College of Forestry

Each spring, Provost Sabah Randhawa invites OSU Academic Deans to nominate graduating seniors to speak at the Commencement Dinner hosted by President Ed Ray. This year’s senior is none other than the College of Forestry’s Todd Bertwell! Todd is a Forest Management student who was selected to speak out of every nomination University-wide. The College of Forestry is very proud. He will speak at the dinner on Saturday, June 15 about what Oregon State University has meant to him and his life. Congratulations, Todd!

At the 2013 annual meeting of the Oregon Society of American Foresters (OSAF), Gary Batliner, a senior in forest management in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University (OSU), received the 2012-13 OSU Outstanding Student Award.

Meet Michael P. Nelson, Ruth H. Spaniol Chair of Renewable Resources and Lead Principal Investigator for the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. When Michael talks about his work, he mentions carcasses and cadavers to a startling degree — startling because Nelson is not a physician or a veterinarian or even a biologist. He’s a philosopher.

A new study out of Oregon State University suggests that overgrazing could be helping an invasive grass to flourish. That differs from previous studies that have found grazing can better manage that plant — cheatgrass — which threatens rangeland habitat. The invasive plant cheatgrass can increase the frequency and severity of rangeland fires. FES Department Head Paul Doescher is one of the study’s authors.