Mcintire stennis projects at purdue university's department of forestry and natural resources seek to improve our understanding and management of forests across the central hardwood region

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Purdue University $1,325,438 under the Cooperative Forestry Research program (CFDA 10.202) on October 1, 2025, for McIntire-Stennis forestry research, education, and extension projects targeting the central hardwood region.

Purdue's Department of Forestry and Natural Resources will conduct research and extension activities focused on hardwood regeneration and restoration, invasive plant control, forest health, digital forest measurement methods, genetic improvement of high-value hardwood species, forest economics and decision-making, hardwood product development, and wildlife ecology and management. Current approved projects include evaluating the impact of prescribed fires on forest ecology, managing forest invasive plants, advancing forest measurements with digital technology, and understanding wildlife behavior at landscape scales to mitigate human-wildlife interactions. The work will reach forestland owners, forest managers, and members of the public through extension publications, workshops, field courses, videos, and social media.

The award runs through September 30, 2027, with performance at Purdue's West Lafayette, Indiana campus. Under McIntire-Stennis program rules, funds must be fully expended in the fiscal year of appropriation, though current policy allows 50 percent carryover into the next fiscal year, with those carryover funds fully expended by September 30 of that year.

Our overall research, education, and extension projects focus on advancing hardwood regeneration and restoration, invasive plant control, forest health, new methods for digital measurement of the region's forests, genetic improvement of high value hardwood species, forest economics, and optimal decision making, hardwood product development, and wildlife ecology and management. The target audiences for this work include forestland owners, forest managers, and members of the public interested in forest resource issues. We deliver new information to these audiences through extension publications, workshops, field courses, videos, and social media. Current approved projects under mcintire stennis include evaluating the impact of prescribed fires on forest ecology, management of forest invasive plants; advancing forest measurements with digital technology, and understanding wildlife behavior at the landscape level to mitigate interactions with humans. Specific details about these and past projects can be found at: https://AG.purdue.EDU/department/FNR/research/mcintire stennis projects/index.html.