Expertise
- Woodland Stewardship Education
- Wood Energy
- Wildlife Damage Management
- Natural Resource Income Enterprises
- Biosolid/Forestry Silvicultural Systems
My objective is to develop and implement extension education and research programs in forestry, wildlife and related water quality. My target audiences include forest owners, landowner volunteers, natural resource professionals, citizens, homeowners and youth. My mission to help "educate people to help themselves." Specific programs include: 1) woodland stewardship education programs for large and small acreage woodland owners (The Woods In Your Backyard, Call Before Your Cut, handheld GPS, and other efforts; 2) forest wildlife volunteer outreach program (Master Woodland Stewards); 3) wood energy for residential and commercial applications (through the Maryland Wood Energy Coalition); 4) deer damage management for landscapes, farms and forests; 5) development of natural resource income opportunities; 6) and the use of biosolids to grow forest trees and reclaim gravel and coal mines.
My main office is located at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center in Keedysville, MD, south of Hagerstown, Maryland. I provide statewide outreach and work with many partner including the MD Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Energy Administration, Society of American Foresters, Maryland Tree Farm, The Nature Conservancy, The Ruffed Grouse Society, and others. A complete description of programs offered and resources available is on our Woodland Stewardship Education website at www.extension.umd.edu/woodland. It is the link between you and Maryland's woodland stewardship educational resources and it should help you on the way to finding information you need. We encourage to subscribe to the free quarterly newsletter Branching Out and like our Facebook page, Woodland Stewardship Education. Our programs include online, webinars, workshop postings, and more.
Professional Resume: Education
M.S. - Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
B.S Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
You can contact me via e-mail at jkays@umd.edu or by phone is 301-432-2767 x323.
