Cloquet Forestry Center, Cloquet MN
The opening session of our 2026 Ecosystem Silviculture course. This session is required for enrollees in this year's course, and will include an orientation on the course, review of course requirements, and a review of silviculture theory and practice in Minnesota.
SFEC's Ecosystem Silviculture Certificate Course offers natural resource professionals a deep dive into the theory and practice of ecological silviculture in Minnesota forests. The course includes classroom, field, individual project, and a small amount of online instruction. The purpose is to build relationships and offer opportunities to explore applied techniques to improve forest ecosystem health, productivity, and resilience.
The course is ideally suited to NR professionals with at least a few years of experience, looking to develop deeper applied knowledge, build a larger professional network, and grow their communication and leadership skills.
With this year’s offering of the Ecosystem Silviculture (Ecosilv) course, the certificate is earned by attending a mix of dedicated and open workshops. In other words, some required Ecosilv classes will be SFEC events are open to people who are not part of the Ecosilv cohort, while others are open only to Ecosilv course participants. The course also includes reading, discussion, and project work outside of workshops and accessible through the course website.
Several cross-cutting themes run through most or all offerings: climate adaptation strategies and tactics, silviculture theory and practice, operational and economic considerations, effective communications, and others.
Full course description and details of the 2026 course offering.
For this opening session at the CFC, please plan for a mix of indoor and outdoor sessions.