In July 2025 Illinois Chapter of Walnut Council hosted a national meeting in Rockford Illinois. This forestry focused meeting was made possible through matching grant funding received from Illinois Forest Development Council Small Projects Program.
Over the course of two-and-a-half-days, 113 attendees toured an actively managed 30-acre woods, observed a working saw mill cutting small diameter logs, and examined the results of Crop Tree Release in a plantation setting. Participants also learned techniques to accelerate natural regeneration in a post-harvest woodlots.
Indoor sessions featured expert presentation on digital forestry, wood utilization, forest health, and how private land owners can propagate trees for enrichment plantings in their woodlands.
Participants indicated that they plan to adopt the following management practices:
| Management Practice | Percent That Will Adopt Practice |
| Plant trees | 50% |
| Timber harvest | 15% |
| Check soils | 25% |
| Manage for deer | 15% |
| Invasive management | 55% |
| Thinning | 45% |
| Pruning | 30% |
| Crop tree release | 55% |
| Succession/estate planning | 15% |
| Manage for oak | 40% |
