Society of American Foresters Southwestern Section Meeting hosted by the Southern Arizona Chapter April 19-21, 2018 Safford, Arizona

Comfort Inn & Suites, Thatcher, Arizona

Click on sponsor logos to go directly to their web homepages. Note: For SAF members, attending this meeting will qualify for up 7.5 CFE credits (category 1).

April 19: Ice Breaker and Social 6:00 - 9:00 PM Comfort Inn & Suites 2577 West Highway 70, Thatcher, AZ, 85552 Click on map to enlarge.
Opening registration, reception food, cash bar
SAF District/National Report	TBD SAF National/District Representative

April 20: Theme: Sky Island Forest Management Graham County GSA Building 921 W. Thatcher Blvd., Safford, AZ 85546 Click on map to enlarge. Draft Agenda
Time	Presentation Title (hover over titles to see abstracts)	Presenter
8:00 AM	Final registration, pastries, coffee
8:30 AM	Opening Remarks	Al Hendricks Chair, 2018, Southwestern Section Society of American Foresters
8:40 AM	Welcome	Curtis Booher District Ranger Safford Ranger District, Coronado National Forest
8:45 AM	Moderator Comments	Ann Lynch, Ph.D. Forest Entomologist USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
9:00 AM	The Frye Fire (Pinaleños/Mt. Graham), 2017	Everett Phillips Fire Management Officer Safford Ranger District, Coronado National Forest
9:30 AM	Impact of Frye Fire on Mt. Graham Red Squirrel and Mexican Spotted Owl Habitat	Marit Alanen Biologist U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
10:00 AM	Break Snacks by Cottage House Bakery
10:30 AM	Impacts of Post Fire Bark Beetle Activity - Concerns and Mitigation	Monica Gaylord and John Anhold Forest Entomologists Region 3 Forest Health Zone Office
11:00 AM	Planned Forest Restoration Following the Frye Fire	Leslie T. Prewitt and Jena Trejo Forest Silviculturist and Zone Forester Coronado National Forest
11:30 AM	Mixed Conifer Restoration and Resiliency	Amy E.M. Waltz, Ph.D. Program Director, Science Delivery NAU Ecological Restoration Institute
noon	Lunch Kainoas Hawaiian Grill Keynote address: Molly Hunter School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Arizona Title: SWFSC and its Role in Science and Management Partnerships in the Southwest
1:00 PM	Management Strategies for Threatened White Pine	Ethan Bucholz Ph.D. student NAU School of Forestry
1:30 PM	Persistence of Post-Fire Conifer to Shrub Transitions in the Southwest	Chris Guiterman, Ph.D. Research Associate UA Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
2:00 PM	Preliminary Thoughts on Changes to Hydrologic Properties of Soils Following Multiple Uncharacteristic Fires	Ann Youberg, Ph.D. Research Geologist Arizona Geological Survey
2:30 PM	Break Snacks by Cottage House Bakery
3:00 PM	Outcomes of Wildland Fire Research and Future Directions in the Southwest	Molly Hunter, Ph.D. Research Scientist UA School of Natural Resources and the Environment
3:30 PM	Partnership - Gila Watershed Partnership, a 30-year Success Story	Bill Brandau Director UA Graham County Cooperative Extension
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM	Business Meeting, Southwestern Section SAF
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM	Evening Banquet, Southwestern Section BBQ Dinner by Randy Hawkins Catering SWSAF Recognition Sponsored in part by the Gila Watershed Partnership.	The Plank 501 S. Gila Ave. Safford Click on map to enlarge.

2018 SWSAF Recognition Presenter: Al Hendricks, Chair SWSAF Photos by Diane Drobka (click to enlarge)

Photos of the 2017 Frye Fire on Mt. Graham, by Bill Hart

April 21 Field Trip The Pinaleños and Mount Graham

7:45 AM	Begin meeting up at Comfort Inn & Suites in Thatcher
8:00 AM — 9:15 AM	Depart for and drive to the Pinaleño Mountains and Mt. Graham
9:15 AM — 10:15 AM	1st Stop: Treasure Park Leslie Prewitt and Jena Trejo: Restoration Planning after Frye Fire Monica Gaylord and John Anhold: Bark Beetle Mitigation Efforts following the Frye Fire Amy Waltz: Hospital Flats ERI Restoration Plots and Treasure Park Prescription
10:15 AM — 11:00 AM	Drive
11:00 AM — 12 noon	2nd Stop: Columbine Forest Service Administration Site Ann Lynch: Disturbance Regimes of the Pinaleno Moutains Melissa Merrick: Mt. Graham Red Squirrel Research Efforts in the Pinaleños Everett Phillips: Suppression Challenges Faced on the Frye Fire
12 noon — 12:30 PM	Lunch at Columbine sandwiches, etc., provided
12:30 PM — 1:00 PM	Drive
1:00 PM — 3:00 PM	3rd Stop: Mt. Graham International Observatory Observatory Personnel: Guided tours of the telescopes
3:00 PM — 5:00 PM	Depart for and drive to Comfort Inn & Suites in Thatcher

Registration and Fee Payment
The basic fee structure for this meeting is as follows: SAF Member: $75.00 Non-SAF Member: $80.00 Student: $37.50 Evening Banquet Only: $30.00 Technical Session & Banquet: $65.00 Late Fee (after April 6): $10.00 Donation: any amount is appreciated
To register, download this pdf registration form. Fill in and send to Paul Sheppard, either by email or by USPS mail. Both addresses are given on the form, lower left corner.	To pay your registration fee securely online by credit card, click this button: Enter the amount you owe, do the security code thing, and click continue. Should be easy. To pay by check, include your check with your hardcopy registration form in regular USPS mail.
Feeling Generous? If you'd like, feel free to help defray conference expenses and/or support student attendance by adding any amount you wish to your registration fee. There's a box on the registration form for that. Thanks!

While in Safford/Thatcher Visit Roper Lake State Park

Organizing Committee
This Annual Spring Meeting of the Southwestern Section (Arizona and New Mexico) of SAF was organized by:
Robert Lefevre Mike Borens Paul Sheppard Bill Hart	Craig Wilcox Diane Drobka Chris Guiterman Al Hendricks