Whether tracking tree growth, mapping, measuring topography or detecting streams, remote sensing has become an indispensable tool for foresters and researchers.

With so much tech involved, talking remote sensing can get technical fast, which can make it hard to understand.

This article explores the nuts and bolts of modern remote sensing in a layperson’s terms with New England Forestry’s Research and Development remote sensing team: Remote Sensing Manager Trevor Host and Remote Sensing Forester Aaron Evans.

Here, you’ll learn:

• What is Remote Sensing?
• How Remote Sensing Works in Forestry
• Benefits of Remote Sensing for Forest Management
• Challenges of Remote Sensing in Forestry
• A Typical Day As a New England Forestry Remote Sensing Forestry Researcher
• The Future of Remote Sensing in Forestry

What Is Remote Sensing? A Brief History & Explanation

Remote sensing uses technology such as cameras, lasers, satellites and various aircraft to collect data about a particular area or landscape.

“Remote sensing has been around since we’ve been able to put cameras in something that could go up,” Trevor says. “For instance, hot air balloons used to be used for remote sensing.

“With satellites, a lot has been driven by military operations. One of the primary uses of the first satellites was to get a remote view and create maps of countries that were at war. The cold war led to a lot of development of remote sensing.”

There are two types of remote sensing: Active vs. Passive

The difference between active and passive remote sensing comes down to the energy source used to gather data.

1. Active: This is performed using artificial energy sources like light bulbs or the flash of a camera.
2. Passive: This is performed using natural reflective light, like energy from the sun.

Remote sensing technologies use one of these two methods to gather information depending on the environment and the type of data needed.

Some examples of remote sensing technologies include:

• LiDAR: Uses light or lasers to measure distance
• Radar: Uses radio signals to collect data
• Sonar: Uses sound to create images of the ocean floor
• Specialized cameras: These take photographs or video to capture data from drones, aircraft, or satellites

Choosing the Right Remote Sensing Tool for the Job

Trevor explains that each remote sensing technology and application has benefits and drawbacks.
Each of these technologies gathers data differently, and the best one to use depends on the goal, environment and level of detail needed.

“We use drones, aircraft or satellites depending on what we want to look at. Drones fly much lower and are more detailed, but you can only cover a small area. Satellites cover full counties on a regular basis, and it’s repeated, but the images have coarser resolutions and cloud cover, so you can’t always tell the details as well.”

Regardless, they all play an important role in tracking the health, viability and growth of forests.

Different Types of Remote Sensing Used in Forestry

Forestry researchers use various remote sensing devices and technology to gather data.

Trevor says New England Forestry obtains most of its remote sensing data from federal programs and some from in-house operations, including LiDAR.

Why LiDAR Technology Has Become Important for Forestry Remote Sensing

Trevor is spearheading a new LiDAR data project in which laser scanners mounted on aircraft collect 3D imagery, providing highly detailed terrain maps for New England Forestry forest managers and researchers.

LiDAR, an acronym for light detection and ranging, was born from radar (radio detection and ranging) and is the most commonly used active airborne sensor.

While radar uses radio waves to measure things, Lidar uses pulses of light—or lasers—which measure the elevation of things, such as the ground and trees, in three-dimensional space.

The capabilities of LiDAR technology make it possible for remote sensing scientists to:

• Map ground elevation using light angle, altitude, and tilt
• Measure forest structure in 3D, including tree height, spacing, and density
• See through forest canopies to gather data about the forest floor
• Identify natural features such as water flow patterns, stream beds, and terrain variation

How does LiDAR work?

In a nutshell, the lasers emit a pulse of light that travels to the ground or trees below, which then reflects information back to the LiDAR sensor, including the time it takes for the light to travel from the ground or object back to the LiDAR system.

From there, the LiDAR system uses the speed of light to calculate the distance between the top of the measured object, such as a tree, and the plane.

Here’s a simplified breakdown of how it works:

• A laser pulse is emitted toward the ground or object
• The pulse reflects off the surface and returns to the sensor
• The system measures the time it took for the light to return
• Using that time and the speed of light, it calculates distance
• Additional data like light angle, altitude and tilt are used to determine ground elevation

The Value of LiDAR for Forest Management

LiDAR is invaluable in forestry for providing 3D imagery of forest structures, topography, streams, ground elevation and more.

Plus, LiDAR sensors filter through the forest canopy, from the top of the trees to the ground below.

Think of it like light streaming through the trees, which gives a detailed and holistic view of the forest structure, not just the treetops.

This gives researchers and foresters much more information than aerial or satellite images.

“LiDAR is used to create a 3-D map,” explains Trevor, “so you’ll get the returns of the position with that laser pulse bounced off the ground, and that can tell you something about the 3D elevation of the ground with precise detail to the point when you can see gaps between houses and trees, where water flows, and where streams are, which are all important for us. It’s also useful for mapping tree heights.

“It allows us to cover the entire footprint of our landbase, whereas most of our other measurements are specific to forest stands. It also tells us the value of maintaining the forest.”

LiDAR can gather valuable information about tree density, height, shape and even the forest floor, which has been game-changing for forest research and management.

Benefits of Remote Sensing for Forest Management

The benefits of remote sensing for forest management and research fall into two categories, Trevor says:

“First, you save time planning out timber sales. We have to map out where the boundary of a timber sale will be. Those depend on how close you are to the stream channel, and remote sensing technology, such as LiDAR, helps us determine that accurately.

“Second, remote sensing provides the measurements used in things like assessing tree height growth. This helps us see if the stand is on track with what we expect for that age of a stand and how variable the heights are within the stand.”

And trees aren’t the only plant life captured, Aaron adds: “These technologies will give you helpful information on vegetation growth as well.”

Foresters also can gain important insight into water features that are important to understand at all stages in the forest lifecycle.

