• ELECTRONIC DATA SOLUTIONS - Please see the numerous workshops, seminars, and trainings they have planned for this spring for: --Trimble Mapping GPS Products --ESRI ArcView and ArcPad software --Juniper Systems Field Computers --DataPlus Software for DOS Field Computers --Laser Technology Rangefinders --All Topo Maps by iGage --Hydrolab Multiparameter Water Quality Instrumentation. See more information at: http://www.elecdata.com.

• RELASKOP-TECHNIK - The manufacturer of Spiegel-Relaskop, has a new, very light and handy instrument for measuring tree-diameters up to 100 cm (40 inches), the BITTERLICH SECTOR-FORK, in its program. With an attachment measurements up to 200 cm (80 inches) are possible. For more information please visit www.relaskop.at or contact us via e-mail at relaskop@relaskop.at

• TheEQUATOR - “Land around the World” The Internet’s premier property transaction service for timber and farm properties. With more than 2,300 worldwide listings of timberland and farms worth over $1.8 billion, TheEquator is the largest rural property listing services on the Web. Enhance your sales prospects by advertising your land or standing timber on TheEquator (www.TheEquator.com). Inquire about TheEquator’s new Internet auction services (webmaster@TheEquator.com).

• Budhy Kristanty - Information Services Group, CIFOR. Email: b.kristanty@cgiar.org

David Savage - Graduate Student/Research Assistant, Faculty of Forestry and the Forest Environment, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON. dsavage3@hotmail.com
• Gary Warinner - Timberlands Planning Supervisor, Simpson Timber Co. - California Operations. gwarinn@simpson.com
• Michael Wysong - Masters student, University of Hawaii interested in making contacts with agencies and programs in the field of botany, forestry, and natural resource conservation. Background includes work in American Samoa on traditional natural resource use as well as related work in Hawaii. wysong@hawaii.edu
• Moray McLeish - moray1@indo.net.id
• Steven Kleinschmidt - Boise Cascade Corp., Boise, Idaho. Steven_Kleinschmidt@bc.com

FAO'S OUTLOOK FOR WOOD PRODUCTION FROM FOREST PLANTATIONS - From Adrian Whiteman - You can find the outlook at: http://www.fao.org/forestry/FON/FONS/outlook/global/gfpswp-e.stm The French and Spanish versions will follow in a month's time.

FIA PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NRCS NATIONAL RESOURCE INVENTORY - From FIA News 1 March 2001. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Resources Inventory (NRI) program monitors soil, water, and related resources on non-Federal lands in the United States, especially on agricultural lands and rangelands. Both NRIA and FIA detect national, regional and state-wide trends in land use and ecosystem health, evaluate effectiveness of public policies and program performance, guide sustainable development, and forecast alternative future conditions. However, there are fundamental differences in analysis priorities, measurement protocols, and sampling frames. NRI is currently replacing its traditional approach, in which each of its 300,000 160-acre Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) are re-measured once every 5 years. NRI now remeasures 70,000 of its PSUs each year using 1:8,000 scale aerial photography. These changes remove the scheduling barriers that have inhibited integration of data from the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and NRI programs. The FIA Units in St. Paul and Fort Collins, and scientists from the NRI national office and Minnesota headquarters, are conducting a major joint venture with the Minnesota Division of Forestry, investigating opportunities to improve analyses by integrating existing FIA and NRI plot data within a geographic information system (GIS). The Division has developed a GIS “test bed” which contains all FIA and NRI plot data, state-wide digital elevation models, MRLC and GAP land cover maps, digital line graphics (e.g., roads, streams), and soil data. FIA will evaluate the utility of data integration when the Division analyzes recent changes in land use. This case study addresses the question “does the merger of FIA and NRI data into a shared geospatial database improve quality of an analytical investigation?”  NRCS recently hired Dr. Veronica (Roni) Lessard as project manager for the partnership. Roni works with an advisory committee composed of FIA, NRI and State representatives from St. Paul and Grand Rapids Minnesota, Fort Collins and Washington DC. For more information about this project, please contact Roni at vlessard@fs.fed.us

