DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire has been named Outstanding Community Tree Farm by the New Hampshire Tree Farm Committee for its role as a working forest that serves to educate the public on sustainable forestry. Steve Eisenhaure, land use coordinator in the Woodlands and Natural Areas Office, and Jon Wraith, dean of UNH's College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA), accepted the award last month at the New Hampshire Tree Farm field day in Lyme.

"The New Hampshire Tree Farm Committee is truly pleased to be able to recognize UNH Woodlands for their work," says Andy Fast, chair of the committee. "The stewardship on UNH Woodlands' property is a great example for other community forests and a wonderful resource for the public. We hope this award can bring some attention to Steve's efforts. I am sure we will continue to see great things come out of the UNH Woodlands and Natural Areas Office in the future." The Community Tree Farm Award goes to an outstanding tree farm owned by a town, school, or other organization.

"Here in one of the nation's most forested states, this award is indeed a great honor," Wraith says. "It highlights the importance of the university's woodland holdings for education, research, and public enrichment."

UNH woodlands comprises 3,800 acres of working forests, with almost half of its acreage located in Durham, nearly half in Carroll County, and the rest in several other properties scattered across the state.  Every year there are on average 5,000 educational visits to the woodlands, public outreach activities, and research in a number of areas including the growth and health of white pine trees, climate impacts on forest ecosystems, and regional air quality monitoring. Students in both the four-year and two-year forestry degree programs use the lands extensively, as do many other courses within and outside the college.

Learn more about UNH woodlands at http://colsa.unh.edu/woodlands/.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

Photographs available to download:
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Caption: Steve Eisenhaure, land use coordinator in UNH's Woodlands and Natural Areas Office, measures a white pine at UNH's Woodman Farm.
Credit: Victoria Forester Courtland, UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture

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Caption: College Woods in Durham is one of UNH's best-used woodlands areas.
Credit: Steve Eisenhaure, UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture

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