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Hans Zuuring

Professor Emeritus of Forest Biometry

Personal Summary

My name is Hans Zuuring and I was born in The Hague, Netherlands and immigrated to Canada with my parents in 1953. I attended the University of Toronto and obtained a B.Sc.F. degree in 1966 in Forest Management. I then proceeded to work for the Canadian Forestry Service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for a period of three years as a research officer in the Biometrics Services section. While there, I learned about statistics and computer programming as related to forestry. I became fascinated by the logic and rigor of these subject areas and decided to return to school. In September 1969 I entered graduate school at Iowa State University with the intent of obtaining a M.S. in forest biometry. After taking a number of graduate courses I met with my graduate committee only to tell them that it was dissolved since I did not know what topic to write a thesis on.

I decided to pursue a Ph.D. program. Upon completion of my graduate program I had taken just about all the statistics courses that were offered by the Statistics Department (30 of them) and achieved a GPA of 3.72.

On October 1974 I was hired by The University of Montana as a Research Associate in a 'soft' money position on a fiscal year appointment. I completed and obtained a Ph.D. in Forest Biometry with a minor in Statistics on August 1975 from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

In 1981 I moved into a tenure track Associate Professor position. In 1986 I was promoted to a Full Professor and received tenure. In April 1987 Dean Sid Frissell was seeking an interested faculty member whom would start a GIS laboratory within the School of Forestry. I took up the challenge since I saw a great deal of similarity between spatial analyses with map features and statistical analyses with numeric data. It was a mid-career shift and intellectual boost for me!

On March 1995 I became Director of Quantitative Services within the School of Forestry which encompassed informations systems and technology, networks, client services, statistical consulting and directing a GIS applications group.

In July 2003 the School of Forestry officially became the College of Forestry & Conservation with three departments namely Forest Management, Ecosystem & Conservation Sciences, and Society & Conservation. I officially became chairman of the Forest Management department on September 22, 2003 although I had been serving unofficially in that capacity since February 14, 2003
 
 

Education

B.Sc.F. in Forest Management, 1966, University of Toronto

Ph.D. in Forest Biometry with a minor in Statistics on August 1975, Iowa State University

Research Interests

GIS/GPS/remote sensing
Modeling
Spatial and nonspatial Statistics
Research and Sampling Methods
Spatial Decision Support Systems
 

Selected Publications

Zuuring, H.R., J.D. Arney and K.S. Milner. 1987. Generic graphical analyses for tree growth model invalidation. In Forest Growth Modelling and Prediction, Volume 2, Proceedings of the IUFRO   Conference, August 23-27, 1987, Minneapolis, MN. pp. 828-834. Editors: A.R. Ek, S.R. Shifley, T.E. Burk. USDA For. Serv., Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-120, North Central For. Exp. Sta. 1149 p.

 Korol, R.L., and H.R. Zuuring. 1988. Development of a mechanistic stand growth model for uneven-age Douglas-fir in south central British Columbia. In Forest Simulation Systems, Proceedings of the IUFRO Conference, November 2-5, 1988, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA. 13 p.
 
Zuuring, H.R., and R.L. Korol. 1988. An economical and reliable stem analysis data acquisition method utilizing color slides and GIS capabilities. In Forest Simulation Systems, Proceedings of the IUFRO Conference, November 2-5, 1988, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA. 8 p.
 
Potts, D.F., D.L. Peterson, and H.R. Zuuring. 1989. Estimating post-fire water production in the Pacific Northwest. USDA For. Serv. Res. Pap. PSW-197. PacificSouthwestForest and Range   Exp. Sta., Berkeley, CA. 9 p.
 
Zuuring, H.R. 1989. Teaching GIS Concepts: The University of Montana School of Forestry Experience. In Forestry on the Frontier, Proceedings of the SAF National Convention, September   24-27, 1989, Spokane, Washington. pp. 49-51.
 
Manasi, M., and H. Zuuring. 1991. Estimating forest productivity from remotely sensed data and topographic variables using the spatial analysis capabilities of a GIS. In Resource Technology 90, Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Advanced Technology in Natural Resource Management, November 12-15, 1990, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. pp. 579-589.
 
Zuuring, H., and M. Manasi. 1991. Estimating forest productivity from remotely sensed data and topographic variables using the spatial analysis capabilities of a GIS. In Management and Productivity of Western-MontaneForest Soils, Symposium Proceedings, April 10-12, 1990, Boise, Idaho. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-280, Ogden, UT. pp. 183-187.
 
