry principles to management scenarios ranging from commodity production to reserve management in relation to forest certification systems, impacts of invasive species, wildlife habitat management, forest restoration, and climate change.

According to John DuPlissis, Forestry Outreach Specialist at UWSP's College of Natural Resources, the Ecological Forestry Workshop is designed to improve forest practices across North America by bringing together experts, land managers, stakeholders and decision-makers to learn, shape, and share innovative practices across the diverse range of American forests and communities.

Linda Parker, Forest Ecologist on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, helped plan this workshop and an earlier one held in Keshena, Wisconsin. This year Linda gave an evening presentation on Carbon Management, a topic of great interest to Forestry professionals who are keen to learn how a changing climate may affect forests and the forestry profession. Many Ecological Forestry practices dovetail very well with climate change mitigation practices.

For more information about Ecological Forestry Workshops contact Zander Evans at 505-983-8992, ext.36 or by e-mail at zander@forestguild.org, or check out their website at http://www.forestguild.org/ .