Auburn, Oct. 8---Do you own forestland in Alabama or are you interested in forest management? If so, consider attending the Eighteenth Annual Alabama Landowner and TREASURE FOREST Conference on October 25 – 26, 2001. The meeting and half-day tour will be held at the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center. The $55 registration fee includes: a landowner tour, banquet, indoor sessions and luncheon. During the conference, the Alabama Treasure Forest Association will conduct its annual silent auction

The Conference will kick off with a tour, sponsored by the Lee County Forest Stewardship Committee, of the Raymond Newman TREASURE forest in Lee County. Buses will depart from the parking lot of the Conference Center at 12 noon on Thursday, October 25.

Newman’s property is an excellent example of true multiple-use management. In addition to managing his lands for timber production, Newman also manages for deer, turkey, dove, quail, fish as well as many non-game species. He employs a full-time wildlife biologist and leases some of the hunting rights to his property to the RealtreeÒ camouflage clothing company. The company uses the site to tape celebrity hunts for their television show and Realtree videos.

The tour will include discussions on wildlife management by Newman’s wildlife biologist Chuck Sykes; timber marketing by Marshall Thomas, President F&W Forestry Services, Inc. from Albany, Georgia; and pond management by David Kastner and Kedric Nutt, SE Pond Management, and Robert Beauchamp, Auburn Aquatics. In addition, there will be outdoor displays from natural resource related vendors.

On Thursday evening, outstanding Treasure Forest landowners and county forestry planning committees will be honored at a banquet. It will begin at 6:45 p.m. in the AU Dixon Conference Center. A dessert social will be held after the banquet to provide attendees with an opportunity to congratulate the award winners.

Indoor technical sessions will convene the following morning at 8:00 a.m. at the Conference Center. Participants will be able to choose four of six sessions. The topics include: What the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Means to Alabama Landowners; Wildlife Habitat Management for Food Sources; Forestry Road Design and Construction; Forest Management Strategies for Landowners; Softwood Lumber Markets; and Developing a Fully Integrated Management Plan. Continuing Education Units and credits for the Forest Masters program will be offered for the tour and technical sessions.

A luncheon hosted by the Alabama TREASURE Forest Association will close out the conference. For more information about the conference and registration contact Fran Whitaker at 334-265-8733 or download the registration from www.atfa.net. After October 15, the registration cost will rise to $65.