Raleigh, NC
December 17-18 , 2009

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About the Workshop

This workshop will give timber cruisers, forestland managers, and appraisers the information they need to design accurate and efficient forest inventories. The instructor will explain the major methods of inventory cruising, including prism, fixed plots, and strips. Participants will learn to develop statistically reliable inventories and to make informed conclusions based on cruise results. The field exercise will provide opportunity for hands-on comparison of the various inventory methods. Emphasis will be placed on practical considerations with numerous applications and examples. This course will also be a comprehensive review for those planning to take the North Carolina registered foresters’ exam. Registration includes a comprehensive notebook with material covered in the course. Familiarity with forestry terms and concepts is assumed.

Classroom sessions will be held in Jordan Hall Addition, Room 1218 on the NCSU campus. A map with location information can be downloaded - CLICK HERE for map.

Field exercises will take place at the Schenck Forest located just off campus near the NC Fairgrounds (transportation provided to and from field site).
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Who Should Attend?

This course will be valuable to forestry consultants, engineers, landscape architects, appraisers, and regulatory professionals who are responsible for acquiring and analyzing stand-level information. Attendees at this workshop in the recent past have told us it was invaluable preparation for taking the NC Registered Forester Exam. It is recommend for professional appraisers and land surveyors as well. Return to top of page.

About the Instructors

Dr. James B. McCarter is Adjunct Associate Professor of Forestry in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State University. Dr. McCarter, in 2009, is the instructor for the undergraduate forest measurements and mensuration courses. Jim is also a Research Scientist at University of Washington in Seattle. He has been instructing forestry professionals and private landowners in the areas of silviculture, landscape management, and forest valuation over ten years. Return to top of page.

Lodging and Transportation

Van transportation to and from the field exercise forest is provided. You will need to make your own arrangements for lodging which is not included in the registration fee. A list of all local hotels is on our web page at www.ncsu.edu/feop/lodging.html

***The Ramada Inn Blue Ridge offers a reduced rate for persons participating in NC State programs such at this class. Just tell them that you are attending an NCSU training program and would like the NCSU rate (assuming the hotel is not already booked for another NCSU activity). Return to top of page.

Equipment

Attendees should bring a calculator. For Thursday's field trip we will use hard hats, BAF 10 prism, logger's tape, D-tape, compass, and clinometer. Instructors will be bringing field measurement instruments if you don't have your own. Laptops will be provided, but students wishing to bring their own laptops may do so. Be sure to wear appropriate field attire, and bring rain gear. Return to top of page.

Tentative Agenda Thursday, December 17, 2009
Introduction to Forest Inventory and Sampling

7:30 Registration and course material distribution
8:00 Introduction: Workshop Overview
8:15 Statistics Review – Populations and samples; calculating means, variances, standard deviations, and confidence intervals; interpretations; bias; precision; accuracy; linear regression; statistical summaries and interpretations
10:00 Break
10:15 Log Rules and Measuring Merchantable Timber – Doyle, Scribner, Int-¼ log rules; scaling logs; log grading; tally errors effect on volume; Girard form class used in volume calculations
10:45 Forest Inventory – Stand and stock tables; strip cruising; 100% cruising
11:15 Forest Sampling with Fixed Radius Plots – applications and summary statistics (basal area per acre, trees per acre, volume per acre); edge bias; sample size determination
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Field Exercises – Install several plot and point samples and summarize the results; travel to Schenck Forest for fieldwork.
5:00 Adjourn
Note: The workshop will take place, rain or shine. Please dress accordingly.
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Tentative Agenda Thursday, December 18, 2009
Advanced Forest Inventory and Sampling

7:30 Registration
8:00 Introduction: Workshop Overview
8:15 Forest Inventory Review – Summary statistics for point and plot sampling data collected during Section I; stand and stock tables; effect of errors in sampling on estimates
9:30 Forest Sampling with Variable Radius Plots – applications and summary statistics (basal area per acre, trees per acre, volume per acre by volume factors approach); edge bias; sample size determination, regeneration surveys; review sampling designs; cover type mapping
10:00 Break
10:15 Forest Inventory and Sampling Statistics – Simple random sampling; Systematic random sampling; Stratified random sampling; Stratified systematic sampling; Sample size determination
11:15 Double Sampling with Regression – Statistics and examples
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Variable Radius Plot Sampling – Volume calculations by the VBAR approach;
2:30 Variable Radius Plot Sampling – Weight calculations by the WBAR approach
3:00 Break
3:15 Sampling Design Issues – Merchantability specifications; errors; volume equations and tables – information needed for use; outputs and conversions; comparing point and plot samples
4:30 Q&A and general discussion
4:45 Course evaluations
5:00 Adjourn
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Registration and Fees

The registration fee is $145 to attend the entire 2-day program. This includes instruction, course materials, lunch, refreshment breaks, and field trip transportation. Registration deadline is 5pm December 3, 2009. In order to enhance the experience of all participants, enrollment in the workshop is limited to the first 25 registrants. Two methods for registration:
(1) Register online with MasterCard or Visa: www.ncsu-feop.org
(2) Register by mail using the workshop brochure (PDF document): CLICK HERE

Cancellations

Cancellations made by December 10, 2009 may receive a refund less a $25 service charge. Cancellations made after December 10 are not eligible for a refund and sending a substitution attendee is recommended in this situation.

Accreditation

Previously this course has been approved for 14.5 contact hours of Society of American Foresters CFE in Category 1-CF. Note that the North Carolina Appraisal Board is no longer offering credits to appraisers taking this workshop.

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