Leaders Charts Course for 2003
The Florida Division Executive Committee and committee members met during the last week in January to plan for activities during the upcoming year. The annual leadership retreat was held at Smurfit-Stone's Mizell Meeting House near Hilliard. Incoming Division Chair, David Core, led the meeting highlighted by a discussion on re-energizing chapters with innovative programs.

The Panhandle and Suwannee chapters will lead this effort with meetings on the theme of "Common Ground." These events will be designed to draw participants from around the state to examine areas (both geographical and topical) where foresters share goals and objectives with environmentalists, planners, and other natural resource professionals.

The group also heard plans for the 34th annual SAF/SFRC Spring Symposium, April 23 and 24 at the Sheraton Hotel in Gainesville. The program, "Forest Resource Values: Florida's Legacy and Future" is designed to commpliment the University of Florida's ongoing recognition of its 150th anniversary. Registration information for the conference may be found at https://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/basic/sfrc/reg.htm.

St. Johns Chapter Plans Program on Timber Theft
The St. Johns Chapter will hold its spring meeting on March 12th in Yulee. Personnel from the State's Attorney office will present a program on timber theft. The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm at Murray's Grille, S.R. 200, Yulee (6 miles east of I-95). Those planning to attend should RSVP by March 10th to Ruthie Cole at 904-573-4902 or Scott Crosby at 386-329-2552. Email responses may be sent to coler@doacs.state.fl.us or crosbys@doacs.state.fl.us.

Suwannee Chapter Keeps Gainesville Clean
Members of the Suwannee Chapter (and anyone else interested in community service) are asked to consider volunteering a couple of hours on Saturday, March 8th to help pickup trash along the Society of American Foresters Adopt-a-Highway segment on Newberry Road in Gainesville.  A growing list of volunteers have joined the Trash Patrol Honor Roll : Loukas Arvanitis, Ed Barnard, Terry Baker , Team Bannister (Michael & 2 children), George Blakeslee, Ellie Danielson, Chris Demers, Pat Densen, John Foltz, David Fox, Jason Hartley, Julie Helmers, Derith Hiers, Charlie Houder, Lynn Larson, Bud Mayfield, Scott Sager, Jim Shepard, Erick Smith, Kimberly Ward, Joe Wolf, and Dave Zabriskie

Those interested will meet at 8:00 AM in the parking lot of the Millennium Bank on 43rd St, on the south side of the bank adjacent to Newberry Rd.  Trash bags, tongs, orange vests, and bottled water will be provided, but participants are asked to bring their own work gloves. Contact Jim Shepard at (352) 377-4708 X 227 during business hours or email FL4STR@bellsouth.net.

Calling All LCCC Alumni
Lake City Community College is trying to update its information on alumni of its Forest Management Technology Program. Graduates of the program are asked to provide updated contact information to Jim Grimes at:

SAF members leave the woods to show community involvement.
Members of the Suwannee and Student chapters banded together again to fight litter along their adopted stretch of Newberry Road in Gainesville. Participants for the March 8 clean-up included (from left) Ed Barnard, Bud May & father-in-law Jim Haselett, Charlie Houder, Dave Zabriskie, John Foltz, Eric and Ria Jokela, PK Nair, and Jim Shepard. Not pictured is chapter chair and photographer, Scott Sager.

Big Bend Chapter to Tour Quail Plantation
Southern Forestry Consultants are sponsoring a tour of a north Florida quail plantation for the Big Bend Chapter on March 25th. Those interested in attending will meet at 9:00 AM at the UF / IFAS Ag Station south of Quincy. The Ag Station is located one-quarter mile north of I-10 exit #181 on the west side of Highway 267. The tour will focus on the various aspects of plantation management provided by Southern Forestry Consultants. Lunch will be provided at the conclusion of the tour.

Caribbean Chapter Sets Meeting Schedule
The Caribbean Chapter will kick off its 2003 activities with a meeting and tour on May 2. The chapter business meeting will get under way at 9 AM at the Volusia County Agricultural Center Auditorium. there will be two presentations beginning at 9:45 AM, followed by a field tour to a successful scrub jay mitigation area known as the Lyonia Preserve. A barbecue lunch will be provided at the Lyonia Preserve. After lunch participants will tour a slash pine stand treated with environ soil, a processed sludge utilized for fertilizer. Those planning to attend should RSVP Mark Brown at 386-804-0439 by April 11, 2003.

Two additional dates have also been set. The chapter's second meeting will be held on July 11 with a program and tour yet to be announced. On October 14, the chapter will hold it's annual Walk in the Forest. This highly successful event brings professional foresters together with teachers and elected officials to foster a better understanding of forestry and forest related issues.

