News UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON College of Forest Resources M E S S A G E FROM THE DEAN When UW President Mark A. Emmert addressed the overflowing crowd celebrating “Come Together Washington” last October, he spoke of making the UW a world leader in addressing the compelling questions of our time. One strategy to achieve that vision, he said, is to “… create new partnerships with business, government, and communities — partnerships that bring the intellectual resources of the University to bear on real-world problems and opportunities.” The College of Forest Resources has been fortunate to enjoy enduring and mutually beneficial partnerships throughout its nearly 100-year history — partnerships that educate students and professionals, solve problems, and share in the discovery of the science underlying forestry and related natural resource disciplines. I’d like to tell you about two recent examples that illustrate the value and promise of such partnerships. Just a few weeks ago our College was honored with Washington State University Extension’s 2005 Partner Award. Presenting the award, WSU’s David Baumgartner said that the WSU-CFR relationship is the most successful and long-term ‘Cougar-Husky’ partnership. It includes location of WSU Extension Forester Don Hanley at CFR; the development of intensive hybrid poplar culture, a multi-million dollar crop on both sides of the state; the Rural Technology Initiative, which has brought nearly $4 million, staff, and resources to both institutions to jointly address technology transfer to rural communities; and WSU’s King County Master Gardner program at our Center for Urban Horticulture, in which universitytrained volunteers serve the gardening public. Our partnerships with the timber and natural resource business communities are longstanding. They have contributed, for example, to our paper science and engineering program through the Washington Pulp and Paper Foundation (WPPF) (see story, page 2) and to silviculture research by the Stand Management Cooperative. A recent example of a vibrant, long-term relationship is the Weyerhaeuser Professorship in Paper Science and Engineering. Part of a $2 million gift to the UW, the largest single gift ever made by Weyerhaeuser, the $250,000 pledge was augmented by a Distinguished Professorship Award from the WA State Higher Education Coordinating Board and a UW Founder’s Initiative Match to bring the total endowment value to $625,000. This professorship, which will attract new faculty in paper science and engineering, joins other gifts to the College from the Weyerhaeuser Company and its Foundation, including support for the Thomas Swen Friberg Endowed Fund, the David R.M. Scott Endowed Fund, the WPPF, and the Center for International Trade in Forest Products. These examples join a host of individual and other foundation partners who over many years have contributed to the success of our College and the UW. We are very proud of these partnerships. We know that the foundation of our efforts and our successes is, of course, people — the alumni, donors, faculty, staff, students, and all our friends who together make up the web of partnerships that sustain our commitment to knowledge and discovery. With all of our partners, we have been “creating futures since 1907.” B. Bruce Bare Crowds at Merrill Hall's January grand opening. Photo: Mary Levin. Merrill Hall Grand Opening — A Public-Private Partnership Builds a Green Building After four years of planning and construction, the Center for Urban Horticulture’s new Merrill Hall celebrated its grand opening on January 19th. A public-private partnership that included UW and College of Forest Resources funding and private support from generous alumni and friends ensured that the rebuilt Merrill Hall is an outstanding example of how smart design and construction can create healthy indoor spaces and environmentally friendly structures. Housing the Elisabeth C. Miller Library, the Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium, and offices and laboratories for faculty and students involved in the College’s education, research, outreach, and rare plant care programs, the new Merrill Hall uses sustainable resources and state-of-the-art technology to improve the well-being of people inside the building as well as the land surrounding it. The building was designed to incorporate the College’s and the Center’s mission of sustainability, and will be the greenest building on the UW’s Seattle campus and one of the handful in Seattle built following Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) standards — considered the nation’s gold standard for sustainable buildings. Merrill Hall boasts features that include a way to recycle stormwater, take advantage of natural ventilation and solar panels, and incorporate recycled and renewable products, such as furniture hand crafted from salvaged urban trees and other certified wood products. A large, enthusiastic crowd attended