U.S. Forest Service scientists based in Raleigh Recognized for Achievements
December 19, 2016
Asheville, NC — U.S. Forest Service contribute to White House Report
Jeff Prestemon, Research Forester and Karen Abt, Research Economist, with the Forest
Economics and Policy Unit, Raleigh, N.C. contributed to the White House Office of
Management and Budget, Climate Change: The Fiscal Risks Facing The Federal
Government. Abt and Prestemon were two of four researchers who evaluated how effects
from climate change in the U.S. could affect annual spending to suppress wildfires. The
OMB study addresses the impact of climate change on federal wildfire suppression
expenditures by the end of the century.
Local Researcher Recognized by U.S. Forest Service Chief
Dr. Jim Vose, Co-leader, Center for Integrated Forest Science, Raleigh, N.C. received a U.S.
Forest Service Chief’s Award – one of the highest honors in the Forest Service – for his work
in the category of “Sustaining Forests and Grasslands.” Vose was part of a team of four co-
authors who developed and coauthored Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the
United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis. More than 70 scientific experts from the
Forest Service, other federal agencies, research institutions, and universities across the U.S.
participated in the synthesis. Dr. James Clark, Nicholas Professor of Environmental Science,
Duke University was also a co-author. Vose is also an Adjunct Professor at N.C. State
University.
Society of American Foresters Recognize Forest Service Scientist
U.S. Forest Service scientist David Wear received the National Award in Forest Science
from the Society of American Foresters. Wear is co-leader at the Center for Integrated Forest
Science based on N.C. State’s campus in Raleigh, N.C. The award honors Wear’s many
years of research in the areas of land use, policy, forest sustainability, and forecasting. He has
authored or co-authored more than 140 publications. Wear provided leadership for the
Southern Forest Futures Project, a multi-year research effort to forecast changes in southern
forests between 2010 and 2060 under various climate and land use change scenarios. Wear is
also an Adjunct Professor at N.C. State University.