The UT Tree Improvement Program (UT-TIP) entered into a new agreement with the USDA Forest Service to conserve and improve hardwood resources of the southern Appalachian region.

The agreement outlines how the program, the Forest Service’s Southern Research Station, and Southern Region will work together to enhance hardwood presence in southeastern American forests through artificial regeneration methods. UT-TIP and the Southern Research Station will conduct research for the genetic improvement, conservation, and protection of hardwood tree species, and the Southern Region will apply their results to enrich southeastern National Forests with desirable hardwood species. UT-TIP first signed a memorandum of understanding with the USDA Forest Service in 2013. The latest agreement will expire on May 31, 2027.

UT-TIP has a similar agreement with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Division of Forestry and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. UT-TIP Director Scott Schlarbaum says together, these agreements will strengthen the overall effort toward ensuring Tennessee and other southeastern hardwood forests will maintain structure and function in the future.