UGA Report: Georgia forests provide $37 billion in ecological benefits to state

 A University of Georgia researcher has found that Georgia’s forestlands provide essential ecosystem services to the state worth an estimated $37 billion annually. This is in addition to the value of timber, forest products and recreation. This is the first time these indirect benefits of Georgia’s private forests have been estimated.

Rebecca Moore, an assistant professor in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, studied the 22 million acres of privately-owned forestland in Georgia to estimate the benefits of water filtration, carbon storage, wildlife habitat and aesthetics.

“People value these things,” Moore said, “but because they aren’t like other goods in that people don’t go out and buy them, it’s difficult to estimate just how much we value them. The purpose of our research was to do just that—estimate the value of the ecosystem services provided by private forests in Georgia.”

Moore’s study was conducted with funding from the Georgia Forestry Foundation. The findings of her study were announced at the state capitol on Feb. 9.

“We have had studies for some time that tell us what the economic benefit of wood and fiber manufacturing in the state is,” said Steve McWilliams, executive director of the Georgia Forestry Foundation. “This new study allows us to place a dollar value on those services we receive from the standing forests, and they are many.”

Moore’s final report, which can be found at http://www.warnell.uga.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Final-Report-1-24-11.pdf, focused on six types of ecosystem services forests provide: gas and climate regulation; water quantity and quality; soil formation and stability; pollination; wildlife habitats; and aesthetic, cultural and passive use.

Moore and her collaborators—graduate students Tiffany Williams andEduardo Rodriguez and Warnell Assistant Professor Jeffrey Hepinstall-Cymmerman—analyzed Georgia forestlands by identifying key forest characteristics that affect ecosystem services and estimating per-acre values for each different type of forest.These values were estimated from survey data the team collected and from the results of previous published studies. What Moore found upon concluding her three-year study is that Georgia’s private forests provide an estimated $37 billion annual benefit to Georgia residents. The values can vary widely—between $200 to $13,000 per acre—depending on the location and ecology of the land, Moore said.

“Understanding the value of these benefits of forestland is important,” Moore said, “because it allows us to make better land use decisions. The ecological services forestlands provide are incredibly beneficial to Georgia, and you receive these benefits whether or not you own forestland. Many people think of them as free. But if we lose forestland, we risk losing these benefits.”

McWilliams said he hopes the results of Moore’s study focusing specifically on Georgia will result in public policy decisions that help us conserve Georgia’s working forests. “It carries a lot of weight when we can talk about Georgia forests to Georgia legislators and Georgia opinion leaders,” McWilliams concluded.

The Georgia Forestry Association is a conservation organization based in Forsyth. It works with landowners to adopt sound land management practices so that their forests will help provide clean air and water, soil conservation, wildlife habitats, recreation and timber products.

For more information on the Georgia Forestry Association, see www.gfagrow.org.

For more information on the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, see http://www.forestry.uga.edu/.

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Landscape Industry Can Now Train Employees Anytime, Anywhere

Continuing education for employees is important. But in hard economic times, many business owners can’t afford to train their staff. A new series of online videos from the University of Georgia provides training for workers in the landscape industry, and it’s free.

Developed by the UGA Center for Urban Agriculture, the five “Safety Makes Sense” videos cover topics like lawnmower and equipment safety, poisonous plants and animals, appropriate clothing, sun protection, heat stress, heat stroke and repetitive motion injury as well as communicating with supervisors.

OSHA approved

The videos are approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and were funded by an OSHA Susan Harwood Grant. They are offered in both English and Spanish.

“We knew the Spanish versions of our training videos would be popular,” said Ellen Bauske, the center’s program coordinator. “And, with the state’s budget situation, we can’t hire a full-time Spanish-speaking educator. The videos allow us to provide this training despite that.”

In January, the videos made their debut on the center’s Web site, www.ugaurbanag.com/safety. Three weeks ago, they were added to youtube.com. They will soon be available on UGA’s iTunes site at www.itunes.uga.edu.

The videos were placed online first and foremost because that’s what the industry requested, she said.

What the industry wants

“We surveyed the landscape industry and found out they need rainy-day, any-day training,” she said. “It’s hard for them to attend trainings on specific days because they need to plan work around Mother Nature. The videos allow them to be in control of when and where they train their staff.”

For the next phase, Bauske is working with University of Florida Cooperative Extension to offer video training for English-speaking supervisors of Spanish-speaking employees.

“We’d also like to offer video training on best management practices,” she said. “Where we go from here depends on whether we find a fund source.”

In addition to the online videos, the center’s Web site provides English and Spanish versions of the Safety for Hispanic Landscape Workers manual. It’s designed in an easy-to-understand format with images to ensure employees understand the information regardless of language skills or literacy level.

Employees aren’t the only ones that can benefit from the Web site’s resources. It also has information to help supervisors better communicate with a Hispanic workforce.

By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia

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ArunA Biomedical Announces Exclusive Worldwide Technology Licensing Agreement to Commercialize Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Mesenchymal Cells

PRNewswire/ -- ArunA Biomedical, Inc., a leader in human embryonic stem cell derived products, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide technology licensing agreement with the University of Georgia Research Foundation that will enable the company to commercialize human mesenchymal cells developed at the University of Georgia.

