The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation hosted the 41 Annual Council on Forest Engineering Meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia at the Williamsburg Lodge in Colonial Williamsburg July 15-18, 2018.  The meeting was co-chaired by Drs. Chad Bolding and Scott Barrett with the theme Revolutionary Traditions, Innovative Industries.  Meeting attendance was approximately 70 from 7 countries (Brazil, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, and U.S.) and 21 U.S. states.  The meeting began with a Sunday night icebreaker reception followed by Monday general sessions, a Tuesday field trip, and Wednesday concurrent technical sessions. 

General session topics included: 1) Innovations in Machine Design, Efficiency, and Safety, and 2) Global Forest Engineering Innovations.  Invited industrial speakers included: Chris Harwood, John Deere; Mike Duncan, Caterpillar; and Steve Jones, Peterson Pacific.  Invited global innovations speakers included: Dr. Kris Brown, New Zealand; Dr. Luc Lebel, Canada; Dr. Lars Eliasson, Sweden; Dr. Raffaele Spinelli, Italy; and Mr. Angelo Moura, Brazil.  Sixteen students were also in attendance representing Laval University – Canada, Auburn University, Virginia Tech, University of Georgia, Northern Arizona University, University of Montana, West Virginia University, and the University of Stellenbosch – South Africa.  Concurrent technical session topics included: The Role of Forest Operations, Supply Chain Efficiency, Operational Efficiency, Forest Roads and Site Impacts, The Logging Workforce, Biomass, Harvesting Productivity and Costs, andTrucking and Transportation.  Of the 53 presentations, 16 papers will be peer-reviewed and edited into a special issue of the International Journal of Forest Engineering entitled: “Forest Engineering Innovations and Advancements” that will be published in 2019.         

Meeting attendees not only got up to date information on forest engineering research and innovations globally but also enjoyed a Colonial themed dinner at King’s Arms Tavern on Monday evening.  A full day field trip on Tuesday included stops at the Enviva Biomass Northampton pellet mill in Garysburg, NC, a BBQ lunch and awards ceremony at the Franklin Business Center in Franklin, VA, and visits to both Southeast Fiber Supply and Jerry D. Rose Logging to observe high production in-woods chipping of both hardwood and softwood species.

COFE presented the 2018 Student Communication Award to Patrick Grove for his paper entitled: “Timber Theft: Financial Impacts and Prevention in the U.S. South”.  The Operator Award was presented to Davis Rose of Southeast Fiber Supply who is a core supplier of microchips to the local Enviva Biomass pellet facilities.

Special thanks are extended to our sponsors: Enviva Biomass, Fibria Cellulose, Huber Engineered Woods, Council on Forest Engineering, John Deere, Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, and IUFRO for their support of the meeting. 

This year’s COFE Annual Meeting is being hosted by the University of Maine, School of Forest Resources, and the New England Region Council on Forest Engineering.  The theme of this 40th COFE Annual Meeting is “Forest Engineering, From Where We’ve Been, to Where We’re Going.”  Please see the ‘Call for Abstracts’ page for information about the technical presentation topics.  See the ‘Registration Page’ to register kamagra australia for the conference, and the ‘Hilton Garden Inn Bangor’ link for hotel information and to reserve your stay.

******************************************

******************************************

 Agenda

COFE 2017  “Forest Engineering, from Where We’ve Been, to Where We’re Going”

July 30 – August 2, 2017

Sunday 7/30 Travel Day

4:30pm-7:30pm Registration

5:00pm-6:30pm Executive Committee Meeting

6:30pm-8:00pm Evening Social/Reception at the hotel

Dinner on your own

Monday 7/31

7:30am Registration

The 2016 COFE Annual meeting will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA on September 19 - 21,  2016.  The meeting will coordinate with the Canadian Woodlands Forum, The faculty of Forestry at UBC, and the DEMO International Conference.   This combination of meetings and in woods equipment demo should be a forest engineering highlight of the year  -  mark your calendars now and stay tuned for additional information! 

Download Save the Date FLYER

COFE Annual Meeting Registration NOW OPEN!  Early Registration Before June 1st!  

