Wildfire and Air Quality Maps

Natural Resources Canada Interactive Map: https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/interactive-map 

United States National Interagency Fire Center: https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/maps

Fire and Smoke Map: https://fire.airnow.gov/

World Fire Atlas. This is produced by the European Space Agency. In addition to the maps it has a data analysis dashboard. https://s3wfa.esa.int/ Click here for an article on the Atlas in GPS World, from August 4,2023.

Mapping Support: https://mappingsupport.com/ This site has links to many data sites. The GIS-Surfer is very useful. https://mappingsupport.com/p2/gissurfer-interactive-recreation-disaster-maps.html

next

2021 Meeting

We all survived the Covid pandemic, so far. However, we decided that it would be best to hold the 2021 CEFTS meeting on Zoom again. Below is a picture from the meeting on August 11th, which, by the way, was Gifford Pinchot’s birthday!

Screen capture of the 2021 CEFTS meeting on Zoom.
Among the topics we discussed were: recruiting, job markets, accreditation standards, and continuing education and credentials.

New also officers were elected. Check out the officers’ page.

Probably the most interesting thing we learned was how to use Tik Tok to make short videos. #forestryprof. Thanks, Neil!

2020 Meeting

Because of the coronavirus pandemic the 2020 meeting was held via Zoom on July 29th, 2020. Below is a screen shot of some of the attendees.

2020 distance meeting attendees

Several people gave presentations about how there schools adapted to the sudden switch to distance learning in the Spring 2020 semester:

  • Greg Vaverchak – SUNY ESF Ranger School
  • Gene McCaul – Green River College
  • Mike Simmons – University of New Hampshire
  • Ryan DeSantis – Itasca Community College
  • Jeff Dubis and Nicole Rogers – University of Maine at Fort Kent

Many thanks to Terry Baker, SAF Chief Executive Officer, for his presentation and to Carol Redelsheimer, SAF director for Science andEducation, for her presentation on the coming changes in accreditation standards.

A business meeting was held after the presentations. We will reconvene in January to discuss the 2021 meeting.

GIS software changes

On Monday, 2/25 I asked the CEFTS list the following question:

Hello all,

Most of us are using ArcGIS for GIS software. The current version of the desktop mapping software is ArcMap 10.6.

There is a new generation of GIS software, ArcGIS Pro. This is a 64-bit version that has many advanced features and a completely different interface. From what I understand, ArcMap will be phased out in a few years in favor of ArcGIS Pro. ArcGIS Pro is also closely tied to ArcGIS online.

Penn State University will soon be making ArcGIS online and Pro available to the whole University community.

Has your forest technology program have made the switch to the Pro version? And if you have, what has been your experience? Do you think students would benefit from switching or should we stick with the old version for a while? I will compile your answers to put on the CEFTS web page. Thank you for your help.

Peter

 ———————————————————————————————————————————-

From Gene McCaul at Green River College (2/25/19)

Hi Peter,

Thanks for letting us know. We have not made the switch in our technology program yet and it seems most of the people who employ our graduates have not made the switch themselves, so it has not made sense to us to switch until the employers are ready for this.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

From Russell Strong at Montgomery Community College (2/25/19)

Same as Gene said, here at MCC we are aware that it will be phase out but we are in no hurry to change at the present time because of what graduates will be using when working for employers.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

From Scott Reigel at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (2/25/19)

Same for us.  I have taught out of the ArcGIS suite and that is what we use, but I make sure that the course includes things such as Avenza, Google Earth, etc.  Most of our students are going to use GIS everyday, but unless in a corporation, large consulting firms or the government, Arc is rare over other GIS software.  So, I have structured in the Forest Mapping for the FMT degree; surveying, topos, aerial and remote sensing measurements, GIS (points, lines, polygons_Attributes tables and databases, queries, etc., GPS functions, etc.)  Our private industry still is big users of Terrain Navigator, other software such as CMT GIS which I use in my consulting business.  I teach as well as use Arc, but no secret:  if you do not use it daily, the simplest procedures are easily forgotten.  

I get so frustrated with how slow Arc is with that Online basemap generation.  Over other software models in which you import the .tif or .sid in to the project.   The spinning globe in the lower status bar is my nemesis! Yes I get the benefits, but for slow internet speeds and working off of laptops in the field..it is inefficient.

Long story, we have not switched either.

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

From Neil Thompson at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (2/25/19)

I teach the GIS Applications I course at UMFK, among other things. I test drove ArcPro last year and was not impressed. I will reevaluate in a couple years, I think the software has potential that hasn’t been realized yet, especially with the 64-bit capability. As others have said, I haven’t seen anyone in industry moving that way yet but will be watching for change.

