Conference Agenda
Monday, June 23
Registration/Information Booth 4:00 pm – 7:45 pm5:00 pm Conference Opener
Dr. Daniel Keathley, GLFA Chair
Paul DeLong, State Forester of Wisconsin5:15 pm Keynote – Trees Are the Answer
Dr. Patrick Moore, Greenspirit Strategies, Ltd.
Dr. Moore delivers a powerful message about forests that runs contrary to much of the environmental movement’s current thinking. Through a personal account accompanied by photos and facts, he gives us new eyes with which to see the beauty, biodiversity and spirit of forests. He also demonstrates that we should be planting more trees and using more renewable wood in order to reduce our reliance on non-renewable fuels and materials. Trees are the Answer provides new insight into how forests work and how they can play an influential role in solving many of our current global environmental problems.
6:30 pm Rooftop Reception
Join us on the rooftop of the Monona Terrace for a welcome reception featuring appetizers, a cash bar and smooth jazz.
Take in one of the best views of Madison before heading out to enjoy the local dinner fare. You will be treated with a majestic view of the State of Wisconsin capitol building to the north and the inspiring Lake Monona to the south.
Tuesday, June 24
Registration/Information Booth 7:00 am – 5:00 pm7:00 am Continental Breakfast
8:00 am Conference Welcome
Matthew J. Frank, Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
8:10 am Setting the Stage: The Challenge to Turn Problems into
OpportunitiesLarry Selzer, The Conservation Fund
Mr. Selzer will set the stage for examination of the challenges currently faced by the forestry stakeholders in the Great Lakes region and the opportunities that result from them. He will aim to create a context for learning, discussion, and formulation of policies and action plans.
_______________________________________
General Session: Industry Market Trends
Moderator: Fred Souba, Jr., NewPage Corporation
Vice President, Wood Supply and Sustainability, NewPage Corporation8:40 am North American and Global Forest Product Market Trends
Dr. Peter Ince, USDA Forest Products Lab
This presentation will explain dominant forest product market trends of the past decade, the current market situation, and near-term prognosis. Trends in forest product markets are being influenced by globalization of manufacturing, currency exchange rates, the housing market, energy prices, capacity utilization, and trends in overall economic growth.
9:20 am The Market for Chain of Custody Products: A Fad or the Future?
Rick Merdan, NewPage Corporation
The end user market is striving for sustainability in a number of areas including their paper purchases. End users such as Williams-Sonoma, Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom, and Warner Media Group for example have all made sustainable paper purchasing commitments. The market for these products is expected to grow exponentially in the future. Believe it, or not?
9:45 am Surviving Sustainability: The Resource Challenges of the
Next Five GenerationsPeter Connor, Nicolet Hardwoods Corp., Pine River Hardwoods and WD Flooring
As a fifth generation resource manager of privately owned industrial forestland and manager of a vertically integrated forest products company, Peter Connor will speak to the challenges of the past, present and future facing big tree management, the lumber business and today’s hardwood flooring business.
10:10 am Networking Break
_______________________________________
General Session: Understanding the New Forest Landowner
Moderator: Tom Duffus, The Conservation Fund
Upper Midwest Director, The Conservation Fund10:30 am Investment in Lake States Timberland
Lynn Wilson, Plum Creek
Plum Creek has invested in the Lake States region three times since 2001, acquiring over one million acres. This presentation will provide an overview of Plum Creek’s management strategies as a land and timber company.
11:00 am Conservation Forestry Strategy for Blending the Needs of
Investors and Conservation PartnersPaul Young, Conservation Forestry, LLC
Mr. Young will discuss the various goals of all stakeholders in a timberland transaction that involves both conservation and private equity. He will focus on the particular goals and objectives of private equity investors.
11:30 am Great Lakes Region NIPF Owner Offspring: Don’t Bet the Family
Forest That You Know What They're Thinking!Catherine Mater, Mater Engineering, Ltd.
As a Senior Fellow of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, Mater currently heads the nation’s first in-depth research focused on the next generation of family forestland owners and what they think. Nationwide offspring interviews conducted in 2006 (300 interviews across the US) led to the nation’s first “drill-down” offspring interviews recently conducted in the states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, with over 250 in-depth interviews conducted in each state. Mater will disclose the results of that latest research at this conference—with Great Lakes region offspring likely setting some baseline trends for what the next generation of forestland owners will do with the family forests across the US.