Under the terms of the agreement, ArunA has acquired an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize human mesenchymal cells (hMSC(TM)) derived from human embryonic stem cells, a product never before available. ArunA will offer the academic and industrial research communities access to a highly uniform population of human mesenchymal cells grown as adherent monolayer cultures in multiple turn-key kit formats. The hMSC kits will provide a physiologically relevant and genetically stable source of research material for use in a broad range of life science research applications such as: developmental pathway studies, disease modeling, in vitro toxicology, compound screening and humanized animal models.

"ArunA's proprietary adherent monolayer culture technology creates millions of highly uniform cells. These unique cells provide researchers with new enabling tools that can have a measurable impact on the advancement of drug discovery," says ArunA Biomedical President and Chief Executive Officer, William Sharp. "We are targeting an early first quarter 2009 launch of ArunA's first hMSC kit."

According to Robert Nerem, the Parker H. Petit Distinguished Chair for Engineering in Medicine at the Georgia Institute of Technology, "One of the most important uses of human embryonic stem cells will be in the generation of uniform populations of adult stem cells and progenitor cells. It is thus exciting that ArunA Biomedical will be able to provide uniform cell populations of human mesenchymal cells in kit form. This not only will be of value to bench scientists, but also in advancement toward clinical therapies."

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University of Georgia Research Foundation to Acquire WNEG-TV

The University of Georgia Research Foundation has reached an agreement to acquire WNEG-TV, channel 32, from its current owner, Media General, Inc. Transfer of the license for the television station, which serves Northeast Georgia from studios in Toccoa, is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. The station will be operated by the University of Georgia through its Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The commercial station will serve Northeast Georgia with high-quality, local interest programming, built primarily around local news and public affairs programming, and featuring UGA academic, cultural and athletic events.

“The acquisition of WNEG is the foundation for development of a Center for Advanced Media, out of which the university plans to distribute its rich content statewide through multiple platforms ranging from satellite to cable to Web,” said E. Culpepper Clark, Grady College dean. “Our first goal, however, will be to provide quality local television programming to Northeast Georgia.”

UGA President Michael F. Adams noted that by acquiring WNEG, the University of Georgia joins a handful of flagship universities nationwide that own commercial licenses. “This provides a winning combination of strengthening local markets by emphasizing local interests, while offering a real-world opportunity for faculty and students to work in research, development and teaching in media,” Adams said. “The revenue produced by this commercial venture will strengthen the operation of the television station while enhancing the research and outreach mission of the university.”

Clark estimated that FCC approval likely would occur this fall. He said the first year of ownership would focus on programming and technical transition, during which the station would continue to operate out of its Toccoa studios until transferring to studios at the Grady College building on the UGA campus. The new UGA-oriented programming is expected to commence in fall 2009, utilizing professional broadcast staff supported by UGA students and their faculty instructors.

“The new WNEG will provide students and faculty with new ways to experience and use media,” Clark said. “Indeed, all units that comprise the university will have at their disposal the means to create and distribute programming that informs, entertains and inspires the best – in short, media as we know it can be.”

Georgians See Higher Education as Key to Success

Almost all Georgia residents (98 percent) say that a college education is either very important (83 percent) or somewhat important (15 percent) for an individual to succeed in life today, according to the latest Peach State Poll. When considering the importance of higher education, quality is the most important concern. A majority of Georgians (55 percent) said that they would not compromise quality for wider access to Georgia’s colleges and universities.

At the same time, Georgians have a very high opinion of the institutions of higher education in the state. Twenty-one percent of the public rate Georgia’s colleges and universities as excellent, and another 57 percent rate them as good. In addition, 27 percent rate the colleges and universities in the Atlanta/Athens area as excellent, and 48 percent rate them as good. Only 3 percent rated the colleges and universities in both Georgia and those in the Atlanta/Athens area as poor.

Consistent with their support for higher education, a majority of Georgians’ with children who have not yet completed high school (61 percent) have started saving for their children’s college education. Household income is a factor. While 67 percent of those with household incomes exceeding $30,000 have started saving, only 38 percent of those with incomes lower than $30,000 have.

The Peach State Poll is a periodic survey of public opinion conducted by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

Other Peach State Poll results:

Household income is a factor in saving for college. While 67 percent of those with household incomes exceeding $30,000 have started saving, only 38 percent of those with incomes lower than $30,000 have.

For those with household incomes below $30,000 and for those with no college degree, access is more important than quality.

Commensurate with their belief in the importance of education, 80 percent of those with children say that the eldest is very likely to attend a four-year college or university, and another 12 percent say that it is somewhat likely.

Without the Hope Scholarship, only 33 percent of Georgia residents think that a college education in Georgia is either very affordable (4 percent) or somewhat affordable (29 percent).

These data were taken from a Peach State Poll survey conducted between November 19 and December 2, 2007. The poll included 800 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/-3.5 percent.

The Carl Vinson Institute of Government, a public service and outreach unit of the University of Georgia, has as part of its mission to provide policymakers with systematic, objective research to inform policy decisions. In accordance with that mission, the Peach State Poll aims to give voice to the public on important policy matters and issues pertaining to political, social and economic life in Georgia.

For more information on this survey or other Peach State Poll results, see www.vinsoninstitute.org/peachpoll.