Eastern Ozarks Forestry Council  Board - March 2009

L to R - Jason Jensen, Dave Turley, Jo Dixon, Joe Kiser, Kurt Homeyer, Peter Becker, & James Corpe

The Beginning

In 1999, then Governor Mel Carnahan formed a state-wide Chip Mill Committee to investigate the impacts of chip mills to the forest resources of the state.  This was in response to the recent openings of several wood chipping facilities within the state including one at Mill Springs in Wayne County. 

On a more local level, several agency people got together to look at what was happening with the forest resources of the area from the impact of all the harvesting operations in the area besides just the chip mill.  Missouri Department of Conservation estimated that less than 10 percent of the privately owned forestland was under any kind of management plan.  Stories of landowners being taken advantage of by loggers from lack of knowledge of their timber values were commonplace.  Improper management could have significant impact on future values of the forest resources and the economic development of the region.

In the summer of 2000 the group became more organized and called itself the Eastern Ozarks Community Forestry Resource Council.  The Council's vision was to bring together the many forestry resources in the region including government, university, industry, private consultants and landowners to provide a common focus for sustainable forestry and economic development in the Eastern Ozarks region of Missouri.  The mission was to address emerging issues and trends affecting Eastern Ozark rural communities, people and lifestyles as influenced by woodland management and marketing strategies.  

In February of 2003, the Council voted to shorten its name to Eastern Ozarks Forestry Council.  They also applied for and obtained a grant from the National Forest Foundation in 2003 to assist them with incorporation, filing for non-profit status and membership outreach efforts.  In addition they began some feasibility studies related to the woodland products industry.

The Eastern Ozarks Forestry Council is composed of a 14 county region in southeastern Missouri:  Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dent, Iron, Madison, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, St. Francois, Shannon, Stoddard and Wayne counties.  There are approximately 70 members including private landowners, resource managers and forest industry leaders.

We are an equal opportunity provider and employer

The Eastern Ozarks Forestry Council (EOFC) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status.