The Department of Ecosystem Science and Management partners with several natural resource management organizations in order to provide its undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to learn and study with professional resource managers and scientists. These partnerships also benefit the public and stakeholders by contributing knowledge and expertise for the research-based conservation and enhancement of our natural resources.
National Park Service
The Department of Ecosystem Science and Management houses eight National Park Service scientists who are part of the Service's Northeast Region Natural Resource and Science Program. Program areas include Air Quality and Policy, Integrated Pest Management and Invasive Species, Environmental Monitoring, Data Management and GIS, Plant Ecology, Stream Ecology, and Avian Ecology.
Ecologist Matt Marshall, program manager for the NPS Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network, teaches a graduate seminar in experimental design with robust and increasing enrollment. Research projects including studies monitoring stream fish communities, vegetation and soils, invasive species, and water quality.
The American Chestnut Foundation, Pennsylvania chapter
The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) tree to its native forests through a scientific research and breeding program developed by TACF's founders.
TACF coordinates its Pennsylvania research efforts from a centralized location within the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. Student and faculty researchers can participate in research projects on the cutting edge of forest genetics research and benefit from a large network of researchers with whom TACF partners.
Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Fully integrated into the Wildlife and Fisheries Science program, scientists in the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit serve as adjunct faculty in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. The Pennsylvania unit was established in 1938 and is a joint venture of the U.S. Geological Survey, Penn State, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
Unit staff conduct wildlife and fisheries research, mentor graduate students, and teach graduate courses in the department.
The Nature Conservancy
Department faculty and The Nature Conservancy work together on cooperative research and outreach projects to answer questions about the ecological and economic health of Pennsylvania's forests. Work in recent years has focused on the effects of prescribed fire on barrens communities and the effects of herbicides on understory vegetation. Through the partnership, the department and The Nature Conservancy jointly have developed analytical models and supported each other in pursuing research funding.
