Faculty

John C. Bliss
Professor, Starker Chair in Private and Family Forestry
Associate Department Head
Department of Forest Resources
Peavy Hall 203
Corvallis, OR 97331-5703
(541) 737-4427

Ph.D.-Forestry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1988. Dissertation: Motivations of nonindustrial private forest owners: a qualitative approach. Minor field: International Development. Advisor: Dr. A. Jeff Martin.

M.S.-Forestry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1979. Thesis: Computer-aided classification of forest cover types from small scale aerial photographs. Advisor: Dr. Thomas M. Bonnicksen.

B.A.-Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1973. Major field: Cultural Anthropology.

Research interests: Private forest policy, forest-based rural development, natural resources sociology. Current research projects include:

• Conservation of biodiversity in the oak woodland ecotype on family forestlands in Oregon's Willamette Valley
• Protection of threatened and endangered species on family forestlands in Oregon
• Linkages between healthy forests and healthy communities
• Role of traditional ecological knowledge in tribal - Federal collaborative land management

Current programs:

Communities and Natural Resources (FOR 599/699)

The Starker Program in Private and Family Forestry

The Elizabeth Starker Cameron Demonstration Forest

Starker Lecture Series

Instruction: FOR 564, Private Forests in Society
The class examines private forests as components of social systems and ecosystems. All categories of private forests are considered, but the focus is on nonindustrial private forests. Students develop an understanding of private forests, their owners, and current social, economic, and policy issues surrounding these forests.

Career History:
1998 - Present. Professor and Starker Chair in Private and Family Forestry, Department of Forest Resources, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. This endowed position includes research, teaching, and outreach responsibilities focusing on social dimensions of private forest management and policy. Current research examines nonindustrial private forests as components of larger ecological and social systems. Specific projects include: relationships between forest tenure patterns and forest diversity (Big Elk Creek), fire management at the public - private interface (John Day), sustainable forestry at the urban fringe (Soap Creek), and sustainable development programming in Extension education (nation - wide). Research is conducted in collaboration with five graduate students and numerous colleagues. Additional responsibilities include teaching a graduate - level class, "Private Forests in Society," and developing the Elizabeth Starker Cameron Demonstration Forest as a model for nonindustrial private forest stewardship.
October, 1994 - March, 1998. Assistant, Associate Professor, School of Forestry, Auburn University, and Forestry Specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn, Alabama.
1979 - 1985. Forester/Ranger, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Vernon County, Wisconsin.
1974 - 1976. English teacher, U.S. Peace Corps, Puli-khumri Afghanistan.

Graduate Student Colleagues:

