Spring is well under way, field season is here, fire season is off to a brisk start across the Southwest, and Southwestern foresters are just plain busy! Thanks to those who came to all or part of our SWSAF Spring Meeting in Albuquerque on April 21-22. If you took in some of the New World Biomass Conference workshop on the first day, you heard some thought-provoking ideas about accomplishments, opportunities and challenges facing future woody biomass utilization. SAF members were well-represented among the organizers, speakers and attendees of that workshop. One of the really important things we did at our Spring Business Meeting that evening was to recognize some SWSAF members for their accomplishments and contributions to SAF and the profession of forestry over the past several years. We celebrated the achievements of Molly Pitts as Young Forester of the Year, Craig Wilcox as Forester of the Year, Cheryl Miller as Outstanding Forestry Communicator of the Year, and Ray Wrobley as Forest Manager of the Year. Our award for Outstanding Contribution to Forestry was presented to Pete Fulé. Congratulations to each of these folks for the well-deserved honors.  

Elsewhere in this newsletter, you will find a report from our SAF Council member Rod Brevig. I appreciated Rod joining us for the Spring Meeting and sharing what’s happening with Council and at the national level of SAF. Thanks especially to Alan Kelso, East Zone Silviculturist on the Cibola National Forest, for the excellent field trip to the Ojo Peak fire area on the Mountainair Ranger District. There were about 16 of us who took advantage of a beautiful spring day to be in the woods and have some good dialogue about forestry and fuels management practices as they intersect with fire ecology. If looking at impacts of the Ojo Peak Fire from November of last year on the ground weren’t enough, the air tankers passing over us that afternoon as they worked the Trigo Fire just to the north of us served to reinforce the need to accelerate forest management.

Your SWSAF Executive Committee has met monthly by phone since the beginning of the year to carry out the business of the Section. One accomplishment I’m especially proud of was the Committee’s decision to offer several scholarships to our members to attend the national SAF Leadership Academy that just took place April 26-29 back in Maryland. Three of our members were awarded a $500 scholarship each to take part in this leadership training opportunity. Ben DeBlois (Northern AZ Chapter) Jessica Ouzts (New Mexico Chapter) and Mary Stuever (SWSAF Executive Committee) have all recently returned from the Academy with ideas and tools to become leaders and a commitment to seek and serve in SAF leadership positions. We hope to provide more of this kind of financial support from SWSAF to help develop our future leaders.

One annual challenge we’re facing right now is membership renewal. As of April 30, 58 members within our Southwestern SAF have not renewed their membership for 2008. We know that a few of these have transferred out to other SAF state societies due to job transfers or other relocations, but most have not moved. The good news is that more than 332 members have taken care of paying their dues, and we appreciate that. If you’ve overlooked your dues statement, please know that we value your membership and participation in SAF and hope you’ll take care of this soon. The membership roll is purged on July 1st. Our SWSAF membership goal for 2008 is 380 – just one more than the 379 members we had as of December 31, 2007. If each of us would invite just one forester who is not yet an SAF member to a chapter meeting or activity, then invite them to become a member, we’d far surpass our goal even if half of them decided not to join. How about giving it a try?

The National SAF Convention is in Reno, Nevada, on November 5-9 this year. This is closer geographically than the average national meeting is to us, and with a provocative theme like "Forestry in a Climate of Change". I hope you’re saving the dates and planning to go. Many employers recognize the value that this annual meeting contributes toward professional development of their employees, and are willing to support some employees’ attendance. So, start talking to your boss about it now – the results are usually better if you plan ahead.

What’s on your mind about forestry in the Southwest, or anywhere else in this country for that matter? We’d like to know. Have an idea about a position on forest management we should be taking or a forestry policy we should be supporting or trying to change within SAF? I’m interested. Call me at 505-842-3240 or send an email with your thoughts to mrwilliams01@fs.fed.us.