ISSUE 78: WEEK OF March 23, 2020
Recent News
Regional News

  • Forestry Webinars & Other Online Resources from Region Compiled For Online Teaching
  • Quick Cruise Technique Profiled in New Extension Publication from UT
  • UF to host “Focusing on the Future of Ecosystems Services” Conference



National News

  • FORISK Charts Coronavirus Case Study in Four Blog Posts
  • Call For Abstracts- IUFRO Extension & Knowledge Exchange 2020 Conference
  • National Association of State Foresters Celebrates 100 Years with Events throughout the Nation 
  • USFS Biochar Webinar Series Launched in March
  • Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) New Urban Site Competition
  • Maryland's Backyard Buffer Program Offers Free Trees to Improve Water Quality
  • Complete Forest Health Survey of Outreach and Extension Personnel & Forest Landowners


Funding Opportunities

  • USFS now accepting applications for 2020 Challenge Cost Share Grant Program 
  • NC Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry Grant Applications Available
  • USFS National Forest Resiliency Innovation 2020 Challenge Cost Share Grant Program

Job Opportunities

  • UF Extension & Teaching Forest Economist
  • Tennessee Division of Forestry District Forester
  • Clemson University Forestry Biometrics Assistant Professor 
  • MSU Professor of Forest Business
  • AU Assistant Professor and Wildlife Extension Specialist


Regional News
Forestry Webinars & Other Online Resources from Region Compiled For Online Teaching
Due to Covid-19, all universities have to convert their forestry courses to online instruction in a brief time. Resources have been assembled on this google document for quick access and crowd-sourcing. There are hundreds of archived webinars on the Forestry Webinar Portal that could be used in lieu of a lecture for many forestry courses, access them here. In addition, this google spreadsheet includes resources from North Carolina State University Forestry Extension and University of Arkansas Extension, as well as others. Add your resources to this document here or share with colleagues. Or email Leslie Boby, lboby@sref.info to share other resources.

Quick Cruise Technique Profiled in New Extension Publication from UT
A new publication from University of Tennessee Forestry Extension specialist Dr. David Mercker and Assistant Professor Dr. Sheng-I Yang provides details on ways to conduct a quick timber cruise. Timber inventories are key to assessing value of a stand, tax assessments, management strategies, and more. However, inventories can be time-consuming. This publication details a method for conducting a quick cruise that can provide a decent estimate. Read the publication for more details.


UF to host “Focusing on the Future of Ecosystems Services” Conference
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is hosting “Focusing on the Future of Ecosystem Services” conference, December 14-17, 2020 in Bonita Springs, Florida. A Community on Ecosystem Services (ACES) represents a dynamic and growing international assembly of professionals, researchers, and policy-makers involved with ecosystem services. The focus of the conference is to link state-of-the-art science, practice, and decision making by bringing together the ecosystem services community and decision makers from around the United States and the globe. This ACES Conference aims to bring together this community in partnership with Ecosystem Markets and the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP), providing an open forum to share experiences, methods, and tools for assessing and incorporating ecosystem services into public and private decisions. ACES will engage leaders in government, NGOs, academia, Native American tribes, and the private sector to advance the use of ecosystem services science and practice in resource management and other societal decisions. The deadline to register as a organizer, presenter, or moderator is August 10, 2020, with the regular fee deadline on October 30, 2020. To find out more, please visit  here


National News
FORISK Charts Coronavirus Case Study in Four Blog Posts
Dr. Brooks Mendell of FORISK Consulting wrote four blog posts outlining risks, frameworks and projections related to forestry markets and the Covid-19 virus. Each post discusses how to understand the risks to forest markets from economic changes due to the virus, and what the path forward may be. Read them here.

Call For Abstracts- IUFRO Extension & Knowledge Exchange 2020 Conference
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Extension and Knowledge Exchange Conference will be held September 20-24, 2020 in Asheville, NC. Submit your abstract by June 1, for a 20 minute oral presentation or a 3-4 minute lightning round presentation. Find out more about the conference and submit your abstract here.

National Association of State Foresters Celebrates 100 Years with Events throughout the Nation 
The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2020 with a Centennial Challenge campaign honoring the work of NASF has done in providing a unified voice for state and private forestry in the U.S., as well as the tremendous social, environmental, and economic contributions of state forestry agencies nationwide. State and territorial forestry agencies that are participating in the Centennial Challenge by planning, completing, and documenting unique 100-themed forestry events/programs/initiatives (“challenges”), to be held regularly throughout the year-long campaign, will be spotlighted by NASF. These Centennial Challenges may vary dramatically in scale and scope from state to state. To keep interested audiences up to date on the Centennial Challenge celebrations, NASF will be using social media with the hashtags #CentennialChallenge and #NASF100, and NASF can be found on social media at @stateforesters on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 
The complete map of events taking place in each state can be found  here

