Research that reaches policymakers, practitioners, and the public protects forests. The NAUFRP Communications Committee ensures that the collective expertise of 80-plus university programs translates into influence.
We manage NAUFRP's external communications, website, and newsletters. We connect member institutions with journalists who cover forestry, natural resources, and environmental policy, coordinate responses when forestry issues break into national conversation, and we help individual programs elevate their research beyond campus boundaries.
When Congress debates timber policy, when wildfires dominate headlines, and when carbon markets reshape forest economics—NAUFRP's voice carries the weight of decades of research and on-the-ground experience.
NAUFRP newsletters and publications
Features creation of the Dr. Yeon-Su Kim DEI Champion Award, NAUFRP booth at SAF convention, website overhaul plans, FY25 appropriations update including potential cuts despite two-seat Republican House majority, SAF accreditation CHEA compliance requirements, and extensive committee reports covering enrollment trends, extension awards, international partnerships, and research prioritization efforts.
Covers hybrid meeting structure continuation post-COVID, joint SAF leadership reception, new DEI Champion Award proposal honoring Dr. Kim, SAF accreditation developments including certificate programs and two-year to four-year pathways, debt limit agreement freezing FY24 nondefense spending, Family Forest Education Awards for UGA and Connecticut programs, and R&D funding decline research with national forestry summit planned.
Highlights return to in-person meetings in Baltimore after two years, joint SAF leadership reception, DEI committee forum planning, Inflation Reduction Act passage with $20 billion for climate-smart agriculture and $5 billion for forest conservation, CHIPS and Science Act passage, fall enrollment survey launch, FY23 appropriations including increases for McIntire-Stennis and AFRI, and Women’s Forest Congress announcement.
Todd Petty, University of Georgia
Communications Committee Chair
todd.petty@uga.edu
NAUFRP Vision
The National Association of University Forest Resources Programs’ provides for national, long-term investment to grow and protect the quantity and quality of our forests and the economic and environmental benefits they offer. Learn more.
NAUFRP Purpose
We strive daily to advance the health, productivity, and sustainability of America’s forest resources through university-based education, research, extension, and international programs.
Membership Benefits
Direct access to federal policymakers, USDA and Congressional leaders, national forest stakeholders, and active McIntire-Stennis research across member institutions, plus professional development workshops to strengthen university programs and expand research capacity.
