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The Human Dimensions of Family, Farm and Community Forestry symposium was held March 29 - April 1, 2004 at Washington State University in collaboration with IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations) Research Group 3.08.00: Small Scale Forestry. The objective of this symposium was to bring together scientists and practitioners from all corners of the world to discuss research problems, results, and practical applications related to human dimensions of family, farm, small-scale, nonindustrial private, and community forestry.

The growing recognition of the importance of the human, or people side to the problems and solutions of family and farm forestry is reflected by the chosen theme of human dimensions. Human dimensions are vital to defining the problems and solutions of small-scale forestry. According to FAO, UN-ECE, U.S. Forest Service, and others, about 27% of earth’s land area is forest with about one-third of this in private ownership and two-thirds in public and communal forest. Globally, family, farm, small-scale, nonindustrial private, and community forests provide vital commodity-based outputs as well as non-market goods, environmental, and intangible forest benefits.

This IUFRO symposium was hosted by Washington State University Natural Resources Extension in cooperation with several partners including: Society of American Foresters Working Group B1: Nonindustrial Private Forestry; Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP); Natural Resources Extension, the Department of Natural Resource Sciences, and International Programs at Washington State University; Renewable Natural Resources Extension, Penn State University; Rural Technology Initiative, University of Washington and Washington State University; U.S. Forest Service, and Washington Department of Natural Resources Forest Stewardship Program.

The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest scientists. Its objectives are to promote international cooperation in forestry and forest products research. It is an international scientific body founded in 1892; is open, non-discriminatory, voluntarily working and fully devoted to science; has a strong and coordinated presence all over the world; is non-profit, non-governmental and non-political; unites more than 15,000 cooperating member scientists in over 700 member institutions in over 100 countries; is an associate member of ICSU, the International Council for Science.

IUFRO Research Group 3.08.00 started at the IUFRO XVIII World Congress in 1986 when a project group on “Small-Scale Forestry” was founded as a co-operative effort of interested members. Today, Small-scale Forestry has membership of about 700 scientists, extension professionals, policy makers, decision-makers, and post graduate students from many countries including: Australia, Estonia, Italy, Scotland, Austria, Fiji Islands, Japan, Slovakia, Belgium, Finland, Latvia, Slovenia, Bhutan, France, Lithuania, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, Canada, Greece, Netherlands, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Hungary, New Zealand, Taiwan, Croatia, India, Norway, Thailand, Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland, United Kingdom, Denmark, Israel, Portugal, and United States.

The symposium chair and organizer was Dr. David M. Baumgartner, Extension Forester and Professor at Washington State University with program assistance from coordinating committee including: Dr. Pentti Hyttinen, Regional Council of North Karelia, Joensuu, Finland; Ikuo Ota, Kyoto University, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto, Japan; John Herbohn, The University of Queensland, School of Natural and Rural System Management, Australia; Mike Jacobson, School of Natural Resources, Penn State University; and Keith Blatner, Matt Carroll, Janean Creighton, and Don Hanley, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University; Gary Man, Ray Abriel and Richard Haynes, U.S. Forest Service, Portland, Oregon; Ed Miles, Spokane, WA - Society of American Foresters Working Group BI; Steve Gibbs - Washington Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.

Very grateful acknowledgements and special thanks go to:
U.S.D.A. The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES); U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rural Technology Initiative (RTI); and Washington State University Natural Resources Extension for financial support that made this program possible.

The Washington State Extension Meeting Management and Program Support Team, especially Detlef Decker, Gail Rowland, and Judy Croskey for handling the symposium registration and arrangements.

Marlene Guse, Owyhee Weikel-Magden, Janean Creighton, and Patricia Cohn for all of their work on many facets of the symposium including: reading and editing papers, making arrangements, helping with registration, audio-visual support, and for being great friends and colleagues.

David M. Baumgartner
Pullman, Washington USA
2004