Sneak Peek: The Forestry Source, October 

October 2, 2019 

Enjoy this sneak peek of The Forestry Source. Missing out on this great publication? Join SAF. 

The Nature Conservancy’s “New Approach to Conservation” in Central Appalachia
The Nature Conservancy acquired two large forested properties in central Appalachia this year, totaling 253,000 acres in three states. Far from being set aside as wilderness-like reserves, the organization sees the acquisitions as “an investment that seeks both financial returns and conservation results, demonstrating a new approach to conservation on a scale difficult to achieve with philanthropy alone.” The purchases, totaling $130 million, were made with funds from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and private investors via TNC’s NatureVest division.
TNC launched NatureVest in 2014 as a source of “private investment capital to help fund efforts to protect land and water, tackle climate change, provide food and water sustainably and build healthy cities.” To date, NatureVest has closed $373 million in transactions, according to the organization.

Leveraging Partnerships in Kentucky
This month, SAF members will converge on Louisville, Kentucky, to attend the SAF National Convention, October 30 to November 3 (eforester.org/safconvention). In Kentucky, forestry packs an economic punch—it’s a $13.5-billion industry. On the agenda are a number of sessions that showcase forest management in the state and surrounding region. There are technical tours that feature Louisville’s urban forests, the Berea College Forest, and the white-oak supply chain. The Friday Focus On: Our Advancing Profession session will highlight the White Oak Partnership.

To learn more about the challenges and opportunities of managing the state’s 12.5 million acres of oak-hickory forests, Forestry Source Associate Editor Andrea Watts interviewed James Wright, Kentucky’s state forester. As a graduate of the University of Kentucky, he considers himself a homegrown forester.

Fires in South America and Africa: A World Apart
Anyone watching or reading the news in late August very likely saw articles and essays about fires burning in the Amazon. The headline of an August 24 CNN story was “The Amazon Is on Fire. Here’s Why You Should Care.” “The Amazon Rainforest Is on Fire. Climate Scientists Fear a Tipping Point Is Near” was the headline of an August 25 article in the Los Angeles Times, and “The Amazon in Brazil Is on Fire—How Bad Is It?” was published by BBC News on August 30. On September 8, the Wall Street Journal noted that “Hurricane season is upon us, so the media hysteria surrounding fires in the Amazon has moved off the front page.”
These and other articles focused on fires in rainforests in the Amazon region of Brazil, but many failed to note that fires were burning at the same time in other vegetation types and in other nations in South America, especially Bolivia and Peru, as well as across Central Africa and Indonesia.

UK Grad Foley: Continuing to Serve through Forestry
Continuing with our profiles of up-and-coming SAF members who will continue managing our nation’s natural resources in the coming decades, this month we feature Brandon Foley. He is an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky (UK) and will graduate next year with a bachelor’s degree in forestry. He is the current secretary of the SAF UK student chapter and a sawyer on the UK Conclave Team. Foley joined SAF in 2017 and is an intern with the Urban Forest Initiative. This program, which originally began in 2014 to call attention to the need for more urban-forestry awareness at the University of Kentucky, has since expanded to “champion the elevated perception, value and function of the urban forest on campus and beyond.” In his own words, Foley describes how he found his way to forestry and the love of his life.