Researchers at the University of Colorado will study the relationship between bark beetles and wildfires in the Rocky Mountain West thanks to a $170,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The competitive grant, provided by the National Science Foundation's Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, will help answer critical forest-management and wildfire-related questions, including: How [read more]
State Foresters met with Butch Blazer, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, this week to discuss priorities established by NASF for the next term of the Obama Administration. The priorities include: I. Commit to Protecting the Nation’s Forests, Rangelands and Communities from Wildland Fire II. Support Efforts to Improve Markets for Forest [read more]
Attendees showed up early and stayed late for the 16th annual Bugfest hosted by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, NC. The Southern Research Station (SRS) was a co-sponsor of this year’s event, trapping lots of interest in the Station’s Bad Bugs in the Forest exhibit. The exhibit’s mock FBI “wanted” posters [read more]
NASF joined a group of invited experts at the first forest health summit between the U.S. and Canada, held on June 28, 2012 in Washington, DC. The summit gave both countries the opportunity to discuss common concerns such as invasive species and identify priorities and recommendations for senior officials. The mountain pine beetle and emerald [read more]
Scientists at a Canadian univeristy have found a way to successfully clone American elm trees that survived epidemics of Dutch elm disease. Using tissue samples collected from shoot tips and dormant buds, researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada employed in vitro technology to produce genetic copies of trees that survived multiple Dutch elm [read more]
State and federal agencies have come together to form the National Firewood Task Force (NFTF), which will collect stakeholder ideas regarding the best comprehensive strategy for addressing firewood as a pest pathway and develop recommendations on next steps. The NFTF will focus its work on three primary areas of action: regulatory, voluntary and outreach. The Task [read more]