Local Projects Awarded Foresters' Fund Grants
Projects initiated by the Suwannee Chapter and the Southeastern Society have recently garnered funding from the SAF Foresters' Fund.

The Southeastern Society will use its $1,000 grant to develop a website for enhancing communication with its members as well as the general public. This effort will build on website initiatives already undertaken by the Georgia and Florida divisions.

With its $500 grant, the Suwannee Chapter will work with the State Division of Historical Resources to place a historical marker at the Mize cemetary in Fairbanks, northeast of Gainesville. E. Louse Mize was a leader in the turpentine industry and an early supporter of forestry education at the University of Florida.

Forester Fund grants are are awarded by national SAF to local units for projects or activities that help to promote the mission of the Society. Applications are made through SESAF by February 15 and September 15 each year.

May 4, 2003

Annual Florida Division Awards Presented
The Florida Division SAF held its annual awards ceremony on April 24 in conjunction with the Spring Symposium jointly sponsered by SAF and the University of Florida School of Forest Resources and Conservation.

Dr. Wayne Smith, Director of the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, received the C. Huxley Coulter Award for contributions to the profession of Forestry.

The Stephen Spurr Award for technical contributions to forestry in Florida went to Dr. Timothy L White, professor of forest genetics at the School.

Carol Daughtery of International Paper Co. was named the Young Forester of the Year, and Jennifer Barrett was named Outstanding Senior Forestry Student.

The Wood Utilization Award went to Agri-Products, Inc. for its development of horse bedding material using pine shavings.

This year also marked the first inductions into the Florida SAF Hall of Fame. Among the inductees were former state forester John M. Bethea, Dr. John Gray, former Director of the University of Florida School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and Dr. Lew Grosenbaugh, a retired faculty member.

A number of outstanding members from the history of forestry in Florida were posthumously inducted. They included: Harry Lee Baker, the first state forester, Austin Cary, C. Huxley Coulter, V. L. Harper, Sherwood L. Hall, Harold S. Newins, and Donald D. Stevenson.

Suwannee Chapter Sets Next Adopt-a-Highway Clean-up
Members are asked to consider volunteering a couple of hours on Saturday, May 31st to help pickup trash along our Society of American Foresters Adopt-a-Highway segment on Newberry Road in Gainesville. Participants will meet at 8:00 AM in the parking lot of the Millennium Bank on 43rd St, on the south side of the bank adjacent to Newberry Rd.  The work is usually complete by 10 or 10:30. Trash bags, tongs, orange vests, and bottled water will be provided. Participants should bring their own work gloves.  For more information contact Jim Shepard at (352) 377-4708 X 227 or FL4STR@bellsouth.net.

Members who have participated in past pickups are listed below.

Trash Patrol Honor Roll

June 13, 2003

New Forestry Director Named
Mike Long will become Director of the Florida Division of Forestry on July 1. He replaces Earl Peterson who has served as Director for the past 11 years and is retiring after 45 years with the Florida Department of Agriculture.

Long began his career with the Division in 1972 as a County Forester. He served as District Forester and Chief of Forest Protection before becoming Assistant Director of Forestry in 1996. He has a degree in Forestry from Paul Smith’s College in New York.

June 17, 2003

Caribbean Chapter Meeting Rescheduled
The next meeting of the Caribbean Chapter has been rescheduled for July 18, 2003. Representatives of Kempfer's Sawmill in St. Cloud will conduct a tour beginning at 9:30 A.M. The tour will highlight cypress swamps, wetland harvesting, and cypress regeneration. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about wetland harvesting BMPs and to see cypress stands at 5, 10, 15 years after harvest.

After lunch there will be a tour of Kempfer's Sawmill and with opportunities to discuss product merchandising, milling operations, and sale and delivery of mill products. The tour is scheduled to conclude at 3:00 P. M.

For those interested in recreation as well as education, members may spend the night in Titusville and join a fishing trip on Saturday in the Mosquito Lagoon.

For more information contact Mark Brown at 386-736-5062 or mbrown@co.volusia.fl.us.

July 30, 2003

Caribbean Chapter Tour Focuses on Cypress
by John Holzaepfel, CF

The Caribbean Chapter, representing most of Central and South Florida, recently had its second field tour of 2003. The meeting focused on cypress management and markets. Florida is the nation’s leading supplier of cypress mulch and lumber. The mulch is preferred by many landscapers/gardeners and the lumber has enjoyed a strong niche market for many years. The chapter toured Kempfer Sawmill, Inc. that produces about 7 million board feet of lumber per year. The mill utilizes circle, scragg, gang, and edger saws to produce lumber for domestic and export markets. The mill also produces and sells shredded cypress mulch, cypress chips, and pine chips. Bill Bell, General Manager and Principal of Kempfer Sawmill, guided the tour of the sawmill and dry kiln facilities while explaining the production and marketing of green and kiln-dried grade cypress lumber.

