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Thursday, 10:45am - Plenary Session

Stewardship is not easily defined.  The goal of the Summit is to present and discuss the building blocks for stewardship and individual sessions will focus on restoration, economics, or social issues; this plenary panel showcases examples that exemplify effective integration and practice of all three. Presenters will tell the story of their communities local efforts to restore the land, create a sustainable resource-based economy, and achieve a healthy, resilient community.  These are innovative and inspirational stories that should not be missed.

Speakers

• Rob Davis, President, Forest Energy Corporation
  Restoring landscapes, building businesses, and social agreement: The Apache Sitgreaves Stewardship Contract
• Lynn Jungwirth, Executive Director, Watershed Research and Training Center
  Defying the odds: Rebuilding a forest community
• Jim Luchsinger, Middle Niobrara Program Director, The Nature Conservancy
  Restoring the prairie and bringing young ranchers back to the land: the Nebraska Sandhills Task Force

Moderator

Maia Enzer, Policy Program Director, Sustainable Northwest

Recommended Readings

View the Sandhills Task Force Website

Learn more about Horse Creek Fen, home to the the Beginning Rancher Program, a partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the Sandhills Task Force.

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Rob Davis

Robert H (Rob) Davis, Founder / Owner of Forest Energy Corporation, Show Low, AZ, Pellet manufacturer founded 1991. Forest Energy also owns Forest Energy Systems a biomass boiler system supplier. Founding partner of Future Forest, LLC. The prime contractor for the White Mountain Stewardship Project. Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest with a goal of treating 150,000 acre over ten years - forest restoration, fire mitigation project. Mr. Davis is serving on the following forest / renewable energy related Committees: Governor of Arizona Forest Health Council; Governor of Colorado Forest Heath Advisory Council; Past President / Current Director, Pellet Fuels Institute.

Lynn Jungwirth

Lynn Jungwirth was born and raised in a milling and logging family in a small timber town in Oregon. She received a BA from the University of Oregon in 1971. She has been an activist on social issues in forest towns for twenty years. She has worked with various community groups interested in rebuilding forest dependent communities in northern California. Currently she is the Executive Director of the Watershed Research and Training Center (WRTC) in Hayfork, Ca. The mission of WRTC, which is a community-based organization, is to promote sustainable ecosystems and sustainable communities through research, training, education and economic development. She served on the Collaborative Stewardship Taskforce of Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck and on the Board of Directors for the National Network of Forest Practitioners. Lynn also chaired the Communities Committee of the 7th American Forest Congress from 1996 to 2000.

Jim Luchsinger

Jim Luchsinger is The Nature Conservancy's Middle Niobrara/Sandhills Program Director in Nebraska.  His responsibilities include administration and management of the Conservancy's 56,000 acre Niobrara Valley Preserve, 3,480 acre Horse Creek Fen Preserve, and 1,298 acre Arapahoe Prairie Preserve, including supervision and support of local preserve staff. In addition, Jim and his staff administer easements and deed restrictions that protect approximately 17,500 acres of high value conservation lands and Jim serves on the Sandhills Task Force, Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition, Nebraska Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee and the Cherry County Natural Resources Committee. Jim is also one of the Conservancy's primary local liaisons with the Niobrara Council, National Park Service, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and other state and federal agencies and non-government conservation organizations.  Since joining the Conservancy in 2002, Jim has helped develop the Conservancy's first beginning rancher project, has provided input to Conservancy state and range-wide prairie dog management efforts, and has helped foster programs that empower rancher-collaboratives and ranch-mentor programs. Before joining the Conservancy, Jim worked as a wildlife biologist for state and federal agencies in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Most recently, from 1994-2002, Jim served as the State Director of the Kansas and later, combined Kansas/Nebraska U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services program. Jim's educational background includes an M.S. in Wildlife Biology (1990) and a B.S. in Forestry Fisheries and Wildlife (1987) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he also minored in Biological Sciences.  Jim also held an adjunct appointed at Kansas State University from 1994-1997. Jim retains an ownership interest in his family's east-central Nebraska farming operation, he enjoys outdoor recreation, and he's published a number of technical and popular manuscripts, co-authored a book chapter, and has been an invited speaker at many local, state, regional, and national meetings and conferences. Jim and his wife, Sharon, and son, Nathan, reside near Valentine, NE where they’re active in their church and community.

Maia Enzer

Maia Enzer is the Director for the Policy Program at Sustainable Northwest. In that capacity she works on issues related to forest restoration and community economic development, with a focus on federal lands policy. She has more than 13 years experience in bringing diverse stakeholders together to identify common ground around federal lands management issues. Previously, she served as Sustainable Northwest's Director of the Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities Partnership (HFHC), a regional collaborative working to market the byproducts of forest restoration. Prior to joining Sustainable Northwest, Maia was the Director of Forest Policy at American Forests in Washington, D.C. (1993-2000). She has also worked as an organizer for MASSPIRG and NYPIRG on state and local environmental issues. Maia has a Masters degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (1993) and a BA in Political Science from Union College (1989). She currently is serving on the Western Governors' Association Forest Health Advisory Council. She served on the board of the Communities Committee of the Seventh American Forest Congress and was the Co-Chair of the Policy Task Group for the (1997-2002); she served on the board of the National Network of Forest Practitioners (2000-2005). She is one of the editors on the book entitled, Understanding Community Based Forest Ecosystem Management, published by the Journal of Sustainable Forestry.