The department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship represented the forestry profession well at the annual Society of American Foresters (SAF) National Convention in Portland, Oregon last week.
Undergraduate Students
Nearly 30 undergraduate students from Colorado State University’s Alpha SAF student chapter attended the event that brings forestry students, professionals, scientists and alumni together to share the latest ideas on forest management and research. It was President Erik Frey’s second convention and he was integral in recruiting new students for their first.
“Last year’s convention was a turning point for me,” said Frey. “Everyone was motivated to help me get to the next step, which helped me find my professional path in this field. I wanted to spread the good news of forestry to my peers.”
His efforts began while completing the CSU Mountain Campus course this past summer and looking ahead to the school year as president-elect. Students became interested in the SAF organization after learning about Frey’s experience, and he continued preparing students during the chapter’s first meetings of the semester.
The students absorbed the conference experience and even shared their own knowledge while helping staff the joint FRS, Warner College of Natural Resources and Colorado State Forest Service exhibit booth. They participated in a field tour of timber operations near Corvallis, practiced the job interview process, and connected with CSU forestry alumni. It was Paige Gentry’s first convention, and the experience left an impression on the junior.
“I had no idea that I would get so much more out of it,” Gentry said. “From the moment we arrived in Portland to the moment we left for the airport to come home, there was always something to do, someone to meet/network with, new research to learn about, and workshops to attend.”
Marley Smith received a SAF Student Diversity Scholarship and participated in a series of activities that focused on leadership development. Smith interacted with other scholarship recipients and began a mentorship with a natural resource professional that will continue throughout the year.
Graduate Students
While undergraduate students focused on networking with potential employers and CSU alumni, several graduate students used this time to share their own forestry research. Ph.D. students Thomas Timberlake and Brad Lalande gave verbal presentations, and master’s students Ed Hill and Alex Weissman gave poster presentations about their research projects. Hill is analyzing silvicultural treatments and their effects on tree regeneration in southern Colorado over the past 30 years.
“It was rewarding to share results from research I have been working on for some time with a broader community of concerned scientists and professionals,” Hill said. “I even had a chance to discuss my findings with a few people who worked in the area between 1988 and 2010 when my project data originated.”
At such a large event, Weissman was also excited to find connections in his discipline. He is developing a statistical model to refine crown recession modeling for the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Vegetation Simulator.
“Most of the people who asked questions were engaged in research similar to mine,” Weissman said. “My work was put into the greater context of current forestry research, and I felt like part of the community.”
Research Associates
Research Associates from the department also expounded on the current work they are doing with their professional partners across disciplines, universities and organizations. Zach Wurtzebach and Courtney Peterson represented their research teams. Peterson presented research on promoting adaptive forest management through collaborative science-management partnerships.
“After my presentation, I received feedback on how exciting it was to see efforts that engage both university faculty and staff, and forest managers,” Peterson said. “Only a small amount of research addresses this need so far, so it’s great to be part of new efforts.”
Faculty
Faculty members Courtney Schultz, Wade Tinkham and Kurt Mackes presented on their own new projects as well. Schultz’s research focus is on forest policy which also represented the greater theme of the convention. She presented on the policy barriers and opportunities to applying more prescribed fire on public lands. She stressed that as the complexity around this issue increases, strategic planning through state and local partnerships will become ever more imperative.
“I’ve been looking at how policy is affecting land management processes and where there may be opportunities to make improvements,” said Schultz.“Policy is a bit like a chess game—you have to think about the many steps to make policy change happen and then all the potential ripple effects that might result.”
New opportunities may lie at the local level where it’s more apparent that people and organizations need to work across geographic boundaries and sectors to affect change. Working from the ground-up with the necessary top-down support also reflects the overall experience all our CSU representatives, from students to retirees, had at convention this year.
Our CSU alumni, partners, staff and students really hit it off!
