ACF Executive Committee

Wayne S. Pfluger | President

Wayne Pfluger is the owner of Lone Star Forestry, LLC in Huntsville, Texas. The company was established in 2003 and is a small three man shop which caters to the needs of private non-industrial landowners in the Southeast Texas area. Wayne is a 1988 Texas A&M University graduate holding a B.S. in Forestry. Wayne became a member of ACF in 2006 and served as the chair of the Texas State Chapter form 2011 to 2013. Wayne is a member of multiple other forestry associations and groups, and has served in leadership roles for the Texas Forestry Association, Prescribed Burn Managers of Texas, Texas State Tree Farm Committee, and Society of American Foresters. Wayne has been named the Texas Outstanding Tree Farm Inspector in 2008, 2012, and 2014, the 2009 Southern Region Inspecting Forester of the Year, the Outstanding Forester in the State of Texas in 2001, and the Forestry Conservationist of the Year in 2008.

Rick N. Barnes | President-Elect

Rick Barnes, ACF, CF was the founder, President and Operating Manager of Barnes & Associates, Inc. (B&A), a forestry consulting firm in Roseburg, OR, for 29+ years.  Rick has been involved in all phases of forestry consulting from starting a business as a sole proprietor, to growing the company to a successful corporation and expanding the company to two office locations. Rick has a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Management from Oregon State University and a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from Southern Oregon State College.  He is a certified forester through SAF and a qualified inspector for the American Tree Farm System. Rick sold his consulting business in 2021 to Mason, Bruce & Girard, Inc. (MG&G) and continues to manage his family tree farm and volunteer for organizations that feed his passion for forestry and consulting profession, most notably ACF.

Justin M. Miller | Immediate Past-President

Miller is the founder and President of Green Timber Consulting Foresters, Inc. (GTCF) located in Pelkie, Michigan. Miller received a B.S. in Forestry from Michigan Technological University (MTU) in 2000, and was recognized with the Outstanding Young Alumnus award in 2007. Miller served as the Michigan Chapter of ACF Vice President from 2007-2009, President from 2009-2011, and Past President from 2011-2013. Under his leadership as President, Michigan was awarded the 2011 ACF Chapter of the Year Award.

Rene D. Noel, Jr. | Northern Region Director

Rene Noel, Jr. is founder and principle owner of Southern Maine Forestry Services, a forestry consulting and forest land Management Company serving clients in Maine and New Hampshire. Southern Maine Forestry Services manages about 100,000 acres for approximately 700 clients, mostly private land but also municipal, water district, land trust, religious and service organizations which own forested land. In addition, it provides consulting services to individuals, companies, land trusts and a broad range of others. Rene is a Maine native and graduated from the University of Maine in 1973 with a BS in Forest Management. He spent time with the USFS in the Black Hills National Forest, ran a landscape nursery on Long Island New York and worked as a district Forester for the Maine Forest Service before entering private practice in 1981. He has served two terms as the ACF Maine Chapter Chair and has helped organize two national ACF meetings hosted by the Maine Chapter. Rene has also served on the ACF's National Ethics Committee for several terms and Chaired for one term.

Michael F. Wolcott | Western Region Director

Mike Wolcott, ACF, CF is co-founder and current owner of Inland Forest Management, Inc. (IFM), a Sandpoint, Idaho, based consulting forestry company established in 1984. The firm focuses on offering a wide range of forest management assistance to private landowners, as well as providing wildland fire suppression resources (eight wildland engines) to various governmental agencies. Mike grew up in the Inland Northwest where he developed a lover of the outdoors at an early age on his family's North Idaho Tree Farm. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in forest management from Washington State University, he began his career in southern Oregon working for the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Russell D. Autrey | Gulf Region Director

Russell Autrey is a partner in Larson & McGowin, LLC (L&M), a forest management and consulting firm with ongoing forest management operations across the US Southeast and consulting experience that extends nationwide and internationally. He began his career in consulting forestry with L&M in 1996 and currently serves as Vice President of Forest Management Services, providing leadership and supervision for timberland management operations totaling approximately 1 Million acres. Russell became a full member of ACF in 2007 and currently serves as the ACF Alabama Chapter Chair. He served on multiple committees at the state and national level, including the 2016 ACF National Conference, which was held in L&M's home city of Mobile, Alabama. Russell is also an active member of the Alabama Forestry Association and various other state and local groups. A native of Greenville, Alabama, Russell earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forest Resources from Auburn University in 1995.

