Guest post by Kristen Miller
The Northeast-Midwest State Foresters Alliance (NMSFA) has named Jerry Grossman the Cooperative Forest Management Forester of the Year. Jerry received the award in recognition of his dedication and contributions to sustainable forest management, the forestry profession, and his community. Nominees for this annual award compete in a rigorous and highly competitive award review process, with the best and finest professionals being selected. This is the first time the award has been given to a consulting forester.
Prior to starting the Grossman Forestry Company in 1990, Jerry worked for Michigan State University Extension and multiple forest products firms. Throughout his career, he has worked to break down traditional silos and focus limited resources to meet the mission of “connecting people to resources, ideas, and one another so they can care for forests and sustain their communities.” He has embraced working with agencies, private landowners, and other partners to promote healthy forests and livable communities throughout Michigan and the United States.
Jerry has a 28-year history of providing leadership in the forestry community in Michigan. He is a vocal proponent of consulting foresters and their provision of services to private landowners. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources only has three Service Foresters to administer forestry programs, so the State of Michigan relies on the 150 consulting foresters in the state to serve private forest landowners.
Grossman Forestry is the most prolific producer of Forest Stewardship Plans in Michigan. Jerry has been writing Forest Stewardship Plans since 1991 and his company is responsible for 1,004 plans or 15% of Michigan’s 6,500 Forest Stewardship Plans. All seven foresters on Grossman’s staff are trained and certified Forest Stewardship Plan writers. Jerry requires all of his clients to develop a management plan prior to implementing any forest management activities.
Kristen Miller is the communications and policy director for NMSFA. She can be reached by email at kristen@northeasternforests.org.