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FOREST ECOLOGY ANDMANAGEMENT NEWSA Newsletter for Department of Forest Ecology and Management Alumni, Staff, and Students
Volume 9, Number 1 April 2006
News fromthe Chair
Alumni Update
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT NEWS is pub-lished by the Department of ForestEcology and Management
Please send comments and news to:Dept. of Forest Ecology and
Management1630 Linden DriveUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonMadison, WI 53706-1598Tel. 608-262-9975 Fax 608-262-9922Email: <[email protected]> or<[email protected]>Web site: <http://forest.wisc.edu>Editor/design: Mary Miron
Iam very pleased to report that two ofour young faculty – Drs. Volker
Radeloff and Mark Rickenbach – wereboth granted tenure and a promotion toAssociate Professor beginning July 1,2006. I congratulate both Volker andMark on this achievement. This is espe-cially important to the department as webuild the next generation of faculty tocontinue the important teaching,research, and outreach related to forestresources. You can read more about thisand other faculty, staff and studentachievements inside.
I am also pleased to report that a
long tradition of exposing undergradu-ates to forest management outside theLake States continued in 2006 with thebiennial “spring trip” led by Scott Boweand Eric Kruger. This year’s editionenjoyed some excellent weather, con-genial hosts, and excellent experiencesin Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama andnorth Florida. The students did get achance to stick their toes in the Gulf ofMexico. The Recreation ResourcesManagement students also returned tothe Land Between the Lakes (KY) for aweek of lectures, tours, and plain oldhard work. By all accounts, this provid-ed a great first-hand introduction to themanagement of a large public recreationarea. See the group photos inside. Morethan a few sunburns were noted whenthe students returned.
Finally, we are looking forward to
the completion of two remodeling proj-ects this summer. The UW StockPavilion has been undergoing extensiveremodeling and our National ParkService GIS Unit is anxious to take upresidence there in the second flooroffices that formerly housed generationsof graduate students. The lab remodel-ing for Phil Townsend should also becomplete soon to provide space for stu-dents, post-docs, and other researchersin remote sensing and landscape ecolo-gy. This has involved almost a year ofplanning, deconstruction, and acquisi-tion of work stations and remodeledspace, but it will be worth the wait.Staying up to date with research spaceand instrumentation continues to be achallenge, but your gifts have played animportant role in furthering our mission.Keep up the good work. — Ray Guries
Jessica (Lengling) Anderson (B.S.1999) took on a new responsibility inDecember—motherhood.Congratulations to her on the birth ofLukas David. She says it’s been anadjustment, especially considering shealso started work toward a Master’sdegree in Outdoor RecreationManagement at Indiana University.Good luck with both ventures, Jessica!([email protected])
Melissa (Brunner) DeShong (B.S.2003) has found her niche teachingnature and Spanish to preschoolers atKids Express Learning Center inMadison. She also announced that shegot married in June 2005.Congratulations, Melissa! ([email protected])
Carolyn Cromer (M.S. 2003) reportsthat life is pretty good down inLouisville, KY, where she managesBlackacre State Nature Preserve. The270-acre preserve consists of woods andmeadows on a former farm on the edgeof the city and is managed primarily forwildlife habitat. ([email protected])
For the past 18 months Adam Makda(B.S 2002) has divided his time betweenNevada and the mountains of SouthAmerica. From June to December 2004he worked for the Humbolt-ToyabieNational Forest in Carson City, Nevada,and lived in Lake Tahoe. He was thefuelwood administrator in charge ofmonitoring firewood cutters and laterChristmas tree cutters. In June 2005 heheaded to South America where he hikedin the Andes of Peru and Bolivia fol-lowed by more travel in Argentina andChile. He’s hoping to return to LakeTahoe this spring to work in that region([email protected])
Manny Oradei (B.S. 1986) was recentlypresented the School Forest Award bythe Learning, Experiences, and Activitiesin Forestry (LEAF) Program. Manny is aWis. DNR liaison forester in OneidaCounty and was instrumental in the
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continued from page 1development of the Cedric A. VigOutdoor Classroom. Manny worksclosely with teachers, administrators,and community members to ensurethat the school forests are appropri-ately managed and students haveopportunities to learn about sustain-able natural resource management.([email protected])
Shaunna Chase (B.S. 2005) isworking for SpecPro, Inc., an envi-ronmental services company, cur-rently performing remediation anddemolition projects at Badger ArmyAmmunition Plant near Sauk Prairie.([email protected])
Student News
Grossmann receivesNASA-MSU award
Emilie Grossmann was recentlyawarded a NASA-MSU ProfessionalEnhancement Award. The awardprovides $500 to assist with travelexpenses to attend the annual confer-ence of the U.S. Chapter of theInternational Association forLandscape Ecology in San DiegoMarch 28-April 1, 2006. The awardis supported by the NationalAeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) andMichigan State University. Emilie isa Ph.D. student working with Prof.David Mladenoff. Her dissertationfocuses on the long-term effects ofdisturbances on landscape dynamics,plant community composition, andsoil properties.
