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Fall 2009: Sally Duncan of the Institute for Natural Resources and John Bliss, FES, will offer a 3-credit graduate seminar, Ecosystem Services from Private Forestlands. Goal: to engage students from a wide range of disciplines, forest owners, NR agencies and others in a highly interactive learning experience involving lecture, discussion, field trips, and needs assessment activities.

NEW COURSE!

Ecosystem Services from Private Forestlands

Draft syllabus now available

Private forestlands are increasingly recognized for the ecosystem services they provide to society, including clean air and water, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and carbon storage. This special graduate seminar, to be taught Fall of 2009, will focus on the ecological, social, and policy dimensions associated with providing ecosystem services from family forestlands. Students will utilize a needs analysis framework to explore options for restoring, maintaining, and enhancing provision of ecosystem services from these lands.

FOR WHOM? The class is open to graduate students from all disciplines and programs, including environmental science, forest management, forest ecology, public policy, and rural studies. In addition, family forest owners, practicing foresters, conservation professionals and others are invited to participate in the class, either as students or guests.

COURSE STRUCTURE: The seminar is organized into four distinct modules: 1) the socio-cultural context of family forestlands, 2) the policy context, 3) the three ecosystem services addressed: carbon sequestration, high quality water, and wildlife habitat, and, 4) synthesis.

Each module consists of multiple learning activities. First, students will be exposed to relevant, current literature, and expected to come to class prepared to learn. The readings (see attached preliminary reading list) are chosen to provide relevant theoretical and scientific underpinnings and to provide a range of perspectives.
Second, students will hear from and interact with experts on each module topic. Class sessions will be designed to balance formal lectures with facilitated discussion, panel discussions, and student-led critiques of assigned readings. During this period students will develop methods and questions for the needs analysis component of the course.

Third, each module will include a field trip to a family forest ownership where students can observe the phenomena they’ve read about and learn directly from forest owners, scientists, and agency and NGO professionals. Potential cooperators include the Woodland Carbon Company, Oregon Small Woodlands Association, Mary’s River Watershed Council, Willamette Partnership, and Defenders of Wildlife.

Finally, students will work on written assignments, both individually and in teams. Focused writing assignments will help cement key concepts in students’ minds and will provide the foundation for presentations to be made in the final module at a “Synthesis Symposium”.

For more information, contact John Bliss or Sally Duncan.