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NCSAF Luncheon Report The Forest Sector and the Economic Downturn Rich Guldin and Brad Smith Tuesday, February 21, 2012, at US Forest Service Yates Building Rich Guldin and Brad Smith of the US Forest Service Research and Development office spoke to 40 NCSAF members over lunch on February 21. The speakers shared highlights of their recent research on how the forest products sector has fared during the recent economic downturn, based on data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, Forest Products Lab, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, and Federal Reserve Bank. The data revealed 1.1 million jobs were lost in forestry and related sectors from 2005 to 2010. Furthermore, over 1,000 mills have closed since 2005 and more are threatened. Given the soft markets, harvesting on private forest land is down nearly 40%, with significant financial impact on private owners, which in turn could have harmful ramifications for forest health. Guldin and Smith reported a few bright spots, with multi-family housing starts trending upward and job losses slowing. They told the audience that more detailed regional analysis for the North, South, and West is in preparation for publication and should be available by the end of March. Copies of their presentation will be available on the NCSAF website at http://www.ncsaf.org , and the results were also published in the January edition of the ForestrySource. Questions : Email Nadine Block at nadine.block@sfiprogram.org Speakers
ATTENDEES ARE WELCOME TO STAY AFTERWORD FOR A BRIEFING PROVIDED BY THE FS A FORESTRY DOUBLE-HEADER!
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Dr. Rich Guldin is Director of Quantitative Sciences, Research & Development, Forest Service. Since 1996, he has led the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, preparation of national assessments and reports on forest conditions and trends, and coordinated international research collaboration. Prior to assuming his current position in 1996, Dr. Guldin served four years as an Assistant Station Director of the Northern Research Station. From 1985 to 1991, he held several senior positions in the Research & Development headquarters and was the forestry expert for the U.S Senate Committee on Agricultural, Nutrition, and Forestry. He has a B.S. in Forest Science from Penn State (1970), and a Master of Forest Science and Ph.D. from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (1976, 1979). Dr. Guldin is a Registered Professional Forester and Certified Forester.
W. Brad Smith is Associate National Program Manager for Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA), USDA Forest Service Research in Washington DC, providing budget and policy guidance for the national FIA program. Brad received a B.S. in Forestry from Purdue University in 1975, and a M.S. in Forest Management from Purdue University in 1977. Brad has worked in forest inventory for 35 years. Prior to coming to Washington in 1991, Brad spent 15 years at the North Central Research Station in St. Paul, MN developing forest growth models, biomass estimators, and serving as the Timber Products Analysis Group Leader.