SAF Wilderness Leadership Trip and National Convention
– by Cormac O’Doherty (Senior in Forest Management)
Saturday morning was an unusually early start for most of the Society of American Foresters members traveling to White Springs, Florida, for the annual Wilderness Leadership Trip and SAF National Convention. The Society of American Foresters Student Chapter at North Carolina State University goes on a leadership trip every year before the national convention. This year the National Convention was in Orlando, Florida, at the beautiful Disney Coronado Springs Resort. The obvious location for the wilderness and leadership event was a canoe trip down one of the many rivers of the southeast, which led the group to an adventure on the Suwannee River. 
In White Springs on Saturday evening, we met with American Canoe Adventures who were generous enough to let us camp on their personal property our first night. After a hot and muggy night in northern Florida, American Canoe Adventures shuttled us to Fargo, Georgia, just south of the Okeefenokee Swamp to start our 50 mile adventure down the Suwannee River. As we paddled down the black water of the Suwannee, we had to weave in and out of magnificent pond cypress and swamp tupelo. Our dendrology knowledge was quickly put to the test as most of us were not very familiar with plants of a black water river system. Digging through the material we remembered from Summer Camp and the few days we spent in Croatan National Forest, we were able to identify most of the species we saw.
After exhausting our knowledge of plants, as well as our shoulder muscles, we would stop every few hours to take a break and enjoy one of the many rope swings that were alongside the river. Once we had cooled down, it was back to the grind, as the river did not have much current and the black water felt heavy to draw a paddle through. Camping alongside the river was a great experience, minus the excessive number of mosquitoes. Group dinners and fire side chats lead to great camaraderie and gave us a chance to practice our leadership skills. The three days we spent on the river went incredibly fast and the next thing we knew we were headed to Ocala National Park for our last night in the wild. In Ocala we rested our bodies and enjoyed the warm waters of Fore Lake.
From Ocala it was on to Disney World and the convention. Staying at a hotel just across the street from Downtown Disney allowed us great access to the complex and the sometimes slow Disney transportation system. Once we rode the complementary shuttle to Coronado Springs Convention Center, we were able to wander through a plethora of exhibits learning about different institutions, private companies, and public organizations.
As soon as seven o’clock struck on the first night of the convention, crowds gathered in one of the convention rooms to watch and participate in the SAF Quiz Bowl. NC State’s Quiz Bowl team consisted of Graham Ford, Brian Kolokowsky, Adam Marlowe, and Cormac O’Doherty, who did well, reaching the semi-finals. After a disappointingly early exit from the Quiz Bowl, Downtown Disney was calling for a night of fun and socializing.
The rest of the convention consisted of lectures given by industry and academic professionals from all over the country. The lectures covered a wide range of subjects, from the biological control of hemlock wooly adelgid to the use of prescribed fire in longleaf pine stands.
Editor’s Note: Due to the economic downturn and tight budgets, the NC State Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources made the hard decision to save funds by not exhibiting or holding our traditional alumni luncheon during the 2009 National SAF Convention. We are very pleased, however, that we were able to subsidize the NC State SAF Student Chapter's convention attendance and Wilderness Leadership Trip. A big Thank You to Dr. Joe Roise for his organization, guidance, and, I’m sure, comic relief during the trip.