Hubbard receives scholarship
The College of Agricultural and LifeSciences has awarded StevenHubbard the 2006-07 Robert B.Hendricks Memorial/HardwoodManufacturers AssociationScholarship. Steve is pursuing aPh.D. under the direction of Prof.Scott Bowe. The scholarship willprovide financial support for Steve’scurrent research, which focuses on
life-cycle inventory of hardwoodflooring as well as process improve-ment strategies for manufacturers inthe eastern U.S. that use hardwoods.
GCA awards fellowship to Burton
The Garden Club of America selectedJulia Burton as recipient of their2006 Fellowship in Ecological
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Pictured above is a floating market Sarah Unz visited during a breakfrom her study abroad experience in Thailand.
Postcard from Thailand
Sarah Unz, a senior majoring inRecreation Resources
Management, says “Sa wat dee Kha!”That means “Hello” in Thai. Sarah isin Thailand participating in a studyabroad experience arranged by theCollege of Agricultural and LifeSciences. She attends classes atThammasat University, which shedescribes as a vibrant universityknown for its law and political sci-ence faculties that, at times, remindsher of the UW-Madison. It’s taken abit of adjustment to get used to theThai teaching routine. She says that
classes are taught on “Thai time”—with lectures starting up to 45 min-utes late. Says Sarah, “I am enjoyingmy experience immensely and hopeto bring what I have learned back toWisconsin; namely, patience whenyou do not understand things, kind-ness towards strangers (as so muchhas been shown to me), and how toobserve differences but not judgethem.” Sarah is using every availableopportunity to sightsee. On oneexcursion she participated in a homestay at a village near the floating mar-ket pictured above.
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continued from page 2Restoration. Julia is a Ph.D. studentworking with Prof. David Mladenoff.The fellowship provides $8,000 tosupport her study, titled “Restorationof Old-growth Forest Biodiversityand Ecosystem Function in Second-growth Forests.”
Mittlefehldt presentsposter at nationalconferenceSarah Mittlefehldt presented a posterat a joint conference of the AmericanSociety for Environmental Historyand the Forest History Society heldin St. Paul March 29-April 1. Sarah’sposter, based on her past summer’sresearch, was titled “UnderstandingWoods and Water: An EnvironmentalHistory of the Watershed Concept inthe Lake Superior Basin.” Her cur-rent work focuses on the history ofWisconsin’s Ice Age Trail. Sarah is aPh.D. student working with Prof.Nancy Langston.
Wunnicke featured inCALS’ Science ReportAaron Wunnicke, a 2005 ForestScience graduate, was featured in the2006-07 Science Report producedbiennially by the College ofAgricultural and Life Sciences.Aaron was one of several undergrad-uates included in the article titled,“Preparing for a Lifetime ofChange.” Aaron's feature is subtitled“Trees and technology” anddescribes some of the employmentand travel activities he participatedin to prepare him for the job market.You can access the entire article on-line at:<http://www.cals.wisc.edu/sciencere-port/2006preparingForChange.html>
Congratulations to ourDecember degree recipientsThe following people receivedB.S.degrees:Darren Bartosz – Rec. Resources Mgmt. Shaunna Chase – Soil Science and Rec.
Resources Mgmt.Marc Dembinsky – Rec. Resources
Mgmt.Margaret Grosenick – Forest ScienceTimothy Haack – Rec. Resources Mgmt.Gregory Jaeger – Rec. Resources Mgmt.Matthew Kimmler – Forest ScienceTyler Laudon – Rec. Resources Mgmt.
and Forest ScienceBrian Milligan – Forest ScienceRobert Murphy – Forest ScienceSteven Reinhardt – Forest ScienceJoseph Schwantes – Forest Science and
Rec. Resources Mgmt.Julie Schwenn – Rec. Resources Mgmt.Joseph Scott – Forest Science
Talia Sheldon-Desjardins – Rec. Resources Mgmt.
