"As a whole, the experience was transformative. I gained a first-hand education in forestry and environmental resource management; I began relationships with people and places all over the country; and--perhaps most importantly--I became more aware of how the Earth's natural functions fit into my infinitesimal existence." - Josh Birnbaum on his experience as the IYOF [read more]
More than a thousand people gathered in Honolulu this week for the annual convention of the Society of American Foresters. On Saturday, NASF Executive Director Jay Farrell will present an overview of the U.S. campaign for the International Year of Forests, and NASF also prepared an exhibit of images from the IYOF photography fellowship completed [read more]
As the International Year of Forests photography fellowship wraps up, the collective works from the NASF and NNFP co-sponsored project will be displayed in a handful of upcoming exhibits. A juried exhibition in photographer Josh Birnbaum’s hometown of Athens, Ohio, is planned for October 27 through December 10. NASF will also display a selection of images [read more]
The Columbia Daily Tribune recently published a feature story on the International Year of Forests photography fellowship. Said photographer Josh Birnbaum, "I got such a great firsthand education on this trip. I feel like a junior forester."MORE: See the best of Josh's photographs from his 7-week journey on the official IYOF photo blog, http://celebrateforests.com/photoblog
Photos from the 2011 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD, are now online! Click here to view.
NASF applauded a new report from the USDA Forest Service showing that wood is superior to other construction materials in terms of environmental benefits. There is a well-established scientific understanding that wood products use less energy and provide greater environmental benefits than alternative building materials.
NASF elected a new slate of officers to its governing Executive Committee and agreed on several national policy positions at the association's 89th Annual Meeting last week in Baltimore, Maryland. Policy positions passed by resolution include goals for enhancing the U.S. share of global wood production, enhancing collaborative landscape-scale forest management, and use of Forest [read more]
NASF and members of the Forests in the Farm Bill Coalition recently sent a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Colin Peterson offering recommendations for the 2012 Farm Bill that will address current and emerging private forest issues. For NASF's full slate of recommendations, visit www.stateforesters.org/issues_and_policy/forests_in_the_farm_bill.MORE: The Sustainable Urban Forests [read more]
NASF sent letters to House and Senate leaders to offer recommendations for the next Farm Bill that are priorities for State Foresters—many of which are shared by the Forests in the Farm Bill Coalition—and are essential in implementing each state's forest action plan. State Foresters recognize that writing the next Farm Bill will be as [read more]
Josh Birnbaum, the 2011 International Year of Forests photography fellow, kicked off his 10-week journey in West Virginia, meeting generational tree farmers, budding foresters, and people in the state's local wood industry. Other features in his 6-state tour around the U.S. will include a training program for the Urban Forest Strike Team in Joplin, Missouri, [read more]
