Fast facts
- UAM students named winners of OSAF poster contest.
- Research measures economic benefits of Green Tree Reservoir tree species
- Landowners feel ill-equipped to handle invasion of feral hogs
Pocola, Oklahoma- The Ouachita Society of American Forester (OSAF) announced the winners of their annual 2022 forestry research poster contest. The Ouachita chapter is made up of foresters from Arkansas and Oklahoma. This year’s winners were University of Arkansas at Monticello second-year graduate students Cassandra Hug and Alyssa Mineau. Hug is from Arvada, Colorado, and Mineau is from Sunnyvale, California.
Scientific poster presentations are an effective way to demonstrate knowledge and skills at the end of a research project. It’s a fast, effective way of presenting a new idea, skill, or concept. The poster presentation usually includes a brief verbal explanation.
Hug’s poster focused on tree management decisions in eight green tree reservoir (hardwood forests that are kept flooded for portions of the year to help waterfowl) sites . Her research focused on what trees were most economically and environmentally beneficial in these reservoirs. Her research is based on elevated plots located at the Five Oaks Ag Research & Education Center near Humphry, Arkansas. Northern higher elevation sites were found to be dominated by Cherrybark Oak, while southern lower elevation sites were dominated by Nuttall oak and Overcup oak.
Mineau’ s research was based on understanding landowner perspectives on invasive feral hogs and management to mitigate the effects of their presence across the West Gulf Region. Overall, landowners hold negative attitudes towards feral hogs and want them removed from the region. However, most landowners feel ill-equipped in managing feral hogs by themselves and desire financial or technical assistance in doing so.
OSAF representative and UAM Professor and Associate Dean, Robert Ficklin, presented the women with two checks from the forestry organization. Ficklin was recently recognized as a distinguished Fellow with the organization. Ficklin said, “The OSAF, consisting of Arkansas and Oklahoma members, has a history of supporting both undergraduate and graduate student education.”
The poster contest during the OSAF annual meeting provided graduate students the opportunity to present their thesis research and exercise their science communication skills with a variety of forestry and natural resource professionals. “We’re proud of how our students represented themselves, the College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources and UAM during the meeting.” said Ficklin. “The Society of American Foresters has advocated for sustainable forestry and natural resource management for more than 120 years, and the education and training of future managers and policy makers is critical to that mission.”
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About the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center
The College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, a University of Arkansas System Center of Excellence, brings together interdisciplinary expertise through a partnership between the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The College and Center are headquartered at the University of Arkansas at Monticello campus, but their programs range statewide with the mission of developing and delivering teaching, research, and extension programs that enhance and ensure the sustainability and productivity of forest-based natural resources and agricultural systems. Academic programs are delivered by the College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources through the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Through the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, research is administered by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and extension and outreach activities are coordinated by the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
The University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offer all of their programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employers.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of twenty entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all seventy-five counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
