Summer 1999, Volume 8, Number 3
WOODLAND STEWARD INSTITUTE REPORT
by Fred Hadley President, WSI
It is time once again for my annual State of the Woodland Steward Institute (WSI)
report. It seems as though the interval between these articles continues to shrink with
each passing year. The past year has once again been a busy and productive period. As
reported in my last article, we received the grant to proceed with the develop of a
woodland information web site. I am happy to report that the development of this site
began last winter and is progressing nicely. You can visit the site at
www.inwoodlands.org. The site is still under construction, but it contains a great deal of
information and the content is growing by leaps and bounds. We are also building an
archive of post newsletters and all future newsletters will be published on the web site.
Be sure to visit the site on a regular basis for new information and drop us an e-mail
note and let us know what you think. We are also open for any suggestions you may have
with regard to content, ease of use, and any other input that you might provide.
At our last Board of Directors meeting we addressed the budget shortfalls that hamper our abilities to send newsletters to the ever-growing list of new woodland owners accumulating in our database. Presently, we have ten thousand new names to add to our mailing list. These people represent woodland owners that have never received our newsletters. Unfortunately, our budget is exhausted by our current publication rate of thirty thousand newsletters per quarter. We discussed several options that may relieve our strained budget:
1. Sell advertisement space in the newsletter.
2. Reduce the publication rate from four down to three or two issues per year.
3. Attempt to update our current mailing list and eliminate mailings to recipients that have no interest or need in the newsletter.
4. Try to find additional sources of financial support.
5. Convert to a fee subscription basis.
The consensus of the Board is to focus on points three and four. . . points one, two, and five will be considered only as a last resort.
You will find an insert in this issue for making your annual donation to the WSI. The post support of our readers has been instrumental in the success of WSI and we hope that you will continue to lend your support again this year. Even if you do not make a donation, please return the completed insert so that your name will remain in the mailing list. Also, many of you may find that the new web site will be the most efficient and cost effective way for you to receive our newsletter. If you find this to be true, please note so on your returned insert so that we might send your printed newsletter to a new reader. If you choose to receive your information via the web site, please remember that your financial support remains critical to the survival of our organization . . . web sites require money for maintenance and updating, too. If, at a later date, you decide that the web site is not for you and you would prefer to receive the printed version of the newsletter, your name will be immediately added back to the mailing list. As with any large mass mailing, information is sent to people that have no interest or desire in receiving the material. We hope that these efforts will identify those recipients and we can reallocate those resources to new readers that may have a great need for information on forest stewardship. So, remember to return the insert, with or without a donation, to remain on the mailing list. If we do not receive a returned insert from someone, we will assume they no longer wish to receive the newsletter.
Please bear with us on this decision. It seems to be the most painless option available to meet the ever-increasing demand for our newsletter. Given the quality of the newsletter, we think most readers will find the return of a completed insert to be a small price for a subscription.
On a final note, the WSI would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Woody Barton for winning the Indiana and Regional Tree Farmer of the Year Award (see article on page 10).Woody is now a finalist for National Tree Farmer of the Year. This year's winner will be announced this fall at the National Tree Farm meeting to beheld in Louisville. Woody has been a great friend of forestry and a leading spokesperson for forest stewardship for many years. He has donated countless hours to many worth while forestry organizations and WSI has been on the receiving end of many of his good works. So, from everybody at WSI . . .Congratulations and Good Luck, Woody.