About the Association❱❱ Established: 1947

❱❱ Members: 1,365

❱❱ Staff: Max Braswell ExecutiveVicePresident mbraswell@arkforests.org

Jennifer Lambert AdministrativeDirector jlambert@arkforests.org

Anna Swaim CommunicationsDirector aswaim@arkforests.org

About the Foundation❱❱ Established: 1996

❱❱ Staff: Rob Beadel DirectorofForestryEducation rbeadel@arkforests.org

Association Leadership❱❱ President – Allen MorganHunter-Wasson,Arkadelphia

❱❱ Vice President – Ray DillonDelticTimberCorp.,ElDorado

❱❱ Secretary – Rhonda HunterWeyerhaeuserCo.,HotSprings

❱❱ Treasurer – Pete PrutzmanKingwoodForestry,Arkadelphia

Foundation Leadership❱❱ President – John WainscottWeyerhaeuserCo.,Dierks

❱❱ Vice President – Steve BarhamAnthonyForestProducts,ElDorado

❱❱ Secretary – Katherine SnyderLittleRockSchoolDistrict,LittleRock

❱❱ Treasurer – Steve HanleyPlumCreekTimber,FarmervilleLA

Where to Find UsArkansas Forestry Association AFA Education Foundation 1213 W. 4th St. Little Rock, AR 72201

❱❱ Phone: (501) 374-2441❱❱ Fax: (501) 374-6413

❱❱ Website: arkforests.org

❱❱ Facebook: facebook.com/arkforests

❱❱ Twitter: twitter.com/arkforests

❱❱ YouTube: youtube.com/arkansasforestry

Vision. RespectedLeader.CredibleSource.Mission.Advocate.PublicPolicy.Sustainability.

2011 Annual Report ArkansasForestryAssociation

AFAEducationFoundation

January❱❱ The 88th Arkansas General Assembly kicked off its regular session on January 10 and AFA again established a presence at the Capitol. ❱❱ Early in the month, on a clear, cold day at Wooster Elementary in Greenbrier, students and teachers welcomed 2011 as theInternationalYearofForests and presented the Arkansas Forestry Exchange Box to Rob Beadel, AFA Education Foundation director of forestry education, and State Forester John Shannon. ❱❱ AFA and several member-company representatives continued to work with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality on the development of a draft Pesticide General Permit, with a goal of including language to exempt silvicultural activities.

February❱❱ AFA weighed in on HB 1450, the Arkansas Carbon Dioxide Storage Act. The bill was designed to set up a legal framework within the state for the long-term storage of carbon, which AFA could support. However, in its original form, the bill allowed for the use of eminent domain to acquire the needed pore space, which AFA could not support. ❱❱ AFA joined several member companies, loggers and the Arkansas Timber Producers Association in voicing concerns over proposed truck weight restrictions in six counties in the Fayetteville Shale. The contacts allowed the limits to be placed on hold until public meetings could be held later in the year.❱❱ AFA also joined the effort to seek signatures from freshman members of Congress in support of the forest product industry’s position on Boiler MACT, the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule on emission limits for boilers. ❱❱ On the state level, the forestry community sponsored the first three of four Legislative Caucus dinners, giving AFA members the opportunity to develop stronger relationships with State House and Senate members.

March❱❱ The association provided comments to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality that suggested several improvements to the Pesticide General Permit. ❱❱ After much work and cooperation between all interested parties, HB 1450 was placed in Interim Study. The bill was much different than the original and all of AFA’s concerns were addressed and positioned for further review. ❱❱ Gov. Mike Beebe appointed AFA members Mark Karnes, of the Ross Foundation, and Frank Wilson, of Wilson Bros. Lumber, to serve on the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and Arkansas Forestry Commission, respectively. AFA sent letters of recommendation for both of these forestry community leaders. ❱❱ Big changes took place at the end of the month with the retirement of Administrative Director Susan Glaze, after 36 years of service, and the hiring of Jennifer Lambert to fill the position.

april❱❱ As expected, the 88th General Assembly recessed in early April; however, work continued on redistricting for most of the month. ❱❱ The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department held public meetings on the proposed Fayetteville Shale weight restrictions. The timber and forestry community had a strong presence at the meetings, which ultimately led to amendments in the state’s plan that alleviated much, if not all, of our concerns on routes that impacted logging operations and manufacturing facilities. ❱❱ Promotion began for AFA’s 66th Annual Meeting in October, with highlights of the outstanding roster of speakers and new meeting elements.

May❱❱ On May 12-13, the association held a successful Spring Board of Directors meeting at Lake DeGray Lodge near Arkadelphia, featuring dinner remarks from Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame member and Oaklawn track announcer Terry Wallace. ❱❱ AFA and the AFA Education Foundation hosted a public education day at the 2011 In-Woods Expo near Hot Springs that provided nearly 400 students and teachers (a record turnout) the opportunity to see first-hand how loggers use skills and equipment in the woods. ❱❱ AFA partnered with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service on two unique workshops—one for Women Woodland Owners and the other on Feral Hogs. ❱❱ Early in May, the 2011 Log A Load For Kids program kicked off its fundraising efforts and celebrated the investiture of Dr. Michiaki Imamura as holder of the Log A Load For Kids Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery.

Representing your interests. Promotingprofitability.

