Join us for a field tour of current forest research and partnerships on variable density management in the Stanislaus Tuolumne region. The Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest (STEF) is a USFS R5 experimental area with research and demonstration sites to support forest management across public lands in California. STEF is home to the oldest plot network in Region 5 and researchers there are currently studying the impact of variable spatial structures and insect and drought driven tree mortality. In the afternoon, we will learn about the role of master stewardship agreements and Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions, ongoing collaboration with County, Federal and private land managers to secure healthy forests and watersheds in the region.
Hope to see everyone there!!!!
See the attached flyer for registration information
Doug Leisz passed away April 20th at home in Placerville, surrounded by family. Doug was one of the great Regional Foresters in the Pacific Southwest Region of the Forest Service and a true visionary leader. He personally mentored hundreds of foresters and Forest Service employees. He retired as Associate Chief of the Forest Service in 1982, after serving alongside of Forest Service Chiefs Max Peterson and F. Dale Robertson. Doug had an uncanny way with people, getting them to see the Forest Service side of highly controversial issues.
Doug was born in Oakland in 1926 and attended Oakland High School. Upon graduation, he attended UC Berkeley, intending to major in engineering. But as World War II began, he decided to join the Merchant Marine Cadet Corps, hoping for an officer’s commission in the Navy or Merchant Marine. He was field promoted to a third officer in the Merchant Marines, and stayed in the service until the war ended. It was during his time at sea that Doug decided a desk job was not what he wanted and decided to look into forestry when he returned to Berkeley. His first job with the Forest Service was in 1948, working a summer for the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine doing surveys in Northern California and Oregon. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1950. It was the same year that he and Marian were married.
His career in the Forest Service, after graduation, began as the foreman at the Mt. Shasta nursery, near McCloud. Other positions in the Forest Service over his career included District Ranger, Assistant Regional Forester, Forest Supervisor, Regional Forester, and Associate Chief. Doug retired from the Associate Chief position and (semi)retired to the Placerville area.
Doug was a long-time SAF member, joining in 1953. He was also a Golden Member and an SAF Fellow.
After his retirement, Doug was instrumental in the creation of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees that acted as an advisory group to Forest Service leadership. He served as the organization’s first Chair. He also served on the board of the National Museum of Forest Service History for many years. In 2018, the National Museum of Forest Service History and the National Association of Forest Service Retirees established the Leisz Leadership Award in honor of Doug to recognize those who have made signification contributions to both organizations. The first Award was presented to Doug in 2018.
He and Marian had their own vineyard in Placerville and produced outstanding red wines. They were married for 70 years until Marian’s death in 2020.
Doug was part of California SAF’s oral history project. For insight into Doug’s career and life, in his own words, you can see his oral history here: Oral History Project
Personal note from your website editor – I knew Doug for many years, and remember visiting Doug and Marian at their home in Camino while I worked on the Eldorado National Forest. Doug invited my wife and I (and our kids) to pick empress plums on his property for canning, which we did a few years in a row. Doug was always willing to lend a hand (and a few bottles of wine) for any SAF fundraising effort. I really enjoyed talking forestry and politics with him and will miss him – David Bakke
David Lee Wood, age 93, of Concord, California passed away on Saturday, February 10, 2024 with his wife Caroline and his family at his side. David was born in Saint Louis, MO.
David earned his B.S. degree in forestry at Syracuse University (1952) and a Ph.D. in entomology at University of California, Berkeley (1960). He was a Professor of Entomology at UC-Berkeley (1970-1994) and a Professor Emeritus and a Professor of the Graduate Division at the same institution. He has also served as Chair of Entomology (1985-1990) and as Associate Dean in the Graduate Division (1983-1985).
David was a longtime member of the California Society of American Foresters, earning his Golden Membership Certificate in 2003. He was also a Fellow in both the Entomological Society of America and the Entomological Society of Canada. David was a California Registered Professional Forester.
In California, David had a strong influence on a generation of land and resource managers and the pest control industry. He worked closely with the California Department of Parks and Recreation to develop an agency-wide appreciation for forest pest management. He taught the biology and identification of wood-destroying insects to an entire generation of pest control specialists in northern California. This outreach was facilitated at workshops sponsored by the UC Cooperative Extension, the Pesticide Applicators Professional Association, the California Forest Pest Council and various industry venues.
