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Forest landowners in northeastern North Carolina have the opportunity in late October to learn about the role of conservation practices in forestry and agriculture to address the challenges of climate change. The Forest Landowner Conference will be held on Oct. 26 and 27.

The conference will be held as a virtual event due to the coronavirus pandemic and is free to the public. It is being organized by the Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project (SFLRP), which is supported in part by Roanoke Electric Cooperative.

The conference will feature two sessions as follows:

Session 1. 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Oct. 26

The keynote speaker is Dale Threatt-Taylor, executive director of The Nature Conservancy’s South Carolina chapter. Other Session 1 speakers are Kevin Harnish, forest analyst for The Conservation Fund’s Resourceful Communities Program, and Michael Gavazzi, coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service’s Southeast Climate Hub.

Session 2. 10 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Oct. 27

SFLRP Director Alton Perry and Amanda Egdorf-Sand, executive director of the NC Foundation for Soil and Water Conservation, will provide an overview of the Carbon Farm Planning Project. Other Session 2 speakers are Renard Turner, owner of Vanguard Ranch in Gordonsville, VA, and Steve Woodruff, state agronomist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s East National Technology Service Center in Greensboro.

This conference is sponsored through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s North Carolina Natural Resources Conservation Service. Register at: https://ncsu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xWIkUfgOSK6OP7T2fgUPlQ. Forest landowners do not have to live in the region to participate. Phone charges and/or data rates may apply if participating via phone or over a mobile network. Logistical support is being provided by N.C. State Extension Forestry.

The Sustainable Forestry and Land Retention Project began in 2013 as a partnership between the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest Service and, more recently, the American Forest Foundation. The program works to restore and conserve threatened forestland in Roanoke Electric’s Cooperative’s service area by increasing forest-owner income and land asset values. All landowners owning at least one contiguous eight-acre parcel of woodland are eligible to participate. See www.recforestry.org for more information on the program.