Presenters

Mike Santucci. Thirty-three years a forester and conservationist by education, experience, and enthusiasm, Mike has been with the Virginia Department of Forestry’s Forestland Conservation Program since its inception in 2007, leading the agency’s conservation efforts for the last eight years. He has been directly involved with the conservation of nearly 100,000 acres of land in Virginia. By protecting forestland from fragmentation or conversion to non-forest uses, VDOF seeks to ensure functional woodlands remain a part of Virginia’s landscape in perpetuity.

Jennifer Gagnon. Jennifer Gagnon has coordinated the Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program at Virginia Tech since 2005. She develops educational programs and materials for thousands of forest landowners throughout Virginia every year. Before coming to Virginia, Jennifer was the Lead Technician of the Forest Ecology Lab at the Jones Ecological Research Center in Georgia. She received her BS in Forest Resource Conservation and Management and her MS in Silviculture at the University of Florida.

Adam Downing. Since 2001 Adam has worked as the Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Agent serving Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Northern District. His professional expertise is in providing informal education regarding forestry and natural resources to address current issues in rural, urban, and rural/urban interface areas to home & landowners, professionals, decision-makers, and the general public. Adam has forestry degrees from Purdue and Penn State and has worked with landowners in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kenya.

Jennifer Jones. Jennifer Jones is the Executive Director of the Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust in West Virginia and has spent more than 20 years working in the nonprofit and conservation sectors. For the past five years, she has been a member of Virginia’s Generation NEXT training team and has led innovative research on the barriers and benefits of succession planning among Virginia landowners. Jennifer specializes in addressing family dynamics in succession planning. She has held executive level positions at the American Forest Foundation and National Wildlife Federation. Jennifer holds a BA in History from the University System of New Hampshire at Keene, certifications in Organization Systems and Development, and Group Process, Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, and is a Fellow in the Natural Resources Leadership Program of the Institute for Engagement and Negotiations, University of Virginia.

Resources:

• Ties to the Land - Oregon State University
• Legacy Planning Tool - UMass Amherst
• Your Legacy, Your Land - My Land Plan, American Forest Foundation

Additional webinars in the series:

Woodland Management: What is Right for You and Your Woodland?
This session will help woodland owners to understand how stand dynamics and market considerations are used in the application of management.

Understanding the Financial Aspects of Woodland Management
This session provides an overview of financial factors that affect your woodland management such as when to re-plant, when to thin, when to harvest, when to use cost-share programs and more.

More than Timber: Income Opportunities from Non-timber Forest Products
There are a range of possibilities to generate income from your woodlands that depend on your location, forest type and more, that are compatible with timber management too. In this session learn more about the opportunities to generate income from your woodlands.