Forest Management Planning

Management science as applied to forest decision-making to help develop better forest management plans. Helps students develop a basic understanding of common analytical tools from operations research and how they are applied to forestry problems to help explore many potential solutions. Also reviews traditional approaches based on  simulation. Emphasizes trade-off information, interpretation of model results, and linkages between stand-level economic analysis and forest-wide planning. Reviews recent modeling efforts in Minnesota. Includes synthesis of information from multiple natural resource disciplines. Guest speakers demonstrate value of analyses in planning. Emphasizes homework assignments with some group work. An individual project requires an informal class presentation.