Montana Society of American Foresters
Executive Committee Meeting
December 18,1998

Attendees: Tim Love, Greg Schildwachter, Sam Gilbert, Russ Gautreaux, Frank Cuff

Secretary-Treasurer's Report: Notes from the last executive meeting (October 9) were mailed to all executive committee members and also posted on Montana SAF website. Current checking account balance is $1522, Dick Guth Memorial Fund balance is $514.70.

Elections: Chair-elect Ed Lieser becomes Chair of the Montana SAF in 1999. Nominees for Chair-elect are Gordon Sanders and Greg Tintinger. The Secretary-Treasurer position is still open for interested candidates. As of today, all ballots have been mailed to members with approved voting status.

Upcoming Events: The annual state meeting is March 10-13 in Kalispell. The Montana/Inland Empire SAF Leadership Academy is January 29-30 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The leadership academy is open to any SAF members interested in either pursuing leadership positions or just becoming more informed on the workings of SAF at the local and National level. Newly elected SAF president Jim Coufall will participate as well as Tom Thompson and Bill Banzhaf. Sam suggested we also invite Fred Ebel, newly elected vice-president.

Forester of the Year: nominations need to be submitted to Sam Gilbert by the end of January.

Foresters' Fund: Russ is sending out a packet of information to all chapter chairs for use in submitting future proposals. In thinking about your project goals for next year keep in mind the new criteria for both the regular and special grants. It states " special consideration will be given to projects that demonstrate a connection to the SAF Centennial Celebration. In the Year 2000, all SAF Foresters' Fund projects must demonstrate a connection to the SAF Centennial Celebration." Lorin Hearst, Ed Heilman and Gary Brown will coordinate our statewide efforts to celebrate the centennial. Ongoing and proposed chapter activities are encouraged to compliment this national celebration. President-elect Coufall has asked that individual members and state societies consider providing some level of financial support to the SAF Centennial.

Policy Committee: Tim and Greg provided a brief update on their efforts to represent SAF in statewide issues that affect forest management. New information on lynx and their required habitat is becoming available from research studies. Our understanding of this will continue to evolve as does the science. A second round of comments is being requested on the Bull Trout Restoration Plan. These are due in mid-January and SAF will provide formal comments. While this plan has no legally binding effect (due to the species being listed) it is very likely to be part of the interim guidelines for species recovery.

Tim and Frank attended a working group meeting on the westslope cutthroat trout that included folks from other agencies and interest groups. There is a lot of interest in making progress towards a recovery plan. SAF participation was acknowledged and appreciated by the facilitators of the meeting. It is especially important that coordination occur across state lines. The upcoming leadership academy will provide a means to continue this momentum.

Greg mentioned that many states across the nation have developed conservation plans for various species. The state of Idaho is making great strides in promoting state-based management plans. However, lawsuits have often diminished the value of these locally-based efforts as litigation demanded federal control over a particular species (ie: lynx listing). In Montana, a proposed conservation plan for westslope cutthroat trout would hopefully compliment an effort by environmental groups to develop a plan with regional support, and not federally controlled.

Greg noted that any plan put forth by the state would need to support and advance the ongoing efforts of the governor's office. He went on to suggest a two-part plan: A regional strategy based on support of US Fish and Wildlife Service and the governor's office. The investment of resources directed towards actual restoration of species being considered. Tim and Greg recommend an integrated native cold water fisheries plan, rather than one for each species.

A draft report on the national planning regulations from the appointed Committee of Scientists is out (see Greg for site address). This report has received much criticism. Greg feels that this is a management issue not a debate on science. It is leaving forest planning revisions on hold. SAF may be able to play a role as local groups begin to participate in round table issues that address forest plan revisions.

Greg mentioned that forest stewardship and end result contracting has drawn extended interest by industry, some environmental groups, and government agency leaders. He recommends that local SAF chapters be a part of any local contributions that are submitted. At least three projects have been accepted with six more being considered. Senator Max Baucus recently held a meeting on this matter in the Flathead Valley where two of the accepted projects originated from.

Meeting in Helena: Some members of the SAF executive committee will be hosting a luncheon with members of the Natural Resources Committee in January. We plan to introduce legistlators to the society, its function at the local, state and national level, and provide a forum for discussion on issues. Frank will distribute copies of our Forestry Issues publication which contains important information and positive statements developed by SAF. Greg suggested that the group also consider discussing the Governor's economic plan with a suggestion to add a forest management initiative. As the current plan specifically includes language that considers the expansion of irrigated ranch land, the idea of including a forest management initiative seems entirely appropriate. Tim, Frank, Sam and Greg will hold a conference call to finalize the date and agenda.

National SAF news: Larry Hill is retiring from his position as Director of National Policy for SAF. His advocacy on behalf of forest management will be sorely missed. President-elect Coufall is requesting help to fill vacancies on various committees dealing with accreditation, national officer nominations, professional recognition, forest policy, and forestry tech school recognition. The terms for these volunteer positions range from 1-3 years. Contact Ed Lieser if interested.

Request: Frank received a request from Jim Coufall asking for input to assist the new officers in their efforts of the next year. In summarizing his response, Frank felt that members are committed yet lack the time due to conflicts with job responsibilities. He also felt that the field forester is not acknowledged as the expert in the profession of forestry. Competion in a global market underscores the concern. We can't do all the things we think is important, and things do fall off the plate. Getting people in leadership positions requires some risk-taking and being open to criticism. Sam asked us to consider what role the federal land managers will play in the future. Comments such as these and input from other state societies will be presented to the Council for their use and deliberation.

Miscellaneous: Melissa Squire will be taking an active role in the communication committee. She will be graduating from the University of Montana soon, having majored in both Forestry and Communications. Melissa, we welcome your help in this very important effort. One of the tasks of this committee is updating the members handbook, as new information becomes available. Sam distributed a list of daily newspapers and contacts to assist members in their communication efforts.

It was also noted that the Montana SAF Vision Statement needs to be updated. Frank, Russ and the incoming officers will finalize and present to members at the annual meeting in March. Russ and Frank affirmed their commitment to revising the state SAF by-laws before the annual meeting.

Frank feels there is a need to centralize our state society records with an effort to catalog, organize, and properly store these important historical and current records. The executive committee agreed with the need for an Historian-Archivist to coordinate this effort. Missoula would be the logical town to locate our files and Dean Perry Brown has offered the support of the School of Forestry.

Next State Executive Committee Meeting will be January 29-30 at the Leadership Academy in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Russ Gautreaux
Secretary-Treasurer