Programs

Specific programming areas are grouped within three broad categories which address relevant issues statewide.
These focus areas are:

• Ecology and Management of Landscapes
• Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management
• Youth Education in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.

Overview

Building on our Land Grant heritage, DNR faculty and staff contribute to a comprehensive set of extension, outreach, and public service programs. Drawing on the department's teaching and research programs, outreach occurs in a variety of forms ranging from highly organized extension programs to applied research activities, and from individuals contracting for technical services to volunteers serving on various professional committees and administrative boards. Most DNR faculty members have had opportunities to contribute to formal extension programs, for example, by giving presentations at inservice trainings, consulting with CCE Educators, and incorporating high school teachers into their research laboratories during the summer. In addition, many faculty contribute to outreach efforts independent of extension, such as giving workshops for state agency professionals and serving in leadership roles in professional organizations. The discussion which follows focuses primarily on the efforts of the department's CCE faculty and staff.

Introduction

The DNR's CCE Unit has a highly productive faculty and staff. They have established strong partnerships with county-based CCE Educators, private organizations, government agencies, and K-12 school teachers. Extension faculty and staff develop comprehensive programs in areas they and their partners identify as important to the people of New York State, and develop proposals to fund these programs. We have a history of receiving outside funding from the NSF, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), NYSDEC, USEPA, and other organizations, consistent with what is expected for research faculty. Whereas receiving outside funding is in itself significant, it is also indicative of the commitment we have to high quality extension programs. This is characterized by planning in collaboration with our various partners, production of educational materials and trainings, and evaluations that are often carried out in cooperation with the department's HDRU and the NYS Department of Education.

We work in traditional as well as many non-traditional areas for natural resources extension, including invasive species management, agroforestry, natural areas protection, and environmental sciences inquiry-based education. Our programs are grouped into three broad areas: Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Management of Terrestrial and Wetland Ecosystems, and Youth Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Education.

The CCE Unit provides a direct and responsive link between departmental- and university-based research concerning natural resource science and management and audiences who need to apply this research to contemporary natural resource and environmental issues. The Extension Unit fulfills a powerful and important role as a highly visible mechanism that demonstrates and embraces the department's applied management philosophies. The unit operates through an integrated mix of community education, expert advice, and applied research. It addresses critical issues among a variety of audiences using multiple forms of delivery techniques and educational tools. We recognize the importance of accountability and impacts in program delivery.

Our overall vision is that the DNR's Extension Unit will be the leading authority for educational outreach in natural resource management, and that we will continue to be at the forefront of developing strategies and philosophies for natural resource extension education throughout the United States. While New York is the primary focus of these outreach efforts, we recognize the importance of building partnerships at regional, national, and international levels in order to conduct programming efficiently, and because natural resource issues extend beyond political boundaries. The network of county-based CCE Associations is the primary partner of the DNR Extension Unit, but additional partnerships have been formed with private organizations, governmental agencies, and schools.

Goals

Six goals provide an operational philosophy for the DNR's CCE programs:

• Provide training and educational programs directly to volunteers and landowners to improve the stewardship of New York's natural resources.
  Examples: Master Forest Owner (MFO)/COVERTS; suburban goose management; urban-area rural landowner workshops in forest and riparian zone management; and sugar maple educator trainings, web sites, and outplanting trials
  
  
• Increase the capacity of county-based CCE Educators to develop and deliver natural resource management programs.
  Examples: Natural Resources Management Extension Institute (NRMEI), 4-H Science and Technology Inservice, and Environmental Outreach Council's Spring Inservice for Extension Educators
  
  
• Use applied research to solve natural resource management problems. (When appropriate, this research is conducted in collaboration with landowners, county CCE Educators, and other key stakeholders.)
  Examples: development of new wildlife damage management techniques, improved maple seedling outplanting trials, black ash seedling establishment, ice storm impacts on sugar maple health, watershed protection demonstration research, volunteer monitoring of invasive species on land preserves, constructed wetlands demonstration, and silviculture demonstration areas
  
  
• Integrate extension into teaching programs, thus providing students experience with real-life community issues and exposing them to internship and career opportunities.
  Examples: various guest lectures, hiring undergraduates to work on extension projects, and engaging graduate students in program evaluation and applied research
  
  
• Develop collaborative interstate programming.
  Examples: maple programming and deer-vegetation impact evaluation with Pennsylvania State University, MFO evaluation with University of Connecticut, and NE Wildlife Damage Management Research and Outreach Cooperative
  
  
• Apply human dimensions research in program planning and evaluation.
  Examples: MFO, and ice storm programs; conducting hunter surveys for quality deer management; conducting citizen task forces for suburban deer management program; and revision of ethics curriculum for NYSDEC sportsman education courses.

Partners

The department's extension program is enhanced through significant involvement and support of many partners. At the national level, our formal affiliation with the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) results in funding and technical support from the Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA) and Smith-Lever. Other partners at the national level include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), USEPA, and many different non-government organizations (NGOs) including TNC, Ruffed Grouse Society, and National Land Trust Alliance. Local programming involves many different partners, including, first and foremost, county-based CCE Associations. Other local collaborations have been developed with Soil and Water Conservation Districts, NY Forest Owners Association, NYSDEC, Catskill Forest Association, SUNY CESF, and Empire State Forest Products Association, as well as various lake associations, nature centers, schools, and youth organizations.

On campus, we benefit from extensive interactions with many different departments as well as through significant involvement with the CfE, the Cornell Environmental Outreach Council, other Statewide Program Committees, and various institutes programming in the environmental/natural resources area. Our involvement with these different organizations and structures enables us to obtain advice on our programming, as well as collaborate with others in developing programs.

Audiences

Our programming audiences are diverse, including private landowners, natural resources professionals in government agencies, NGOs (e.g., TNC, land trusts, lake owners' associations), planners, teachers, youth educators (e.g., at nature centers, museums, parks departments), youth, and volunteers (e.g., 4-H leaders, Master Forest Owners).

Student Employment Opportunities

Over the past several years the department's extension unit has employed students through the Cornell Work/Study Program, COSEP, and Tradition. Many of these students have been Natural Resource majors, most returned after the first year, and a few have worked for the unit after graduation. Student assignments included field work at demonstration and applied research sites, assistance at workshops, writing newsletter articles, designing and developing web pages, tallying surveys, producing displays, and provide assistance with office related tasks. If you are interested in applying for a student employee position, during the school year or summer, please send your resume to: dlt5@cornell.edu

Faculty and Staff

We now have 10 FTEs committed to extension programming, including six individuals in tenure-track faculty positions (totaling 2.75 FTEs). One administrative assistant to support the programming staff. Our Extension Staff Directory has links to each faculty members bio.