We invite you to explore our work. Recent projects and presentations are listed below. You can explore additional work using the various tags in the right hand column.
Shanna Ratner, principal of Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. was a founding member of the National Network of Forest Practitioners, serving on the organization’s Executive Committee, and as Chair of the Research Subcommittee.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce to identify seven key sectors – Industry, Tourism, Real Estate, Cultural Affairs, Retail, Financial and Professional Services, and International Border Businesses…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. surveyed members of the Learning Cluster to determine the variety of approaches being used to build rural community capacity, resulting in a report entitled Community Capacity Building, What Is It? for the Aspen Institute.…
The Burlington Public Market Steering Committee retained the services of Yellow Wood to explore the feasibility of developing a year-round, indoor public market in Burlington, VT. Yellow Wood identified and surveyed Vermont producers to determine their…
Awarded a grant by TVA Rural Studies to conduct research. Yellow Wood Associates produced a paper on the role of the informal economy in rural communities. The paper reframes rural development in terms of the whole economy, and begins to articulate…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. evaluated the feasibility of establishing a facility and demonstration forest to support and coordinate progressive logger training for the region encompassing northern Vermont and New Hampshire. This project was based…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with conservation commissions in Starksboro and Huntington, Vermont to develop a community-based education program designed to help communities appreciate forests as economic, environmental and social assets. The…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. coordinated the design and implementation of public involvement needed in assessing the management of 700,000 acres of New York State multiple-use forest land for SmartWood certification. Activities included press releases,…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. and the Madagascar Collaborative Program of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development provided an administrative framework for a six-day, five-night Adirondack study tour that provided exposure…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. assisted the Town of Cambridge, Vermont Planning Commission in designing and implementing a process to engage local residents and landowners in a dialogue about guiding future growth in the town. Specifically, the dialogue…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Agricultural Development Council of Chenango County, New York to assess the feasibility of establishing a milk-based, value-added manufacturing enterprise to support the local dairy industry. Phase 1 of…
Shanna Ratner presented a keynote speech on "Why Capacity Matters and What You Can Do About It" at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Statewide Conference in Waterloo, New York, in October 1998.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. continued its collaboration with the Community Partnership Center of the University of Tennessee and the Center for Community Change to further develop a participatory evaluation training curriculum and to adapt the methodology…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc., in collaboration with the Forest Trust of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the National Network of Forest Practitioners, received a Planning Grant from the Fund for Rural America to develop a national center to create and support…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked in conjunction with Robert J. Turner Co. to assemble data on timber production, markets, and price trends to evaluate the financial feasibility of a forest land bank in western New York. The work was conducted on…
Served a three-year term on the Administrative Council of the Northeast Region’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. worked with the Northern Community Investment Corporation and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund to identify opportunities for establishing a telecommunications call center employing welfare-to-work individuals in the Northeast…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. performed a review of the SmartWood certification guidelines for green certification of logs, lumber and wood products. Linking consumer consciousness with sustainable forestry practices, the assessment was conducted with…
Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. researched and analyzed the socio-economic impacts of a proposed expansion of lodging and retail facilities at Stratton Mountain for the Stratton Area Citizen’s Committee. The analysis considered the economic viability…
