First of all, I would like to thank all who have supported our research in producing this calendar over the last eleven years. As a forest/eco-system photojournalist I have covered literally hundreds of thousands of miles of forestland in the United States & Canada and investigated many issues. What has been consistent throughout, is the people in this industry are some of the best folks in the world. You are honest, sincere, warm, generous and delightful as both an industry and friends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

What I'd like to do now is tell you a little bit about the distinguished gentleman who is our featured editorialist this year, Mr. Bill Hagenstein. In working on a video this year covering pioneers of the American Tree Farm System, I was introduced to Bill.

Bill is a walking encyclopedia of information on our industry in the west, partly because he is the person in large part responsible for forestry as we know it today in much of the country.

I asked Jim Petersen of Evergreen Foundation, Bill's good friend, to tell me about Bill....., "Bill Hagenstein's contributions to forestry are enormous. In fact, I can't think of anyone who in his life has given more of himself or made a greater contribution to the industry. He is now in his mid to later 80's."

"Bill commanded such presence and respect that he spoke for the entire industry. He was frequently called upon to testify before Congress.", "He counted among his personal friends men like Everett McKinley Dirkson, Hubert Humphrey, Sam Irvine. Congressmen and senators of enormous stature had great respect for Bill because they knew that he spoke for the industry and they knew that he was a man of great principal."

Bill also has the distinction of being the last remaining signer of the document that originated the American Tree Farm System. The first "official" tree farm was the Clemons Tree Farm in Montesano, Washington in 1941. A Weyerhaeuser Tree Farm. Weyerhaeuser also had the second tree farm shortly after that in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Jim further added; "The forests that exist in the west today exist in large measure because of federal investments and because men like Bill and others encouraged those investments not just on federal land, not just on public land, but on private land as well. Investments in reforestation, investments in tree improvement, investments in controlling disease and wild-fire, investments in a road system that provided access not only to fight fire, manage the forest, harvest timber, but access for recreation........"

"The Tree Farm System came about after we had successfully controlled wild-fire. It then finally made sense to begin to replant land without nearly the risk of it burning up in fire...... People don't realize this, but million acre fires were not at all uncommon in this region 100, 150, 200 years ago."

"An enormous amount of the forest that you see today in this region not only on public land but private land as well is the result of planting......."

I asked Jim if Bill wasn't instrumental in the actual concept and organization, along with others, of the tree farm program itself? "Yes he was. Bill's contributions to the Tree Farm System I think falls into two areas. One he became an impassioned supporter, if you will, of early legislation that created not only the Tree Farm System, but also legislation that promoted the science of forestry."

"His other great contribution I think is in simply speaking out time and time again. You go through his speeches, the message doesn't change. For 50 years the message didn't change. Bill talked about the need to manage forests, the need to plant trees, the need to care for forests. That's conservation. That's conservation!"

"I think of Bill Hagenstein's contribution to forestry in the 20th Century,.... he is probably number one. I can't think of anyone I know of or have read about who has made a larger contribution to forestry in the last hundred years than Bill."

For many years I have heard people in our industry lament that 20 years ago, we quit telling our story to the public, and this is partly why we are in this mess today. I wonder.... is it a coincidence, Bill Hagenstein retired...... in 1980.