The Future of Forest Stewardship Workshop & National Guild Gathering

Registration is open for the big gathering in Freeport, Maine!

Please join us for a national convening of Guild members and like-minded stewards from across the country September 15th to 18th. Together, we will share knowledge, exchange ideas, and inspire one another through working sessions, discussions, and visits to local forests. 

This national gathering marks the Guild’s 30th anniversary, a milestone opportunity to celebrate our community, strengthen professional networks, and deepen connections across regions and disciplines. At a time when our forests and communities face increasing challenges, this is also a space to come together, align around shared values, and build a collective vision for the future of forest stewardship.  

The working sessions are organized into three concurrent tracks: Ecological Forestry, Stewardship for All, and Stress and Disturbance. Participants will be able to choose one of three tracks during each session and to switch tracks for each session.  

The working sessions are organized into three concurrent tracks: Ecological Forestry, Stewardship for All, and Stress and Disturbance. Participants will be able to choose one of three tracks during each session and to switch tracks for each session.  

The Ecological Forestry track will dig into four facets before turning to developing action items that will advance ecological forestry. The four sessions in this track are:

• Indigenous Stewardship and Ecological Forestry 
• Science and Policy for Ecological Integrity 
• Stewarding Old Forests in a Changing Climate 
• Markets to Support Ecological Forestry 

The Stewardship for All track will include sessions on: 

• Stewardship for Land Conservation – supporting land trust in active stewardship 
• Engaging Landowners in Stewardship – lessons learned from Women Owning Woodlands, Fire Adapted Communities, and Forestry for the Birds 
• Welcoming All Stewards – ideas and actions to expand our community and ensure everyone is included our stewardship movement 
• Workforce development – identifying barriers and best practices to expand the stewardship workforce 

The third track, Stress and Disturbance, will include four sessions addressing forest health and our role in mitigating forest stressors: 

• Forest Health Updates on issues such as HWA, buckthorn, Beech Leaf Disease, Eastern Spruce Budworm, and Mountain Pine Beetle, followed by conversations about responses. 
• Sustaining Ash Partnership Network (SAP-Ne) - collective efforts to conserve a species. 
• Beneficial Fire – policy and practice to expand cultural burning, prescribed fire, and managed wildfire 
• Extreme Weather – A discussion of windstorms, floods, ice storms, hurricanes and other challenges to stewardship   

In the final session for each track, participants will integrate insights from the working sessions and earlier discussions into ideas and actionable items for both the Guild and individual participants to pursue. 

We’re busily working through the logistics for field trips and plenty of networking time, and we’ll continue to share information as it is confirmed. But don’t wait too long to register as space is limited to the first 140 participants.  

In addition to inviting participants, the Guild is looking for sponsorship partners. Sponsorships will help support the event, keep it accessible to those who would otherwise not be able to attend, and empower the important work we do year-round. Through sponsorship, companies who are aligned with Guild values can substantially increase their visibility among our members and networks. To learn more about sponsorship packages, please contact Ami Kane, Chief Development Officer, at ami@forestguild.org.