Penn State Ecosystem Science and Management

05/22/2026

Foresters occasionally use their arboricultural skills in unique locations, like removing invasive shrubs from the sides and top of the University's Monroe Furnace stonework stack, which is located in the Stone Valley Forest. The >175-year-old stack remnant is listed on the National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places.

Photo credit: Jackie Baker

05/20/2026

Kudos to Assistant Professor Estelle Couradeau on her NSF CAREER award!!!

04/22/2026

Last weekend (April 16-18), nine members of the Wildlife Society at University Park attended the Northeast Section of The Wildlife Society Student Conclave in Frostburg, Maryland. Conclave is a hands-on event that gives students valuable training in wildlife management and field skills, and unmatched networking opportunities. Students attended workshops ranging from learning about and visiting an ancient Cumberland bone cave to electrofishing in local streams. In addition, students compete against each other in a variety of team and individual activities.

In a thrilling finish that went overtime, they placed 2nd in a highly competitive wildlife trivia Quiz Bowl. Following that, they received 1st place in the team competition based on specimen identification and policy knowledge. There were also individual competitions for field techniques and artistic prowess, in which they took home six 1st place finishes and placed 2nd in three competitions.

Of the nine schools competing, Penn State University Park finished 1st overall based on their trivia (2nd), team competition (1st), and individual scores!

👏Penn State overall had a very strong showing, with Dubois also placing 3rd in the team competition and overall. 👏

04/20/2026

04/08/2026

Congratulations to Jason on his well-deserved achievement!! 👏

Jason Kaye, distinguished professor of soil biogeochemistry in the College of Agricultural Sciences and chair of the Ecology Intercollege Graduate Degree Program, is the 2026 recipient of the Graduate School Alumni Society Graduate Program Chair Leadership Award.

03/31/2026

A group of students from the College of Agricultural Sciences and School of International Affairs spent their 2026 spring break in Costa Rica, learning about sustainable agricultural production, agroforestry systems, rural development, and Costa Rican history and culture. The trip exemplified interd...

03/30/2026

The Alien Species in Iceland Workshop features four distinguished keynote speakers. Pictured from left to right are Laura Meyerson, the event organizer from the University of Rhode Island; Helen Roy from the U.K. Centre for Ecology, Hydrology and Conservation; Andrew Liebhold of the Czech University of Life Sciences; and Deah Lieurance, Assistant Professor of Invasive Species Biology and Management at Penn State.

Deah Lieurance, assistant professor of invasive species biology and management in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was one of five keynote speakers at the Alien Species in Iceland Workshop hosted by the Marine and Freshwater Institute in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland, on March 16-17, spon...

03/25/2026

With the winter's departure, the Forestland Mgmt Office has initiated the annual spring wildlife habitat restoration treatments. These treatments focus on maintaining and expanding suitable American woodcock habitat in the Stone Valley Forest. Shrub communities rank with woody invasives and are mowed/mulched down to the ground level. Also, pre-emergent chemical herbicides are applied to control non-native herbaceous vegetation. Later in the growing season, additional treatments could include more mowing/mulching, foliar herbicide treatments, and even perhaps a prescribed fire. These projects are a collaborative effort between Penn State and its partners at the PA Game Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Photo credit: Brent Harding