October 15, 2007 Release

Events for the upcoming Week: October 15-21
(Seminars, Symposiums, Conferences, Events, Field Trips, etc.)

Speak Out for Species sponsors, "Saving the Georgia Coast's Right Whales" October 15, 7:30 p.m. at the Student Learning Center, Room 214.  Hans Neuhauser, Executive Director of the Georgia Environmental Policy Institute, will speak about efforts to bring the North Atlantic Right Whale back from the brink of extinction. Right whales are among the world's most endangered species, with fewer than 400 animals still remaining. The southeast coast has a particularly important role to play in the recovery of the right whale, for the waters off Georgia and northern Florida serve as the only known location in the world where the species gives birth to its young. Visit the Speak Out for Species website for more information.

The next Forestry Club meeting will be Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 5:45pm in room 1-304. The speaker for this week will be Chris Nasca from the Davey Tree Company talking about what Davey Tree is and what he does with the company.

The next Conservation Seminar will be held Wednesday, October 17 at 1:25pm in the Odum School Seminar Room. Featured speaker will be Dr. Liz Kramer on "Land Use Changes in Georgia and the Impact to Ecosystem Service."

The next Warnell Thursday seminar (October 18) will feature Dr. Mike Kane, professor of forest management here at Warnell, speaking on "Status and Future of the Plantation Management Research Cooperative (PMRC)".  The PMRC has played, and continues to play, an important part in the history of the School.  The talk will be at 4:00pm on in room 1-304, with refreshments at 3:30pm.

Whitehall Rd. Clean-up - The Warnell School Student Ambassadors invite all students, staff, and faculty members to assist in the quarterly clean-up effort of Whitehall Road (from Jot em Down to the Whitehall Mansion)on Saturday, October 20 from 10:00am to 12:00noon at Whitehall Mansion. This effort usually takes about 1.5-2 hours depending on the number of volunteers. Everything you need will be provided except for gloves. The group usually gathers for lunch at Peppino's when the job is complete!

Savannah SAF will hold it 6^th Annual “Walk in the Warnell Forest Field Day” on Friday, October 19, 2007 from 8:00 am–2:00 pm, at the Mary Kahrs Warnell Forest Education Center in Effingham County, GA.  The purpose of the Walk is to educate Savannah area 4th grade students, teachers and parents about forestry as a profession, the need for and benefits of sustainable forest management and the natural patterns and processes of forest ecosystems. 

The next Warnell School “Brown Bag Lunch Seminar” will feature P. Bettinger, N. Nibbelink, J. Hepinstall & T. Lowe discussing Resources for Spatial Analysis within the Warnell School. This Brown Bag Lunch will be held Friday, October 19 at 12:20pm in the Dean’s Conference Room.

The Georgia Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology is holding its inaugural meeting on Monday, October 22 in room 1-304 of the Warnell School. Take advantage of this opportunity to be a part of a new chapter in Conservation. Email the Georgia Society for Conservation Biology for more information.

James Martin, PhD student in wildlife, will be hosting a Bobwhite Covey Call workshop at Three Lakes WMA in Kenansville, Fl on Wednesday, October 24. The workshop, sponsored by the Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, will feature Martin instructing attendees on the principles of covey call surveys, and an early morning Bobwhite Covey Count demonstration. Fore more information contact James Martin at 850/445-9773.

James Martin and Adam Butler, graduate student in Dr. John Carroll’s Game Bird Lab, are coordinating a ‘Bobwhite and Rangeland Management Field Day’ on Friday, October 26 at the Escape Ranch in Kenansville, Fl., sponsored by Tall Timbers Research Station and the Society for Range Management.  They will also be presenting their research at this event. For more information visit the Field Day website. More information can be found on the Tall Timbers Research Station website.

Additional Homecoming Event Opportunity - A small crowd is gathering for an informal sporting clays shoot at 9:30am on the Friday (Nov. 2) of Warnell Homecoming Weekend. If you are interested in participating please contact: Tom Harris, Bob Izlar or Tommy Tye. Sporting  clays is the main plan but 5-Stand, skeet or trap can be accommodated if you have an itch that must be scratched. Visit the Warnell School Homecoming webpage for a complete listing of Homecoming activities.

The Georgia Forestry Association is holding its fall workshop, “Forest Certification: Navigating the Landscape and Discovering the Opportunities of This Evolving Forestry Marketing Tool,"  Thursday, November 15, 2007 at the Association headquarters in Forsyth, GA.This workshop will offer 5 continuing education credits for attendees.

Register today by emailing GFA to reserve one of the limited openings for this workshop. Additional information can be obtained by calling the Association office at 478-992-8110.

“Public Hearings Set on Revised State Water Plan”

A series of public hearings will take place October 15-19 to receive public comments on the revised draft Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan.

The revised draft should be posted to the Water Council's web site by October 1, if not earlier. Each of the meetings will get underway at 6 p.m. Members of the forestry and natural resources community are encouraged to review the draft and participate in as many of the hearings as possible. Lengthy comments should be put in written form for the official record.

