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FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NEWS A Newsletter for Department of Forest Ecology and Management Staff, Students, and Alumni Vol. 3, No. 2 September 2000 News from the Chair We have lots of news in this issue, so I will keep my comments brief. We start the school year excited by the addition of three new faculty. Two of them—Drs. Scott Bowe and Mark Rickenbach—are profiled in this newsletter. We'll feature the third, Volker Radeloff, in the next issue. Scott and Mark, together with the addition of several forestry educators who will be located in the heavily forested regions throughout the state, give us a stronger extension network than we've ever had. With half of the state in forests and an estimated 260,000 nonindustrial forestland owners, there is plenty of extension work to be done! The number of undergraduate students who want to study abroad continues to increase, and we will feature some of their stories in the newsletter. Foreign study and travel stretch one's mind in ways that cannot be done in a classroom. The College is working to expand the number of opportunities available to students. UW-Madison has historically supplied more Peace Corps volunteers than any other campus in the country, so it isn't surprising that our students are interested in foreign travel and study. The newspapers have been full of stories this summer about the forest fires in the West, and many are calling it the worst fire year in recent history. In Wisconsin we know all too well what fire can do. October 8, 1871, was the date of the Peshtigo Fire, the most deadly in U.S. history. And just this past April, the 600-acre Four-Corners Fire in Monroe County trapped and "burned over" three firefighters and several pieces of heavy equipment. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but we need to remind ourselves constantly that fire, like the chainsaw, can be a helpful tool or a deadly threat depending on circumstances and skill level of the people involved. "The Photo" Invitations to identify who it was that dropped the tree across the electrical wires at Kemp Station one summer camp (FOREST ECOLOGY & MANAGE- MENT NEWS, Vol. 3, No. 1) drew several guesses. Bill Keenan (BS-79) thought it was Jim Birkemeier (BS-76). Sorry, Jim, but why would Bill think it was you! Bill is with the Land and Computer Graphics Facility that is located in Steenbock Library on campus and his address can be found in the campus directory. Jim currently resides in Spring Green and is the first SmartWood® certified resource manager in Wisconsin. Dave Schumann (MS-60) didn't have a guess, but he reported that the photo brought back memories of his summer camp at the University of Michigan's Camp Filbert Roth in the Upper Peninsula. There was a major difference between the two incidents though. Dave said that when the tree hit the wire at his summer camp, the saw was still in the sapwood and the sawyer received a substantial charge of electricity!! Fortunately, he wasn't hurt. Jeff Treu (BS-78) also contacted the department about the photo. He didn't know who the culprit was, but he did successfully guess that Ray Guries was somehow involved! Actually, John's real interest was in getting a copy of the photo for use in his safety education program for Wisconsin Electric Power Company in Waukesha. Jeff is Super- visor of Forestry Operations with WEPC. The winner is John Rybarczyk (BS-79), who said he remembers such an event back in the spring of either 1978 or 1979 at Kemp Station, and that Ray Guries and then graduate student Bruce Michie (BS-73, MS-77, PhD-81) had a long discussion about how the tree would drop. In the end, it dropped just the opposite way. (Bruce got his degree anyway!) Chair Jeff Stier ran into Bruce at the IUFRO meeting in Malaysia in August and ribbed him about the incident. Bruce says that he remembers it well and is still embarrassed about it! John Rybarczyk is living in Crawford County, Wis., working with the zoning office. His prize, a hard-to-get UW Forestry Club sweatshirt, is "in the mail." In this issue Student news . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Scholarship recipients . . . . . . 2 Faculty awards . . . . . . . . . . 3 Meet Scott Bowe and Mark Rickenbach . . . . . . . . . . 4 Research Briefs . . . . . . . . 5-6 Recent publications . . . . . 6-7

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Page 1: FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NEWS - Forest and Wildlife ...forestandwildlifeecology.wisc.edu/wp-content/... · FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NEWS A Newsletter for Department of Forest

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NEWS A Newsletter for Department of Forest Ecology and Management Staff, Students, and Alumni

