August 1, 2011

By Joseph M. Smith

Peter Smallidge, New York State extension forester working out of Cornell University, director of Cornell’s Arnot Teaching and Research Forest, and director of the Cornell Maple Program, will receive the Technology Transfer Award, one of seven national awards from the Society of American Foresters (SAF). Founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot, SAF is the national scientific and educational organization representing the forestry profession in the United States.

The Technology Transfer Award recognizes outstanding achievement in technology transfer, implementation, and extension by a Society of American Foresters member, as evidenced in the recipient’s career or involvement in SAF Working Group or science program activities. Presented annually, the award consists of an engraved plaque and a $1,000 cash honorarium. Smallidge will receive the award during a ceremony at the forthcoming 2011 SAF National Convention, to be held November 2–6 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Smallidge received this honor in recognition for his record of delivering high-quality extension materials in print, online, and in person, as well as for his ability to connect with a wide variety of audiences. He is credited with developing the first and longest-running Internet outreach program—the ForestConnect webinar series—started in 2007, and the success of the program garnered him the Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals’ Gold Level Award for Individual Program Leadership in 2009.

In addition to his forestry extension efforts and managing the ForestConnect website, he has served as the chair of the editorial committee of the New York Forest Owners Association bimonthly magazine, New York Forest Owner. From 2004 to 2009 he served on the national strategic planning committee for the federal program, “Renewable Resources Extension Act,” which guides and supports the enhancement of extension education programs on private forest and rangelands (he returned to the committee in 2010).

An SAF Fellow, Smallidge is the recipient of the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Extension/Outreach Core Values Award (2010), the New York Forest Owners Heiber Award (2005), the US Department of Agriculture and New York Council for Interagency Cooperation Flying V Award (2002), and several others.

For more information, contact: Joseph M. Smith, Society Affairs Editor, The Forestry Source, (301) 897-8720, ext. 134; smithj@safnet.org


The mission of the Society of American Foresters is to advance the science, education, technology, and practice of forestry; to enhance the competency of its members; to establish professional excellence; and, to use the knowledge, skills, and conservation ethic of the profession to ensure the continued health and use of forest ecosystems and the present and future availability of forest resources to benefit society.