This October, join the Illinois Forestry Association for our 19th Annual Conference! This year, we will be holding this event at the Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center in Makanda, Illinois. This site is near Carbondale and Southern Illinois University. This conference will include indoor presentations, outdoor demonstrations, hands-on learning opportunities, and field trips.
Conference Fee (Registration is required by October 10): $40 per person
Note: Fee includes continental breakfast Friday morning, cold-cut lunch on Friday (please contact Kevin Rohling, krohling@illinois.edu with any dietary restrictions by October 9), and donuts Saturday morning (please note you will need to pick up or bring your own coffee Saturday morning!). Thursday evening there will be a cash bar available during the social time. Other meals/beverages will be on your own with several nearby options available.
Lodging will be on your own, but we have arranged for availability of rooms at Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center available here: https://campscui.active.com/orgs/TouchofNatureEnvironmentalCenter?season=3542341
Other nearby lodging options include Giant City Lodge or multiple hotel or B&B options in Carbondale or Makanda area.
10/24 Thursday
5:30 pm - Registration opens, Silent auction opens
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Social time, Cash bar, Fireside forestry chats
10/25 Friday
8:00 am – Registration open, Silent auction opens
9:00 am – 9:15 am - Opening remarks - Paul Deizman, IFA President
9:15 am – 9:30 am - Welcome and Update - State Representative Patrick Windhorst
9:30 am – 10:15 am - IDNR Forestry Division Update - Kenneth Jolly, IDNR Illinois State Forester
10:15 am – 11:00 am -Bird Community Changes from Forest Management in Southern Illinois Mark Vukovich, Wildlife Biologist, USFS Shawnee National Forest
11:00 am – 11:10 am BREAK
11:10 am – 12:00 pm -Oak Decline and Rapid Oak Mortality - Dr. Fredric Miller, The Morton Arboretum
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm LUNCH
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Afternoon Session #1
- Indoor option – Are My Trees in Trouble? – Cicadas and Tree Health - Tricia Bethke, Illinois Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator, The Morton Arboretum
- Outdoor option – Portable Sawmill Demonstration - Dr. Jon Schoonover, Professor of Physical Hydrology and Soils, SIU School of Forestry and Horticulture
2:00 pm – 2:10 pm BREAK
2:10 pm – 3:10 pm Afternoon Session #2
- Indoor option - Keeping Your Forest in the Family - Dr. Hank Stelzer, Associate Professor of Forestry and Natural Resources Education Director for MU Extension
- Outdoor option -See the Trees for the Forest: Tree/Shrub Identification - Raymond Bieri III, Executive Director, Shawnee Resource Conservation and Development Area
3:10 pm – 3:20 pm BREAK
3:20 pm – 4:20 pm Afternoon Session #3
- Indoor option – Reforestation in the Mississippi River Floodplain - Brian Stoff, Forester, US Army Corps of Engineers
- Outdoor option – Chainsaw Safety and Maintenance Demonstration – Kevin Rohling, Illinois Extension Specialist in Forest Management and Ecology
4:20 pm – 4:40 pm BREAK and Silent Auction Bidding
4:40 pm Silent Auction Ends
5:00 pm – 5:45 pm Annual Business Meeting
5:45 pm End of meeting– Dinner is on your own. Multiple dinner options available in Carbondale or Giant City Lodge
10/26 Saturday Field Trip
8:05 am – Meet at Ferne Clyffe State Park to carpool to Shawnee NF site.
8:30 am – 11:30 am – Field Tour
Shawnee National Forest Management and Harvests with USFS Natural Resources, Planning, & Monitoring Staff Officer and Certified Silviculturist, Justin Dodson, and USFS Silvicultural Forester, Dustin Brown
Forest Stand Improvement with National Wild Turkey Federation Forester, Chase Seals
Natural Areas of the Shawnee National Forest with USFS Forest Ecologist, Nick Seaton