NORTHERN FOREST DIVERSIFICATION CENTRE RECEIVES PROVINCIAL FUNDING - From Doug Lauvstad - Manitoba (Canada) Conservation Minister Oscar Lathlin has announced funding of $125,000 for a Northern Forest Diversification Centre pilot project to be located at Keewatin Community College (KCC) (www.keewatincc.mb.ca) in The Pas. KCC will design a course for interested residents of Moose Lake and Nelson House that would form the prototype for product and service delivery in other northern communities. The pilot project will include community consultations and needs assessment, development of community-specific solutions, an inventory of eco-tourism and non-timber forest products as well as product development and support services. The centre would act as a Northern Manitoba research and service centre for non-timber forest products and eco-tourism. Non-timber forest products are foods, medicines and materials of plant and animal origin. The product list varies but generally includes mushrooms, berries, floral greens, medicinal herbs, craft materials and landscaping products among others. Items are harvested for use in essential oils, for cosmetic and medicinal purposes, and decorative items. The centre would provide consulting services, community-based training, business development, entrepreneurial support, and product research and development. By developing the centre, KCC plans to provide the means to diversify the forest and wilderness activities available for economic development and job creation in predominantly remote Aboriginal communities. For more information on the Centre, contact Doug at dlauvstad@keewatincc.mb.ca.

INTERNATIONAL FORESTRY SHORT COURSE -From John Bailey - The Northern Arizona University’s School of Forestry is offering a new international forestry short course, available as a 3-credit, 3-week experience that includes one week of intensive classroom instruction in Flagstaff on tropical forestry, Latin American culture and Spanish, followed by 2 weeks of field instruction and exploration in Honduras (20-26 May 2001 in Flagstaff, 27 May - 9 June 2001 in Honduras). Students with a background in tropical forestry can register for only 2 credits - the 2 weeks in Honduras. Students can also attend only the 1-credit one-week of intensive coursework in Flagstaff. Both parts of the course address the wide range of current tropical forestry issues and practices, including: Characteristics and ecology of wet-tropical (“rainforest”) and dry-tropical forest ecosystems. Current trends in deforestation and, alternatively, forest protection and conservation management. Wildlife habitat management, ecotourism, and cultural preservation (includes a Mayan ruins visit). Indigenous knowledge, land tenure and gender roles as they apply to forest management. Management of natural forest ecosystems vs. intensive plantation forestry. Agroforestry, community forestry, forest practices certification programs, and international trade. Potential students can find registration forms and more information at our website: http://www.for.nau.edu/shortcourses/tropicalforestry/.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE - Note: If you can help with any of the requests below, please take the time to do so. Do not assume others will respond - they are assuming the same. Your kind assistance will be appreciated and rewarded. Thanks, Gyde

• LIVE CROWN TO STEM RATIO - Dr.Muhammad Ashraf writes "I am interested to know the live crown - stem ratio of the following trees to assess if the trees are growing at normal rate or not.  1. Dalbergia sisu. 2. Acacia nilotica 3. Morus spps 4. Eucalyptus spps. Also I would like to know from my friends how reliable is this criterion & if there is a general guideline, say  live crown height should be at least 50% of the total stem height of a tree to say that it is growing well." You may contact Dr. Ashraf at envofor@wol.net.pk

• PRICING EXTERNALITIES - Jose E. de la Maza writes "For the last month, I have been working in Brazil Amazon on a very interesting sustainable development project. As part of my professional duties, I want to give all the consideration to the value of externalities associated to land use in the tropical Amazon forest. There are many non-timber products and services of the forest which has prices, commercial prices. So they can be valued in money. Example: Tourism, Nuts of Brazil, Gum. There are others, like erosion or water quality or scenic beauty, that don't have a market nor a price (yet). In general, all the values that are normally not considered on a private analysis of the value of a forest investment project. These are called externalities. They may be paid by all the Society in the future, but are not considered by the private investor. They could be positive or negative. But they do not make a part on private analysis. Aspects of the problem: 1. Identify externalities. 2. Quantify them, 3. Give them a price. 4. Charge the commercial price with the externality price. (Internalize the externality). The last part is the most difficult: authority has failed to make this possible, to incorporate to microeconomy. What I am collecting is methods for 3." If you have any suggestions for Jose, please contact him at consultor@chileforestal.cl

• REMOTE SENSING QUESTION -  From Ann Camp - "I have some technical questions for those of you who do a lot of aerial photo interpretation: How confident are you about being able to discern the following options on older (b/w) and newer (color) aerial photos (the sort that the FS has flown every 5 years).  If you ARE confident at being able to discern the following, how much experience do you estimate is required before getting this level of proficiency?  The scales of the photos in question are between 1: 12,000 - 1: 15,000.  1) differentiate between one, two, and more than two canopy layers for a delineated polygon (stand).  2)differentiate between the following logging entries in a stand:  none, regeneration harvest (clearcut, seed tree, shelterwood), selective harvest (selective harvest, overstory removal, final removal), thinned patch clearcut (< 10 acres). 3) overstory and understory tree sizes with the following options -   seedlings and saplings (< 5" dbh), poles (5 - 8.9"), small trees (9 - 15.9"),  medium trees (16-25" ), large trees (> 25" dbh). 4) differentiate between about 104 different forest types found in the western US. 5. estimate the percentage of the stand that is dead (none, < 10%, 10-40%, 40-70%, > 70%). I'm wondering how accurate remotely-sensed data can be." Please contact Ann at acamp@fs.fed.us.

