Talking Forests

Maryland Forests Association "Faces of Forestry" features Tony Pixelle this month. He has been a forester in Maryland and has worked in different parts of the state for different agencies. He talks about his start as a naturalist and his work leading into being a forester for Pixelle (https://www.pixelle.com/forestry). We are featuring guests of this program on the Talking Forests podcast once a month. We hope you all gain insight from these guests about the forest sector and how each job in the entire supply chain is very important. #facesofforestry #talkingforests #forestproud #marylandforests #forestsforever Photo credit: Edwin Remsberg Photographs

Anthony H. DiPaolo:

I am a lifelong resident of Maryland and a Licensed Professional Forester with over 30 years of experience in forest management and wood procurement. I have spent most of my career working on the Eastern Shore. My first job out of college was as a naturalist for Carroll County Parks and Rec. at Piney Run Park near Sykesville. I was hired by the Maryland Forest Service as an Asst. Project Forester in 1986 and began my forestry career working in Allegany and Garrett Counties. In 1987 I accepted the Project Forester’s position in Worcester County. In 1996 I left state service to take a job with Cropper Brothers Lumber Co. in Willards, Md., where I was responsible for all wood procurement activities along with the management of their family-owned timberlands. In December of 2013, I began working for Glatfelter as an area forester procuring pulpwood for the Eastern Shore District. In 2018, Glatfelter’s Specialty Papers Unit was reborn as Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC.

I have a BS in Forestry (1982) from Virginia Tech. I am a member and past chair of the Md./De. Division of the Society of American Foresters. I am also a member of the Maryland Sustainable Forestry Council, a member of the Worcester Forestry Board, a past vice president for the Maryland Forest Association, a member of the Delaware Forestry Assoc., a current District Supervisor for the Worcester Soil Conservation District, and a board member of the Lower Shore Land Trust. Some of my past awards include the Maryland Forester of the Year in 1992 and the Maryland Forest Leadership award in 1995.

From both a professional and personal standpoint, I have a keen interest in the conservation of our state’s forest lands. I believe my thirty-plus years of experience, managing both public and private forests across various regions of Maryland, provides me a unique perspective on the issues and challenges affecting forestry.

Voice By Gordon Collier in Introduction: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgordoncollier/

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Patrick Hiesl the Assistant Professor of Forest Operations from Clemson University was interviewed by Candra Burns of Talking Forests about the Cradle of Forestry, the APSAF Centennial Monument, and Carl Schenck a German Forester who brought sustainable forest practices to the USA in 1895.

His career profile from Clemson University in South Carolina: https://www.clemson.edu/cafls/faculty_staff/profiles/phiesl

Patrick was an undergrad in Germany where he is from. During his first 4 years of school, he earned a B.S. in Forest Management at the University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg and graduated in 2010. Then he moved to Maine, USA to go to graduate school and earned his M.S. in Forest Resources at the University of Maine and graduated in 2013. Then he got his Ph.D. in Forest Resources at the University of Maine in 2015. After his graduate school and Ph.D., he got lucky and interviewed for the forest operations teaching position at Clemson University in 2015 in South Carolina and accepted the position and started teaching. Later, after networking in his local Society of American Forester's chapters, he then worked on the regional level with the APSAF Monument Committee. He was excited to learn about Carl Schenck and his forestry school, as a German, himself. 

Candra was excited to talk with Patrick in this interview because she lived in Germany for 3 years from 2018-2020. She interviewed a German, Patrick Hiesl, on this podcast episode. She had friends in WA State that were foresters that helped German investment foresters use funding from USA forests to build bridges at their castles in Germany. When Candra lived in Germany, she could leave her backyard and go into a forest and that was not trespassing in Germany. That is very different than the private areas of the USA, especially in the fragmented areas where she currently lives in the south. Candra learned about Carl Schenck in 2015 at a WA State SAF meeting where they viewed “America’s First Forest” in 2015. Ever since she has been intrigued and got lucky that she was able to live in Germany with her USAF husband and travel within Europe for the first 2 years, pre-COVID.

She visited the Cradle of Forestry and the APSAF Monument in 2021 when she had a chance during Memorial Day weekend and was excited that the USAF picked her new state as the “First in Forestry” state.

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Beth and Joe of the Maryland Forests Association sat down to talk to me about a "Faces of Forestry" program they have. We are featuring guests of this program on the Talking Forests podcast once a month. We hope you all gain insight from these guests about the forest sector and how each job in the entire supply chain is very important.  

Elizabeth Hill:

Beth is the executive director of Maryland Forests Association and a resident of the Eastern Shore of Maryland with more than 20 years’ experience in the forest sector. She previously served as the General Manager of Dorchester Lumber Company Inc., a family owned business founded in 1950. In her leadership role, she saw that the company provided quality products in a healthy, safe work environment, while promoting sustainable forestry practices.