“It’s great for stream mapping and delineations,” Aaron says. “We can identify more waterways, spot distinctive water features, and have an insight of the stand before getting there.”

The Biggest Challenges of Remote Sensing in Forestry

Remote sensing is all about collecting data that must be reviewed and sorted by the research team.

“It definitely generates a lot of data,” Trevor says, “so data management, quality of imagery and interpretation takes up a lot of our time. We have a whole research team, but Aaron and I pretty much review all the data.”

Both researchers also mentioned general challenges with limitations in technology.

“We try to make imagery available on phones, but if you don’t have a network connection out in the woods, there are challenges there,” says Trevor.

A Typical Day As a New England Forestry Remote Sensing Forestry Researcher

The researchers said there isn’t one typical kind of day in their line of work. Their responsibilities vary depending on project needs, but often include:

• Collecting field measurements using mobile technology
• Developing and testing new remote sensing tools
• Training foresters on how to use new technology
• Collaborating across teams to solve specific forest management challenges
• Conducting research and development reviews
• Leading workshops and sharing insights with peers and partners

“We spend some days in the field doing measurements from our phones and some days back at the office,” Aaron says. “It just depends on the questions being asked and what’s needed.”

“A big part of what we do, since this is newer technology, is developing the tools, then trying to train foresters on how to use them,” Trevor says.

“Everyone’s coming from different backgrounds. So, a big part of it is just meeting everyone where they are and working with them to identify one thing that can help them make the job easier.”

Trevor and Aaron say the response from foresters of all tenures to the new technologies has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The folks who have been doing this work in the field for years are so excited about it,” Trevor says. “It is exciting for them to pull it up on an app and see, ‘Hey, this is exactly what my field knowledge confirms.’ I think a lot of people who have been doing this for a long time love it and take to it really quickly.”

Trevor emphasized he and Aaron also spend a lot of time providing training and workshops, doing research and development reviews, and sharing information on various topics with the New England Forestry team as well as organizations and educational institutions outside New England Forestry.

What’s Up and Coming in the World of Remote Sensing in Forestry?

Both Trevor and Aaron are excited about the expansion of AI in streamlining remote sensing data mining and management.

“Remote sensing data is pretty well-suited for AI,” Trevor says, “because if you think about satellite imagery, the data it collects is very standardized and that lends itself well to AI capability.

“If you can have an AI algorithm just look through thousands of images and kick out the cloudy ones, that can save a lot of time and take clear images stacked together. It can get you 75% of the way there, and that is a significant time-saver.”

Aaron would also like to see remote sensing technology improve for tree measurement:

“If you have an iPhone Pro, it has a LiDAR sensor, but it only goes about 15 feet. You can scan your room with a small LiDAR sensor and it will provide measurements. I’d like to see it work for larger trees.”

Aaron added he could see LiDAR playing a greater role in habitat management and biodiversity in the future.

Trevor expects LiDAR usage to expand in the same way foresters’ drone usage has in the field.

“I’d say drones have become a regular tool in the back of the forester’s pickup truck. When you think back to 10 years ago, that wasn’t the case. You don’t need anything fancy. It’s just a way to get a view in the sky.”

New England Forestry is Proud to Help Advance Research and Development Through Remote Sensing in Forestry

For over 75 years, New England Forestry has invested in its in-house Forest Research Center, one of only two industry-led research teams in the country.

Here, our scientists use modern research and technologies, like remote sensing, to gain a better understanding of what’s needed to support thriving pine trees, clean watersheds and diverse plant and animal species on active forestlands.

Learn more about how we’re making a difference to forestry science and the planet in:

• New England Forestry Scientists Bring Deep Knowledge to Forest Management
• What Are Land-Based Solutions?
• What Does A Forest Biometrician Do?

Interested in a Career in Remote Sensing?

Remote sensing researchers like Trevor and Aaron are shaping the future of forestry with innovative technologies that help protect and manage our forests more effectively.

If you’re passionate about the environment and excited by the idea of using cutting-edge tools to better understand the world around us, a career in remote sensing might be the perfect fit.

Learn more about careers like these at ForestryCareers.com and explore how to get started by visiting the Remote Sensing Researcher Profile.

The post How Modern Remote Sensing Is Transforming The Future of Forestry appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.

Forestry companies own thousands and even millions of acres of forest land. Across New England Forestry, millions of acres span across the U.S. South, Pacific Northwest and New Zealand.

With so much forest land, how do forestry organizations go about accounting for all of the trees? And why is taking tree inventory important?

The answer is forest biometrics.

Forest biometrics is the measurement and analysis of data collected from specific measurements taken in the forest. Data such as tree diameter and height give forestry companies information that can be built and projected into the future. This is valuable, as it offers informed decision-making opportunities rather than working off of assumptions.

But how does a forestry company go about collecting and analyzing such data? That’s where a Forest Biometrician comes in.

What is a Forest Biometrician?

In simple terms, a Forest Biometrician is someone who collects and analyzes data about the trees to help sustainable forest companies, such as New England Forestry, make well-informed business decisions. This little-known position is crucial to the success of the forestry industry. By utilizing statistics, data analysis and modeling, Forest Biometricians are among the most valuable assets to a forestry organization.

Here, we take a closer look at what a Forest Biometrician does and how you can become one:

What does a Forest Biometrician do?

In the forestry industry, it is vital for companies to accurately estimate the trees, also known as inventory, growing in the forest. Numbers and data all influence the management performed by forestry organizations. High-quality data is useful because it helps the company better understand its value and is essential to growing a sustainable forest resource.

Forest Biometricians are responsible for estimating what is growing in the forest and then using that information to create models predicting how they will continue to grow in the future.

Growth and yield models use the data and measurements taken by Forest Biometricians. These models are then used as a tool within forestry companies like New England Forestry to make decisions. These decisions include determining silviculture application needs, financial decisions, and developing optimal timber harvest schedules.

