Cooperative Forestry
(McIntire-Stennis) Research
The McIntire-Stennis Research program supports forestry
and fiber research conducted by the nation’s public universities. University-based
research is an important part of the collaborative research effort involving Federal,
state, and industry scientists. It is critical to the creation of new technologies that
will increase the efficiency and productivity of forest management on all lands.
McIntire-Stennis Research funds are granted directly to public colleges and universities
on a matching basis. This program has provided an important foundation of funding for
research that has not been supported through other means.
National Research Initiative
This competitive grants program funds research on key
problems of national and regional importance in biological and environmental sciences as
well as several other categories. The NRI awards grants on a competitive basis to
university researchers using modern biological environmental, and engineering sciences to
address critical problems in agriculture and forestry. Research funded through this
program helps agriculture and forestry meet society’s needs for goods and services
while protecting our basic natural resources.
Renewable Resources Extension Program
The Renewable Resources Extension program helps support
the nation’s need for continuous supplies of forest resources, while protecting the
health of the environment and ensuring long-term productivity. This program facilitates
the transfer of needed forestry information and technology to private non-industrial
forest landowners, as well as loggers and small businesses engaged in forest management.
Extension foresters use this program to administer the
Logger Education to Advance Professionalism (LEAP) initiative which trains loggers in the
basics of forest ecology and silviculture. A small percentage of timber harvests involve
professional foresters, but nearly every harvest involves a logger. The LEAP program helps
ensure that loggers make informed decisions regarding the future condition of our
nation’s forest resources.
Extension’s forestry education programs are increasingly important
as a result of the recent proliferation in non-industrial private forest landowners. Many
of these new landowners come from urban areas and are disconnected from the natural
resource base. Extension’s education programs can help them understand their
management options and responsibilities, and encourage them to take advantage of other
technical and financial assistance programs.
