Pacific Islands Forestry Committee Meeting

The Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC) Pacific Islands Forestry Committee (PIFC) met in October at the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station’s Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF) in Hilo, Hawaii.

PIFC membership includes the Western Pacific Island Foresters, representatives from the Forest Service Region 5 office and the Pacific Southwest Research Station IPIF Director and the Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF) Executive Director.  

This meeting was also attended by representatives from the WFLC leadership which included Cal Joyner, WFLC Co-Lead and Regional Forester for the Southwestern Region and Greg Josten, CWSF Executive Committee Incoming Chair and South Dakota State Forester. Jay Farrell from the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) also attended this meeting. 

Agenda items included updates on forestry research in the Pacific, forest inventory analysis status and updates from each of the Island Foresters. Cristina Cabrera, Territorial Forester of Puerto Rico also attended the meeting to discuss island issues that cross oceans and to help identify issues that can be worked on at the national level. Cabrera also provided information on urban issues as the representative from the NASF Urban & Community Forestry Committee.  

“It was truly a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet and learn from the island foresters. While their ecosystems are different, and they face the front lines of climate change effects, we share many of the same challenges – educating the public, invasive species, forest health, endangered species, fire, wood products utilization, development pressure, water quality, and the need for science and resources to address these challenges,” said Greg Josten, South Dakota State Forester and CWSF Executive Committee Incoming Chair.

"The Pacific Island Foresters are each doing impressive and important work to ensure ecosystem services in the face of the most extreme risk from climate change,” said Cal Joyner, Southwestern Region Regional Forester and WFLC Co-Lead. 

The PIFC will hold a workshop in April 2017 in Guam that will include a PIFC meeting and training opportunities for Island Forestry staff members.