At thirteen, selling drinks up and down the stands of Davis Wade Stadium, a seed was planted in Jonathan Stoll. Now, years later, Stoll has returned to Mississippi State to reap the harvest as forest supervisor.
Stoll, a 2013 forestry graduate from the outskirts of Starkville, was hired to the position in July of 2019, after having worked as a consulting forester in Louisiana before returning to Mississippi to work for a timber company...
Roughly one third of the land area of the United States is made up of forested land. That's estimated at over 800 million acres of forests. Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. This carbon is stored in the roots and trunk, making forests a globally important carbon storage system. A single tree can sequester about 88 pounds of carbon per year; so just how much carbon does the entire U.S. capture? A scientist ...
On World Environment Day [June 5], Mississippi State is being recognized for the seventh consecutive year as a Tree Campus USA, an Arbor Day Foundation distinction.
MSU currently is the only university in the Magnolia State with this honor that recognizes commitment to the value and maintenance of trees.
The distinction requires that MSU have a campus tree advisory committee, plan for tree maintenance, allotted maintenance ...
Mississippi State faculty, staff and students commemorated Arbor Day on Friday [Feb. 7] by planting trees along Hail State Boulevard.
The eighth annual event took place a week prior to Mississippi's Arbor Day observance, which occurs the second Friday in February. Nationally, Arbor Day is in April, but southern states celebrate earlier to ensure a better survival rate for newly planted trees.
Seedlings planted include loblo...
Mississippi State's student chapter of the Society of American Foresters again is claiming a top honor in the national Outstanding Student Chapter competition, a feat accomplished by the organization for more than two decades.
This year, the MSU organization is being recognized as the first-place chapter with officers of the 26-member group recently traveling to Louisville, Kentucky, to accept the honor at the annual SAF convention.<...
When we think of wildfires, images of acres of upland forests ablaze out West may come to mind, however, fires happen each year at home in Mississippi. In 2017, there were 2,318 wildfires which threatened 4,441 structures and burned 33,574 acres across the Magnolia State. But prescribed fires, which are intentionally set under relatively controlled conditions to achieve specific forest management objectives, also burned another 38,826 acres.
Forestry is a $12.79 billion industry in Mississippi. Approximately 125,000 Mississippians own and manage more than 19.7 million acres of forestland across the state. Fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching also contribute to the economy of the Magnolia State, boasting a $2.7 billion annual economic impact for Mississippi, with hunting alone contributing $1.14 billion. That's why Forest and Wildlife Research Center researchers sought to learn ...
A 21-year Mississippi State veteran is the new head of the university's Department of Forestry.
Donald L. Grebner, George L. Switzer Professor of Forestry, begins his role on July 1 in the department that operates within the College of Forest Resources. A forest economist with a research focus in natural resources and forest management, Grebner is a certified forester in the Society of American Foresters and a registered forester in ...
For the sixth consecutive year, Mississippi State University is being recognized for its sustained commitment to environmental stewardship with the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Campus USA designation.
To achieve this distinction, MSU met five core standards for an effective campus forest management plan, including establishment of a tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for a campu...
A forestry professor has earned a prestigious fellowship in Mississippi State University's College of Forest Resources.
Professor Robert Grala has been named the Department of Forestry's first James R. Moreton Endowed Fellow. Professor Dan Seale earned the inaugural accolade in the Department of Sustainable Bioproducts last year.
The James R. Moreton Fellow in Forestry was established in 2012 through a gift from James Regin...
Resource Management Service LLC, one of the world's leading managers of forest investments for institutional investors, is promoting both the forestry profession and the South's forestry industry through the creation of the RMS Forestry Scholarship at Mississippi State. Samantha Seamon, a junior forestry major from Prattville, Alabama, is the inaugural recipient of the $10,000 RMS award.
"Forestry is an important profession, one that...
The student chapter of the Society of American Foresters at Mississippi State University is first once again in the annual SAF Outstanding Student Chapter national competition for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Robert K. Grala, a forestry professor in College of Forest Resources, who has been the chapter's faculty advisor for more than a decade, said the 20-year legacy of placing first, second or third in the competition demonstrates t...
A senior forestry major in MSU's College of Forest Resources has received a competitive scholarship from an international nonprofit focused on advancing research and education in arboriculture and urban forestry.
Katrina Henn is one of three recipients of the $5,000 Robert Felix Memorial Scholarship, supporting college students studying arboriculture and urban forestry with the intention of entering the profession. The scholarship wa...
March is a good time for landowners to take steps to prevent wildfires, not only because it is Wildfire Prevention Month, but also because more fires occur this month.
Heather Alexander, an assistant professor in the Mississippi State University Forest and Wildlife Research Center, said March sees more wildfires than summer months because it is a time of transition between winter and spring.
"At this time of year, winds are...
Mississippi State faculty, staff and students planted 400 trees today [Feb. 21] in observance of Arbor Day.
Students from the MSU Student Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, Waldorf Endowed Scholarship recipients and campus facilities management personnel participated in the tree planting.