Kristin Shy – Forest Science
The people below received their M.S.degrees:
Jennifer Martin – M.S. Thesis: Carbonaccumulation, age-height relationships,production efficiency and competition inboreal mixedwood forestsAdvisor: Prof. Tom Gower
Timothy Wertin – M.S. Thesis:Reassessing the limitation imposed bystomatal conductance on photosynthesisin low lightAdvisor: Prof. Eric Kruger
Molly White – M.S. Thesis: Life-cycleinventories of roundwood production inWisconsin: inputs into an industrial for -est carbon budgetAdvisor: Prof. Tom Gower
FE&M alumni assist with historic harvest
Several of our alumni have worked on a landmark project for the Aldo LeopoldFoundation. Back in the mid-1930s, Aldo Leopold purchased an 80-acre farm
north of Baraboo. Over the years he and his family planted thousands of trees andother vegetation. After decades of growth those same pines needed thinning sothat the remaining trees can thrive. In 2003, Dan Pubanz (B.S. 1985, M.S. 1988),at the time a consulting forester for ClarkF o r e s t r y, inventoried the trees. NextClark Forestry, located in Baraboo andowned by Fred Clark (M.S. 1993), pre-pared a management plan. This past win-ter about 500 trees were marked for har-vest. Another alumnus, Jedd Ungrodt(B.S. 2001), was involved in monitoringthe harvest to assure that ForestStewardship Council (FSC) standardswere upheld. Jedd is a certificationforester for the Community ForestryResources Center based in Minneapolis.Trees harvested on the property will beused in the construction of the AldoLeopold Legacy Center to be built a shortdistance down the road from “TheShack.” Smaller trees will be speciallyprocessed into paper to print a specialedition of A Sand County Almanac.
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By Nicole Malandri
Agroup of students spenttheir spring break work-
ing and learning at LandBetween the Lakes NationalRecreation Area (LBL), locat-ed along the Kentucky andTennessee borders, takingpart in a recreation resourcemanagement practicum. LBLis currently managed by theU.S. Forest Service.Customer Service ManagerBrian Beisel (B.S. 1981) pro-vided a comprehensivereview of all aspects concern-ing the management of adeveloped recreation area.Each day the students had theopportunity to work with andlearn from various staff mem-bers of LBL. Topics includ-ed: environmental education,customer-based decision-making, fire management,trail management, vegetationmanagement, and culturalresource management. Everymorning started in the officewith an overview of howeach management tool is used
to enhance recreation experi-ences and opportunities.Then the students were off towork in the field to applywhat they had learned andhelp out on a range of proj-ects. The students helpedwith various maintenanceprojects, constructed a fireline and cleared debris arounda cultural site, helped to miti-gate damage from motorizedvehicles, planted trees, andworked on an archaeologicalsurvey. The trip provided thestudents with valuable realworld experience dealingwith many of the issues ofrecreation management.
A total of nine undergraduatestudents, lead by graduatestudent Nicole Malandri,went on the trip. Along withthe hard work, students wereable to spend free time hik-ing, canoeing, and sittingaround the campfire. Plus,the favorable weather andhome-cooked meals from thecamp kitchen staff topped theweek off for everyone.
Highlights of the trip includ-ed seeing a prescribed burnand revisiting the fire linethat successfully helped toprotect a spring house. Inaddition, important resourceissues were discussed, suchas what to do with a stormdamaged timber stand withina campground, how to bal-ance the demand for motor-ized recreation with impactson the resource, and how toovercome limited budgets
and staff. All students feltthat the trip was a rewardingexperience and helped tofocus career interests andgoals. A few also expressedan interest in taking advan-tage of LBL’s internship andapprenticeship programs. Wehope that the partnershipbetween the department andLBL continues and that manymore students will have theopportunity to participate infuture trips.
Land Between the Lakes site of spring break practicum
As part of the hands-on portion of the practicum, studentsbuilt a fire line. They later observed a prescribed burn andhow their fire line successfully protected a building.
Department News
Gower project featured inCALS’ Science Report
Prof. Tom Gower’s research projectinvestigating the role of boreal forests inthe global carbon cycle was featured inthe 2006-07 issue of the CALS’ Science
Report. The article provides a goodoverview of what the project hopes toaccomplish and also acknowledges thekey role played by student and staffworkers.
Prof. Gower and his assistants conductthe research in the boreal forests nearThompson, Manitoba. They constructedbuilding chambers around plots of blackspruce trees using 25-ft. diameter alu-minum frames and laid heating cables inthe soil. The air temperature inside thetest chambers and the soil beneath is
heated to 5 degrees C. above the temper-ature in the adjacent control plots. Prof.Gower hopes the project will demon-strate how higher temperatures affect theway the plants consume and release car-bon. Plants consume carbon dioxide aspart of photosynthesis. They release car-bon as they decompose.
