Thanks to all that attended the bur oak canyon symposium. I hope that you felt as I do, that the canyon is a magical place that is a state, regional, and national treasure.

  I have approached the Lewis family about investigating the possibilities of some sort of nature conservancy easement. Please stay tuned to this web site. We will keep you abreast of any developments.

  We are also exploring the possibility of making this website interactive, so we can share our ideas of how we could all be involved in promoting regeneration of oaks in this canyon. (For now, please don't hesitate to send your ideas to Bruce via email at bruce.hoffman@hotmail.com).

  It is hard for words to describe how grateful I am to all of our presenters. They are all wonderful, caring people that I am proud to consider friends. They all spent a great deal of energy, and time in preparation for this event. All worked for nothing or less than minimum wage. All used time that normally would have been spent with their families. They all occupy a special place in my heart.

  I must thank all of the individuals that gave me the confidence to even think that this could all be put together. The staff at the Center for Enterprise at McCook Community College made this all happen. Thank you Dr. Tubbs for your approval. The Center for Enterprise is composed of Doug Joyce, Judy Malone, Carol Stensvad, and Stacie Shaddock. Carol spent countless hours leading me by the hand. I would often times call her numerous times in the same day. Carol always acted as though she was glad to hear from me. Come on. Carol is most likely a candidate for sainthood.

  Thank you Cloyd, Rachel, Eric, Tim Y., Deb H., and Chris H. The 'H.' in those last two is for Hoffman, and Chris, my son, is responsible for this website, and Deb, my wife, had to live with me through these past eight months.

I love you all,
- Bruce Hoffman

(below is the homepage as it appeared before the weekend)

McCook, Nebraska
Sept. 8-9, 2008

Welcome! This event will be an exciting two-day symposium that will feature one day in the classroom, an evening cook-out, and will conclude with a field trip to Bur Oak Canyon on day two.
(Scroll to the bottom of this page for the full event itinerary!)

Click here to check out our NEW travel guide, featuring attractions you can visit along the way!

Gonna be in McCook on September 6th and 7th? Check out the McCoook Balloon Festival, featuring spectacular, early morning lift-offs, when colorful hot air balloons launch and spread out to cover the Southwest Nebraska sky!

The classes will be held on the campus of McCook Community College. Monday morning will consist of a pre-workshop and a dissection lab* conducted by Jack Phillips - who studied at the feet, and was a close friend, of Dr.Alex Shigo.

(*UPDATE: You no longer need to bring anything to the lab. All materials will be provided.)

Here are the people that will be making presentations during the classroom portion:
(Please check out the Biographies section for more on each presenter)

 

Jack Phillips, close friend and understudy of the late Alex Shigo, will be directing a tree anatomy dissection lab. This session will take a much closer look at the tree as a system:  how it grows, how it defends itself and how it eventually dies.  With the help of microscopes and lab equipment participants will gain an appreciation and working knowledge of tree structure and function

Guy Sternberg served on the staff of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for 32 years, receiving the Honor Award for outstanding service. Guy also is a founding life member, past president, and journal editor for the International Oak Society, with members from more than 35 countries on six continents, and received their Lifetime Service Award in 2003.

Tim Buchanan, city forester, Ft. Collins Colo. will be making a presentation on the "theories of past oak migration and hybridization in the Central High Plains and Rocky Mountain Regions.

Eric Berg is the Urban and Community Forestry Program Leader with the Nebraska Forest Service. He is a Certified Forester with the Society of American Foresters as well as Certified Arborist and Municipal Specialist with the International Society of Arboriculture.

 Jim Goeke is a hydro-geologist with the University of Nebraska. Jim is a tree steward that will explain to us what we are looking at when we see Bur Oak Canyon. How was the canyon formed? Where does the water comes from that we see in the canyon springs? How were these millions of years old caliche outcroppings formed? Jim Goeke has the answers.

Nancy Carlson has a degree in Anthropology/Archaeology, and has spent her entire adult life studying the Native Americans of the Plains of Nebraska, and surrounding region. Nancy will present to us the Native American Presence in the Bur Oak Canyon Area and explain to us what the relationship was that the Native Americans had with the oak, and what importance this canyon played in their lives.

Justin Evertson from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum will be talking about the selection, preservation, and growing of oaks on the high plains

Common Scents Greenhouse & Nursery will host a cookout in the evening to finish off the first day. It will be casual, and all of the presenters will be available to answer any questions that we might not have had time for in the class room.

Tuesday morning, we will assemble for the field trip portion of the symposium. (For both the cookout and the field trip, you need to sign up to participate by September 1st!) We will follow the Driftwood Creek some thirty miles to Bur Oak Canyon, where you experience the beauty of short grass prairie, amazing vistas, and the canyon that seemingly appears out of nowhere. Once at the canyon, we will review a dendrochronology report on a tree from this site. We will finish with an informal wrap-up session there at the canyon, and once again be able to ask our presenters to explain just what we are looking at, and what the canyon provided for the Native Americans.

Any money that might be considered profit from this event will be given to the owners of Bur Oak Canyon, the Lewis Family, to help with re-generation efforts.

If you are interested in arranging a carpool to this event, please refer to our Contacts section!

 

Full event itinerary

Click here to view a printer-friendly version of the itinerary

Click here to download the itinerary (MS Word document)*

*You need the Microsoft Word program to view this downloaded file