In young forests, the widespread consensus is that this process rapidly pulls, or sequesters, carbon from the atmosphere. As forests mature, more trees start to die, releasing the carbon they captured in their wake. Carbon sequestration, the thinking goes, slowly stalls and old forests eventually release roughly as much carbon into the air as they capture.

Thirty years of measurements taken by 91±¬ĮĻ scientists at a remote 550-acre forest challenge this idea.

At Howland Research Forest, located about 30 miles north of Orono, Maine, in the towns of Edinburg and Howland, 98-foot towers rise above the spruce and hemlock canopy. They are topped by instruments that measure carbon dioxide flux ā€” the exchange of the gas between the forest canopy and the atmosphere. The measurements are so precise that they can detect the breath of a technician working nearby.

What they have recorded is a carbon record of exceptional length drawn from a mature, undisturbed forest. The data generated here is reshaping how the world understands forests and their influence on climate. The towers on Howland have been collecting data since 1996, making them among the longest-running records of their kind in the United States, second only to Harvard Forest. 

These findings are used by scientists, educators and land managers worldwide, informing forest management, timber production, carbon budgets, conservation and policy. But the future of this research is uncertain. For decades, the Howland towers were supported through the federally funded AmeriFlux network. As research priorities shifted, that support was interrupted, putting the long-running record at risk. 

A recent $175,000 private gift to the 91±¬ĮĻ Foundation ā€” equal to the siteā€™s annual operating costā€” has temporarily filled that gap, keeping the research running through next year. Without it, the towers would have gone offline this August, bringing 30 years of continuous monitoring to a standstill. 

While the gift provides a one-year lifeline, it does not solve the underlying challenge. Sustaining this irreplaceable observatory and training ground for 91±¬ĮĻ students aspiring to become foresters, conservationists and researchers requires .

A living benchmark

Mature, unmanaged forests are exceptionally rare in New England. Centuries of timber harvest have reset the ecological clock across nearly every landscape. 

At Howland, the forest canopy is dominated by trees between 100 and 200 years old. Some are even older. They had already stood for centuries when Henry David Thoreau passed through central Maine on his way to Mount Katahdin in the 1840s.

A yellow birch documented in the forest’s permanent research plots dates to the mid-1600s ā€” at least 367 years, the oldest of its species on record in Maine. Cedar and hemlock that sprouted in the 1700s stand alongside fallen logs in every stage of decay. Their slow decomposition is a critical part of the carbon cycle that researchers here are still working to fully understand.

Coarse woody debris ā€” the fallen logs and standing dead trees so characteristic of old forests ā€” are largely absent from managed landscapes. At Howland, it is everywhere. 

The forest is surrounded by active timber operations, which makes it something else: a control site. Without Howland as a baseline for what an unmanaged forest looks like, the comparisons that inform forest management across the Northeast would be far less meaningful.

The Northeast Wilderness Trust recognized that value in 2007, when it purchased the 550-acre site and permanently protected it as forever-wild. The protection came at a critical moment: the previous owner had considered resuming active management, which would have disrupted decades of research.

“We permanently protected Howland because ancient forests are rare and have so much to teach us,” said Shelby Perry, the Northeast Wilderness Trustā€™s wildlands ecology director. “Howland shows us the unique value of wild places amid managed landscapes. What researchers learn here informs forest policy at a global scale. Keeping this land wild and keeping the research going are inseparable.” 

For these findings, time is priceless

When a carbon flux tower was installed at Howland in 1996, it became a founding site of the AmeriFlux network, which has spread to more than 500 monitoring stations across the Americas. 

ā€œWe measure temperature, wind speed and direction, and the airā€™s carbon dioxide, water and methane concentration every tenth of a  second. Thatā€™s over 315 million data series a year,ā€ says Roel Ruzol, 91±¬ĮĻ research associate and Howland Forestā€™s site manager. 

Ruzol keeps the towers running, coordinates access for researchers and works with Fraver to eliminate what he calls ā€œnoise,ā€ or anomalies in the data created by rain, snow, power fluctuations or a bird perching near the equipment. They then convert these measurements into precise half-hour flux rates, that is, how much carbon the forest absorbs and releases. The findings are online for anyone to access.

The Howland record is now 30 years old. The forest has stored, on average, nearly 3.5 tons of carbon dioxide per acre per year. That was not unexpected, but the long-term trend was surprising, even to the researchers who built the flux network. The rate of carbon uptake is increasing over time. This old forest has not plateaued; itā€™s accelerating sequestration.

“If you considered just the first 10 years, you would see a slight decrease and might conclude the forest was declining as a carbon sink,” said Shawn Fraver, associate professor of forest ecology at the 91±¬ĮĻ, who has conducted research at Howland since 2015. “However, when viewed over 30 years, we actually see an increase. That long-term view completely changes the story.”

The trend held through climate extremes. The 30-year record spans the warmest, wettest and driest years in the past 125 for Maine. Scientists do not yet know why, but the findings, which were in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, provide the basis for experimental research that can provide actionable insights.Ģż

Another study co-led by Fraver, whose research program is partially supported by the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station and the National Science Foundation, aims to identify the mechanisms by which forests switch from methane sources to sinks and back. Previous research showed that forest soils emit methane in wet conditions. Waterlogged soils favor the microbes that generate it. But those studies largely focused on landscapes that are known methane sources, ignoring sites like Howland that, depending on soil moisture, alternate between being a source and a sink. 

