Department of Forest Resources

Our vision is to be widely recognized as leaders in education and research to advance understanding and management of forest ecosystems. 

Our mission is driven by the land grant university mission: education, research and service/outreach; thus it is composed of three elements.

Education: We produce outstanding graduates equipped to be successful forest managers and scientists. Our graduates are distinguished by their interlocking and multidisciplinary set of analytical skills and tools. They acquire the habit of questioning assumptions as information is gathered, summarized, and interpreted via critical thinking exercises in various courses and based on data sets passed from course to course. Students become familiar with local species and site variability, spatial analysis, and data processing tools such as models and electronic spreadsheets.

Research: We conduct and disseminate high quality, objective and relevant research on forest ecosystems, the people who value them, and the institutions affecting them. Our distinctive research transcends descriptive analysis to develop an understanding of underlying mechanisms and links that understanding to decision-making processes, and how institutions change in response to changes in ecosystem conditions and socioeconomic values. We present results in high impact refereed journals and peer-reviewed literature.

Outreach/Service: Our programs help society understand what we have learned.  We disseminate our research results in publications, such as high-impact refereed journals, peer-reviewed and popular literature. We also disseminate our results in other media, including websites, professional presentations, coursework, workshops and continuing education activities. We distinguish ourselves by: 1) helping forest managers to link decision-making to an understanding of underlying forest mechanisms and the people; 2) exposing the general public to the rapid change in forest science over the last two decades, including some of its fundamental presumptions; and 3) providing knowledge related to key issues, such as fire, invasive species, water and sustainability.