“We can’t go out there and measure every tree, so what we do is we measure a subset of those trees,” explains Research Biometrician Stephanie Patton.

New England Forestry’s Forest Biometricians, working closely with our Forest Inventory team, allocate a set of plots within a forest that will be used to measure and estimate inventory. For example, if Stephanie’s team is working on a 30-acre stand, they will place about 10 small circle plots to observe and measure. They gather diameter, height and tree quality information. (You can watch video examples of how these measurements are taken in our article, “Why Do Foresters Cruise Timber?”).

The data collected is imported into the company software and grown into the future with the growth and yield models. By utilizing statistics and data to predict trees’ growth over time, the work that a Forest Biometrician does impacts every facet of the forestry industry.

“Our work allows us to plan for the long-term because we want to make sure that we have forests here in the future,” says Stephanie. “As a Forest Biometrician, I can feel the value I offer New England Forestry. Ultimately, the value of the company comes down to inventory and biometrics. You can definitely see the impact you have in this position.”

What types of tools does a Forest Biometrician use? 

Most Forest Biometricians spend the majority of their day at a computer working in statistical software, such as R, Python, and SAS. But on occasion, they will venture out into the woods to take necessary measurements to continue building out the growth and yield models.

In forestry, diameter is measured at breast height, which is 4.5 feet from the ground. “This is convenient,” explains Stephanie, “because you can just walk up to a tree, wrap your arms around it and take your measurement with a diameter tape. Most of our equations are based on the diameter of the trees.”

Aside from measuring for diameter, Forest Biometricians carry simple tools to help them gather additional information they need from the forest.

For height, a hypsometer, clinometer, or relascop may be used. These small, handheld tools use gravity and angles to accurately measure a tree’s height. The hypsometer is the most widely-used amongst Forest Biometricians, as it uses a laser to give the distance to the tree and quickly calculates the height.

To determine which trees to measure in a variable radius plot, a prism will be used. Prisms are a wedge of glass that refracts light. It distorts the image of a tree trunk to determine whether a tree is within the plot or not. Forest Biometricians also use this tool to count the trees, which helps them quickly calculate a plot’s basal area, the cross-sectional area of the trees. 

Additional tools include a tablet to record numbers directly into New England Forestry’s software; pin flags for marking; protective gear such as hard hats, vests, and snake chops; as well as cell phones for data recording.

As technology is rapidly evolving, new tools are always on the horizon. 

“The next thing, I believe, is the integration of new technologies,” says Stephanie. “LiDAR and drones, if used well, can be great resources for us in our career.”

How do you become a Forest Biometrician?

To become a Forest Biometrician, you will need at least a master’s degree and a strong foundation in statistics and forest growth and yield models. A forestry degree isn’t required but can be helpful.

“There are lots of careers for both [master’s and PhD-level degrees],” Stephanie says. “If you’re interested in biometrics there are great master’s programs that can really get you into more of the details of what goes on in the growth and yield models and could really prepare you for that career.”

In addition, an understanding of the forest you are working in is a must. Silviculture and forest management are tightly intertwined into the growth and yield models. Aside from working with numbers, knowledge of the trees, soil types, and harvest schedules are among the topics Forest Biometricians consider on a daily basis.

What skills are needed to be a Forest Biometrician?

Being able to think holistically is a necessary skill for someone considering Forest Biometrics. 

“We aren’t just thinking about and working with numbers,” explains Stephanie. “We also have to consider all of the other factors affecting the forest, such as the history of the stand, what types of trees are growing and what makes them grow well.”

In addition, good teamwork and communication skills are required. Most Forest Biometricians work in teams and must communicate what the numbers mean. Speaking with land managers and timber marketing departments is common. In this position, you may find yourself working with different types of people across the business, as well as outside of the business. Working directly with research co-ops and engaging with students is a common occurrence.

“It’s a good position because we are in very high demand,” explains Stephanie. “As many biometricians are beginning to retire, we need people to join this field. Ultimately, the value of the company comes down to inventory and biometrics. You really can see the impact you make.”

The post What does a Forest Biometrician do? appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.

Working forests are healthy and vibrant not due to luck or chance but rather because of a growing body of scientific knowledge that supports thriving pine trees, clean watersheds and diverse plant and animal species on active forestlands.

For 75 years, New England Forestry has invested in its in-house Forest Research Center, where scientists have studied trees and forests down to the genetic level. The Center is one of only two industry-led research teams in the country.

“There’s been a lot of improvement to forestry as we’ve learned more about biology and that’s really where the team comes in,” says Trevor Host, Research & Development Coordinator at the Research Center. “We take what we’ve learned from experiments and make that operational. We still have research notes from the ’70s that we reference today.”

The Three Roles of New England Forestry’s Forest Researchers

As the team has grown, it has taken on three key roles: 

1) Breed and test tree families for the best growth and quality

2) Research all aspects of forest management and put the results into action throughout the company

3) Enforce sustainability certification standards, including record-keeping and staff training

The team, which works out of our office in Yulee and in various New England Forestry offices across the U.S., collaborates with university scientists on cooperative efforts: New England Forestry provides the land, labor, and other resources for large-scale research projects that scientists from industry and academia work on together. 

But team members also create their own research projects in response to questions that come up within the company, usually from front-line forest managers who need help with specific challenges. 

Three team members share their experiences working at the Forest Research Center: 

Kirk McEachern—Senior Manager, Forest Productivity & Sustainability Group 

Kirk’s knowledge of forest health is literally deeply rooted–he studied soil science in college and graduate school before starting his career as a soil cartographer, in which he mapped soil types and distribution for local, state and federal government projects. 

Kirk says it wasn’t long before he “morphed” and started working on trees in the forestry industry, where he’s been for 27 years. He has worked on everything—hybrid poplars, hardwoods, yellow pines—and brings decades of experience to his role as manager of the Forest Productivity and Sustainability Group.

