Here’s what class members said:
"
I gained motivation, inspiration, and knowledge to share the story of Washington’s forest management. As someone who works in the industry, it was fantastic to take a broad approach to look at the range of objectives and practices that people use to manage the forests over varying ownerships and to internalize the sheer importance of what we all do over the entire landscape. Forest managers have an incredible amount of responsibly to support our local industries and economies over a long timescale while also trying to restore and preserve our ecosystems."
"This seminar completely opened my mind, not only to the timber industry, but the forest as a whole. I was amazed at how complex and intricate a working forest is. From a leadership perspective, I learned how important collaboration is. In order for a landowner, DNR and the Forest Service to be successful they need to have working relationships with each other."
"We can't erase the actions of the past nor can we forget them. Co-management and collaborative work is slow and sometimes feels painful. I will remember that everybody brings a different story to the table and work to understand not only their motivations but the history that brought them to that point. That said, I will also try to bring a vision of the future to my work recognizing that trying to fix the past could keep us from adapting to the present and future needs of our system."
"We need to approach land management with an eye on the future. Parallel to forest planning, leaders need to have a long-term goal - a clear mission or vision for their group to work toward achieving."