• POSITION SOUGHT WITH RELATION TO AFRICAN AGRO-FORESTRY - Dr Peter Lovett writes, “I have ten years forestry experience in Europe and Africa, and since 1994 have researched traditional agroforestry parklands with a focus on the Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) in Ghana and Uganda. My main skills and interests, include linking stakeholders to research findings; selection & propagation of suitable tropical trees; on-farm biodiversity inventory and cultural management tools for tree maintenance in traditional systems. I should be available from late April 2001, and if you have any suggestions, want further information or would like to meet up in either East or West Africa, please contact Peter at p.n.c.lovett@btinternet.com”.

• SENIOR GIS/RS POSITION - Environmentek, the CSIR’s Division of Water, Environment and Forestry Technology, is a leading national resource for environmental expertise in South Africa. They are in need of Spatial Technology & Environmental Modelling Specialists. Candidates need to have skills in at least two of the following areas: Spatial database design and development, particularly SDE (Spatial Database Engine) with Oracle or similar RDBMS;  Distribution of spatial data across the Intranet and Internet. E -commerce environment for GIS data and potential GIS products. 3D visualisation field - using 3D for conceptualising complex processes and / or documents within the environmental area. GIS modelling and programming skills (in e.g. Visual Basic, Java, C++, Visual C++, Delphi. Requirements: Honours in one of the environmental sciences as a minimum, ideally Masters. 3 -6 Years experience in the GIS field, preferably using ESRI products - ArcInfo, ArcView and related products. The ability to work in a team environment on Innovative products. A qualification in GIS, computer science, programming, database administration or other applicable IT field would be to your advantage. To apply, please e-mail your CV to Rose Clark rclark@csir.co.za  before 8 April 2001.

• TIMBERLANDS INFORMATION FORESTER - Simpson Timber Company has an immediate opening to manage, develop and operate the Forest Resources Information System (FRIS), a computerized geographic information system (GIS). The position functions as the lead analyst for complex system analyses pertaining to forest inventory and wildlife issues. Prefer candidates who have two years experience operating a geographic information system, including digitizing, computer programming, spatial analyses, and mapping, as well as one year experience managing and using a relational database. Minimum education required is a B.A. degree in Forestry, Natural Resources, or related field, with an advanced degree preferred. Must have advanced knowledge of MS Windows, MS Word and MS Excel. Excellent pay and benefits. Send resume to Deena Hendricks, PO Box 177, Korbel, CA 95550 USA. Applications/resumes accepted through Friday, 13 April  2001.

• Agnew, A. D. Q. et al. 2000. Landscape monitoring of semi-arid rangelands in the Kenyan Rift Valley. African Journal of Ecology 38(4):277-285. http://www.blacksci.co.uk/~cgilib/jnlpage.bin?Journal=afje&File=afj03804&amp;Page=contents&amp;Type=detail
• Albert, Donald P. et al. eds. 2000. Spatial analysis, GIS and remote sensing - applications in the health sciences. 300 p. ISBN 1-57504-101-4. $69.95 USD. Ann Arbor Press, 310 North Main Street, P.O. Box 20, Chelsea, Michigan 48118, USA. Tel: +1-734-475-4411. Fax: +1-734-475-0787. URL: www.sleepingbearpress.com.
• Anon. 2000. Papua New Guinea Country Study. Policy that Works for Forests and People Series No: 2 IIED - http://www.iied.org/ptw/png.html
• Bann, Camille. 1997. An Economic Analysis of Tropical Forest Land Use Options, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada - http://www.eepsea.org/publications/research1/ACF4B.html
• Bennett, Andrew. J. 1996. Sustainable Land Use: Interdependence between Forestry and Agriculture. Overseas Development Administration. http://www.metla.fi/conf/iufro95abs/key3.htm
• Buckner, R. B. 2001. Land survey review manual. 3rd edition. 450 p. ISBN 1-57504-157-X. $49.95 USD. Ann Arbor Press, 310 North Main Street, P.O. Box 20, Chelsea, Michigan 48118, USA. Tel: +1-734-475-4411. Fax: +1-734-475-0787. URL: www.sleepingbearpress.com.
• Clay, Gary R. 1996. Integrating spatial data with photography to simulate color change relationships in a forested environment. http://www.esri.com/library/userconf/proc96/TO400/PAP356/P356.HTM
• Finn, Robert. 1996. Turnkey Or Toolbox. The Scientist 10(4). Excellent article on image analysis software. - http://www.the-scientist.com/yr1996/feb/tools_960219.html  - Note, you will have to register to access - but that is easily done.
• Kennedy, Michael. 2000. The global positioning system and GIS. 268 p. ISBN 1-57504-017-4. $59.95 USD. Ann Arbor Press, 310 North Main Street, P.O. Box 20, Chelsea, Michigan 48118, USA. Tel: +1-734-475-4411. Fax: +1-734-475-0787. URL: www.sleepingbearpress.com.
• Lwanga, Jeremiah S. et al. 2000. Tree population dynamics in Kibale National Park, Uganda 1975-1998.African Journal of Ecology 38(3):238-247. http://www.blacksci.co.uk/~cgilib/jnlpage.bin?Journal=afje&File=afj03803&amp;Page=contents&amp;Type=detail
• Skole, David L. et al. n.d. Models of the Inter-annual Dynamics of Deforestation in Southeast Asia: Is the Missing Sink for Carbon in Land Cover Change? http://www.bsrsi.msu.edu/overview/seasiaft.html