His main role is to support front-line foresters and other decision-makers throughout the company on all aspects of forest management. For example, if a forester has a problem with disease in a stand of pine trees, Kirk and his team provide current scientific insights to help guide decisions.

Kirk also oversees environmental compliance efforts, including the company’s voluntary commitment to its Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Forest Management certification. Kirk trains employees on compliance and record-keeping requirements in an effort to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat and at-risk species. SFI’s stringent requirements are independently audited and require meticulous documentation.

This breadth of responsibilities has been rewarding for Kirk, who says New England Forestry has given him the opportunity to grow in his career. He hopes to pass his knowledge on to the incoming generation of scientists.

“I very much enjoy sharing what we have collectively learned and understand about forest management to those just starting their careers,” Kirk says. “The industry generally is experiencing a lot of change in age distribution and New England Forestry is no different. The challenge is to codify and not lose what we have learned over the previous 75 years.”

April Meeks—Tree Improvement Scientist, Research & Development Coordinator

A relative newcomer to the Forest Research Center, April Meeks describes herself as a “forestry nerd.” She earned this title with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a master’s in forestry. Now, April is finishing her doctorate in forest genetics with dissertation work in progress as part of her role at New England Forestry.

“My favorite thing about studying forestry is being able to learn about how a tree grows,” she says.

As a Tree Improvement Scientist, April tests tree families to determine those with the best potential for healthy growth. She says it’s rewarding to be part of New England Forestry’s reforestation process and she looks forward to watching the seedlings grow to be big, healthy trees.

April also designs research projects to address specific challenges facing New England Forestry foresters.

“My favorite project that I’ve worked on so far is a project with a disease affecting our trees called pitch canker,” she says. “We artificially inoculated some of our families for the disease. The project is part of my Ph.D. work and I got to practice some analytical techniques for processing the data, which I had only done in courses at school. For the first time, I was working with my own data and processing the results on my own.”

Trevor Host—Research & Development Coordinator for Remote Sensing

Filling a brand-new role at the company, Trevor’s specialty is remote sensing, relying on aerial imagery, satellites, drones, and other emerging technologies to map and monitor forests.

He studied environmental science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, followed by a master’s in natural resources at the University of Minnesota, where he focused on forestry.

“I was interested in the technology side of it. There’s just different ways you can use modern technology to aid how folks have traditionally done forestry for many decades,” Trevor says. “And I learned about what you could do in these roles. It’s a good blend of technology as well as being out in the woods, being in a more natural environment, and being a steward of the land, just managing it to make a better world for everybody.”

Trevor is working on a new LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data project in which laser scanners mounted on aircraft are flown over New England Forestry forests to collect 3D imagery, providing highly detailed terrain maps for forest managers. 

“We can see the elevation of the ground underneath the forests which is new and very useful,” Trevor says. “You can tell where the water flows and where the streams are in our land base which is really important. Then we have a 3D map of the forest too. It’s useful for mapping tree heights.”

Trevor is excited to see how this data supports the company’s forest management efforts and looks forward to emerging technologies. 

“As new things develop we have different and unique needs,” says Trevor.  “We need to be able to grow into those new avenues as technology gets better.” 

The future of the Forest Research Center

Though the group’s founders didn’t foresee the high-tech mapping technologies or sustainability standards that have become part of forestry, the Center has adapted beautifully to these changes. That’s because the Forest Research Center is, at its core, a scientific endeavor. As science itself is never a finished product, the need for innovation and rigorous research in forestry will continue into the next era of management. 

And as for the future, Kirk, the manager of the FPS group, says that front-line foresters will continue to need new research into genetics and forest management practices. In-house research is more valuable than ever. 

He and his team are excited to see what the next era of forestry research brings!

The post New England Forestry Scientists Bring Deep Knowledge to Forest Management appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.

April Meeks is a forestry nerd—and she embraces the title proudly. The New England Forestry Tree Improvement Scientist and Research and Development Coordinator loves math, computer models and the outdoors. 

“I grew up in the woods,” says the North Carolina native. “My parents really fostered an environment for me to appreciate the environment—the trees and the plants and the animals.” 

Discovering Forestry

April began her education at Appalachian State University where she studied environmental science. She knew she wanted to work in some aspect of the outdoors or the environment, but it was pretty broad. Then, she discovered forestry and had what she describes as an “aha moment.” 

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is exactly what I need to be doing—working with trees!’” says April. “I learned how much you get to use math and take what you see in the environment and come back to the computer and run different analyses to make projections for what the future might hold.” 

Math, data science, outdoor adventure: forestry checked all her boxes, but April knew she’d need more education. That’s when she enrolled in the Master of Science in Forestry program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. While there she focused on silviculture. April graduated with her MSc in Forestry in 2015 and decided to continue on at NCSU. She’s currently working toward a Ph.D. with a concentration in forest genetics. 

“My favorite thing about studying forestry is being able to learn about how a tree grows and everything that it takes to make a tree grow,” she says. “The more I learned, the more I wanted. I just couldn’t get enough. That’s why I kept pursuing degrees.”

The Forest as a Living Laboratory

NCSU is one of the country’s top forestry schools, and a big part of its success is students’ access to forest land used for hands-on research and training. NCSU students have access to 85,000 acres of land contained in the Hosley, Goodwin, Gates, Taylor, Timaca, Lee and Hofmann forests. The College of Natural Resources controls another 9,000 acres in the Hill, Schenck, and Bull Neck Swamp tracts. These living laboratories allow students to get out of the classroom and into the forests throughout the course of their education. 

Although she was not able to attend one, herself, April says NCSU’s summer intensive field camps have an excellent reputation. These summer studies, which involve traveling to several different forests, allow students to gain valuable practical knowledge and start to see what a career in forestry could look like.

