Last week, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued the following statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted a motion that blocks the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing a new rule that unlawfully expands the federal government’s regulatory reach over small streams, land and farms.

"This decision is a critical victory in our fight against this onerous federal overreach," Attorney General Morrisey said. "We have said from the beginning that this new rule does not pass legal muster, and had it been allowed to remain in effect, homeowners, farmers and a host of other entities across our state would have found themselves subject to a costly regime of new, complicated federal regulations. The Sixth Circuit’s decision today saves these individuals and businesses from this hefty burden."

The great pop culture philosopher Tom Cochrane once said, "Life is a highway." We all are on a journey going somewhere. On this journey we are all going to arrive at our destination, either on purpose or off purpose. Over the last few years, American Loggers Council has been moving forward, on purpose, because of its strong leadership. As President, I plan to maintain the course. These are my goals for the coming year.

My first goal is to bring more awareness to this organization. According to the last survey that was taken, only 46 percent of loggers in this nation understood what ALC is and does. We have to change this. We are going to solve this by strengthening our message through social media, word of mouth, and other ideas we are brainstorming. As loggers we are so busy doing our jobs, we forget the importance of our national voice. We can't allow ourselves to be so busy that we personally don't take part in sharing our voices. Join me in understanding what we are about and letting others know about this great profession. With the American Loggers Council as our national voice, we have to personally participate and let others know what we are about.

WVFA staff heard Michael Green, renowned architect and advocate for tall wood buildings, keynoted the 2015 Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Conference, on October 8, in Olympic Valley, California.

SFI celebrated 20 years as a voice for responsible forestry practices. More than 300 people, and landowners, brandowners, conservation and community organizations, academia, government agencies and resource professionals attended the conference to learn about the latest research in conservation and exchange ideas about improving forestry practices.

The American Forest Foundation, in partnership with the Florida Forest Service and the University of Florida (UF), have announced they will be piloting a new approach to forest management planning that will help streamline the certification process for woodland owners under the American Tree Farm System (ATFS). The first of its kind, this approach to management plans is intended to create efficiencies for state tree farm committees and state forest agencies and reduce barriers for family woodland owners who are looking to participate in ATFS.

Through surveys and feedback from the ATFS community, we understand that management plans tend to be time-intensive and sometimes expensive, limiting expansion of the program. This can present a barrier for landowners who wish to participate in ATFS certification and other landowner assistance programs, like the Forest Stewardship Program.