The Illinois Forestry Association is hosting a two-day conference on the importance of giving your trees room to grow. The conference will be held in the area around Starved Rock State Park with conference speakers at Illinois Valley Community College.
This year's theme "
Here Comes the Sun" examines methods and benefits of opening space in your forest stand, with field trips and conference speakers. Friday afternoon, there will be field trips to examine how forest stands have responded to timber stand improvement and a timber harvest. Friday evening, we will gather for dinner and discuss timber export and import markets. Saturday morning will be the IFA Annual Business Meeting, followed by speakers both before and after lunch.
Members can attend any combination of the following:
a.) the Friday field trips which are free
b.) the Friday dinner and speaker - $20
c.) the Saturday conference speakers, with lunch - $20
or attend
d.) the “whole enchilada” of Friday and Saturday - $35
Non-Members can also attend:
a.) the Friday field trips which are free
b.) the Friday dinner and speaker - $25
c.) the Saturday conference speakers, with lunch - $25
or attend
d.) the “whole enchilada” of Friday and Saturday - $45
Registration closes September 13th for the above rates. After September 13th, rates will go up from $5 to $10.
CLICK HERE to download a PDF registration form.
(the activity schedules are below)
CLICK HERE to download a list of local lodging and events
or go to the
LaSalle County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Note that this same weekend, "Vintage Illinois" will be held in Matthiessen State Park nearby, which will be
twelve hours of outdoor wine tasting from 11 am to 6 pm on Saturday and 12 pm to 5 pm on Sunday. Cost is $20 per person; $5 for designated drivers. Our meeting will end at 4 pm on Saturday. You can learn more and buy tickets HERE. While they are calling it a festival, it's not clear whether there will be any music. However, some lodging establishments are filling up fast. "Vintage Illinois" is not associated in any way with our conference.
Friday Afternoon Schedule
1:00pm Field Trip to Camp Stanley
examine after-effects of older harvest and previous TSI
focus on benefits of opening the canopy
wildlife, regeneration, understory, crop tree growth
3:00pm Field Trip to Starved Rock State Park
discussion with park's wildlife biologist
wildlife, diversity, invasive effects, forest floor fauna
Friday Evening Schedule
6:00pm Dinner at Illinois Valley Community College
7:00pm Speaker: "Where Does Our Timber Go?"
discussion of timber export and import markets,
transportation and uses of our Illinois hardwoods
William Luppold, Research Economist, Forest Service
(see more on Dr. Luppold at the bottom)
Saturday Schedule
8:30am IFA Annual Business Meeting
10:00am Break
10:30am "Giving Your Tree Room To Grow":
a discussion of intermediate forest stand treatments,
such as TSI, crop tree release, thinning,
and when to apply them
John Edgington, Silviculturist,
University of Illinois, retired
11:45am Lunch
12:45pm "Considerations Before You Open the Canopy":
dealing with invasives and regeneration seed sources
Jeff Harris, IDNR District Forester
1:45pm "Wildlife Benefits from Opening the Canopy":
discussing food, cover, structure, diversity
Stacy Lindemann, Wildlife Biologist, NWTF
2:45pm Break
3:00pm "
Financial Benefits and Costs of
Intermediate Forest Stand Practices"
John Gunter, Dean Emeritus of Forest Resources,
Mississippi State University
4:00pm Adjourn
Saturday's schedule will also accommodate a few quizzes, a silent auction, and door prizes.
_______________________________
Additional Information on Speakers
William Luppold, Ph.D., serves as research economist for the USDA Forest Service in the Northern Research Station's Department of Forest Inventory and Analysis. Since 1982, he has co-authored 75 papers on hardwood trends and markets, most recently -
• "
Factors Influencing Changes in U.S. Hardwood Log and Lumber Exports from 1990 to 2011" published in 2013
• "
Changes in U.S. Hardwood Lumber Exports, 1990 to 2008", published in 2011
• "
An Analysis of Declines in Hardwood Lumber Price Over the Past 40 Years", published in 2010.