“You cover everything in forestry in a hands-on manner,” April explains. “It’s that communication through hands-on learning that is really amazing.”

April was able to work for two forestry research cooperatives during her time as a graduate assistant at NCSU. 

“We would do intensive field work in small teams in different parts of the South,” she says. “One time, we were in Alabama in July outside and we were dying from the heat. So, I went and bought Popsicles for everybody. Basically, I said, ‘Go measure this rep, and then you can have a Popsicle’ to keep the team high-spirited and keep them going.”

April has a lot of fond memories of her time at NCSU, but it’s mostly because she truly loves the work.  

“It’s really fascinating to me to be able to take a living organism and correlate that to math, and then take that math and play with it and make projections with it,” she says. “It was the coupling of analytical skills with being outside in the fresh air—it was challenging. I am one of those personalities that need to be challenged and forestry fit the bill.” 

Women Welcome in Forestry

April was the first woman to graduate from Appalachian State with an environmental science degree, so she’s used to being the only woman in her classes. When she got to forestry school at NCSU, it wasn’t much different. 

“My classes in forestry school were all guys, my professors were all men, but I was really surprised at how welcomed I was into the community,” she says. “Everyone there was so excited that I was excited about forestry. The mentorship that I received was just superb. The community as a whole is very open and they just want to foster learning. It’s really a good community.”

Advice for Future Forestry Students

Now working for New England Forestry out of our Andalusia, Alabama, office, April has a very simple piece of advice for students considering whether to study forestry: “Do it. You won’t regret it.” 

“It’s really that simple for those interested in forestry, looking for something fast-paced and fun. There’s math behind it, policy behind it, and it’s a good way to challenge yourself to be a better steward of the environment too.” 

The post A “Forestry Nerd” and Loving It appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.

Ask a dozen forestry students how they discovered their field, and at least half will tell you they never heard of forestry until college.

Looking for a career that makes a positive impact on the world, college students are increasingly drawn to environmental and nature-related studies across the U.S. However, forestry, one of the higher-demand, better-paying fields in the natural resources realm, is lesser-known.

“If you want to protect the environment, work with wildlife, improve water and air quality, and reduce carbon in the world around you, forestry offers all of those things,” says Shelby Pyatt, New England Forestry’s Vice President of Human Resources and IT. 

A Mission to Attract More Students to Forestry 

It’s New England Forestry’s hope that the next generation of students discover forestry sooner. The field offers a variety of opportunities for students, regardless of whether they’re the “outdoorsy” type.

“There are so many sides to it,” Shelby says. “There truly is something for everyone in this field.”

Forestry graduates have the option to work outdoors in the woods, or to dig deep into forecasting models and crunch numbers on what the future may hold as the trees grow. A forester may work in a public-private partnerships to protect important water sources or work to conserve a special forest where a rare plant thrives. Identifying and protecting wildlife habitat is an integral part of forestry. And tech lovers can actively use tools like LiDAR, drones and GIS mapping software.

In an effort to help students understand the rich breadth and depth of what forestry has to offer sooner, Shelby says New England Forestry is working to reach students at the high school and middle school level by partnering with schools, communities and other forestry organizations.

So What Exactly is Forestry? 

Forestry is a unique mix of art and science.

The science part uses biology, chemistry, math and ecology to inform a forester’s decisions about how best to care for the forest ecosystem. But, as explained by the University of Kentucky’s Forestry and Natural Resources site, science is only part of the decision-making process: 

Foresters must apply their knowledge in a decision-making arena where good solutions are not always obvious, conflicting human interests must be considered, and conflicting opinions must be compromised. This need for experienced judgment, diplomacy and tact constitutes the art of forestry.

“At New England Forestry, we provide our foresters with a lot of tools to get the data they need, but we also trust them to balance that with the experiences they have in the field,” Shelby explains. “They make thoughtful decisions that balance all of the factors involved.”

For example, a forester may consider data on the soil type, topography and wildlife habitat when deciding which type of trees to plant and what planting method to use in a particular area. But after walking in neighboring forests, the forester may observe something about the microclimate or the growth and health of neighboring trees that impacts that plan.

What Types of Careers Can Foresters Choose? 

The best thing about a career in forestry, according to Craig Blair, President and CEO of Resource Management Service, is that there really is a place for everyone—no matter their interests, skill sets, or career goals. 

“You don’t have to have a history of love for the outdoors or exposure to the outdoors to find a great career in forestry,” he says. “No matter what your talents are, there’s a career path in this business because it is just so diverse.” 

This chart outlines some of the options, depending on a student’s area of interest:

The way Blair sees it, the possibilities are many and the future is bright.

“Right now, it is a seller’s market if you’re a smart forestry graduate, and it’s been that way for a while. … I think there are a lot of growth areas in this field that will create opportunities for bright, passionate people to have challenging careers to look back on when they’re done and feel like they’ve made a difference.”

Lack of Awareness One of the Biggest Challenges in Forestry

It’s an interesting field, but one where most of the work takes place deep in the woods, where few get to see how it works. Many forestry representatives have an uphill climb when introducing future college students to the field.

“I went to speak at a high school in Knightdale, North Carolina,” recalls Sam Cook, executive director of forest assets at NC State University. “I bet you it was close to 75 kids, and 90 percent were minorities. They were only talking about environmental science and social justice. They had no knowledge of the word forestry.” 

Sam is working to build a program with that same school focused on forest literacy and introducing high schoolers to the concept of a career in forestry. Having “stumbled upon” forestry, himself, more than 30 years ago, he relishes spreading the word about forestry degrees and careers. 

“Forestry was not even on my radar when I was their age, but it’s been the best thing that ever happened to me in my whole career,” he says. 