The Starker Program Research Family, 2004

The Starker Program Research Family, 2002

The Starker Program Research Family, 2000

• Sara Thompson, M.S., 2006, Oregon State University. Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Tribal-Federal Collaboration. Current position: Richardson Fellow
• Erin Kelly, M.S., 2005, Oregon State University. Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities. Current position: Richardson Fellow
• Fredrik Ingemarson, PhD, 2004, Swedish Agricultural University. Small-scale forestry in Sweden.
• Paige Fischer, Ph.D., M.S. 2003, Oregon State University. Mental and Biophysical Terrains of Biodiversity: Conservation of Oak Woodland on Family Forests. Current position: Research Assistant
• Peter Giampaoli, M.S. 2005, Oregon State University. Extent and Implications of Specified Resource Site Protection in Oregon.
• Christina Kakoyannis, PhD, 2004, Oregon State University. Learning to Address Complexity in Natural Resource Management. Research Associate
• Ke Du, M.S, 2003, Oregon State University. Conservation and Land Tenure Change in Sichuan Province, Peoples' Republic of China. Current position: Conservation NGO, Beijing, PR China
• Adam Wiskind, M.F. 2003, Oregon State University. Understanding Streamside Landowner’s Perspectives and Behaviors Regarding Riparian Health and Management. Current position: Conservation NGO, California, USA
• Yoshitaka Kumagai, Ph.D. 2001, Oregon State University. Causal reasoning of wildfire damage. Current position: Assoc. Prof., Japan
• Stefan Bergmann, M.S. 2001, Oregon State University. Conflict and cooperation at the public-private interface: A case study of fire management in eastern Oregon. Current position: National Assoc. of State Foresters
• Kearstin Edwards, M.S. 2002, Oregon State University. Sustainable forestry at the urban fringe. Current position: Wilderness Ranger, Lolo National Forest, Idaho.
• Rob Williams, M.S. 2001, Oregon State University. Public Knowledge, Preferences, and Involvement in Adaptive Ecosystem Management
  (Co-Chair with B. Shindler). Current position: Private Sector
• Shorna Broussard, Ph.D. 2000, Oregon State University. Sustainability awareness and commitment: Examining natural resource Extension programs in the United States. Current position: Assistant Professor of Forestry, Purdue University.
• M. Rickenbach, Ph.D. 2000, Watershed Councils and Woodland Owners: The Oregon Experience. Current position: Assistant Prof., Univ. of Wisconsin
• Brooks Stanfield, M.S. 2000, Oregon State University. Land ownership and forest cover in the Oregon Coast Range: Spatial pattern and social ground-truthing. Oregon State University. Current position: U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, Ecuador.
• C. Toms, M.S. 1998. Animal-powered Logging in Alabama. Current position: Washington Department of Natural Resources
• Sisock, Mary L., M.S. 1998, Auburn University. Unequal shares: Forest land concentration and well-being in rural Alabama. Current position: Ph.D. student, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Hamilton, James Victor, Jr., M.S. 1998, Auburn University. Trees for the future: Agroforestry systems and extension in rural Paraguay. Current position: Consulting Firm, Atlanta, GA
• Jenkins, Christine Marie, M.S. 1997, Auburn University. Oracles of the swamp: A Delphi approach to integrating the knowledge base of management of southern bottomland hardwood ecosystems. Current position: Consulting Firm, Atlanta, GA
• Joshi, Mahendra Lal, Ph.D. 1997, Auburn University. Industrial recruitment policy and rural development: A case study of the pulp and paper industry in Alabama. Current position: Forestry Advisor, Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests.
• Walkingstick, Tamara Lynne, Ph.D. 1996, Auburn University. Pulpwood, Dinettes, and Doublewides: A Comparative Case Study of Two Forest Dependent Alabama Counties. Current position: Extension Specialist, U. of Arkansas
• Chima, Amjad, M.F. 1993, Auburn University. Planning for the people in Pakistan's forestry sector. Current position: Government of Pakistan
• Henry, William Arnold, M.S. 1992, Auburn University. Timber harvesting, regeneration, and best management practices among Alabama's nonindustrial private forest owners. Current position: Forester, Georgia Department of Forestry

Recent Publications:

Bliss, John C. 2003. Sustaining family forests in rural landscapes: Rationale, challenges, and an illustration from Oregon, U.S.A. Small-scale Forest Economics, Management, and Policy 1(2):1-8.

Selected publications:

