Roberts-Ratliff Takes Pride in Inspiring Others to
Become Good Stewards


Vickie Roberts-Ratliff is using personal experiences as a sixth-generation Mississippi landowner to assist small property owners in Georgia’s Fulton and Cobb counties. She serves as a program assistant for the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts (GACD).

Roberts-Ratliff left a successful career in pharmaceutical sales to return home to her parents’ 500-acre farm in Montgomery County, Miss. Purchased in 1927, the property has seen a variety of land uses. In 2001, her father died, and the farm responsibilities fell to her and her mother. The following year, they transitioned from row crop acreage to timber and began working on a timber management plan. In 2008, the land was certified by American Tree Farm System and shortly thereafter, she joined the Montgomery County (MS) Forestry Association. Since then, she has been assisting other property owners, specifically with female and African-American landowners, in navigating processes and helping them understand the importance of having a forest and conservation activity management plans.

All her efforts are working toward empowering landowners and helping them identify and implement long-range plans that fully utilize agroforestry and land management practices. Read more>>>


Forestry Notes Q&A:
Scott Davis
Keeping Forests as Forests

Scott Davis is the project coordinator for Keeping Forests as Forests (KFAF), a 13-state southern forest conservation initiative. The group is supported by a diverse coalition of both private and public stakeholders ranging from human health professionals to traditional forest products manufactures and conservationists.

Davis spent more than a decade living and working in Belize, Ecuador, Indonesia and the Bahamas on a variety of fishery, aquaculture and coastal management projects. After that, he worked for The Nature Conservancy for nearly 25 years in various roles until accepting his post with KFAF in 2017. He shared time with NACD Forestry Notes recently to discuss KFAF’s ongoing work. Read more >>>


Forestry Briefs

Michigan - District receives DNR grant for deer habitat improvement

The Marquette County Conservation District (MCCD) has been approved for a grant by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for a Deer-Wildlife Habitat Improvement project. The DNR recently awarded a total of $100,000 in deer habitat improvement. Through its project, MCCD will target critical deer wintering habitat in the county and work with a contractual tree planting company to plant overwintering conifer habitat as well as soft and hard mast trees on seven private landowner parcels totaling 55 acres. Read more>>>


Maine - Woodland stewardship tour will give local woodland owners hands-on experience

The Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District is working with the Maine Forest Service to organize a woodland stewardship tour in April. The two-hour tour includes a hands-on “tree marking” exercise for those exploring a thinning project on their property, and also a tree planting demonstration. Participants will take home a small seedling to plant. Read more>>>


Minnesota - Districts contribute to Sentinel Landscapes Partnership project

To help address the needs of lands surrounding Camp Ripley, a military facility that serves as the National Guard training center for Minnesota and six surrounding states, the U.S. Forest Service partnered with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Forest Resources Council, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, Forest Service Northeastern Area, The Nature Conservancy and several county soil and water districts. As a result, the landscape is now part of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, dedicated to promoting natural resource sustainability in areas surrounding military installations. More than 250 private landowners in the area now have forest stewardship plans through the effort. Read more>>>


This email was sent to sara-kangas@nacdnet.org. If you are having trouble viewing this email, you may also view it online. To opt out of all communications, click here.
Forward email. .
Email Marketing By