When he was in high school, Sam’s sister encouraged him to look into a forestry degree at Tuskegee University, where he could leverage his love of the outdoors into a meaningful career. It wasn’t until his second year in the program during an internship with International Paper that he realized he’d been living in a forestry household all along. 

“My dad and brother both worked for a paper mill. I had no idea that the forest industry was impacting what they do every day, because nobody came home and talked about what they did,” he says. “That internship opened my eyes to the connecting points between trees being grown and harvested, delivered to a mill, processed and coming out with a finished product. And I could see myself in the food chain.”

Sam finished his forestry degree at NC State and built a career working across the forestry industry for private companies, nonprofit organizations and the government before taking his role in forestry education. 

Is Forestry A Viable Path? 

Once students are introduced to forestry as a possible degree, Sam likes to walk students and their parents or caregivers through the ins and outs of a degree in forestry. He often finds himself in conversation around a table with a parent who wants their child to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer. It’s his job to introduce them to an equally viable career path in forestry. 

“I shape what we do in forestry around those three aspects: We offer forest engineers, forest ecologists, forest biologists. You can be a forester and get into social science if you want to just do research and deal with people,” he says. “I’ll walk through the many types of jobs and opportunities as it relates to forestry, and I showcase to them the many different people out there that are doing these jobs with a forestry degree.”

As for earning potential, Sam lays it out clearly for potential students and their caregivers. 

“If you come out your first year and you start working for the government, you may end up with a salary offer of about $35,000 to $40,000 with benefits,” he says. “In private industry, a typical starting salary is somewhere between $55,000 and—if they have a master’s—it can get as high as $65,000. How many people leave their first year and possibly get a brand-new vehicle, a paid cell phone, and a good salary? And to get to be out in the woods and set your own day?”

It’s not just “cutting trees”

Sam says misconceptions about what foresters do and even what the industry stands for has been one of the toughest challenges in attracting students. 

“Most people, when they think about forestry, it is no different than what I was thinking about when I was growing up,” he says. “The forester to me was the person out there cutting the trees.”

And isn’t cutting trees a bad thing?

In truth, foresters by trade are committed to understanding forest ecosystems and working out sustainable ways to use and replace forest materials. Foresters plant multiple trees for every tree they harvest, then nurture that crop for decades before the logs go to market. And only so many trees are cleared from one area at a time, ensuring the ecosystem remains for wildlife.

Meanwhile, the products from the forest end up everywhere: from the wood used to build furniture and houses, to paper products like toilet paper and cardboard, to 1000s of lesser-known products that depend on the forest, such as diapers, touch screen phones, medicines, paints, bath products and countless others. Is it any wonder the field is in such high demand?

Changing misconceptions can be slow work, and Sam believes it should start even before students are picking a college major. One organization making headway in student education is the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. In 2017, SFI partnered with Project Learning Tree to create a forest literacy and environmental education curriculum designed for early childhood, elementary, middle and high school students. 

“That really helps change the narrative as it relates to what we do every day,” says Sam.

As students become more aware of the importance of forestry in their everyday lives, perhaps more will see the potential in studying forestry.

“It’s a rewarding industry to be a part of,” says New England Forestry’s Shelby. “You’re doing so much good for the environment, providing so many products consumers need, and you’re doing it all in a sustainable way.”

The post The Little-Known Field that Protects the Environment and Pays Well appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.

GLENNVILLE, Georgia—You may pile them in buckets, kick them across the yard or decorate them for a craft, but did you ever think about the potential forest contained within every pinecone?

At New England Forestry, we gather enough cones every fall to fill an 18-wheeler. But we don’t take just any pinecone: only the best of the best will do.

Our work on this year’s pine cone “crop” started two years ago in February 2019, when our genetic research team did some matchmaking:

Controlled Pollination Ensures Ideal Parents for Future Trees

First, a lesson in pinecones: there are actually two kinds of cones on every tree, not one.

Most of us are familiar with the full-grown female pinecone, known as the “flower” or megastrobilus. Growing near the top of the tree, it starts as a small bud and takes 18 months to reach the mature size we find on the ground in our yards. 

There are also male cones called catkins, which grow lower on the tree. These slim, cylindrical cones are loaded with pollen. Once their pollen is released into the atmosphere, the short-lived catkins have served their purpose and fall to the ground. Catkins grow lower than flowers so the wind will blow their pollen away from their tree, pollinating neighboring trees rather than self-pollinating the tree on which they grow. (The variety in genetics is better for the tree’s offspring).

Breeding our trees to be as disease resistant, straight and fast-growing as possible, our genetic research team goes to great lengths to control both parents of our seed cones. They cover the female cones in our genetically-bred seed orchards with bags just before they’re ripe for pollination. Then they shoot pollen from our best tree families into the bags. You can watch our video of the process for the same cones shown in this story and learn more about controlled pollination here.

“Our pine cones in no way have artificial genetic modifications,” explains Tree Improvement Forester Serenia O’Berry. “They’re bred the same way Mother Nature would do it, except we expedite the process.”

Once the flowers are pollinated, the bags are removed and the flowers are left to grow for 18 months. Once full grown, each cone contains enough seeds to grow a forest: an average pinecone contains about 150 seeds, and cones from specially-bred trees can produce even more.

Picking Pinecones for Seed Production

In the fall of 2020, our pinecones were full grown and ready to be picked. Our timing had to be perfect: we pick the cones while their scales are still closed tightly shut to ensure all seeds are still safely inside the cones. But they have to be mature enough that their “muscles” will be strong enough to open the scales after they’re picked. Years of forestry industry research has determined that cones are at exactly the right point when they have a specific gravity of .87.

How do we know when they’re ready? We float them in motor oil with a specific gravity of .88. If our cones float, we know they’re ready to pick. If they’re close to the surface, they’ll be ready in a few days. And if they sink to the bottom, they’ve got a while to go.

