By the time you read this, Don Dukleth, High Sierra Chapter, will have received the District 3 2015 Field Forester of the Year award at the national SAF convention in Baton Rouge, LA. Don is a long-time employee of Southern California Edison and has provided continuous support to Forest Conservation Days, including helping the program move to its current location outside of Kings Canyon National Park. Congratulations Don!
NorCal SAF will hopefully have received nominations by October 31 for its two annual awards, Forestry Achievement and the Chapter of the Year, which will be presented at the winter meeting in January.
Now is also the time to be thinking about nominations for national awards, which are due annually February 28.
It is exciting to announce that we’ve had very good success with our applications for Forester Fund grants. The steam donkey restoration project received a $5,000 special project grant. And I have to say it has given a jet of steam to the project. John Nicoles has been diligently working with experts to determine how to get the steam donkey repaired and has made great progress on an approach. There is new excitement and commitment from partners to assist with fund raising. We have a poster to present at the national SAF convention titled “Keeping History Alive,” which documents the history of the steam donkey, its value as an interpretive tool, and our efforts to restore it. Remember, you can go to the NorCal SAF website to get information on how to donate to this project.
The other big news is that we are receiving two $1,500 Forester Fund grants to help support the California SAF Centennial in 2016. The funds will be used to develop special displays and record the history of SAF’s contributions to forestry in California.
