Thomas W. Steele

Associate Scientist
Superintendent:
Kemp Natural Resources Station

9161 Kemp Road
Woodruff, WI 54568-9689

Phone: 715-356-9070
Fax: 715-356-3669

E-mail: tsteele@wisc.edu

Specialization

Forest Economics & Management, Forest Operations

My primary responsibility is administration of the Kemp Natural Resources Station, an off-campus research and teaching facility located in north-central Wisconsin. There I oversee the Station’s comprehensive programs of natural resources research, instruction, and outreach. Each year Kemp Station supports more than 50 different research projects, hosts 15 field courses, and conducts more than a dozen public education events.

In addition to my administrative duties, I conduct a small applied research program in the areas of forest economics & management and forest operations. My research interests are many and varied; however, I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary projects that integrate economics, ecology, and silviculture to foster sustainable forest management. Current research projects include:

• Economic analyses of innovative silvicultural practices aimed at restoring old-growth forest structure, compostion, and function;

• Study of the regional logging sector with specific emphasis on technology adoption; and

• Investigation of the potential impacts of forest parcelization.

Additionally I co-teach two undergraduate courses: Forestry 305 - Forest Operations and Forestry 655 - Forest Resources Practicum.

Education

Professional Experience

Honors and Awards

Canadian Institute of Forestry Bursary, University of New Brunswick

N. Myles Brown Scholarship, University of New Brunswick

Commonwealth Forestry Book Prize, University of New Brunswick

Xi Sigma Pi, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ralph W. Marquis Memorial Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison

John N. McGovern Family Scholarship, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Chancellor's Recognition: University-Community Partnerships, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Agricultural Research Stations Staff Recognition Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Academic Staff Award for Excellence in Service, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Friend of Forestry Award for Outstanding Contributions and Service
                                                         
Connor Award, Distinguished Service Award to an Organization, Forest History Association of Wisconsin

Society/Professional Memberships

Society of American Foresters

Midwest Forest Economists

Canadian Institute of Forestry

Selected Publications

Hawkins, C.B.D., T.W. Steele, and T. Letchford. 2006. The economics of site preparation and the impacts of current forest policy: Evidence from central British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 36(2): 482-494.

Rickenbach, M.G. and T.W. Steele. 2006. Logging firms, NIPFs, and forest parcelization: Evidence of firm specialization and its impact on sustainable timber supply. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 36(1): 186-194.

Rickenbach, M., T.W. Steele, and M. Schira. 2005. Status of the logging sector in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula - 2003. University of Wisconsin-Extension Cooperative Extension Service, Madison, WI, 40 p.

Rickenbach, M. and T.W. Steele. 2005. Comparing mechanized and non-mechanized logging firms in Wisconsin: Implications for a dynamic ownership and policy environment. Forest Products Journal 55(11): 21-26.

Stjernberg, E.I., J.L. Mitchell, R. Hsieh, C. Hawkins, and T. Steele. 2004. Review and synthesis of historical adaptive management strategies to control mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae): Efficacy and Economics. Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Victoria, B.C.

Han, H.-S., T.W. Steele, and L.D. Kellogg. 2003. DamQuick: A new method for rapidly assessing residual stand damage during partial timber harvest. Western Journal of Applied Forestry 18(2): 81-87.

Steele, T.W. and J.C. Stier. 2000. The impact of interdisciplinary research in the environmental sciences: A forestry case study. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 51(5):476-484.