the dedication events that included featured speaker UW President Mark A. Emmert, a hosted “founders luncheon” in NHS Hall, a ribbon cutting ceremony, tours of the building, and the premiere of a musical composition written for the occasion. The Merrill Hall grand opening was followed in February by the long-anticipated arrival of Professor David Mabberley, the new Director of the Center for Urban Horticulture and the Washington Park Arboretum and the holder of the Soest Endowed Chair in Horticultural Science. In this issue MERRILL HALL GRAND OPENING “The College of Forest Resources: creating futures since 1907.” DENMAN PROFESSORSHIP IN SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE SCIENCES URBAN ECOLOGY GOES TO BERLIN AND OSLO RARE PLANT SAFARI ALUMNI FOCUS COLLEGE NEWS SPRING 2 0 0 5 John Marzluff Appointed First Denman Professor in Sustainable Resource Sciences Professor John Marzluff, Professor of Wildlife Science and a director of the Urban Ecology interdisciplinary graduate program, was recently appointed the College’s first Denman Professor in Sustainable Resource Sciences. The endowed professorship is a 2004 gift from Dick and Mary Ellen Denman to enhance the College’s ability to attract and retain distinguished faculty involved in the research and teaching of sustainable resource sciences. Along with teaching wildlife science and urban ecology, Marzluff’s current research includes long-term studies of the effects of urbanization on songbirds in the Seattle area, responses of nest predators and songbirds to settlement, recreation, and forest fragmentation on the Olympic Peninsula, and endangered species conservation. He has published widely on experimental design and the methods needed to quantitatively assess wildlife responses to human activities. His areas of interest include raptor management, management of pest species, and assessment of songbird survival, reproduction, and movements. He has led studies on the effects of military training on falcons and eagles in southwestern Idaho, the effects of timber harvest, recreation, and forest fragmentation on goshawks and marbled murrelets in western Washington and Oregon, and conservation strategies for Pacific Island corvids. Marzluff says, “As Denman Professor of Sustainable Resource Sciences, I will continue my research into how we can sustain our wildlife resources in an increasingly urban world. I’m particularly interested in the connections between the ecological, social, and economic components of sustainability. Along with collleagues in the urban ecology program, I have recently been working on demonstrating how sustainable urban development is tied to ecological sustainability. We propose that as sprawl development grows and degrades the natural environment, the costs of replacing natural, ecological services with constructed services (for example, water treatment plants instead of relatively intact forested watersheds), along with costs to human satisfaction and health, make unchecked development unsustainable. The Denman Professorship will allow me to gather empirical data to further test these ideas. I’ll also use the professorship to expand my field-based bird research into investigating how urban life affects the values that humans place on wildlife and how to measure the value to humans provided by contact with nature in natural ecosystems. This expansion of research will allow me to collaborate with social scientists interested in anthropology, values, and economics. The professorship will also allow me to support increased public outreach, such as developing fact sheets for home owners, planners, and policy makers, and to provide additional support for postdoctoral collaborators.” A leading expert on corvids (jays, crows, and ravens), Marzluff incorporates his personal interest and enthusiasm for these birds into his teaching and research programs. He and his students have banded about 1,000 crows in the Seattle area to help understand the relationship between crow density and urban sprawl in metropolitan centers. They are also contributing to local and national efforts to better understand how West Nile virus spreads and to develop methods, in cooperation with local, state, and federal health agencies to minimize its impacts on humans and wildlife. “The importance of such collaborative efforts,” says Marzluff, “is an important aspect of conservation biology research. If all major stakeholders are involved in research on a potentially contentious issue — for example, how timber harvest may influence an endangered species — “we can hopefully avoid the polarizations and mistrust that have characterized some endangered species research in the past.” Professor John Marzluff leading a field trip at the rural-urban fringe. Photo: Gordon Bradley. Marzluff spent Autumn Quarter 2004 on sabbatical in Oslo, Norway teaching at the Agricultural University of Norway (see article, page 4). Washington Pulp and Paper Foundation Helps College’s Paper Science