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 Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture will host a public ceremony on the SFA campus to officially crown the latest addition to the Texas Big Tree Registry.
The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. Friday, March 1, at the SFA Arboretum gazebo, located at 2031 Wilson Drive.
The tree, a chalk maple, was submitted to the Texas A&M Forest Service for consideration by Greg Grant, Smith County extension agent and former horticulturalist for SFA Gardens. The agency manages the statewide Texas Big Tree Registry and is responsible for confirming trees worthy of inclusion on the registry.
“Being home to a state-champion tree is a unique honor, yet it seems fitting for a university with trees in its DNA,” said Dr. Steve Westbrook, interim university president. “I think all Lumberjacks would agree that SFA wouldn’t be the same in any setting other than our beautiful, wooded campus.”
The Texas Big Tree Registry recognizes the largest known tree of each species growing in the state. Currently, there are 274 state champion trees — 75 of which hold the title of national champion for their species.
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 Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture has entered into a partnership with Beihua University, located in China’s Jilin Province, assuring further opportunities for international research and collaboration across the disciplines of environmental science, forestry and spatial science.
“The relationship will be mutually beneficial through study abroad opportunities, graduate student exchanges, faculty interactions and research collaborations,” said Dr. Hans Williams, dean of SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture.
This is the second relationship established with an institution of higher education in Jilin Province. In 2018, the college signed a cooperative agreement with Jilin Provincial Academy of Forestry Sciences with similar goals of student exchange and the advancement of forest science. Although separate entities, Beihua University and the Jilin Provincial Academy of Forestry Sciences also engage in collaborative research.
Dr. Yuhui Weng, assistant professor of forest biometrics at SFA, facilitated the establishment of both partnerships through his ongoing research with the institutions.
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 After more than three decades, the East Texas Pine Plantation Research Project, initiated by Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, continues to make breakthroughs in the management of East Texas forestlands and the Western Gulf Coast region.
The long-term research program partners with private forest landowners to gather precise scientific data to develop modern tools to optimize the growth, health and management of the region’s forests.
While industry partners benefit from scientific insight, SFA forestry students profit from the ability to conduct hands-on research in the field.
After joining the college in 2016, Dr. Yuhui Weng, assistant professor of forest biometrics and ETPPRP director, set a goal to expand partnerships and research projects beyond Texas’ pineywoods to serve timber producers across the Western Gulf Coastal Plain.
“Our research is highly focused on the needs of timber producers in the Western Gulf Coast region.” Weng said. “Because of our expertise in factors influencing forest productivity in the region, we are able to provide more region-specific, data-driven guidance than other universities who may be located on the southeastern U.S. coast.”
Examples of ongoing projects include the development of growth and yield models for intensively managed pine plantations and the incorporation of environmental factors, such as climatic change into the management of pine plantations in the Western Gulf Coastal Plain.
Weng explained that productivity of forest plantations is primarily determined by site quality, stand age and stand density. The ETPPRP established numerous permanent experimental plots in pine plantations across the region that are measured for growth and health every three years.
This data provides an accurate evaluation of the dynamic, temporal changes in site quality, stand density and presence of disease and has been used to develop mathematical tools to predict future plantation productivity and health.
Since the program’s launch, more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and technical reports have contributed to the body of knowledge of factors affecting the region’s timberlands.
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 Dr. David Kulhavy, Laurence C. Walker professor of forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University's Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, has been named the recipient of the prestigious William T. Hornaday Gold Medal Award, recognizing his more than four decades of service and leadership in the conservation field.
The national award, presented by the Boy Scouts of America, is the organization's highest conservation award presented to adults.
"Dr. Kulhavy has devoted more than half of his life to conservation and has assumed the role of a mentor for many young minds, including my own, who are interested in the field of forestry and conservation," said Brian Humphreys, Lufkin Eagle Scout who nominated Kulhavy for the award. "His dedication to the environment and desire to inspire new ways of teaching and thinking about the world around us have touched lives in more ways than one can imagine."
The William T. Hornaday Awards are a series of awards created by the Boy Scouts of America to honor the conservation and scouting legacy of Hornaday, past director of the New York Zoological Park and founder of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. According to the Boy Scouts of America, Hornaday was an active and outspoken champion of natural resource conservation and a leader in saving the American bison from extinction.
Kulhavy said he feels that the award also reflects upon the mission of the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, which is to contribute to academia and conservation.
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 As a final countdown commenced, attendees at Houston’s 99th annual Mayor’s Holiday Celebration and Tree-Lighting Ceremony at City Hall turned their attention to the event’s centerpiece — a 65-foot-tall white fir tree located in Hermann Square. Although not cloaked in purple lights and Lumberjack regalia, the Christmas tree standing in the heart of Texas’ largest city holds a distinct connection to Stephen F. Austin State University.
Earlier this year, Nacogdoches native and SFA forestry alumnus David Robinson traveled to Southwest Oregon to hand select the towering tree destined to become the cornerstone of Houston’s holiday celebrations.
“It was an honor, and I hope I get to do it again,” said Robinson, field supervisor of urban forestry for the City of Houston. “I got to see a part of the country I’ve never seen before, and it’s just amazing.”
The tree, harvested from private timberland near Medford, Oregon, is one of many large conifers from the region that will be transported across the country and displayed in large city centers.
Robinson said the City of Houston has a relationship with an individual based in the Pacific Northwest who collaborates with industrial timber companies and private landowners to locate potential large-scale Christmas trees.
“The trees are marked with GPS coordinates, and he returns during the next five to six years to fertilize and shape the tree,” Robinson said. “Once ready, the trees are marketed to cities like Houston, shopping malls or anyone in the market for a big Christmas tree.”
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Stephen F. Austin State University’s Beef Research Center barn was destroyed in a fire that occurred early on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 14.
“The fire caused significant damage to the structure and contents of the building,” said Dr. Hans Williams, dean of SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. “We are very thankful that no people or animals were injured.”
The Beef Farm is a part of SFA’s 726-acre Walter C. Todd Agricultural Research Center, and it is an integral part of the learning experience for SFA’s agriculture students.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Friends and alumni who wish to donate funds to aid in the recovery of the facility and its contents may contribute in a variety of ways.
To donate online, visit www.sfasu.edu/give. Select “other,” specify “Beef Farm” and follow the designated steps to complete the donation.
Checks made payable to the SFA Office of Development also may be sent to P.O. Box 6092-SFA Station, Nacogdoches, Texas, 75962. Please include a note stating the contribution is for the SFA Beef Farm.
Donors also may call the SFA Office of Development at (936) 468-5406 to make a gift by phone. Once again, please designate the donation is intended for the SFA Beef Farm.
For any inquiries regarding other ways to help, contact Dr. Joey Bray, chair of the SFA Department of Agriculture, at (936) 468-3705 or Dr. Erin Brown, professor of animal science, at (936) 468-3705.
Read more ...
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