Resources
Supporting Family Woodlands Wiki
The Wingspread Conference on “The Future of Family Woodlands in the United States” identified policies and practices to increase the number of acres of family-owned woodlands under active, sustainable management. Conference participants also began the process of developing strategies and timetables to implement these priority policies and practices.
In March of 2007, conference participants and interested parties were asked what progress has been made on these eight key strategies. Over 70 from across North America responded. This wiki presents the responses in an easy and editable format.
Midwest Special Forest Products
This website, one of the first of its kind developed in the Midwest, is dedicated to gathering information on the products, markets, biology, research, and enjoyment of special forest products, or non-timber forest products. In the Fresh from the Woods portion of the web site one can find various articles on special forest products, covering everything from how to produce them to recent legislation affecting their market. Also on the website is a forum to sell or buy special forest products.
Cooperative Development Services
CDS is a nonprofit organization created and governed by the cooperative community of the Upper Midwest for the purpose of developing cooperative businesses in all sectors of the economy. The CDS has been involved with the development of more than 15 sustainable forest owner cooperatives and associations that provide a range of services to members, including land stewardship education, development of woodland management plans, sustainable harvesting, processing, and marketing, among others.
Minnesota Logger Education Program
The Minnesota Logger Education Program (MLEP) provides direct responsive professional assistance to Minnesota's logging community through progressive support and implementation of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Since its inception, MLEP has sponsored more than 272 workshops within the primary core curriculum areas of sustainable forest resource management, workplace safety, and business management. Information on individual workshops and schedules can be found on the MLEP website.
University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute Forest Products Division
The programs at the Forestry and Forest Products Division include Forestry, Bio-based Composites and Manufacturing Efficiency, Wood Materials and Engineering, Chemical Derivatives, and the Biotechnology Initiative.
American Forest and Paper Association
AF&PA is the national trade association of the forest, paper and wood products industry. Its mission is to provide significant value to member companies through outstanding performance in those areas that are key to members' success and where an association can be more effective than individual companies. AF&PA's site offers a ton of information on Forestry, Wood Products, Pulp and Paper, Environment and Recycling, press releases and ad campaign information.
Non-timber Forest Products
Operated by the Virginia Tech Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station and the Top of the Ozarks RC&D in Missouri, this is one of the first web sites devoted to gathering information on non-timber products and markets. It seeks to provide information in simple formats and to serve as a national clearing house that is useful by NTFP harvesters and growers, marketers, processors, and end-users.
Minnesota Environmental Partnership
The Minnesota Environmental Partnership is a coalition of 70 Minnesota environmental and conservation organizations working together to protect and preserve Minnesota's precious natural environment. The website includes information on recent policy and legislation, press releases, search for member groups, and news about Partnership events.
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
MCEA is a private, nonprofit organization working to protect and restore Minnesota's natural resources through sound science, public policy and legal expertise. The website includes detailed information, press releases and other advocacy resources.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) protects Minnesota's environment through monitoring environmental quality and enforcing environmental regulations. The website has information on many different environmental issues, including a Hot Topics section and a place to submit any environment-related questions one may have.
United States Forest Service
The Forest Service manages public lands in national forests and grasslands. The website includes everything from research and forest policy to maps, recreational information, locations of local offices, and Smokey the Bear.
American Forests
American Forests is the nation's oldest nonprofit citizens' conservation organization. American Forests' Ecosystem Restoration and Maintenance Agenda presents the organization's core values and seeks to build support for its policy goals of assisting communities in planning and implementing tree and forest actions to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems and communities. The website includes American Forests Magazine, National Register of Big Trees, Personal Climate Change Calculator to figure out an individual's carbon dioxide output and the number of trees it takes to counteract it and statements of the organization's view on different forest policies.
Eco-Portal
A powerful search engine providing full-text searches of more than 3,000 reviewed sites, Eco-Portal also provides the latest environmental news headlines and its database is also perusable by category. A great source for anything environmentally-related.
Minnesota Forestry Association
The Minnesota Forestry Association (MFA) serves Minnesota's woodland owners by promoting stewardship of all forest resources. The website includes MFA’s Guidelines for Forest Management, a highly informative resource for forest land owners interested in the sustainability of their lands, along with a newsletter, other links, and even a place to order tree seedlings.
Minnesota Forest Resources Council
The Minnesota Forest Resources Council (MFRC) serves the dual role of developing and implementing SFRA initiatives and advising the governor and federal, state and local governments on sustainable forest resource policies and practices. The website includes a full copy of SFRA, information about a variety of MFRC's programs, an electronic copy of its Timber Harvesting and Forest Management Guidelines, the Forest Management Guidelines Resource Directory, a directory of places to contact with general and specific forest management questions and MFRC's Interagency Information Cooperative, which offers Minnesota forest data from rare plants and animals to harvest reports, along with links to other forestry-related websites sorted into categories by topic.
University of Minnesota College of Natural Resources
The College of Natural Resources at the University of Minnesota includes the Bell Museum of Natural History, Cloquet Forestry Center , Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Department of Forest Resources, and the Department of Wood and Paper Science, along with many interdisciplinary centers. The CNR's website includes links to each of these departments and centers, along with other related resources including research abstracts and the U of M's libraries. Information for prospective and current students is also available.
Society of American Foresters Minnesota Chapter
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is the national scientific and educational organization representing the forestry profession in the United States. The Minnesota Chapter's website includes an abstract of their three-year Strategic Plan, along with information on the five chapters of MNSAF within the state, along with the Minnesota Forestry Newsletter and a link to Minnesota Forests for Humanity.
University of Minnesota Woodland Advisor Program
The Woodland Advisor Program builds knowledge and local community connections among private forest landowners. Woodland advisors contribute to the health and vitality of Minnesota's forests and its forest-related economy. Their actions help increase: landowner understanding of forests and forestry, and management options, the productivity and profitability of natural resource-based businesses, and the general public and youth knowledge about forests and forestry. The Woodland Advisor Program's website includes information on how to become a woodland advisor, more details on what they do, and where they're currently needed.
Society of American Foresters Minnesota Chapter
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is the national scientific and educational organization representing the forestry profession in the United States. The Minnesota Chapter's website includes an abstract of their three-year Strategic Plan, along with information on the five chapters of MNSAF within the state, along with the Minnesota Forestry Newsletter and a link to Minnesota Forests for Humanity. |