Program Thrive The College’s paper science and engineering (PSE) program has been fortunate to enjoy nearly since its inception generous financial support and industry involvement by the Washington Pulp and Paper Foundation (WPPF). Says WPPF Executive Director John Hanby, “We are committed to attracting bright and motivated students and providing them with scholarships, ensuring that the PSE program thrives and grows. Of the more than 400 students who have graduated from PSE, over 350 have entered rewarding careers in the paper and allied industries. We want all program graduates to have breadth and depth of knowledge grounded in the principles of sustainability, stewardship, and economic vitality, and to be able to make immediate contributions and be future leaders.” The WPPF functions financially though annual contributions from members (now 43 strong!), by earnings from its $2.1 million endowment, and through private support from individuals and companies. Revenue is used primarily for the scholarship program. Undergraduate Jed Matson, who recently completed his PSE requirements (with a 3.9 grade point average) and is now pursuing a double degree in chemical engineering, understands firsthand the value of WPPF support. He says, “Without the generous scholarship support I received it would have been very difficult for me to pursue any higher education. I was the first in my family to go to college.” The partnership between the College and the WPPF was clearly evidenced in late 2001 as Dean Bruce Bare provided $45,000 in 1-to-2 matching funds for any donations to the WPPF for student support. He was pleased to announce that by December 31, 2004 nearly $35,000 of these matching funds were used — a wonderful demonstration of private support for PSE and an enduring partnership with the College. Acknowledging today’s challenges to the paper and allied industries, the WPPF is designed to be part of the solution to a revived domestic industry. Manufacturing in the U.S., including the paper industry, is increasingly moving off shore. Says Hanby, “We believe that the U.S. must sustain globally competitive manufacturing capabilities. Our support of the College’s PSE program is one component of improved competitiveness and renewal for the forest products industry.” Contributions and opportunities include highly-qualified and dedicated graduates, manufacturing-related higher education and research, increasing advocacy for the industry within academia and the public, and pursuit of breakthrough technologies to advance industry competitiveness.” Above Left: Jed Matson. Above Right: John Hanby, WPPF Executive Director, (left) with Professor Tom Hinckley at the 2004 CFR Alumni Association banquet. Photo: Mary Levin. College News Weyerhaeuser Endowed Professorship in Paper Science and Engineering The College is pleased to announce the establishment of the Weyerhaeuser Professorship in Paper Science and Engineering. Through a three-year pledge in the amount of $250,000 from the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation that was augmented by the 2004 State Distinguished Professorship Award from the WA Higher Education Coordinating Board and a UW Founder’s Initiative Match, the total endowment value will begin Work in paper science and engineering labs benefits from generous private support. Photo: Kirsten Atik. at $625,000. Endowment proceeds will be used to attract a new faculty member in paper science and engineering. This gift joins other private support to the College from the Weyerhaeuser Company and its Foundation, including support for the Thomas Swen Friberg Endowed Fund, the David R.M. Scott Endowed Fund, the Washington Pulp and Paper foundation, and the Center for International Trade in Forest Products. A formal signing ceremony for the Professorship was held at the UW's Seattle campus on March 10, 2005. Working Forest Forum to Reconvene in Autumn 2005 The Northwest Environmental Forum at the College of Forest Resources will reconvene “Saving Washington’s Working Forest Land Base” in Autumn 2005 to create an action agenda for 2006. An expanded planning group will meet on April 28, 2005 at the Center for Urban Horticulture to define the scope of this upcoming Forum. Proceedings from last November’s session are now posted at www.nwenvironmentalforum.org. Responses to a questionnaire sent to participants of that session will assist the April planning group in synthesizing the large amount of input and interest generated by the November meeting and defining upcoming critical issues. RTI takes technical tools to land managers in the field. Photo: Luke Rogers. RTI Annual Technical Review A key theme in February’s Rural Technology Initiative (RTI) Annual Technical Review was the important synergisms between the Cougars and the Huskies. Last year’s successes, shared by RTI’s UW and WSU staff, included the development of the Landscape Management System (LMS) Inventory Wizard, the release of LMS 3.0, a new ArcGIS course, continuation