Season 7 | Episode 10
Growing Quality White Pine: Knot What You Think!
October 1, 2026
Eastern white pine is making a comeback, but as experienced field foresters know, much of this second-growth timber can be challenging from a quality standpoint. In this episode of SilviCast, we talk with René Germain, professor of forestry at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Sara Dreibelbis, Operations Director at Alliance for a Green Economy. They share insights from their research on assessing and managing eastern white pine, including practical approaches for improving timber quality. You may just find yourself looking at white pine logs a little differently!
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GuestS On This Episode
sara dreibelbis
Operations Director at Alliance for a Green Economy
After 8 years working in the culinary and spirits industries in New York City, Sara’s passion for sustainability and love of all things green led them to pursue a Master’s of Sustainable Resources Management at State University of New York (SUNY) Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) where their research focused on eastern white pine. Sara was the Conference Coordinator for the 2025 Northern Hardwood Conference, and now works as the Operations Director at AGREE, a Syracuse-based nonprofit helping community members access sustainable energy resources and advocating for an equitable transition to green energy in New York state.
René H. Germain, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Sustainable Resources Management, Coordinator of Forest Resources Management, Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York
René, a professor at SUNY ESF, received a BS in Forestry from the University of Vermont in 1983 and an MBA from Boston University in 1988. He worked as a forester for a white pine sawmill for 8 years before returning to school to complete a Ph.D. in Forest Resources Management at ESF in 1997.
René teaches Integrated Resources Management, Forest Operations, Forestry Mentoring and Principles of Management. In addition to his passion for white pine, his research interests include, assessing harvesting costs across harvest systems, impact of BMPs on logging costs, economic viability of loggers, balancing forest management and protection of riparian areas, the impact of forest ownership fragmentation on forest management and water quality, and feasibility of nonindustrial private forestland owners to contribute to the wood supply chain.
René lives in Phoenix, NY where he enjoys playing hockey, cross-country skiing and hiking.
- Longer Crowns and Fewer Knots: Identifying and Managing for High-Quality Eastern White Pine Dreibelbis, Germain, and Smith. Journal of Forestry vol. 123, pp. 321-338, 29 Jan. 2025.
- Counting Knots and Checking the Crown: Promising Metrics for Improved Understanding of Eastern White Pine’s Recovery Potential Dreibelbis, Germain, and Smith. Forest Science vol. 72, pp. 255-277, 9 Feb. 2026.
- Unlocking the Potential for Eastern White Pine. Dreibelbis, Germain, and Smith. Northern Logger. pp. 18-22, May 2025.
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Continuing Education
Wisconsin Cooperating Foresters do not need to complete a quiz to claim continuing education units. For reporting purposes, please note the date viewed, episode number, as well as title, sponsor, and hours. Silvicast episodes are rated for qualifying continuing education hours on an hour-for-hour basis.
We are no longer offer Continuing Forester Education (CFE) through the Society of American Foresters for new SilviCast episodes published after September 2025.
However, CFEs are still available for episodes published prior to September 2025.
If you would like to earn CFEs for past SilviCast episodes, let us know which episodes you are interested in. We will send the registration links so you can take the quizzes. Upon completion, the system will automatically generate a certificate that you can submit to SAF.
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