Managing Oak Forests in the Eastern United States

Patrick Keyser, PhD, is professor and director for the Center for Native Grasslands Management at the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, where he has been since 2006. Prior to UT, Dr. Keyser was a senior wildlife biologist for MeadWestvaco, a global forest products company, and was based out of West Virginia. He also worked as a biologist for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. In all of these roles, Dr. Keyser has been actively engaged in forest management, forest and wildlife research, and working with various forest landowners (private, state, federal, and industry) to improve productivity and sustainability.



Todd Fearer, PhD, joined the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV) in 2010 as the science coordinator, and became coordinator in 2012. Prior to working with the AMJV, he was an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas' School of Forest Resources. He received his BS in wildlife and fisheries science with minors in forest science and international agriculture from Penn State University. He then went on to obtain both his MS and PhD in wildlife science from Virginia Tech, conducting research as part of the Appalachian Cooperative Grouse Research Project and evaluating population-habitat relationships of forest breeding birds at multiple spatial and temporal scales, respectively.



Craig A. Harper, PhD, is a professor of wildlife management and the extension wildlife specialist at the University of Tennessee, where he develops wildlife management programs for UT Extension and assists natural resource professionals with issues concerning land management for wildlife across the eastern United States. Dr. Harper maintains an active research program that specializes in upland habitat management, including the effects of silviculture, prescribed fire, and herbicide applications on habitat for various wildlife species. Dr. Harper is a Certified Wildlife Biologist (R) and a Certified Prescribed Fire Manager.