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Charles H. (Hobie) Perry

Charles H. (Hobie) Perry
Program Manager
Northern Research Station
Forest Inventory & Analysis
1992 Folwell
St. Paul, MN 55108
United States
Phone
651-649-5191
Email
Current Research

Dr. Perry is the Program Manager for Northern Research Station’s Forest Inventory and Analysis Program and has several responsibilities, including:

  • Developing and managing the unit’s scientific research program and products as part of a nationally consistent inventory effort;
  • Selecting and promulgating research priorities based upon the unit’s chartered mission as well as input from representatives of research institutions and agencies, Regional and National Forest staffs, concerned citizens, and industrial and public interest groups;
  • Implementing the unit’s science quality assurance standards and procedures;
  • Assessing the impact of substantive programs and policies – including legislation, new USDA and Forest Service policy, and State and private sector policies related to forestry research and resource management – on national forest inventory; and
  • Serving as a member of the Station’s Executive Team to develop coordinated science policies, programs, and activities.
Research Interest
Dr. Perry served as a scientist for 15 years before being selected at the NRS-FIA Program Manager. His research activities included: 
  • Managing, implementing, and analyzing a unique national, strategic inventory of soil quality critical to national-scale forest carbon and health assessments;
  • Data fusion which integrates the FIA program’s rich plot network, hydrologic modeling, landscape analysis, and remote sensing science in management- and policy-relevant data, knowledge, and applications (see FIA's Geospatial Showcase);
  • Representing Forest Service R&D as the Deputy Area’s liaison to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative a multi-year, multi-agency partnership coordinated by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Why This Research Is Important

The importance of this work is captured in FIA's mission statement:

To ensure the health and sustainability of forest ecosystems, and the well-being of the people and communities that rely on them, by conducting multi-scale inventory, monitoring, and assessment activities that develop the information and tools necessary to inform forest policies and practices, and increase the understanding of forest processes and associated threats to ecosystem health.

Education
  • USDA Forest Service, Certificate, Senior Leader Program, 2020
  • University of Minnesota, Ph.D., Forestry, 1998
  • University of Minnesota, M.S., Forestry, 1993
  • University of Michigan, A.B., Philosophy, 1989
Professional Experience
  • Adjunct Associate Professor,  University of Minnesota,  2004 - 2021
    Department of Forest Resources
  • Adjunct Faculty,  University of Wisconsin,  2010 - 2016
    Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology
  • Assistant Professor,  Cal Poly Humboldt,  1999 - 2004
    Department of Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management
  • Post-doctoral Research Associate,  University of Minnesota,  1998 - 1999
    Department of Forest Resources
Professional Organizations
  • Member,  Soil Science Society of America,  1997 - Current
  • Member,  American Geophysical Union,  1993 - Current
Featured Publications
Other Publications

  • Study of Mercury and Sulfur Pollution in the Upper Great Lakes Region Informing Management and Policy

    Year: 2022
    Human-derived mercury and sulfur in the Upper Great Lakes Region are important topics of discussion and research, particularly regarding the influence that elevated levels of these elements have on watershed pollution, public health, the mining industry, and wild rice production. The Northern Research Station has been directed by Congress to investigate the latest science on this topic that may help design solutions and remediation technologies and identify potential consequences that elevated levels of mercury and sulfur pose to communities — especially those that are at greatest risk, including Indigenous Peoples of the Upper Great Lakes Region. In 2021, the research team developed a science synthesis that includes a series of recommendations for research investments and answers questions for land managers and policymakers.

  • Processing forest inventory data at 182 million pixels per second

    Year: 2021
    The Forest Service-Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) program can't measure everything, nor can remotely sensed data replace boots-on-the-ground. FIA developed BIGMAP – the Big Data Mapping and Analytics Platform – to radically re-orient analysis, reporting, and knowledge delivery within the FIA program.

  • Linking Land Use to Water Quality

    Year: 2014
    Sediment and phosphorus delivery to the Great Lakes is influenced by land use and land cover patterns. Forest Service scientists studied the impacts of these patterns on streams draining into the western Great Lakes (Superior and Michigan). Their results from studying gauged streams may be used to prioritize restoration investments in watersheds that are not monitored.

  • Forest Land Estimates Improved by Novel Automated Mapping Technique Using Winter Satellite Imagery

    Year: 2011
    Most automated satellite-based approaches for mapping forest lands rely on summer satellite imagery and are usually inconsistent with FIA plot-based estimates. Incorporating winter imagery in the mapping approach helps reduce the abundant false positives for forest and forest disturbance that frequently occur during the growing season, especially where forest is intermixed with wetland and agricultural landscapes. Reliable estimates of forest lands between FIA field plots allow customers the opportunity to explore forest dynamics more confidently beyond the grid of FIA plots.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/about/people/perry