Re: loading basemaps, if you’re using imagery, check out the NAIP direct download site as an alternative. https://nrcs.app.box.com/v/naip States are typically flown every three years, so yours might be in 2017 or 2016. We just got our 2018 at 60cm resolution, both true color and color infrared.

—————————————————————————————————————————

From Marie Perrin-Miller at Allegany College of Maryland (2/27/19)

At Allegany College we are still using ArcMap for desktop- I can see us switching to pro in the near future based on recent conversations with our advisory committee and employers.

First CEFTS meeting

Courtesy of Mike Bridgen from the Ranger School, here is a photo from the first meeting of CEFTS in 1976.

First CEFTS meeting in  1976

With help from Steve Resh and Ed Grafton here are the participants:

Top row: Grover Katzman (Paul Smith’s College), Ed Grafton (Glenville State College), James Coufal (Ranger School)

Middle row: Bill Rutherford (Paul Smith’s College), David Embree (Hocking College), Bernard Carr (Michigan Technical University), Harry Mosher (Penn State Mont Alto)

Bottom row: Wallace Robbins (University of Maine), James Johnson (Lancaster Community College), Daniel Castagnozzi (Ranger School).

Below is a copy of this image with the participants from Ed Grafton.

 

2017 Meeting Schedule

Here is the schedule for the 2017 meeting at the Ranger School in Wanakena, NY.

Tuesday, August 1st
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Arrive at the Ranger School / Registration / Room Assignments
Main Building (enter through back of building-follow signs)
6:00 – 6:30 pm
Tour of the Main Building
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Welcome Dinner*
Harold L. Spaulding Memorial Alumni House (266B Ranger School Rd.)
8:00 – 9:00 pm
CEFTS Executive Committee Meeting
Location TBD

Wednesday, August 2nd
7:15 – 7:45 am
Breakfast*
The Landing (RS Dining Hall)
8:00 – 9:00 am
Introduction and Overview of The Ranger School, its Programs and the conference by Ranger School Director Michael Bridgen
Barry Nehr Classroom (second floor)
9:00 – 9:30 am
Cracker Barrel meets TED Talks
Barry Nehr Classroom
TED Talks are short, informative talks on a wide variety of topics. One speaker from each school represented will have 15 minutes to share an idea, strategy, concern, challenge, success, technology, proposal, or vision related to forest technology education in the 21st century. Only 5 minutes will be allowed for questions, but the presentations will serve as a basis for informal discussion during the remainder of the conference and beyond.
9:30 – 10:00 am
Refreshment Break*
The Landing (RS Dining Hall)
10:00 – 12:00 noon
Cracker Barrel meets TED Talks
Continued.
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Box Lunch with Business Meeting*
Location TBD
1:00 – 4:30 pm

Van tour of the James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest
Meet at back of main building, behind kitchen
5:30 – ?
BBQ Dinner & Live Music* with Cash Bar
Pine Cone Grill, Wanakena
Featuring Canal Street String Band

Thursday, August 3rd
7:15 – 7:45 am
Breakfast*
The Landing (RS Dining Hall)
8:00 – 10:30 am
Accreditation, Certification and Assessment Tools and Their Role in Forest Technology Education
Barry Nehr Classroom
A discussion with Carol Redelsheimer, the Director of Science and Education for the Society of American Foresters.
11:00 – 12:00 noon
Travel to Tupper Lake, with a brief stop at Richards Forest Products log yard
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Lunch
Big Tupper Brewing, Tupper Lake
1:30 – 4:15 pm
Visit The Wild Center and Wild Walk*
A natural history museum of the Adirondacks and elevated walk through the forest canopy.
4:15– 5:00 pm
Travel back to Wanakena
5:30 – ?
Dinner with Annual CEFTS Auction*
RS Picnic Pavilion

Friday August 4th
7:15 – 7:45 am
Breakfast*
The Landing (RS Dining Hall)

*Included in registration.

Sonic Tomography Demonstration

During the CEFTS 2012 meeting at the Bartlett Research Center in Charlotte, NC we had the opportunity to see a demonstration of a sonic tomography scan of a tree. This technology uses sound waves to detect rotted areas in a tree trunk. After the meeting, Steve Resh of Allegany College acquired funding to buy a sonic tomography tool for his program. On 11/17/15 Steve graciously came to Penn State Mont Alto to demonstrate how sonic tomography works. Working with second year students in Beth Brantley’s Forest Ecosystem Protection class, two trees were imaged, a yellow buckeye and a larch.

Click on any image to see the album full size.

It was a very successful afternoon. All of us at Mont Alto want to thank Steve for his help!