Vol. 3, No. 2 September 2000

News f r o mthe Chai r

We have lots of news in this issue, so Iwill keep my comments brief.We start the school year excited by theaddition of three new faculty. Two ofthem—Drs. Scott Bowe and MarkRickenbach—are profiled in thisnewsletter. We'll feature the third, VolkerRadeloff, in the next issue. Scott andMark, together with the addition ofseveral forestry educators who will belocated in the heavily forested regionsthroughout the state, give us a strongerextension network than we've ever had.With half of the state in forests and anestimated 260,000 nonindustrialforestland owners, there is plenty ofextension work to be done! The number of undergraduate studentswho want to study abroad continues toincrease, and we will feature some oftheir stories in the newsletter. Foreignstudy and travel stretch one's mind inways that cannot be done in a classroom.The College is working to expand thenumber of opportunities available tostudents. UW-Madison has historicallysupplied more Peace Corps volunteersthan any other campus in the country, soit isn't surprising that our students areinterested in foreign travel and study. The newspapers have been full ofstories this summer about the forest firesin the West, and many are calling it theworst fire year in recent history. InWisconsin we know all too well whatfire can do. October 8, 1871, was the dateof the Peshtigo Fire, the most deadly inU.S. history. And just this past April,the 600-acre Four-Corners Fire inMonroe County trapped and "burned

over" three firefighters and several piecesof heavy equipment. Fortunately,nobody was injured, but we need toremind ourselves constantly that fire, likethe chainsaw, can be a helpful tool or adeadly threat depending on circumstancesand skill level of the people involved.

"The Photo"

Invitations to identify who it was thatdropped the tree across the electrical wiresat Kemp Station one summer camp(FOREST ECOLOGY & MANAGE-MENT NEWS, Vol. 3, No. 1) drewseveral guesses. Bill Keenan (BS-79)thought it was Jim Birkemeier (BS-76).Sorry, Jim, but why would Bill think itwas you! Bill is with the Land andComputer Graphics Facility that islocated in Steenbock Library on campusand his address can be found in thecampus directory. Jim currently resides inSpring Green and is the firstSmartWood® certified resource managerin Wisconsin. Dave Schumann (MS-60) didn't havea guess, but he reported that the photobrought back memories of his summercamp at the University of Michigan'sCamp Filbert Roth in the UpperPeninsula. There was a major differencebetween the two incidents though. Davesaid that when the tree hit the wire at hissummer camp, the saw was still in thesapwood and the sawyer received a

substantial charge of electricity!! Fortunately, he wasn't hurt. Jeff Treu (BS-78) also contacted thedepartment about the photo. He didn'tknow who the culprit was, but he didsuccessfully guess that Ray Guries wassomehow involved! Actually, John's realinterest was in getting a copy of thephoto for use in his safety educationprogram for Wisconsin Electric PowerCompany in Waukesha. Jeff is Super-visor of Forestry Operations with WEPC. The winner is John Rybarczyk(BS-79), who said he remembers such anevent back in the spring of either 1978 or1979 at Kemp Station, and that RayGuries and then graduate student BruceMichie (BS-73, MS-77, PhD-81) had along discussion about how the tree woulddrop. In the end, it dropped just theopposite way. (Bruce got his degreeanyway!) Chair Jeff Stier ran into Bruceat the IUFRO meeting in Malaysia inAugust and ribbed him about the incident.Bruce says that he remembers it well andis still embarrassed about it! John Rybarczyk is living in CrawfordCounty, Wis., working with the zoningoffice. His prize, a hard-to-get UWForestry Club sweatshirt, is "in themail."