“Forestry is the highest and best use for land to protect the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. Most people have no idea how important or vast the forestry industry is,” Hill said.

MFA worked with BEACON, the Business Economic and Community Outreach Network at Salisbury University, with the support of the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industries Development Corporation (MARBIDCO), conducted an economic impact study to measure the importance of Maryland’s resource-based industries. Using the latest data from 2015, the report found that Maryland’s forestry sector contributed nearly $3.5 billion to the State’s economy, supported 15,271 jobs, and nearly $133 million in State and local tax revenue.

Beth resides in Dorchester County with her husband and two children and is an active member of her community.

Joe Hinson:

President of Maryland Forests Association and President and he works with Northwest Natural Resource Group as main forester. He has over 25 years’ experience in helping private landowners, agencies, industry, and legislative bodies resolve natural resource conflicts. He was named by former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus to represent timber industry in negotiating process to implement state’s "anti-degradation" policy. He was director of private forestry programs for the National Forest Products Association, Washington D.C. (1977-1982). Education: B.S. in Forest Resource Management, West Virginia University, 1971.

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Thomas is a Canadian Wildfire Professional and we had a great chat since we are in the beginning of what most people know as a fire season, however Thomas dives deep into what fire actually means, how to prevent your area and home from having #fire impacts and this historical First Nations role in fire and why we have been ignoring those practices and need to bring them back to our landscapes. #wildfire #talkingforests

His Twitter is: https://twitter.com/ThomasforBC 

Thomas Martin is a Wildfire Project Manager in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. He spends his working hours on wildfire mitigation projects, community wildfire plans, and landscape level plans. In his spare time he and his wife climb, bike, hike, and ski. @thomasforbc on Twitter.

Voice By Gordon Collier in Introduction: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgordoncollier/   

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Joe Buck In Nature and I had a great chat with each other. He loves Twitter and has built a SAFE community you should be a part of. I felt very safe in this interview and he also interviewed me on Fireside Ch@s, check that out on his YouTube soon! 

Joe Buck is a dendrochronologist, ecologist, science communicator, and mental health advocate. Joe owns and runs Cross Timbers Dendro, a forest consultancy based out of Central Oklahoma. His YouTube channel, JoeBuckInNature, features Fireside Ch@s, a SciComm series highlighting scientists via informal virtual chats to provide a sense of community and connection to the scientists we see on social media, but haven’t all had the pleasure to meet. Joe also utilizes social media to help advocate for and normalize mental health adversities. You can follow Joe:

Twitter: @JoeBuckInNature  https://twitter.com/JoeBuckInNature

Instagram: @JoeBuckInNature   https://www.instagram.com/joebuckinnature/

YouTube: JoeBuckInNature  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1_JZmFwxuiN9meXJ5KbpMw

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-buck585266186/

Website: www.joebuckinnature.com

Cross Timbers Dendro: www.oldtrees.co

Joe's mental health resource links:

Made of Millions: www.madeofmillions.com

International OCD Foundation: www.iocdf.org

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: www.afsp.org

Dragonfly Mental Health: https://dragonflymentalhealth.com

Voice By Gordon Collier in Introduction: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgordoncollier/ 

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We had a great interview with Janelle Leafblad from WoodWorks. She wanted to do this timely interview because of Mass Timber Month and Women's History Month. She has been a pioneer in wood and started with architecture and worked in the US Forest Service Wood Products Lab back in the day. Her current role is a great resource for those wanting to know more about building with wood education, mass timber, and more! 

Janelle has been an active building technology consultant since 2002, primarily in the area of wood technology, investigation and design of building envelope components, and construction for both historic and contemporary structures. She earned her BS in Architectural Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and her MS in Wood Science and Technology from the University of California at Berkeley. Janelle has been with WoodWorks for over seven years and provides assistance on non-residential and multi-family wood projects to designers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, and Hawaii. She is a licensed professional engineer in the state of California.

Want to be featured? Schedule your interview with Talking Forests on this link: www.calendly.com/talkingforests

Candra Burns a military spouse talks about moving overseas as military in the middle of a pandemic and we are back! We talked about the safe way of traveling and the process of moving for us. We wanted to give you updates and the reason why we were out. Candid audio here!

Voice By Gordon Collier in Introduction: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgordoncollier/ 

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This will be a 4 part series with 4 amazing women, this is 4 out of 4  episodes and will be published  each Monday in each week of October 2020  for National Forest Products week. Betsy Yraguen of the Douglas County chapter of Oregon Women in Timber talks about the organization and how she is involved in to help promote the timber industry for the greater good! 

Betsy Yraguen is the Account Executive and Integrated Media Specialist at KEZI 9 ABC News partnered with MeTV Western oregon which is Western Oregon’s news leader—with Live, Local, Late  Breaking coverage and more local news than anyone else. People depend on KEZI 9 ABC  News for the most important local news stories from where you live in Oregon.