College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Category: News

Dr. David Flaspohler – Hawaiian Sabbatical

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Professor Flaspohler with colleagues studying naturally fragmented Hawaiian forests on the Big Island; Mauna Kea in the background.

Professor David Flaspohler is participating in a 5-year NSF-funded research project to better understand how birds interact with naturally fragmented forests created by lava flows.  He and his team are finding and monitoring nests and color banding individual birds in 34 forest fragments that vary in size from 0.2 ha to 30 ha in mid-elevation native Hawaiian forests.  In half of these fragments, we will remove the introduced non-native black rat, and in the other half we will not.    Rats are known nest predators that also compete with birds for insect food so their influence on the food web and on the reproductive success of the birds may be strong.  The work is being conducted by Dr. Flaspholer, Dr. Jessie Knowlton (Michigan Tech post-doctoral associate), and 4 bird interns.   Other collaborators are from Stanford University, the University of Maryland, and the USFS, Institute of Pacific Island Forestry.

See more pictures at: Flaspohler Hawaiian Sabbatical

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ESC Announces Fall Travel Grants

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The Ecosystem Science Center has announced the recipients of its 2010 Fall Graduate Student Travel Grants. Following is the list of recipients and their advisors.

  • Sinan Abood, Environmental Engineering (Ann Maclean, SFRES) received $500 to attend and instruct a special session at the ASPRS/CaGIS 2010 Fall Specialty Conference in Orlando, Fla., from Nov. 15-19.
  • Ruth Bennett, Applied Ecology (Joseph Bump, SFRES) received $421 to attend the XIV Congreso de la Sociedad Mesoamericana para le Biologia y la Conservacion in San Jose, Costa Rica, from Nov. 8-12.
  • Marcella Campione, Forestry (Linda Nagel, SFRES) received $500 to present a poster at the Society of American Foresters National Convention in Albuquerque, N.M., from Oct. 27-31.
  • Nan Davis, Forestry (Robert Froese, SFRES) received $500 to present a poster at the Society of American Foresters National Convention in Albuquerque, N.M., from Oct 27-31.
  • Kevyn Juneau, Forestry (Catherine Tarasoff, SFRES) received $500 to give a talk at the MN/WI Invasive Species Conference in St. Paul, Minn., from Nov. 8-10.
  • Laura Kangas, Applied Ecology (Rodney Chimner, SFRES) received $500 to give a talk at the Wetlands in the Landscape Meeting of the Wisconsin Wetland Association, in Baraboo, Wisc., from Feb. 16-17.
  • Trevor Roberts, Forest Ecology and Management (Robert Froese, SFRES) received $500 to present a poster at the Society of American Foresters National Convention in Albuquerque, N.M., from Oct. 27-31.
  • Agustin Robles-Morua, Environmental Engineering (Kathy Halvorsen and Audrey Mayer, SS) received $500 to give a talk at the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Calif., from Dec. 13-17.
  • Shawna Welsh, Applied Ecology (Thomas Pypker, SFRES) received $500 to give a talk at the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Minneapolis, Minn., from Dec. 12-15.
  • Nick Windmuller, Forestry (Robert Froese, SFRES) received $500 to present a poster at the Society of American Foresters National Convention in Albuquerque, N.M., from Oct. 27-31.
  • Rosa Flores, Environmental Engineering (Judith Perlinger, CEE) received $500 to present a poster at the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Calif., from Dec. 13-17.
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Douglas Jones – Malheur National Forest

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Douglas H Jones (Forestry, 1980) has been named as the next district ranger of the Emigrant Creek Ranger District on the Malheur National Forest, Hines Oregon. Doug has 31 years experience with the Forest Service, beginning on the Fremont National Forest in southeast Oregon. Since then he has worked on six national forests across the United States. His most recent assignment was as district ranger of the Spanish Fork Ranger District in Utah.

Originally from Cadillac, Michigan, Doug has a bachelor’s degree in forestry and wildlife ecology from Michigan Technological University. His family includes two grown children and his spouse, Chris, who is an archaeologist with the Bureau of Reclamation in Bend.

Doug enjoys outdoor activities including hunting, hiking, fishing, camping and cross-country skiing. He is also an active member of Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and National Wild Turkey Federation.

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Burton receives Top-25 citation recognition

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Associate Professor Andrew Burton recently received notification from publishers of Global Change Biology (GCB) that of  all the 724 articles the journal has published since January 2008, his paper is one of the 25 most-cited since publication according to Web of Science®, placing it among  the top 3% of articles.

Journal Citation Reports® ranks GCB as the top journal in Biodiversity and Conservation,  while ISI ScienceWatch  ranked GCB 3rd in the list of most-cited journals in Climate Change Research, 1999-2009 (First and second places were Nature and Science respectively).

Andrew co-authored the paper, Simulated chronic nitrogen deposition increases carbon storage in northern temperate forests, Global Change Biology  14:142-153.

