Seventh Goddard Forum
This program has already taken place, but the information provided here may still be helpful if you're considering attending this program in the future.
Pennsylvania's forest has seen significant changes from the forest that greeted the first Quaker settlers who arrived at Penn's Landing on the Friendship in 1692. The second forest is today's even-aged product of the age of exploitation that removed that first forest to feed the growing mines, railroads, and eastern cities between 1865 and 1915. Today's forest covers approximately 60 percent of Pennsylvania's twenty-nine million acres, and one-quarter of that is publicly owned. The Seventh Goddard Forum will examine what Pennsylvania's third forest will look like and how we can impact its development, focusing particularly on the thirteen million acres in private ownership. Issues such as urbanization and sprawl; climate change and acid precipitation; invasive species; increasing demands for fiber, energy, recreation, and second homes; and increasing parcelization and fragmentation present challenges as well as opportunities.
The forum will focus first on the current state of the forest and on issues that must be addressed for the next century, examining some of the problems faced by private forest lands, sprawl, use of forest resources, water resource issues, and climate change. In breakout sessions the participants will then identify the problems warranting the highest priority. A second series of panel discussions will examine a variety of policies that might address the issues for the future. In a final series of breakout sessions the participants will select a suite of policies to create a third "Penn's Woods" that will best meet the needs of our grandchildren.
People who will benefit from this conference include members of the conservation community, whether in industry, land trusts, environmental groups, or government; forest landowners; those involved in forestry and energy industries that currently rely or will rely on the forest for their livelihood; planners interested in conservation of open space or rural development; those interested in examining the role of the forests in mitigating climate change and how we can adapt to climate change; companies and groups concerned about the quantity and quality of our water supply; and persons involved in research on issues related to forestry, energy, the water supply, climate change, forest ecology, urban sprawl, and sustainable futures.
program of Penn State's Maurice K. Goddard Chair in Forestry and Environmental Resources Conservation
SPONSORS:
This site is a product of Penn State, Outreach Marketing and Communications.
Please e-mail us with your questions, comments, or suggestions at WebInfo@outreach.psu.edu.
Privacy and Legal Statements | Copyright © 2006 The Pennsylvania State University