Forest Scene, Fall 2023 - Highlights from the 2023 SAF National Convention

December 29, 2023


The Department of Forest Resources showed up strong at the 2023 Society of American Foresters (SAF) National Convention in Sacramento, California, in October. And we had a blast, too!

Did you know?

Five undergraduates wearing maroon-and-gold UMN tees and convention badges stand in front of a white wall with their arms around each other and smiling. They are of different genders and ethnicities.
U of M undergraduates and scholarship winners pose before the Quiz Bowl competition at the SAF 2023 Annual Convention. Photo by Marcella Windmuller-Campione.

• We awarded 6 undergraduate students scholarships to attend the convention – and they also participated in the Quiz Bowl!

• 17 members of our community presented on various topics.

• 45 people attended our Alumni Social at Cafeteria 15L.

• We had 1 fire-scarred red pine section from the Cloquet Forestry Center on view at our booth.

• And we handed out 10 pounds of candy!

Plus!

Silviculture Associate Professor Marcella Windmuller-Campione was the 2023 SAF Committee on National Convention Programs Chair.

Marcella Windmuller-Campione wears a pink blazer and smiles as she speaks at a lectern on a stage. She has short brown-and-gray hair. At right is another woman with chin-length brown hair and wearing a brown corduroy blazer. The lectern has the 2023 SAF National Convention logo on it.
Associate Professor Marcella Windmuller-Campione speaks at the convention. She was this year's SAF National Convention Programs Chair. Photo by Wasim Muklashy.

Natural Resource Science and Management (NRSM) graduate student Chelsea Semper won first place in the Student Presentation Contest for her presentation "Differences in Stand Dynamics between Conventional Aspen and White Spruce-Aspen Mixedwood Forests in Northern Minnesota."

And Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano, TEK Outreach Specialist for the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) and NRSM graduate student, was a panelist for convention's third plenary session: "Moving beyond 'Traditional': Indigenizing Forestry at its Roots." Montano participated in the plenary as a member of the GLIFWC. 

A group of four people stand together on a stage. At left is a person in gray slacks, a patterned gray shirt, and short pink hair. To their right is a woman with tattoos on her arms and chest wearing a ribbon skirt and black tee. To her right is a woman wearing gray slacks and a black sleeveless dress shirt. To her right is a woman wearing a gray-patterned skirt, sleeveless black dress shirt, and a long, beaded necklace.
Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano, second from right, with fellow panelists Dawn Black (right of center) and Serra Hoagland (far right). At left is panel moderator Krause. Photo by Wasim Muklashy.
A close-up photo of stacked timber overlaid with the text "Forest Scene: Issue 30, Fall 2023". The UMN Forest Resources logo is at the bottom. All text is in white and evergreen sprigs provide some green coloring.

The Forest Scene newsletter is published biannually in the spring and fall, featuring stories and updates from the Department of Forest Resources. Readers can download issue 30 of Forest Scene as an interactive PDF that is fully tagged and compatible with most screen readers, or read the individual stories here in a web-based format (coming soon!):