In this issue

Student news . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Scholarship recipients . . . . . . 2

Faculty awards . . . . . . . . . . 3

Meet Scott Bowe and Mark

Rickenbach . . . . . . . . . . 4

Research Briefs . . . . . . . . 5-6

Recent publications . . . . . 6-7

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Alumni Update

Allison (Beach) Hellman (BS-91)wrote recently that she looked at thedepartment's web page and was amazedhow few faculty she knew even thoughshe hasn't been gone that long! Allison isSupervisor of the Black, Buffalo andTrempealeau Team with the WisconsinDNR in Black River Falls. She reportsthat she returned from maternity leavethis spring after she and her husband Jimwere blessed with the birth of their firstchild, Grace Beach Hellman. Rebecca Prestigiacomo (BS-97)also joined the ranks of the married lastOctober. Her name is now Lamphear andshe has just taken a job in Georgia. Sheis the urban forester for Rockdale county,a small county just east of Atlanta. Sheis the county’s first forester. Her workhas her reviewing plans, makinginspections and lots of public education.Becky reports that the area is beautifulwith lots of forests (pine and hardwoods),quite a change from her previous locationin Park Ridge, Illinois. This spring,before her move to Georgia, she took aclass with Mike Collins (BS-98). Frank Kirschling (BS-94) recentlyjoined the ranks of the Wisconsin DNR.Frank was one of the dozen new forestersthe DNR hired this summer. Terry Droessler (BS-81, MS-83)reports that he is now President of DuckCreek Associates (DCA). DCA is aforestry consulting company located inCorvallis, Oregon. Terry provides forestbiometrics assistance to forestry clientsin the Pacific Northwest and beyond.Prior to taking the position with DCA,Terry was with Mason, Bruce & Girard,Inc., consulting foresters in Portland,Oregon, for six years. Terry can bereached at 541-753-4702. We received a job announcement forthe paper industry in July and noticed thatthe cover letter was signed by JenniferKielley (BS-99). It seems that Jennifer

is living in Milwaukee and working as aStaffing Consultant with Apple OneEmployment Services. Jeff Stier ran into one of our "lost"alumni in August while on the "deans'tour" in Idaho. Richard Taplin(B.S.-78) is Park Ranger for the Ponder-osa State Park, one of the featured stops.

StudentNews

UW team takes part in UpperMidwest Capstone ReportAward Competition

Judges recently selected the winners ofthe fourth annual Upper MidwestCapstone Report Award Competition.For the second year in a row, a MichiganTech team took first place and the

UW-Madison team placed second. Studentteams from Iowa State University,Michigan Tech University and theUW-Madison submitted papers from theircapstone courses to a panel of sevenjudges. The reports were evaluated on thebasis of quality of writing, ease ofcomprehension by the educated layperson,technical rigor,

Congratulations to the following 2000-2001 Scholarship Recipients

Name Major ScholarshipMichael Amman (Sr.) Forest Science Helen Miller Forestry ScholarshipEmily Duerr (Jr.) Forest Science Carroll D. Besadny ScholarshipDaniel Behnke (Fr.) Rec Res Mgmt David N. Connor ScholarshipJames Griffin (Fr.) Forest Science Ferdinand Plaenert New Freshman

Excellence AwardMatthew Hansen (Jr.) Forest Science David N. Connor ScholarshipAnne Hussa (Sr.) Forest Science Vicky Lee Hirsch Conservation

ScholarshipAmy Janke (So.) Forest Science Vicky Lee Hirsch Conservation

ScholarshipStephanie Martorano (Sr.) Rec Res Mgmt Vicky Lee Hirsch Conservation

ScholarshipAaron Mielke (Jr.) Forest Science Vicky Lee Hirsch Conservation

ScholarshipEmma Radomski (Fr.) Forest Science Vicky Lee Hirsch Conservation

ScholarshipBrian Schwingle (Jr.) Forest Science Cora I. Jayne Academic Merit

Award and Earle D. Lyon Memorial Scholarship

Jedd Ungrodt (Sr.) Forest Science Vicky Lee Hirsch Academic Merit Award

Julia Watson (So.) Rec Res Mgmt Vicky Lee Hirsch Conservation Scholarship

and a sense of landstewardship. Student teams developed aland and resource management plan for a "client." Each team faced a different setof landowner objectives and worked on adifferent property. The UW-Madison team of CindyKarsten (BS-99), Kristen Romanowich(BS-00), Brian Tucker, Jedd Ungrodt andEric Weiss (BS-99) developed amanagement plan for a 120 acre propertyin western Dane County that was recentlydonated to Dane County Parks and isbeing considered as a potential countyforest. The students split the $250 prize.

continued on next page

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The schools gratefully acknowledge thefinancial support for the program, whichwas provided by Georgia-PacificCorporation, Menominee TribalEnterprises and Steigerwaldt LandServices. The panel of seven judges iscomprised of representatives of thesponsors, university faculty and state and federal foresters.

