September 30, 2020
This year, the entire month of October is to celebrate Walk in Penn's Woods. Wear your blaze orange and get outside to experience all the the woods has to offer you.
August 27, 2020
Much research has sought to predict masting years when big acorn crops occur and shed light on what leads to poor years or early acorn abortion (or abscission) like you may have seen this season.
August 18, 2020
With recent efforts to combat the threat of invasive plants in woodlands, Penn State Extension has released new resources to help with identification and control. A total of 14 invasive plant fact sheets are now up on the Penn State Extension web site. Art Gover, Penn State Wildland Weed Management Specialist, David Jackson, and Sarah Wurzbacher both Penn State Forest Resources Educators, and Sky Templeton, graduate of the Penn State Forest Biology program prepared the fact sheet.
August 18, 2020
This summer the bureau celebrates a true milestone, our 125-year anniversary! Known as a ‘’quasquicentennial”, 125 years is a long existence for any organization.
August 17, 2020
Registration is now open for the Fall session of "The Woods in Your Backyard" online course. Our self-paced, non-credit course runs 10 weeks from August 31st to November 9th, 2020. The course will help landowners convert lawn to natural areas and enhance stewardship of existing natural areas.
July 31, 2020
Many areas across the northeastern US are experiencing dry and drought conditions, Pennsylvania included. The soil is dry, and plants (and trees) are starting to suffer.
July 13, 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) expanded the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) quarantine from 14 to 26 counties in March 2020. The 12 new counties are not completely infested, but rather have a few municipalities with a known infestation which led to a quarantine being placed on the entire county. Current quarantined counties are: Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, and York.
July 13, 2020
When beech leaf disease (BLD) was first detected and described in a Cleveland park in 2012, it left a lot of experts who quickly partnered to begin researching the disease from federal and state agencies, private labs, and universities all scratching their heads.
July 13, 2020
At the 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show, the Hardwoods Development Council (HDC) hosted the Pennsylvania Hardwoods exhibit. The exhibit’s theme was Imagine the Opportunities of a Smaller Carbon Footprint. The exhibit was made possible by a collaboration between the HDC and the three Pennsylvania Hardwood Utilization Groups: Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group, Keystone Wood Products Association, and the Northern Tier Hardwood Association.
July 13, 2020
The PA Tree Farm Committee announces a new opportunity for PA forestland owners. The American Forest Foundation (AFF) in partnership with The Nature Conservancy has launched a pilot carbon sequestration incentive program in selected areas of Pennsylvania. It is called the Family Forest Carbon Program. A map of the eligible forestland is shown below. The partnership has plans to extend the area to include all of PA private forestlands by year's end.
July 13, 2020
As spring transitions to summer, the forests are bursting with renewed growth. We are enjoying hearing and seeing the variety of birds.
July 13, 2020
A single home containing 2,000 square feet of external impervious surface can produce 1,246 gallons of stormwater runoff in a typical rainstorm. When we see this downpour racing off house roofs, overflowing from roof gutters, and rapidly traversing driveways, lawns, and walkways, have we ever considered where it goes and what damage it might be doing along the way?
July 10, 2020
The Penn State Extension Forestry and Wildlife Team is thrilled to welcome two new members to its ranks. Katie Schmidt and Calvin Norman join three other fellow county based educators and eight university-based experts who do statewide extension work in forestry and wildlife sciences in Pennsylvania. Katie and Calvin bring fresh perspectives and new expertise, and their addition greatly enhances the capacity of this team to serve you, our stakeholders. We hope you share your stories with them, put their skills to work for you, and welcome them into your woods.
July 10, 2020
Forest landowners and aspiring landowners from across the mid-Atlantic region are invited to attend the Women and Their Woods 2020 Virtual Educational Retreat to learn more about managing their forestland and connecting with other forest landowners.
June 29, 2020
If you have never enjoyed a day afield collecting berries, this is the year you should try it. Nothing like socially distancing in a berry patch.
May 28, 2020
“If the land mechanism as a whole is good then every part is good, whether we understand it or not…To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” Aldo Leopold, Round River.
April 8, 2020
The Penn State Extension Renewable Natural Resources team would like to announce two upcoming webinars about the Paycheck Protection Program which is a federal stimulus benefit available for small businesses affected by the novel Coronavirus.
April 6, 2020
An early spring brings warmth, daffodils and outside play. It also signals — to the chagrin of many property owners across Pennsylvania and beyond — the next generation of spotted lanternflies.
April 6, 2020
Many factors affect our ability to successfully regenerate and sustain forests. Competing vegetation, high deer impact, and light reaching the forest floor, referred to as C-D-L.
April 6, 2020
The PA Tree Farm Committee announces a new opportunity for Pennsylvania forest landowners. The American Forest Foundation (AFF), in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, has launched a pilot carbon sequestration incentive program in selected areas of Pennsylvania in spring 2020.
April 6, 2020
As you read this, you know that the COVID-19 epidemic has thrown a “monkey wrench” into Earth Day plans as well as the everyday activities of 330 million Americans.
April 6, 2020
Project Learning Tree (PLT), an award-winning environmental education initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), has developed new supplementary educational materials to help young people discover careers in sustainable forestry and conservation.
April 6, 2020
Brushpiles is the opinion page of Forest Leaves. It’s a place for you to write in and share your reactions and thoughts. The following piece was excerpted from an article in the PA Forest Stewards newsletter by Mike and Laura Jackson, PA Forest Stewards, in response to questions received about glyphosate after the article by Jonathan Kays appeared in the Winter 2020 issue.
April 6, 2020
So, you want to become a certified pesticide applicator to control forest pests like invasive insects and plants but don’t know where to start.
March 25, 2020
Seeking Woodland Solace in the Face of Uncertainty
February 24, 2020
Is this winter’s weather a harbinger of a future driven by climate change? If so, how will Pennsylvania’s forests respond?
January 14, 2020
“How do we grow more good jobs while conserving and improving our forests?” PA Governor Tom Wolfe asked the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR) in fall of 2015.
January 14, 2020
America’s history through the lens of landscape is easy to read in Pennsylvania. Just wander the 110 acres owned by Monte Kapec near Jamison City and you’ll see how the nation’s priorities shifted in the last century.
January 14, 2020
In theory, winter is the downtime for forest landowners and can be a good time to update and evaluate your forest management plan. If your plan is older than five years, it is time to update it to meet the American Tree Farm Standards.
January 14, 2020
As the Pennsylvania Forestry Association (PFA), the oldest state forest conservation organization in the US, continues, I am honored and humbled to take on the role of President of the organization.
James C. Finley Center for Private Forests
Address
416 Forest Resources BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802
- Email PrivateForests@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-0401
- Fax 814-865-6275
James C. Finley Center for Private Forests
Address
416 Forest Resources BuildingUniversity Park, PA 16802
- Email PrivateForests@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-0401
- Fax 814-865-6275
