Forest Resources

When you earn a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources from the University of Idaho, you learn about the forest, not just the trees. You’ll gain a strong academic background in all aspects of forest ecology and management. You'll graduate equipped with the multidisciplinary skills and knowledge to be a successful forest ecosystem manager or scientist.

A forest resources degree from the oldest program in the University of Idaho's College of Natural Resources(CNR). The B.S. in Forest Resources has been accredited by the Society of American Foresters for more than 70 years. It will give you both the expertise and the credentials to impress future employers.

Through selective use of elective credits or by choosing a minor in a related field, the program gives you the flexibility to concentrate on an area of forest resources that interests you, such as:

As a student in the forest resources program, you’ll take courses that examine forest ecosystems, sustainable forestry, forest management, watersheds and the climate. You’ll study forest species and habitats and their differences across North America. You will also learn about the importance of forest ecosystems in our lives. Your educational experience will extend beyond the classroom, with outstanding hands-on opportunities in our laboratories, the CNR experimental forests and outdoor classrooms.

Prepare for Success

If you enjoy the outdoors, and you’re concerned about the future health of our forests, then a career in forest resources could be for you. To prepare for the forest resources program at the University of Idaho, you should take three to four years of high school mathematics, including precalculus. You should also gain a foundation in biology, chemistry and physics.

Your First Year

During the first year of the four-year program, you will take:

• Chemistry 101 – Intro to Chemistry
• English 102 – College Writing and Rhetoric
• Forest Resources 102 – Intro to Forest Management
• Natural Resources 101 – Exploring Natural Resources
• Core Discovery I and II
• Math 143 
• Biology 115 – Cells & the Evolution of Life
• Physics 100 and lab

Detailed list of forest resources courses
Four-year plan
Forest resources minors

Tailor your curriculum through our career tracks:

• Forest management
• Forest ecology
• Forest policy
• Field botany
• Forest hydrology
• Forest wildlife habitat ecology
• Forest and wildland geographic information systems (GIS)
• Plant protection
• Wildland fire manager

What You Can Do

The Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources gives you the credentials to be eligible for forest ecosystem management positions in federal, state and private natural resource and land management agencies. With this degree, you may become a:

• Forest manager
• Geographic information systems (GIS) specialist
• Forest ecologist
• Wildland fire manager
• Forest hydrologist
• Forest policy specialist
• Consulting Forester

You can also continue your education beyond the bachelor’s degree right here at the University of Idaho. Our graduate programs include:

• Master of Science in Forest Resources
• Master of Natural Resources
• Doctorate of Natural Resources

Opportunities

Nearly 100 percent of our students find a position before or soon after they graduated from the bachelor’s program in forest resources. Examples of federal, state and conservation agencies, nonprofit groups and nongovernmental agencies that employ our graduates include:

• Idaho Department of Lands
• Bureau of Land Management
• The Nature Conservancy
• Weyerhaeuser
• Potlatch Corp.
• U.S. Forest Service
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

As a professional forester, you may:

• Work in the woods taking inventory of the trees and other plants that make up the forest
• Plant seedlings for reforestation, riparian stabilization and wildlife habitat
• Thin and prune trees for improved growth and healthier forests
• Harvest trees to protect the forest from destructive fires, insects and diseases
• Work in a lab studying the ecological relationships in forests
• Work with people and policymakers on sustainable forestry

Idaho Graduates at Work

Current Research

Faculty members in the Department of Forest Resources conduct and disseminate high-quality, objective and relevant research on forest ecosystems, the people who value them and the institutions affecting them. Our distinctive research helps policymakers make informed decisions based on a solid understanding of ecosystem conditions and socioeconomic values.

The expertise of our diverse faculty covers a wide range of subjects, including both traditional practices and new technologies. Faculty members have received numerous awards and are recognized both nationally and internationally for their research. Current research topics include:

• Conservation biology
• Forest entomology 
• Forest regeneration
• Forest genetics
• Tree improvement
• Policy/Social science
• Remote sensing
• Geographic information systems (GIS)
• Modeling of forest operations and management
• Forest hydrology 
• Social ecology  
• Hardwood silviculture
• Reforestation  
• Physiological ecology  
• Fire
• Landscape ecology 
• Forest pathology

Activities

Society of American Foresters
Logger Sports

Hands-On Experience

You will participate in numerous class field trips to the college’s 10,300-acre experimental forest sites. Our program provides a broad, integrated perspective of the diversity of forest ecosystems and the many resources – amenities, products, services and values – that sustainable forest management makes possible for all people.

Breakthroughs & Discoveries

Effects of Early Snowmelt: One common practice for reducing fire hazard risk is mechanical thinning or creation of gaps and fire breaks. Such forest treatments, especially in snow-dominated systems, can cause detrimental, increased snowmelt rates and peak flow increases. This leads to erosion, stream destabilization and degradation of water quality and ecosystem health. Tim Link, a Department of Forest Resources hydrologist, is studying ways to connect basic forest snowmelt research to management needs. With an $84,000 McIntire-Stennis grant, Link and graduate students, Rob Lawler and Diana Carson, are developing modeling tools to improve understanding of radiation transfer, where gaps and firebreaks are typically used in fuels treatments.