The documented source-sink switch at Howland has led to a National Science Foundation-funded project, now entering its final year, which attracted researchers from institutions across the country ā€” San Diego State University, North Carolina State University, Arizona State University, and the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Massachusetts, as well as the 91±¬ĮĻ. The findings are expected to meaningfully revise how methane is accounted for in forest carbon budgets.

The data from Howland have been downloaded more than 16,000 times since being made publicly available in 2007. Researchers around the world have used Howland and the data gathered there to build climate models, calibrate satellite data, advise policymakers and teach the next generation of forest scientists.

A living lab for forest management

Howland’s scientific value extends beyond the conservation land itself. Three flux towers now operate across the area: two on Northeast Wilderness Trust land and a third on property managed by American Forest Management (AFM), a forestry consulting company that has been managing harvest activity nearby in recent years. ā€œNot every forest company would be willing to cooperate with us on this. Itā€™s a huge benefit to us as researchers,ā€ Fraver said. 

The AFM tower, established in 2012, has been tracking carbon dioxide fluxes continuously through a period of active shelterwood harvest. With the Howland towers providing an unmanaged comparison site, researchers have a rare before-and-after opportunity that almost never presents itself in landscape-scale ecology.

A newly funded $243,000 study from the will extract maximum value from that natural experiment. Combining forest inventories, LiDAR-derived biomass estimates, ground and tower-level flux measurements and carbon modeling will give managers the most comprehensive picture ever assembled of how partial harvests affect the forest carbon budget.

“American Forest Management has always believed that good forestry and good science go hand-in-hand. Hosting the tower on our clientā€™s land is one of the most tangible ways we can contribute to that.” said Jeremy Miller, Region Technical Manager at AFM and alum of 91±¬ĮĻā€™s School of Forest Resources. ā€œThe NSRC study will give us an idea of how partial harvesting affects carbon dynamics in the short and long term.ā€

The results will give forest managers who want to incorporate carbon objectives into their planning, alongside timber production, a quantitative foundation to build on.

A proving ground for people and technology

Howland also serves as a key research site for 91±¬ĮĻ graduate students, along with undergraduate field technicians who spend summers gaining hands-on experience with advanced instrumentation and long-term ecological research methods. 

Chris Hettwer, who earned his masterā€™s degree from the School of Forest Resources in 2025, said the opportunity to work at Howland helped draw him to Fraverā€™s lab. 

ā€œWorking at Howland was an instrumental experience that fundamentally shaped me as a scientist,ā€ says Hettwer, who is now pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. ā€œIn addition to learning the technical field skills for researching ecosystem processes, I gained a deeper understanding of how scientific research is conducted, communicated, and built cumulatively over time. Much of what I do now is grounded in what I learned at Howland.ā€

A network of approximately 150 permanent research plots distributed around the flux towers provides a training ground unlike any classroom. 

So does a 7.4-acre research plot, established by NASA in 1989 to ground-truth satellite instruments. This project led the site to be photographed from space more than anywhere else on the planet at the time. Every tree above 10 centimeters in diameter was mapped and measured. In 2015 and 2025, Fraver and his research team repeated the inventory and took core samples from 10% of the trees to track growth trends. 

That plot revealed the 367-year-old yellow birch. It also told the story of a forest shaped by centuries of disturbance: spruce budworm outbreaks, wind storms, selective harvests in the 1800s and the slow return of a mature forest carpeted with deadwood and moss. 

Howland is where emerging scientists and technology learn to read the forest.

One more year

Maintaining Howland’s flux towers, sensors and core infrastructure costs approximately $175,000 per year. That annual cost was historically covered through the federally-funded AmeriFlux network, but shifting research priorities have left the site without consistent support.

“Without this gift, the AmeriFlux tower would have shut down this August,” Fraver said. “We have funds to continue another year. But our latest research, the student experience, the experimental work on managed versus unmanaged forests ā€” all of it depends on the towers being operational. If the tower goes offline, we lose the context this monitoring data provides, and everything that has been built on it.”

The recent private gift ensures operations through next year, but it does not establish a long-term solution. Keeping one of the longest carbon dioxide flux records in the Americas running, and preserving decades of continuous data, requires sustained annual investment.

ā€œScience is a continual and ever-building process. The continuity of monitoring at Howland is a big part of what makes this data so powerful,ā€ Hettwer said.  

The science at Howland is answering questions that matter in Maine and globally ā€” how much carbon do mature forests sequester, how harvest practices affect forest-atmosphere interactions, and whether forest soils remove methane. These are not strictly academic questions. The findings help forest managers and policymakers make data-driven decisions in a changing world.

“The questions we are asking now about carbon, methane and how managed and unmanaged forests compare will offer critical insights for forest management in the coming decades,” Fraver said. “This forest is capable of providing those answers. It just needs the towers to keep running.”

