Forest technology students at Pennsylvania College of Technology's Schneebeli Earth Science Center received some beneficial information from visiting industry professionals this past week.

Robert Hansen, a Penn State Cooperative Extension forester, provided a training session, "Timber, the IRS & You,” on Tuesday for students in Professor Dennis F. Ringling’s   Forest Land Management class.

Hansen reviewed his career path for students and offered helpful advice on becoming better resource-management professionals regardless of their areas of specialization in the industry after graduation. He explained how understanding the tax issues related to timber, such as capital gains and the depletion allowance, offers students a competitive edge in their chosen field.

At a follow-up session Thursday, stewardship trainers James Finley and Allyson Muth provided training that will certify Penn College seniors as stewardship planners once they graduate from the program.

The forest stewardship program provides a low-cost way for private landowners to interact with a consulting forester in order to get the professional knowledge and planning they need to sustain their private forest land. That is an important consideration in Pennsylvania, where 70 percent of woodland – 12 million acres – is privately managed with little input from natural-resources professionals.

Photos provided by the School of Natural Resources Management