Registration for the 2007 Heartwood Forest Council has now begun! Take a
minute to visit the new Heartwood website at http://www.heartwood.org
to see the Forest Council program, bios of key
presenters, online registration, directions (coming soon), and more.

Save the Date for the 17th Annual Heartwood Forest Council, Memorial Day
Weekend, 2007 in the Missouri Ozarks!

Dear Friends of the Ozarks and beyond,

We would like to invite you to the 17th annual Heartwood Forest Council, to
be held the weekend of Memorial Day, 2007, in the Missouri Ozarks at Camp
Taum Sauk, on the Black River near Lesterville. The theme of this year's
Forest Council is Localism: Answering Globalism.

What is the Heartwood Forest Council?

The Heartwood Forest Council is the largest annual gathering of citizens
from across the Eastern, Central, and Southern United States who care about
the health and well-being of our nation's forests. This will be the first
time the event has taken place in Missouri. We will focus on threats to our
regional ecology and to human and community health, in an atmosphere of
collaboration designed to form stronger personal and organizational
connections. While addressing and celebrating the work that we do, the
Forest Council offers participants an opportunity to identify lasting
solutions and proven action steps that will move us as a community toward a
shared vision of a healthy, just, and sustainable society.

The program will begin the afternoon of Friday, May 25, and continue through
mid-day, Monday, May 28 (Memorial Day), and will be interspersed with ample
social time, leisure, lively local music, dancing and great food. The
Forest Council will be family friendly - kids of all ages are encouraged to
attend.

This year's program: Localism: Answering Globalism

Localism is the idea that our communities, our families, and our selves,
should be rooted where we live. Our relationship with the land is
reciprocal; we care for and nurture a landbase that in turn offers us not
just the necessities of food, water, and livelihood, but comfort,
recreation, and renewal as well. Globalism, on the other hand, seeks to
force us into an economy that would have us destroy the land under our feet
as we struggle to stay afloat in a global "race to the bottom."

This year's Forest Council will explore how we can nurture sustainable local
and regional networks that offer a viable alternative to the dominant
economy and land ethic. The program will consist of three days of workshops,
discussions, keynote speakers, and field trips. Key program elements will
include:

* Watersheds: Karst geology, rivers, and CAFOS (concentrated animal
feeding operations)
* Lead issues: Lead mining and smelting, from the Ozarks to La Oroya,
Peru, the struggle in Herculaneum, and the ongoing hazards of lead in St.
Louis and elsewhere
* Forests: Public lands management, Roadless and other special areas,
prescribed burning on national forests, sustainable forestry and low impact
logging, land certification, and land management strategies and
opportunities including the value of non-timber forest products
* Creating viable communities and taking responsibility for our own
future: Localized economies, local food production and distribution,
alternative energy, traditional uses of plants and their preservation,
religion and environmental protection, and corporate control of food and
seed supply

A partial listing of confirmed presenters so far includes (for a complete
listing visit http://www.heartwood.org/forestcouncil/speakers.html ) :

* Clint Trammel - Forest Manager, Pioneer Forest
* Russ Kremer - President, Missouri Farmers Union
* Charlie Stockton - Loan Fund Manager for FORGE (Financing Ozarks
Rural Growth and Economy)
* Marti Crouch - Ph.D. Biologist and Consultant on Biotechnology and
Agriculture
* Gary Anderson - The Forest School/ Integrated Forest Management
* Nancy Smith - Board President of Ozark Quality Hardwood Cooperative
* Terry Spence - Missouri Farmer and accomplished CAFO opponent

Up to date information, including program, registration, directions, and a
complete presenter list with bios will soon be available at
http://www.heartwood.org/forestcouncil/

Participating Organizations and Cosponsors include:

Heartwood, Missouri Forest Alliance, Newton County Wildlife Association,
Sierra Club (Ozark Chapter), Sierra Club (Thomas Hart Benton Group), Gateway
Green Alliance, Missouri Farmers Union, Missouri Coalition for the
Environment, FORGE (Financing Ozarks Rural Growth and Economy), Certified
Naturally Grown, COFF (Citizens Opposed to Forest Fires), Ozark Riverkeepers
Network, Ozark Mountain Center for Environmental Education, Bean Mountain
Farms, Goods from the Woods, Pan's Garden, Rosemary Wakeham, Mike Smith, and
Dee Dokken.

Cosponsor the Forest Council!

We need your help to put this important program on, and hope that you will
be willing to lend your name and financial support as a cosponsor of the
2007 Forest Council. As a cosponsor, you or your organization or business
will be listed in all applicable promotional materials and have the option
of setting up an informational table at the event (you may also remain an
anonymous supporter should you choose). Funds raised will be used to
underwrite the event and make it affordable for low- income Ozark residents
and activists who might otherwise be unable to attend.

For groups and organizations, we offer the following general guidelines
based on annual budget:

Annual budget Suggested donation

under $25,000 $25

$25K-$100K $50

$100K-$250K $100

$250K-$500K $200

$500K-$2million $250-$500

over $2million $1000

To cosponsor, make checks payable to "Heartwood," and send to: Heartwood
Forest Council, PO Box 1011, Alton, IL 62002-1011. Please make sure to
include your name and contact information, and a notation that your donation
is to cosponsor the Forest Council.

If you have any questions regarding the Forest Council, please contact Jim
Scheff at shagbark12@sbcglobal.net or (314) 991-4190.