State University Of New York College Of Environmental Science And Forestry:

Press release from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry:

5/11/2021

Northeastern States Research Cooperative (NSRC) Directors announced 13 grants totaling $1.6 million of federal funding and $0.8 million of matching funding for research that will address priority issues facing forest stakeholders in the Northern Forest region. The projects cover a broad range of concerns related to land use and sustainable forestry, rural communities and economic development, climate change, biodiversity, recreation and tourism, invasive pests and diseases, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

Federal funding comes from Congressional appropriations through a partnership with the research and development arm of the USDA Forest Service for research on the Northern Forest and its 26 million acres in Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. The private sector, states, and other organizations offered matching funding to support the research.

"The USDA Forest Service has a long history of working with a variety of partners to ensure the sustainability of the Northeastern forests, and the Northern Research Station is proud to be contributing to the work of the Northeastern States Research Cooperative," said Cynthia West, director of the Northern Research Station and the Forest Products Laboratory.

Research goals for the program, as stipulated in the 2020 NSRC Congressional Authorization, are to sponsor research to sustain the health of northern forest ecosystems and communities, develop new forest products, and improve forest biodiversity management. NSRC also supports a new Indigenous Forest Knowledge Fund (IFKF) to address structural inequities in opportunity for Indigenous youth in forest research and invest in the cultural and intellectual sovereignty of Tribal forest traditions, alongside other forms of applied forest research. NSRC will soon announce two winners from the inaugural IFKF competition.

NSRC received 50 research project proposals requesting $6.3 million in funding. All proposals were first assessed by a team of external technical reviewers.

"Projects put forward for final consideration were vetted by an external stakeholder review panel, which prioritized research based on the potential to engage stakeholders and to have meaningful impact to the region," said Breck Bowden, NSRC Director at the University of Vermont."

Projects were funded throughout the Northern Forest region, but New Yorkers will immediately benefit from two research projects based in the state.

"The federal and matching support for doctors Vidon and Fernando will allow them to continue their important research in the Adirondack Park and Northern forest and further our understanding of the sustainable use of these vital environments for tourism and agriculture," said Joanie Mahoney, ESF president.

These research projects, led by researchers from all four states, will begin in 2021:

This press release was produced by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The views expressed here are the author’s own.