We use a hydraulic lift to reach the treetops and carefully remove the cones, one branch at a time. The cones are loaded into 18-bushel crates, which are taken by tractor trailer to a seed extractory that will oven-dry the cones and process them to remove the seeds and dewing them (dewinging makes them easier to plant).

These seeds, used to plant the next generation of trees in our forests across the U.S., will first travel to Elberta, Alabama, where they will be nurtured in the rich soils of our seedling nursery for the first 18 months of growth. Then the seedlings will be transplanted to our forests.

We also process some of the cones in a small tumbler at our Glennville Research Office in order to quality-test the number of seeds our cones are producing.

“These cones are usually post-ripened for about 6 weeks and then they’re put in a room with a dryer for 48 hours,” Serenia explains. “When the cones open up, that’s when we know they’re ready for seed extraction.”

We place bushels of cones in a tumbler, which spins them, allowing the seeds to fall out into a bin below. We then run the seeds through our own handmade vibrating, vacuum-powered seed blower that cleans and de-wings them.

We use a simple float test to determine which seeds are viable. Seeds that float in a bucket of water will not be able to germinate, but those that sink will.

Then we count the seeds using a machine called a seed counter.

Our Genetic Research Cones Get Special Treatment

Even as we mass-produce seeds from our best tried-and-true tree families, we’re constantly looking for ways to make our trees even healthier, straighter and faster-growing. 

“We focus on the most advanced genetics because it contributes to the sustainability of our company, our industry, and the environment,” Serenia explains. The difference is striking when her team compares photographs of New England Forestry forests from the mid-1900s to today’s forests. Our pine trees are much healthier, more robust and faster-growing than their ancestors.

To continue improving, we use special research forests in which we graft genetic research trees with high potential, then gather their cones and test the performance of their progeny. There are only a handful of cones for each family, so every seed plays an extremely important role. That’s why we process those cones completely by hand.

The research cones are collected and placed in bags labeled by family. Then we take each cone apart by hand with pliers, ensuring we find every single seed. Once cleaned and counted, the seeds will be packaged by family and placed in our freezer until we’re ready to plant and test further.

“Processing cones is exciting because it’s a whole year-and-a-half worth of labor coming to fruition,” Serenia says. “It’s the next step in making sure we have the best possible seedlings for our forests.”

Planting Trees by the Millions

Just how many seeds do we produce every season? Enough to keep our seedling nursery busy: we grow and plant more than 30 million trees every year.

It all starts with the pollination of those baby pinecone flowers. Decades later, the trees that grow from the seeds in those pinecones will be the raw material needed to produce whatever wood, pulp and paper products the next generation requires.

The post How Pinecones from New England Forestry’s Best Trees Become Forests appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.

WILDLIGHT, Florida—Imagine how the world might change over the next generation: Will we drive flying cars? Visit Mars? Teleport from here to there?

We don’t know what the future holds, but today’s researchers are striving to prepare the tools and materials future generations will need. At New England Forestry, forward-thinking individuals like our Biometrics Projects Leader Nate Osborne challenge us to continue pushing the limits of what we know about our trees and the products they could one day be used for.

We’ve learned it’s not just the information we hold, but also who we work with that will continue moving our company—and our industry—forward. Nate (shown on the right in the photo above) recently welcomed Guillaume Salzet, a forestry modeling engineer from France, to present his research to a team of New England Forestry employees. Guillaume works with the ExtraForEst program at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAe) in Nancy, France. He has been working with Nate on a project seeking a deeper understanding of the relationship between forest growth and wood quality.

“Before we create industries, we model whether they will be sustainable,” Guillaume explains. His research with the program is advancing a better way to predict the chemical makeup of wood, with the hope of being able to maximize the concentration of certain chemicals needed for high-end makeups and pharmaceutical products. Surprisingly, what’s considered one of the least valuable trees for typical wood products is one of the most valuable for Guillaume’s research: he found trees with knotty wood have the highest concentration of the desired chemicals.

“This could make use of a tree that once was not considered very valuable,” says Guillaume, who is also collaborating with forestry researchers at the University of Georgia to compare findings and research methods during his visit to the U.S.

A hope for more trans-continental research partnerships

Neither Guillaume nor Nate have heard of trans-continental research partnerships like theirs in the forestry industry, but they hope to see more of them in the future.

“The research we’re doing in North America isn’t the only research out there,” says Nate, who, himself, studied in Scandinavia, Scotland and France to broaden his perspective during graduate school. “There’s a whole other space in Europe that’s really siloed off. We can gain a lot more intellectually and business-wise by these kinds of collaborations.”

Connected through a common mentor

Nate and Guillaume met through the INRAe professor who mentored Nate in France, Francis Colin. It was Francis who first introduced Nate to the concept of using a medical CT scanner to gain a deeper understanding of wood properties, which became critical to the research Nate used in his own doctoral dissertation at Oregon State University. (Although, a bit less glamorous than the dedicated scanner in Francis’s research lab, Nate used the scanner at a nearby vet clinic between the clinic’s scans of sick pets and zoo animals.)

Guillaume, visiting the U.S. for a month, included several tours of New England Forestry’s forests and meetings with New England Forestry researchers in his visit. He was able to share firsthand experiences his American colleagues could use in the field, while they offered him a forestry experience from the perspective of a company whose work must be aligned with its standards for sustainability as well as profitability.

“It was very interesting to have another view with this scale of a company and see the different thinking,” Guillaume says. “It’s been a pleasure to be here and meet people and discover different aspects of forestry.”

Small town forests impacted by global markets

With our forests growing in quiet rural towns for decades and then being harvested by small, often family-owned logging contracting companies, it can be easy to see forestry as a strictly local business. But the market for timber is a worldwide industry, and that makes it critical to understand what’s happening in forests worldwide.