James P. Alfriend | Southern Region Director

Jamie Alfriend, RF, ACF, is co-owner of James I. Alfriend Consulting Foresters, LLC located in Thomson, Georgia.  JIACF was started by his father, Jim Alfriend, in 1983 and is a full-service forestry consulting and natural resource management firm employing six full time foresters, an office manager, and a part time administrative assistant. Jamie grew up in Thomson; obtained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1992, graduated from Thomson High School in 1996, earned his BS in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources in 2001, and began his career at JIACF in 2002.

Thomas R. "T.R." Clark | Treasurer

T.R. joined F&W Forestry Services, Inc. in 2003 and currently serves diverse client base specializing in forest management, private timberland consulting and timberland brokerage. His current position is as F&W’s Regional Manager based in LaFayette, Alabama. He has a BS in Forest Management from N.C. State University in Raleigh, North Carolina (2000). Clark became a member of the ACF in 2010 and has served on the PFI Board of Trustees as a Trustee, Chair and Treasurer. He has been serving as Secretary and Treasurer of the Alabama State Chapter since 2013 which has won Chapter of the year twice and helped organize the 2016 national meeting held in Mobile, Alabama during that stead. He is a member of the AFA, SAF and Rotary and has held leadership positions for each. In 2019 though 2021 he was nominated and selected to participate in the Advancing Georgia Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry program.

Lee A. Steigerwaldt | Secretary

Lee Steigerwaldt is the Vice President of Operations of Steigerwaldt Land Services, Inc. headquartered in Tomahawk, Wisconsin with satellite offices in Hayward, Wisconsin, Marquette, Michigan, and Chillicothe, Ohio. Lee is a third generation consulting forester with a B.S. degree earned in 1999 from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Forest Management, Urban Forestry, and Philosophy. Lee is a certified general appraiser in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, and an ISA certified arborist. Her prior professional experience was a Production Arborist in Hailey, Idaho before relocating to Tomahawk to work in the family business with her father, Edward, and sister, Julie. Lee has been an ACF member since 2006 and is the past president of the Wisconsin ACF Chapter and currently serves on the ACF Education Committee.

National Staff

Shannon M. McCabe | Executive Director

Shannon is responsible for the overall administration of ACF including planning and implementing strategies, policies and programs to further the Association's objectives and best serve its 740+ members. Prior to joining the ACF staff in early 2018, she worked for Virginia Forestry Association (VFA), holding several positions in a six-year tenure including Deputy Executive Director. In this role, she also administered the Virginia Tree Farm Program and coordinated the Virginia SFI Implementation Committee. Shannon is a member and serves on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Society of Association Executives and is a Certified Association Executive (CAE). She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation and is a founding member of the Board of Directors for 4 Paws Animal Rescue where she also serves as adoption coordinator. Shannon is active in and has served in leadership positions for the Rappahannock Chapter and Virginia Division of the Society of American Foresters, earning the Virginia Division's Volunteer Service Award in 2017 and Young Forester Leadership Award in 2018 as well as the APSAF Young Forester Leadership Award in 2019. Shannon holds a B.S. and M.S. in Forestry from Virginia Tech. A Maryland native, with roots on her family's Pennsylvania farm, she now lives in the small town of Toano, just outside Williamsburg, Virginia with her husband James and their dogs. Click here to contact Shannon.

Lucy Firebaugh | Communications and Membership Specialist

Lucy is responsible for the overall communications of the Association including developing social media and website content, newsletters, and other various publications. She also handles all membership related inquiries and assists landowners who reach out seeking a professional ACF consulting forester in their area. Lucy is a member of the Virginia Society of Association Executives and serves on their Membership Committee and Early Career Professionals Group. She regularly attends seminars and meetings to find more and better ways to serve the Association and its members. Lucy grew up in Glen Allen, Virginia just outside of Richmond and now resides in Prince George, Virginia with her fiancée Matthew and adorable beagle Tyson. She graduated from Appalachian State University with a B.A. in Communications with a concentration in Advertising. Click here to contact Lucy.