About
The Extension Forestry program, housed in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, provides forestry and natural resources education, technical assistance, programming, and awareness to a diverse audience including an estimated 132,000 private forest landowners who own 3.7 million acres or 82-percent of all forest land in Illinois.
The Extension Forestry program works statewide in Illinois. Offices are on campus and at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center. In addition to traditional Extension and outreach, the Extension Forestry program also teaches undergraduate courses in dendrology and chainsaw safety, conducts applied natural resource research, and maintains multiple demonstration sites and projects.
Extension Forestry also administers the Illinois Big Tree Program and the recently developed Citizen Big Tree Inspector initiative.
Forestry Programs and Training
- Chainsaw safety and directional felling
- Invasive species identification and management
- Forest management and restoration
- Timber harvesting and timber tax
- Maple syrup collection and processing
- Plant / tree identification
- Forest health and mitigation
- Agroforestry
Ongoing Programs
- Tri-State Forest Stewardship Conference
- Southern Illinois Conservation Workshop 2020 workshop presentations
- Illinois Invasive Species Symposium 2020 presentations, 2019 presentations
- S.A.W.W. Certified Chainsaw Safety and Directional Felling Training
- Backyard Maple Syrup Workshop
- Spring Webinar Series webinar recordings
- Southern Illinois Beginning Forest Landowner Program
Annual Reports
The Illinois Extension Forestry Program is supported, in part, through the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA). Each year, Illinois Extension Forestry produces a summary that highlights some of the programs and activities supported through the RREA program.
- Fiscal Year 2021 Illinois Extension Forestry RREA Report
- Fiscal Year 2020 Illinois Extension Forestry RREA Report
- Fiscal Year 2019 Illinois Extension Forestry RREA Report
- Fiscal Year 2018 Illinois Extension Forestry RREA Report
- Fiscal Year 2017 Illinois Extension Forestry RREA Report
- Fiscal Year 2016 Illinois Extension Forestry RREA Report
- Fiscal Year 2015 Illinois Extension Forestry RREA Report