The July-September 2015 issue of California Agriculture, the quarterly peer-reviewed journal of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources has just been published. The current Special Issue titled "Woody Biomass: Energy, ecosystems, economics" focuses on the nexus of forest management, climate change, and renewable energy through the lense
of forest biomass utilization in California. Drs. John Shelly and Peter Tittmann of UC Berkeley Woody Biomass Utilization Group served as Guest Editors for this issue.
You'll find articles on a range of topics including:
- ecological impacts of fire hazard reduction activities in California Forests
- improved air quality outcomes from biomass energy production compared with alternative biomass fates
- economics of biomass utilization in energy applications including liquid fuels
- innovative approaches to wood chip transport that can reduce costs
- editorials from:
- Ashley Conrad-Saydah, California Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Secretary for Climate Change and Energy
- Dr. Peter Tittmann, Academic Coordinator for the Woody Biomass Utilization Group at UC Berkeley.
Thanks to all of the authors for their commitment to producing excellent work for this issue and all of the reviewers for their tireless diligence. We sincerely hope this issue will help provide a sound scientific basis to inform ongoing discussions in California and nationally around the role of forests and forest management in meeting renewable energy, and climate policy goals. This special issue helps underscore the importance of increasing utilization of biomass residuals from sustainable forest management and a broader recognition of the important role of wood products and biomass from active forest management into an uncertain future.
It has been a great pleasure to work with the editorial staff of the journal, in particular Jim Downing, Deborah Thompson and Will Suckow have been excellent.
The UC Berkeley biomass utilization group also thanks the US Forest Service Region 5 State and Private Forestry for their continued support of our program and partial funding of this publication effort.
Posted on
Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at
10:51 AM
The 2015 UC ANR Joint Strategic Initiative Conference will be held October 5-7 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, 1230 J Street, in Sacramento.
Who should attend: Academics affiliated with ANR – UCCE Advisors, UCCE Specialists, AES Faculty, Program Directors and Academic Coordinators.
Submit a poster abstract to participate in a poster session. To be given priority consideration, please submit poster abstracts by June 1. For details, see http://ucanr.edu/sites/2015jointsiconference/Call_for_Posters.
At the conference, you'll have the opportunity to
- Meet the new Vice President (to be invited) at the Monday evening reception.
- Participate in planning sessions for the Strategic Initiatives.
- Learn about successful research projects.
- Take advantage of free training sessions.
- Request space for your Program Team or Workgroups to meet.
- Network at the Stakeholders' Reception on Tuesday evening.
The conference is being coordinated through the five UC ANR Strategic Initiatives:
- Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases (EIPD)
- Healthy Families and Communities (HFC)
- Sustainable Food Systems (SFS)
- Sustainable Natural Ecosystems (SNE)
- Water Quality, Quantity and Security (Water)
For more information, visit http://ucanr.edu/sites/2015jointsiconference or contact conference co-chairs Doug Parker, (510) 987-0036, and David Doll, (209) 385-7403. For logistics, contact UC ANR Program Support Unit, Sherry Cooper, (530) 750-1256, or Saundra Wais, (530) 750-1260.
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Posted on
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at
3:38 PM
Mike De Lasaux shows FIT participants the tree rings in a core sample.
California teachers are invited to spend a week in a northern California forest this summer and participate in the Forestry Institute for Teachers.
“The goal of the Forestry Institute for Teachers, or FIT, is to provide K-12 teachers with knowledge, skills and tools to teach their students about forest ecology and forest resource management practices and introduce them to environmental education curriculum such as Project Learning Tree, Project WILD and California's Education and the Environment,” said Mike De Lasaux, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension advisor for Plumas and Sierra counties and a FIT instructor.
The program, which is in its 23rd year, brings teachers from rural and urban settings together with natural resources experts to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between forest ecosystems and human use of natural resources. The environment becomes the basis for learning in many subject areas, including environmental science, physical science, social science, biology, forestry and history.