Those interested in supporting monitoring at the Howland Research Forest may donate or contact Elizabeth Erickson,Ģż senior director of philanthropy at the 91±¬ĮĻ Foundation, at elizabeth.erickson@maine.edu or 207.581.1145.Ģż

Contact: Erin Miller, erin.miller@maine.edu

The award recognizes individuals whose work has significantly advanced scientific and engineering knowledge within the renewable materials sector. Division Technical Awards, presented by TAPPI, honor outstanding accomplishments or contributions that advance industry technology in a given field.

Tajvidi received the award on April 28 at the TAPPICon conference in Columbus, Ohio.

He holds appointments in 91±¬ĮĻā€™s School of Forest Resources, the Advanced Structures and Composites Center and the Forest Bioproducts Research Institute. His research focuses on alternatives to petroleum-based products, particularly within forest-based industries.

This yearā€™s recipients are:

• Mehdi Tajvidi, Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award.
• Darren Ranco, Presidential Public Engagement Achievement Award.
• Jay Wason, Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award.
• Melissa Ladenheim, Black Bear Award for Extraordinary Impact.
• William Davids, Presidential Innovation Award.

ā€œThese awards recognize the very best of the 91±¬ĮĻ,ā€ said President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. ā€œEach of these individuals demonstrates a deep commitment to excellence, innovation and service. Their work strengthens our university, advances knowledge and makes a meaningful difference for the people of Maine and beyond.ā€

Mehdi Tajvidi

Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award

Mehdi Tajvidi, professor of renewable nanomaterials in the School of Forest Resources and Advanced Structures and Composites Center, is recognized for internationally distinguished research and scholarship. The award honors faculty whose work contributes knowledge to issues of local, national and global significance.

Since joining 91±¬ĮĻ in 2013, Tajvidi has focused on the production, characterization and performance of renewable nanomaterials and their composites. His research centers on cellulose nanomaterials for applications including coatings, packaging and building products, spanning work from foundational science to industrial trials.

ā€œMehdiā€™s work reflects research leadership that brings global visibility to 91±¬ĮĻ while delivering real value to our state,ā€ Ferrini-Mundy said. ā€œHis focus on sustainable innovation is helping address important challenges in materials and manufacturing.ā€

Tajvidiā€™s lab has developed bio-based alternatives to synthetic materials, including technologies to replace formaldehyde-based resins in building products and PFAS in molded fiber packaging, as well as foam products used in packaging. He has also launched a line of research in mycelium-based biocomposites, using fungal materials to produce low-density insulation and packaging products.

His work supports collaborations with Maine-based and national companies and contributes to new product development in the forest products industry. He also mentors graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and undergraduates who have gone on to careers in academia, industry and national laboratories.

Darren Ranco

Presidential Public Engagement Achievement Award

Darren Ranco, professor of anthropology, faculty fellow in the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, and chair of Native American Programs, is recognized for public engagement that applies academic expertise to enhance the public good.

Since returning to Maine in 2009, Ranco, a Penobscot Nation citizen who grew up in Orono, has worked with Wabanaki Tribal Nations on environmental and cultural issues. His work includes leadership on responses to the emerald ash borer, an invasive species that threatens ash trees used in traditional basket making. His efforts contributed to agreements among tribal nations, the state and federal agencies.

ā€œDarrenā€™s work reflects a deep commitment to partnership and to connecting the universityā€™s expertise with community needs,ā€ Ferrini-Mundy said. ā€œHe builds relationships that lead to meaningful, lasting impact.ā€

He has also supported tribal climate resilience and land return efforts, working with communities to develop priorities, establish baselines and create plans to address environmental change. 

Ranco has contributed to strengthening relationships between the university and tribal communities, including efforts to support collaboration and culturally informed research practices.

His public engagement includes educational initiatives supporting the development of Wabanaki studies curriculum, public talks, working with legislators to support environmentally and culturally sound legislation, and participation in projects that address community needs.

Jay Wason

Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award

Jay Wason, associate professor of forest ecosystem physiology in the School of Forest Resources, is recognized for advancing student learning through teaching and mentorship.

Since joining 91±¬ĮĻ in 2018, Wason has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in forest biology, plant structure and function, and research methods. His teaching emphasizes scientific thinking and applying knowledge to new problems.

ā€œJayā€™s teaching reflects a commitment to student learning that both challenges and supports students,ā€ Ferrini-Mundy said. ā€œHe helps students build confidence and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.ā€

His courses incorporate hands-on laboratory work, group activities and opportunities for students to design experiments and analyze data. These approaches support active learning and encourage students to engage directly with course material.

Student evaluations consistently highlight his preparation, clarity and enthusiasm, as well as his ability to help students understand complex topics.

In addition to teaching, Wason mentors undergraduate and graduate students and contributes to instructional development within his department.

Melissa Ladenheim

Black Bear Award for Extraordinary Impact

Melissa Ladenheim, associate dean of the Honors College, is recognized for exceeding expectations and making an extraordinary impact through service and leadership.

She coordinates the Maine Day Meal Packout, a campus-wide initiative that provides meals to food-insecure communities across the state. A central part of Maine Day Week of Service, the effort engages approximately 400 to 500 volunteers each year. Since its early years in the 2010s, the initiative will surpass 800,000 meals packed and distributed with the culmination of this yearā€™s event.

