Discover Your Woodland Path

May 21, 2021

You may have heard or read that walking was the preferred exercise during the pandemic. Folks put on their walking shoes and took to the streets, parks, and trails for diverse reasons – fresh air, social distancing, scenery changes, and, of course, exercise.

A Spring Walk in Penn’s Woods: Preparing to Get Back Out into Nature!

April 23, 2021

After a challenging year that seemed more like four seasons of winter, spring is finally – yes, finally – in the air, and Pennsylvania’s forests are shaking off nature’s cold silence and bursting with life. It’s this fast-changing, born anew side of nature that makes spring a fascinating time to explore in the woods. And it’s the perfect time to gather your family, those in your “social pod,” or your camera and binoculars and take to the woods.

Timber Show Will Go On As Scheduled

April 22, 2021

Forest-products business professionals, students and workers interested in forest-related careers, and vendors of equipment and supplies will gather for commerce, education and networking at the 2021 Forest Products Equipment and Technology Exposition, Friday, June 4, and Saturday, June 5, at Penn State's Ag Progress Days site at Rock Springs.

TreeVitalize Partners Conference

April 20, 2021

Environmental injustice, or the unequal distribution of environmental resources and accessibility along race and class-based lines, is a historical and a contemporary issue.

Spring 2021 Pennsylvania Forest Health Update

April 9, 2021

Excerpts from the PA DCNR Division of Forest Health's report based on its annual monitoring program for insects, pathogens, weather stress, and other forest health issues, including forecasted issues for the upcoming year.

At the Center: Forest Legacy and Estate Planning

April 9, 2021

As baby boomers enter their mid-50s to mid-70s, significant acreages of forestland will be changing ownership over the next 10 to 20 years, as they divest or pass assets on to their heirs or beneficiaries. The USDA Forest Service anticipates one-third of the forest landowner population will be making decisions about the future of their forestland in the next five years. With this anticipated surge in the transfer of ownership, timely legal, financial, communication, and conservation tools must be made more accessible and available to forest landowners as they plan the future of their land.

Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Expanded

April 9, 2021

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has added eight counties to the spotted lanternfly quarantine list ahead of the spring hatch, bringing the total number of counties under quarantine to 34. Cambria, Cameron, Franklin, Lackawanna, Montour, Pike, Wayne, and Westmoreland are new to the quarantine for 2021.

Control Invasive Shrubs in Spring with Basal Bark Herbicide Applications

April 9, 2021

Basal bark herbicide applications are targeted treatments you can make in spring to effectively control numerous invasive shrub species.

Woods and Wildlife News and Notes: The Latest News from the Forestry and Wildlife Extension Team

April 8, 2021

Penn State Extension’s team of Forestry and Wildlife experts publishes an e-newsletter, Woods and Wildlife News and Notes, containing the most recent information, events, demonstrations, partnerships, and activities coming from the team. Forest Leaves shares the title and a thumbnail of these articles with you each quarter.

Learn How to Assess a Harvest for Sustainability

April 8, 2021

The Sustainable Timber Harvesting “virtual” Workshop, Wednesday, April 28, 8:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., is intended to give participants the knowledge and tools they need to assess—or work with a natural resources professional to assess—whether a proposed timber harvest meets sustainability guidelines. It is designed to strengthen participants’ understanding of sustainable forest management. This is an opportunity to have your questions answered by forestry professionals who have experience managing forest resources.

Advice from the Woods: Ask Our Experts

April 8, 2021

The Advice from the Woods: Ask Our Experts event involves a panel of Forestry and Wildlife Extension Educators and Faculty tackling participant-submitted or commonly-asked questions and scenarios as a team. This is an opportunity to meet your whole team of experts at once, and for a given issue, hear discussion between multiple informed perspectives to help you gain a better handle on the many complex factors involved in addressing or solving an issue.

How to Talk About Hunting Webinar Series to Provide Research-Based Communications Instruction

April 8, 2021

Responsive Management, in partnership with the Hunters’ Leadership Forum of the NRA and the support of the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, will conduct a free webinar series covering material from the new book, How to Talk About Hunting: Research-Based Communications Strategies.

Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee Leadership Changes

April 8, 2021

The Pennsylvania SFI Implementation Committee (SIC) is comprised of many knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers who, in addition to their regular day-to-day duties, make the commitment to show up to meetings, support and guide the program, and contribute their valuable input.

Pennsylvania Tree Farm Welcomes John Hoover as New Chair

April 8, 2021

I am John Hoover and my first article for Forest Leaves is to introduce myself as the 2021 Chair of the Pennsylvania Tree Farm Committee. One of my responsibilities is to submit articles about our future activities. I have been active in the PA Tree Farm system since joining over 20 years ago.

Pennsylvania Forestry Association: Events and Programs Update

April 8, 2021

As reported last quarter, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association (PFA) held its Annual Symposium over five days of online lunches last fall. Over those days, the PFA awarded the Joseph Rothrock Award to Reneé Carey, the Sandy Cochran Award to Jean Devlin, the Mira Dock Award to Sally Zaino, PA Tree Farmers of the Year to Rebecca Trigger and Mark Foley, and PA Tree Farm Inspector of the Year to Rob Piper. While this was highlighted last issue, it’s worth repeating. Save the date of October 9, 2021 for what we hope will be an in-person Annual Symposium event.

