Pair to speak at Kaua'i forestry conference

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A veteran North Carolina forestry expert and a Virginia proponent of small-scale tree farms will address a statewide forestry conference June 6-8 on Kaua'i.

Rick Hamilton, extension leader of the forestry department at North Carolina State University, has written 70 publications on subjects ranging from timber taxation to water quality and forest stewardship.

He will review lessons from a state with a mature forestry industry for people in Hawai'i who are working to establish one.

Keith Argo, president of the National Woodland Owners Association in Virginia, is a proponent of the Green Tag forest certification program.

He will discuss forestry from the perspective of the small, privately owned forest area.

Both will be keynote speakers at the Hawai'i Forest Industry Association's symposium titled "Growing Working Forests for Hawai'i's Future" at the Kaua'i Coconut Beach Resort.

The conference will include talks on fertilization, seedling selection, marketing, windbreaks, pruning and other practical issues.

For more information on the conference, call (808) 933-9411 or visit the Web site hawaii-forest.org.