In the fall, eight members of the Society of American Foresters ventured up north to Steamboat Rock, Iowa, where we tested out our survival skills. We camped overnight at a county park just outside of Steamboat that had the scenic Iowa River running through it. The night was spent sharing stories around the campfire of old times and ideas of where each of us thought we were heading in our lives. As the night progressed the talking slowed, as one by one, we burrowed into our tents for a good night's rest before our true adventure began.

In February of 1996, five forestry students attended the Seventh American Forest Congress that was held in Washington D.C. The students first became involved in the process when they took part in a student held roundtable discussion that was sponsored by ISU's Society of American Foresters student chapter. The idea was to get interaction amongst different clubs on campus such as Fisheries and Wildlife and Landscape Architecture along with Forestry. The next step was to take part in the State Roundtable discussion either as active participants or as scribes for the different roundtables. At the state meeting the group as a whole came up with their vision statement for the forests of the future and developed guiding principles to support that statement. This vision was then submitted to the national congress along with the other vision statements coming from all over the country.

Lawrence "Buster" Burkhart loved his tree farm, and the many people he met working with forestry. Buster's concern for the environment and the forest resource was well known in Appanoose county, as well as the rest of the state of Iowa. As one of southern Iowa's best and well known furniture and cabinet makers, Buster knew the true joys of working with wood. He shared this joy with people in the local community as well as with people far away with similar interest in the field.

To meet the enormous future demand for forest products due to anticipated global population growth, not only should we practice sustainable forestry and maximize raw material use and extend useful life of products by means of new technologies, we also need to maximize use of every available fiber resource.