My South African Experienceby Matthew Hansen

My name is Matthew Hansen and I am afourth year Forest Science major here atthe UW-Madison. This past springsemester I had the opportunity to studyabroad in South Africa through one of theCALS study abroad programs. I spent sixmonths in South Africa which allowedme to study at the University of Pretoriaand travel both before and after theuniversity was in session. I lived in oneof the university's international houses with students from the UW,Oklahoma and Amsterdam. At the University of Pretoria I had achance to study the culture, history andenvironmental conditions in the country.The South African professors gave me aunique perspective on the subjects Istudied. My Pre-Colonial Africa andSegregation in South Africa courses gave

me insights into the reasons for the

Pictured are Wilson Ximpolla on the leftand Forest Science major MatthewHansen. Wilson, a public relationsmajor, and Matthew became friendsduring Hansen’s semester at theUniversity of Pretoria.

current political and social situationsoccurring there. My EnvironmentalManagement and Agro-Forestry coursesalso gave me a chance to look at theunique environmental and social factorsthat control natural resource managementin other countries. The problems andsolutions of an arid developing countrythat were discussed in my classesimpressed on me the wide scope andflexibility required for resourcemanagement to be successful. Along with what I learned throughthe university and my professors, I alsolearned a lot through the traveling I didand the people I met, both from SouthAfrica and other countries. One of thebest parts of my study abroad experiencewas being able to interact and becomefriends with people from all over theworld. The different backgrounds of thepeople I met gave each person a unique way of looking at life and the situationsthat were discussed in my classes. Bytraveling around South Africa I got a firsthand view of the beauty and the problemsof the country I was living in. The experience of studying abroadwas one of the best I have ever had. Ihope to keep the friends I have met forlife and I know I will always cherish mymemories of South Africa.

DepartmentNews

Poplar Field Day October 10

Forest Ecology and Management and theCollege of Ag and Life Sciences issponsoring Poplar Field Day October10, 12:30 p.m. at Arlington AgriculturalResearch Station. The field day willinclude a tour and discussion of poplarexperiments at Arlington Ag ResearchStation with visits to a 20-year-oldplanting and nursery. Other highlights arevisits to new poplar clone test plots and

examples of various poplar culturalpractices, such as plastic mulch, soybeanintercropping and no weed control. Forfurther information, contact Jill Calabro(608) 265-9832, E-mail: [email protected]. Web site: http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/poplar

Aussie visitor here duringfall semester

We welcome Professor Geoff McDonaldwho is a sabbatical visitor in ForestEcology and Management for the fallsemester. Back in his home country ofAustralia he is chair of the Department ofGeographical Sciences and Planning atthe University of Queensland in Brisbane. Geoff’s research field is environmentalplanning, especially multiple useplanning in forests and watersheds. He isteaching Forestry 530, a graduate seminarcourse titled “Natural ResourceManagement in Australia.”

Facul tyB u l l e t i n

Faculty Honors

Professor Raymond Young andDrs. Frank Denes and SorinMonolache, were presented with theAnnual Award of the Japan PhotopolymerSociety for their work on PlasmaModification of Materials in a specialceremony at Chiba University in Japanon June 29, 2000.

Professor Glen Stanosz,Departments of Plant Pathology andForest Ecology and Management, receivedan Excellence in Teaching Award fromthe American Phytopathological Societyat the 2000 annual meeting in NewOrleans in August. Stanosz also receivedthis year’s Jung Excellence in TeachingAward. He was presented the award at theGamma Sigma Delta banquet on campusthis past April.