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Keith Creagh Tapped to Lead State Agriculture Department

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By Marcia Goodrich

January 11, 2011— This afternoon, Keith Creagh is running a minute or two late. “Just catching up with the head of the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board,” he says, by way of explanation.

Keith Creagh '74, the new director of Michigan's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Creagh (pronounced “kray”) is catching up with many people these days. The 1974 forestry graduate was tapped by Michigan’s then-governor-elect Rick Snyder to lead the newly named state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and he’s been busy laying the groundwork for what he hopes will be at least four years of collegial, effective policymaking.

The words “collegial” and “effective” do not immediately spring to mind in association with Michigan state politics, which has suffered from much the same partisan acrimony as the nation as a whole. Nevertheless, Creagh is unfazed.

“I am familiar with the waterfront,” he notes.

Indeed. Before leaving government for the private sector in 2007, Creagh spent 33 years with the state Department of Agriculture, including 12 years as chief deputy director. He served under eight directors and three governors of both political stripes: James Blanchard, John Engler, and Jennifer Granholm. And he is absolutely convinced that progress is not merely possible but practically inevitable if you follow three simple rules.

“First, get good information to good people: that’s how you get good decisions,” he says. “Second, do the right thing, and don’t worry about who gets credit. And third, make sure your policy is not exclusionary.”

In other words, welcome all the stakeholders to the table. “If I put a farmer, a retailer, a food processor, a food bank person and an environmental advocate in the room, at the end of the day, if they are all aligned, how can you not get good policy?”

The same is true, he says, for Republicans and Democrats. “There are great politicians on both sides of the aisle,” says Creagh. “You just need to find and leverage those relationships to develop policy.”

The new administration will reflect that collaborative modus operandi, he says. “There’s going to be some heavy lifting,” says Creagh. “Governor Rick Snyder is fostering a different operational format. He’s clustering thematic areas, so there’s strategic alignment.”

The Snyder administration is breaking apart the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to form the Departments of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Natural Resources (DNR). The new DNR and DEQ are grouped with Agriculture in a new Quality of Life cluster. Creagh’s former boss Dan Wyant, who headed the agriculture department for several years under Engler and Granholm, leads the DEQ and the Quality of Life cluster. Another former colleague, Rodney Stokes, is now the DNR director.  “When I was given an opportunity to work with these two individuals, I couldn’t say no.” Creagh said.

“We all realize that natural resources, the environment and economic growth will benefit from a comprehensive and integrated policy approach. Governor Snyder is asking us to develop policies that are aligned with this vision and concept.”

Creagh, a member of the advisory board for the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, has close ties with Michigan Tech. “Fundamentally, it all started at Tech,” he says. “Everything in my life has been built upon that.”

The first in his family to go to college, he attended the University with Peg Gale, now dean of the School. “And [Michigan Tech president] Glenn Mroz was a classmate,” he says.

Former dean Gene Hesterberg got him his first job, “at a time when there were a lot of foresters, and competition was pretty keen.”

“He went out of his way to make a difference,” Creagh recalls. “When Glenn was dean, he did that, and Peg does too. They focus on what’s right for their students to provide a foundation for their future success.”

He hopes that over the next few years he can play some part in the success of the state. “I have four kids, and two of them are out of state,” says Creagh. “I want to give that generation an opportunity to live and work in Michigan just like I did.”

Michigan Technological University (mtu.edu) is a leading public research university developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; humanities; and social sciences

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Andrew Burton receives Best Paper Award

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The Forest, Range and Wildland Division (S7) of the Soil Science Society of America prides itself on the quality of the papers that are presented in our division each year at the SSSA Annual Meeting.  We feel that it is important to recognize and reward the outstanding papers presented in the S7 Division each year.  To do this, members of the S7 Davison are asked to evaluate each of the oral papers and posters that are presented each year. Based on these evaluations, the best paper or poster in each session is selected.

Associate Professor Andrew Burton’s paper, “Response of Fine Root Respiration and Root N to Soil Warming in Hardwood Forests,” was recognized as the best paper in Session 125 on General Forest, Range, and Wildland Soils.

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Bowling Teams Looking for Bodies

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It is a  new semester, and the FRES bowling teams are looking for new “bodies” to replace bowlers that graduated, and help the rest of us worn down by overwork and too much studying!

We have two mixed (men and women) teams bowling at the Mine Shaft on Thursday evenings starting at 7:00 p.m.

There really aren’t any “regular” team members.  Team members that bowl one week decide if they want to bowl the next week. If they don’t or can’t, we get a replacement from our team sub list.  So you can bowl whenever you want.

The cost is $12 whenever you bowl. FRES bowling is for FUN and to have a good time!  Looking at the current team members, it is obvious that bowling ability is NOT required.

For more information on joining these “finely-tuned” athletes, contact Chaz Perry, David Kossak, Lindsey Shartell, Jim Rivard, Mike Hyslop, or Marty Jurgensen.

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