Jackson County: IFA Annual Meeting

The Illinois Forestry Association will hold its 6th Annual Meeting south of Carbondale, near Makanda, at Giant City Lodge State Park.

Our keynote speaker is Dr. Deborah Gaddis Gunter. Dr Gunter recently retired as Extension Professor at Mississippi State University, where she served as the Forest Taxation Specialist.  She has been a passionate advocate and provider of forestry education for family forest owners for over 30 years.  She is now a resident of Southern Illinois, thanks to her marriage to IFA VP John Gunter. Dr Gunter will discuss “Marketing Your Timber and Minimizing Your Taxes.”  Materials she has authored will be provided on timber marketing and federal taxation of timber production.

Integrated management of invasive plant species uses all the tools at our disposal, including understanding the biology of ecology of invasive plants, to both attack invasive plants and prevent further invasion.

Meeting highlights are a tour of Giant City State Park from 1 pm to 4 pm on Friday, 9/23, once described as “The invasive plant capital of Illinois” where Chris Evans will lead us through demonstrations of invasive plant management conducted under his leadership.  Chris is River to River Weed Management Area Coordinator where he leads invasive species management activities for a unique cooperative of 12 land management agencies in southern Illinois.

On Saturday, the meeting continues indoors from 9 am until 2 pm.  Chris Evans will present material on plant ecology and weed identification to complement his field tour. Consulting Forester Mike Long will discuss invasive species management options for private forest lands.  The IFA business meeting will be followed by Dr. Gunter's presentation.

Friday evening and Saturday events will be held at the historic Giant City Lodge. Saturday lunch will feature the Lodge’s famous fried chicken dinner and fruit cobbler dessert. The meeting adjourns Saturday afternoon and leaves plenty of time to enjoy the Park, a nearby winery, or catch an SIU football game at brand new Saluki Stadium.