Register today at http://cofe.ca.uky.edu/

For the first time, the 2015 COFE annual meeting will be hosted by the Department of Forestry at the University of Kentucky. It will be held July 19 – 22, 2015 in Lexington, Kentucky.  The theme of the meeting is “Engineering Solutions for Non-Industrial Private Forest Operations”.  This meeting will have technical presentations addressing the following topics:   

• Forest operations as a mean to restore and improve forest health
• Biomass utilization for energy production
• Best management practices to reduce site disturbances and maintain stream water quality
• Transition to mechanized operations in hardwood forests
• Small-scale forest operations for non-industrial private landowners

For more information about the 2015 COFE meeting, please visit the conference website or contact Conference Chairman:  

Dr. Marco Contreras, Assistant Professor of Forest Management
Department of Forestry College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
University of Kentucky
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Details have been released for the 2015 WR.COFE meeting!  The seminar will be January 15, 2015 at the Valley River Inn, in Eugene, Oregon.  

The full schedule and registration information are posted here

DATE:  January 15, 2015

LOCATION:   Valley River Inn, Eugene, Oregon

THEME: IMPROVING FOREST HARVESTING OPERATIONS 

(8 Hours AOL Professional Logger Credits)  (5.0 Cat 1 Contact Hours SAF Continuing Forestry Ed Credits)

Seminar Schedule

0700 – 0815    REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST (Provided)

0815 – 0830    Introduction to WR.COFE & Seminar;  Jeff Wimer, Chair, WR.COFE & OSU FERM Department

SESSION 1: Harvesting Operations and Safety

0830-0900       WA Loggers Safety Initiative Program; Travis Naillon Washington Labor and Industries

0900 - 0935     Multi-stump Anchoring Systems; Brian Tuor  

0935 - 1010     Large-scale Restoration of Dry Forests in Oregon and Washington: Changing the Game; Bill Aney, USFS

1010 – 1020    Break - Pape’ Machinery update

1020 – 1050    BREAK (Refreshments Provided)

SESSION 2: Forest Roads

1050 – 1120    The use of rotary asphalt broom on aggregate roads – an alternative to grading (sometimes); Kevin Boston, OSU FERM Department. 

1120 – 1150    The use of Geogrids in Forestry Haul Roads and Log Yards; Michael Frey, Alliancegeo

1150 – 1200    Updates & Break Sponsorship -- TBD

1200 – 1245    LUNCH (Provided)

1245 – 1320    ANNOUNCEMENTS, Ticket Raffle, OSU Student Scholarship Awards, Jerry Sedlak Memorial Scholarship – Loren Kellogg

SESSION 3: Technological Innovation In Forestry   

1320 – 1350    Planning Logging Operations Using Lidar and DEM Data;  Craig Spiers, Softree

1350 – 1420    Traverse PC and the P.L.S.S.; John Balcom, Traverse PC

1420 – 1430    Updates & Break Sponsorship -- TBD

1430 – 1500    BREAK (Refreshments Provided)

1500 – 1530    Using Improved GNSS Receivers in Forestry; Jim Lahm, Elecdata

1530 – 1600    Skyline Payload and Tension Analysis with SkylineXL;  Steven Rheinberger, USFS retired

1600 – 1630    Lasers and telematics;  Eric Arritola - SITECH

1630 – 1645    Wrap-Up and Evaluation --- Jeff Wimer

Registration and Fees

Registration is now handled through: Western Forestry and Conservation

The fee for this conference is:             COFE members: $110    and    Non-members: $125 (Includes one year membership)

Please use this secure link to register for the program

If you have difficulty with the registration webpage or any questions regarding registration please contact:

The 2015 COFE Annual Meeting will be held in Lexington, Kentucky July 19-22, 2015.  We will be hosted by Marco Contreras and the University of Kentucky.  The theme of the meeting will be "Engineering solutions for non-industrial private forest operations."

Mark your calendars now and look for more information in the coming months on this excellent opportunity to visit the "Bluegrass State".

The Western Regional Council on Forest Engineering held a one-day seminar on the theme, “Improving Forest Harvesting Operations,” in Eugene, Oregon, on January 16, 2014.  The seminar was attended by 250 people.  Chet Miller and Erik Neilson, who attend Oregon State University, were each awarded a $1,000 Jerry Sedlak Memorial Scholarship.