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I often hear “you must have never been in a well-managed forest” since I support logging/otherwise actively managing forests. This is ridiculous and mansplain-y, so I wanted to take the time to share some of the well-managed forests I have had the pleasure of working in. A 
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I’ve worked in, lived in, or otherwise visited forests in 9 states and 4 countries outside the US but tonight I’ll start with a little forest in southern New Jersey, where I grew up. 2/
Stockton University (formerly the Richard Stockton College of NJ) is a small liberal arts school nestled in the Pine Barrens (one of the US’s only
“National Reserves” — weirdest federal designation EVER) of southern NJ. The university owns about 2,000 acres of forest. 3/
“National Reserves” — weirdest federal designation EVER) of southern NJ. The university owns about 2,000 acres of forest. 3/
In 2013 I contributed to the 10-year forest management plan (FMP) as an undergraduate student. It was a requirement for the course “Ecological Forest Management” and the plan covers 1,500 of those acres. 4/
The primary focus of the plan is reintroducing fire. Fire science, and identifying an ideal FRI for different forest types, is the key goal. I don’t have the space to go into detail about the uniquely anthropogenic fire regime of the North Atlantic, but it. Is. Fascinating. 5/
I participated in my first ever prescribed burns directly on campus. And I’m not talking about in a forest 20 miles away, like directly on campus across from the student center. It was awesome! 6/
(I also did tons of Brown’s transects to quantify fuel loading for my thesis. Less awesome, I never want to count another twig again.) 7/
In addition to prescribed fire, we conducted an experimental 5-acre clearcut with reserves on campus. This was done in the summer of 2015, and folks in the Forest Measurements class help set it up. 8/
There were several goals for the cut: supply a local pulp mill with trees, measure post-harvest fuels, monitor wildlife activity (did you know whitetails love clearcuts and skid trails?), and do some assisted migration of shortleaf pine (the seedlings died, RIP 
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Stockton’s forest was MUSY in action, and the student body was so cool with it! Anytime there was logging equipment or fire engines on campus, people were like “Oh man what are the forestry students up to again?” LOL. 10/
The program is small. My degree isn’t even in forestry, it’s in Envl Science. I But my forestry professor was the BEST instructor I have ever had. He would tell me, “Stockton isn’t a university with a forest. It’s a university within a forest.” 11/
The lesson we can all learn from Stockton’s forest is that multiple uses are attainable, and that we are not — and should not be — separate from the environment we live in. 12/
The forest was not a “pristine”, untouched landscape and yet it still provided clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, wood products, and most importantly, a living classroom! 13/
Ok, that’s all for tonight. Tomorrow I’ll be talking about longleaf pine forests in the Southeast. 
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