New voice on the Forest Stewardship Helpline

Heather Schur

My name is Heather Schur and I will be serving as the new Executive Director for the NorCal Society of American Foresters (SAF) office. I will be acting in the capacity of Education/Stewardship Coordinator for both the Forestry Institute for Teachers (FIT) and the Forest Stewardship Helpline.

I am very excited about this new position. I am a Registered Professional Forester coming to this office having served as the Community Relations Consultant for the California Forest Products Commission as well as working as an independent consulting forester here in the central Sierra. In addition to these jobs, I teach forestry part-time at Sierra College in Rocklin, acted as a co-manager of the California Forest Center at Cal Expo in Sacramento, and acted as a Facilitator/Project Consultant for the nonprofit group “Talk About Trees.”

As the Education/Stewardship Coordinator, I hope to achieve a few important goals. First, I would like to reach out to forest landowners to let them be aware of the many programs and services which are available to them. As urban areas continue to grow, there is an increasing need to support those who wish to continue managing their forests in a responsible and sustainable manner, rather than converting their land to non-timber use. It is my hope that through diligent research new sources of assistance for landowners can be found and that through the Forestry Helpline, people will always find an answer to their question or at the very least a competent referral.

Secondly, I plan to continue working with the many community and natural resource organizations, committees and groups that are in existence. I believe that we could all benefit from these interactions and our active involvement with these groups will help to strengthen SAF’s commitment of fostering the stewardship of our forests.

Lastly, I would like to expand upon existing forestry education programs such as the Forestry Institute for Teachers. Having brought forestry into the classroom as a facilitator with the science program “Talk About Trees,” I have become aware of the importance and difficulty of educating California’s youth about forest conservation. In a time where our society seems to be losing its connection to the land, it is becoming extremely important to work closely with other natural resource educational programs and to reach out to teachers and other members of the community who play an important role in education. To this end, I intend to continue working with programs such as “Ag in the Classroom,” “Talk About Trees” and “Project Learning Tree.”

I anticipate many more goals for this office as I work into my new position. As I write, the new office phone line is being installed and many new ideas and plans are racing through my mind. I look forward to working with all of you and appreciate any suggestions you may have.

The NorCal SAF office can be reached at:
NorCal SAF
13297 La Barr Meadows Road
Grass Valley, CA 95949
530-273-8892 (Phone and Fax)
ncsaf@mcn.org
The Forest Stewardship Helpline number remains unchanged at 1-800-738-8733 (1-800-PET-TREE).

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Modified: 7/29/02