9-13 April 2001. Variable probability sampling. 53rd Workshop. Corvallis, Oregon, USA. Contact: Conference assistant. Tel: +1-541-737-2329. Email: conference@cof.orst.edu. URL: www.cof.orst.edu/cof/extended/conferen. r

8-9 May 2001. Faster cruises with point-double sampling. Augusta, Georgia, USA. Contact: Arlene Bolton. Tel: +1-706-542-3063. Email: Arlene_Bolton@gactr.uga.edu. URL: http://www.georgiacenter.org/conferences/forestry

18-20 June 2001. CoastGIS 2001. 4th International conference on computer mapping and GIS for CZM - Managing the interfaces. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. URL: http://agc.bio.ns/ca/coastgis2001.

22-26 September 2001. Tree rings and people-an international conference on the future of dendrochronology. Davos, Switzerland. Contact: Paolo Cherubini: Fax:+ 41-1-7392215; Email: paolo.cherubini@wsl.ch URL: http://www.wsl.ch/forest/dendro2001/

24-28 September 2001. Basic Wetland Delineation. Seattle, Washington, USA. $875. Contact: Wetland Training Institute, PO Box 31, Glenwood, NM 88039 USA. getinfo@wetlandtraining.com, URL: http://www.wetlandtraining.com

24-30 September 2001. Uneven-aged silviculture tradition and practices in central Europe. Zurich, Switzerland. Contact: Andreas Zingg, Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zurcherstr. 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland. Fax: +41-1-739-22-15; Email: andreas.zingg@wsl.ch; URL: www.wsl.ch/forest/waldman/events/

25-29 September 2001. The Wildlife Society's 8th Annual Conference. Reno/Tahoe, Nevada, USA. URL: http://www.wildlife.org/2001.html

25 September – 22 October 2001 Project Management in Forestry and Environment (PROMAFE). Training course. Los Baños, Philippines.  (4 weeks) US $2,500.  Contact: The Director, Training Center for Tropical Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability (TREES), University of the Philippines Los Baños, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, College, Laguna PHILIPPINES; Tel. No.: +(63 49) 536-2268 or 536-2736; Fax: +(63 49) 536-3340; Email: trees@laguna.net

5-9 November 2001. 5th AfricaGIS Conference and Exhibition. Nairobi, Kenya. Registration $150. Contact: AFRICAGIS 2001, c/o Nasser Olwero, Gath Management Ltd., P.O. Box 14279, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: +254-2-444837. Fax: +254-2-443838. Email: Nasser@gathkenya.com. URL: http://www.grida.no/eis-ssa/africagis2001.

8-10 November 2001. Symposium on Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems. Montreal, Canada. For more information, please visit http://www.unu.edu/env/plec/

U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation - Environmental Working Group-    Boreal Forest Characterization and Sustainability Study (Report on use of de-classified imagery) - http://ewg.gecp.virginia.edu/ewg_forest_us/general/overview.htm

Maps on the Web - http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/mapcollection.htm

Spatial statistics & image analysis (links to software) - http://www.astro.psu.edu/statcodes/sc_spatial.html