DURHAM, N.C. – The challenges facing urban forests will be the focus of this year’s Annual Forestry Symposium, “Forests on the Edge: The Tension between Forests and Urban Development,” at Duke University on Friday, Oct. 27.

Scientists, forest managers, urban planners, conservationists and students from agencies and institutions across the Triangle are expected to attend the symposium, which will explore issues facing forests and forest management in the midst of rapid urban development both locally and nationwide.

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Field Auditorium in Duke’s Environment Hall, located at 9 Circuit Drive on the university’s West Campus.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Robert Bonnie, currently a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke and formerly the undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He will speak on “Forest Fires in the Wildland-Urban Interface.”

Advance registration for the symposium is required. You can register via email at dukesaf@gmail.com through Oct. 20.

Other speakers and topics at this year’s event will include:

* “The Effects of Urbanization on Forest Ecology,” by Dean Urban, professor of landscape ecology at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment;
* “The State of Forests in Durham County,” by Chris Hirni, Durham County ranger for the North Carolina Forest Service; and
* “The Management Challenges of Urban Forests,” by Sara Childs, director of Duke Forest; Katie Rose Levin, sustainability director at Leaf & Limb; and Leslie Moorman, executive director of the NC Urban Forest Council.

Robert Bonnie received his Master of Environmental Management (MEM) and Master of Forestry (MF) degrees in 1994 from the Nicholas School. Katie Rose Levin received her MEM and MF degrees from the Nicholas School in 2012.

The Annual Forestry Symposium is sponsored by the Duke Chapter of the Society of American Foresters and the Nicholas School.

Information about visitor parking is available at here.