Extensive practice involving chainsaw maintenance and usage in felling trees, bucking, and limbing logs. Various methods of trees felling are covered with a primary focus on Game of Logging National Safety Standards. Fall Only.
1 Credit: 0 Lecture, 3 Lab
Extensive practice operating heavy equipment related to forestry. Focus on safe and proper usage, along with basic maintenance. Exposure to machinery ranging from skid steers to skidders, bulldozers, log trucks, telehandlers, and log loaders. Spring Only.
1 Credit: 0 Lecture, 3 Lab
Classification, identification, and distribution of woody plants in the United States. Emphasizes species of local commercial importance. Fall Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Study of the measurement of standing trees, logs, and other cut wood products. Focus on calculating the contents of these products in terms of board feet, cubic feet, cords, and pounds; measuring growth in trees and forests; and utilizing maps, compasses, and aerial photos to navigate, locate, and triangulate position in the field. Fall Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Introduction to surveying, including the fundamentals of plane surveying and the use and care of equipment. Spring Only.
2 Credits: 1 Lecture, 3 Lab
Basic techniques of photogrammetry (the use of photographs in surveying and forest measurement), photo interpretation. Spring Only.
2 Credits: 1 Lecture, 3 Lab
Theory and techniques to estimate volumes of large timber areas by different sampling techniques. Focus on the use and interpretation of current technological applications to assist in forest surveys. Study includes the ethical, social, and economic considerations pertaining to timber sales and contracts. Spring Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Prerequisites:
FOR113
Introduction to ecology, upon which the management of forest and wildlife resources may be used. Study improves understanding of the ecological relationship of forest and wildlife communities. Spring Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Lumber grading specific to hardwood species and in accordance with the standards for the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA). Spring Only.
1 Credit: 0 Lecture, 3 Lab
Survey of wood species and methods of drying to a specific moisture content with applied kiln drying techniques. Spring Only.
1 Credit: 0 Lecture, 3 Lab
Theory and practice of plane surveying techniques used in property and boundary surveys, map making, construction surveys, and computations. Emphasizes the use of these techniques in forestry. Fall Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Prerequisites:
FOR120
Examination of the development, construction, and maintenance of recreation facilities in a forest environment. Spring Only.
1 Credit: 0 Lecture, 3 Lab
Overview of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology as it pertains to forest technology. Emphasis on the GIS technology of ARC VIEW and ARC INFO. Enables the student to move back and forth between Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology dealing with the manipulation of data using computerized software data and GPS applications which utilize location data via the 24 satellites that orbit the Earth. Fall Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Prerequisites:
CSC124 and MTH180; or
CSC124 and MTH124; or
CSC124 and MTH123; or
CSC124 and MTH181
Natural history and environmental impact of the relationship between animals and nature in Pennsylvania and other parts of the country. Emphasis on how wildlife influences forest management decisions. Spring Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Introduction to the myriad of products that come from wood fiber. Topics include sawmilling and lumber conversion, "value added" secondary products, veneer manufacturing, plywood and composite products, paper production, wood sample identification, wood products marketing concepts, and lumber exportation.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Basic planning, maintenance, and operation of logging equipment and machinery while conducting a harvest operation whereby trees are safely felled, limbed, and bucked into their highest economic values utilizing Best Management Practices (BMP) where applicable. Fall Only.
3 Credits: 1 Lecture, 6 Lab
Overview of factors affecting the health of trees in forest and urban environments. Major topics include forest disease, insects, and invasive vegetation. Diseases covered include those caused by biotic pathogens and abiotic stressors, including root rots, wilts, cankers, rusts, and decays. Particular attention is paid to insect activity that is directly related to tree health and subsequent loss of wood fiber and/or quality. Topics include
spongy moth, hemlock wooly adelgid, scale, wood boring insects, and defoliating insects, along with a host of bacterial and fungal impacts on wood fiber. Forest management discussion includes silvicultural treatments, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), fire, and how these tools are utilized to maintain forest health and productivity. Fall Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Introduction to the management of invasive vegetation in a forested setting through the use of approved herbicides and pesticides. Focus on how chemicals are applied and their impacts on various insects and vegetation that are detrimental to forest health and regeneration. Spring Only.
2 Credits: 2 Lecture
Introduction to the management of Wildlands through the use of prescribed fire. Focus on fire safety, impacts, behavior, and the communication surrounding its usage as a management tool in a forested setting. Spring Only.
2 Credits: 1 Lecture, 3 Lab
Forestry practices and systems used to grow and manage trees and forests for the sustained production of timber products. Fall Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab
Prerequisites:
FOR111
Basic concepts of managing publicly- and privately-owned forestlands used for more than one purpose (i.e., recreation and logging). Coursework demonstrates the importance of managing the land for recreation, wildlife, and water with an emphasis on sound silvicultural treatments. Spring Only.
3 Credits: 2 Lecture, 3 Lab