ā€œMelissaā€™s leadership shows how service can bring people together while creating opportunities for students to lead,ā€ Ferrini-Mundy said. ā€œHer work inspires a strong culture of engagement on campus and beyond.ā€

The Maine Day Meal Packout is student-driven, with a leadership team playing key roles in fundraising, logistics and partnerships, while Ladenheim oversees and coordinates the initiative. Through that work, students gain experience in leadership, project management and community engagement while contributing to a statewide effort to address food insecurity.

Ladenheim is also involved in the Servant Heart Research Collaborative, which develops educational initiatives addressing social and learning challenges in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Haiti and Uganda. Through this work, she helped create and build the National Education Test Tool, an online platform that prepares students in Sierra Leone for national exams, as well as the Attachment Theory Workshop, a caregiver training program focused on fostering healthy attachments in children who have experienced trauma.

Her work reflects a sustained commitment to service and student development, with impact across campus, throughout Maine and internationally.

Bill Davids

Presidential Innovation Award

Bill Davids, Bodwell University Distinguished Professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering, is recognized for translating research into technologies with economic and societal impact.

Over nearly three decades at 91±¬ĮĻ, Davids has focused on engineering research that supports innovation and real-world application. He is a co-inventor of the CT Girder, a fiber-reinforced polymer bridge beam that is significantly lighter than steel and resistant to corrosion. The technology has been used in bridge construction projects in Maine, Rhode Island and Florida.

ā€œBillā€™s work demonstrates how research at 91±¬ĮĻ can translate into practical solutions that strengthen infrastructure and support economic development,ā€ Ferrini-Mundy said. ā€œHe connects innovation with real-world impact.ā€

He has also contributed to the development of the Continuous Forming Machine, a manufacturing technology for fiber-reinforced thermoplastic materials. This work has supported the creation of a startup company that is generating revenue, attracting investment and building a manufacturing facility in Maine.

His research has also contributed to improved methods for evaluating and maintaining bridges, helping extend the service life of infrastructure and reduce the need for repair and replacement.

Through collaboration with students and industry partners, Davidsā€™ work has produced practical outcomes that advance engineering practice and support infrastructure solutions.

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu

Visitors will soon be able to see the process firsthand during at 91±¬ĮĻā€™s Thomas J. Corcoran Sugar House.

The sugarhouse ā€” along with the equipment used to produce syrup and the finished product itself ā€” will be open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, as part of the statewide celebration.

Undergraduate students work alongside staffĢż

At the sugarhouse, undergraduate students work alongside staff operating the wood-fired evaporator that turns sap into syrup. The hands-on work gives students experience in maple production while they study forestry and related fields at 91±¬ĮĻ.

Sap is collected from about 350 tapped trees across the University Forest in Old Town. This year, University Forests Manager Keith Kanoti and his team started boiling on March 9 and produced 16 quarts of syrup in the first boil. Maple season in Central Maine typically lasts four to six weeks between late February and early April.

The amount of syrup produced each year depends largely on air temperature. According to Kanoti, the ideal conditions for syrup production include below-freezing temperatures at night to freeze the sap in the trees, followed by above-freezing temperatures during the day to thaw the sap and allow it to flow from the taps. In 2025, Kanotiā€™s team produced 295 quarts of syrup. 

Inside the sugarhouse, tree sap is poured into an evaporator, a long metal tank with multiple pans where water is boiled off and sugars concentrate into syrup. On average, it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Kanotiā€™s team then filters out minerals and other particles, boils the syrup once more in a propane-fueled tank and bottles it. 

ā€œItā€™s actually a fairly simple process,ā€ Kanoti said. ā€œItā€™s a process thatā€™s been done for thousands of years, and people have refined it over time.ā€ 

Work prepares students for careers in forestry

The maple operation supports 91±¬ĮĻā€™s teaching and outreach mission. Students collecting and boiling sap gain practical experience while managing other spring semester responsibilities, including timber harvesting and forest management ā€” work that prepares them for careers in forestry, conservation and outdoor recreation.

Jack Houtz, a 2018 91±¬ĮĻ graduate, is now a University Forests technician. As an undergraduate, he worked at the campus sugarhouse, helping boil maple syrup and gaining hands-on forestry experience.

Through his work with University Forests, Houtz also harvested timber, measured and marked trees for harvest, operated heavy equipment and led public tours. The experience built the technical knowledge, time management and communication skills he uses in his role today.

ā€œThere are a lot of foundational skills and ideas that have to be learned in the classroom,ā€ Houtz said. ā€œBut itā€™s not until you go out into the field and get your hands dirty ā€” or sticky, in this case ā€” that you can practice and retain them. Those skills I learned as an undergraduate are what set me up for success in my forestry career.ā€ 

His work reflects 91±¬ĮĻā€™s commitment to learner-centered R1 education, where undergraduate students participate in hands-on research alongside faculty and industry partners to tackle challenges facing Maine communities.  

ā€œOur mission at the University Forest focuses on research, demonstration and education,ā€ Kanoti said. ā€œWe also host community events where local schools and visitors can come see how maple syrup is made. Researchers sometimes use the sap or syrup for projects and experiments. Some classes even incorporate the sap and syrup into coursework.ā€

Welcome to the Thomas J. Corcoran Sugar House

During Maine Maple Sunday Weekend, visitors will be able to tour the sugarhouse, see the equipment used to produce maple syrup and sample syrup made at 91±¬ĮĻ. Bottles of the universityā€™s syrup will also be available for sale.

