2021 WSSAF Annual Meeting

Shared Stewardship in Washington State

April 6-7 2021, Virtual

Prescribed burning Since the 2020 WSSAF annual meeting was cancelled due to the pandemic, the Mid-Columbia Chapter is excited to host the 2021 WSSAF annual meeting. The theme is Shared Stewardship, and presentations will highlight demonstrative engagements that illustrate federal, state, tribal, and private landscape-scale approaches resolving forest health and wildfire hazard risk problems. The “cross-boundary-centric” agenda features coordinated investments and outcome-based actions that have increased the pace and scale of management treatments near Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee— areas prioritized by the Washington State Forest Action Plan and the Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest Restoration Strategy—that are at a scale sufficiently meaningful to make a dent, and reconceptually transferrable benefiting other transboundary collaborations.

Agenda

The meeting opens Tuesday morning, April 6, with a general session featuring Vicki Christiansen, Chief, U.S. Forest Service, and George Geissler, State Forester, and other leadership as they set the stage for the meeting. After lunch, attendees will (virtually) travel to Lake Wenatchee to view video presentations featuring the Upper Wenatchee Pilot Project. The day wraps up at a “virtual coffee shop,” where author Jack Nisbet will tell the Leiberg’s story, one of an American physician and her Swedish naturalist husband who helped shape a turn-of-the-twentieth-century Northwest on the cusp of change, a story that opens a window into the human and natural landscape of a century past that reflects all the thorny issues of our present time.

Wednesday, April 7, begins with a talk about stand-level treatments for restoring forests to be productive and resilient through time, and a panel will discuss the role of partners in sharing stewardship of the landscape. We will take a virtual field trip to the Red-Tail Canyon Farm for lunch, hosted by family forest owners Ross and Marianne Frank. The next field trip stop will feature wildfire hazard treatment projects carried out between Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee. SAF Awards will be presented followed by A Virtual Timber Bid auction benefiting Forester’s Fund grants and WSSAF Foundation student and education-related scholarships.

Also on April 7, there will be a short Executive Committee meeting from 7:45 a.m. - 8:00 a.m., followed by a business meeting from 8:00-8:45 a.m.

Annual Meeting Flyer

Agenda*

*Agenda is subject to change. All times are in PDT.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

8:00 a.m. Zoom will open

8:30 Welcome, Andy Perleberg, Mid-Columbia Chapter Chair, and Josh Meek, WSSAF Chair

8:40 CONFERENCE WELCOME, Connie Mehmel (ret), US Forest Service Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

8:45 We’re All in This Together: Meeting Land Management Challenges Through Shared Stewardship, Vicki Christiansen, Chief,

US Forest Service

9:30 WA State Forest Action Plan and MOU Relevance, George Geissler, State Forester, Washington State Department of Natural Resources

10:00 Break - Sponsor Announcements

10:10 Inland Northwest Forests: Characteristics of Resilient landscapes, Dr. Paul Hessburg, Sr. Research Landscape Ecologist,

US Forest Service PNW Station,

11:00 Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership, Kristin Bail, Forest Supervisor, US Forest Service Okanogan-Wenatchee

National Forest

11:20 Good Neighbor Authority, Trevor McConchie, Federal Lands Assistant Division Manager, WA Dept. Natural Resources

11:40 State & Private Forestry Partnerships, Karen Ripley, Region 6 Forest Health Program Manager, US Forest Service

12:00 p.m. Lunch - Sponsor Announcements

12:20 Virtual Lunch Table - How the Upper Wenatchee Pilot Project Came to Be

Bob Bugert, Chelan County Commissioner
Steve Wright, General Manager, Chelan County Public Utility District

1:00 A Virtual Field Trip to the Upper Wenatchee Pilot Project

Connie Mehmel, Forest Entomologist (ret), US Forest Service Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
Jeff Rivera, District Ranger, Wenatchee River Ranger District
Lloyd McGee, The Nature Conservancy
Patrick Haggerty, Cascadia Conservation District
Pete Weir, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Silviculturist
Don Youkey, Wildlife Biologist, Wenatchee River Ranger District
Chuck Hersey, WA Dept. Natural Resources Forest Health

2:00 Break Sponsor Announcements

2:15 Virtual Coffee Shop featuring Jack Nisbet, author of The Dreamer and The Doctor

3:15-5:00 Social Hour, networking

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

8:00 a.m. WSSAF Business Meeting, Josh Meek, WSSAF Chair

9:00 Welcome, Andy Perlberg, Conference Chair

9:10 Silvicultural objectives; Pre- and Post-treatment Stand Characteristics; basin characteristics, Dr. Derek Churchill,

Forest Health Scientist, WA Dept. Natural Resources

10:00 Break - Sponsor Announcements

10:15 Sharing Stewardship and the Role of Partners

Lloyd McGee, The Nature Conservancy
Jen Watkins, Washington Department of Natural Resources
Bob Bugert, Chelan County
Phil Rigdon, Yakama Nation
Melody Kreimes, Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board
Paul Ward, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Matt Comiskey, American Forest Resources Council
Brian Vrablick, American Forest Management
Andy Perleberg, Washington State University

12:00 p.m. Lunch - Sponsor Announcements

12:15 Virtual Lunch on the Tree Farm, Ross and Marianne Frank, Owners, Red-Tail Canyon Farm

1:00 Virtual Field Trip to Virtual Field Trip to Sunitch & Spromberg, Chumstick Projects; Chiwawa & River Road, Plain Projects,

and Cascade High School

Nolan Brewer, Washington Deptartment of Natural Resources
Corrine Hoffman, Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition
Chris Wright, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Connor Craig, Wildfire Home Protection

3:00 Celebration SAF Awards, Josh Meek, WSSAF Chair, followed by a student poster session hosted by

Green River College SAF student chapter

Registration

Registration for SAF members is $50, SAF student members is $25, and $75 for non-members. Please register at 2021 Virtual WSSAF Annual Meeting (123signup.com).

Sponsorships and Exhibitor Opportunity

WSSAF depends on generous donors to make the annual meeting a success. We hope you are willing to continue partnering with us and be involved with the event next year.

Sponsorship of all amounts are accepted.

Contact Tom Hanson or Darren Goodding for more information on sponsorships and exhibiting.