Danielle Kloster: Kurt Gottschalk Science Fund Spotlight

February 27, 2019

Danielle Kloster, a graduate student at the University of Connecticut, received a 2016 KGSF grant to support her research project, Value Trade-offs in Exurban Residential Tree Management Decision-Making. This proposal was endorsed by the F4 Human Dimensions and Education Working Group, which found that Ms. Kloster’s research clearly addresses the need for a greater understanding of landowner values, decision-making processes, and management practices for exurban trees. Results from this research can inform policy, planning, and management actions for public agencies and private landowners alike and can assist public and private “tree managers” in better tailoring their information products and services. The Forest Science & Technology Board (FS&TB) also noted that this is an understudied area and findings from this study might be useful to design and administer broader choice, experiment-based studies in future that will further advance the science.  

The proposed project objectives were to: 
(1) to compile a list of services and disservices that residents in our exurban study area associate with roadside trees,
(2) to determine the role of services and disservices of trees in residential decision-making about roadside trees by evaluating residents’ descriptions of how they decided to plant, maintain, or remove trees, and
(3) to provide recommendations to tree managers (e.g., utility company arborists, tree service crews, foresters) regarding how to use the findings of this study in communicating with homeowners about the management of their roadside trees.

Ms. Kloster presented a poster on her research at the Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources and at the New England SAF Winter Meeting, both in March 2018.  She was also selected to make a full-length presentation, (Dis)Amenities and Decision-Making for Roadside Trees in the Residential Forest, at the 2018 SAF National Convention in Portland, Oregon. To read the full abstract published in the Journal of Forestry, click here. 

About the Fund

The SAF Science Fund was established in 2004 and renamed in 2016 in memory of Kurt W. Gottschalk, a USFS research scientist widely known for his commitments to connecting forest science to forest management practices and to mentoring young professionals. The Kurt Gottschalk Science Fund (KGSF) is administered by the SAF Forest Science & Technology Board. The mission of the Fund is to support SAF Working Group communities of interest and practice in the development and dissemination of scientific findings and new technology for foresters and other natural resource professionals and to facilitate science-informed management. The specific goals of the Fund are to: 

Conduct and/or support continuing education activities and the transfer of knowledge, 
Promote collaboration and relationships among SAF entities and with external groups,
Recruit and engage diverse leadership in forestry and natural resource professions, and 
Conduct and/or support applied forestry research that has potential to inform management practice.

In addition, the KGSF annually funds 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards for student presentations and posters at the SAF National Convention.

Donations to the KGSF are always welcome.

Click here to learn more.