William Hubbard

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Managing Director at University of Maryland, College Park

The Southern Forest and Tree Health Diagnostics Facebook page, managed by Extension and forestry professionals in the southeastern United States, is designed to deliver forest and tree heath information to the public via a web-based, crowd-sourced diagnostic service. We conducted an online survey to quantify the page's impact by identifying audienc...

Sericulture and silk production are among the activities that can, along with other agricultural activities, generate income for rural households in a short period of time. The objective of the present study was to identify factors influencing the adoption of sericulture by farmers in Guilan province, Iran. The sericulture farmers of Langarud and S...

The ability to secure financing and local government support for construction of wood pellet facilities can be enhanced by articulating the economic benefits of these production facilities. This analysis explains how local economies can benefit from wood pellet manufacturing by expressing the economic multiplier effect of wood pellet plant operatio...

This paper outlines the results and proceedings of the 2015 Forestry & Wood Products Extension Conference held in Cocodrie, Louisiana in November of that year. It highlights critical areas, regional discussions, and breakout sessions and follows with a ‘vote’ on prioritization of Extension development strategies to address needs that became apparen...

Economic contributions from forestry and forest products help define the importance of this industry to a state or regional economy. IMPLAN input-output modeling software has proven helpful to conduct this analysis and is commonly used in the United States. However, input-output modeling and the results of economic impact or contribution analyses c...

An understanding of foresters' perceptions of climate change is important for developing effective educational programs on adaptive forest management. We surveyed 1,398 foresters in the southern United States regarding their perceptions of climate change, observations and concerns about climatic and forest conditions, and knowledge of and interest...

An understanding of foresters' perceptions of climate change is important for developing effective educational programs on adaptive forest management. We surveyed 1,398 foresters in the southern United States regarding their perceptions of climate change, observations and concerns about climatic and forest conditions, and knowledge of and interest...

The ability to secure financing and local government support for construction of wood pellet facilities can be enhanced by articulating the economic benefits of these production facilities. This analysis explains how local economies can benefit from wood pellet manufacturing by expressing the economic multiplier effect of wood pellet plant construc...

Greater climate variability may profoundly impact southern forests, requiring climate-resilient management strategies to sustain them into the future. Foresters design and implement these strategies, and their perspectives on climate change may influence their receptivity to outreach on climate science and adaptation. To effectively engage this aud...

With increasing numbers of the public using social media applications, Extension professionals have the ability to apply these same tools to connect with their clients. This article demonstrates how a social media toolset can be employed by Extension professionals by identifying how Extension professionals are currently using social media, illustra...

The environmental and economic benefits achieved by participants in an e-learning event are often overlooked by Extension educators, even though they are easy to calculate based on some basic information often collected from participants. To help make it easier to calculate these benefits, which are referred to as "Green" savings, a "Green" savings...

This article presents the findings of a recent survey of natural resource webinar providers. Respondents were asked a range of questions regarding their webinar services. Findings showed that respondents most commonly marketed their webinars through email or websites and targeted an audience of professionals. Respondents noted that the greatest cha...

Silvopasture systems combine trees, forage, and livestock in a variety of different species and management regimes, depending on the biophysical, economic, cultural, and market factors in a region. We describe and compare actual farm practices and current research trials of silvopastoral systems in eight regions within seven countries of the world:...

Among the current challenges facing outreach and extension forest professionals in North America include high diversity among clients, rapid advances in knowledge, and changes in markets associated with new products, new buyers and sellers. These factors create an urgent need for a versatile, yet responsive and effective technology transfer system....

Land conversion and habitat fragmentation are affecting natural resources. Land use/land cover change models can play an important role in understanding these impacts and illustrating the land conversion process to the public. A two-phase needs assessment was conducted to understand the perspectives, attitudes, and needs of planning and education o...

Land use and land cover changes are having a dramatic impact on natural resources across the country. Modeling and visualization tools can help citizens, planners, and decision-makers understand the extent of these impacts. Georgia planning officials were surveyed to determine their land use/land cover issues, capacities, and needs with respect to...

Production of forest biomass in sustainably managed forests in the southern United States has great potential to improve forest health, make energy supplies more secure, and increase the social and economic welfare of rural communities. The awareness and access of landowners and forestry and natural resource professionals to new knowledge and marke...

Through the diffusion of innovations framework, Extension program planners, evaluators, and researchers can gain a better understanding of the reasons an educational program results in adoption or rejection of a particular practice. In addition to the information on impact of Extension programs available through traditional methods of analysis, thi...

Forest science, like any science, is a continuous process of discovering new knowledge, reevaluating existing knowledge, and revising our theories and management practices in light of these changes. The forest science community has not yet found the solution to the problem of getting continuously changing science efficiently and effectively into th...

Despite the overwhelming body of research available on the ecology and management of Southern Appalachian forests, a gap exists between what scientists know and what the management community is able to apply on the ground. Most research knowledge still resides in highly technical, narrowly focused research publications housed in libraries. The inte...

Land managers increasingly need improved access to research knowledge that is thoroughly organized, condensed, and presented in a form that is useful for problem solving. In this paper, we describe the application of hyperdocuments for knowledge management, using an example of a newly developed hypertext encyclopedia on the southern Appalachians. T...

The destructive winds of Hurricane Andrew dramatically changed the urban forest in Dade County, Florida on August 24,1992. Overnight, the tree canopy was replaced by a landscape of broken, uprooted, defoliated and severely damaged trees. To assist communities in reforestation efforts, scientists at the University of Florida conducted a homeowner su...

A plan can be defined as a predetermined course of action. Regardless of the type of plan, they all have a number of similar components. First a vision - a future desired condition or state - must be defined. Goals and objectives are then used to achieve the vision. Measurable goals and objectives form a basis for project evaluation. Guiding princi...

This purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of mediating, moderating, and outcomes elements of a theory-based impact evaluation on a voluntary nonformal adult education program. Mediators (knowledge change, use of informal education, use of professional assistance and products, use of social networks) and outcomes (forest manage...