By Whitney Forman-Cook | This blog is a cross-post and will appear in the Spring 2021 edition of the National Woodlands Magazine. Natural forest disturbances—whether caused by pests, severe wind, lightning, or other means—change the structure and composition of forests and allow for regeneration. Many forest types need one natural disturbance in particular to regenerate, [read more]
The 2020 James Hubbard Intern for Policy and Communications is here! Please join us in welcoming Tyler Hoguet to the NASF team. Tyler is a student at Michigan State University majoring in political science and minoring in fisheries and wildlife, history, and public policy. He is the published author of an academic paper (on funding [read more]
The Interagency Fire Occurrence Reporting Modules – or InFORM, for short – drastically streamlines the business of wildland fire reporting. Not only does InFORM eliminate redundant data entry, it also improves the quality, completeness, and usability of that data. InFORM Capabilities Because InFORM is built on top of Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information (IRWIN), it [read more]
Bob Tjaden and Walt Gabel, both former Delaware state foresters, release a 420-page book titled Beneath the Canopy: A Historical View of Forestry in Delaware. Photo by Nicholas A. Tonelli via Flickr Bob Tjaden, a native Delawarean and forester with the University of Maryland, co-wrote Beneath the Canopy with the late Walt Gabel based on their shared appreciation [read more]
While COVID-19 may have canceled community tree planting events, it can't cancel the spirit of National Arbor Day. Today, perhaps more than ever, is a day to celebrate trees and their promise of a better future. Like you, my daily life is different from what it once was. Each day of social distancing and home [read more]
Tomorrow—Friday, April 24—is National Arbor Day! This year’s Arbor Day is like no other with everyone doing their best to adjust to life with COVID-19. One thing remains constant however: the spirit of Arbor Day and the value of trees and forests! Even though tree planting and educational events this spring have been canceled, we [read more]
Just a few weeks ago, the Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF) hosted their annual Communications Network Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Forestry agency communications leads from across the West joined representatives from NASF and the southern and northeast-midwest regional state forester associations to share organizational updates, discuss common challenges, and set regional and [read more]
The Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition (SUFC) held its 15th annual meeting last week at the University of Virginia Darden Sands Family Grounds in Arlington, Virginia. SUFC’s mission is to convene and mobilize diverse member networks to foster thriving healthy urban and community forests nationwide. SUFC members and attendees of the annual meeting were inspired by [read more]
The National Association of State Foresters has launched NASF100.org, your one-stop-shop for celebrating 100 years of forest protection. 1. Check out your state's Centennial Challenge listing on our interactive event map! Click on any state or island to learn more about what its forestry agency has planned for NASF's big 1-0-0. Some Centennial Challenges are people-centric, [read more]
While NASF leadership was in town this week for the first of three 2020 Executive Committee meetings, the state foresters of Virginia, South Dakota, and Nebraska held a Hill briefing for U.S. House of Representatives staffers on urban and community forestry. State-led Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) programs provide critical assistance to communities in establishing [read more]