of the Training the Trainer and Coached Planning and Stewardship programs, the use of LMS by Penn State’s Cooperative Extension program, the publishing of a stream stability guidebook for landowners, the continued production of the Small Forest Land Owner database, and much more. Also shared were updates on projects including modeling economic and biologic sustainability in eastern Washington’s forests, the social implications of the Alternate Plan option of the Forest Practice Rules, the response of family forest owners in western Washington to increased development pressures, and the role of non-market values such as clean air and water, habitat and biodiversity, recreation, and aesthetics. Long-term development funding and possible new priorities for RTI were discussed. Highlights Dean Bruce Bare appointed two search committees during Winter Quarter: one chaired by Professor Gordon Bradley to fill the position of tenure-track assistant professor in landscape plant science and sustainable management, and a second, chaired by Professor Jim Agee, to fill the position of tenure track assistant or associate professor in remote sensing and biospatial analysis. Professor David Briggs was appointed Director of the Precision Forestry Cooperative and holder of the Corkery Family Chair, effective January 1, 2005. Briggs retains his directorship of the Stand Management Cooperative. Professor Ivan Eastin was appointed Director of the Center for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR), effective February 1, 2005. Professor Gordon Bradley was elected Faculty Vice Chair, effective March 1, 2005. Nancy Davis is the College’s new Assistant Director of Development, effective January 15, 2005. Davis comes to the College from the UW Office of Annual Giving. The Center for Water and Watershed Studies’ (CWWS) 15th annual review of research was held on February 17, 2005. A capacity crowd attended the review, focused on the theme of “Water and Sustainability in the Region.” The CWWS Advisory Board met in March to discuss a draft strategic plan for the center. The Denman Forestry Issues Series presented a program on “The Effect of Global Climate Change on Northwest Professor John Marzluff was appointed the first Denman Professor in Sustainable Resource Sciences (see article, page 2). Arbor Day Fair at the UW will take a sabbatical in 2005. The Fair will be back, better than ever, in 2006, with a secure funding base and updated exhibits and events. An exciting and rewarding educational event since 1995, the Fair has annually provided more than 2,000 children an unforgettable experience of many aspects of forestry and related natural resource sciences. The College and its alumni association are committed to continuing the Fair and efforts are underway to insure its successful return. The event’s nine successful years could not have happened without the participation of volunteer alumni, students, faculty, and staff and the many schoolteachers and children who have attended over the years, as well as the financial support of our sponsors. Check the CFRAA web page for further announcements regarding the Fair and ways you can help with planning. And, thank you for your past support! CFRAA President Ann Forest Burns Presents Dean Bare with SAF Award CFRAA President Ann Forest Burns (’71), who serves as a Society of American Foresters (SAF) Council member, visited the College in February to present Dean Bruce Bare with a plaque commemorating his election as an SAF Fellow for 2005. SAF Fellows are honored for The College welcomed Professor David Mabberley as Director of the Center for Urban Horticulture and Washington Park Arboretum and Soest Professor of Horticultural Science at a reception in Anderson Hall on February 23, 2005. The CFR-UWAA winter lecture series, “Sustaining our Northwest World: From Fire to Flowers,” presented Professors Jim Agee and Gordon Bradley and CFR alum Dan Hinkley (’85) speaking on managing fire in the West, shaping the visual landscape, and plant selection and garden design. The College’s Visiting Committee met on March 11, 2005 in the new Merrill Hall. Agenda items included updates on College faculty searches and research direction, the Working Forest Forum, the collaborative teaching space being developed in the former Forest Resources Library, and other initiatives. Green Diamond Resource Company (formerly part of Simpson Timber Company) is partnering with the College to provide paid summer internships to four College undergraduates. The internships will include a stipend, housing, and field work transportation. Dean Bare and College faculty met with leadership of Weyerhaeuser Company and Simpson Timber Company to discuss research interests. Meetings are also planned with the U.S. Forest Service and with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. The fund drive to establish a James Ridgeway Endowed Professorship has reached $207,000. Only $43 thousand dollars are needed to reach the endowment