Hagenstein Lectures

Working Forests: Growing Opportunity for American Communities

SAF's inaugural Hagenstein event on October 3, 2017 in Washington, DC focused on the connection between working forests and strong rural economies. The event honored former SAF President Bill Hagenstein's legacy by building better understanding and awareness in Congress about forestry and the role taxes, regulations, and robust markets play in supporting rural economic development and keeping forests as forests.

Agenda/Event Videos

Welcome and opening remarks (Dave Lewis, SAF Vice President)

Address by Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4)

Conversations on Working Forest Management (Bettina Ring, State Forester of Virginia)
 • Forests and the Farm Bill: On-the-ground role in conserving America’s forests (Tom Crowder, Arkansas Family Forest Owner)
 • Conservation Outcomes: Focus on the multitude of benefits forests provide (Dave Tenny, National Alliance of Forest Owners)
 • Supporting Rural Economies: How local infrastructure and workforce sustain working forests (Patrick Harrigan, Harrigan Lumber Co., Inc.)

Address by Senator James Risch (R-ID)

Keynote: Thomas Robinson, LEVER Architecture

Conversations on Markets and Innovation, Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6)
 • What can one log become? (Bryan Hulka, Weyerhauser)
 • Forest management, woody biomass, and the importance of markets (Brian Brashaw, US Forest Service)
 • Strong and versatile: The surprising engineering qualities of wood (Dr. Patricia Layton, Clemson University)

Closing Remarks: Dr. Ann Bartuska, Resources for the Future

Keynote Speaker

Thomas Robinson founded LEVER Architecture in 2009. His work explores the link between architectural experience and material innovation. His 16-person practice is pioneering the use of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) in the US with Framework—a project slated to become the first mass timber high-rise in the US and a recipient of the US Tall Wood Building Prize Competition. Other significant completions include Albina Yard, the first building in the U.S. made from domestically-fabricated CLT; student housing for the Pacific Northwest College of Art; and the L’Angolo Estate winery. His firm recently received the Architectural League of New York’s Emerging Voices Award and has been recognized for design excellence by AIA Chapters in Portland, the Northwest Region, and Los Angeles. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master in Architecture with Distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Thomas Robinson

Framework, inside view

Framework (Courtesy LEVER Architecture)