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Department Head
Douglas D. Piirto, Ph.D. 
U.C. Berkeley
11-215, 756-2968, dpiirto@calpoly.edu

Dr. Piirto became Interim Department Head for the Natural Resources Management Department September 2001. Dr. Piirto teaches Introduction to Forest Ecosystem Management, Forest Harvesting and Utilization, Silviculture and Vegetation Management, Environmental Impact Analysis, Resource Fire Control, and graduate courses. He was the recipient of the 1995 Dole Outstanding Teacher Award for the College of Agriculture. Dr. Piirto authored a McGraw-Hill publication titled, Study Guide to Accompany Introduction to Forestry and Renewable Resources. He has also authored numerous scientific publications and technical reports. He is co-advisor to the Cal Poly Logging Team and is actively involved in forest management activities at Swanton Pacific Ranch. Dr. Piirto is a Registered Professional Forester and Certified Silviculturist. Specialties: Silviculture; Forest Management; Forest Health; Wood Quality.  

Christopher A. Dicus, Ph.D.
Louisiana State University
11-256, 756-5104 cdicus@calpoly.edu

Dr. Dicus, our resident fire guru, comes to Cal Poly from down on the bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  There, he was a Gilbert Research Fellow and received a Ph.D. in Forestry at Louisiana State University.   He received an M.S. in Forest Resources from Utah State University and a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife from Louisiana Tech University.

 Dr. Dicus serves as the President of the Los Padres Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, is on the Board of Directors of the San Luis Obispo County FireSafe Council, and is active in the Association for Fire Ecology and the International Association of Wildland Fire.  His research interests are fire in the wildland-urban interface, effects of forest management practices on fuel loads and subsequent fire behavior, and residual ecosystem effects from fuels modification treatments, and forest regulation.

Brian C. Dietterick, Ph.D. 
Penn State University
11-255, 756-6155, bdietter@calpoly.edu
Swanton Pacific Ranch, 831 458-5415 (x8-5415 on campus)

Dr. Dietterick is Director of Swanton Pacific Ranch. He teaches Watershed Management, Watershed Protection, Forest and Range Hydrology, and GIS. His research and consulting interests include water quality monitoring to evaluate Best Management Practices effectiveness, stream restoration, hydrologic modeling, watershed evaluation, and modeling of urban forest ecosystems. Specialties: Watershed Management; Hydrology; GIS. 

Samantha J. Gill, Ph.D. 
U.C. Berkeley 
11-257, 756-6205, sgill@calpoly.edu

Dr. Gill has a joint appointment between the Natural Resources Management and BioResource and Agricultural Engineering departments. She teaches Forest Resources, Forest Mensuration, Applications of GIS in Natural Resources, Computers and Surveying. Dr. Gill is currently working on research projects which include model application involving the modeling of tree crown profiles, models of crown radii and crown cover, a comparison of various growth and yield models for California, and accuracy assessments of vegetation maps. Specialty: Forest Biometrics. 

Marni Goldenberg, Ph.D
University of Minnesota
11-240, 756-7627, mgoldenb@calpoly.edu

Dr. Goldenberg teaches Introduction to Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, Challenge Course Leadership and Facilitation, Recreation Program Planning, Outdoor/Adventure Leadership and Education, Leisure Behavior, and Leisure Theory. Her current research includes wilderness education, means-end theory, and outcomes related to interest-specific parks. She continues to work with Outward Bound as a consultant.
 

Brian Greenwood, Ph.D.
North Carolina State University
11-254, 756-5093, pgreenwo@calpoly.edu

Dr. Greenwood teaches Introduction to Recreation, Parks, & Tourism, Recreational Sport Programming, and Current Trends in Recreation, Parks, & Tourism. His current research centers on youth development through sport with his dissertation focused on the relationship between achievement goal theory and positive youth development in the context of American football. He is also interested in psychological, social, and management issues associated with youth, interscholastic, intercollegiate, and professional sports.