Trees native to bottomland hardwood forests were planted in an area along Hail State Boulevard. Northern red oak, yellow popla...
Mississippi State will celebrate Arbor Day with a Feb. 21 planting ceremony and program focused on the many benefits trees provide.
Open to all, the annual observance has been coordinated since 2012 by the university's Tree Campus USA Advisory Committee.
This year's event begins at 10:30 a.m. just east of the Mississippi Horse Park; specifically, near the southernmost bridge on Hail State Boulevard and close to the Poor Hou...
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are devastating reminders that storms take a terrible toll on landscapes and proof that some trees hold up better than others.
Mississippi landscapes must withstand flooding, hot summers, seasonal drought, ice storms, winters that can dip to single digits, a humid and subtropical climate, and high winds from hurricanes and tornadoes.
John Kushla, a forestry professor with the Mississippi State Uni...
Mississippi State faculty, students, staff and local community members observed MSU's annual Arbor Day Celebration Friday [Feb. 10] with a program and tree-planting ceremony.
George Hopper, dean of the College of Forest Resources, said the event symbolized the university's commitment to serve as an environmental steward.
"Mississippi forests cover nearly 20 million acres. Trees improve the quality of life for our citizens a...
James E. Henderson has been selected head of the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center.
When Henderson assumes his new role on Feb. 1, he will oversee the daily operations of the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in the southeastern region.
"Dr. James Henderson will be an asset to the southeast region," said Gary Jackson, director of the MSU Extension ...
Student members of the Society of American Foresters at Mississippi State again are tops among their U.S. peers.
As in 2011, the university SAF chapter has been awarded first-place honors.
Also, the 30-plus member group is included for the 18th consecutive year among the top three of nearly 40 student chapters located from Virginia to California and Maine to Arizona.
The first-place honor is based on accomplishmen...
The newest technology and machinery used to advance the South's timber industry will be demonstrated August 26-27 at the Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show.
The event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Held at the John W. Starr Memorial Forest off Highway 25 south of Starkville, the show is sponsored by Mississippi State University's College of Forest Resources, Hatton-Brown Publishers Inc., the...
An increase in housing starts in 2015 strengthened Mississippi's timber industry, and stronger demand for sawtimber products used in construction are helping give the industry a boost this year.
James Henderson, an associate professor of forestry with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said timber ended the year with a total estimated harvest value of almost $1.67 billion.
"The markets for sawtimber have sh...
The nation's oldest and most selective honor society is recognizing a 21-year Mississippi State faculty veteran for dedication to the education profession and the society.
Stephen C. Grado is among 80 selected this year for Phi Kappa Phi's Love of Learning award. A $500 check accompanied the tribute.
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, PKP currently has more than 300 university and college chapters throughout North ...
The forests of Siberia may be half a world away, but carbon released by wildfires raging there have the potential to alter Earth's atmosphere and lead to additional global climate change.
Exactly how much carbon is being released is the focus of a National Science Foundation-funded investigation by Mississippi State University assistant forestry professor Heather Alexander and graduate student Homero Pena. They are part of a scientif...
Many people are conditioned to think that any fire in the forest is a bad thing, but controlled burns prevent wildfires from being a problem in the woods.
Humans are the primary cause of forest fires in Mississippi. In 2015, there were about 1,800 wildfires in the state; lightning caused only eight of them. These fires affected an average area of 13 acres, for a total of about 23,000 acres burned. February and March face the highest ...
Landowners can learn about the use of prescribed fire to manage their property during a Feb. 19 workshop near Raymond.
The Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the Mississippi Prescribed Fire Council are partnering to offer the event to introduce landowners to the benefits of prescribed burning and how to safely do it.
Topics of the workshop include...
Mississippi State University and Shandong Agricultural University signed a Memorandum of Agreement today [Dec. 1] to offer a dual degree program in forestry.
The agreement will allow both institutions to enhance the educational experiences of students.
Participants will be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry from MSU's College of Forest Resources and a Bachelor of Agriculture degree from SDAU. Students at the C...
The Society of American Foresters again is recognizing its Mississippi State student chapter as one of the nation's best.
The land-grant university group recently took second place in SAF's 2015 outstanding student chapter competition. This latest award represents the 17th consecutive year in which the MSU group has placed among the top three finalists.
Founded in 1909, the Bethesda, Maryland-based non-profit organization i...
As part of the 2015 National NeighborWoods® Month observation, Mississippi State is establishing a Campus Tree Trail to help showcase its vast campus landscaping efforts.
During a 3:30 p.m. Friday [Oct. 23] program open to all at the Junction's far west end, university officials formally will announce the new tree identification trail, including a virtual trail to be published on the MSU website. The location is the site of the M...
As bleak as the outlook seemed for Mississippi's forestry industry in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the state's second largest agricultural commodity is slowly recovering.
"If you drive down the road today, you can still see timber stands that don't look like they should," said Stephen Dicke, a forestry professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in the College of Forest Resources. "There was a tremendous amoun...
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