The Stump

In this The Stump Podcast collab, Matt, Blake Manley(Manley Jobs), and Brian Rupp (Rupp’s Timber Tutorials) tackle the truth about modern forestry. Forget the old logging stereotypes and discover how today’s professionals manage forests for reforestation, wildlife, clean water, and community jobs . ✅ Positive Forestry Messaging: Brian’s viral Instagram clips (21K followers) show how open, honest...

Exploring the Forest Operations Specialist Role andOpportunities in Forestry Get ready for a deep dive into the world of forestry andworkforce development with Ryer Becker, a passionate advocate for the industry and a Forest Operations Specialist at the University of Idaho. In this episode, Ryer shares his journey into forestry, detailing how his career path led him to this impactful role. From hi...

Marie Price is the Director of Learning and Development forthe Idaho Forest Group (IFG). Marie is considered by many to be the 'Champion for Workforce Development' in Idaho's forest products sector. She is working with many others in Idaho to expose and recruit young people to the numerousgreat jobs available in the sector. In this episode of The Stump, Marie joins us to talk about som...

Blake Manley returns to the stump to discuss his latest efforts on workforce development. He discusses the new North Idaho College Logging Equipment Operator Apprenticeship Program, which is available for students age 18 and older. Blake also shares with us some of the other efforts he is working on, such as "Workforce Unfiltered," which can be found on Facebook and TikTok. Logging Equipment Opera...

Hilary Franz, the former Commissioner of Public Lands for the state of Washington, joins The Stump to discuss her time leading the Department of Natural Resources. Hilary was elected to the Office of Commissioner in 2016 and served from January 2017 to January 2025. During this time, she worked on a variety of issues, from forest health and wildfire prevention and suppression to completing the Lon...

Blake Manley of Manley Jobs joins The Stump in this episode to discuss his work and advocacy for workforce development in the forestry sector. Widely known for his Manley Jobs videos on YouTube, he has been featured on Fox and Friends and many other media outlets. He started this endeavor in 2020 when he was a teacher at Sweet Home High School in Oregon. Remote learning led to the need to find a n...

Season 2 is finally here. In this episode of The Stump, Jim Petersen joins us. Jim is a co-founder of the non-profit Evergreen Foundation and publisher of Evergreen, the Foundation’s periodic journal. The Mission of the Evergreen Foundation is "Our mission is to advance public understanding and support for science-based forestry and forest policy by providing clear and concise facts and comme...

Ken Bevis is a Stewardship Fish and Wildlife Biologist with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. A self-proclaimed “nature troubadour”, he is also a musician known for using songs to tell stories and educate on forestry and wildlife management. Ken joins The Stump to discuss his career, the work he does with small forest landowners, and his music. Ken has over thirty years of expe...

Oak Rankin, Executive Director of Glacier Peak Institute, joins The Stump in this episode. Also referred to as GPI, the organization is based in Darrington, Washington. Volunteers and community organizations formed the Darrington Youth Outdoor STEM Pilot Project after the deadly 2014 Oso Landslide. This grew into the Glacier Peak Institute. Today, GPI continues to work with youth through their "in...

Bennett Bull from Tree Management Plus joins us on this episode of The Stump. Tree Management Plus (TMP) has provided logging, reforestation, and other forest management services to landowners for over 45 years. Initially started by Bennett's grandfather, Tom Fox, Bennett, and his brother Camden are continuing the family tradition of being a resource for landowners, especially small forest landown...

In this episode of The Stump, Rod Fleck joins us. Rod is the City Attorney and City Planner for the City of Forks, Washington. There is a lot more to Forks than vampires and rain. Rod and I talk about his history with the city and his engagement with the management of trust lands by the Department of Natural Resources. While Forks is not a direct recipient of revenue from managing these trust land...

In this episode of The Stump, Jay McLaughlin joins us. Jay is the Executive Director of Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS). They are a non-profit in Washington state whose mission is "to promote sustainable connections between the land, local economies, and rural communities in the Mt. Adams Region." We chat about Jay's career, MARS's work, and future opportunities. In addition to managing a commu...

Camryn Bostwick – Sales Representative at Cascade Trader. For those who might think that Gen Z is lazy and unmotivated, you will want to listen to this episode. Camryn is a young man who blows that stereotype out of the water. He started at a young age, cleaning heavy equipment at Cascade Trader. Since that time, he has become a heavy equipment mechanic and now sells the equipment he had been serv...

Jenny Knoth, PhD., joins the Stump to talk about her career in forestry and the current work in the forest policy she is doing. She talks about her work as an associate professor and her work to bring real-world issues to the classroom. We also start to discuss "wealth gaps," the impacts of the anti-forestry movement, and the impacts rural communities experience when forest management is...

On this episode of the Stump, I am joined by Kevin Van De Wege, a candidate for the Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands. Kevin is a former State Senator, Career Fire Fighter, and if successful would lead the Department of Natural Resources in Washington. Many people are unaware of what this position does and this is my effort to try and educate the voters on some of the issues and introd...

On this episode of The Stump, I am joined by Sue Pedersen, a candidate for the Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands. Sue is a biologist with a policy and management background and if successful would lead the Department of Natural Resources in Washington. Many people are unaware of what this position does, and this is my effort to try to educate the voters on some of the issues and introd...

Steve Courtney of the Beck Group joins us on the stump. Steve has an extensive career in the forest products sector in the Pacific Northwest. Association work, forestry, raw material procurement for sawmills, and now using those skills and knowledge working for the Beck Group. Join us as Steve and I chat about his career, his work at the Beck Group, and some of the things that have helped him succ...

Lloyd McGee joins The Stump to talk about his career in forestry and how an early life experience influenced that career path. Lloyd, currently works for The Nature Conservancy as their Washington Forests Program Manager, on forest restoration in eastern Washington, which requires collaborating with a diverse group of stakeholders. Lloyd leads us through his life story and how a traumatic experien...

Trevor McConchie joins The Stump to talk about the Good Neighbor Authority. What is Good Neighbor Authority, GNA for short? How does it fit into the management of Forest Service lands? How is GNA implemented in Washington State? Trevor leads the Good Neighbor Authority program in Washington State for the Department of Natural Resources. With a relatively small but passionate team of foresters, eng...

Andy joins The Stump to talk about extension forestry, family forestry, and some of the challenges and opportunities facing particularly family forestry in Washington State. Andy has a diverse background in how he came to Washington State University Extension. He organizes and leads a variety of training and educational events for small-family forest owners, loggers, teachers, etc. mostly in easte...

Tim McEntire with the Montana Logging Association (MLA) joins The Stump to talk about his work and what MLA does for the forest products sector in Montana. Tim is a former logger and brings a working knowledge of the challenges and benefits of this industry. The Association supports first aid training, education, and workforce development. as well as forest policy issues. You can learn more about...

In this episode, I give a little background on who I am and my experience in the forest products sector. Please check us out at thestump.io.

Dr. Elaine Oneil, Executive Director of the Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA) , joins The Stump to discuss carbon, climate, and forestry. The presentation in this show was previously given live at a WFFA event in Bellingham, Washington.

In this introductory episode, I discuss why I chose the name 'The Stump'. I also provide a little background about myself and the journey to get to launching this episode. Future episodes will include interviews and my thoughts on various forestry-related issues.