“FIT gave me a lot of physical group activities and ideas for how to get to know a new group of people,” said Renata Martin, who is a substitute teacher for grades 3 through 8 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Teachers learn how to take tree measurements.
By examining the rings in a tree's cross-section, foresters can tell a lot about events – such as wet or dry periods, insect or disease damage – that have occurred during the tree's lifetime. She has used the tree analogy to teach students that important events shape their own lives.
“Especially because I meet new kids every day, I've been able to use the lesson that we did around the campfire the first night with sharing important points in our lives as if they were tree cookies” or slices of a tree, said Martin.
FIT emphasizes California Department of Education Content Standards including Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Since 1993, more than 2,200 teachers have graduated from the program.
Using what they learn at the workshop, the participants conduct training for their colleagues and develop a forestry education project for their students during the school year.
Martin, who participated in FIT in 2014 in Plumas County, said she has adapted many of the lessons for her students based on their age, development and behavior.
Tom Catchpole leads a Talk About Trees program exercise for teachers to practice applying tree science to activities they can do with their students.
Meeting forest-related professionals including small property owners, archaeologists, large lumber corporations and historians made an impression on environmental educator Carrie Raleigh. “It was interesting to get a variety of perspectives on forestry issues and to have face-to-face conversations with a variety of specialists,” said Rawleigh, who participated in the program in 2010 and teaches in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Four 1-week FIT sessions are scheduled at four different locations: Plumas, Tuolumne, Shasta and Humboldt counties.
Two June sessions will be held at the University of California Forestry Camp, close to Quincy in Plumas County, and at Sierra Outdoor School near Sonora in Tuolumne County. The July sessions will be at Camp McCumber just east of Shingletown in Shasta County and at Humboldt State University in Arcata in Humboldt County.
The presenters and staff include public and private forest resource specialists and other natural resource managers, environmental activists and science and environmental education curriculum specialists. Groups are welcome to register as teams. There is an application fee of $25, but training, meals and lodging are free for first-time participants.
The deadline for applications is March 16. For more information and to apply, visit http://forestryinstitute.org or call the Forest Stewardship Helpline at (800) 783-8733.
The Forestry Institute for Teachers (FIT) workshop was developed by the Northern California Society of American Foresters, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension, Shasta County Office of Education, The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and Project Learning Tree. The FIT Program is underwritten by a consortium of public and private sources.
An initiative to maintain and enhance sustainable natural ecosystems is part of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Strategic Vision 2025.
Posted on
Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at
9:54 AM
The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources created a call in January of 2014 for new UCCE Advisor and Specialist positions. The goal for filling these positions is to strengthen and rebuild the UC ANR network to meet programmatic gaps and emerging issues facing California identified in the Strategic Vision (see: ANR Strategic Vision 2025 full report or ANR Strategic Vision 2025 Executive Summary) and further refined in each of the 5 Strategic Initiatives entitled: Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases, Healthy Families and Communities, Sustainable Food Systems, Sustainable Natural Ecosystems and Water Quality, Quantity and Security. All 123 new proposed positions are listed on a public web page at this link.
These proposed positions are presently undergoing internal review until August 18, 2014. The public is invited to comment on these proposed positions until July 21, 2014.
Of the 123 positions proposed, 23 positions could benefit California's livestock, forestry and natural resources based industries. Those same 23 positions would have overlapping impact on both sustainable natural ecosystems, water quality, quantity security and sustainable food systems. I have listed in the table below those 23 positions with their identifying number, title, type of position (Advisor or Specialist) and where those positions would be located. Area Advisors are housed in one county but cover multiple counties. Specialists are statewide and support Advisor research and educational programs. If you click on the ID Number it will take you to the page where you can add comments for that position. There is also a link on that same page that describes the position in more detail.