USFS Biochar Webinar Series Launched in March
The USDA Forest Service launched a monthly webinar series last week beginning with: "What is it?," and will continue with its next webinar on April 14th, access it here. Researchers from multiple branches of the USFS and the Biochar Initiative will present. Access the webinars on the Webinar Portal- forestry webinars.net. Archived webinars will be stored there, in addition to upcoming and live ones. The series will cover all aspects of biochar from production technologies, to uses, economics, feasibility assessments, industry opportunities and more.
Maryland's Backyard Buffer Program Offers Free Trees To Improve Water Quality
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is offering free tree seedlings to help improve water quality in targeted Eastern Shore communities, as trees planted along waterways help improve water quality by absorbing excess nutrients, reducing sediment, lowering water temperatures and stabilizing stream banks. Landowners in nearby counties who have a creek, drainage ditch, stream or other waterway on or near their property are eligible for free tree seedlings through the department’s Backyard Buffer program. Homeowners receive a “buffer in a bag” containing bare-root, native tree or shrub seedlings suited for planting in moist soil conditions, and they can each choose from a small bag of 10 with two of each species and a large bag of 25 with five of each species. As part of this program, they also hold a workshop. Landowners have the opportunity to learn about the Backyard Buffer program and its benefits, tree spacing, species selection, tree planting, deer protection, maintenance, cost-share opportunities, where to purchase bare-root tree seedlings and more. To find out more about this program, please visit  here.

Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) New Urban Site Competition
The National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Long-Term Ecological Research Program (LTER) currently has two open calls for proposals for its New Urban Site Competition: a renewal solicitation, which governs the submission of renewal proposals for active LTER site awards, and a solicitation for a New Urban LTER site. Established by NSF in 1980, the LTER program addresses ecological questions that cannot be resolved with short-term observations or experiments. Ongoing research at LTER sites contributes to the development and testing of fundamental ecological theories and significantly advances understanding of the long-term dynamics of populations, communities and ecosystems. Two components differentiate LTER research from projects supported by other NSF programs: the research is located at specific sites chosen to represent major ecosystem types or natural biomes, and it emphasizes the study of ecological phenomena over long periods of time based on data collected in five core areas. The LTER program has long recognized the importance of humans in ecological systems and is especially interested in how human activities in urban settings interact with natural processes to determine ecological outcomes. The full proposal deadline is June 15, 2020. To find out more about this, the program guidelines, and contact information, please visit  here

Complete Forest Health Survey of Outreach and Extension Personnel & Forest Landowners
The University of Illinois’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Services, with sponsorship from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Renewable Resource Extension Act), is currently conducting a research study regarding forest health. The team of forestry extension faculty is asking for feedback to help them understand how to best provide forest health and invasive species information to forest landowners and managers.  Landowners/land managers, extension personnel, and foresters will be surveyed about how they obtain and disseminate forest health information, and these data will then be analyzed to determine trends and preferences. The questionnaire takes about 5 minutes and all answers will be kept completely confidential. Find the complete survey  here . For more information, please contact the principal investigator of the project, Christopher Evans, at 618-695-3383 or  cwevans@illinois.edu .
Funding Opportunities
USFS now accepting applications for 2020 Challenge Cost Share Grant Program 
The USDA’s Forest Service is currently accepting applications for its National Forest Resiliency Innovation Challenge Cost Share Grant Program. Through this program, the Urban and Community Forestry (U&CF) Program may provide approximately $900,000 in grant funds to support national urban and community forestry projects on non-federal public land that have a national or multi-state impact and application. The USDA Forest Service the Forest Service seeks to establish sustainable urban and community forests by encouraging communities of all sizes to manage and protect their natural resources in order to improve the public's health, well-being, and economic vitality, as well as create resilient ecosystems for present and future generations. All grant funds must be matched at least equally (dollar for dollar) with non-Federal source funds, which may include in-kind donations, volunteer assistance, and private and public (non-federal) monetary contributions. The deadline for applications is March 30th, 2020, at 11:55 PM. US non-federal organizations and Tribal agencies operating within the United States or its territories are especially encouraged to apply for the Challenge Cost-Share grant. To learn more about this program and view eligibility details, please visit  here .  


NC Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry Grant Applications Available
The NC Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry program is accepting applications for its annual program that provides grant funding for projects enhancing the benefits and sustainable management of urban forests in North Carolina communities. Projects should encourage citizen involvement in creating and sustaining urban and community forestry programs and should be completed within an 11-month project schedule beginning September 2020 and ending July 31, 2021. Projects considered include tree inventories and canopy cover assessments, management plan development, ordinance development, professional staff and development, and education and training. The grants are open to local and state government entities, public educational institutions and nonprofit 501(c)(3) and other tax-exempt organizations. Applicants can request anywhere from $2,500 to $15,000 in grant funding, and the grants will provide 50% of project costs and require matching funds or in-kind efforts. The deadline for application submissions is April 30, 2020, 5:00 p.m. EST. To learn more about this program, please visit  here.

