FOREST INFORMATION UPDATE NO. 29
2 OCTOBER  2000

Forest Information Update (FIU) is a free weekly email newsletter sent to people interested in the inventorying and monitoring of natural resources.  FIU is produced by Forest Information Services (http://home.att.net/~gklund/ ) and is supported by organizations, agencies and individuals working in the natural resources field. Back issues of FIU may be found at http://www.foresters.org/fiu/index.htm. Currently FIU is sent to about 4000 email addresses world-wide. Many of these recipients forward FIU to their own mailing lists. To subscribe or sponsor, contact me at gklund@worldnet.att.net. Thanks Gyde

FIU SPONSORS - This issue of FIU is sponsored in part through the generous support of: Thany you all for your kind support.

INPUT: This week's input comes from Russell Brown, Hugo Equihua, Tina Etherington, Andy Gillespie, Tom Hammett, Mark Johnston, Scott Miller, Deep Narayan Pandey, and Nelson Wong. Thank you all for sharing your information!
HAVE YOU HEARD? NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

US FOREST SERVICE FOREST INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS (FIA) - The National FIA web site is moving to the Forest Service national server, with a new simpler address:  http://fia.fs.fed.us.   Please update your bookmarks accordingly.  This move is being made to simplify the communication of our top level page; regional FIA pages will continue to be maintained within Forest Service Research Stations.  This is the first in a series of web site upgrades planned for the next year in order to better serve both our customers (with current forest inventory data and analytical tools ) as well as keeping our partners and supporters informed about program implementation.

WORLD RESOURCES 2000-2001: PEOPLE AND ECOSYSTEMS: THE FRAYING WEB OF LIFE-  New report released by World Resources Institute -  Hardcover English edition available from Elsevier Science.  ISBN 0-08-0437818 / US $49.00.   To, order, visit the website at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worldresources . For more details on content see: http://www.wri.org/wr2000/ecosystems.html  or contact World Resources Institute, 10 G Street, NE (Suite 800), Washington, DC 20002 USA . Tel: 1+202/729-7600; fax: 1+202/729-7610. Email:  lorih@wri.org .

NWFP INVENTORY - From FAO's NWFP-Digest-L No. 7/00. In May 200, the workshop "Developing needs-based inventory methods for NWFP: application and development of current research to identify practical solutions for developing countries" was held in Rome, at FAO HQ. The workshop was organized by the European Tropical Forest Research Network (ETFRN) and sponsored by the Forest Research Programme of DFID, with support from the European Commission. The background paper "The biometrics of non-timber forest product resource assessment: A review of current methodology" by J. Wong and the "Draft workshop report" can be downloaded from the ETFRN website at: http://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/workshop/ntfp/  As a follow up to the workshop, a web discussion will be held from 28 September to 27 October 2000 aimed at expanding the discussions held during the workshop and refining identified research needs. Anyone with an interest in NTFP inventory is welcome to join the discussion, which can be accessed from the above site.

BIODIVERSITY DATABASES: Biodiversity Information on Every Desktop - "Access to information about the world’s biodiversity is badly needed by a wide range of users, say resource managers, policy-makers, conservationists, scientists and the general public. In order to bring such information to the Internet, where it will be freely accessible to anyone, a consortium of 28 interested countries and intergovernmental organizations is coordinating plans to form the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). GBIF will consist of a series of interconnected databases containing information about the world’s living organisms, from bacteria to plants to mammals." For more information see: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/00/pr0067.htm

WILD HARVEST SECTOR - Brochure on entrepreneurships in the sustainable production of forest grown medicinal plants and other non-timber forest products. Contact: Tom Hammett, Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources, Tel: +1-540- 231-2716.  Email: himal@vt.edu. URL: http://www.sfp.forprod.vt.edu.

NEW FIU SUBSCRIBERS (This is a section I just started on 29 Sept. Thought it would be good to know who new readers of FIU are and what they do). FIU welcomes the following new subscribers:

HELP!

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

OPPORTUNITIES  Several readers of FIU are seeking employment in the forestry field. If you have jobs available and are in need of good people, please consider posting your vacancies in FIU (there is no charge for this service) and the following outlets: http://foresters.org/jobs/
http://forestry.about.com/education/forestry/msub14.htm
http://www.safnet.org/market/careercenter.htm
www.stateforesters.org/news.html

