Achievements

Publications and achievements submitted by our faculty, staff, and students.

Faculty Jeffrey Kane Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Assistant forestry professor Jeffrey Kane recently published an article in the journal Oecologia asserting that the number of resin ducts a tree has can help predict how resistant the pine is to beetle infestation. The results of the paper, combined with the findings of an earlier study, provide information that may be useful to land managers who are trying to keep public parks and other relatively small forested areas healthy. In the first study, researchers demonstrated that a certain type of slippery bark protects trees from pine beetle attacks, which can kill trees. For the full article, visit http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-013-2841-2/fulltext.html.

Submitted: January 8, 2014

Student Travis DiGennaro and Crystal Welch Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Rangeland Resources Science majors Travis DiGennaro and Crystal Welch will share the $1,000 Paul Zinke Memorial Scholarship Award for 2013. Travis is an assistant for the introductory soils course, is enrolled in the Wildland Soils option of the range major, and hails from Napa, CA. Crystal Welch is also in the Wildland Soils option and has called Humboldt County and Port Orford, Oregon home. Travis and Crystal will be presenting an undergraduate research poster on actinomycetes found in mushroom compost at the Soil Science Society of America Annual Meetings in Tampa, Florida in November 2013. They join seven past HSU Zinke Award winners: Barbara Witmore (’05), M.S. New Mexico State University, currently employed by the Bureau of Land Management; Rosemary Records (‘06) now in a Ph.D. program at Colorado State University; Sarah Schuette (‘09), co-owner of Dirty Business Consulting of Arcata; Allison Rofe, (‘12) who is a rangeland management specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Ukiah, CA; Jasmine Westbrook (‘12), currently enrolled in a M.S. program at Montana State University; and Stephanie Winters (‘13), a seasonal employee with BKS Environmental of Gillette, WY.

Submitted: October 1, 2013

Student Zoe Merrill, Rachelle Dilley, Stephanie Winters, Kyle Garvey, and Braden Pitcher Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Five Humboldt State University students passed the rigorous “Fundamentals of Soil Science” exam offered on April 15, 2013, becoming Associate Professional Soil Scientists, according to test results from the Council of Soil Science Examiners. Zoe Merrill, Kyle Garvey and Braden Pitcher graduated with degrees in Wildland Soils in the Rangeland Resource Science major. Stephanie Winters graduated with the Rangeland Resources option and completed sufficient soils courses to be a federal Soil Scientist. Rachelle Dilley graduated with a degree in Botany.

The national pass rate for the spring 2013 exam was 63%. Those who pass the fundamentals exam will be eligible to take the Professional Practice exam after five years of professional experience, an additional step in becoming a Certified Professional Soil Scientist. Recent Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) discussions about program self-certification have included the fundamentals exam as one indicator of program quality. Humboldt State University Wildland Soils students (an option under the Rangeland Resource Science major) spend more than 200 hours in field or laboratory learning experiences, honing hands-on skills and field judgment of soil properties, limitations, and capabilities.

Submitted: August 15, 2013

Student Forestry students Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

The Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources presented 22 of its students with nearly $28,000 in scholarships at its 15th annual Spring Awards banquet in April. Three graduating seniors were recognized at the ceremony: Zachary Carter, Academic Excellence Award; Noah Coonen, Professional Promise Award, and Celina Weeg, Most Outstanding Student Award in Rangeland Resources and Wildland Soils. Department Chair Kenneth (K.O.) Fulgham reported that faculty have gained more than $1.37 million in grant research awards in the past 18 months. He recognized retiring Professor John Stuart for his 30 years of service to the department. For the third year running, Stuart was voted “Outstanding Professor of the Year” by the department’s students.

Submitted: April 12, 2013

Faculty Larry Fox Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Emeritus Forestry Professor Larry Fox has completed a volunteer project investigating the death of more than 1500 people fleeing Libya across the Central Mediterranean using geospatial and remote sensing technology. Fox and researchers from the University of London produced a report on a particular case of migrants’ death involving 63 people, where the military and other actors failed to provide assistance to seafarers in distress.

The report was the basis for a legal case against France and may be used to file cases against other countries that participated in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The full report is available at: http://www.forensic-architecture.org/homepage/fields/investigations/sea. The project was supported by GISCorps, which coordinates short term, volunteer-based GIS services to underprivileged communities.

Submitted: June 15, 2012

Faculty Morgan Varner, Kenneth Fulgham Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

The Northern California Prescribed Fire Council met in Humboldt County on Nov. 16 and 17. The first day was spent as a field tour looking at prescribed fire use in Redwood National Park for maintaining vegetation structure of grassland and oak woodland ecosystems. The second day was held at River Lodge in Fortuna where Drs. Morgan Varner and Kenneth Fulgham attended. Varner is the Council Chairman and provided the Opening Remarks to about 70 attendees. The mission of the NorCal Prescribed Fire Council is to provide a venue for practitioners, state and federal agencies, academic institutions, tribes, coalitions and interested individuals to work collaboratively to promote, protect, conserve and expand the responsible use of prescribed fire in Northern California’s fire-adapted landscapes. More information can be found at: "norcalrxfirecouncil.org":http://www.norcalrxfirecouncil.org and at "prescribedfire.net":http://www.prescribedfire.net.

