UME Seeks a Forest Management Specialist
The University of Maryland is now advertising for an Extension Specialist in Forest Management to serve stakeholders across the state in a variety of forestry and natural resources topics. This includes woodland owners, policymakers, conservation groups, and others. Topics include but aren’t limited to sustainable forest and timber management, small acreage forest management, forest finance, invasive species, forest water issues, and biomass and bioenergy.
The position is located at the Western Maryland Research & Education Center in Keedysville. Responsibilities will include managing such existing forestry extension programs as this newsletter, The Woods in Your Backyard, Maryland Woodland Stewards, and more.
This is a tenure track position with potential to be promoted to a higher rank in accordance with University policy. Please apply by December 4, 2022.
For more information, read the entire announcement at https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/101451
Maryland State Nursery Now Accepting Orders
Each fall, the John S. Ayton State Tree Nursery accepts orders from Marylanders working on reforestation projects. If you have a project for creating a windbreak or enhancing wildlife habitat, consider purchasing your native seedlings from the nursery now for spring 2023 planting. Visit https://dnr.maryland.gov/forests/Pages/nursery.aspx to learn more.
This year’s catalog features more than 50 species, with a few different choices from last year. There are more than 2.5 million seedlings available for sale.
If you are not sure which species are right for your needs, please call your local forestry office. They can answer questions about site conditions, species selection, and financial incentives for which you may qualify.
The Virginia State Nursery Is Open, Too
Virginia readers of Branching Out can also order native Virginia trees from their state nursery. Bred specifically for Virginia’s soils and climate, seedlings are grown and sold directly from the agency’s self-supporting nurseries. To browse the seedling catalog, visit BuyVaTrees.com.
Packaged as bare-root seedlings, trees can be picked up from their Augusta Nursery or delivered between Feb. 22 and April 26, 2023. Seedlings can be ordered in quantities ranging from five to 25,000. Supplies are limited and some species sell out quickly.
Could the Marten Return to Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has given staff the green light to prepare a reintroduction and management plan as the first step to repopulating the big woods in the northern part of the state with the American marten, a member of the weasel family.
The American marten (also called the pine marten) was originally found across the mid-Atlantic region before being extirpated through hunting and trapping.
Read more about the marten’s potential reintroduction in this article from Bay Journal.