Oregon State University IFSA LC possesses a unique set of experiences, perspectives, and resources that we will use to spark dialogue among the IFSA CARM network and create meaningful educational opportunities. OSU was ranked as the second best school for forestry in the world in the 2017 Center for World University Rankings because of the diverse and abundant experiences, resources, and opportunities available within our College and region. As a global leader in forestry education, situated in a state full of productive and diverse forests, OSU offers a space to engage in critical thinking about where North American forestry has been and the innovative policies and projects that are currently underway to improve forestry into the future. OSU’s College of Forestry is home to three departments: Forest Ecosystems and Society, Forest Engineering Resources and Management, and Wood Science Engineering, which all encompass a wide range of interdisciplinary research. Students involved in the newly refreshed OSU IFSA chapter study topics ranging from forest ecology, silviculture, climate change, forest biotechnology, natural resource management, collaborative forest governance, disturbance modeling, recreation, tribal forestry, environmental psychology, and more. We recognize that forestry is more than just timber, and are grappling with the complexities associated with managing and living with forests in a complex, dynamic world. Our Corvallis campus also has easy access to OSU’s McDonald and Dunn Research Forests, Peavy Arboretum, and the expansive Siuslaw National Forest of the US National Forest Service. These forests contain various ongoing research projects and management systems that will be used for educational field trips and provide opportunities to witness the wonders of the Pacific Northwest temperate rainforest ecosystem. OSU is situated on the traditional territory of Chepenefa band of the Kalapuya, who now form membership of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Silez Indians. Tribal forestlands across Oregon represent an important component of our political landscape, and many tribes’ ancestral lands are currently under federal, state, or private ownership. Learning about Oregon forests requires understanding these historic and ongoing legacies of land displacement, and will be part of ongoing dialogue throughout the meeting.

The mission of this event is to gather future scientists and forest managers to discuss the pressing issues facing our North American forests. We believe that by taking a community approach, we can address many of the problems associated with forest management. Our goal through this event is to bring together forestry students from across IFSA’s Northern America region to brainstorm various possibilities and solutions in managing North America’s forest cover in the face of climate change and other matters causing forest fragmentation, deforestation and habitat loss. We also hope to discuss fresh ways of approaching natural resource conflicts and ways of altering current management to fit with a more holistic and sustainable future. We also wish to provide a space for IFSA students to make connections and friendships. We hope that attendees will leave feeling energized and inspired, with new ideas to take back to their respective campuses and fields of study. We also hope to provide training and resources to strengthen existing IFSA Local Chapters and empower new chapters to get started

Dates

(including arrival & departure days)

Arrival: March 23

CARM events: March 24-27 (morning)

Departure: March 27 (evening)

Route

Program

Team (Organizing Committee)