CONFERENCE VIEWS FUTURE FOR FORESTS

A public conference to explore the history, current management and future direction of Missouri's public forests is planned for March 27-28 at Southeast Missouri State University.

Several organizations have joined forces to spearhead the conference, titled "Towards A Vision For Missouri's Public Forests." In addition to the local university's College of Science and Technology, the University of Missouri-Columbia's School of Natural Resources, the Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Mark Twain National Forest and the Four Seasons Audubon Society are participating.

The conference will be held in the University Center and will feature a program of 25 speakers from Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Idaho. Topics will include the nature of Missouri's forests before European settlement, economic issues, biodiversity, wilderness, forest productivity and future forest options.

Conference presentations will be aimed at the concerned public, and those interested in Missouri's public forests are encouraged to attend. In addition to the conference addresses, poster presentations of forestry-related topics will be displayed from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. throughout the event.

In conjunction with the conference, a banquet will be held at 7 p.m. March 27 in the University Center, during which a keynote address will be presented by James Corbin of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

On-site registration begins at 7:30 a.m. both days. Events will begin on March 27 with a welcome at 8:15 a.m. Conference presentations both days will begin on the half hour from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m. with lunch breaks.

Deadline for advanced registration is Sunday. Registration fee for the conference, which also includes a copy of the conference proceedings, is $7.50. The fee is $15 for both the conference and banquet. Proceedings of the conference will be available for non-registrants for $10.

For more information, contact Dr. Alan Journet, Department of Biology, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701, or call (314) 651-2366.

"The conference will provide an opportunity for a diversity of points of view to be presented on forest issues," said Journet, conference organizing committee chair and Southeast professor of biology. "Presentations will concentrate on what we know about forest history and management, the consequences of various management techniques, and the development, implications and monitoring of management goals. The presentations also will provide an understanding of what we do and don't know about our public forests."

Journet, who also is a member of the Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the conference is particularly unique in that it is a collaborative effort of organizations with related interests.

"We hope that this conference will allow the public debate in Missouri to be more informed and will allow Missourians with different values to appreciate our current understanding of forestry issues," he said. "We don't intend to promote one set of values. Rather, we will present current evidence on a range of issues so that groups with divergent values can each approach the public debate."

The idea for the conference grew out of longstanding debate on public forests throughout the nation, Journet said.

"Battle lines have been drawn not only on courts, but also in front of logging equipment of the timber industry," he said. "The conflicts are heated because people disagree about how forest uses should be prioritized."

Some view timber products as the most important commodity to come from public forests. Others think the recreational needs of the public, whether hiking or hunting, should have priority on public land, he said. Still others are concerned primarily with protecting endangered or threatened species and communities, or water quality downstream from upland forests.

As a result of these value differences, he said, conflicts develop and the public managers of the forests are often caught in the cross fire.

Like national forests, the forests of Missouri are held in trust by state and national agencies for the public.

"The management of Missouri's public forests is, therefore, a legitimate subject for public debate," Journet said.