The Thomas J. Corcoran Sugar House is located on Lucy Thompson Road off College Avenue, about a half mile from its intersection with Stillwater Avenue. A sign will be posted at the roadside during Maine Maple Sunday Weekend.

ā€œItā€™s a fun and interesting activity for the university, and itā€™s a great way to connect people with the forest ā€” especially in the spring,ā€ Kanoti said. 

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.eduĢż

As director of 91±¬ĮĻā€™s Spruce Budworm Processing Lab, Mech has led research to support the stateā€™s early intervention efforts and prevent a major outbreak in Maine. Her and the labā€™s work has provided land and business owners, and other stakeholders, with invaluable information to make informed management decisions regarding millions of acres of Maineā€™s forests.

ā€œMaine landowners are currently faced with a swiftly building spruce budworm outbreak that has the potential to devastate 6 million acres of forestland in Maine,ā€ said Alex Ingraham, vice president of the Maine Forest Products Council and chair of the Maine Budworm Response Coalition, who nominated Mech for the award. 

ā€œIf left to run its course, this outbreak is estimated to cost $794 million in lost timber and revenue per year. Fortunately, this time around, landowners are armed with a new tool called the Early Intervention Strategy. This strategy, designed by our neighbors in New Brunswick to alter outbreak dynamics, is critical because it supports healthy forests and the economy. The success of this entire effort hinges on the quality of our monitoring program, which is supported by the Maine Spruce Budworm [Processing] Lab at the 91±¬ĮĻ.ā€ 

ā€œI like being outside,ā€ Rosenberg said. ā€œI had an adviser in high school who told me about the program (at 91±¬ĮĻ), and it seemed like a good place to learn about being outside and doing things outside, and financial aid was helpful.ā€

Since arriving in the 2023 fall semester, opportunities to collaborate with peers and industry leaders has reinforced what heā€™s learned at 91±¬ĮĻ: that the outdoors can be both a classroom and a catalyst for change. He worked with a nonprofit in Millinocket that revitalizes local communities through summer recreation. The experience, he said, changed how he envisions his future. 

ā€œIt showed me that you can help people make a difference through outdoor recreation. I used to think Iā€™d work for the national parks, but I realized I enjoy helping people more directly,ā€ Rosenberg said. ā€œItā€™s really exciting to help shape how Maine supports outdoor recreation and accessibility.ā€ 

When he came to Orono, Maineā€™s landscapes quickly became part of his identity. Though he had camped and hiked growing up, skiing was new. 

ā€œIā€™d been skiing maybe half a dozen times before college,ā€ he said. ā€œBut when I came here, I started skiing like crazy. I go every weekend in the winter.ā€

Rosenberg joined the Maine Outing Club as a first-year student and now serves as its treasurer. He also helps manage the clubā€™s cabin at Sugarloaf, where he spends many of his weekends. 

ā€œThat cabin was an integral part of me loving skiing so much,ā€ he said. ā€œIt gave me a place to stay and a community that shared my interests.ā€

Through his involvement on campus, Rosenberg also found professional direction. He works at Maine Bound Adventure Center, instructing climbing trips and helping other students discover the outdoors. As a fellow with the Tourism, Hospitality and Outdoor Recreation Institute, he is helping Maine Bound transition its rental program for gear into a library ā€” a model that allows community members to borrow equipment at little or no cost.

ā€œWith a gear library, if you have a library card you can rent things either for a really discounted price or for free,ā€ Rosenberg said. ā€œWe want to make getting outside easier for everyone.ā€

His leadership and initiative earned him a place on the Maine Outdoor Brands Student Advisory Board, a statewide coalition connecting students from outdoor-focused programs across Maine. The board serves as a bridge between emerging recreation professionals and the stateā€™s growing outdoor economy.

For students who might be nervous about trying something new outdoors, Rosenberg offers simple advice: ā€œYou can start at whatever level you want. No oneā€™s born with these skills; everyone learns them. If you want to do these things, you definitely shouldnā€™t be discouraged.ā€

After completing his bachelorā€™s degree in the 2027 spring semester, Rosenberg plans to enter 91±¬ĮĻā€™s 4+1 MBA program and continue building a career in nonprofit outdoor recreation. He hopes to guide and instruct climbing and skiing while supporting programs that expand access to Maineā€™s wilderness.

Story by Corey Nicholas, student news writer

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu 

Rustadā€™s lecture, ā€œA Wilde Challenge: The Art of Forest Soil Science in a Polycrisis World,ā€ will examine how forest soil science can help address todayā€™s complex environmental challenges, including soil degradation, climate disruption, wildfires, invasive species and emerging pollutants such as microplastics and pharmaceuticals. She will emphasize the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration that includes not only other sciences, but also the arts, humanities and community knowledge.

