Dear WCC members and colleagues:
Along with chair-elect Chris Jones, I would like to invite you to the Western Regional Extension Forestry annual coordinating meeting on July 23-24, 2019 in Payson, Arizona (WCC executive board meeting is on the afternoon of July 22). In conjunction with the Western Region Extension Forestry Coordinating Committee (WCC-1003), this meeting helps to ground us in the reality of what we do best and to help partner members recognize the unique role that Extension represents and executes in facilitating forest science information and technology transfer needs. WCC-1003 is the only multi-state extension forestry committee formally chartered by the Ag Experiment Station Directors, under the authority of the Hatch Act.
The purpose of the WCC is to identify present and emerging forest resource management “issues” of regional and even national significance, and to examine participants’ interest and capacity for addressing problems using a multi-state approach. The committee emphasizes development of shared resources and optimizes the application of common messages and programs across the region. By our association, we seek to coordinate the sharing of information amongst peers to help Western Extension faculty members address challenges and develop opportunities. Our focus is on programs and products that are relevant to local forestry needs and share common ground across the West.
At our meeting this year, Chris has organized an intriguing public forest health symposium for us to learn about Arizona’s forest health issues and management efforts, NEPA training for boundary organizations, and a fieldtrip to learn about wildland urban interface efforts at the Pine Trailhead, an official portion of the Arizona Trail (https://aztrail.org/explore/passages/passage-26-highline/).
There are two main events at this meeting: 1) a public forest health symposium on July 23, and 2) the WCC & partners meeting and fieldtrip on July 24. Please register for both! The executive board meeting is on the afternoon of July 22.
I hope to see you in Arizona!
Sincerely, Darren McAvoy
(Photo Credit: Alan Levine, The Trail, Uploaded by PDTillman; CC BY 2.0)
