Our new State Forestry Extension Specialist is Dr. Hank Stelzer. Hank is a St. Louis native who received both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in forestry from Mizzou. Before earning his doctorate at Purdue University, he served as a forest geneticist for the Missouri Department of Conservation at the White Nursery in Licking, MO. Hank has spent the past 15 years serving in both the private and public forestry sectors. He returned to Mizzou last summer when he was tapped to replace Jack Slusher as the Forestry Department's extension forester. Hank has been busy re-tooling the forestry extension program, but we caught up with him recently to hear about his philosophy and where he wants to take forestry extension.
Q: Are you getting settled-in?
A: Pretty much. I've been using this
first year reestablishing old contacts
and making new ones. My travels
have helped me see what has and
has not changed within the state's
forestry community during my time
away.
Q: What's changed?
A: First and foremost is the decline
of our black and scarlet oaks in the
Ozarks. This problem did not
develop overnight. It is the coming
together of several circumstances
over a long period of time. Some
caused by man, like the over-cutting
of the forest at the turn of the 20th
century and the lack of forest management
since then. Some caused
by nature, like the fact that these
oaks normally only live to be 70-90
years old and the 1998-2000
drought. No matter. The fact is that
the people and the communities who
depend upon the forest for their way
of life as well as visitors are being
impacted. Some portions of the
Ozark forest are beyond our help
and nature will have to take her
course. But, other portions can be
saved if we actively manage the forest
to restore its health and vigor.
Q: So, what hasn't changed?
A: Unfortunately, I would have to
say it is the level of forest stewardship
on privately owned lands.
Over 400,000 private landowners own 9.7 million acres (85%) of the
state's 14 million acres of forestland.
Of that acreage, only 395,000 acres
(3.5%) are being managed with the
help of a natural resource professional.
That is about the same level
it was some 30 years ago.
Q: What do you want to do to change that?
A: Most landowners do not realize
that timber is a valuable crop.
Unlike other commodities that are
sold on a regular basis, timber is
sold infrequently. Extension's goal is
to raise that level of awareness and
provide the landowner with the
needed information and resources
for making land use decisions that
are both economically and environmentally
sound. We will be doing
this in a variety of ways in the coming
year: from developing websites
for on-line learning to re-vamping
the popular Master Tree Farmer
shortcourse that will focus on Missouri's
forestland.
Q: I see that your appointment is
statewide. What about the forestry needs of those in the metropolitan areas?
A: In the state's metropolitan areas, urban/wildland
interface issues are increasing as both permanent residences
and vacation retreats are built further away from
urban centers. Once again Extension's goal is to raise
the newcomer's level of awareness on such issues as
wildfire, invasive plants, displaced wildlife, and the role
of our forests in maintaining water quality. In established
urban areas, Extension efforts focus on identifying
and managing hazard trees as well as re-foresting
areas where the trees were lost to insects or disease. In
these urban settings, Extension will work closely with
the Missouri Community Forestry Council.
Q: So, is your appointment 100% Extension?
A: No, my time is split between extension (80%) and
research (20%). That's a good mix because the research
component will help me keep current with new developments
in forest science as well as take emerging needs
from the field back to the scientific community.
Q: What will be your primary research focus areas?
A: My main research will center on the proper harvesting
of small diameter trees. There is a potential market
for these small trees that historically have been left in
the woods and some sawmills in the Ozarks are interested
in this resource. By developing this market we will
be able to provide landowners a new incentive to manage
their woodlands and restore the health of these
forests.
When harvesting trees, big or small, we need to make sure it is done in an environmentally friendly way. Best management practices (BMP's) as they relate to timber harvesting work to ensure the proper placement of logging roads and log landings in the forest. For BMP's to be successfully implemented, we need to locally demonstrate their effectiveness. In cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation, research efforts are underway to quantify the amount of sediment transported off-site with and without BMP's in order to provide landowners the visual information they need to assure the public that these harvesting practices are safe and effective in protecting the local ecosystem.
A second focus area will be tree planting. The success of tree plantings in Missouri depends primarily on seedling persistence through an establishment period that typically ranges from one to five years. The ability to persist through this period is largely a function of nursery stock quality and silvicultural practices. Competing vegetation and damage due to animal browse have been cited as two principal causes of low plantation establishment success. A variety of measures have been taken to mitigate the effects of these pressures, including the use of herbicides, cover crop establishment, various site preparation techniques, and animal browse controls. However, we still do not know how effective these measures are when applied on an operational scale. Efforts are underway to collect such data across the state.
Q: Your plate is pretty full! Any last comments
before we let you return to your work?
A: Only that I'm glad to be back home. I encourage our
Green Horizon readers to stay tuned.