New 10-Year Holt Research Forest Strategic Plan Released

News release
Oct. 14, 2019
Contact: Jack Witham, CRSF associate scientist, jwitham@maine.edu

Orono, Maine — The University of Maine Center for Research on Sustainable Forests has published the 2019-2029 Holt Research Forest Strategic Plan.

The strategic plan grew out of a recent National Science Foundation Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories planning grant that included an October 2017 Holt Research Forest Board of Visitors review to evaluate the research, educational curricula, outreach, data management, facilities, administrative structure, financial support and future of Holt Research Forest.

In conjunction with faculty and researchers from a variety of institutions internal and external to Maine, the board worked to develop a revised mission and vision for Holt Research Forest, and outlined goals and initiatives to promote research, education and outreach for the next decade. Importantly, strategic administrative and facility development are prescribed, as are measures of accountability and success.

The Holt Forest, a field station located in southern mid-coastal Maine near Bath, has a 36-year history of multidisciplinary ecological research. Since 1983, UMaine faculty have led studies on forest vegetation and wildlife in response to land management at Holt Research Forest.

The Maine TREE (Timber Research and Environmental Education) Foundation (mainetreefoundation.org), a statewide organization with a strong focus on forest education, oversees Holt Forest and has been partnering with the University of Maine to conduct ongoing research and expand forest education curricula at the site.

For a copy of the strategic plan and to learn more about the Holt Research Forest, visit holtforest.org