Forest Health Grants and Forest Practice Documents: Can they be used together to create a more resilient landscape?
Tuesday, December 12th, 9:00am - 11:30am
Link to Webinar Recording
This webinar was an opportunity to learn about Forest Health Grants and Forest Practice Documents from representatives at CAL FIRE, Crook Logging Inc, Auten Resource Consulting, and the Soquel Demonstration State Forest. Participants increased their knowledge of how to utilize forest health grant funds, THPs, and other forest practice documents to accomplish forest health projects.
Daniel Sooy, Forester I – Forest Health Area Forester, gave an overview of the CAL FIRE Forest Health Program and the types of Cal Fire Forest Practice Harvest Documents in use. Colin Noyes, Assistant Forest Manager at Soquel Demonstration State Forest, discussed the Forest Health Grant treatments at the Soquel Demonstration State Forest as an example for future forest health treatments. David Van Lennep, ARC Senior Forester, Registered Professional Forester, discussed the process and tools used to develop project goals, collect specific project data, and the blending of a Forest Health Project with conventional Timber Harvest Plan operations. Shaun Crook, VP of Crook Logging Inc, provided a contractor's view of fuel reduction projects. Andrea Williams, Senior Environmental Compliance Scientist in Climate & Energy at CAL FIRE, presented on the challenges and constraints associated with using Forest Practice documents on land-scape scale forest health projects and agreements.
| Time | Item |
|---|---|
| 9:00am | Webinar begins |
| Daniel Sooy: CAL FIRE Forest Health Program Overview | |
| Colin Noyes: Coordinating Forest Health Grant Treatments on a Timber Harvesting Plan at the Soquel Demonstration State Forest | |
| David Van Lennep: Transforming A Management Vision Into A Project | |
| 10:20am | Break |
| Shaun Crook: "From the Stump" - A Contractor's view of Fuel Reduction Projects | |
| Andrea Williams: CEQA and California Forest Practice Rules – A Collaborative Approach | |
| Q&A | |
| 11:30am |
Webinar ends |
Trainers:
Daniel Sooy, Forester I – Forest Health Area Forester
I’m a 1999 graduate of Humboldt State University and an Registered Professional Forester. I worked for Green Diamond Resource Co. for over 10 years and have been with Cal fire since 2014.
Colin Noyes, Assistant Forest Manager, Soquel Demonstration State Forest
Colin has over a decade of experience working as a Registered Professional Forester in the Santa Cruz Mountains in both the private and public sectors. As the Assistant Forest Manager, Forester I, at the Soquel Demonstration State Forest (SDSF), Colin is responsible for overseeing daily operations at SDSF as well as writing Timber Harvesting Plans and other permitting documents, overseeing the GIS database, supervising seasonal staff and providing emergency response. Before joining CAL FIRE in 2014, Colin worked for Big Creek Lumber Company as a Forestry Technician and Staff Forester. Colin Graduated from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Forestry with a concentration in Environmental Management. His passion for forest management began as an intern at the Cal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch, where he got hands-on experience in the field of forest management. That passion for managing redwood ecosystems in the Santa Cruz Mountains continues to this day.
David Van Lennep, ARC Senior Forester, Registered Professional Forester
ARC Senior Forester, Registered Professional Forester #2591. Born in Southern California, David began a path towards forestry from a love of the outdoors, cultivated by Scouting, and family camping trips. He attended Humboldt State University, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry. Beginning in 1993, Mr. Van Lennep has managed timberlands, both large and small in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties. Beginning in 1995, he began managing a portfolio of private lands. Key management goals were to increase productivity and growth, schedule and manage harvest entries and harvest permitting, oversight of maintenance, and providing targets for planning and for budgets on short- and long-term horizons.
He began his forestry career working seasonal job appointments on Public Lands, first for the Bureau of Land Management in Northern California, then with the U.S. Forest Service in Southern California (1988-1993). In 1993, he moved to the Santa Cruz area and began work with a local Forestry Consultant. In 1995, David took a position with Redwood Empire Sawmills where he was responsible for fieldwork and administration of Timber Harvest Plans, including tree planting operations. His responsibilities steadily grew to include supervision of Southern Area operations, area employees, property value assessment, and regional liaison to several regulatory oversight bodies.
In 2022, he took the Senior Forester Position at Auten Resource Consulting (ARC) and is now applying his experience and knowledge to treat fuels, improve forest health, and assist large and small landowners with management objectives.
Mr. Van Lennep has also given his time to important professional and community organizations.
- Board member for the California Licensed Foresters Association (2001-2005),
- Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau Board of Directors (2005-present), and President of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau from 2014 to 2016.
- Board Member of the Soquel Firesafe Council (2010-2015)
- Volunteer for the California Forestry Challenge 2010-Present
Shaun Crook, VP of Crook Logging, Inc
Shaun Crook is the VP of his family's logging business, Crook Logging, Inc. The company was officially formed in the 1980's, but has roots back to the mid 1970's. Shaun grew up in the woods as every summer was spent camping out where ever that year's logging project was located. This involved extensive travel throughout the central sierras and even a couple summers with the Redwoods on the central coast. After completing his B.S. degree in Agri Business from Cal Poly, SLO, Shaun returned to the family business and continued to operate forestry equipment for the operation, as well as begin to deal more with the business side of running a business. Steven Crook, our founder and father passed away in 2022, but Crook Logging, Inc. continues to operate under the direction of Shaun Crook, his brother Russell Crook, and their mother Janet Crook. Shaun has also become very involved with the California Farm Bureau Federation and has been an executive officer for Farm Bureau.
Andrea Williams, Senior Environmental Compliance Scientist in Climate & Energy at CAL FIRE
Andrea is a Senior Environmental Compliance Scientist in Climate & Energy at CAL FIRE. She has over twenty years of professional experience as a Senior Biologist, Senior Environmental Scientist/Planner, Project Manager and Environmental Scientist. She has extensive project management, environmental permitting, and mitigation planning experience. Part of this experience includes working in a lead capacity to prepare and conduct quality assurance for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental documents, biological reports, mitigation plans, monitoring reports, and permit applications for numerous Forest Health and Wood Products and Biomass grants as well as infrastructure projects. Andrea has navigated the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) tiering process for multiple large-scale forest health projects and has a lot of experience reviewing Forest Practice documents such as Timber Harvest Plans (THPs), Non-Industrial Timber Management Plans (NTMPs) and forest practice exemptions and emergency notices to ensure they cover the grant-funded treatments. Andrea holds a BS Degree in Environmental Science with a Minor in Biology from Portland State University and has also earned her Project Management Professional Certification from the Project Management Institute. She is also a Member of the National & Association of Environmental Professionals.
