Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announces new and returning members to the Forestry Research Advisory Council

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced the appointment of nine new members and two reappointed members to the Forestry Research Advisory Council (FRAC).

The council's many responsibilities include providing advice to Secretary Vilsack on national and regional research planning projects and on coordination of forestry research within federal and state agencies, forestry schools and forest industries. In addition, the council provides advice to the U.S. Forest Service's Research and Development program—the world's largest forestry-research organization.

FRAC is composed of 20 members representing a broad range of groups interested in forestry research, including industry, state and federal agencies, academic institutions and non-governmental organizations. The council is chaired by Cassandra Moseley, director of the Ecosystem Workforce Program for the Institute for a Sustainable Environment in Eugene, Ore.

Nominations for new members were reviewed by both the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Forest Service. The new and reappointed members and their affiliations are as follows:

Reappointed members: 

• Cassandra Moseley, director, Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, Eugene, Ore.
• Charles (Buck) Vandersteen, executive director, Louisiana Forestry Association, Alexandria, La.

Newly appointed members: 

• Nicole Cavender, vice president of Science and Conservation, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Ill.  
• Kevin Cheung, chief engineer, Western Wood Products Association, Portland, Ore.
• Myron Floyd, professor and director of Graduate Programs, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
• Shibu Jose, professor and director of Department of Forestry/Center for Agroforestry, School of Natural Resources/College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.
• Henry (Gene) Kodama, state forester, South Carolina Forestry Commission, Columbia, S.C.
• Adrian Leighton, co-chair, Intertribal Timber Council Research Subcommittee, Pablo, Mont.
• Eric Norland, USDA National Program Leader, Forest Resource Management, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Institute of Bioenergy, Climate and Environment, Washington, D.C.
• Shannon Ramsey, founding president and CEO, Trees Forever, Inc., Marion, Iowa
• Ronald Reed, cultural biologist, Karuk Tribe, Orleans, Calif.

The mission of the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.