Tree Mortality Will Be Focus Of Annual Summit
Tomorrow morning (Friday), TuCARE will hold the 15th Annual Natural Resources Summit in the Sierra Building at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora. The Summit is open to the public and admission is free.
Melinda Fleming, Executive Director for TuCARE, was Thursday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”.
TuCare is the acronym for Tuolumne County Alliance for Resources and Environment.
Confirmed speakers for the summit include: Congressman Tom McClintock; Assemblyman Frank Bigelow; USFS Tree Mortality Deputy Chief, Stephanie Gomes of the Pacific Southwest Region; CALFIRE Staff Chief, Rick Carr, Regional Resource Manager for the Southern Region, and panelists Rick Spurlock, Chair of the California Biomass Energy Alliance; Jim Branham from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy; California Forestry Association’s Steve Brink and Dan Tomascheski from Sierra Pacific Industries. The “Working Smarter – Working Together” panel will be moderated by Mike Albrecht of Sierra Resource Management.
Natural Resource agencies, organizations and businesses will provide information tables prior to and after the summit for attendees to peruse. Doors open at 8:00 a.m.
Approximately 250 people have attended the summit each year. Topics covered in past years include political and environmental hot topics such as global warming, environmental extremism, and the importance of a strong wood products industry (logging) as it relates to forest health. The focus of this summit will be on the affects now and in the future of severe tree mortality, insect infestation, drought and forest stocking levels. Strategies for future landscape-wide management to decrease the severity of future forest related events will be the highlight of the panel presentation.
The speaking portion of the summit kicks-off at 9:00 a.m. and runs till 12:00 p.m. From 12-1 p.m. attendees will be asked to visit information tables from local, state and federal agencies/organizations that will provide information on tree mortality, the TMAP (Tree Mortality Assistance Program), drought and watershed information, as well as ways to participate in workshops and field-days for forest clean-up.
There is no cost for this event due to the generous donations by a variety of sponsors including the Stanislaus National Forest and PG&E.
TuCARE is a community based non-profit 501(c)3 organization founded in 1988. The membership is a cross-section of the community and includes business persons, educators, retirees, and those actively engaged in working on a daily basis with natural resources. TuCARE supports conservation and the multiple-use of natural resources on public lands. Multiple-use policies allow for everyone to benefit. TuCARE seeks stability for resource industries in order to ensure the economic soundness and stability of local communities.
For more information contact Fleming at 209-586-7816 or write to tucare@mlode.com
The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
