Penn States hosts forestry conference

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State’s School of Forest Resources will hold a conference, Pennsylvania’s Forest Resources: Assessing Their Condition, April 26-27 at the Nittany Lion Inn on its University Park campus.
Inventory data. The session will explore the state of the commonwealth’s forests based on the recently completed field inventory by the U.S. Forest Service, according to Jim Finley, conference co-chairman.
“The U.S. Forest Service started collecting and reporting periodic data on the condition of Pennsylvania forests in the 1950s,” he said.
“It has been nearly 15 years since our last snapshot, and it is time to review timber and data trends regarding forest overstory, understory, regeneration and health.
“The conference will focus on what forest resource managers, landowners and the forest products industry need to know to sustainably manage Pennsylvania forest resources.”
Other events. Jim Grace, director of the Bureau of Forestry for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, will give the closing address to the conference titled, Creating a Community Around Forests.
All attendees are invited to Tuesday night’s alumni banquet to hear a presentation by Peter Duncan, retired executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Conference topics. Presentation topics will include overstory, forest health, shifting tree species, harvesting, regeneration, public and private land, future forest inventory and a case study of risk mapping for forest pests.
There also will be presentations and discussions on forest wildlife, including white-tailed deer, biodiversity, climate change and private land management.
Cost details. Registration is $195 if received before April 12; $210 after. The fee includes tuition, handouts, beverage breaks and Tuesday’s lunch.
Tickets for the alumni banquet are an additional $35.
Walk-in registrations will be accepted as space allows.
The conference has been approved by the American Foresters Association for 8.5 CFE credits.
For more information contact Finley at 814-863-0401 or by e-mail at jfinley@psu.edu.
To register, call 814-865-8301, e-mail shortcourse@psu.edu or visit http://conferences.cas.psu.edu.