❱❱ On the government affairs side, AFA learned that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed its position on forest roads as a point source of pollution—a decision that increased the association’s efforts to defend the long-standing EPA position that storm water runoff from forest roads is, in fact, a non-point source.

June❱❱ Summer activities heated up, highlighted by an outstanding Teacher Conservation Tour (TCT), held June 21-24. Based out of Russellville, the TCT hosted a full contingent of 25 educators from across the state for a week of visits to forestry operations, forest products facilities and other hands-on workshop experiences lead by Rob Beadel, AFA Education Foundation director of forestry education. A great group of sponsors supported the tour. ❱❱ AFA Executive Vice President Max Braswell updated foresters on the developments in the forest roads court case—NorthwestEnvironmentalDefenseCentervs.Brown—at the Registered Foresters Training Day on June 7. ❱❱ The association sent a letter thanking Gov. Mike Beebe for releasing $500,000 to support the continued use of Single Engine Air Tankers by the Arkansas Forestry Commission, a critical fire-fighting tool during what was an extreme year for forest fires. ❱❱ The Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (H.R. 763) was the issue of focus during the month as AFA urged U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford (AR-1), of Jonesboro, to support the legislation. ❱❱ Enhanced annual meeting sponsor and exhibitor packets went out to an expanded prospect list in hopes of increasing support for the October AFA Annual Meeting.

July❱❱ Government relations continued to be a priority. AFA urged Sen. Mark Pryor to sign on as a cosponsor of S.1369—legislation that provides a fix to the forest roads issue. Sen. Pryor signed on to the bill the week of July 18. ❱❱ AFA also reached out to the Arkansas Congressional delegation seeking their support to stop new H-2B worker wage rules. ❱❱ In the area of new communication technology, Communications Director Anna Swaim created an AFA Flickr page—a great tool for posting online images of association activities. ❱❱ The association was pleased to participate on a panel to select the new Dean of the School of Forestry at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Dr. Phil Tappe, who served as interim dean after the retirement of Richard Kluender, was ultimately selected.

auGuST❱❱ As the AFA Annual Meeting inched closer, the staff sent out registration information in hopes of attracting at least 200 participants to the meeting at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock, and also began visits to the property and job sites of some of AFA’s annual award winners. ❱❱ To strengthen AFA’s marketing efforts and social media presence, Communications Director Anna Swaim attended the Agri-Tourism Conference in Little Rock and AgChat Social Media Conference in Nashville, Tenn.

SepTeMber❱❱ AFA joined the Arkansas Forestry Commission and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in signing a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen and formalize cooperation in delivering forestry-related conservation assistance to private landowners in the state. All of the parties have a long-term commitment to the conservation and stewardship of Arkansas’s natural resources. ❱❱ AFA joined one of those partners, the Arkansas Forestry Commission, in a meeting in Rogers with representatives of the Arkansas World Trade Center to explore export opportunities for hardwood lumber producers.

ocTober❱❱ The 66th AFA Annual Meeting surpassed all goals for attendance, sponsorship and exhibitors during its three-day run, October 4-6, in North Little Rock. The Program Committee developed goals to increase sponsors from 19 to 25 and exhibitors from 16 to 20, with at least 200 paid attendees. Attendance at the fish fry—always a favorite—was 260. Thirty-two sponsors and 20 exhibitors supported the meeting, with two companies—Weyerhaeuser and CellFor—serving as Diamond Sponsors. ❱❱ Another honor for the association was to have Communications Director Anna Swaim make a presentation at the National Log A Load For Kids Conference about the Arkansas campaign’s successes.

Communicating. Promotingstewardship.

noVeMber❱❱ Activity did not slow down a bit as the holiday season approached. AFA joined partners from the U.S. Forest Service and Arkansas Forestry Commission to host a tour for Congressional staff members. Based out of Mena, the two-day tour included a tour of Travis Lumber in Mansfield and an overview of the responsibilities and issues of importance to AFA, AFC and USFS. During a stop at the Wolf Pen Gap trail area, AFA Executive Vice President Max Braswell provided an update on the forest roads issue and urged the staffers to carry the message back to their bosses to support the legislative solutions available to Congress. The presentation is on the AFA YouTube channel at youtube.com/arkansasforestry. ❱❱ In preparation for the 2012 Tree Farm audit, Jennifer Lambert, administrative director and Tree Farm coordinator, provided a well-attended inspector training session at the AFA office. Approximately 36 Tree Farms will be audited in April 2012, requiring a significant amount of preparation, which began in the last half of 2011 and will continue right up to the audit.

DeceMber❱❱ Coming full circle, AFA and member-company representatives met a final time with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to review components of the Arkansas Pesticide General Permit and confirm the inclusion of language that defines forestry applications as a non-point source, exempting them from filing a Notice of Intent. While the agency acknowledges forestry’s non-point source status, the EPA will likely pressure states to require Notices of Intent. ❱❱ The association made additional contacts on the H-2B and NPDES issues with Congressional delegates and continued preparations for a very important 2012 Tree Farm Program audit. ❱❱ The Log A Load for Kids program raised $448,243 for the year, another outstanding display of generosity from the logging and forestry community. ❱❱ From a financial standpoint, the association showed a slight improvement over the previous two years, on the strength of excellent support for the annual meeting. ❱❱ Director of Forestry Education Rob Beadel reported year-end figures that showed the Foundation’s programs reaching 1,113 educators, 342 landowners and more than 8,700 students and the general public.

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