Colleagues, The 2012 IUFRO Small-scale Forestry Conference will be held in Amherst, Massachusetts USA September 24-27, 2012. This meeting brings together researchers from around the world interested in the diverse issues surrounding small-scale forestry including, but not limited to: - Agroforestry & non-timber forest products - Changing demographics & land tenure - Community forestry - Cross-boundary cooperation - Education & communications - Forest management - Forest markets - Forest policy & economics - Landowner attitudes, practices & perceptions - Landscape change, urbanization & parcellation Now, more than ever, solutions are needed to help mitigate and avoid the threats facing forests. This conference will focus on the issues confronting small-scale forest owners around the world and the solutions that can benefit landowners, society, and the natural environment. In addition to plenary and concurrent technical sessions, we will be holding interactive, structured sessions to synthesize the state of the knowledge and identify research gaps - all of which will be later published. Submissions for the first call for papers are due 31 January 2012. Visit http://iufrossf2012.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/call-for-papers1.pdf for details. In addition to the conference itself, there will be a pre-conference workshop and a post-conference tour. There are numerous interesting ideas for the workshop and want your input before making a final selection. Please visit http://iufrossf2012.org/program/tours-and-workshops/pre-conferenceworkshop/ by 31 December and vote for your favourite. The post-conference tour will head into the Green Mountains of Vermont where we will explore small-scale forestry issues, enjoy the scenery of autumn in New England, and partake in the local culture. For more information about this conference, visit: http://iufrossf2012.org/ Please distribute this announcement to all whom you think might be interested. We hope to see you in Amherst in 2012! Jake Hewes Research Coordinator Family Forest Research Center University of Massachusetts Amherst 160 Holdsworth Way Amherst, MA 01003-9285 413-545-3966 http://www.familyforestresearchcenter.org ------------------------------------------ posted on behalf of Jake Hewes by Brigitte Burger, IUFRO Headquarters