Prof. Gower says that early findingsbring some expected and unexpectedresults. The heated plots begin theirgrowth three or four weeks earlier thanthe control plots, just what they
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continued from page 4expected. Surprising were the resultsshowing that the increased growth con-sumed more carbon than the increasedplant decomposition released. Thismeans that the trees used more carbondioxide than they released, even at thehigher temperature.
The Science Report article includes pho-tos of two FE&M graduate students—Dustin Bronson and Ingrid Van Herk—atwork at the field site this past summer.Dustin is quoted in the article saying,“You either love it or you hate it. I loveit.” Ingrid agrees, “I love being in thefield because it’s so exciting to see aproject like this first-hand. It’s differentfrom learning from a textbook. You cansee the progress yourself.” You canaccess the article (and other feature arti-cles in the report) on-line athttp://www.cals.wisc.edu/sciencereport/index.html.
Students experience Southern forestrymanagement practices over spring break
Students enrolled in Forestry 657—National Forest ManagementPracticum—didn’t spend their spring break lying on the beach.
Fourteen students in the class, along with Professors Eric Kruger andScott Bowe, immersed themselves in the forest management practices ofthe southern United States. Their route included stops in Illinois,Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. This year’sclass enjoyed excellent weather and the usual southern hospitality.
The real benefit of the course is that students have the opportunity tocompare forest management systems in the Lake States with the southernpine and southern hardwood systems in the South. The course includesvisits with representatives of the private forest industry and federal agen-cies, giving students the opportunity see what drives their managementobjectives. Students also gain an understanding of what it would be liketo work for the private and public sectors.
Fourteen students participated in the “Spring Trip” along with ProfessorsKruger and Bowe (bottom right). The group is posing outside the Solon DixonForestry Center in Alabama.
The plunge that wasn’tA group of brave souls in the depart-ment volunteered to jump into thefrigid waters of Lake Monona inFebruary to raise money forWisconsin Special Olympics. DustinBronson, Julia Burton, Jane Foster,Sandy Fowler, Ben Bond-Lamberty,Alexander Prishchepov, ShawnSerbin and Ingrid Van Herk were allprepared to jump, along with three“honorary” members of the depart-ment—Donna Christen, Alex Andinoand Mike Zeller. But a below zerowind chill on the scheduled dayforced event organizers to cancel theplunge. However, the $1,200 thegroup raised in pledges will be usedto benefit the Wisconsin SpecialOlympics program. We didn’t hearanyone complaining about themissed plunge opportunity.
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Professors Rickenbach and Radeloff promotedCongratulations to Professors Mark Rickenbach and Volker Radeloff. Both havebeen promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.
Prof. Mark Rickenbach joined the department in 2000 aftercompleting his Ph.D. in Forest Resources at Oregon StateUniversity. He possesses a unique combination of naturalscience and social science interests and skills that allow himto conduct outreach and extension work across several disci-plines. Prof. Rickenbach expertly links outreach and exten-sion to research to produce meaningful results. In particular,his recent work on forest parcelization has had an importantimpact on how forest industries view non-industrial privatelandowners, who provide the bulk of wood produced inWisconsin. Prof. Rickenbach’s parcelization work has also
been useful to the environmental community to help address many negativeaspects of forest parcelization.The bulk of Prof. Rickenbach’s time is spent on extension and outreach activities.However, he finds time to participate in team-taught courses and also advises sev-eral graduate students. Prof. Rickenbach’s web site is:<http://www.forest.wisc.edu/facstaff/rickenbach/>
Prof. Volker Radeloff also joined the faculty in 2000 fol-lowing a post-doc fellowship in the department and a Ph.D.in 1998. Prof. Radeloff is an ecologist who uses remotesensing and geospatial technologies in combination withecological and demographic data to interpret landscapechanges and the forces that drive them. His Ph.D. researchset in northwestern Wisconsin quantified forest landscapepatterns and the role played by fire and insect damage. Morerecent research has focused on assessing the risk of fire inthe wildland-urban interface using remote sensing tech-niques. In other projects Prof. Radeloff and his colleagues
have documented the amount of forest fragmentation in the Great Lakes region, animportant concern surrounding the conservation of many birds and mammals. Prof. Radeloff’s teaching includes both undergraduate teaching and graduate men-toring. He provides students with provocative questions and many opportunitiesfor hands-on learning. Prof. Radeloff’s web site is: <http://forest.wisc.edu/facstaff/radeloff.html>
Prof. Mark Rickenbach
Prof. Volker Radeloff
Dr. Brian Sturtevant joinsdepartment We are pleased to add Dr. BrianSturtevant to the Dept. of Forest Ecologyand Management as an Adjunct Professoreffective May 1, 2006. Dr. Sturtevantreceived his Ph.D. in ecology from theUniversity of Maryland at College Park in2001. He is currently a research ecologist
at the U.S. Forest Ser-vice’s North CentralResearch Station inRhinelander where heconducts interdiscipli-nary, multi-scaleresearch on forestecosystems andwildlife ecology. Dr.