• *Fisher, A. Paige, and John C. Bliss. 2006. Mental and biophysical terrains of biodiversity: Conservation of oak woodland on family forests. Society and Natural Resources 19(7).
• Bliss, John C., and Conner Bailey. 2005. Pulp, Paper, and Poverty: Forest-based rural development in Alabama, 1950, 2000. In Robert G. Lee and Donald R. Fields, eds, Communities and Forests: Where People Meet the Land. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.
• Rickenbach, M.G., J. C. Bliss, and A.S Reed. 2004. Collaboratives, Cooperation, and Private Forest Ownership: Implications for Voluntary Protection of Biological Diversity. Small-scale Forest Economics, Management, and Policy 3(1): 69 – 83.
• Bergmann, Stefan, and John C. Bliss. 2004. Foundations of cross-boundary cooperation: Fire management at the public-private interface. Society and Natural Resources 17 (5): 377-393.
• Kumagai, Yoshitaka, John C. Bliss, Steven E. Daniels, and Matt Carroll.. 2004. Research on causal attribution of wildfire: An exploratory multiple methods approach. Society and Natural Resources 17 (2): 113-127.
• Carroll, Matthew, Kumagai, Yoshitaka, Steven E. Daniels, John C. Bliss, and John Edwards. 2004. Causal Reasoning Processes of People Affected by Wildfire: Implications for Agency-Community Interactions and Communication Strategies. Western Journal of Applied Forestry 19(3): 184-194.
• Stankey, George H., Roger N. Clark, and John C. Bliss. 2003. Social acceptability, compatibility, and timber harvesting. In Richard Haynes, ed., Compatible Forest Management. Dordrecht , The Netherlands:Kluwer Academic Publishers.
• Bliss, John C., and A. Jeff Martin. 2003. Nonindustrial private forests. In Young, R., and R. Giese, eds., Introduction to Forest Ecosystem Science and Management, 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 221-240.
• Edwards, Kearstin K., and John C. Bliss. 2003. It's a neighborhood now: Practicing forestry at the urban fringe. Journal of Forestry 101 (3):6-11.
• Is forestry good for community? Plenary speech, BC Community Forestry Forum, Victoria, British Columbia, March 14-19, 2002.
• Stanfield, Brooks J., John C. Bliss, and Thomas A. Spies. 2002. Land ownership and landscape structure: A spatial analysis of 66 Oregon Coast Range watersheds. Landscape Ecology. 17(8):685-697.
• Extension and the future of family forests: Making connections. Keynote speech, International Union of Forestry Research Organizations Extension, Forestry Working Group, Lorne, Australia, October 28 - November 3, 2001.
• Bliss, John C., Greg Aplet, Cate Hartzell, Peggy Harwood, Paul Jahnige, David Kittredge, Stephan Lewandowski, and Mary Lou Soscia. 2001. Community-based ecosystem monitoring. P. 143-167 in Gray, G., Enzer, M., and Kusel, J. 2001. Understanding Community Based Ecosystem Managemeent in the United States. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 12(3/4):143-167. (Simultaneously published in book form by Haworth Press).
• Toms, C. W., M. R. Dubois, J. C. Bliss, J. H. Wilhoit, and R. B. Rummer. 2001. A survey of animal-powered logging in Alabama. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry 25(1):17-24.
• Understanding Community Based Ecosystem Management in the United States. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 12(3/4):143-167. (Simultaneously published in book form by Haworth Press).
• Bliss, John C. 2000. Public perceptions of clearcutting. Journal of Forestry 98(12): 4-10. Reprinted in The Timber Producer, Michigan-Wisconsin Timber Producers Association, January 2001, p. 50 - 56. Reprinted in Woodland Management, Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association, 23(4): 28-30.
• Joshi, Mahendra L., John C. Bliss, and Conner Bailey. 2000. Investing in industry, under-investing in human capital: Forest-based development in Alabama. Society & Natural Resources 13(5):291-319.
• Bliss, John C. 1999. Understanding people in the landscape: Social science applications for ecological stewardship. P. 43-57 in W.T. Sexton, A.J. Malk, R.C. Szaro, and N.C. Johnson, eds., Ecological Stewardship: A Common Reference for Ecosystem Management, Vol. III. Oxford: Elsevier Science.
• Bliss, John C., Mary L. Sisock, and Thomas W. Birch. 1998. Ownership Matters: Forest land concentration in rural Alabama. Society and Natural Resources 11(4):401-410.
• Bliss, John C., Tamara L. Walkingstick, and Conner Bailey. 1998. Development or dependency? Sustaining Alabama's forest communities. Journal of Forestry 96(3):24-31.
• Hamilton, James, and John C. Bliss. 1998.Agroforestry extension in Paraguay: The participants' perspective. Journal of Forestry 96(12):15-20.
• Selected Presentations:
• Four social trends and their impacts on field forestry. Plenary speech, Oregon Society of American Foresters Annual Meeting, Corvallis, Oregon, May 18, 2001.
• An argument for undisciplined research. Forest Science Graduate Seminar Series, Oregon State University, May 3, 2001.
• Whose woods are these? Oregon's Family Forestland Owners. Keynote speech, Oregon Family Forestland Symposium, Corvallis, OR, February 12, 2001.
• Sustaining family forests: Observations of a Yankee extension forester. Keynote speech, Forest Renewal - British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, February 15, 2001.
• Sustaining family forests in the landscape. Keynote speech, Washington State Society of American Foresters Annual Meeting, Port Ludlow, Washington, Spring, 2000.
• Challenges to private forestry in Y2K. Keynote speech, Wisconsin Society of American Foresters Annual Meeting, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, October 19 - 20, 1999.
• Of what value are small woodlands? Keynote speech, Oregon Small Woodlands Association Annual Meeting, Bend, Oregon, May 13 - 15, 1999. (Invited).
• Public perceptions of clearcutting. Presented at "Clearcutting in Western Oregon: What does the science show?" Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, Nov. 3, 1999.
• Forest tenantry and rural development. Presented at "The Forest Tenant Farm: Assessment, Perspectives, and Issues at Stake," La Foret modele du Bas-Saint-Laurent, Universite du Quebec a Rimouski., Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, April 29-30, 1999.
• Forest tenure and the underdevelopment of rural Alabama. Paper presented for the "Pathways from Poverty" Seminar Series of the North American Land Tenure Program, Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, April 3, 1997.

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