Published by Wisconsin Forestry Center and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Science
Natural Sciences
SilviCast is a podcast devoted to silviculture: the science, practice, and art of forestry. We explore current topics in forest management, highlight innovative practices, and interview practitioners and researchers aiming to solve challenges facing today’s managers. The show is tailored for foresters and other land managers, whether it’s listening at the office or in the truck on the way to the field. SilviCast is hosted by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources silviculturists Greg Edge and Brad Hutnik and produced by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s Wisconsin Forestry Center .
Black locust doesn't have many fans among foresters in North America. It's often criticized for growing crooked, spreading aggressively, and producing poor-quality stems. But is the problem really the tree, or is it how we've been growing it? In this episode, Zsolt Keserű, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Plantation Forestry and Senior Research Fellow at the Hungarian Forest Research Institute, University of Sopron, shares how decades of European research and silvicultural innovation have made it possible to grow straight, high-quality black locust timber. Join us for this episode of SilviCast as we talk about the genetics and management practices behind successful black locust plantations, why the species has become such an important hardwood in parts of Europe, and what North American foresters can learn from that experience. If you've written off black locust, this conversation might make you take a second look. Send us Fan Mail
Beavers are often seen as a nuisance, but what if they're actually some of nature's most effective forest managers? In this episode of SilviCast , we welcome renowned ecohydrologist Dr. Emily Fairfax to explore the surprising role of beavers as ecosystem engineers. Learn how beaver-created wetlands improve water storage, reduce wildfire risk, enhance biodiversity, store carbon, and influence forest management. Dr. Fairfax highlights practical strategies for addressing challenging beaver activity that impact roads, infrastructure, and timber production. This episode offers a fresh perspective on how one species can reshape landscapes and strengthen forests in a changing climate. Emily Fairfax, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Geography, Environment & Society, University of Minnesota Emily Fairfax is an Assistant Professor of Geography, Environment & Society at the University of Minnesota and an affiliate faculty member at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. An ecohydrologist by training, her research combines remote sensing, fieldwork, and modeling to investigate how beavers shape ecosystems and enhance resilience to drought, wildfire, and climate change. Her work has been featured by National Geographic, BBC, NPR, PBS, Scientific American, the Los Angeles Times , and the New York Times . Fairfax teaches courses in environmental data analysis, data visualization, hydrology, and geomorphology, and is widely recognized for her engaging science communication and passion for beavers as natural ecosystem engineers. Learn more about Emily Fairfax . Learn more about Emily Fairfax’s research . Send us Fan Mail
What tree begins life looking more like a tuft of grass, survives repeated fires for years on the forest floor, and then suddenly bolts toward the canopy in a remarkable growth spurt? The longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) is one of the most unique and ecologically important tree species in North America. Once dominating the coastal plains of the southeastern United States, longleaf pine forests have been reduced to less than 5% of their historic range. Yet these forests remain among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the continent. In this episode of SilviCast, we explore the fascinating life history of longleaf pine and the silvicultural practices being used to restore these iconic forests. Join us for a conversation with Steve Jack, Executive Director of Boggy Slough Conservation Area, who shares insights from decades of longleaf pine restoration work across the southern United States. Guest on the Episode: Steve Jack, Ph.D. Director of the Boggy Slough Conservation Area Dr. Steve Jack is the founding executive director of the Boggy Slough Conservation Area (BSCA), a 19,000-acre property near Lufkin, Texas owned by the T.L.L. Temple Foundation. In that role Steve leads the foundation’s vision for BSCA “ to serve as a model of excellence for East Texas through ecological research and outreach to promote conservation, management, and stewardship of natural resources .” Prior to BSCA, Steve spent over two decades at the Jones Center at Ichauway in southwest Georgia, focused on the management and restoration of longleaf pine. He has a BS from Erskine College in SC, a MS from University of Florida, and a PhD from Utah State University. Show Notes The Longleaf Alliance America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative Silvics of Longleaf Pine (digital manual) The Art of Managing Longleaf (book) Ecological Restoration and Management of Longleaf Pine Forests (book) Multiple Value Management: The Stoddard-Neel Approach to Ecological Forestry in Longleaf Pine Grasslands (outreach publication) Send us Fan Mail
