FORESTRY ISSUES LUMBER INTO FOCUS OF LECTURE SERIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 1996

Fairbanks, Alaska - To cut or to conserve- the issue of timber harvesting in the Tanana Valley State Forest has created a logjam of debates in Interior Alaska over the past ten years. Providing background for forestry issues such as harvesting is the purpose behind an upcoming series of public lectures offered by the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management.

The school's forest sciences department graduate/faculty seminar will present the series at the Noel Wein library every first and third Wednesday beginning at 7 p.m. in October and November.

"Our hope is that these four lectures will serve as an educational opportunity for the public and the students and will be relevant to current Tanana Valley State Forest management issues," UAF forest sciences department head John Fox said. "We hope not just to deliver information but stimulate thought and questions. The intent is to provide a framework of knowledge within which understanding and problem-solving can occur."

Students withing UAF's School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management receive academic training to help prepare them for careers in management of Alaska's land-based renewable resources. Public debate and hearings are a vital component in developing Alaska's land use policies.

Presentations will last about an hour each. A question-and-answer session opening issues to audience discussion will follow each lecture.

The first lecture, presented on Wednesday, Oct. 2, by associate professor of plant ecology Glenn Juday, will cover boreal forest ecology.

On Oct. 16, associate professor of forest management Ed Packee will present a lecture on northern forest silviculture, which covers the life history, characteristics and ecology of forest trees.

Fox, an associate professor of land resources, will present a lecture on Nov. 6 discussing forest management. The final lecture in the series will be given by a forest industry representative on Nov. 20.

CONTACT: Associate Professor of Forest Sciences John Yarie, (907) 474- 5650, or Jillian Swope, University Relations, (907) 474-7581

JCS/9-27-96/97-018