ā€œThis lecture honors the legacy of Sergei A. Wilde while offering a vision for the future of our field ā€” one rooted not only in technical innovation, but in creativity and connection,ā€ Rustad said. ā€œTo meet todayā€™s overlapping crises, forest soil science must expand its reach and build partnerships that span disciplines and communities.ā€

Rustad earned her doctorate in plant science from 91±¬ĮĻ in 1988. Over her career, she has authored or co-authored more than 150 research articles and has been recognized nationally and internationally for her work in forest soils, biogeochemistry, climate change research, and the integration of art and science. She is a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America and a Lyda Hill If/Then ambassador, serving as a role model for women and girls in STEM.

The Sergei A. Wilde Distinguished Lectureship honors leaders in forest and wildland soils who have advanced the field through innovative research, teaching and collaboration.

For more information on the lecture and speakers, visit .

ā€œIf you could go back and talk to 16/17 year old Dustin, you would never suspect that I was going to end up in the university and enjoying it as much as I am,ā€ Hill said. 

He dropped out of Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, Maine, his sophomore year and started working at Grimmel Industriesā€™ scrap yard. A year after his projected graduation, he earned his GED. Years later, he joined the U.S. Navy and served four years as an electrician aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), on which the population of his aircraft carrier was larger than his hometown. 

Between the Navy and applying to 91±¬ĮĻ, he worked at Bath Iron Works and earned an associateā€™s degree in precision machining from Central Maine Community College. He went into the mechanical engineering field with the goal of returning to school and earning a more specialized engineering degree. 

ā€œIn my second semester, I met a fellow veteran in my physics class who was like, ā€˜I’m doing this forestry thing, and I don’t really like it, and I think I’m going to do engineering,ā€™ā€ Hill said. ā€œAnd I was like, ā€˜Forestry? What’s that? That sounds kind of cool.ā€™ And we just swapped.ā€

Hill graduated in May with a bachelorā€™s in forestry and aspirations to become a licensed forester and work as a consultant. Foresters are required to have six years of experience ā€” a combination of education and work ā€” before they are eligible to take a licensing test.

What he calls ā€œstewards of the forest,ā€ Hill said licensed foresters are responsible for maintaining the health of forest ecosystems and being mindful of future generations.

ā€œHow do we preserve this so it is better in 50 years, or the same?ā€ Hill said. 

He and his wife own a 54 acre lot in Harmony where he led a tour in March of fellow undergraduate forestry students from 91±¬ĮĻ and high schoolers from Tri County Tech Center in Dexter to talk about his own management practices. His camp has a two story cabin, trails and a long, unpaved driveway. He, his friends and family, use the property for leisure, hiking, hunting and fishing. 

As a consulting forester, Hill would help landowners make decisions on how best to utilize their property depending on their vision. Some would want hunting grounds, while others may want to harvest timber or tap sugar maples. 

ā€œForestry goes back to my roots,ā€ Hill said. ā€œMy dad and I used to do a lot outdoors. We still go outdoors and hike and just enjoy nature and go hunting and fishing and whatever else.ā€

Because of his service in the military, Hill said he was able to attend a university without taking out an excessive amount of loans. Until his senior year at 91±¬ĮĻ, the GI Bill covered most of his tuition. He used a combination of federal loans and grants to help pay for his final two semesters, alongside freelance carpentry work and revenue from a rental property. 

Federal tuition assistance, particularly due to his veteran status, kept financials from straining his family life. He didnā€™t have to work a part time job in addition to his studies, and his wife was able to stay at home with their son, whoā€™s one year old, and Hillā€™s nine-year-old daughter. 

Despite the extent of life experiences he had compared to other students, Hill said he never wanted to impose those on his classmates, because he values what he has learned from making his own decisions.

Former classmate and forestry student Trenton Ellis said he never felt the age gap with Hill, who was separated from his peers by more than a decade. They were all in the classroom to learn, and Hill was consistently someone Ellis said he could turn to for questions and answers.

ā€œWhen I work with Dustin, Iā€™m working with a friend,ā€ Ellis said. ā€œIt has definitely made class more enjoyable.ā€

Contact: Ashley Yates; ashley.depew@maine.edu

Maine maple sugar producers, like Mark Prentiss and Kim Roberts, are already at work preparing for next yearā€™s sap-collecting season. Prentiss and Roberts, who are married, are co-owners of True Mountain Maple, a small maple sugar production facility in the western Maine town of Industry, just north of Farmington. 

Prentiss said that during late winter, sap that has been stored and frozen in tree trunks and roots rises and begins the process of emerging from dormancy. When the trees experience enough warm weather, buds use energy from the sap to form new leaves. 

In order for good sap to flow, temperatures have to be below freezing overnight and around 40-50 F during the day. But over the past couple of decades, Prentiss and Roberts, as well as other maple industry stakeholders, have observed that the time period has become increasingly varied from year to year. It affects the profitability and success of a maple season and is completely beyond the control of sugarmakers.

Researchers at the 91±¬ĮĻ, including Jason Lilley, a maple industry educator and assistant extension professor with 91±¬ĮĻ Cooperative Extension, and Jessica Leahy, Henry W. Saunders Distinguished Professor of Forestry in the School of Forest Resources, are launching a research and outreach program to help the industry adapt to stressors enhanced by Earthā€™s changing climate.

