David N. Wear

Nonresident Senior Fellow; Director, Land Use, Forestry, and Agriculture Program

David Wear is a nonresident senior fellow and the director of the Land Use, Forestry, and Agriculture Program at RFF. Prior to his arrival at RFF, he spent more than 30 years with US Forest Service Research and Development, most recently as a senior research scientist and leader of national and regional resource assessments.

His work has been recognized with national awards from the US Secretary of Agriculture, Chief of the US Forest Service, and Society of American Foresters. Wear’s research focuses on linking economic choice and biophysical elements of natural resource systems to project resource conditions and illuminate policy options. He has written extensively on forest economics, forest carbon dynamics at broad scales, timber supply, the effects of risk on forest investments, and land use. He has led or participated in interdisciplinary initiatives to understand the influence of land use and forest management on a variety of ecosystem services, including biological diversity and water. As a federal scientist, he led or contributed to several national and regional natural resource assessments including the Southern Forest Resource Assessment, Southern Forest Futures Project, and National Climate Assessment.

Education

  • PhD in Forest Management/Economics, University of Montana, 1987
  • MF in Resource Systems Science, Duke University, 1983
  • BA in Botany, University of Montana, 1981

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