Submitted: November 18, 2011

Faculty Kenneth Fulgham Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Humboldt State Professor of Rangeland Resources Kenneth Fulgham, chair of the Forestry & Wildland Resources Department, has been elected director of the board of directors of the Society for Range Management. Fulgham’s three-year term starts in February, 2012. The professional society supports conservation and sustainable management of rangelands, which comprise nearly half of all the lands on earth. Fulgham is also second vice-president of The Buckeye, a local advocacy organization for working landscape. Additional information about the Society for Range Management is posted at "rangelands.org":http://rangelands.org/.

Submitted: October 31, 2011

Faculty Han-Sup Han Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Two research papers were recently published in Western Journal of Applied Forestry. One paper deals with utilization of small-diameter logs generated as a result of fuel reduction thinning treatments. This topic has been an issue for many rural towns in the US West. The title of this paper is “Financial Feasibility of a Log Sort Yard Handling Small-Diameter Logs: A Preliminary Study.” The other paper addresses a spreadsheet-based tool to estimate road construction costs. The software will be loaded onto the department web site. The title of this paper is “ACCEL: Spreadsheet-Based Cost Estimation for Forest Road Construction”.

Submitted: October 18, 2011

Faculty Dr. Morgan Varner Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Dr. Morgan Varner was nominated for and accepted an Associate Editor position with the journal, Forest Science. Forest Science is the premiere journal of The Society of American Foresters.

Submitted: October 3, 2011

Faculty Kenneth O. Fulgham, Gary Rynearson Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Dr. Kenneth O. Fulgham, chair of HSU’s Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources, and Forestry and Wildland lecturer Gary Rynearson have been elected to key posts of the Buckeye Conservancy, a northern California group of family farm, ranch, and forest landowners and resource managers that promotes the ecological health and economic sustainability of natural resources and open space in family ownership. Fulgham, also professor of rangeland resources, is second vice president, and Rynearson is first vice president. The conservancy can be reached at www.buckeyeconservancy.org.

Submitted: September 8, 2011

Student Jasmine Westbrook Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Rangeland Resources Science major Jasmine Westbrook won the $1,000 Paul Zinke Memorial Scholarship Award at this summer’s 30th Anniversary California Forest Soils Council meeting near Mt. Shasta. Westbrook is a double major in molecular and cellular biology and is minoring in chemistry. She was raised on a Napa Valley sheep ranch and has been working the past few summer for Six Rivers National Forest. She joins four past HSU Zinke Award winners: Barbara Witmore (’05), M.S. New Mexico State University, currently employed by the Bureau of Land Management; Rosemary Records (’06) now in a Ph.D. program at Colorado State University; Sarah Schuette (‘09), starting a Ph.D. program at Washington State University Spring 2012; and Allison Rofe, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Rangeland Resources Science in 2012.

Submitted: September 8, 2011

Alumni Ken Pimlott Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Ken Pimlott, 45, of Cameron Park, has been appointed director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). He has served in multiple resource management and fire protection positions with the department since 1993 and has served as acting director since 2010. Pimlott began his career as a seasonal fire fighter in 1987 and is a Registered Professional Forester. Pimlott received an Associate of Arts degree in Fire Technology from American River College, and a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Resource Management from Humboldt State University.

Submitted: July 19, 2011

Student Soil Scientists Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Five of six Humboldt State University students (83%) passed the rigorous “Fundamentals of Soil Science” exam offered on April 15, 2011, becoming Associate Professional Soil Scientists, according to tests results from the Council of Soil Science Examiners.

Ten Wildland Soils and four Forest Soils students graduated from Humboldt State University in 2011. Five Rangeland Resource Science students also graduated, one of whom had sufficient soil science courses to be qualified for the federal Soil Scientist position. This means that Humboldt State University graduated 15 fully qualified Soil Scientists, more qualified students than most institutions have enrolled at any given time!

Submitted: June 8, 2011

Student Whitney Butler, Whitney Schimke, Alexander Taylor, Ryan Camera and Tyler Hullquist Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Students and faculty from the HSU’s Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources recently travelled to Albuquerque to take part in professional meetings and compete in the Society of American Foresters (SAF) Quiz Bowl at the society’s annual convention in October.

HSU sent five forestry students, Whitney Butler, Whitney Schimke, Alexander Taylor, Ryan Camera and Tyler Hullquist, to compete. The contest brought together student teams from universities across the country to demonstrate their knowledge in a wide variety of forestry disciplines.

Forestry and Wildland Resources Department Chair Ken Fulgham and Professor Han-Sup Han attended the five day convention, where Fulgham presented a poster titled “Long-term, Post-Fire Dynamics of a Sagebrush Steppe and Western Juniper Community.” It summarized nearly thirty years of post-fire vegetation monitoring of sagebrush rangelands in Modoc County in Northeastern California. Dr. Han participated in the McIntire-Stennis meetings as the HSU-Administrative Technical Representative (AT-R).

Submitted: November 15, 2010

Faculty Dr. Han-Sup Han and Dr. Aaron Hohl Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Dr. Han-Sup Han and Dr. Aaron Hohl, recently presented their research at the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) World Congress meeting in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Hohl presented his research on modeling the potential risk and implications of forest and grassland fires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) in the Ukraine. Dr. Han presented his research on the collection and transportation of forest biomass for energy in the western United States.

Submitted: September 30, 2010

Faculty Andrew P. Stubblefield Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland Management

Participated in Early Career Scientist Assembly at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colorado.
The purpose of the forum was to discuss means of closing the gap between climate change scientists and water resource managers. The goal was to help improve the adaptation of human societies to climate change impacts. Participants cowrote a position paper which will be submitted to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Submitted: August 20, 2010