ā€œThe difference between 37, overcast and windy and 39 and sunny, that’s the difference between sap running and not running,ā€ Lilley said. ā€œSo it’s these very minor differences that are influencing what our year is going to be like.ā€

Lilley works with Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist and assistant professor with a joint appointment to 91±¬ĮĻā€™s Climate Change Institute and 91±¬ĮĻ Extension, to get a sense of general trends in upcoming maple seasons. On average, sap is collected for about four-to-eight weeks every year. The season is over when high temperatures reduce the quality of sap or when nighttime temperatures stay above freezing and stop sap from flowing. 

ā€œMany of Maineā€™s forests are facing challenges like pests and diseases, droughts, extreme rainfall events and wind storms,ā€ said Leahy, Lilleyā€™s research colleague. ā€œWe want to help sugarmakers and sugarbush managers respond to these, because maple is not only an important industry within Maineā€™s forest economy, itā€™s a part of our stateā€™s culture.ā€

Maineā€™s maple industry employs over 800 people in part and full time positions and has an estimated annual statewide economic contribution of $82.5 million ā€” $55.6 million in output and $26.6 million in labor income. The stateā€™s 500 licensed producers have been in business for an average of 21 years.

Prentiss and Roberts started True Mountain Maple eight years ago as a small-scale passion project. Now they have nearly two miles of tubing lines and around 3,600 taps. Every sugar maple on the property is tapped and connected, except ā€œSawyerā€™s treesā€ at the front, where a bucket collects sap for Prentissā€™ grandson.

Prentiss, whose family purchased the property in 1930, and Roberts knew when they commercialized and opened True Mountain Maple that production would be different every year, but Roberts said it is getting more unpredictable. Their 2025 season started weeks later than usual, which Roberts attributed to a cold February. However, they processed 1,250 gallons of maple syrup in just over a four-week period compared to 1,240 gallons over seven weeks last year.

Lilley said this yearā€™s season lasted just four weeks for most Maine producers, yet resulted in record yields. Despite the late start, temperatures stayed in the ideal production zone with just a few days that were too warm. Typically, extended periods of freezing temperatures stall midseason production, but producers collected sap nearly every day this year. 

Roberts said productive, short windows for processing sap puts added stress on operations like True Mountain Maple, in which just two or three people are working.

In addition, Prentiss has noticed areas of the sugarbush where trees are stressed or dying. These patches increased after the abnormally dry years of 2020-22. Heavy rainfall has also damaged access roads on their mountainside sugarbush. 

To minimize stress and enhance the ecosystem, Prentiss and Roberts have worked with a forester to develop a forest management plan and have implemented those plans to thin the trees and increase diversity of tree species.

ā€œBasswoods are really good trees to have in your forest because bees love them,ā€ Prentiss said. ā€œTheyā€™re good diversity. You donā€™t want to make it a monoculture.ā€ 

Lilley first toured True Mountain in 2023 to learn about Prentissā€™s and Robertsā€™s management approaches and provide insights on additional best practices. He and Leahy are planning an in-depth, three-part micro-credential course to train sugarbush managers, consulting foresters and other technical advisors about some of the sustainable practices used at True Mountain Maple, which can help create more resilient forests. 

ā€œWhen there’s a big wind storm that comes through, as an example, if there are other types of trees in the woods that are more deeply rooted, that can withstand those winds, versus these shallow rooted sugar maples, they are all going to have a higher chance of not getting knocked over,ā€ Lilley said.

A severe hurricane in Nova Scotia in 2019 destroyed an estimated 25% of the provinceā€™s maple trees and caused maple businesses to default. While this hasnā€™t happened to this extreme in Maine, Lilley said that over the past several years, extended periods of drought and flooding, ice storms and strong wind have damaged forest health. 

As part of their research and outreach, Lilley and Leahy will record the perceptions and experiences of Maine maple producers regarding how the weather in recent years has impacted their sugarbushes, which will help establish a baseline for management strategies. This program, funded by a $481,691 grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is a collaboration with two faculty from the University of Vermont Cooperative Extension, an assistant Extension professor of forestry and a maple specialist, and is an educational opportunity for anyone ā€” business owners, students, consulting foresters or backyard sugarmakers.

In addition to the micro-credential course, which is curricula focused on workforce development and offered to students and professionals, Lilley and Leahy will host a series of public workshops on sugarbush management strategies.

This grant is one of several from the USDA in the past decade to support maple syrup production through 91±¬ĮĻ research. A separate project from Leahy aimed to strengthen rural communities by addressing beekeeping and maple production challenges, and research from the School of Food and Agriculture aims to expand the domestic market for maple products.

Contact: Ashley Yates; ashley.depew@maine.edu

ā€œConstellation of Living Memorials’ Guide to Intentional Native Landscaping in Maine,ā€ available through , offers strategies on landscaping with native plants ā€” identifying what plants reside in which different areas of the state and how to integrate them ā€” and how to identify and remove invasive species that threaten the green spaces within cemeteries. 

