GLNF-CESU: Forest Health Assessment for GLKN

This project will be a joint venture between Dr. Marcella Windmuller-Campione of the University of Minnesota and the Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network of the NPS. The mutual goals for the two parties are to implement fieldwork to assess the current state of forest health, and to develop papers that address the response of vegetation in the Great Lakes region to intermediate-term change, and which address management concerns and options in a changing environment.  The public purpose of this project will be twofold:

1) Youth employment. While we do not discriminate on the basis of age, traditionally, individuals who apply for these positions are between the ages of 20 and 25. We are providing them with a number of real-life skills that are valuable and desired in the field of natural resources. We anticipate that this agreement will fund 16 positions over the course of the five-year span.

2) As part of this project, we will be developing innovative methods to look at trends in forest change. As climate change continues, land managers are increasingly challenged with surprise and uncertainty, with respect to climate impacts on land, and necessary responses to that. These methods may be a critical tool in addressing this uncertainty.  Funds will be used to support 16 individuals over the course of 5 years to resample 240 permanent monitoring plots at five national park units, around the Great Lakes region. The data from this effort will be used to assess not only the current state of park forests, but to compare this with data from the previous sampling round (2011-2016). A graduate student or research technician from the University of Minnesota will be temporarily supported to analyze the data, in the process, exploring novel ways to examine and assess forest change. The ultimate goal is to provide management recommendations for Great Lakes forests, as climate change continues. The results of this effort will be published in one to two journal articles.

Education

• Public and state institutions of higher education