John Bryant 1934 – 2024
Long-time California SAF Member, John Bryant, passed away on Monday, February 12, 2024. John was a great leader and mentor – he spent his career with the USFS, he was a veteran of the Korean War, he led the effort to found the Cal Poly Urban Forestry Ecosystems Institute, and he responded to many FEMA assignments throughout the US and the Pacific Rim. John was involved with SAF throughout his career and he had a great influence on many of us who became leaders in the organization. He was a Golden Member as well as an SAF Fellow.
John earned his forestry degree from Humboldt State College. Much of his career in the Forest Service was spent on the Cleveland and Plumas National Forests, although he did work on other forests. He worked at three different California job corps centers and served nine years as the Greenville District Ranger on the Plumas. In his final assignment, he spent 15 years as the South Zone Coordinator for the Pacific Southwest Region at the Operations Coordination Center in Riverside, CA. After retiring from the Forest Service in 1994, John helped establish and direct the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute (UFEI) at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for 10 years. During that time, he also worked with FEMA emergency teams addressing natural disasters in Chuuk, Guam, Palau and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina.
Throughout his career, he was a wonderful mentor to many colleagues, and a supporter and advocate for women and people of color in the Forest Service. He also was known for his love of good food, good wine, and he especially loved anything chocolate!
John and his wife Janet were also part of California SAF’s oral history project. For a brief overview of John’s career and many accomplishments, you can see his oral history here: Oral History Project
For the past four years, Kim Ingram, Forest Stewardship Education coordinator, has been listening closely to the private forest landowners who participate in her Forest Stewardship Workshop series. In 2023, Ingram and the Forest Stewardship team published a story map project that aims to provide landowners with a virtual platform to share their experiences and ways that they have been empowered to manage their land.
The project also includes stories from forestry professionals, providing readers different perspectives on forestry project development and implementation. You can visit the Forest Stewardship Story Map here: https://arcg.is/1qP88L0.
Read portions of some stories from California RPFs and forest landowners in this PDF file.
Connect with friends and colleagues and learn about the unique challenges and opportunities associated with managing forests across the Wildland Urban Interface, and hear from speakers implementing innovative forest management practices across Southern California. The meeting will include a field trip to the Covell Ranch forest health and fuels reduction project.
The UC Berkeley Forestry Club is happy to announce that we will be selling Christmas/Holiday Trees for the 2023 holiday season. Supporting this event helps the Cal Forestry Club attend conferences, go on field-tours, and build a forestry community at Berkeley. We thank you for your support.
NATIONAL CONVENTION FEATURES FIELD TOURS, SPEAKERS, GEN Z INPUT
For Immediate Release Sacramento, CA October 19, 2023
Hundreds of leading professionals from across the United States will descend upon Sacramento next week to attend the 2023 Convention of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). Interested members of the media are invited to meet and interact with diverse forestry experts but also with student leaders eager to share Millennial/Gen Z perspectives on today’s natural resource management challenges and why they are studying to enter the field.
Speakers include Dawn Blake, the first Native American appointed to serve on the state’s Board of Forestry and Fire Protection as well as USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. Blake is a Hoopa Tribal member and a Yurok descendant. She will participate in a Plenary Session titled “Indigenizing Forestry at its Roots.” Moore heads up a federal agency entrusted with overseeing 193 million acres – a land area almost twice the size of California.
Besides presentations, booths and social events, participants can choose to attend field tours, including scheduled visits to the 2021 unprecedented trans-Sierra Caldor megafire, an operating sawmill/biomass power plant, U.C. Berkeley’s Blodgett Forest Research Station, and several others.
Hosting this year’s SAF Convention is the California State Society (Cal SAF). The group has recently produced two far-reaching policy statements responding to the megafire crisis and the plight of the state’s iconic giant sequoia trees.
The referenced policy statements, Sustaining native giant sequoia groves requires active, adaptive management and Forestry Solutions to California’s Wildfire Crisis are posted on the Cal SAF website, https://californiasaf.org/policy/.
For More Information please contact:
Bill Keye, Cal SAF Communications Chair, wwkeye@gmail.com, (530) 355-0670.
