Local Associations Foster Forest Stewardship
Joining a local
association dedicated to forest stewardship is an excellent way
to become involved in sustaining Pennsylvania’s forest resources. Robert
Ackerman, a landowner in Westmoreland County,
says that his membership in the Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association
(WWIA) provides him with “exposure to the latest forest stewardship
and management principles from forestry professionals.”
Armin Behr, a founding member of the Woodland Owners of the Southern Alleghenies (WOSA) in Bedford and Fulton Counties, believes that his organization’s most important activity has been to sponsor annual day-long forestry and wildlife conferences. WOSA’s fourth annual conference in 2001 focused on issues facing the regeneration of Pennsylvania forests and featured speakers that are recognized natural resource experts in the Commonwealth. Behr says that the annual conferences have had “increasingly good turnouts and brought in woodland owners, government professionals, consultants, loggers, and even a few farmers.” Other recent WOSA events have included tours of privately owned woodlands, tree identification hikes, a tree planting workshop, and a chain saw safety course.
The Northwest Pennsylvania Woodland Association—serving Crawford, Erie, and Warren counties—recently hosted a presentation about government regulations and private forest landowners. The group also sponsored a presentation about forest insect and disease identification and toured the International Timber and Veneer Company. The Bradford-Sullivan Forest Landowners’ Association annual meeting last November featured the presentation “Elk in Pennsylvania: Past, Present, and Future.” The group also recently had a maple tour and lunch, a program about American chestnut restoration programs, and a joint meeting with the Northern Tier Hardwood Association featuring a presentation by Ken Manno, program manager of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative of Pennsylvania.
These
few examples make it clear that the local associations offer a diverse
array of educational opportunities for members. According to
Robert
Ackerman,
another major benefit of belonging to WWIA is “an opportunity
to meet and share woodlands experiences with other woodland owners in
my
community.” Currently,
nearly 1,000 people are members of the 15 local associations involved
in forest stewardship in Pennsylvania. While a majority of members
own forestland, most
groups do not require landownership. Even some groups that have the
word “owner” in
their names, such as the Woodland Owners of Centre County and the
Central Susquehanna Woodland Owners Association are open to people who
do
not own woodlands.
If learning more about the stewardship of Pennsylvania’s forest resources interests you, consider joining one of the local organizations [link to forest landowner association map of VIP Website] If there is no group in your area, consider starting one. Each of the existing associations in Pennsylvania began with one or a few committed individuals who had an idea and the will to make it happen. A good place to start is by contacting your DCNR Bureau of Forestry service forester or county cooperative extension office. For contact information, contact the Penn State Forest Resources Extension office on-line or call 1-800-235-WISE (toll free).
In addition to the local associations, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association (PFA) is a statewide organization dedicated to providing members with information about forest management. Contact PFA at 717-766-5371 or .
Note: This article originally appeared in the summer 2001 issue of Forest Leaves, a quarterly newsletter about Pennsylvania’s privately owned forestlands.
