Forest pest management at Virginia Tech and environmental decision making at the Tennessee Valley Authority an internship /

by Beversdorf, Matthew Arnold.

FOREST PEST MANAGEMENT AT VIRGINIA TECH AND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION MAKING AT THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY: AN INTERNSHIP by Matthew Arnold Beversdorf I participated in two different internships. During my first internship, I conducted forest pest management research for the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia. I researched the growth response of eastern hemlocks, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr, to populations of hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelgis tsugae Annand (Homoptera: Adelgidae). HWA density was compared to radial growth and new shoot growth of infested eastern hemlocks. Linear regression analyses showed statistically significant negative relationships between HWA density measurements and the difference in basal area increment from the previous year (2001) and the sampled year (2002), and between HWA density measurements and numbers of new shoots sampled. My second internship was in the Resource Stewardship division of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, Tennessee. I participated in watershed project management and planning meetings, conducted web-based research on watershed water quality and urban growth management techniques, and helped develop a management tracking tool.