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On July 1 the Boardof Regents appointedJosephBuongiorno to theJohn N. McGovernProfessorship. Thisprofessorship wasawarded by theResearch Committee

of the Graduate School, with fundingfrom the Wisconsin Alumni ResearchFoundation. The Professorship is namedafter John N. McGovern, who was adistinguished Professor in our departmentfor many years and whom several alumnimay remember fondly.

John Kotar, Senior Scientist in theDepartment of Forest Ecology andManagement, received this year’sWisconsin SAF John Macon Award.This is the highest award given by theWisconsin Society of American Forestersand recognizes an outstanding member forhis or her contributions to forestry inWisconsin. The award is funded by anendowment from the estate of John W.Macon, a former Timberlands Managerfor Consolidated Papers Company. Johnwas presented the award at the SAFannual meeting in Eau Claire in March.

Scott Bowe joins ForestEcology and Managementfaculty

It is an excitingchallenge to serve asthe Wood ProductsExtension Specialistin the Department ofForest Ecology andManagement. In myshort time here sinceAugust 1st, I havehad the opportunity

to meet with people from across theUniversity. I have also cooperated withwood products personnel from the DNR,the Forest Products Lab, industry groups,and other universities. It is reassuring to

find this type of cooperation directed at acommon goal. My interests center on wood productsmarketing; however, a general knowledgeof wood products and the wood productsindustry is essential for this position. Inthe past, I have been involved withprojects examining the needs assessmentof the forest products industry. Suchwork is important as an extensionspecialist and will be relied upon in thefuture. My most recent work involved anationwide study of the hardwoodsawmill industry. Timely market andplanning information for this industry isdifficult to pinpoint, given its fragmentednature. This project examined hardwoodsawmill demographics and examined theuse of advanced scanning and optimizingtechnology. Such technology will playan increasing role in future hardwoodlumber production. Not only does thistechnology offer production and financialincentives, but it also utilizes thehardwood resource in the most efficientmanner. Efficient utilization is criticalgiven the growing demand for woodproducts and the future sustainability ofour natural resources. I am not new to Wisconsin or theDepartment of Forest Ecology andManagement. I was raised in the city ofChippewa Falls, three hours north ofMadison. I came to Madison in the late1980s and enrolled in what was thencalled the Department of Forestry. It isgood to be reacquainted with old faces andmeet the many new faces in theDepartment. After graduation, I workedfor the Department as an extensionoutreach specialist. This was my firstexposure to forestry and wood productoutreach activities. I went back to school for a mastersdegree at the University of Minnesota inthe Department of Wood and PaperScience. Here, I made a shift from forestmanagement to wood products. This wasa logical step based on my experiencewith wood as a building material.Starting at an early age, I worked in the

residential and commercial constructionindustries gaining over ten years ofexperience. This is where my interestin forests and wood products is based. After completing my degree inMinnesota, I moved to Blacksburg,Virginia and enrolled in the Departmentof Wood Science and Forest Products atVirginia Tech. Probably known more forHokie football, Virginia Tech has the topwood products program in the nation, andI was fortunate to study there. My studiesand research allowed me to work closelywith the hardwood sawmill industry andstate and federal agencies from the easternstates. After completing a PhD in woodproducts in June of 2000, I moved backto Wisconsin. Wood products aside, I was happy toreturn to Wisconsin to be closer to myfamily and to enjoy all of the outdooractivities Wisconsin has to offer. I lookforward to real winters with thepossibility for snow. I enjoy outdooractivities such as canoeing, fishing, andcross-country skiing. Virginia’s mildwinters made training for the Birkebeinerdifficult. Keep your fingers crossed forsnow.

