January 2, 2019
Meet Uihlein Maple Research Forest Director Adam D. Wild
Lake Placid, N.Y. Adam D. Wild is the new director of the Uihlein Maple Research Forest at Lake Placid, NY. In 2019, Wild will serve as Cornell University’s NNY Maple Specialist and will be the project leader of a 2019 NNYADP project continuing the timing of tapping study to quantify the benefits of re-tapping maple trees within a season. This new research will look at the opportunity to increase production by capturing early sap runs and then re-tapping before the two hole dries up to capture later sap flow events. Other work in 2019 includes analyzing the sap from the original Cornell “Sweet Trees” and evaluating ways to increase flow on 3/16” tubing.
Wild comes to Northern NY by way of the SUNY Cobleskill Plant and Animal Science Department where he was an assistant professor. His research experience includes an investigation into the sugar content of maple sap after N, P or Ca fertilization of trees in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, with results published as “Soil Nutrients Affect Sweetness of Sugar Maple Sap,” coauthored with Ruth Yanai, in Forest Ecology and Management. That work also included sampling the sweetness of sugar maple clones propagated by rooted cuttings in Heiberg Memorial Forest, Tully, NY.
Adam is a graduate of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a Masters of Science in Forest Ecology and Ecosystem Science. In addition to the maple sugar industry, Adam’s areas of study and professorship include dendrology, ecology, botany, and forest soils. He grew up on a small farm in Cattaraugus County.
“It is an honor to be stepping into the role as Director of the Uihlein Maple Research Forest following a long history of great leadership. I am excited to be working on projects to benefit maple producers in the Northern New York region and across the state,” says Wild.
January 2019: Growing Into NNY’s $10 Million Maple Industry Potential