Working Forests: Working for Us

March 24, 2021

Over the past year, as we have sought outdoor experiences, have our attitudes towards forests changed? For many, time in forests and woodlands provided solace and distance from others. These are seemingly disparate ideas seeking comfort in isolation when so many were pining for interactions with others. Regardless of individual intents, records and observations suggest the past year has drawn many to new outdoor experiences.

Continuing Series: Imagine the Opportunity of a Smaller Carbon Footprint: Article 6: Storing and Sequestering Carbon: Pennsylvania’s Forest Resource

March 18, 2021

Let us start by taking a closer look at Pennsylvania’s forest resource. Based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) program, 2019 data, Pennsylvania has more than 16.6 million acres of forest land and is 58% forested. From this data we also know that Pennsylvania has the largest hardwood forest volume of any state. The Commonwealth has historically provided about 10% of the nation’s supply of hardwood lumber and leads the U.S. in lumber exports.

Deer Impact Assessment and Mitigation Webinar Series

March 18, 2021

A new three-session webinar series offered by Penn State Extension provides a roundup of current information and strategies to help natural resource managers understand, assess, and manage deer impact in forested systems.

Burning Wood? Caring for the Earth?

February 15, 2021

Many years ago, back in the mid-1970s during the “oil embargo,” heating with wood became the rage. Although I did not track it, new stove manufacturers sprung up seemingly overnight, chainsaw sales and accidents (I expect) were epic, and cords of wood left the stump as fodder for stoves and fireplaces.

Advanced Level II Natural Area Management Webinar Series Slated for Green Industry

February 15, 2021

An eight-part, four-week webinar series offered by Penn State Extension will give green industry professionals the knowledge they need to provide natural area management services to small acreage clients.

An Introduction to the American Chestunut

February 15, 2021

An online, interactive course on the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) (use Edge or Chrome) is now available from the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station. The course is available for free to anyone through a simple registration process.

Continuing Series: Imagine the Opportunity of a Smaller Carbon Footprint: Article 5: Foresters, Loggers, and Trees

February 15, 2021

The forest products industry begins in the forest with foresters and loggers. Foresters help forest landowners implement practices that lead to healthy, well-managed, sustainable forests. It is the Loggers job to harvest the trees the foresters indicated should be cut. Loggers are an essential link in helping to enhance the health of our forests, improve wildlife habitat, and provide the industry with raw material.

Less Mowing, More Growing

January 8, 2021

Wanda points to places they used to pasture pigs, plow potatoes, and pick apples. The former farm, tiny by today’s standards, fed five generations of her family before groceries eclipsed gardens. It’s where she’s lived all her life. Lately, she’s wrestling with how to stay put and care for a place so special to her.

Here’s What Is Happening at the Center for Private Forests

January 8, 2021

As we move into a new year, it’s a time of hope and transition: hope for a successful vaccination program and opportunity to communicate forest stewardship face-to-face again, sharing programs and resources for woodland owners and stakeholders, while remembering those we’ve lost to COVID-19 and other diseases; and transition into new strategies for programming and engagement to help landowners care well for their woods.

2020 Walk in Penn’s Woods a Month-long Success!

January 8, 2021

The 2020 Walk in Penn’s Woods carried on despite the restrictions of a worldwide pandemic.

Uncovering Hidden Treasure in PA’s Forests: Don’t Count the Seed Bank Out!

January 8, 2021

Seed banks are usually thought of as cryptic pools of buried seeds waiting for their “moment in the sun.” The scientific consensus on forest seed banks reveals a disappointing picture of an underground soil desert inhabited by weedy plant species that nobody cares about. This perspective is almost certainly false, and recent research reveals why we may have gotten it wrong … there’s far more to seed banks than we ever suspected.

PA SFI Implementation Committee Partners to Equip Inmates with SFI Qualified Logging Professional Status

January 8, 2021

Well-educated and prepared timber harvesters are critical to the sustainable management of our forests. That is why logger training has been a foundational principle of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program since its start in 1995.

Our October Walk in the Forest: A Four-Generation Family Tradition

January 8, 2021

Many years ago my wife and I started a family walk in the forest we owned with our four small children. In the course of the walk they asked many questions about the forest and we tried to answer the questions as best we could. When we completed the walk and went back to the house, we ended our family adventure by treating the children to pizza.

Continuing Series: Imagine the Opportunity of a Smaller Carbon Footprint: Article 4: How Carbon Stacks Up

January 8, 2021

Many people believe that after a forest is harvested the carbon sequestering capacity of that area is reduced. This is a narrow viewpoint and does not accurately depict how the forest carbon cycle works. When looking at the forest carbon cycle it is important to take a “broad” view. A broad view of the forest carbon cycle considers a larger geographical extent, a wider range of activities, and reflects a longer time scale.

Woods and Wildlife News and Notes: The Latest News from the Forestry and Wildlife Extension Team

January 8, 2021

Last September, Penn State Extension’s team of Forestry and Wildlife experts launched an e-newsletter, Woods and Wildlife News and Notes, a curated list of the most recent information, events, demonstrations, partnerships, and activities coming from the team. Forest Leaves shares the title and a thumbnail of these articles with you each quarter.

James C. Finley Center for Private Forests

Address

416 Forest Resources Building
University Park, PA 16802

James C. Finley Center for Private Forests

Address

416 Forest Resources Building
University Park, PA 16802