Forest ThreatNet

Two members of the Threat Center's Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Research Team celebrated their retirements recently: Mark Ambrose on May 1st, and Barbara Conkling on July 1st. Both had long and distinguished careers in support of EFETAC, The Southern Research Station, and the FHM National Program. They will be sorely missed!

In a somewhat unusual arrangement, Barb (Research Assistant Professor) and Mark (Research Assistant) were NC State University cooperators housed at the SRS Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Research Triangle Park along with the rest of the FHM Research Team. Funded by a series of agreements with the FHM and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Programs, Mark, Barb, and other NC State cooperators were primarily responsible for producing the annual FHM national reports, which have served as a flagship publication for the FHM Program since 2001.

Mark was an author and editor starting with that first report in 2001. Over the years, he regularly contributed a chapter to the report on forest mortality as documented from FIA data. Mark was also a co-author on numerous journal articles from FHM Research Team members and other scientists. However, perhaps his biggest legacy is a database containing several thousand urban forest and street tree inventories from across the USA (and some of Canada!), which Mark painstakingly assembled. To date, there is no similar resource as comprehensive as what Mark compiled.

Barb played a critical role in the FHM National Program from its inception, even before it transitioned to its current place within State, Private, and Tribal Forestry, Forest Health Protection. Naturally, she was an editor and contributor to the annual FHM national reports starting with the 2001 report, but that understates her contributions to the FHM Program. Barb served as one of the main ambassadors for the program for more than two decades, explaining and promoting FHM to attendees at SAF Meetings and in other venues. Barb also supported FIA documentation efforts for many years; in the numerous congratulatory messages that Barb received from FIA staff upon announcing her retirement, the general sentiment was that FIA will desperately miss Barb’s dedication, diligence, and all-around excellent communication skills.

At their respective retirement celebrations, Mark and Barb received USDA Certificates of Appreciation signed by FHP Director Rick Cooksey as well as SRS Director Toral Patel-Weynand, which recognized the importance of their contributions in furthering forest health research both within the Forest Service and more broadly. Congratulations Barb and Mark!