Good silviculture isn’t just about knowing the science—it’s about building strong partnerships. One of the most critical relationships in forestry is the collaboration between foresters and loggers. Successfully marking a timber sale, for instance, means understanding not only the forest but also the equipment and capabilities that will bring the prescription to life. In this episode of SilviCast, we dive into the world of modern logging equipment used across eastern North America. Joined by Carl Lockhart, Forestry Products Consultant with John Deere, we explore how today’s machines shape on-the-ground decisions—and why aligning knowledge between planning and execution is key to getting silviculture right. Send us Fan Mail
Managing forests for carbon—and navigating emerging carbon markets—can feel overwhelming, especially for family forest owners managing smaller parcels. So how can landowners with just a couple forty-acre parcels participate in these opportunities? And what does carbon-enhanced silviculture actually look like at that scale? In this episode of SilviCast , we sit down with Brittany VanderWall, Lynn Riley, and Richard Campbell from the American Forest Foundation to break down the essentials of the Family Forest Carbon Program. They share practical insights on how family forest owners can access carbon markets, implement climate-smart forest practices, and make the most of their land—without needing thousands of acres to get started. Send us Fan Mail
Many of us in forestry remember the spotted owl controversy of the 1980s — a pivotal moment that put old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest in the national spotlight. But what’s less often told is how that same moment sparked a wave of old-growth research here in the Lake States, launching more than three decades of work to better understand how old-growth northern hardwood forests differ from those we actively manage. In this episode of SilviCast , we sit down with Julia Burton , Associate Professor of Silviculture at Michigan Technological University , to explore what we’ve learned from that research — and how those insights are shaping the future of northern hardwood forest management. Send us Fan Mail
Foresters know degraded forests all too well. You’re out on a woods-walk with an enthusiastic landowner, but your eyes go straight to the poor growing stock, invasive plants, and eroded forest soils – the fingerprints of past degradation. Regardless, you set about the complex task of developing a prescription that will nudge this forest towards a brighter future. Foresters don’t always think of themselves as restorationists, but in many ways, the tools of silviculture are the tools of restoration. In this episode of SilviCast, we dive into the science and practice of forest restoration with John Stanturf, visiting professor at the Estonian University of Life Sciences and Senior Forest Restoration Specialist with InNovaSilva. With more than 30 years of experience researching forest restoration in both temperate and tropical forests around the world, John brings a global perspective to the question of what it means to restore a forest. Send us Fan Mail
A dead tree is not truly dead. As trees die, they become snags, downed logs, and eventually return to the soil as organic matter. Along this journey, they host a wide range of organisms and play essential roles in forest ecosystems. How foresters think about and manage dead trees can be just as important as how they manage living ones. In this episode of SilviCast , we explore the concept of morticulture - the intentional management of deadwood in forests. Join us for a conversation with Mark Harmon, professor emeritus in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University. Dr. Harmon has spent decades researching tree mortality, wood decomposition, and the management of coarse woody debris in our forests. Send us Fan Mail
Sometime the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. It is true of relationships, and it is true of forests. In this episode, we talk with author Ethan Tapper about his new book, How to Love a Forest . A Vermont Forester, Ethan dives deep with us into what it means to love a forest as a landowner and a forester, and to work with those who may not see the potential in restoring their forest. Send us Fan Mail
The legacy of the “cutover” has left much of the Lake States—and many other regions—with a dominance of even-aged forest stands. Today, both landowners and foresters increasingly consider converting these stands to uneven-aged management to achieve a range of ecological, economic, and aesthetic goals. However, the outcomes of these efforts—even after multiple stand entries—have sometimes fallen short of expectations. Significant silvicultural challenges remain in determining the most effective approaches for even- to uneven-aged conversion. To explore these challenges, we’re joined by Dr. Ralph Nyland, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Silviculture at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Send us Fan Mail
Restoring and reforesting floodplain forests is no small feat—these ecosystems are as fascinating as they are complex. While they face many of the same disturbances as upland forests, bottomland ecosystems are uniquely shaped by water. Adding to this challenge of hydrology are the profound impacts of levies, agriculture, dams, and other disturbances. In this episode of SilviCast , we dive deep into the world of bottomland forest restoration with insights from national experts at the 2025 Northeastern and Southern Forest and Conservation Nursery Meeting. Join us for an engaging panel discussion featuring Dan Dey (recently retired, USFS Northern Research Station), Andy Meier (Lead Forester, US Army Corps of Engineers – St. Paul District), and James Shelton (Manager, Arkansas Baucum State Nursery). Send us Fan Mail