USFS National Forest Resiliency Innovation 2020 Challenge Cost Share Grant Program
The National Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program is accepting proposals until March 30, 2020 for proposals that support urban and community forestry projects with national or multi-state application and impact on nonfederal lands. Read more about the requirements for the grant here. Eligible applicants include U.S. Non-federal and Tribal Organization that operates within the United States or territories. Collaboration with federal agencies is encouraged
Job Opportunities
UF Extension & Teaching Forest Economist
The University of Florida School of Forest Resources is hiring a non-tenure track Extension Forest Economist for a position that is 60% Extension and 40% teaching. Qualifications for the position include a masters degree and 10 years of experience or a doctorate. Other qualifications include excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal relationships. To find out more, click here. Applications will be reviewed starting May 15.

Tennessee Division of Forestry District Forester
The Tennessee Division of Forestry is currently accepting applications for a District Forester position in Henderson County, Tennessee. The position would be responsible for all operations within their district, including overseeing all personnel actions, managing district budgets, ensuring effective program implementation, managing district assets, providing strategic direction to state forest operations, and maintaining working relationships with local partnering agencies and organizations. Minimum requirements include a bachelor's degree in forestry and experience equivalent to four years of professional forestry work, one year of which must involve supervisory or program management experience. The closing date for applications is March 31, 2020. The link can be found  here . For more information about this position, please visit  here  or  here  or contact David Arnold (State Forester/Assistant Commissioner) at  david.arnold@tn.gov .

Clemson University Forestry Biometrics Assistant Professor 
The Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation (FEC), at Clemson University is seeking to fill a tenure-track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level with a specialization in Forest Biometrics. The position is a 12-month appointment with responsibilities in teaching (75%) and extension (25%). The anticipated starting date is August 15, 2020, in Clemson, South Carolina. The successful candidate is expected to develop a collaborative extension program in the field of forest measurements, commensurate with the appointment, especially as it applies to forest management, growth and yield, forest inventory, and big data in forestry and natural resources. To ensure full consideration, applications should be submitted  here  by April 15, 2020. The position will remain open until filled. To learn more about this position, visit  here
MSU Professor of Forest Business
Mississippi State University’s College of Forest Resources and Forest and Wildlife Research Center is seeking to hire a candidate for a full-time position as a professor of forest business within their Department of Forestry. Minimum qualifications include a Ph.D (or all but dissertation-ABD) with a specialization in forest business, timberland investment, timber procurement, forest operations, forest real estate management, forest taxation, and/or closely related fields. This position will include participation in the department’s teaching, research, and service activities and teaching of both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses (both on-campus and Distance Education programs) in forest business. The successful candidate will be expected to conduct an extramurally funded research program in the specialized field of forest business, and candidates with experience in working across diverse forest stakeholder types and understanding their forest asset management needs and constraints will be strongly considered. To find out more about this position or to apply, please visit here. Job posted on Feb. 26, 2020. 

AU Assistant Professor and Wildlife Extension Specialist
Auburn University (AU) is hiring a Ph.D. Wildlife Sciences specialist for a position at  Auburn University’s main campus in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. The position is a full-time, 12-month tenure track Extension Specialist position. The candidate will be expected to develop an extension and outreach program (70%) to educate landowners, natural resource professionals, and other stakeholders in topic areas of applied wildlife and wildlife damage management and habitat restoration and population management. The balance of the appointment (30%) may either be research or teaching based upon the applicant’s interest, with teaching appointment entails teaching 2 courses per year whereas a  research appointment requires an active extramurally funding research program mentoring on average 2-3 graduate students. Deadline for application is April 1, 2020.
The link to this job’s information and application can be found  here.
Upcoming Events:

POSTPONED OR CANCELLED

May 3-6, 2020 | Bend, OR
The Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals bi-annual conference will be held in Bend, OR and hosted by Oregon State University Extension team. The conference will include field trips, interactive sessions, presentations and more.

June 4, 2020 | Jasper, GA  |  September 30, 2020 | Tifton, GA 
Georgia Prescribed Fire Council
The Georgia Prescribed Fire Council will host its annual meetings in Jasper and Tifton, GA, respectively.  The North Georgia Meeting will be held in Jasper, Georgia on Thursday, June 4, 2020. Their annual state-wdie meeting will be held in Tifton, Georgia, on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. These meetings provide an excellent networking opportunity for Georgia Prescribed Fire Burners. For more information contact Frank M. Riley at  frank.ccrcd@gmail.com .

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Southern Regional Extension Forestry | www.sref.info | lboby@sref.info