Forestry Advisory Council
FORESTRY ADVISORY COUNCIL. As established by Ohio Revised Code section 1502.40, the Forestry Advisory Council may advise and make recommendations to the Chief concerning forestry practices and programs in the state, including programs of the Division, and may assist the Division in promoting cooperation on forestry practices and programs with other agencies, political subdivisions, and private interests. The Council consists of eight members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate. Members represent forest-based research activities, small private forestland owners, larger private forestland owners, the pulp and paper industry, other forest industries, soil science, forest recreation and the public. Each serves a four-year term and not more than four are permitted from the same political party. The Council holds regular quarterly meetings, and has a chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary.
Current Forestry Advisory Council:
Mark E. Hochstetler: The Mark Hochstetler family has a background in the woodworking industry, owning and operating a chair-making business in Holmes County before purchasing land in 1995 near Tiverton Center. They set out to establish a “seed to rocking chair” business and made the decision as a family to buy land and plant trees to provide wood for their chair-making company. They currently own a total of 527 acres called the Tiverton Timber Tree Farm that was named the 2006 Ohio Tree Farm of the Year. Mr. Hochstetler has been especially helpful in assisting the Division of Forestry make outreach to Ohio’s Amish community. Representing – Large Private Forest Landowners; Term Expires – 2/12/12
Walter H. Lange, Small Private Forest Landowner: Mr. Lange has been actively involved with promoting good forest management from his northwestern Ohio tree farm for many years. He is chair of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation’s Forestry Committee and a past chair of the Ohio Tree Farm Committee. As a landowner impacted by Emerald Ash Borer he has been very active in helping other woodland owner learn more about this devastating pest. Mr. Lange is also a mathematics professor at the University of Toledo. Representing – Small Private Forest Landowners; Term Expires – 2/12/12
Clint C. Manns, Pulp and Paper Industry: Mr. Manns has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Forest Science, college of Agriculture, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania. He has worked with Smurfit Stone-Stone Container Corporation Forest Resources since October 1979 and now serves as the Regional Wood Procurement Manager. Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. is a large forest products industry in Northeastern Ohio. Representing – Pulp and Paper Industry; Term Expires – 2/28/11
Dr. Glenn R. Matlack, Associate Professor: Dr. Matlack is a forest ecologist and conservation biologist based at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. His published research deals with long-term and large-scale processes in plant populations, including, biology of invasion by nonnative plant species, the effects of forest fragmentation on regional plant distributions, long-term historical effects in second-growth forest communities, fire as a factor shaping forest communities restoration of forest diversity after abandonment from agriculture, and ecological effects of commercial management practices. Dr. Matlack teaches courses in plant population biology, tropical ecology, and American forest history. He received his PhD at the University of Wales in 1984, followed by fellowships at Rutgers, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard. He currently shares a lab with four enthusiastic graduate students. Representing – Soil Science; Term Expires 2/28/11
Kathy Smith (Chair): Ms. Smith has a BS in Forest Resource Management (1985) and an MS in Natural Resource Management (1989) from The Ohio State University. She worked as a watershed forester for the Ohio Division of Forestry in west central Ohio covering the 10 counties of the Top of Ohio Resource Conservation & Development area for 11 years. She came to Ohio State University Extension in 2001 as an Extension Associate in forestry covering the private woodland owner education program. She currently oversees the Ohio Woodland Stewards Program – a program that puts together classes and other educational items for private woodland owners across the state. She is also co-chair for the Gwynne Conservation Area Committee that oversees the Gwynne and its programming for Farm Science Review. She serves as education chair for the Ohio Chapter of the Society of American Foresters.
Representing – Forest Based Research; Term Expires 2/28/14
John (Jack) P. Vimmerstedt (Vice-Chair): Mr. Vimmerstedt holds a doctorate degree in forestry soils. He served in the Post Forestry Branch for the US Army and has worked at several forest experiment stations. He has taught for The Ohio State University and retired in 1995. He currently serves as an officer for the Ohio Society of American Foresters. Representing – Public; Term Expires 2/28/11
Melvin Yoder: Mr. Yoder is President and Corporative Executive Officer of Yoder Lumber, Co., Inc. Yoder Lumber Co., Inc. is a third generation family owned business located in Holmes County. Under Mr. Yoder’s leadership, Yoder Lumber has become one of the more progressive sawmills in the state. They are strong supporters of the Ohio Master Logger Company Program and Project Learning Tree. Mr. Yoder is a past president of the Ohio Forestry Association and is viewed as one of their more respected members. Representing – Forest Industry; Term Expires 2/28/12
William Stanley: Mr. Stanley is currently the Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy. Mr. Stanley has a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia (1991) and a MS from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (1997). Mr. Stanley is a member of the Ohio’s Stewardship Committee and the Society of American Foresters. He also served as the Board of Directors of the Tropical Forest Foundation (2000 – 2004). He is an Honorary Research Associate for the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE).
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