12:00 pm Lunch
Leopold Conservation Award presented by Sand County Foundation in partnership with Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association
_______________________________________
Panel Session: What’s Happening Now?
Moderator: Paul DeLong, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Administrator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry; Wisconsin’s Chief State Forester1:10 pm A Discussion with the States, Province, and Tribes
Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on the Competitiveness of the Primary Forest Products Industry
Mark Holsten, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Michigan’s Dynamic Forest Products Industry: At a Crossroads
Kevin Korpi, Michigan Forest Products Council
Wisconsin Council on Forestry ActivitiesFred Souba, Jr., Wisconsin Governor’s Council on Forestry
Ontario’s Response to the Challenges Facing the Forest Products Industry
Bill Kissick, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Challenges and Opportunities Facing Tribal Forestry: Perspectives from the Menominee TrbeAdrian Miller, Menominee Tribal Enterprises
2:30 pm Networking Break
_______________________________________
General Session: Investment Dynamics and Enhancements
Moderator: Wayne Brandt, Minnesota Forest Industries
Executive Vice President, Minnesota Forest Industries and Minnesota Timber Producers Association3:00 pm Global Investments: How the Region Can Remain Competitive
Doug Freeman, NewPage Corporation
This presentation will focus on what large companies examine when they study major capital investment and reinvestment. It will also focus on what a region can do to help attract and keep this investment.3:30 pm Transportation Policy: Issues and Impacts on the Great Lakes
Region Forest Products IndustryLibby Ogard, Prime Focus, LLC
Truck size and weight, environmental laws, and a change in carrier business models have lead to many issues and opportunities for the Great Lakes forest products industry. This presentation will explore issues and paradigm shifts facing the region._________________________________________________________
4:00 pm Video Premiere
Forest Floor to Showroom Floor: Marketing “Green Forestry” in Minnesota
Introduced by Bernadine Joselyn, Blandin FoundationSince 1997, Aitkin County (Minnesota) forestry has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the largest third-party green forestry certifying body in the world. This thirteen-minute video documents the process of certification, follows the local, value-added chain-of-custody and illustrates how FSC fits into the county’s overall approach to practicing ecologically based and economically viable forestry. Produced by Fretless Films for Blandin Foundation. Writer/Director, John Whitehead.
4:20 pm Reception, Exhibits/Poster Displays
5:30 pm Dinner
6:15 pm Conservation in Partnership With Business
Bill Ginn, The Nature Conservancy
This presentation will highlight innovations in large land transactions in North America and around the globe in partnership with business that benefit both conservation and local forest-based economies.
Wednesday, June 25
7:00 am Continental Breakfast
_______________________________________
General Session: Emerging Markets
Moderator: Richard Greenwood, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Director, Forest Management Branch, Forests Division, Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources8:00 am The Landscape of Ecosystem Services
Sarah Hines, Presidential Management Fellowship Program
This presentation will give a brief introduction to the concept of “Ecosystem Services” and provide information on current trends and developments in the field, including a general overview of policy developments related to voluntary carbon markets.
8:30 am Contribution of Ontario’s Managed Forests to Climate Change Mitigation
Dr. Jiaxin Chen, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Dr. Chen presents the outlook for carbon storage in forest ecosystems and wood products, projected to increase by 433 million tons over the century due to increases in use of wood products and landfill carbon storage. Managed forests also mitigate climate change by substituting wood construction materials for other CO2--intensive materials, resulting in large avoided carbon omissions.
9:00 am Biofuels and Other Products of the Bioeconomy: Perspectives
from OntarioJason Koivisto, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
The presentation will speak to what is going on in Ontario to foster the growth and development of a forest based bioeconomy.
9:30 am Emerging Markets for Green Building
and Sustainable DesignDr. Jim Bowyer, Director of Sustainable Materials Program, Dovetail Partners, Inc.
This presentation will outline forest industry issues and opportunities presented by growing markets for green building materials, sustainable design techniques and practices, and associated certification systems.
10:00 am Break
10:15 am Small Group Breakout Sessions & Reports
Ryan Church, Facilitator
Barbara Deming, Facilitator
Stefan Bergmann, GLFA Executive Director11:50 am Conference Wrap-Up and Next Steps
Dr. Daniel Keathley, GLFA Chair
12:00 pm Box Lunches Available for Pickup
_______________________________________ ^ go up
Great Lakes Forest Alliance, Inc. New Website is under construction.
P.O. Box 5583 | Madison, WI 53705 | 608.442.1255 Ph | 608.442.0190 F