Oct. 15
Fort Valley - Fort Valley State University, Pettigrew Center
Statesboro - Georgia Southern University, Nesmith-Lane Building
Augusta - Augusta Technical College, Information

Oct. 16
Gainesville - Gainesville State College, Continuing Education Building
Albany - Albany State University, Criminal Justice Bldg. Room 111

Oct. 17
Savannah - Armstrong Atlantic St. University, Armstrong Center Auditorium
Waycross - Okefenokee Technical College, Miller Lecture Hall

Oct. 18
Rome - The Forum
Athens - UGA Center for Continuing Education, Masters Hall

Oct. 19
Valdosta - Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center/Tourism Authority
Columbus - Columbus State University, Elizabeth Bradley Turner Center
Atlanta - Atlanta Technical College, Cleveland Dennard Building Ballroom

Achievements from the Previous Week: October 5-14

“In the News”

New York Times quotes Bob Izlar, director of UGA’s Center for Forest Business, in a story on a record 40 million acres of private forest lands changing hands in the last ten years.
Read More Here

Georgia's Summer of Fire - Georgia County Government Magazine, official publication of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), features Bob Izlar, director for the Center for Forest Business, discussing this past spring wildfire season.
Read More Here

Don't want to get lost?
Warnell grad student Nate Olive featured in ABH article about the woodlands navigation class he is co-teaching at the Botanical Gardens.
Read More Here

People in Business: UP CLOSE / GARY CHURCH (BFR '94), partner in HGC Forest Resources Inc.: Cut with care
AJC
Read More Here

Historic Southeastern drought is national news – Warren P. Kriesel, UGA professor of agricultural and applied economics, in a Los Angeles Times story that is running nationwide, estimates the cost to the Southeast’s economy will be in the billions of dollars.
Read More Here

Georgia timberland sold
Atl. Bz. Chron.
Read More Here

“Awards/Appointments”

Andy Davis, Ph.D. student in wildlife, was awarded the James L. Carmon Honorarium from The University of Georgia Research Foundation for his work using digital image analysis to measure patterns of fluctuating asymmetry in animals as indicators of environmental stress. Congratulations Andy!

Dr. John Maerz, assistant professor of wildlife ecology and management, has been selected as one of six UGA faculty members to serve in the inaugural group of the “Writing Fellows Program”, recently established by the Office of the Vice-President for Instruction. This program is aimed at exploring opportunities for improving ways to teach and to respond to student writing.

Dr. Craig Miller, assistant professor of human dimensions of natural recources, was recently appointed to a 3-year term as Associate Editor for the Journal of Wildlife Management.  Dr. Miller will be responsible for manuscripts addressing human dimensions of wildlife for JWM.

“Research Findings/Outreach Service/Publications”

Dr. Dale Greene, lead investigator for a Georgia Traditional Industries Program (TIP3) funded research project identifying new biofuel markets for non-merchantable wood, held a site visit demonstration on Tuesday, October 9 on Plum Creek forestland located outside Macon, Ga. Roughly 40 foresters, logging contractors and representatives from the cellulosic ethanol industry attended to see first-hand how slash and understory forest growth can be processed through a woodsman chipper to create fuel for co-generation boilers at forest product factories, and potentially for production as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol. Plum Creek is a major industry sponsor for this research project, and Hill Logging Contractors manages on-site operations.

Dr. Kim D. Coder, professor of community forestry and tree health, was recently invited to give the keynote address at the 43^rd annual conference of the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) in Hollywood, Florida.  SMA is a North American organization of professional city foresters and public sector community arborists representing all population sizes of the continent’s municipalities.  Dr. Coder’s message was about finding professional time to do more for our communities and committing to professional change.       

Drs. Dick Daniels, professor of  quantitative forest management and wood quality, and Scott Merkle, professor of forest biotechnology, have been invited to present at the 2008 IEG-40 conference, which will focus on “Incorporating Genetic Advances into Forest Productivity Systems: Value for All Landowners” and be held in Charleston, SC on July 22-25, 2008.

“Congratulations”

Dr. Robert Bringolf’s wife gave birth to the family’s second child, Tyler James Bringolf, on Wednesday, October 10 at 1:15 pm.  Tyler weighed in at 7lbs., 2 oz. and was 21 inches tall.  Mom, Dad and big brother, Cooper, are all doing well.  Congratulations and best wishes to the whole Bringolf family!

The Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at The University of Georgia provides UGA students with five degree path programs in forestry and natural resource science and management, include the forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, natural resources recreation and tourism, water and soil resources, and wildlife management and ecology majors. With more than fifty faculty and 23,000 acres of teaching lands, the Warnell School is the southeast’s oldest, and one of the most respected forestry and natural resource education providers in the United States. The school also houses one of the largest study abroad programs in the nation covering all seven continents to provide global learning opportunities for its students. For more information visit the Warnell School website at www.warnell.uga.edu.