Washington State University to Re-establish Forestry Major

In December 2011, Washington State University (WSU) phased out its long-standing major in forestry. This change coincided with the merger of the former Department of Natural Resource Sciences and the former School of Earth and Environmental Sciences to form the School of the Environment in January 2012. Since then, the School of the Environment has replaced the existing undergraduate degrees/majors with majors in “Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Sciences,” “Environmental and Ecosystem Sciences,” and “Earth Sciences.” The unit has also hired several new faculty members over the past year in key areas. These and other changes have substantially strengthened program offerings and hold considerable promise.

As a part of the Washington State budget passed in the final days of June of 2013, WSU was mandated to re-establish its forestry major. After a year of work devoted to evaluating alternative approaches to re-establishing the forestry major on the Pullman campus, the college administration elected to establish a newly updated forestry major.

Staffing needs and the curriculum for the program are being evaluated. WSU will seek accreditation of the forestry major by the Society of American Foresters as soon as possible. Keith Blatner, chair and professor of forest economics in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University, has been appointed to guide this effort.

For additional information, contact Keith Blatner at 509-335-4499 or blatner@wsu.edu

Article reprinted from the DNR blog, Forest Stewardship Notes