Monday, May 17, 2010

Announcing Sustainable Forestry I Courses

Penn State Cooperative Extension, in partnership with Penn State School of Forest Resources, and the local woodland owner associations are proud to provide you with an opportunity to learn about sustainable forestry through our Introduction to Forest Management course. This is a two part course that is being offered in two locations. To complete the entire course attendance at two evening sessions is necessary.

The first offering will be at Laurel Haven Conservation and Education Center in Julian (Centre County), PA on the evenings of June 2 and 9 from 6-8:30 PM. The second offering will be at Mount Pisgah State Park, Nature Center in Troy (Bradford County), PA on June 16 and 23 from 6 PM-8:30 PM. This course is designed for private forest landowners, professional timber harvesters, and sportsmen and women who are interested in learning more about sustainable forest management. This is an opportunity to talk to natural resource management professionals who have experience in managing forest resources.

Pennsylvania has nearly 17 million acres of forests covering 60% of the state’s land area. The largest share of Pennsylvania’s forest is privately owned, accounting for more than 70% of the forested acres (12.5 million acres). Estimates put the number of private forest owners at more than 750,000. Families own forests for diverse reasons including values such as aesthetics, wildlife, privacy, and family legacy.

The course will cover such topics as forest history, ecology, management techniques, and best management practices. It includes both indoor lecture and outdoor discussions. This course will strengthen your knowledge of sustainable forest management. Without sustainable management forests will not provide future generations with the same quality resources we have today. A follow-up course entitled SF-II, Advanced Forest Management will be offered in the near future.

To register or for more information on the Julian program contact the Penn State Cooperative Extension office in Centre County at 814-355-4897 or e-mail CentreExt@psu.edu. For the Troy program contact the Penn State Cooperative Extension office in Bradford County at 570-265-2896 or e-mail BradfordExt@psu.edu. The registration fee is $20.00 per person and includes refreshments and educational materials. The deadline for registration is Friday, May 28th. Participants must be pre-registered. To download a printable copy of the brochure click here.
(Diagram based upon information from Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program, Reforestation: Growing Tomorrow's Forests Today®, © 1998, 2000, American Forest & Paper Association, Inc.)

No comments: