1998 Joint Leadership Conference
Society of American Foresters
January 30-31, 1998

Executive Committee Meeting Notes- Montana Society of American Foresters

The Inland Empire and Montana State Society held their respective executive committee meetings in separate sessions. The following notes were taken at this meeting and reflect the general content of the various discussions and topics at hand.

The executive committee meeting begin at 7 pm with Frank Cuff handing out a copy of the Montana SAF Vision Statement. It reads as follows:

The Montana SAF will be an organization of informed professionals dedicated to scientifically-based reasonable management and conservation of all forest resources.

The Montana SAF will have active, visible involvement of the membership in all major current forestry issues.

The Montana SAF will be committed to providing leadership in the education of the public on the issues and opportunities of resource management.

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In addition, the 1998 Montana Executive Committee Action Plan for the state society was expressed to the group. A brief outline of these proposed actions is as follows:

  1. Participate in leadership training at the local, regional and national levels. Host the 1998 . joint Inland Empire- Montana Leadership Conference.
  2. Libby Chapter will host the 1998 State Meeting.
  3. Continue the financial support of the Univ of Montana student chapter, the Montana Natural Resources Youth Camp and Project Learning Tree
  4. Develop camaraderie among members of Montana SAF. Focus of this effort will be in Kalispell at the 'Family Forestry Expo' in May, and in Libby at the 40th Annual 'Libby Logger Days/Montana Logging Assoc. and Montana Woods Product Assoc. annual meeting.
  5. Begin planning for the SAF Centennial in 2000. Coordinate plans with the National Office. Focus of this effort will be in Missoula (Historical Museum).
  6. Initiate a yearly budget for communication and advertising the SAF/forestry message.
  7. Continue shifting the format of the 'Montana Forester' newsletter from paper to e-mail.
  8. Develop a Montana Membership Handbook to showcase our professional involvement and accomplishments.
  9. Investigate the possibility of Montana SAF entering into a partnership with 'Habitat for Humanity' at various local levels.
  10. Promote certified forester recognition and continuing forestry education. Plan local field trips and technical workshops, and a 1 day technical conference in the fall.
  11. Develop position statements on current issues as they arise. Evaluate the issue of fire and whether a Montana SAF position/policy statement is warranted.
  12. Recognize the achievements of our members and others that contribute to the advancement of forestry.
  13. Society Chair, Chair-elect and Secretary/Treasurer attend chapter meetings and projects.
  14. Conduct critical issues survey (s) to set future goals and development.
  15. Focus on the positive. Enjoy ourselves. Stay pro-active on issues. Advertise what we do, and draw more professionals and the general public into what we do.

Comments on items within the action plan -

  1. Inland Empire will host the 1999 leadership training in Post Falls, Idaho.
  2. Please register now for the upcoming state meeting in Libby.
  3. Ed Leiser suggested we also put support behind other existing 'learning centers' such as Coram and Miller Creek Experimental Forests. The settings have been getting considerable use by natural resource professionals as they expand their curriculums.
  4. Logger Days in scheduled for July 9-12 and Family Foresty Expo is May 4-10.
  5. Frank has been communicating with folks on this.
  6. Consider assessing an additional dues payment to fund expanded communication and advertising purposes.
  7. Chapter chairs need to collect e-mail addresses from their local members. We will likely change the newsletter logo that currently appears on the cover.
  8. Ed Leiser will develop the membership handbook based on a similar effort by the Michigan SAF.
  9. Jamie Brebner will coordinate the possibility of a partnership with 'Habitat for Humanity' and develop state contacts. Ed suggested we be realistic about our time committments to outside projects. Tim Love suggested working on a food bank project.
  10. Dale Kerkvhet is the contact for the certified forester program and CFE credit. A reminder that the upcoming whitebark symposium is an SAF sponsored technical workshop.
  11. Tim Love suggested a position statement on the roadless moratorium.
  12. At the state meeting we will honor Vernon Hamry, a 50 year SAF member.
  13. We have a communications plan but not a strategy. Ed Leiser suggested we immediately fill the communications chair position that is vacant. Adequate communications is essential to achieving our goals. Several names were suggested as possible contacts for this vacancy and these individuals will be contacted to determine their interest.

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Draft 1998 Budget: Frank outlined a proposed budget for the coming year, highlighting the expected income and expenses.The topic of chapter dues distribution ensued as was the clarification of why the Missoula chapter receives significantly more disbursement than others. It was explained that each member pays an additional $3.00 in chapter dues. With the continued emphasis on use of electronic mail we expect the cost of producing the newsletter to drop significantly. In 1997 approximately $1100 was spent publishing the newsletter. As E-Mail addresses from current members become available this process will begin to occur. Kate Faulkner, a forester with Plum Creek, will begin volunteer work with Dick Guth to publish the newsletter. It is expected that this transition will allow us to collect articles and publish without the added expense of outside services. Frank suggested we create a fund for increased advertising to the public of current forestry issues. Dennis Davaz suggested that SAF begin building up an expense account that would be directed towards advertising efforts on a larger scale.

Carl Fiedler feels we need to get more money back from the National Office given the amount of dues we pay. Carl also spoke on Project Learning Tree. He has attended the workshop and feels our financial support to educational projects may be better served in assisting the 'learning centers' that are arising from the Bitteroot Ecosystem Mgt Research Project. This is a natural resource education effort that is coordinated by Jane Kapler Smith from the FS Fire Lab.

Dan Pitman suggested we put around $1,000 of our current state operating budget into a money market account to accrue more interest. The secretary-treasurer will look into the average monthly balance that needs to be maintained in checking and consider a money market account for the remainder.

We were all reminded of the opportunities afforded to us by the Forester's Fund. All it takes is a solid proposal and the support of the National Office.

Miscellaneous

The next state meeting is planned for Kalispell.

Glenn Koepke, SAF mentor program coordinator, suggested that SAF have a more active partnership role with such organizations as the Montana Logging Association, Resource Providers Coalition, and the Stewardship Foundation. The intent of this proposal is to expand our scope of networking and to more effectively collaborate on issues that we may share interest in.

No chapter reports were called for due to time constraints.

Frank asked where the travelling SAF display had gone. Apparantly, the student chapter has it and will be the caretakers for the time being.

Executive Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm

Russ Gautreaux

State Society Secretary/Treasurer