Chapter Program: “Forest Ecology and Urban Forest Ecosystem Services”

Our March 4, 2021 monthly program will be presented by Michael Merritt, a regional community forester with the Texas A & M Forest Service.  His topic will be “Forest Ecology and Urban Forest Ecosystem Services”.

NOTE: This will be a Zoom meeting and is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required. Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwucuivqzopGt0kd62aq4poHZDqW-XkrYSp  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.  Please join us for a great presentation!

Forests have an important part in Texas’ economic health.  According to the Texas A & M website, the Texas forest sector has a total economic impact of $36.7 billion in industry output, supporting more than 168,000 jobs.  Forests are also vital for their non-timber benefits, which are known as “ecosystem services”.  In urban areas, ecosystem services include storage of carbon, avoiding soil erosion, and supporting the livelihoods of many different species of flora and fauna.

In his role as regional community forester, Micheal works with communities and organizations in the Bayou region to develop long-term sustainable forestry and tree care programs. He has a BA in Forestry from Louisiana Tech University.

The Texas Master Naturalist program is sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

[TMNCPC members in attendance will be able to record 1-1.25 hour of  Advanced Training under ‘AT: Chapter Meeting-Coastal Prairie’ plus about 30 minutes of Volunteer Service under ‘Chapter Business: Chapter Meeting’. ]