Natural Resources Research & Management

Education

Education and Outreach

Our research and conservation programs are built upon the powerful and complementary platforms of scientific understanding and demonstrated management. We leverage the impact of the Center by prioritizing efforts that impact influencers and managers to make science-based decisions about natural resource management, conservation, and research.

The Center’s priority outreach constituents are

Practicing professionals who are making decisions that influence the management and conservation of natural resources
Scientists who are providing the data to inform these decisions

We focus outreach on

natural resource management agencies
policymakers
conservation organizations
university classes through field tours, shortcourses, and workshops
private land owners

Our graduate students, through collaborative arrangements with several universities, are perhaps our most significant product. We educate university students in natural resource degree programs to help prepare the next generation for future decisions and challenges. Approximately 145 students have completed advanced degrees through our cooperative graduate education program, and we continue to have many graduate students pursuing degrees at any given time.

Jones Center educated students routinely go on to become leaders in natural resource management, conservation, and research.

Professional Development

Jones Center outreach programs for natural resource professionals include short courses and workshops on longleaf pine, wildlife, and water resources, and more. Students of all experience levels, currently studying or working in the fields of natural resource management and conservation, come to us from and from federal and state agencies, conservation NGOs, and private consultants.

Workshops

Past workshop topics have included

Gopher Tortoise Survey Techniques
Freshwater Mussels
Native Warm Season Grasses Identification and Restoration
Ecological Forestry

Our education and scientific staff can also work directly with visiting professional groups to tailor agendas to specific land management information needs.

Jones Center outreach programs include short courses and workshops on longleaf pine, wildlife, and water resources, and more.

University Students

Our education and research staff also develop and host courses for university credit in

Forestry
Wildlife
Ecology

Our scientists also routinely provide field tours for several campus courses taught by collaborators and colleagues at regional universities.

Courses

We currently sponsor three, week-long (2 credit) Maymester courses:

Prescribed Fire
(University of Georgia)
Coastal Plain Aquatic Ecosystems
(University of Alabama)
Longleaf Pine Management and Restoration
(University of Georgia and University of Florida)

Graduate Students

Becoming a graduate student at Ichauway is an immersive experience. Students live in the ecosystems they study, share that experience with a small cadre of fellow students, have broad learning experiences about natural history and natural resource management, and join the diverse community of people who live and work at the Jones Center. Opportunities are available with numerous universities and departments.

Jones Center graduate students can enroll in M.S. and Ph.D. programs at cooperating universities. Students conduct their research at Ichauway under the guidance of our scientists who serve as co-advisors with faculty of co-sponsoring universities. We place particular emphasis on our graduate student programs as they are an important product of the Jones Center’s programs and continue to make lasting impacts in research, management, and conservation of natural resources in the Southeastern U.S. and beyond.

The Jones Center has supported over 170 graduate students onsite conducting research to complete M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

Outreach Publications

Outreach publications (in house and commercially published) target natural resource professional and students, land owners and managers.

The Jones Center at Ichauway Publications

Field and Restoration Guide to Common Native Warm-Season Grasses of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

Field Guide to Common Legume Species of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

Multiple Value Management: The Stoddard-Neel Approach to Ecological Forestry

Coastal Plain Whitetails: White-tailed deer management and pine savanna restoration in the southeastern Coastal Plain – The Ichauway Approach

Gopher Tortoise Line Transect Distance Sampling Workbook

The History and Legacy of The Jones Center at Ichauway

Field Guide to the Hydrogeology of The Jones Center at Ichauway

The History and Legacy of The Jones Center at Ichauway

Gopher Tortoise Line Transect Distance Sampling Workbook

Coastal Plain Whitetails: White-tailed deer management and pine savanna restoration in the southeastern Coastal Plain – The Ichauway Approach

Multiple Value Management: The Stoddard-Neel Approach to Ecological Forestry

Field Guide to Common Legume Species of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

Field and Restoration Guide to Common Native Warm-Season Grasses of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

Commercial Publications

The Flint River

The Fire Forest – Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass Ecosystem

The Natural Communities of Georgia

The Art of Managing Longleaf – A Personal History of the Stoddard-Neel Approach

Conserving Southern Longleaf – Herbert Stoddard and the Rise of Ecological Land Management

Native Trees of the Southeast – An Identification Guide

Ecological Restoration and Management of Longleaf Pine Forests

Native Trees of the Southeast – An Identification Guide

Conserving Southern Longleaf – Herbert Stoddard and the Rise of Ecological Land Management

The Art of Managing Longleaf – A Personal History of the Stoddard-Neel Approach

The Natural Communities of Georgia

The Fire Forest – Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass Ecosystem

The Flint River

Partnerships

Today’s natural resource management and conservation issues are complex and extensive. We engage in partnerships with a diverse group of stakeholders in regional and national efforts on longleaf pine restoration and management, prescribed fire, and water resources.

America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative and the Longleaf Partnership Council

The Jones Center has a long-term commitment to understanding both the science and management of the longleaf ecosystem. We are an active partner in America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative, an effort to double the current acreage of longleaf pine forest sand to improve the condition of existing forests in priority areas of the Southeast. We have collaborated in the development of the Range wide Conservation Plan for Longleaf Pine, and continue to work with the ongoing implementation effort for the plan, the Longleaf Partnership Council.

Gopher Tortoise Candidate Conservation Agreement

A cooperative effort among state, federal, non-governmental and private organizations, including The Jones Center, the Gopher Tortoise Candidate Conservation Agreement seeks to collectively implement proactive gopher tortoise conservation measures across its eastern range. We regularly monitor the tortoise population (at this time over 5200 individuals) at Ichauway and work closely with state and federal agencies to perform surveys, provide training, determine the status of tortoise populations across the Southeast and identify regionally significant tortoise habitat.

Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils and the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council

Jones Center staff are leaders in the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council and the national Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils. These efforts promote the use of prescribed fire and educate the public and policy makers about the valuable role prescribed fire plays in both human health and healthy forests. Ichauway hosts a biennial Prescribed Fire and Smoke Management Summit for southeastern state forestry and environmental agency leaders, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Center staff also contribute to the implementation of the Cohesive Strategy, a national fire plan led by the Wildland Fire Leadership Council.

Open House

The Jones Center at Ichauway hosts a biennial Open House for the general public in the spring of odd-numbered years. Visitors tour Jones Center facilities and research labs to learn about our research and conservation programs, and participate in wagon tours of our longleaf pine forests and historic buildings. Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into the science and management behind one of the nation’s most diverse ecosystems.

Explore the science of our woods, water, and wildlife.

Attend a Talk by Our Experts

Topics include:

Snakes of Southwest Georgia
Prescribed Fire: Burning the Woods
The Secret Lives of Freshwater Mussels
Shoal Bass: Georgia’s River Rock Star

Join an Outdoor Activity

Research Drone Flight Demonstration
“Peep” a Red-cockaded Woodpecker Cavity Tree
Take an Azalea and Native Plant Walking Tour
Watch a Butterfly Release
Enjoy Kids’ Tent Activities

Explore our Research Labs

Visit our nine labs that study the creek to the treetops and everything in between!

Complete our Passport Challenge

The Ichauway Passport Challenge will be open to all attendees! Collect all the stamps to fill your passport by visiting our research labs, conservation tent, and an expert talk to complete the challenge.

Enjoy a Wagon Tour

Learn about the property’s history and management while viewing the natural wonders of Ichauway’s longleaf pine forests.

Eat at a Food Truck

Mi Casa
Hope’s Grilling
Kona Ice

Detailed schedule coming soon!

Campus Map