Mark Rickenbach is ForestEcology and Management’snew extension forester

On April 24, 2000,a group of tirelessfriends spent a coolCorvallis morningloading a truck withall our possessions.It was a sad good-bye, but Madisonawaited. I wasleaving to start anew job the next

week as an Assistant Professor ofExtension Forestry at the University ofWisconsin-Madison. I kissed my wife,Zoë, good-bye and hit the road in our1991 Ford Escort. My wife was taking a

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more leisurely ride to Madison by way ofNevada. I, however, rushed across theWest to meet a moving truck at our newhome. The weekend before I was to start,a new, but smaller, group of old friendsand new acquaintances unloaded the truckand my life in Madison began. Madison is my first stay in theMidwest. I grew up just outside ofReading, Pennsylvania. I finished highschool unsure of my direction, so Idecided to "see the world" by enlisting inthe US Air Force. In four short years, Itraveled to Texas; Monterey, California;and was overseas for 2 1/2 years in theUnited Kingdom. I left the military tocontinue my education and try somethingnew. In fall 1990, I started as a student atthe Pennsylvania State University. Afterquickly changing from mathematics toforest science, I got my first taste ofextension work. As an undergraduate, Iwas hired by Jim Finley and Steve Jonesto stuff binders for a series of workshopsacross the state. Luckily, they had theresources and opportunities for me toparticipate in the full slate of extensionactivities. I also met my wife to be. 1994was an important year. In May, Igraduated from Penn State. In June, Zoëand I were married. I also foundsomething I enjoyed doing and wantedto make a career of it: extension forestry. The following fall I began as aMaster's student at the University ofMassachusetts-Amherst. I also was theinterim Extension Forester, while myadvisor, Dave Kittredge, was onsabbatical. Along with taking courses andplanning a thesis project, I managed thestate's forestry extension program. It wasa learning experience on all fronts. Daveand I studied landowner attitudes towardecosystem management and thoughtabout ways we might capture the conceptfor use in extension programming. InSpring 1996, I defended my thesis. Inseeking a doctoral program, Dave advisedme to go West.

That is how we ended up in Corvalliswhere I spent 3 1/2 years working on mydoctorate under Scott Reed at OregonState University. Along with greatlyenjoying the Pacific Northwest, I studiedthe participation of woodland owners inlocal, collaborative forums charged withrestoring imperiled salmon runs. Throughinterviews with owners and others, I wasable to hear how owners see the salmonissue and understand its implications forpolicy. I also continued my involvementin extension programming and becameinterested in forest sustainability. Since May, I've been getting to knowthe people and landscapes of Wisconsinand learning how my skills and interestswill fit here. As with my experienceselsewhere, society is showing greaterinterest in the management ofWisconsin's private land. I see myextension and applied research occupyingthree broad areas within this trend. First,I want to foster thoughtful decision-making about natural resources both byindividuals and groups. Second, I hope toaid landowners in considering the spatialand temporal aspect of managing land.Third, I want to understand how and whyindividuals and families manage privateforestlands. Together, I see these threeareas as providing a productive knowledgebase that will help owners, the state, andothers better understand and manageWisconsin's forests.

ResearchB r i e f s

Private forest landownerstudy funded

Two Forest Ecology and Managementfaculty (Ray Guries and MarkRickenbach), in collaboration with Dr.Daniel Schmoldt, USDA-Forest Service,have recently received funding to studyopportunities and barriers to private forestlandowner participation in “sustainableforestry cooperatives” in Wisconsin.Guries, Rickenbach and Schmoldt want todevelop recommendations for theWisconsin DNR regarding sociallymotivated forest stewardship activities.This project is part of a largerUSDA-Forest Service effort coordinatedby the Wood Education and ResourceCenter in Princeton, WV. Most cooperatives involvegeographically clustered ownerships thatmay provide opportunities forcoordinating landscape scale “ecosystemmanagement” activities. Cooperatives areof particular interest because of theirpotential to facilitate landscape scalemanagement opportunities. However,little is known regarding incentives oractions that might facilitate multiple-owner stewardship activities in acoordinated fashion. Understanding privatelandowner motivations and willingness toundertake various forest managementactivities will help with the developmentof education and extension programs tofacilitate landscape scale managementpractices for forests and wildlife. This study is being conducted inpartnership with CooperativeDevelopment Services, a Wisconsin-basedNGO providing organization skills andbusiness assistance to small cooperativesin agriculture and natural resourcemanagement.