Sometimes, a simple “silvicultural tweak” can make a big difference in achieving diverse forest management goals. The real challenge lies in knowing when—and how—to make those adjustments. To help with that, several states have created Forestry for the Birds guidebooks, offering practical strategies to enhance forest habitat for birds. In this episode of SilviCast , we’re joined by Christian Nelson, Lake States Coordinator for the Forest Stewards Guild, to discuss the newly released Forestry for Minnesota Birds guidebook and how it can support better habitat outcomes across the region. Photo Credit: Mark Schocken Send us Fan Mail
Eastern black walnut holds an almost legendary reputation as one of the most valuable timber species in central and eastern North America. A single, high-quality tree can fetch thousands of dollars—sometimes even influencing the outcome of an entire timber sale. With that level of interest, you’d think we’ve uncovered everything there is to know about this remarkable species. And while researchers and foresters have developed extensive knowledge around its silviculture and genetics, there’s still a lot to learn! In this episode of SilviCast , we delve into the silviculture of black walnut with Lenny Farlee, Extension Forester at Purdue University. Send us Fan Mail
Foresters are pretty good at stand-level silviculture. But what if we want to make changes to forest vegetation at a much larger scale? Silviculture at scale to impact landscape-level change is much trickier, whether that’s aiming for a target age-class distribution or meeting the broad habitat needs of birds. Where do we even begin? In walks the concept of Dynamic Forest Restoration Blocks , or the strategy of breaking up the landscape into manageable and biologically meaningful units where we can focus on specific forest management objectives. Join us on this episode as we talk with pioneers of this concept, Jeff Larkin, professor in the Department of Biology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Forest Bird Advisor with the American Bird Conservancy, and Dan Heggenstaller, North Central Regional Forester with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Send us Fan Mail
Garlic mustard blooms, panic ensues! Many foresters in the eastern hardwood forests of North America can appreciate this sentiment as they see yet another invasive plant, garlic mustard, colonize their woodlands and forests. Maybe they just make note of it on the inventory or maybe they prescribe an aggressive treatment plan of pulling and herbicides. But maybe there is a different approach… time. Join us on this episode of SilviCast as we talk with Dr. Bernd Blossey, Professor at Cornell University, about his interesting and innovative research on garlic mustard invasions. Send us Fan Mail
Buckthorn has been the bane of many foresters and forest landowners throughout eastern North America. This long-lived, woody plant is capable of forming dense thickets, degrading native understory plant communities and impeding tree regeneration. While herbicide control measures can be effective, managers have struggled for long-term control of this prolific plant. Join for this episode of SilviCast as we explore ways to disrupt the buckthorn cycle with Dr. Mike Schuster, Researcher at the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center. Send us Fan Mail
It’s hard to turn around these days without seeing or reading something about UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Drones are becoming an increasingly important tool in many fields, including within the practice of silviculture. On this episode of SilviCast we explore the soaring use of drones for site preparation and release treatments. Join us for a conversation with Rick Hill, Regional Silviculturist and Reforestation Specialist with Michigan DNR and Kyle Schempp, Project Manager and Drone Pilot at Wildlife and Wetland Solutions. Send us Fan Mail
Foresters are increasingly aware of the importance of prescribed fire as a silvicultural tool in the maintenance and management of fire-adapted forest ecosystems. At the same time concerns remain over the impact of those fires on the timber resource. Join us for a conversation with Mike Saunders, Professor of Silviculture in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University, as we explore the effects of prescribed fire on tree wounding and timber quality in the oak-hickory forests of North America. Send us Fan Mail
German foresters sometimes named silvicultural systems after the region where the treatment was developed and practiced. So it is with the Acadian femelschlag , a locally developed gap-based system designed to restore species diversity and structure to the mixedwood Acadian forests of Maine and eastern Canada. Join us on this episode of SilviCast as we talk with Robert Seymour, Curtis Hutchins Professor Emeritus of Silviculture at the University of Maine, about what he has learned from over four decades of innovative silvicultural research and teaching in the Acadian forests. Send us Fan Mail
Foresters need to make decisions every day, and sometimes difficult decisions as we attempt to understand and address the diverse needs of the land, the landowner, and others. Similar to marking a tree, these decisions often require us to walk all the way around to see an issue from all sides. Join us on this season 5 finale of SilviCast as we talk with Marianne Patinelli-Dubay, Environmental Philosophy Program Coordinator at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, about ethics and silviculture. Send us Fan Mail
