By Jim Britt, Director of Communications, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
On a northern Maine forestry tour Oct. 4, Diane Rowland, the newly appointed dean of the University of Maine College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture (NSFA) and director of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, was introduced to the the state’s forestry community by ACF Commissioner Amanda Beal and Maine Forest Service (MFS) Director Patty Cormier.
“What a fantastic experience,” Rowland emailed tour organizers on Oct. 5. “I am still amazed with what I saw yesterday and energized with ideas and possibilities . . . I am very grateful to everyone for providing this experience and learning opportunity!”
The trio was joined by University Forest Manager Keith Kanoti, UMaine School of Forest Resources Interim Director Dr. Bill Livingston, Maine Forest Products Council Executive Director Patrick Strauch, and Maine Sustainable Forestry Initiative Coordinator Pat Sirois and others.
Livingston, Rowland, Cormier, Beal and Pat Sirois of SFI made their first stop in at the new Pleasant River Lumber mill in Enfield.
Then it was on to Greenville for a tour of an active logging site with industry representatives including Ben Dow, Henning Stabins, Ray Ary, MFS District Forester Jim Ferrante, and the father-and-son team from Dulac Timber Management.
“I’ve been in Maine for 36 years and never experienced a tour that was so effective in demonstrating what a treasure we have in the Maine forest and how much it means to the state in so many ways,” Livingston said.”
[pullquote]”I’ve been in Maine for 36 years and never experienced a tour that was so effective in demonstrating what a treasure we have in the Maine forest and how much it means to the state in so many ways,” Bill Livingston said.”[/pullquote]
BPL staff joined the group at their Lilly Bay State Park lunch stop. The tour was a day well spent discussing how important the university is to forestry in Maine and working together on initiatives.
“I look forward to deepening relationships and facilitating the work NSFA does to serve the industry and state while exploring opportunities to improve our effectiveness and continue to find new ways to stay relevant and address emerging needs,” Rowland said.