Facilities

The 10,300 acres of experimental forest sites, located near the campus on Moscow Mountain and in McCall, provide a field environment to conduct a wide variety of field and research projects. At our state-of-the-art nursery, students can gain paid career experiences packing, sowing and caring for 300,000 to 400,000 seedlings that are raised and sold to the public. Our facilities also feature new remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies, complementary Windows NT and UNIX networks, a large file-server, color output and global positioning system (GPS) equipment. Other laboratory facilities include a mass spectrometer for analysis of stable isotopes, field ecophysiology instruments.  Facilities and resources include:

• University of Idaho Experimental Forest
• University of Idaho Center for Forest Nursery and Seedling Research
• Remote Sensing and GIS Research Laboratory
• Remote Sensing/GIS Teaching Laboratory
• Forest and Range Measurements Laboratory
• Guernsey Outdoor Classroom
• Taylor Ranch Field Station
• Idaho Stable Isotopes Laboratory
• Inland Empire Tree Improvement Cooperative
• Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative
• University of Idaho Laboratory for Conservation and Ecological Genetics
• Landscape Dynamics Laboratory
• Lee Sharp Experimental Area
• McCall Field Campus
• Policy Analysis Group

Faculty Involvement

The expertise of our diverse faculty covers a wide range of subjects and traditional practices, as well as new technologies. Faculty members have received numerous awards and are recognized both nationally and internationally for their research. Disciplines range from social sciences to biological and physical sciences.

Mark Coleman
Associate Professor & Director of the Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative
Coleman received his doctorate from the University of Washington. In addition to his duties with the Cooperative, Coleman teaches and conducts research in the areas of tree nutrition and forest management. His primary research interests are in soil and root processes controlling supply and acquisition of nutrients. He also focuses on intensive forest management, bioenergy production from woody crops, biomass thinning and harvest residues.
» mcoleman@uidaho.edu

Steve Cook
Associate Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Population and community dynamics of forest insects * Biological control of forest insects * Chemical/behavioral ecology of insect-tree interactions * Use of remotely sensed data for detection and assessment of insect infestations
» stephenc@uidaho.edu

Anthony Davis
Assistant Professor; Director of the Center for Forest Nursery and Seedling Research
Research Specialty: Native plant regeneration; Silviculture.
» Anthony Davis - profile

Lauren Fins
Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Genetic improvement of forest trees * Effects of forest management on genetic resources * Genetic architecture of forest tree species and populations * Using vegetative propagation to enhance forest species * Ecological and genetic effects on blister rust infection in western white and whitebark pines
» View Lauren Fins' profile

Jo Ellen Force
Professor; Department Head
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Forest policy and the relationships between people and natural resources * Human Ecosystem Model and related studies
» View Jo Ellen Force's profile

Paul Gessler
Associate Professor & Co-Director, Geospatial Laboratory for Environmental Dynamics
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Remote Sensing & GIS for Forest Ecosystem Analysis & Monitoring * Wildland Fire Fuels and Fire Hazard Mapping * Airborne Sensor Development * Environmental, Ecosystem and Soil-Landscape Modeling * Terrain and Watershed Analysis * Forest Soils * Spatial Statistics
» paulg@uidaho.edu

Katy Kavanagh
Associate Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Silviculture * Forest ecosystem processes * Tree hydraulic architecture
» katyk@uidaho.edu

Timothy E. Link
Associate Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Forest Hydrology * Snow Hydrology * Vegetation Atmosphere Interactions * Hydrologic Modeling
» tlink@uidaho.edu

Gary Machlis
Professor
Research Specialty: * Social ecology
» gmachlis@uidaho.edu

Ronald Mahoney
Extension Professor of Forest Resources
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Silviculture and management of nonindustrial private forests
» rmahoney@uidaho.edu

John D. Marshall
Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Tree physiology * Ecosystem ecology * Stable isotope ratios
» Email Jon Marshall

Penelope Morgan
Professor
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Fire ecology and management * Landscape ecology * Natural resources ecology and conservation
» pmorgan@uidaho.edu

George Newcombe
Professor
Research Interests: Genetics of resistance of woody plants to disease; Fungal pathogens of Populus and Salix: their taxonomy, ecology, and distributions; Endophyte mutualists of forest tree; Hyperparasitism; Plant-soil feedback in plant invasions
» View George Newcombe's profile

Jay O'Laughlin
Professor & Director of Policy Analysis Group
Specialty Areas of Interest: * Natural Resources Policy Analysis * Natural Resources Economics
» jayo@uidaho.edu

Alistair Smith
Assistant Professor
Research Specialty: Forest measurements
» View Alistair Smith's profile

David Tank
Assistant Professor
Tank began his botanical studies at Michigan State University and received his doctorate in botany at the University of Washington in 2006. His research in the area of plant systematics and evolution focuses on increasing our understanding of the patterns of biodiversity across wildland ecosystems using molecular genetic tools. Tank will teach dendrology and forest community ecology.
» dtank@uidaho.edu