FOREST MENSURATIONIST (LEVEL 10) - As a member of the Forest Ecosystem Branch of Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management, Prince Albert, you will be the provincial lead for forest mensuration programs in Saskatchewan's Boreal forests. You will provide expert advice in the design, implementation and management of mensurational data collection, analysis, and interpretation processes, particularly for growth and yield and Saskatchewan Forest Vegetation Inventory programs. You will also lead the application of yield and other mensurational information into information management systems, data analysis and wood supply modeling systems, and other practical management tools. You will develop and coordinate the department's role in partnerships and joint initiatives with the forest industry and other clients addressing mensurational issues and programs. The position will also coordinate the review of wood supply analyses and other mensurational components of Forest Management Agreements, Plans and other authorizations submitted by forest industry and other clients of the department. You will identify, design andlead applied research projects and programs that address pertinent growth and yield management issues in Saskatchewan. Public consultation, budget planning, and participation on provincial and national committees are also important components of the position. Candidates will typically have a Bachelor of Science and Master's of Science in forestry, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience, including demonstrated experience in forest mensurational programs. Candidates will also have demonstrated experience in data management, analysis and modeling applications. You will have the knowledge of: ecological functioning and yield dynamics of Boreal forest tree species; statistical analysis processes and sampling theory; data analysis, interpretation and applications in forest inventory including yield curve development, stand and stock table development, and taper equation construction; generally accepted mensurational techniques and standards; wood supply analysis modeling applications; Geographic Information Systems; field data collection programs; including sampling design, data collection and data management procedures; policies and procedures for managing staff, budgets and other resources. Further information about this opportunity may be obtained from Doug Campbell, Forest Ecosystems Branch, Environment and Resource Management at +1-306- 53-2442 or by email at campbell@larix.derm.gov.sk.ca

HAVE YOU READ?
Obtain from your local library or from the sources provided. For listing of publications from previous FIUs see: http://home.att.net/~gklund/invpub.html
YOU'RE INVITED!
For a more complete listing of upcoming inventory and monitoring related meetings, see
http://home.att.net/~gklund/invmeet.html
http://www.agnic.org/mtg/index.html
http://www.asprs.org/asprs/meetings/calendar.html
http://www.forestworld.com/views/events/events_directory/event_mainframe.html
http://www.safnet.org/calendar/coned.htm.

7 October 2000. Fall Jubilee. Manassas, Virginia, USA. While not really a forestry activity, those in the Washington, DC area may enjoy coming out to Historic Old Town Manassas for our Fall Jubilee. There will be fun for kids, crafts, music, dancing, food, etc. The Jubilee runs from 1000-1600 this coming Saturday. You will find me helping with the Kid's Rock Climb from 10 until noon.  For more information see: http://visitmanassas.org/ or contact hmi@erols.com. Hope to see you there! Gyde

28 October 2000. Gingseng and goldseal - Income Potential of Forest –Based Products. Hands-on training. New Castle, Virginia, USA. Contact: Tom Hammett, Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources (540) 231-2716.  himal@vt.edu.  URL: http://www.sfp.forprod.vt.edu

20-24 November 2000. Coleccion y analisis de datos en experimentos biologicos. Curso de Postgrado. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ecologicas de las Yungas (LIEY), Yerba Buena, Tucuman Argentina. Informes: Silvia Pacheco o Tomas Easdale liey@tucbbs.com.ar

27-29 November 2000. 1st Birmingham Annual GIS Conference. Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Contact: Custom Maps and GIS Services, PO Box 2052, Alabaster, AL 35007 USA. Fax: +1-240-248-8697. Email: GISConferences@pobox.com. URL: http://www.custom-maps.com .

3 February 2001. Virtually Wild Ginseng: A How-to-Grow Workshop. New Castle, Virginia, USA. Contact: Tom Hammett, Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources (540) 231-2716.  himal@vt.edu.  URL: http://www.sfp.forprod.vt.edu

12-24 March 2001. Curso Internacional de Dendrologia Tropical. Costa Rica. Espaniol. Informes: Humberto Jimenez-Saa Tropical Science Center hjimenez@sol.racsa.co.cr or hjimenez@geocities.com

28 March-1 April 2001. Making Environmental History Relevant in the 21st Century. Durham, North Carolina, USA. Follow the FHS Web site at http://www.lib.duke.edu/forest/ for information updates.

25 June-7 July 2001. Curso Internacional de Dendrologia Tropical. Costa Rica. Ingles.  Informes: Humberto Jimenez-Saa Tropical Science Center hjimenez@sol.racsa.co.cr or hjimenez@geocities.com

WHILE SURFING THE WEB…INTERESTING LINKS
For listings of additional links see: http://home.att.net/~gklund/invlinks.html

LANDSCAPE PLANNING

OTHER

Please mention FIU in any correspondence you may have on items in this issue.  As always, please share as appropriate. If you have any new resource inventory/monitoring-related publications, meetings, or news that you would like listed in FIU, please contact me … and don't forget I always welcome sponsors. This newsletter is dependent upon your continued input and support. Cheers. Gyde

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H. Gyde Lund
Forest Information Services
8221 Thornwood Ct.
Manassas, VA 20110-4627 USA
Voice: +1-703-368-7219, Fax: +1-703-257-1419
Email: gklund@worldnet.att.net
URL: http://home.att.net/~gklund
"Specializing in Web searches and information synthesis"