The Upper Mississippi (UM) River Watershed Forestry Partnership is a cooperative
venture of Northeastern Area and Midwest State Foresters of Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin, that was created to build a watershed
approach to forestry efforts in the Upper Mississippi River watershed. Among
its purposes are to demonstrate the importance of forests in healthy watersheds,
assess forest conditions in relation to water quality, promote forestry
solutions that reduce sediment and nutrient losses from the basin, and to
support and develop forest restoration strategies within the basin. The
Partnership accomplishes these goals through a variety of methods, including
strengthening coordination among state forestry agencies, implementing assessment
and demonstration projects, and conducting educational efforts to address
key watershed issues.
Staff:
Teri Heyer
USDA Forest Service
Northeastern Area, S&PF
651-649-5239
theyer@fs.fed.us
Samuel Osinde
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
608-785-9013
Samuel.osinde@dnr.state.wi.us
Steering Committee:
Illinois
Matt Siemert
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
815-625-2968
msiemert@dnrmail.state.il.us
Indiana
Duane McCoy
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
765-342-4412
dmccoy@dnr.IN.gov
Iowa
Denny Michel
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
515-281-4924
denny.michel@dnr.state.ia.us
Minnesota
Larry Himanga
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
651-345-4924
larry.himanga@dnr.state.mn.us
Missouri
Mike Huffman
Missouri Department of Conservation
573-522-4115 ext.3306
mike.huffman@mde.mo.gov
Wisconsin
Darrell Zastrow
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
608-266-0290
Darrell.zastrow@dnr.state.wi.us
View Organizational
Chart
The organizational chart has 3 levels
Level 1 – the Advisory Committee provides the Partnership
policy direction and support. It consists of the 6 State Foresters
from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois
and the Northeastern Area Director. An elected chairperson serving
a two-year term leads the advisory committee. The committee meets
once a year.
Level 2- the Partnership Steering Committee serves as the fiscal and operations
agent of the Partnership. They develop workplans, track project implementation,
prepare reports, and are responsible for agency collaboration. It is composed
of state representatives appointed by the State Foresters. The Partnership
Steering committee meets three times a year. The Upper Mississippi Forestry
Partnership coordinator leads this team.
The Technical Team provides direction concerning current natural
resource management issues in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
It is composed of representatives from the Environmental Protection
Agency, US Geological Survey, Natural Resource Conservation Service,
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of Engineers, National
Park Service, State water quality agencies, and non-governmental
organizations. This committee meets with and advises the Partnership
Steering Committee as needed.
The St. Paul Field Office Working Group provides forestry technical
assistance to the Partnership Steering committee. It is composed
of communication and education, forest health, forest stewardship,
urban and community forestry, GIS analysis, and fire management
specialists from the Northeastern Area, St. Paul Field Office.
It meets as needed.
Level 3 –the Implementation Teams address specific resource
concerns in the Upper Mississippi watershed such as migratory
bird habitat, sustainable forestry, forest regeneration, riparian
areas and agroforestry, and information and education. The teams
are responsible for guiding the implementation of partnership
activities and meet as needed. New teams will be added as needs
arise.
