A nonprofit organization that works to maintain environment-friendly forest economies opens its national headquarters in Athens tonight with a banquet.

The National Network of Forest Practitioners’ location in Athens is the first in southeastern Ohio, a state rich in forests, said Kim Brown, assistant professor for environmental and plant biology at Ohio University and a technical consultant for the network.

The network strives to educate foresters, specifically small private landowners, on how to use their resources responsibly and to network with other forest groups, said Brown.

NNFP will teach local foresters European methods of forestry as opposed to timber logging that can compact soil and prevent re-growth, said Executive Director Colin Donohue. The group advocates new logging equipment that promotes reforestation through “lighter” methods of forestry.

This move may create a more sound forest economy in Athens, but the network also has a national focus, Donohue said.

The NNFP picked Athens for its national headquarters because it’s a, “rural area and a low income area,” said Donohue and, “partly, because I live here.”

Students can learn about NNFP for free with their student IDs at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville.

Events will begin at 5:30 p.m. and include a dinner catered by Purple Chopsticks, an auction and a concert by The Royales, said Office Manager Cynthia Brunty. General admission is $6 and dinner is $24.

Brown encourages students and citizens to attend as, “we have a lot of leverage as to how forests are managed.”