The mill is located on the 25,000 acre Deer Park Ranch, purchased in the late 1800’s. Billy and Reed Kempfer represent the 4th generation to work on the ranch; their children and grandchildren also work and play on this beautiful property. In addition to the sawmill and timber production, the ranch is also engaged in cattle production, sod harvesting, hunting leases, limited farming, native plant harvesting, and mining of dirt and shell. The ranch is a critical part of the headwaters of the St. John’s River which flows north to Jacksonville and some portions of the ranch are now in conservation easements within the St. John’s River Water Management District.

Reed along with consulting forester John Holzaepfel, led a tour through natural pine and cypress stands. Reed also kept a sharp eye out for the abundant game and spoke proudly of the deer his grandson shot this past hunting season. The field tour looked at cypress harvesting using different harvesting techniques and made comparisons different sites and age classes. Regeneration studies and wetland BMP regulations were also discussed. Evidence of natural cypress regeneration was plentiful at the tour stops. Cypress stands often regenerate in part from stump sprouts. Coppice growth will typically start producing seed in the first few years; the “coppice seeding” augments regeneration from stump sprouts and seeding from residual uncut trees. More information on cypress regeneration can be obtained from the Florida Forestry Association’s report by the Cypress Task Force (Peacock & Associates, Inc.; 2002) and from research done by Mary Duryea, Susan Vince, Cotton Randall and others at the University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation.

August 14, 2003

Suwannee/St. Johns Chapter Meeting to Examine Impact of County Regulations on Forestry

The Suwannee and St. Johns chapters will hold a joint meetingat 4:30 pm on Tuesday, August 26 in the Austin Cary Memorial Forest Conference Building. The agenda will feature a discussion of county ordinances in North-Central Florida and how they impact silvicultural operations, timber harvesting, and conserved / preserved lands management. Presentations by Kim Stewart of Duval County and Thad Crowe of Clay County will examine their specific case studies.

After the meeting several members plan to gather for dinner at a local restaurant.

For mor information contact Chris Demers at 352-846-2375 or cdemers@mail.ifas.ufl.edu

September 13, 2003

Suwannee Chapter Examines County Ordinances

Tuesday 26 August the Suwannee and St Johns Chapters held a joint meeting to discuss county ordinances and their impact on forestry. Guest speakers Thad Crowe (Clay County) and Kim Stewart (Duval County) discussed the ordinances in their respective counties, including how they were originated, how they've been implemented, and their impacts on residential / commercial development, urban forest management, etc. Members from both chapters, the University of Florida Student Chapter, and the Florida Division Executive Board were in attendance.

The Florida Division has upgraded its tabletop display, thanks largely to the efforts of Scott Sager and Jib Davidson. It now focuses on the benefits of membership in SAF, but can be customized somewhat to meet other particular needs. It is available for use at any meetings or other events where SAF needs increased visibility.

If you would like to promote the Society and the profession of forestry, contact the Communications Committee representative for your chapter.

September 19, 2003

Suwannee Chapter Holds Annual Mixer with UF Student Chapter, Highway Clean-up Planned
On Wednesday 17 September, the Suwannee Chapter and the University of Florida Student Chapter held an informal dinner meeting at the Austin Cary Memorial Forest Conference Center. The occasion provided an opportunity for students to interact with working professionals who answered questions about their careers in forestry.

Saturday 18 October the Suwannee Chapter will again be picking up trash as part of Alachua County's "Adopt-A-Road" program. The Chapter has been involved with this program since January 2002, providing a valuable community service as well as a publically-visible reminder of SAF's commitment to environmental stewardship. Volunteers for the "trash patrol" will meet at 8:00 AM in the parking lot of the Millennium Bank on 43rd St, on the south side of the bank adjacent to Newberry Rd.  Trash bags, tongs, orange vests, and bottled water will be provided.  Each person should bring his or her own work gloves.  Work usually finishes by 10 or 10:30. The ever expanding list of members who have participated in this event is below:           

For more information contact Jim Shepard at (352) 331-1745 X 227 or FL4STR@bellsouth.net.

November 11, 2003

Big Bend Chapter to hold election for Chair-elect
Jarek Nowak, 2003 Chair of the the Big Bend Chapter announced that Dr. Oghenekome (Kome) Onokpise, Ray Mason, and Tom Haxby have agreed to run for the office of chair-elect for 2004. The winner of the election will assist 2004 Chair Mark Milligan and will serve as chapter chair in 2005.

Amanda Rountree is the sole candidate for secretary/treasurer-elect to serve in 2005-06.

Biographical sketches have been provided by the candidates. Chapter members should be receiving ballots in the mail shortly.