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Remote sensing useful toolfor natural resourcemanagement

Two projects at the EnvironmentalRemote Sensing Center (ERSC – seehttp://www.ersc.wisc.edu/), both led byProf. Tom Lillesand of the department,are examining new ways that resourcemanagers in the public and private sectorscan use remote sensing for forestmanagement and natural resourceanalysis. The Affiliated Research Center(ARC) project, started in 1996 andrecently renewed until 2005, focuses onshort-fused prototype research projects toencourage the commercialization ofremote sensing and other geospatialinformation technologies. The RegionalEarth Science Applications Center(RESAC) project seeks to bring the nextgeneration of satellite data and techniquesto private and public sector end users. With ARC commercial partnerGeorge Banzhaf and Company(Milwaukee, WI), ERSC researchersexamined the use of space shuttle radarimagery for forest volume estimation.The results suggest that for some foresttypes (e.g., red pine and aspen), the radardata could be used to model volume-related structural characteristics. AnARC project with Allison Tree CareCompany (Madison, WI) considered adifferent application at a different scale –how high resolution remote sensing,image processing, and GIS could help inthe planning and evaluation of urban treeresources. The conclusion here was thatfuture high resolution satellite sensorswere still insufficient for individual treediscrimination, but there may be otherrelated technologies (e.g., digitalphotogrammetry or collection ofsmall-format imagery from aerialplatforms) that may be more appropriate. Within RESAC, Ph.D. candidateJonathan Chipman is investigating radarinterferometry to unravel therelationships among topography, forestecosystem characteristics, andlong-wavelength radar response fromforests. With colleagues from the

University of Minnesota and MichiganState University, future research willexamine “K nearest neighbor” techniquesfor using satellite imagery to extrapolateplot-level forest inventory data to largerareas where no inventory data areavailable, and will also look at naturalresource dynamics within landtransformation models. Working with commercial firms,interested public sector researchers, andcolleagues around the Midwest hasenabled ERSC to better examine a broadrange of applications for researchprojects. As Lillesand puts it, “We areattempting to translate years of long-leadresearch into day-to-day practice. Thisisn’t always easy, but the human,hardware, and software infrastructure isfinally in place to transform the potentialof geospatial technologies into reality.”

RecentPubl icat ions

Non-timber value of forestquantified

In a recent article in the Journal of ForestEconomics, Joseph Buongiorno, withgraduate student Riccardo Scarpa andcollaborators, proposed a method tomeasure the amenity value of forests. They suggest that the value of non-timber goods and services obtained byforest owners, private or public, shouldbe at least equal to the difference between

the profit that owners could have made bycutting to maximize timber revenues, andwhat they actually cut. This definitionwas applied to estimate the non-timbervalue (NTV) of forest stands in theWisconsin maple-birch forest type. Theyfound that the NTV was highest fornational forests: about $50 ha-1 yr-1, tentimes the timber revenues. The estimatedNTV was similar for all non-nationalforests, at about $20 to $24 ha-1 yr-1. For non-national public forests, NTVswere four times larger than timberrevenues. They were almost twice aslarge as timber revenues for private non-industrial forests. Even for industryforests, NTVs were slightly higher thantimber revenues. Their analysis showedthat similar stands had significantlyhigher NTVs on national forests, andsimilar NTVs for other owners. TheNTV of individual trees of various speciesand size was also different for nationalforests. At constant prices, from 1966 to1984, the non-timber value of maple-birch forests in Wisconsin increased by30% for national forests and 55% forother forests. [Journal of ForestEconomics 6(2):83-107]

Forest CertificationPublication available

Green Tag? FSC? Tree Farm? ISO? SFI?Does forest certification confuse you? Ifso, you might want to read AnIntroduction to Forest Certification.Mark Rickenbach, Assistant Professor ofForestry Extension, along with twocolleagues at Oregon State University andthe Sustainable Forestry Partnership,have recently completed an 8-pagepublication that outlines the basics offorest certification and compares severalsystems. If you'd like to improve yourcertification IQ, this is a place to start.The publication is available on-line at<http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/EC1518.pdf> or contact theDepartment for ordering instructions.