minimum! CFRAA President Ann Forest Burns and Dean Bare. Photo: Tom Mentele. Alumni Focus Arbor Day Fair Takes a Sabbatical Forests,” on March 17, 2005. Speakers included CFR faculty Linda Brubaker, Tom Hinckley, Bruce Lippke, John Perez-Garcia, and Dave Peterson, and UW Climate Impacts Group Research Scientist Philip Mote. rendering outstanding service to forestry and the SAF, including strong continuing commitment through SAF volunteer activities, and exemplary action, sustained leadership, and advancement of the forestry profession. Burns, an attorney with the law firm Burns & Williams, specializing in forestry law, is a longtime supporter of the College. New CFRAA Board Members Announced Two vacant CFRAA Board positions have been filled. Alan Randall (’57), the new 2nd Vice President, has had a 45-year career in forestry, from timber cruising in the Pacific Northwest to international work on natural resources administration and forestry in 22 countries. Since retiring in 1998, he has been active as a consultant on carbon sequestration investments and on forest certification as well as continuing advisory assistance to NGOs. A former vice president of the Tropical Forest Foundation, Randall is a member of the Society of American Foresters and the International Society of Tropical Foresters. Randall will be working on increasing the active membership of the CFRAA. Position 2 for the 90s decade is now filled by Mark Swanson (’99), who is currently a PhD candidate in the College’s ecosystem analysis program. His doctoral work involved quantifying and modeling carbon stocks and dynamics in the beech woodlands of Tierra del Fuego, Chile. Swanson will serve as a link to the College’s student organizations such as UWSAF and the Forest Club. Alumni News Loren Ford (’76, ’86) is state and private forestry program coordinator with the USDA Forest Service in Arlington, Virginia. Sue Joerger (’79) is director of the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, whose mission is to protect and preserve Puget Sound by tracking down and stopping the discharge of toxic pollutants into its waters. Joel Holtrop (’82) is the new deputy chief of the USDA Forest Service for the national forest system. Holtrop previously served as deputy chief for state and private forestry. Vicki Christiansen (’83) is the new head of operations for the seven WA Department of Natural Resources regions around the state. Christiansen has held a number of positions with WA DNR, including firefighter and forest technician responsible for reforestation of trust lands in the Mount St. Helens blast zone. A $15,000 gift initiated a fund drive to endow a fellowship in memory of Josef Kolar (’89). Jacqueline (Renee) Brooks (’87, ’93) is a research plant physiologist with the EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon. She was the keynote speaker at this year’s CFR Graduate Student Research Symposium in February. Edward Wolf (‘94) is an environmental writer and editor living in Portland, Oregon. His latest book, published by Ecotrust and distributed by Oregon State University Press, is “Klamath Heartlands: A Guide to the Klamath Reservation Forest Plan.” Joshua Millspaugh (’99) is assistant professor of wildlife conservation at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he has received several teaching awards. One of his recent research projects is studying elephant stress in relation to ecotourism in eight national parks and preserves in South Africa. Alicia Robbins (’04) has taken a position in the College managing the Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest. In memoriam John Bruckart (’37) Chester Webber (’48) James Ridgeway (’38) Alfred Lauritsen (’50) Paul Kennedy (’43, ’53) Josef Kolar (’89) Urban Ecology Goes to Berlin and Oslo structure of an old city that has undergone drastic political change throughout its history. And visiting the German students’ research sites and hearing them present at the conference made us feel part of an international community of like-minded researchers. In Oslo we were able to talk to policy makers and to better understand the differences in our two systems.” Students and faculty also presented papers at a symposium at the Agricultural University of Norway (AUN). Urban Ecology students and faculty explore urban structure in Berlin. Photo: Eric Shulenberger. Urban Ecology students, faculty, and researchers traveled to Berlin in October to participate in the Second International Congress of Urban Ecology. CFR faculty John Marzluff, Clare Ryan, and Sarah Reichard gave presentations and PhD students presented posters. This was the UW program’s third trip to Germany, part of an on-going collaboration with Berlin’s Humboldt, Technical, and Frei Universities. The group then traveled to Norway to study Oslo’s Plan for Sustainability. Says Associate Professor Clare Ryan, “Students especially enjoyed the opportunity to meet with city officials and government and other groups working on urban