CANOPY Forestry Forum

The forestry forum that brings us all under the same Canopy.

Step under the CANOPY

Each year, forest landowners and forest industry leaders gather at Canopy Forest Forum to interface with forest policymakers, up-and-coming professionals, and students. This event celebrates our forests and their many values as well as the stewardship that strengthens, supports, and sustains them. Our forests are powerhouses that boost our economy, conserve wildlife, and fight climate change across the Commonwealth. Whether you are concerned about applying new approaches to forest conservation due to climate change, implementing novel forestry projects, or advancing your forest-based business, step under the canopy and join us at the next forum.

CANOPY 2027: Rooted in Community

March 4, 2027, UMass Amherst Campus Center

Stewarding our forests takes strong a community of diverse dedicated individuals. Canopy provides a space where we come together, learn from one another, and strengthen our communities.

Don’t miss this opportunity to step under the canopy and grow your expertise, expand your network, and invest in the future of our forests.

Check back here for event details and registration information. We hope to see you at this year's forum, March 4, 2027 at UMass Amherst's Campus Center!

Building a Sustainable Future Through Forestry

Watch to see how wood connects us to our forestlands and each other. Hear from a few voices within the large community of people in Massachusetts that take pride in caring for our forests, and harvesting, milling, and using local wood.

This video was produced by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation and the New England Forestry Foundation, with support from partners at Mass Audubon and Mass Woodlands Institute.

If you're interested in sharing your forest story in future video series, please reach out to Jennifer Shakun at [e-mail]. Tell us about working in the woods, your successes with forest conservation or management projects, inspiring examples of local wood use, or all of the above!

Past Forums

CANOPY 2026: Rooted in Resilience

Approximately 350 attendees gathered for the 2026 Canopy Forestry Forum. Keynote speaker, Dave King, spoke about his 30 years of research, drawing form science, fieldwork, and personal land stewardship, Dave explored how diversity, disturbance, and intentional management are rooted in building resilient forests and wildlife communities.

Breakout sessions included: 

Boots on the Ground: A candid look at fieldwork, office work, and everything in between; What's Coming Down the (Mass)Pike? Stressors taking the fast lane across the state; C-SIP in Action: Opportunities for loggers; For Keeps: Building financial and family resilience in your forest; Balancing Act: Forests with many values; Mapping Your Future: GIS for early careers; Inside the Native Land Conservancy: Land care in action; Doing More with Less: Practical, low-cost habitat improvements for your woods; Win-Win: Implementing landscape conservation to promote forest resilience and recover forest birds; Why C-SIP Matters: Expanding access and advancing climate stewardship; Forests for Fish: Linking Woods, Water, and Resilience; Passing the Torch: Practical paths and peer wisdom for landowners; Words that Work: Designing messaging that connects 

 

CANOPY 2025: Innovations in Practice

This year at the 2025 Canopy Forestry Forum, nearly 300 attendees from across the state came together on Thursday, May 29th, 2025 at the UMass Amherst Conference Center.

Ethan Tapper - a forester, birder, naturalist, and digital creator, and the bestselling author of How to Love a Forest- joined us as keynote speaker. He has been recognized as a thought-leader and a disruptor in the forestry and conservation community of the northeastern United States and beyond! 

Break out sessions included

From Small to Large: Disturbances, their impacts, and recovery; Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork: Achieving your goals with a forester; Changing Conditions and Changing Practices: How professionals are adapting to extreme weather; Knowledge is Power: Opportunities for landowners; and so many more! 

CANOPY 2024: Forests, Climate, and Innovations Forum

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation held the inaugural Canopy 2024: Forests, Climate, and Innovations Forum on Thursday, March 21 at the beautiful, mass-timber John Olver Design Building. This building is the largest and most technologically advanced academic contemporary wood structure in the US. It is also the first in the US to use the wood-concrete composite floor system.

Canopy 2024 featured speakers and workshops focused on how Massachusetts forest landowners and forest-based businesses can meet the growing demand for wood products in economically and environmentally sustainable ways. The keynote speaker was Tom Bodett, an author and regular on NPR who also founded HatchSpace, a community woodworking shop in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Our Partners

Massachusetts Forest Alliance 

Greenagers 

New England Forestry Foundation 

Mass Audubon 

Massachusetts Woodlands Institute