Interstate Resource Conservation and Development
3020 East First Avenue
Milan, Illinois 61264
Phone 309-764-1486 Extension 4/Fax 309-764-1830
Forestry Management Workshop
A Forestry Management Workshop was held on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 at Loud Thunder Forest Preserve located in Illinois City. There were 200 participants that attended this workshop where they learned about Best Management Forestry Practices. There were several breakout sessions which included tree identification; marketable trees vs. invasive species; inventorying your forest resources; a mock timber sale; tree pruning; tree planting; crop tree release; and managing your forest resources for wildlife. Vendors were on hand with their displays and a variety of forestry equipment; along with a guest speaker at lunch discussing the proposed tax law changes for forestland in Illinois. This was a very successful workshop and the committee will be looking at the need for a future workshop. The Illinois Conservation Foundation provided grant funding for this workshop. This workshop was sponsored by Interstate RC&D, Blackhawk Hills RC&D, U of I Extension Rock Island County, Henry, Mercer and Rock Island County SWCD's, USDA-NRCS, IDNR Forestry and Loud Thunder Forest Preserve.
Interstate RC&D assisted Henry, Mercer and Rock Island County's SWCD's with a one day Forestry Management Plan Writing Workshop. These workshops were conducted on November 21st, November 28th and December 6, 2006. Each of the three counties conducted a one day session with the morning session in the field taking an actual woodland inventory and the afternoon session learning how to put your inventory into a woodland plan. There were 39 total participants for these three workshops. Steve Felt, IDNR Forester, conducted the training. Each county has scheduled times and dates with each individual landowner to assist them with the actual writing of the woodland plan.
2nd Annual Forestry Management Workshop was conducted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 from 8-4 at Loud Thunder Forest Preserve, Illinois City. There were 100 participants that attended this one-day workshop which provided breakout sessions and vendors to assist the landowners with information to improve their forest land. Breakout sessions included the following: tree identification; wildlife woodland habitat; crop tree management; legal issues - timber harvest/sales; nuisances pest control/new plantation management; GPS; forestry tax assessment & federal/state programs; and timber harvest. Vendors were on hand with their displays and a variety of forestry equipment. Once again this was a very successful workshop and the committee will be looking at the need for a future workshop. The workshop was sponsored by Interstate RC&D, Henry, Mercer and Rock Island County SWCD's, USDA-NRCS, U of I Extension Rock Island County, IDNR Forestry, Loud Thunder Forest Preserve, Rock Island County Forest Preserve and the Illinois Forestry Association.