The California Society of American Foresters
Cal SAF is a State Society of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). SAF is a professional association with headquarters in Washington, DC. The Society is organized across the United States and Canada, serving as an accreditation and research body representing all segments of the forestry profession; including public and private practitioners, administrators, educators, and forestry students. SAF governs a majority of the political and scientific topics at the national level, which allows each jurisdiction to represent itself independently, guided by SAF’s Mission and Code of Ethics.
The Forestry and Natural Resources Career Mentorship Program is seeking qualified forestry professionals to serve as mentors for the ’23-’24 academic year. This program pairs college students in 8 forestry programs in California with a mentor who can provide tailored guidance as they enter the field. More information on the Program can be found on the Placer RCD website: https://placerrcd.org/projects/mentorship/.
It’s that time of year again! Everything is on track in our 20th anniversary year’s fall event season, including some long-term stability in the form of a new 4-year CalFire Wildfire Prevention Grant. Participation numbers are looking strong and we are again expecting a record-breaking year. To see which schools are coming, you can go to our interactive map.
Approximately 25 to 30 volunteers are needed per event. The event dates for the 2023 Forestry Challenge season are:
Shasta – September 27 – 30 at Mountain Meadows near Shingletown
Santa Cruz– October 11 – 14 at Redwood Glen near Loma Mar
El Dorado – October 25 – 28, at Leoni Meadows near Grizzly Flats
If you are able to spend as little as a few hours or as much as a few days, please visit the website and follow the link to the volunteer registration form at the top of the homepage. You can be reimbursed for mileage at the volunteer rate of 14 cents per mile, and meals and housing are provided. Volunteers also receive a fabulous event t-shirt! You are welcome to volunteer for any “job” that is best for your schedule and interest. A list of “jobs”, including the duties and hours for each, is linked here and also on the volunteer form.
For questions, contact Diane Dealey Neill, Executive Director Forestry Educators, Inc. at dianedealeyneill@gmail.com.
For Immediate Release Sacramento, CA August 10, 2023
Scientists and natural resource professionals are pushing back against the myth that doing nothing is the best way of protecting California’s seasonally dry forest and wildland ecosystems. Citing peer-reviewed research and alarming 21st Century increases in wildfire severity and forest loss, the California Society of American Foresters (Cal-SAF) has produced two far-reaching position statements in response to the crisis.
“Months of tough collegial dialogue went into the preparation of these papers,” said Cal SAF Chair Karin Linnen. “Our forests and their associated values are in decline. The public deserves a better understanding of why, and what needs to be done to protect and restore them for future generations.”
Conventional media reports commonly link wildfire events with climate change. Foresters don’t dispute climate science, but do know a great deal about vegetative dynamics, especially with respect to the deteriorating condition of our seasonally dry forests in the West. The clear linkage between unnaturally high accumulations of flammable woody fuels and extreme wildfire events is often overlooked by media outlets in favor of the preferred climate narrative. It’s unfortunate, because only active forest management offers immediately available, proven practices that reduce forest fuels. When implemented and maintained, these can modify the behavior and intensity of future wildfires – even during cyclical periods of drought.
The referenced policy statements, Sustaining native giant sequoia groves requires active, adaptive management and Forestry Solutions to California’s Wildfire Crisis are posted on the Cal-SAF website, https://californiasaf.org/policy/.
Cal-SAF is also preparing to host this year’s National SAF Convention, to be held October 25-28 in Sacramento. The event will draw forestry experts and practitioners from across the United States, offering an unparalleled opportunity for media engagement. Convention tours (10/25) include a visit to UC Berkeley’s Blodgett Forest Research Station as well as a trip to the Caldor Fire, an unprecedented and highly destructive 2021 trans-Sierra megafire. The website is safconvention.org.
For More Information please contact:
Bill Keye, Cal-SAF Communications Chair, wwkeye@gmail.com, (530) 355-0670.
The California Society of American Foresters
Cal-SAF is a State Society of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). SAF is a professional association with headquarters in Washington, DC. The Society is organized across the United States and Canada, serving as an accreditation and research body representing all segments of the forestry profession; including public and private practitioners, administrators, educators, and forestry students. SAF governs a majority of the political and scientific topics at the national level, which allows each jurisdiction to represent itself independently, guided by SAF’s Mission and Code of Ethics.