ā€œWe are interested in removing invasive plants and promoting native plant species across all our public green spaces, including Riverside Cemetery in Orono. We are glad to see this guide released as it will help us and other towns managing public cemeteries,ā€ said Megan Hess (ā€˜19), environmental services manager for the town of Orono who previously earned a masterā€™s degree in ecology and environmental sciences from 91±¬ĮĻ. Hess is also available for interviews upon request.Ģż

Jessica Leahy, 91±¬ĮĻ professor of human dimensions, and former AmeriCorps member Louisa Kaplan created the guide in collaboration with Constellation of Living Memorials, a Dallas-based nonprofit dedicated to cemetery preservation; Southern Aroostook Soil & Water Conservation District and Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District, and in consultation with officials from Orono, Bangor and Portland.Ģż

ā€œWhile the removal of invasives and incorporating native plantings in public cemeteries are often municipality-led initiatives, this guide also benefits managers of other cemeteries who wish to maintain these memorials and do similar ecologically enhancing work,ā€ Leahy said. ā€œWe hope to begin to normalize the concept of cemeteries as public green spaces as well as showcase the role of these public spaces as demonstration sites in ecological restoration and maintenance.ā€

The fellowship program is an initiative of the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park supported by the David Evans Shaw Family Foundation, Sibley-Saltonstall Charitable Foundation and individual donors. Fellows inform management and protection of the parkā€™s resources.

plans to set up 60 sensors throughout the park to monitor microclimate, the particular conditions underneath the forest canopy that affect tree seedlings and saplings. Over the course of three years, the sensors will record soil moisture and temperature, air temperature and relative humidity. Additional data will come from the Northeast Temperate Network, a National Park Service (NPS) program monitoring long-term forest health at 176 sites at Acadia.

Like many national parks, Acadia is experiencing rapid changes. The impacts of these changes are still largely uncertain, challenging NPS to manage and protect both natural and cultural resources. 

ā€œAcadia is a place for conservation innovation, and the Acadia Science Fellows play a key role in developing and translating science into action,ā€ said Schoodic Institute President & CEO Nicholas Fisichelli.

The 91±¬ĮĻ awards, which are directed to faculty members associated with the universityā€™s Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES),91±¬ĮĻ Cooperative Extension and Maine College of Engineering and Computing, constitute five of the seven PFAS-related funded projects on April 29.

According to DACF, PFAS has impacted 90 Maine farms to varying degrees. It can cycle through soil, water, plants, animals and humans once released into the environment. Health effects linked to PFAS exposure include decreased vaccine response, increased cholesterol levels, reduced infant and fetal growth, heightened risk of certain cancers and pregnancy complications.

ā€œThe stateā€™s investment fortifies our commitment to protect and inform Mainers through research and its application,ā€ said 91±¬ĮĻ President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. ā€œIn a highly competitive selection process, the state chose five research projects proposed by our faculty that will help us detect PFAS in soil, understand how it is absorbed by plants and animals and remediate its presence on Maine farms.ā€ 

“By investing in our research, the state has once again proven its confidence in 91±¬ĮĻ research and its commitment to protecting the health and wellbeing of all Mainersā€ said Diane Rowland, dean of the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences and director of MAFES. “We lead Maine in PFAS research and will leverage additional funding sources to form a true partnership with the state, one that is grounded in the needs of Maine’s agricultural sector.” 

Ling Li, associate professor of sustainable bioenergy systems in the School of Forest Resources, received $467,240 for her research on mixing biochar in soil to reduce PFAS bioaccumulation in edible parts of vegetable crops, such as lettuce and tomatoes. Li aims to develop actionable solutions for farmers to manage contaminated soils. The project will develop guidance on how much biochar they would need to use in their soil and how often it would need to be reapplied.

Ellen Mallory, professor in the School of Food and Agriculture and 91±¬ĮĻ Extension specialist, received $499,995 for her research on how the PFAS compound perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) accumulates in livestock feed. Mallory aims to understand more about how certain soil compounds influence PFOS uptake from the soil to human food systems through products such as milk and meat. 

Sharmila Mukhopadhyay, director of the Frontier Institute for Research in Sensor Technologies and professor of mechanical engineering, received $496,432 for her work on developing rapid PFAS-detecting sensors. Mukhopadhyayā€™s device could streamline PFAS detection on farms by allowing farmers to test their soil for the chemical onsite, a process that currently can take over a week and cost hundreds of dollars.

Glenda Pereira Parente, assistant professor of animal science in the School of Food and Agriculture and 91±¬ĮĻ Extension dairy specialist, received $499,989 to guide PFAS mitigation strategies for livestock by modeling how it bioaccumulates. Parente will focus on how PFAS moves through the bodies of dairy sheep and lambs during gestation, lactation and depuration, as well as the effects of feeding management practices during the weaning phase.

Xiaoxiao Zhao, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, received $284,869 for his research on creating energy-efficient technology to break down PFAS in soil without harming soil health. Zhaoā€™s project will use activated carbon coated on a plasma electrode to capture PFAS in soil, a method that would break the stubborn bonds that earned PFAS the nickname ā€œforever chemicals,ā€ instead of trapping it like current methods, and refresh the soilā€™s ability to capture it.

These researchers are among many 91±¬ĮĻ faculty members working together on a variety of PFAS research projects and outreach as part of the university-wide efforts to quickly and effectively address solutions for forever chemicals.

Additional information is available on the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry PFAS Fund .Ģż

Contact: Ashley Yates; ashley.depew@maine.edu