Forest Society honored with Employer Leadership Award by the National Society of American Foresters

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is honored to announce they were recognized with the 2025 Employer Leadership Award from the National Society of American Foresters (SAF). The 2025 Employer Leadership Award recognizes an employer demonstrating leadership through consistent support of employee participation in SAF and engagement in the forestry profession.

Through national awards and Fellow and Presidential Field Forester awards, SAF celebrates and honors scientists, researchers, educators, innovators, leaders, communicators, field foresters, employers, local SAF units, and others that have made a significant impact on forestry and natural resource management in the United States and internationally. 

Karent Bennett, NH Extension Forester and Forestry Professor Emeritus, supported the nomination of the Forest Society. “Since its founding in 1901, the Forest Society has been in the thick of just about every forest-related issue in New Hampshire—from establishing the White Mountain National Forest to protecting Mount Monadnock,” states Bennett. “Their staff of foresters is small, but they play an outsized role in forest management, protection, and policy. We are lucky to have the Forest Society as a partner helping us to keep our forests as forests.”

"The Forest Society's unwavering commitment to professional development and active encouragement of our staff’s engagement in the Society of American Foresters has been steadfast,” states Jack Savage, president of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. “By fostering a culture where our staff are empowered to shape the future of sustainable forestry, we ensure not just the health of New Hampshire’s forests, but the vitality of the entire profession."

In February of this year, Wendy Weisiger, managing forester at the Forest Society, was recognized as Forester of the Year awarded by the Granite State Division of the Society of American Foresters (GSDSAF). The award is presented annually to a New Hampshire forester for excellence in their field and recognizes the achievements of individuals who advance the knowledge and understanding of forestry. 

Terry Baker, CEO of SAF, with Forest Society staff (President Jack Savage, Managing Forester Wendy Weisiger, and Field Foresters Ben Aldrich and Steve Junkin)