“How does the industry use radiata pine in New Zealand? How is the spruce beetle epidemic influencing forest management in Northern France? Factors like these can impact the value for timber across North America,” Nate explains. “It’s a global market, and our research needs to help us solve global challenges to be sustainable today, as well as preparing us for opportunities in the future.”

The post Forestry Researchers Connect Across the World appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.

MILLWOOD, Georgia—Down a long, dirt backroad in this tiny Georgia town, the beginnings of millions of acres’ worth of forests are budding in a New England Forestry seed orchard.

The tiny pine cones forming in these carefully-bred trees—so tiny, they’re called “conelets”—will grow into the forests that provide wood products for future generations 20 years from now. New England Forestry’s Forest Productivity & Sustainability team is determined to ensure they’ll be the best trees this company has ever seen.

Morning after morning, Genetic Resources Manager David Barker stops at this seed orchard on his way to the office, climbing into a mechanical lift to take a peek at the conelets. He is watching for signs that the conelets, which are the female “flower” part of the tree, are nearly ready to peel back their leafy outsides, called bracts. Known to researchers as “stage 5,” it will be the precious, short window of time when the conelets are receptive to pollination before the bracts close again.

Acting Fast in the Seed Orchard

When they’re nearly ready, Seed Production Manager Austin Smith snaps into action, working with a dedicated team of contractors to place a paper bag over each flower cluster. At this tender size, the conelet is very fragile and must be handled with care, so each bag is fitted with a wire that keeps the sides of the bag from injuring the flower. With the bags in place, the random pollen that comes with the wind, which could come from disease-prone or less robust trees, won’t be able to interfere with the conelets’ potential.

Austin and his helpers work from sunrise to sundown, using mechanical lifts to reach into the treetops and access the flowers. Tens of thousands of clusters are covered with bags that look similar to a paper lunch sack.

Introducing Pollen From Superior Trees

The research team will check the flowers again in the days to come until they’re open. Then they will use air guns to dust pollen from superior trees into each of the bags. (New England Forestry also harvests the male part of the tree, called the catkin, to collect pollen in liter-sized jugs, drying it into a powdery substance and storing it in freezers for future years). The pollen comes from trees that New England Forestry has chosen for disease resistance, straightness, volume growth, height and diameter.

“It’s really incredible to be able to actually make this happen when we’ve spent so much time on paper planning to make it happen,” Austin said during a rare break at Millwood recently. He likes to compare the process to horse breeding: the best of the best trees are selected, the result of years of genetic research.

Once the conelets’ scales close up, they are no longer receptive to pollen and the bags will be removed. The conelets will grow to full-size pine cones over the next 18 months. Then the cones will be harvested and sent to a seed extracting company. The resulting millions of seeds will then be shipped to our seedling nursery in Elberta, Alabama, for planting. After growing in the nursery for about a year, the baby pine trees will be planted in forests throughout our ownership across the United States.

Decades of Research

For over 50 years, our research team has nurtured seed orchards of pines that, unlike plantation pines, are intentionally spaced wide apart to allow their branches to spread, producing as many cones as possible. While the seeds that come from the Millwood Orchard will be sent into our forests, we also use the controlled pollination process on a much smaller scale for research as we continue to improve the parents of our future generations of trees.

Just a few weeks before the mass bagging operation in Millwood, Tree Improvement Forester Serenia O’Berry bagged and pollinated conelets in New England Forestry’s Ohoopee Seed Orchard in Reidsville, GA, on a small cluster of trees. Each had to be specially tagged and marked to ensure researchers would know which male and female parents were used. Seeds from those cones will be harvested, planted and grown and monitored closely. In about five to six years, testing on the trees that grow from those seeds can determine whether they are ideal parents. It sounds like a long time to wait for results, but by forestry standards, it’s not. Researchers in previous generations had to wait as much as 15 years before testing their genetic breeding.

Serenia says selective breeding, something that has been done in the agricultural world for centuries, speeds up what nature would have done on its own over a much longer period of time. And, by managing the parents of our trees, New England Forestry is able to make more uniform, consistently-growing stands of trees, which is ideal in forestry.

Despite the long hours during pollination season and countless trips up and down into the treetops to monitor the flowers, the research team looks forward to this process all year.

“I love getting to do the research, I love getting to be in a lift and I really love to be able to contribute to that next generation of trees,” Serenia says. “This is hands-down my favorite part of my job.”

The post How Foresters Use Controlled Pollination to Improve Tree Performance appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.

GLENNVILLE, Georgia—How do you convince a tree it’s years—maybe even decades—older than it really is? New England Forestry’s genetics research team does it by using a technique called top grafting.

The process shaves a massive amount of time off our advances in tree genetics research.

Rather than waiting for a new seedling to mature to seed-producing age (about 7 years), our seed production team grafts our most promising trees with older trees.

Top Grafting in the Treetops

Climbing into aerial lifts to reach the treetops, the team fuses shoots (branch ends) from genetically superior young trees onto the end of the older trees’ branches at the top of the crown. The young tree shoots then perform as though they are the age of the older trees.

This leads the promising new trees to produce seeds within the year, allowing us to plant and research how their progeny perform. The best performers from the seeds we plant will be selected for mass planting in our seed orchards.

Pot Grafting Promising Trees

Similar grafting techniques are then used on smaller rootstocks in a method called pot grafting. Once we select the ideal trees to use in an orchard, we want to get a whole lot of these trees in a short period of time so we can plant them and generate seeds that will be used throughout our ownership. We do this by attaching the shoots of the superior trees to potted trees, allowing our team to make hundreds of copies of the best trees in a matter of days. These will then be planted in the orchard, where trees are spaced farther apart to allow more branching—and thus, more pinecones—to produce millions of seeds.

The post New England Forestry Researchers Save Time and Increase Quality with Grafting appeared first on New England Forestry Stories.