ID Number
|
Position Title
|
Advisor or Specialist
|
Location, County or Campus
|
003
|
Area Livestock & Natural Resources
|
Advisor
|
Tuolumne
|
017
|
Area Desert Livestock
|
Advisor
|
Imperial
|
020
|
Area Forest & Natural Resources
|
Advisor
|
Ventura
|
021
|
Area Forest & Natural Resources
|
Advisor
|
Sutter-Yuba
|
024
|
Area Livestock & Natural Resources
|
Advisor
|
Placer-Nevada
|
025
|
Area Livestock & Natural Resources
|
Advisor
|
Sutter-Yuba
|
026
|
Area Livestock & Natural Resources & Community Development
|
Advisor
|
Plumas
|
027
|
Area Livestock & Natural Resources
|
Advisor
|
Ventura
|
028
|
Area Natural Resources – Fire & Restoration
|
Advisor
|
San Diego
|
045
|
Dairy
|
Advisor
|
Sonoma
|
046
|
Dairy
|
Advisor
|
Humboldt
|
057
|
Livestock & Natural Resources
|
Advisor
|
Siskiyou
|
066
|
Applied Limnology (Lakes & Fresh Water)
|
Specialist
|
UCD
|
067
|
Aquaculture
|
Specialist
|
UCD
|
070
|
Beef Cattle Herd Health
|
Specialist
|
UCD Vet Med
|
081
|
Dairy Cattle Production Health Management
|
Specialist
|
Vet Med Teaching & Research Center -Tulare
|
087
|
Forest Products and Woody Biomass
|
Specialist
|
UCB
|
092
|
Livestock & Rangeland Economist
|
Specialist
|
UCD
|
102
|
Plant Conservation
|
Specialist
|
UCR
|
107
|
Rangeland Management
|
Specialist
|
UCD
|
108
|
Rangeland Policy & Planning
|
Specialist
|
UCB
|
109
|
Rangeland Ruminant Nutritional Ecology
|
Specialist
|
SFREC
Sierra Foothill Research & Extension Center
|
115
|
Sheep & Goat Heard Health & Production
|
Specialist
|
UCD Vet Med
|
It is very possible that not all of these positions will survive the screening process. That's why it's important to have stakeholder input and I urge you to take the time to review at least each of these and comment. Please also comment on any of the other positions shown on the full list as well.
It's also important to know that the comment process is not a voting one. Rather it is a supportive process from stakeholders who are visionary and statewide-thinking about the issues facing California's livestock and natural resources owners, managers and stewards. Some of these positions, especially the Advisors and a few of the Specialists, have had very successful people filling those slots. The public comments should not focus on replacing one of these great people but local, regional and statewide need for the position to work to solve current and future problems.
As the statewide leader for the Sustainable Natural Ecosystems Initiative, I would also like to hear from my blog readers how you might rank the positions in the above table outside of the comments you provide on the public page links I've provided in the table. To do so just either comment on this blog article, message me via LinkedIn or Facebook or drop me an email at jmharper@ucanr.edu. Please put SNESI positions in the subject so I can search and sort. I look forward to hearing from you!
/table>
Posted on
Thursday, June 19, 2014 at
2:43 PM
I am pleased to announce that John Harper has agreed to lead the Sustainable Natural Ecosystems Strategic Initiative for a two–year appointment. As the SNE initiative leader, John will serve on Program Council.
John has been a UC Cooperative Extension advisor specializing in livestock and natural resources for 23 years in Mendocino and Lake counties. His research covers sheep and goat production, range cattle production, rangeland, watershed, water quality and computer applications. As an advisor, he has worked with fellow UCCE advisors, specialists and Agricultural Experiment Station scientists on several research and education projects. He served as UCCE director for Mendocino County for 13 years, and also oversaw UCCE in Lake County for four of those years.
John has been an integral part of local, statewide and regional projects addressing critical natural resources issues. These efforts have provided him with a good understanding of the breadth of ANR. He has demonstrated a good vision for expanding involvement in the initiative as well as revisiting the initiative's strategic plan.
He succeeds James Bartolome, professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, who retired.
For more information about the SNE strategic initiative, visit http://ucanr.edu/sites/StrategicInitiatives/Sustainable_Natural_Ecosystems.
Bill Frost
Associate Vice President
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Posted on
Thursday, January 30, 2014 at
6:42 AM