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About Us Research Projects Site Description Affiliations GIS Data Home |
OverviewThe Research Steering Committee has played a key role in developing the Westvaco Wildlife and Ecosystem Research Forest from its beginnings in 1994 to the living laboratory and learning center it is today. Research activities are overseen by the Research Steering Committee composed of representatives from the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, The Nature Conservancy, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Ruffed Grouse Society, the United States Forest Service's Northeast Research Station, West Virginia University, Virginia Tech, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, and Westvaco Corporation. Emphasis is placed on post-graduate education, expected thesis or dissertation preparation, and the strong likelihood of results appearing in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Some research has been funded entirely by Westvaco, although the primary model has been joint funding cooperatives by Westvaco and other interested parties. For example, the USFS Northeast Research Station's Fernow Experimental Forest in nearby Parsons, West Virginia, teamed with Westvaco in a Joint Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This MOU establishes a framework for collaboration among the WWERF, the Fernow, and the Monongahela National Forest to work together and with other parties to study the interactions of forest management activities on ecological processes and ecosystem function in managed and unmanaged forest communities in the Appalachian region by linking research efforts whenever possible in terms of funding opportunities, subject matter, and study site provisions. Already, this partnership is cooperating on oak regeneration research, brook trout habitat study, and survey work for the endangered Indiana bat. In some cases, outside researchers with extramural funding utilize the WWERF for a study site or study replicate. In these cases, Westvaco provides in-kind support in the form of access to a fully equipped field station, logistic support, mapping and other technical assistance. For more information contact:Pat Keyser
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