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Forest Ecology andManagement “Rec” programfeatured in CALS Quarterly

The Summer 2000 issue of the CALSQuarterly includes a feature article on“Leadership in Outdoor Recreation,” acourse taught by Chris Lupton, instructorin Forest Ecology and Management. Thecomplete article can be found on theCALS web site at: <http://www.cals.wisc.edu/media/news/09_00/rec_res.html>. The course isdesigned for students majoring inRecreation Resources Management(RRM), a major administered by ForestEcology and Management. However,students from outside of the major arelining up to take the course which focuses on training students to be leadersin the use and management of naturalresources for recreation. Weekend fieldtrips to nearby recreation areas givestudents a first-hand view of thechallenges and practicalities of a career inRRM. Included in the courserequirements is a turn at leading fellow

Nick Wilkes, takes a turn at rockclimbing during a class field trip toDevils Lake State Park. Photo byWolfgang Hoffmann.

classmates both in the classroom and onfield trips. For more information aboutthe class or the RRM major contactChris Lupton, tel. - (608) 265-2229, E-mail - [email protected]. Oryou can log on to the RRM web site at<http://forest.wisc.edu/rrm/>.

Forest habitat typeclassification publicationsnow available

Analysis of the 1996 Wisconsin ForestStatistics by Habitat Type (USFS NorthCentral Research Station GeneralTechnical Report NC-207) is nowavailable. The authors are John Kotar(Forest Ecology and Management),Joseph Kovach (Wis. DNR) and GaryBrand (USFS). The publication is anapplication of the forest habitat typeclassification system, useful in managingforests in Wisconsin and adjacent states.The work examines the Forest Inventoryand Analysis (FIA) data and shows therelative abundance and volumes of foresttypes and major tree species across 80habitat types organized into six northernand six southern habitat type groups. Toorder a copy, contact: Publications,USFS Forest Products Laboratory, OneGifford Pinchot Dr., Madison WI 53706.Tel. (608) 231-9200. A major revision and expansion ofthe Field Guide to Forest Habitat Typesof Northern Wisconsin is in progress.With over 1,000 copies sold, the firstedition (1988) is now out of print. Theupdated edition should be available bySpring 2001. A publication covering thecentral and southern portions of the stateis currently available. Copies of thispublication titled, Field Guide to ForestCommunities and Habitat Types ofCentral and Southern Wisconsin, can beordered through the Department of ForestEcology and Management (Tel. 608-262-9975). Also available is a Field Guide forNorth Central Minnesota by John Kotarand Timothy Burger. To order a copy call

608-273-0649 or e-mail John Kotar at<[email protected]>. Work is inprogress on a publication for Michigan.A Field Guide for Northern LowerPeninsula will be available in theSummer of 2001 and for the UpperPeninsula in 2002.

Two articles focus on censusdata and satellite imagery asecosystem management tools

“Exploring the Spatial RelationshipBetween Census and Land-Cover Data,”by Volker Radeloff, Alice Hagen, PaulVoss, Donald Field and David Mladenoff,was published in the September issue ofSociety and Natural Resources (Vol. 13,No. 6, pages 599-609). Radeloff, Fieldand Mladenoff are all faculty in theDepartment of Forest Ecology andManagement. Hagen and Voss are in theDepartment of Rural Sociology at UW-Madison. The article describes a study inwhich U.S. Census data on housingdensity is integrated with satellite land-cover classification data in the PineBarrens region of northwest Wisconsin. Combining these two data sets could havemany applications for facilitating broad-scale ecosystem management. A second article, again combiningcensus data and satellite imagery, isforthcoming in Forest Science. Thearticle is titled “Human DemographicTrends and Landscape Level ForestManagement in the Northwest WisconsinPine Barrens.” Article authors are VolkerRadeloff, Roger Hammer (RuralSociology), Paul Voss, Alice Hagen, Donald Field and David Mladenoff. Thearticle is expected to be published laterthis year.

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