About Southern Regional Extension Forestry

Mission

The goal of the Southern Regional Extension Forestry Office is to identify, prescribe, and implement a mix of education and technical services that increase the efficiency of forestry programs in the southern United States.

Scope

With information and tools that facilitate more efficient use of their time and resources, the Southern Regional Extension Forestry Office assists professionals that work on the following issues and opportunities facing the forestry and natural resources communities in the new millennium:

• timber markets;
• property rights;
• urban/wildland and forest fragmentation;
• wildlife protection and enhancement;
• capital gains and estate planning;
• forest health;
• timber supply and industry mergers and aquisitions;
• forestland certification;
• sustainable forestry;
• animal and municipal waste options on forestlands;
• conservation and youth education;
• forest-based economic development and alternative forestland enterprises; and
• water quality.

The office provides professional assistance in many forms, including accomplishment of the following goals and objectives:

• improved communication and cooperation between Extension and other organizations interesting in the management of the Region's forests;
• assessment of technology transfer, information dissemination, and educational programming needs of the forest resource professional and private landowner;
• facilitation of the development of educational materials directed at regional audiences;
• encouragement, where possible, of multi-state and regional cooperation, collaboration, and coordination of programs and activities;
• initiation, planning, and participation in educational and technology transfer activities in response to needs assessments;
• special projects relevent to the goals and objectives of the office; and
• acquisition of resources for regional programming.
  

History

In 1979, the thirteen Southern 1862 Land-Grant institutions and the USDA Forest Service signed a cooperative agreement creating the Southern Regional Extension Forester position to serve as a liason role between the USDA Forest Service and the thirteen Extension Forest Resources units in the South.  The position has evolved into a regional programming, representation, promotion, and communication role within the forestry and natural resource communities regionally and nationally.