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Dr. Jerry Franklin, University of Washington, will introduce core principles of natural disturbance and natural development-based silviculture. Dr. Bob Mitchell, from the Jones Ecological Research Center, will discuss fire as a natural disturbance process and how to integrate fire into holistic forest management. Dr. Nathan Klaus, senior wildlife biologist at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, will talk about maintaining or enhancing wildlife habitat. A day of lecture and discussion at Rutgers University’s EcoComplex will be followed by a day of field tours. The field tour portion of the workshop is full, but space is still available for the lecture and discussion portion.
The Workshop:
Increasingly, forest managers and policy makers are discussing emulation of natural disturbance regimes as a model for management. Using these ideas more fully in silvicultural practices is the basis of an ecological forestry approach. Understanding the importance of biological legacies, recognizing the role of stand development processes and disturbances, and appreciating the role of recovery periods between disturbance events are principal concepts of ecological forestry. This workshop will integrate forest management options within the context of economic realities, social desires, and past management practices. We will include presentations on market outlooks, wildlife objectives, forest restoration, and climate change as they relate to an ecological forestry approach to management scenarios ranging from commodity production to reserve management.
The Partners:
This workshop builds upon an ongoing training program on ecological forestry organized by the Conservation Forestry Network, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, Conservation Resources Inc, NJ Pinelands Commission, NJ Audubon Society, LandDimensions Engineering Inc, Forest Guild, the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, the NJ chapter of the Wildlife Society , and numerous other partners. The Conservation Forestry Network aims to improve forest practices across North America by bringing together experts, land managers, stakeholders and decision makers to learn, shape, and share innovative practices across the diverse range of American forests and communities. 
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