Sturtevant is already engaged in research
projects with several FE&M faculty andstudents. His background in forest healthand federal land management issues com-plements our strengths in ecological mod-eling, remote sensing, and silviculture.His proximity to Kemp Natural ResourcesStation will make interaction with faculty,staff, and students especially convenient.He will prove to be a great contributor toour research and teaching programs.
Yellowstone park super-intendent delivers thisyear’s “Leopold Lecture”The number one challenge YellowstoneNational Park faces today is the long-term management of its bison herd,Suzanne Lewis told audience membersat the Aldo Leopold Lecture in NaturalResources at Union South on April 12.Ms. Lewis is the superintendent atYellowstone National Park and was thisyear’s invited speaker for the annualAldo Leopold Lecture Series in NaturalResources co-sponsored by FE&M andWildlife Ecology. After a review of thepark’s history and geologic features, Ms.Lewis focused on the complex issue ofbison wandering outside park boundariesduring winter months in search of foodand the potential spread of brucellosisfrom bison to cattle on adjacent ranches.
Yellowstone National Park superinten-dent Suzanne Lewis (right) is greeted byNina Leopold Bradley during a visit tothe Leopold Shack near Baraboo.
Prof. Brian Sturtevant
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Forest Ecology and Management Capital Fund
We invite you to join us in our efforts to establish a capital fund. Proceeds will be used to support a range ofresearch and instruction activities, help cover the costs of the summer field camp and the southern trip, and toupgrade research space in Russell Labs.
I/we would like to donate: ____ $25 ____ $50 ____ $75 ____ $100 ____ Other _________________________(please specify amount)
I/we would like to pledge $______ each year for ______ years.
I/we would like to donate $_______ to the Graduate Student Travel Fund.
Please charge my gift of $________ to my (please circle): Mastercard Visa American Express
Card Number: __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ Card Expiration Date: ____________________
Cardholder’s Name (please print)______________________________________________________________________
Cardholder’s Signature____________________________________________ Date ____________________________
Name(s)____________________________________________________________________________________________
Street Address ______________________________________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip ______________________________________________________________________________________
If paying by check, please make your gift payable to UW Foundation Forestry Fund, University of Wisconsin Foundation, 1848 University Avenue, P.O. Box 8860, Madison, WI 53708-8860
The Department of Forest Ecology and Management was fortunate in 2005 to receive a number of gener-ous donations. We would like to publicly thank each of you for your contribution and continuing inter-
est in our department, programs, and students. The funds are sometimes tagged for a specific use by thedonor. Other donations support undergraduate scholarships and educational activities, student attendance atprofessional meetings, and special development projects. Below is a listing of contributors.
A heartfelt thank you to our donors
Thomas AlbrechtTerrence BushGregory ColbyThe Connor FoundationSwift CorwinDebra CravePatrick CulbertJohn DobrinskiTerry DroesslerRon and Maureen GieseBenjamin Gramling
Ray and Ces GuriesJoseph and Lori HouseJan and Vicky JohnsonFrancis KirschlingJohn KressDavid LiskaMarilyn McDoleIsabel McKayMead Witter Foundation, Inc.Blair OrrHeidi Prestemon
Thaddeus PyrekRedcastle ResourcesDaniel SchmoldtMartin SchuettpelzGuy SmithJeff SorensonStephenson Tree Care, Inc.Alan TatzelWhitetails Unlimited, Inc.Xcel Energy ServicesSteven Zieroth
Alumni UpdateWe’d like to hear what’s new with you, your family, career, etc. Please complete
and return the form below or e-mail the information to <[email protected]>.
Name: _______________________________________________________________________________
Degree and Date Received: ______________________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________________
E-mail: ______________________________ Tel No. _______________ Fax No. _______________
Current employer and position: ___________________________________________________________
News to share: ________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Please return the above form to:Department of Forest Ecology and Management
1630 Linden DriveUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI 53706
