About Us

Mission and Background

The overall mission of the Department of Forest Ecology and Management is to advance excellence in education, research, and extension related to forest ecosystems and their management through programs that integrate the biological, physical, and social sciences and the humanities. The department provides a well-integrated interdisciplinary education based on science and management skills essential for leadership and service in the conservation and management of forest ecosystems. Faculty generate new knowledge about domestic and international forest resources through basic and applied research, and promote sound management and utilization of forest resources by transferring knowledge to the public for use in solving practical problems.

Our faculty has close working relationships with the programs, faculty, and staff of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, the National Park Service Midwest Region GIS Unit and the departments of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Botany, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Plant Pathology, Rural Sociology and History. These ties facilitate multi-disciplinary analysis of the social, political, cultural, and ecological processes that shape communities and the environment.

Programs

The department is recognized as a national leader in forest science for its substantial contribution to research. The department's goal is to identify and resolve important problems in the biology, conservation, management, and utilization of forest resources through basic and applied research, and to disseminate research results to the scientific community, resource-user groups, and the general public. Forest Ecology and Management programs can be separated into four areas:

1. Forest biology: genetics, physiology, ecology, silviculture at the molecular, plant, population, and community, as well as ecosystem levels, including global climatic change, nutrient cycling, tropical forest ecology, habitat classification, and forest restoration ecology and preservation.
2. Forest management: biometrics, economics, operations research with emphasis on forest sampling theory, growth and yield modeling, artificial intelligence and geographic information systems, and the production, consumption, and trade activities that depend directly on forest resources.
3. Wood and fiber science: pulping methodology, chemical modification and bonding of cellulose fiber, wood for fuels and chemicals, improved efficiency in the manufacture of primary wood products, solar drying, and development of computerized training and processing methodology.
4. Social Forestry: forest-dependent communities, sociology of natural resources, forest and environmental history, forest and resource policy, park and protected area management, sustainable forestry, human dimensions in ecosystem management, urban forestry, international forestry, and economic development of forests, including non-timber forest products and agroforestry.

For a description of ongoing research and publications by the department visit our research page.

Instruction

The Department of Forest Ecology and Management is committed to providing a program of high-quality instruction and personal attention to its students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Teaching awards have been granted at college, university, and national levels. The number of distinguished teaching awards is greater than half the number of faculty.

Undergraduate education provides the broad, science-based knowledge necessary for a student to assume a professional position in forest resource management and conservation, or to prepare for graduate studies. With a solid grounding in quantitative methods, the undergraduate program produces decision-makers with strong analytical skills.

The undergraduate major in forestry is offered under five options. The public forestry, industrial forestry, international forestry, and B.S./M.S. forest management options are accredited. The remaining option is natural resource conservation and management.

The educational goals for the Department of Forest Ecology and Management are:

• To develop an understanding of the scientific foundations of forest resources conservation and management, and the social, economic and political context within which they take place;
• To enhance critical thinking and problem solving skills and the ability to apply knowledge from diverse disciplines to answer real world questions in forest resources conservation and management;
• To foster understanding of forest resources in a global setting and the knowledge and skills required for a career in international forest resources conservation and management;
• To advance the technical and communication skills needed as a professional manager of forest resources;
• To encourage a commitment to professionalism and esprit de corps among students, faculty and alumni, and to instill a desire for life-long learning;
• To prepare students for graduate studies, and to direct graduate students in advanced study and research in the ecology, management and utilization of forest resources; and
• To provide an effective small-college atmosphere within the setting of a large, world class university.

In contrast with other departments in the region, the UW-Madison Department of Forest Ecology and Management offers the fullest complement of advanced classroom courses for graduate students. The strength of the graduate program is based on highly regarded faculty who are recognized internationally and on the excellence of supporting disciplines botany, statistics, soil science, wildlife ecology and others required in the development of graduate curricula and research efforts.

Extension and Outreach

Faculty members:

• Enhance public understanding of the role of forests and forestry in the natural and social environment;
• Promote the use of sustainable methods of establishing, managing, and utilizing forests and forest products and provide up-to-date knowledge about the biology, management, and utilization of forest resources;
• Transfer technology to non-industrial private forestland owners, professional resource managers, forest products processors, the general public, and youth;
• Provide a link between the users of research information and those who develop the answers, and between employers and those who train the employees;
• Work with clientele to develop research needs, serve as a conduit to researchers whose expertise matches the problem, and disseminate research results to users; and
• Work with employers of forestry students to identify necessary skills and needed technology for future job placement, and help incorporate this information into curriculum planning efforts.

International

Faculty have considerable international experience and expertise covering many diverse fields, especially biodiversity, forestry and resource economics, social forestry, ecophysiology, restoration and management, forest products utilization and tree improvement.

Language competency includes French, German, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Russian, and Portuguese. Faculty members have resided for varying periods on assignment in Zambia, Gambia, Nigeria, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Columbia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Venezuela, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Greece, Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Laos, Thailand, Philippines, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Western Samoa and the Caribbean.

CALS' agreements established with Vicosa, the Executive Commission for Cocoa Research (CEPLAC), the Center for Cocoa Research (CEPEC), the Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Center (CATIE), Kyoto University, and the West Indies provide further opportunities for training and cooperation. Among the agencies collaborating with the Department of Forest Ecology and Management on research are the Center for Tropical Forestry Research, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the International Tropical Timber Organization, the Swedish Institute of Technology, the Center for Cocoa Research, Aristotelian University, and University College of North Wales.

Emphasis on international forestry in the Department of Forest Ecology and Management has grown in recent years and there is greater focus on global developments as an organized activity. A dual-level course in agroforestry is now being offered. The department attracts a large number of foreign nationals, comprising one-third to one-half of all graduate students.

Updated: 2008.04.14