Forestry Research Milestone

Robert Wagner, director of UMaine’s School of Forestry Resources, is available to discuss the upcoming 50th anniversary of the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act of 1962, which provided the largest investment in forestry research and graduate education in U.S. history. McIntire-Stennis (M-S) has provided base funding for five decades to create and strengthen research and training capacity in forestry at state-supported colleges and universities.

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud of Maine with Rep. Gregg Harper of Mississippi introduced on Wednesday, Sept. 19, a resolution in the House of Representatives to mark the anniversary, which is Oct. 10.

The McIntire-Stennis Act was named for Rep. Clifford G. McIntire of Maine and Sen. John C. Stennis of Mississippi, who introduced the act in Congress.

The idea for M-S was developed on the UMaine campus around 1960, when then-School of Forestry Director Al Nutting met with McIntire about the low level of support in the U.S. for forestry research compared to support for agriculture research. They developed the idea of a separate source of federal funding for forestry research across the country. Following those meetings, McIntire gained the support of Stennis to be the sponsor in the U.S. Senate.

M-S funding provided by the federal government leverages matching funds from the states using a formula. Since the start of the M-S program, UMaine has received $19.6 million in federal funding and the State of Maine has matched it with another $82 million for a total investment of more than $101 million. M-S funding has supported UMaine forestry faculty research since that time, and it is responsible for having produced 447 masters of science and 131 Ph.D. degrees in forestry and wildlife since the start of the program.

Contact: Robert Wagner, robert.wagner@maine.edu; Jessica Bloch, (207) 581-3777 or jessica.bloch@umit.maine.edu