Stark, N., and H. Zuuring. 1991. Minimizing the adverse impacts of timber harvest in the northern Rocky Mountains. In Management and Productivity of Western-MontaneForest Soils, Symposium Proceedings, April 10-12, 1990, Boise, Idaho. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-280, Ogden, UT. pp. 209-213.
 
Zuuring, H.R. 1992. New tools to meet New Perspectives. Western Wildlands 17(4):
34-38.
 
Schuster, E.G. and H.R. Zuuring. 1994. User's Guide to INVEST V: A Computer Program for Economic Analysis of Forestry Investment Opportunities. USDAForest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-312, Ogden, UT   37 p.
 
Clinebell, R.R., O.L. Phillips, A.H. Gentry, N. Stark and H.R. Zuuring. 1995. Prediction of Neotropical Species Richness of Trees and Lianas from Soil and Climatic Data. Biodiversity and Conservation 4:56-90.
 
Zuuring, H.R., W.L. Wood and J.G. Jones. 1995. An overview of MAGIS: A Multi-Resource Analysis and Geographic Information System. USDA Forest Service, Res. Note INT-RN-427, Ogden, UT 6 p.
 
Mace, R.D., J.S. Waller, T.L. Manley, L.J. Lyon and H.R. Zuuring. 1996. Relationships among Grizzly Bears, Roads, and Habitat in the Swan Mountains, Montana. Jour. of Applied Ecology 33: 1395-1404.
 
Latham, P.A., K.L. O'Hara and H.R. Zuuring. 1997. Forest structural class development for the upper Columbia River Basin. Unpublished manuscript submitted to the USDA Forest Service, Region 1, Missoula, MT 71 p.
 
Latham, P.A., H.R. Zuuring and D.W. Coble. 1998. A Method for Quantifying Vertical Forest Structure based on the Competitive Relationships of Tree Crowns. Forest Ecology & Management. 104(1-3): 157-170.
 
Jones, J.G., J.D. Chew and H.R. Zuuring. 1999. Applying Simulation and Optimization to Plan Fuel Treatments at Landscape Scales. In Proceedings of Fire Economics, Policy and Planning: Bottom Line Symposium, April 5-9, 1999, San Diego, CA.
 
Zuuring, H.R., J.D. Chew and J.G. Jones. 1999. Sequential Use of Simulation & Optimization in Analysis and Planning. In Proceedings of "The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project: What We Have Learned" Symposium, May 18-20, 1999, Missoula, MT.
 
Hall, W., R. Wakimoto and H.R. Zuuring. 1999. Using Fuel Treatment and Site Characteristics to Model Stand Replacement Fire in Regeneration Stands following the 1994 Wildfires on the Kootenai National Forest.   In Proceedings of Joint Fire Sciences Conference, June 15-17, 1999, Boise, ID.
 
Zuuring, H.R., J.G. Jones and J.D. Chew. 2000. Applying Simulation and optimization to Address Forest Health Issues at Landscape Scales. In Proceedings of the 7th Symposium on Systems Analysis in Forest Resources, May 28-31, 1997, Traverse City, MI. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report NC-GTR-205, St. Paul, MN 470 p.
 
Zuuring, H.R., J.D. Chew and J.G. Jones. 2001. Planning Fuel Treatments at Landscape Scales using SIMPPLLE and MAGIS. In Proceedings of EU Fire Conference, June 25-28, 2001, Kalamata, Greece.
 
Ahl, R. and H. Zuuring. 2002. Extrapolation of Spatially Explicit Forest Processes across Biophysically similar Watersheds. A paper presented at Intermountain GIS Users Conference, Big Sky, MT, April 9 - 11, 2002.
 
Merigliano, M., M. Williamson and H.R. Zuuring. 2002. Riparian restoration with prescribed flows: Cottonwood regeneration along a dammed river after a large flood. A paper presented at Society of Wetland Scientists annual meeting on June 4, 2002.
 
Zuuring, H.R. 2002. Extrapolating Modeling Results from SIMPPLLE and MAGIS to Like Areas. USDA Forest Service, short article in Bitterroot EcoReport (Winter 2002)
 
Zuuring, H.R. 2002. Are You Afraid of Models? USDA Forest Service, short article in Bitterroot EcoReport (Winter 2002)
 
Zuuring, H.R. 2002. Introduction to Spatial Interpolation. A paper presented at Intermountain GIS Users Conference, Big Sky, MT, April 9 - 11, 2002.
 
Hall, W.L., H.R. Zuuring, C.C. Hardy and R.H. Wakimoto. 2003. Applying Logistic Regression to Determine Regeneration Risk to Stand Replacement Fire on the Kootenai National Forest, Montana. WJAF (18), 3: 155-162.