Megan Lupek

Megan Lupek is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University's College of Natural Resources. Her work focuses on sustainable forest management, community forestry, and policy frameworks that align ecological conservation with rural socioeconomic development.

• Rural Prosperity through Forest Conservation
• Legal and Institutional Barriers to Climate Mitigation
• Economic Incentives for Landowners

She leads two USDA-funded grants assessing community forests' role in balancing environmental sustainability and rural economic needs. Her research spans governance structures, property rights analysis, and mixed-method case studies to identify success factors in community forestry initiatives.

Her work with the US Forest Service and NIFA involves:

• Developing conceptual models for translating climate policy to land management practices
• Creating inventories of community forests in the U.S.
• Classifying forest types based on ownership and management characteristics
• Analyzing financial and social impacts of community forestry programs