Forest Ecosystem Management

Professional foresters are challenged with the conservation, restoration, and sustainable provision of a wide range of forest ecosystem services, including timber and nontimber forest products, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, clean water, healthy soils, carbon sequestration, recreational opportunities, and the aesthetics of both rural and urban landscapes. Foresters need specialized knowledge to manage for this wide range of ecosystem services. The Forest Ecosystem Management program teaches students to identify, measure, and quantify a variety of forest ecosystem attributes; communicate effectively with diverse groups; analyze and interpret natural resources information in an ecological, economic, and social context; and integrate the relevant ecological, economic, and societal aspects of contemporary problems in natural resources management and use this understanding to develop, support, and implement effective solutions.

You Might Like this Program If...

• You enjoy working outdoors
• You have a concern for natural resources and an appreciation of nature
• You have an analytical mind to manage complex ecological systems and resolve environmental, economic, and social challenges
• You have an aptitude for innovation and strategic thinking

The mission of the B.S. program in Forest Ecosystem Management is to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and professional ethics for understanding and managing forest ecosystems and living as responsible members of society.

The Forest Ecosystem Management major provides for the education necessary for students to pursue professional careers in one of the following options:

1. Forest Biology
2. Forest Management
3. Community and Urban Forest Management
4. Watershed Management

These options also will prepare students for graduate studies in continuing professional education.

Forest Biology Option

This option provides a strong background in the biological and ecological aspects of contemporary forestry and establishes a sound foundation for professional employment and graduate-level study in forest and environmental sciences.

Forest Management Option

This option provides professional training in the management of forest lands consistent with the needs of ownership objectives. Employment opportunities include forest management positions with public agencies, industry, and private consulting.

Community and Urban Forest Management Option

This option helps prepare students to manage community trees and green spaces. It emphasizes technical expertise, communication abilities, and skills for working with diverse people. Employment opportunities include municipalities, arboricultural companies, utilities, and government agencies.

Watershed Management Option

This option focuses on water resources and the integrated management of natural resources with emphasis on water. Graduates qualify for federal employment as hydrologists and for water-related careers in municipal watershed management, state and local government, and environmental/engineering consulting.

• Basic Knowledge of Forest Flora and Fauna: Demonstrate knowledge of the biology, taxonomy, and ecology of flora and fauna associated with forested ecosystems
  • Identify the common tree species of North America (especially those of the northeastern US) and describe their silvics
  • Identify key understory plants, invasive species, pathogens, non-timber forest products, and fauna and describe their ecological roles in forest ecosystems
• Forest Data Collection: Accurately identify, measure and quantify a variety of forest ecosystem attributes
  • Design, execute, analyze and report on a forest inventory to measure both timber and non-timber attributes: Demonstrate proficiency with a specified set of field equipment
  • Design and implement a plan to monitor key ecosystem resources and processes
• Communication: Communicate effectively with diverse groups through listening, speaking and writing
  • Communicate clearly through email, letters and other forms of professional correspondence
  • Effectively present complex information in different formats to a variety of audiences: Use geographical information systems (GIS) to create a map showing features such as buffer zones on streams or roads or the layout of a timber sale
  • Conduct a clear dialog with a potential client to determine their needs
  • Use appropriate methods of communicating with diverse groups
  • Apply conflict resolution skills for consensus building, facilitation and negotiation
• Data Analysis and Critical Thinking: Apply science-based knowledge to select, obtain, analyze and interpret natural resources information in an ecological, economic and social context
  • Acquire data from primary and secondary sources to describe and analyze ecological, economic and social relationships on both spatial and temporal scales
    • Use a geographical positioning system (GPS) to map features such as a hiking trail
    • Find relevant natural resources information, such as publicly available data sets, research reports, and management plans
  • Critically analyze the evidence on multiple sides of a contemporary natural resources issue
  • Assess the economic, social, and ecological opportunities and constraints of a given land parcel within a relevant spatial and temporal context and recognize appropriate and defensible land management objectives
  • Identify and evaluate the full range –ecological, social, and economic –of impacts of different forest management alternatives
    • Apply economic, financial and business management tools to assess alternative forest management activities
• Data Synthesis and Critical Thinking: Recognize, identify, and integrate the relevant ecological, economic, and societal aspects of contemporary problems in natural resources management and use this understanding to develop, support and implement effective solutions
  • Based on an assessment of a property, develop, write and present a management plan, including silvicultural prescriptions, for the property that meet the stated land management objectives and implement the components of the plan
  • Describe the role of institutions such as markets, communities, governments, and non-government organizations in the management of natural resources
    • Describe and evaluate how a contemporary natural resources issue has been addressed by society
    • Identify a natural resources problem, evaluate the science and the politics behind the problem, engage the stakeholders involved, and propose a solution to the problem
• Professionalism and Social Awareness: Synthesize knowledge, diverse values, and ethics for making, communicating and supporting decisions with confidence, respect, professionalism, and compassion
  • Demonstrate openness, tolerance, and appreciation for alternative points of view
  • Demonstrate awareness of global issues and cultural diversity
  • Be able to present and conduct oneself as a professional

If you are a first year student applying to Penn State:

Click Apply to start your Penn State application. Before starting, you can also review the Applying Online Worksheet for more details and helpful hints about the application.

Your application work can be saved at each step of the process by clicking the Save and Continue button at the bottom of the page. This feature will allow you to move back and forth within the application or log off and return to complete your application at a later time.

After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR). As you begin the SRAR process, a new window will open allowing you to complete your SRAR. SRAR will focus on your high school coursework. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. Therefore, have a copy of your secondary school records available as you complete your SRAR. You will need to enter every class and every grade earned for the last three years, as well as those classes in progress.

After completing your SRAR, you will be directed back to the Penn State application in order to complete the Program of Study portion of the application. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for first-year students.

After completing this section of the application, you will provide some additional information, an activities resume, and a personal statement. You will be able to paste in this information from other sources, but note that the formatting may not always paste in as intended.

If you are a transfer student applying to Penn State:

All international transfer students will be required to submit official high school transcripts in order to complete the application. International transfer students will not complete the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) for either their high school or college coursework.

If you have accepted your offer of admission to Penn State:

If you completed SRAR and are accepted to Penn State, please provide the following for grade verification:

• Official transcript from years 9, 10, 11, and 12. If the transcript is issued in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.
• Official copy of the Tawjihi, accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.

Graduates become forest managers responsible for the flora and fauna on publicly owned forests and watersheds, including national and state forests and parks, game lands, and recreation areas. Others work as ecologists studying environmental factors that affect forests, or as consultants surveying timberlands and recommending harvest and reforestation practices. Graduates also work as community foresters managing urban trees and green spaces, consulting foresters assisting private landowners, industrial foresters ensuring a company's need for raw materials, land managers for conservation organizations, and watershed managers responsible for the protection of municipal watersheds. The curriculum also provides a firm base for graduate study.

Graduates of the Forest Management and Forest Biology options may be employed by public agencies such as the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service, nonprofit organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, industries such as sawmills and bioenergy facilities, and environmental consulting firms. Graduates of the Community and Urban Forest Management option may be employed by municipalities, arboricultural companies, utilities, and government agencies to manage community trees and green spaces. Graduates of the Watershed Management option may find federal employment as hydrologists or pursue careers in municipal watershed management and in environmental/engineering consulting.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES OF THE FOREST ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

Professional Resources

• Society of American Foresters