Duke Forest

09/03/2026

The Duke Forest is hiring a Forest Technician who wants to spend their days in the woods putting forestry and natural resource management into practice. Working across 7,100 acres in Durham, Orange, and Alamance counties, this field-based position will lead timber management activities, invasive species control, conservation area monitoring, trail maintenance, and GPS/GIS work, while also supporting prescribed fire, storm response, research projects, volunteer workdays, and intern mentorship. It’s an opportunity to work across a diverse landscape, build practical forestry skills, and contribute to the stewardship of a living teaching and research laboratory.

Share this post with someone who may be interested! The full job description and information on how to apply can be found on our website: https://dukeforest.duke.edu/home/our-team/jobs/

08/31/2026

Temporary Road and Trail Closures in the Durham Division

The commercial thinning operation in the Durham Division is transitioning to its final of three sites. To accommodate heavy equipment and ensure the safety of visitors and logging personnel, Gate 12 will be closed to all vehicles and recreational access beginning tomorrow. Swipe for the closure map 🗺️

Recreational access to Gate 12 Road can be made via Gate F and the connecting foot trail, by foot only. Bike access must be made via Gate 11.

Closures are occurring in phases as work progresses:
- Thinning inside Gates 10 and 13 is nearing completion and will be reopened once all heavy equipment and personnel transition to the next site.
- Beginning Tuesday, September 1: Gate 12 will be closed to all vehicles and recreational access.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we carry out these forest stewardship activities. These commercial thinning operations are an important component of long-term forest management, helping to improve forest health, promote stand resilience, and support the Duke Forest’s missions of teaching, research, and stewardship.

08/28/2026

This summer, former Duke Forest staff member Maggie Heraty returned to our team as a Forest Restoration Intern to study the impacts of the New Hope Creek Restoration Projects. Through hands-on monitoring of stream conditions, sediment, aquatic life, and habitat, Maggie helped establish a baseline for understanding how the creek is responding to the removal of in-stream barriers.

Her internship, made possible by the New Hope Creek Teaching and Research Fund, also provided opportunities to explore future restoration projects and build skills for a career in land stewardship.

Read Maggie's full summer internship reflection: https://dukeforest.duke.edu/2026/08/18/forest-restoration-internship-summer-reflection/

08/24/2026

Forest Management Intern Lige Nie spent the summer putting classroom knowledge into practice across the Duke Forest, from maintaining trails and forest roads to managing invasive species, marking timber stands, and supporting ecological research. Along the way, Lige gained hands-on experience in forest management and discovered how much successful stewardship depends on sound judgment, technical skills, and strong relationships.

Support from the Bruce and Ginny Roberts Duke Forest Internship Fund enabled Lige to build practical skills and gain a deeper understanding of how to manage a working forest.

Read Lige's full summer internship reflection: https://dukeforest.duke.edu/2026/08/18/forest-management-internship-summer-reflection/

08/19/2026

Upcoming Event: Shepherd Nature Trail Guided Tour on Wednesday, September 9 from 5:30-7:30PM

Join Duke Forest Senior Program Coordinator Erin Hecht for a guided tour of the Shepherd Nature Trail, the Duke Forest’s introductory interpretive trail. This tour offers both new and seasoned Duke Forest visitors the opportunity to gain deeper insight into the area’s human and natural history and into the Forest’s important teaching and research mission. Erin will invite participants to reflect on the land’s past and present and consider the roles we all play in shaping this forest over time.

Register now by visiting dukeforest.duke.edu/events!

08/17/2026

🌿 Welcoming Dr. Nicki Cagle as our inaugural Director of Natural & Cultural Resources Interpretation!

Nicki has been a longtime collaborator and advocate for the Duke Forest, and her new role formally dedicates 20% of her faculty service with the Nicholas School of the Environment to advancing the Forest’s teaching, research, stewardship, and engagement missions.

For more than a decade, Nicki has helped connect people with the Duke Forest through her work in environmental education, herpetofauna research and community science, cultural interpretation, and projects like the upcoming Unearthing Duke Forest interpretive trail.

In her new role, Nicki will help expand opportunities for students, researchers, and community members to discover the ecological and cultural significance of the Forest.

“I’m excited to help people explore the relationships among the Forest’s species, landscapes, and the people who have stewarded it, both past and present,” Nicki says. “I hope to create experiences that foster curiosity, belonging, and a deeper responsibility to care for the Forest.”

Read the full announcement on our Newsfeed: https://dukeforest.duke.edu/2026/08/17/welcoming-dr-nicki-cagle-as-inaugural-director-of-natural-cultural-resources-interpretation/

08/13/2026

Save the date for the 2026 Duke Forest Annual Gathering, a special evening that brings together our Duke and local communities to celebrate another year of discovery, engagement, and stewardship at the Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory.

Exact event and program details will be provided in October's e-LOG newsletter.

08/10/2026

Discovering Herpetofauna in the Duke Forest 🦎

Throughout the year, simple wooden and tin coverboards lie across the Duke Forest floor, offering community scientists a unique window into the Forest’s amphibian and reptile populations. During surveys, volunteers carefully lift the boards to document the frogs, snakes, lizards, and salamanders sheltering beneath them.

In 2025, Duke Forest herpetofauna volunteers recorded 649 observations representing more than 25 species! Salamanders are among the most frequently observed animals, including woodland species such as red-backed and white-spotted slimy salamanders, which spend much of their lives underground, and wetland species such as marbled salamanders, which depend on seasonal ponds during their early development. Changing rainfall and temperatures can affect these ephemeral ponds and, in turn, salamander survival.

This growing dataset helps researchers better understand how herpetofauna respond to changing habitat and climate conditions, while giving volunteers a firsthand opportunity to discover and learn about the remarkable wildlife of the Duke Forest. Read more in an article written by Master of Forestry graduate Andre Chan.

News Losing Our Marbleds? A Story about the Duke Forest’s Salamanders Published July 21, 2026 Written by: Andre Chan, MF ‘26 Herpetofauna Community Science volunteers conduct a transect visit. Surveys in the Duke Forest All year long, coverboards lie flat on the Duke Forest floor at research sit...

07/30/2026

This summer, former Duke Forest Senior Projects Coordinator Maggie Heraty returned to the Duke Forest in a new role. Now pursuing her master's degree in North Carolina State University's College of Natural Resources, Maggie is leading the first round of post-restoration monitoring on New Hope Creek while using the data she collects to support her graduate research.

With assistance from Duke Forest staff and volunteers, Maggie is documenting how the creek is responding following the removal of the Concrete Bridge and Billy Erwin Dam. Her fieldwork includes measuring sediment deposits, conducting pebble counts to assess streambed composition, surveying stream cross-sections to track channel changes, and photographing permanent monitoring sites to create a visual record of the creek's recovery over time.

Funded through the New Hope Creek Teaching and Research Fund, Maggie's work represents the first chapter in a long-term effort to understand how a restored New Hope Creek recovers.

07/28/2026

With all the much-needed rain we received over the past few days, fungi will be putting out their "flowering" bodies—aka mushrooms! 🍄🍄

Please remember: as a teaching and research forest, we have a rule prohibiting the harvesting of any vegetation, including mushrooms. This rule is in place to preserve the forest's natural elements, which are actively studied by faculty in the forest.

Observe. Don't disturb!