Extension
Program Summary
Forest
stewardship, fire management and agroforestry represent critical aspects
of Florida’s economy (private forest lands), ecosystem health
(agroforestry) and community well being (wildland fire). Just as important
is the need to have well-informed natural resource professionals available
throughout the state to assist landowners, agencies and corporations
in proper management of their lands. My extension program includes
a variety of activities and media for assisting landowners and the
general public in the three programmatic areas as well as continuing
education for natural resource professionals. Program support has
included federal, state and private grants and contracts.
A.
Forest Stewardship and Landowner Education
Nationally,
about 57% of our forested land is managed by nonindustrial private
forest (NIPF) landowners. In Florida, that group of individuals, farmers
and corporations own nearly 15% of all Florida lands and about 50%
of managed forest lands within the state, and collectively represent
a much greater impact on forest management and stewardship than the
timber industry or public agencies. Many of the NIPF owners lack the
formal education or expertise necessary for scientifically-based resource
management, but many have or would like to have management plans for
their land and technical management assistance, especially if they
are involved in any of the state or federal assistance programs. They
obtain the information and expertise from forestry consultants, public
agency and industrial foresters, and the Cooperative Extension Service.
The primary goal of our program is to enhance the ability of non–industrial
private forest (NIPF) landowners to sustainably manage their forest
land for multiple uses.
Our
support to NIPF owners is provided through three major activities,
which are available to both landowners and resource professionals.
The latter use this "continuing education" to enhance their
technical assistance to landowners. Technical publications provide
up-to-date information on topics ranging from harvesting technology
to wildlife management and taxes. They are delivered to landowners
as fact sheets (EDIS),
circulars and quarterly newsletters. Increasingly, these publications
are also made available via CD-ROM and Internet communications systems.
The second major activity revolves around workshops in which a variety
of specialists present current research results and recommendations.
The Florida
Forestry Information web site provides a source of information
about forest resources and forest management, as well as upcoming
natural resource events, such as workshops, tours and conferences.
B. Fire in Natural Resource Management and the Wildland–Urban
Interface
Fires
have always been a natural part of Florida's ecosystems and prescribed
burning provides an important land management tool for perpetuating
that natural role in a cost effective manner. However, Florida's burgeoning
population and its expansion into rural areas creates many problems
for both fire control organizations and the use of prescribed burning.
Landowners, and the general public, often have little understanding
of fire issues and problems. Two very important improvements necessary
for reducing property losses to fire are: landowners in fire–prone
landscapes recognizing and assessing their hazard and taking remedial
measures to reduce their risk; and increased use of prescribed burning
(or other methods) to reduce hazardous fuel accumulations and meet
other objectives in both WUI and rural ecosystems.
Our
main program objectives are to: encourage WUI landowners to reduce
their risks from wildfire by appropriate landscape management; increase
the general public's understanding of wildland fire and how it is
used under prescribed conditions; and facilitate training for private
landowners who want to use prescribed burning on their lands.
Program
deliverables have included: a “Fire Education Toolkit”
that was distributed to county foresters, county extension agents
and local fire and rescue agency staff in in–service training
workshops; a wildfire
risk assessment and mitigation guideline booklet for individual
homeowners in the WUI across the South; assistance with planning for
retrofitting a house in the WUI in Gainesville as a demonstration
project; sections of the new internet based hypertext encyclopedia
on southern fire science developed by the USFS; prescribed burning
workshops for landowners; and presentations on WUI fire risk assessment
to Florida’s Prescribed Fire Councils.
C. Agroforestry as an Alternative Forest Management Practice
in the Southeast
Many
agriculture and forestry land owners in Florida focus on just a few
crops that are usually grown under separate spatial and temporal regimes.
At the same time, increasing pressure for development offers landowners
in many rural areas opportunities to receive much greater revenue
than they can achieve by maintaining their agricultural practices.
Agroforestry offers opportunities for landowners to mix tree and agricultural
crops and/or livestock in systems that can diversify and increase
income, and provide environmental services such as water and soil
protection and shade for livestock. Very few landowners in the Southeast
currently employ agroforestry practices or systems in their farming/forestry
plans, partly because of a lack of information about the benefits
and practices associated with agroforestry.
Following
a needs assessment survey of both landowners and extension agents,
we developed fact sheets, circulars, an Agroforestry Educator Curriculum
Guide, and a 4H Project Book and Leader Guide. These materials have
been distributed to extension agents and county foresters through
in-service training workshops and many are available on
line .
D. Continuing Education for the Forestry Profession
In the
absence of trained forestry specialists in most Cooperative Extension
Service offices around the state, direct one–on–one technical
assistance to NIPF landowners usually occurs through professional
foresters who work for private industry, as consultants, or with one
of the public agencies, especially the Florida Division of Forestry
and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Good management
and stewardship of Florida's NIPF lands is dependent on these sources
of professional information being constantly updated with new research
and technology information. At the same time, many extension agents
with an interest, but not specific training, in natural resource management
are very willing to upgrade their understanding of forestry. Continuing
education has been accomplished for both of these groups, often at
the same time, through in-service training workshops, an annual SAF/SFRC
Spring Symposium, multi-day continuing education programs that focus
on specific technical topics and issues. Programs are approved by
the Society of American Foresters for Continuing Forestry Education
credits for those persons seeking to maintain national certification
or registration in other states.
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