Forestry group honors two

The Flathead Chapter of the Montana Society of American Foresters presented two achievement awards to members at its annual Christmas banquet.

Heidi Trechsel was recognized as the Flathead SAF Chapter Citizen Forester, which recognizes noteworthy effort in advancement of the profession of forestry, public education and outreach and service to the organization.

Trechsel is a silviculturist for the Flathead National Forest and has recently been a vegetation specialist on the Forest Plan Revision Team.  

Allen Chrisman received the 2015 Field Forester Award recognizing members who have practiced forestry for at least 15 years and have demonstrated significant understanding and management at the local or regional scale.

Chrisman owns A.B. Chrisman Forest Management Services, a consulting service that manages family-owned property in the North Fork. He retired from the U.S. Forest Service in 2008 with more than 30 years of service and still works as needed as deputy incident commander on a Northern Rockies Incident Management Team.

The Flathead Society of American Foresters also raises money for a forestry-oriented scholarship for students at Flathead Valley Community College and Salish-Kootenai College.

The local chapter’s monthly meetings feature a speaker. All interested are welcome to attend. The chapter participates in community forestry projects and helps with local forestry events such as the annual Family Forestry Expo near Columbia Falls. The chapter has more than 50 members from private, state and federal forestry backgrounds.

For more information, contact chapter chairman Brad French at bfrench@mt.gov.