Program to Look at Future of Ohio’s Forests

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The next monthly breakfast program of the Environmental Professionals Network will feature a panel discussion on threats to -- and hope for -- Ohio’s nearly 8 million acres of forest.

“Pests and Invasives, Fragmentation, Changing Markets: Do Ohio’s Forests Need Foresters or Magicians?” goes from 7:15-9:30 a.m. Aug. 12 at Ohio State University’s Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, in Columbus.

“Forests cover about 30 percent of Ohio and are important environmentally, economically and socially. But issues keep emerging that threaten the benefits from woodlands that all Ohioans appreciate every day,” said the network’s coordinator, David Hanselmann, a lecturer in Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources.

The network is a service of the school, which in turn is part of the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

“I’m pleased that our school’s faculty, working with partners and woodland owners, are helping find solutions to some of the invasives and other issues,” said Jeff Sharp, the school’s interim director.

The panel discussion will look at how Ohio is managing and protecting its woodlands, including through new research, partnerships and educational efforts, Hanselmann said.

Moderated by Bob Boyles, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and chief of the department’s Division of Forestry, the panel will include:

• Dave Apsley, natural resources specialist, Ohio State University Extension, Jackson County.
• Stephen Matthews, research assistant professor with the school.
• Matt Bumgardner, research forest product technologist with the Northern Research Station of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service based in Delaware, Ohio.

Registration, which is open to both members and non-members of the network, costs $10 or $15, depending on payment method. A full breakfast is included.

Complete details and a link to online registration and payment are at go.osu.edu/k59. Payment by credit card is due by 5 p.m. Aug. 8.

The event flier may be downloaded at go.osu.edu/k6B (PDF).

For more information, contact Hanselmann at hanselmann.3@osu.edu or 614-247-1908.

EPN membership is free and open to anyone working in or studying an environmental field. Details about the network are at epn.osu.edu/home.

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