College of Forestry

About the OSU College of Forestry: For a century, the College of Forestry has been a world class center of teaching, learning and research. It offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in sustaining ecosystems, managing forests and manufacturing wood products; conducts basic and applied research on the nature and use of forests; and operates more than 15,000 acres of college forests.

Updated wildfire hazard map provides landowners, policymakers with objective data to inform wildfire management strategies

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Forestry today released final versions of statewide wildfire hazard and wildland-urban interface maps developed by Oregon State University scientists.

The maps can be viewed online on Oregon Explorer; they will be updated about every five years.

Reducing irrigation for livestock feed crops is needed to save Great Salt Lake, study argues

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Great Salt Lake has lost more than 15 billion cubic yards of water over the past three decades, is getting shallower at the rate of 4 inches a year, and an analysis of its water budget suggests reducing irrigation is necessary for saving it.

The study published today in Environmental Challenges shows that 62% of the river water bound for the lake is diverted for human uses, with agricultural activities responsible for nearly three-quarters of that percentage.

Pacific Northwest semiconductor and mass timber industries each receive $500,000 awards from White House

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University-led efforts focused on microfluidic technology for semiconductors and mass timber design and manufacturing each have received $500,000 awards from the White House.

In Oct. 2023, the White House, through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, announced the designation of 31 Tech Hubs, including the two led by Oregon State.

Wildfire smoke has a silver lining: It can help protect vulnerable tree seedlings

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Forest scientists at Oregon State University studying tree regeneration have found that wildfire smoke comes with an unexpected benefit: It has a cooling capacity that can make life easier for vulnerable seedlings.

An OSU College of Forestry collaboration led by faculty research assistant Amanda Brackett made the discovery while working to determine the effect of forest canopy cover on summer maximum temperatures near ground level.

Research showcases Indigenous stewardship’s role in forest ecosystem resilience

CORVALLIS, Oregon – Oregon State University researchers have teamed with the Karuk Tribe to create a novel computer simulation model that showcases Indigenous fire stewardship’s role in forest ecosystem health.

Western scientists and land managers have become increasingly cognizant of cultural burning but its extent and purpose are generally absent from fire modeling research, said Skye Greenler, who led the partnership when she was a graduate research fellow in the OSU College of Forestry.

Indigenous Knowledge, western science braided into recommendations for land managers

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Two Oregon State University faculty are among the lead authors of a report that combines Indigenous Knowledge and western science for the purpose of informing future climate-adapted land management decisions across the United States.

The authors say their recommendations include “practical and cultural management interventions that could help avert the loss of thousands of acres of old-growth forest.”

Study offers rare long-term analysis of techniques for creating standing dead trees for wildlife habitat

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Ecologists have long known that standing dead trees, commonly referred to as snags, are an important habitat element for forest dwellers and act as a driver of biodiversity.

They’re so important that in some managed forests, snag creation is part of the conservation tool kit – i.e., crews sometimes convert a percentage of live trees into dead ones through techniques ranging from sawing off their tops to wounding their trunks to injecting them with disease-causing fungi.

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