Southern Forestry Conclave

The Southern Forestry Conclave is an annual competition among students from 15 southern forestry schools in a variety of physical and technical events.^[1] It typically involves more than 250 contestants. Traditional physical events include archery, axe throwing, pole climbing, log rolling, bow sawing, log birling, and cross-cut saw competition. Technical events include dendrology, timber volume estimation, photogrammetry, wood identification, and others. Scores from individual events are combined to determine the overall winning school of each year's conclave, which is a highly sought honor. The Forestry Conclave is hosted by the participating schools on a rotating basis and is sponsored by the Association of Southern Forestry Clubs.^[2]

The Conclave promotes spirited competition among the forestry students representing their respective schools and clubs, and participation in the Conclave helps students develop high standards and professionalism.^[3] Planning the Conclave requires considerable cooperation among the participating forestry clubs for it to be successful.

Eight forestry schools participated in the first Conclave in 1958, which was sponsored by the University of Georgia. Fewer than 100 students competed in the first Conclave's mainly physical events.^[3] Over 50 Conclaves have been conducted since the first one.