Welcome to the 3rd Southern Forestry Geographical Information Systems Conference. More affectionately known as SOFORGIS, these conferences began with a discussion Greg Arthaud, former faculty member at the University of Georgia, and Bill Hubbard had at a coffee break over five years ago. The first SOFORGIS conference in 1996 drew 200 while the one in 1998 attracted slightly more than that. At the eve of our 2000 venture, we hope we can provide you with the same quality program we've had in the past. In all, 44 papers and 8 posters will be presented. Most of the papers are available on the CD. Those who would like to add their papers after the conference may do so on the website at www.soforgis.net.

GIS has progressed a great deal in the five years we have been conducting these conferences. The software and hardware improvements will be evident to those who visit the exhibit areas at breaks and during the reception. Thanks to the many sponsors and exhibitors who have participated and contributed. Their assistance keeps costs down and allows us to provide a quality program.

As we continue to develop new tools and technologies to solve some of today's most complex natural resource problems, we will need to depend on conferences and technology transfer efforts such as this to communicate what works, what doesn't and what could be. This year we had the assistance of forest industry representatives in planning the concurrent sessions. Their insight provided much needed perspective. Thanks goes to Mike Clutter with the Timber Company and others in the industry that valued this opportunity to share information.

We hope you will enjoy your time here in Athens and that the presentations, exhibits, poster session and camaraderie will be up to your expectations. As always, please don't hesitate to contact any one of us if you have a concern, question or suggestion for future educational events.

Special thanks goes to Cricket Jenkins, FORS Institute and J.B. Jordin, Technology Information Specialist with the Southern Regional Extension Forestry office. They provided oversight on the development of the website (www.soforgis.net) and CD respectively. Have a great conference and we'll see you in 2002 if not before!

Sincerely,
Bill Hubbard - Cooperative Extension - Southern Region
Susan King - The University of Georgia Warnell -School of Forest Resources - Center for Continuing Education
Steve Nodine - FORS
Conference Co-chairs October 2000