sustainability.” For student Adrienne Greve, the trip was an amazing opportunity. “In Berlin we experienced ‘in person’ the urban form and Urban Ecology Director John Marzluff combined the program’s visit to Oslo with a sabbatical quarter teaching at AUN. Says Marzluff, “I taught a graduate course in urban ecology with 20 students from Iceland, Mexico, Nepal, and Norway who taught me about the challenges of sustainable development in those countries. The class researched for the City of Oslo recycling, forest recreation management, and how the humans use parks. Of course, I also watched crows. In the neighborhood where I lived I watched them drop English walnuts — an interesting case of crow culture responding to the human culture of importing favorite plants and making hard-surfaced roads. It’s what Tony Angell and I call ‘cultural co-evolution,’ discussed in our new book, In the Company of Crows and Ravens, available from Yale University Press in autumn. It was fun to watch the crows swing over the streets like bombers sighting in their targets and then suddenly swing up, drop a nut from heights of 10-20 meters, and then spiral down to claim their nutritious nutmeats. My learning was not confined to the classroom or neighborhood streets. Together with my host, our families hiked across public and private lands (a right of all Norwegians), skied near the Swedish border where grizzly bears and wolves still roam, and visited museums and research projects from Oslo to Bergen. We ate fermented trout, greenish lamb, and fish pudding. Our children learned that fourth graders use power tools in wood shop and, while students rise to greet their teacher’s entrance, they call them by their first names. The trip was a great opportunity to broaden my international perspective, focus on urban ecology, and write about corvids.” Rare Plant Safari Join the College of Forest Resources and the University of Washington Alumni Association (UWAA) on Saturday, May 14, 2005 for a Rare Plant Safari at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) and the Washington Park Arboretum. A continental breakfast and a lecture by Assistant Professor and Rare Care Director Sarah Reichard will start off the safari at 9 a.m., followed by a tour of the Miller Seed Vault and the Douglas Research Conservatory. Safari members will travel by car to the Washington Park Arboretum to continue learning about and discovering rare plants. The tour will end at the Arboretum, shortly after noon. Native plant species in Washington are being threatened by rapidlygrowing human population and development. Over 450 plant species are currently rare, threatened, or endangered in the state. The Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program (Rare Care), located at CUH and funded almost solely through private support, is dedicated to conserving Washington’s native rare plants through in situ and ex situ conservation, rare plant monitoring, reintroduction, and education. Rare Care is the first plant conservation program focused exclusively on vascular plants designated as rare in Washington State. Plant material is collected and grown in the greenhouse for eventual reintroduction into native sites, and program staff, students, and volunteers monitor rare plant populations located throughout the state. Register online for the Rare Plant Safari at the UWAA website at uwalum.com. Cost for UWAA members is $10. Register early — space is limited! Rare Care Director Sarah Reichard. Upcoming Events Calendar APRIL 21 U.S. Forest Service Centennial Film, “The Greatest Good,” UW Campus APRIL 28 Working Forest Forum Planning Meeting, Center for Urban Horticulture MAY 14 Rare Plant Safari, Center for Urban Horticulture and Washington Park Arboretum MAY 14-15 Garb Day, C. L. Pack Experimental Forest, Eatonville, WA MAY 18 Annual College Scholarship Luncheon, UW campus CFR News MAY 25 Washington Pulp and Paper Foundation annual banquet, UW campus JUNE 2 Denman Forestry Issues Series: “The changing northwest forest: keeping the landscape green,” UW campus JUNE 10 CFR Graduation, UW campus JUNE 13-15 Global Positioning System Workshop, C. L. Pack Experimental Forest, Eatonville, WA UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Please direct all corrections and inquiries to CFR News, University of Washington, College of Forest Resources, Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195-2100. EMAIL: cece@u.washington.edu PHONE: 206-543-3075 Share your news: CFR alumni activities and successes are of interest and inspiration to faculty, students, staff, alumni, and friends of CFR. Update your contact information at http://www.washington.edu/alumni/addresschange.html. This newsletter can also be found on line at: www.cfr.washington.edu. College of Forest Resources C A M PA I G N U W : C R E AT I N G F U T U R E S University of Washington College of Forest Resources Box 352100 Seattle, WA 98195 News Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Seattle, WA Permit No. 62