Mont Alto Forestry Students at the Keystone Chapter SAF

The Keystone Chapter SAF (Society of American Foresters) met atStrawberry Hill Nature Preserve for our fall meeting. Executive Director Chuck Reid led the members on a tour of the forestry operations at Strawberry Hill. We also visited the Tree Farm Number One site, previously owned and managed by Glatfelter Paper, that is now part of the Michaux State Forest. District Forester Roy Brubaker outlined plans to add the forest site to the State Forest's program. Glatfelter foresters filled us in on how the property was previously managed.

Six Mont Alto forestry students attended the meeting and the dinner at the Pavilion at Strawberry Hill. Many thanks to the SAF members who sponsored the students. 

Students introduce themselves

Looking over a thinning/harvest site at Strawberry Hill

Thinning/ Harvest site

At Tree Farm Number One

Pond at Strawberry Hill

Cabin at Strawberry Hill

Check out the meeting on this map.

Society of American Foresters Convention at Salt Lake City

This year three Penn State Mont Alto students attended the SAF Convention in Salt Lake City. This year the convention was combined with the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) and IUFRO meetings. Here are a few pictures.

Here are the quiz bowl participants . Aaron Lewis, Alex Storm, Ethan Mansfield, and Coby Salmon. Alex was on the winning team! (Aaron and Coby are current Mont Alto students. Alex and Ethan graduated this past May and are now at UP). This year students from different schools were combined with Canadian and international students.

On Friday we did a little sight-seeing and visited scenic Provo Canyon where there are some very interesting parks and the amazing Bridal Veil Falls.

Coby Salmon, Aaron Lewis, Ben Stephey, and Peter Linehan

Bridal Veil Falls

On the way back to the main road we came across these mule deer. 

Many thanks to Mr. Marc Lewis (Aaron's Dad) for suggesting the outing and renting the car!

Visit to Fort Indiantown Gap

Yesterday, May 15th, the forest technology summer camp students joined in with the Keystone SAF chapter meeting for a tour of forestry Operations at Fort Indiantown Gap.

Visiting an oak harvest site where several herbicide treatments were applied to improve regeneration success.

 

 

 

 

Then we visited a prescribed burning site. This field has to be kept open for military operations. It's a great opportunity to perfect safe burning techniques for this area.

 

The fire is started with these "dragon eggs" that are dropped from a helicopter.

Mont Alto alums J.D. Lambrinos and Daren Krebs show how the fires are lit.

The open habitat keeps clear the viewshed for the hawk-watching spot on the hill in the distance.

Thanks to the forestry and wildlife biology staff at Fort Indiantown Gap for an excellent tour!

Check out this map of our visit.

View KeystoneSAF visit to Fort Indiantown Gap in a larger map

Penn State Mont Alto Foresters at the Allegheny SAF conference

The Allegheny Society of American Foresters winter meeting, organized by the Plateau Chapter, was held in Clarion, PA on Feb. 16-18. Six Penn State Mont Alto forestry students attended the conference.

Mont Alto was victorious at the quiz bowl, defeating Allegany College of Maryland and West Virginia University! Congratulations to team members Derek Furry, Shane Strommer, and Mike Trisket for their winning performance.

Among the great presentations at the conference were silvicultural remediation for degraded hardwood sites, managing for liability issues, improving foresters' involvement with the public, and examples of outdoor recreation.

The other Mont Alto participants were Andy Gundlach, Mitch Oswald, and Zach Hetrick, and faculty members Craig Houghton and Peter Linehan. It was great to visit with Mont Alto alumni now at University Park or working in the field. 

Thanks to all the SAF members who sponsored students and the Plateau Chapter for a great meeting! 

Keystone Chapter SAF Fall Meeting

The Keystone Chapter of the Society of American Foresters was held (10/22) at Kings Gap State Park at the Cameron/Masland Mansion. What a beautiful day to be out in the forest!

For the technical part of the meeting Ellen Schultzabarger, Ecological Services Section Chief of the DCNR Bureau of Forestry described the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (formerly the PA Natural Diversity Inventory). Rich Schockey, Ecological Services Environmental Review Specialist discussed the importance of and the need to protect forested buffers for water conservation. The natural heritage program now has a convenient online tool to help find endangered species in most parts of the state to help planning for forestry and other operations. It will also help with the permitting process.

Penn State Mont Alto forest technician students Ethan Wall, Josiah Knopsnider, Phil Bietsch, Tim Benedict, and Severin Thierwechter attended the meeting and are seen here relaxing in the mansion's lounge. Thanks to SAF members for sponsoring the students.

During a brief business meeting the Keystone chapter elected new officers:

• Chair: Steve Wacker
• Vice Chair Dave Nelson
• Sec./Treas. Craig Houghton
• Executive Committee Members: Mike Kusko, Jr. (past chair), Scott Kurtzman, and Rachel Billingham
  

Charles C. Mann at the SAF Convention

The keynote speaker at the Society of American Foresters national convention in Orlando (10/1/2009) was Charles C. Mann, the author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. In this fascinating book, Mann shows that the Native American civilizations very significantly impacted the environment of North and South America in the centuries before the Europeans came.

Mann shows that it wasn't just the Aztecs, the Mayans, and the Incans who made the changes. Indians in the Amazon Basin manufactured thousands of acres of fertile soil from broken pottery and charcoal to grown their crops. They also planted fruit and nut trees extensively throughout the area. The Indians of North America thinned the forests with fire to ease travel and to make hunting better. They also bred corn to become the crop we find so useful today and extended the range where corn could be grown.

The great tragedy Mann describes was the widespread deaths of Indians from infections of the Eurasian diseases to which they had no immunity. Unlike Europe and Asia, the Indians found no domestic animals in the Americas. Consequently they didn't experience the flu and other diseases and had no immunity. Once the European settlers arrived they found an essentially depopulated continent where the forests had grown back thicker than they had been in thousands of years.

With Columbus weekend upon us, what is the signifcance of these new archaeological discoveries for forestry? Many environmentalists believe that before 1492 there was a veritable Garden of Eden in the Americas, where the Indians lived, but had no noticeable effect on the environment. Consequently, the best policy would be to return to these pre-Columbus conditions and return the environment to its pristine state. But if there was no Eden, then we have the responsibility to manage the forests for the use people and to ensure sustainability. It's just that there is no perfect state to return to. It's up to us to figure out what we want the forests to look like!

Mont Alto Students at the Society of American Foresters Convention

This year’s Society of American Foresters Convention was held at the Walt Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fl. Four Penn State Mont Alto students attended the convention and competed in the Quiz Bowl.

Alex Lamoreaux, Hunter Stauffer, Frank Grano, and Severin Thierwechter preparing for the first round.

A large, enthusiastic crowd watches the competition. Mont Alto beat West Virginia University in the first round and lost narrowly to Oregon State University in the second round.

View Full Album

Scenes around Coronado Springs. The Disney resorts do a good job of protecting the environment and incorporating wildlife. Check out Alex’s blog for pictures of birds and other wildlife. Also at the meeting we got a chance to visit with Mont Alto forestry alumni who are currently studying at University Park.

Ned Smith Center Visit

Mont Alto forest technology students attended the Keystone SAF Chapter meeting at the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art in Millersburg on Tuesday, June 2. The Center, dedicated to the memory of wildlife artist Ned Smith, hosts many art exhibits in its gallery and has over 500 acres of land in a nature preserve with many hiking trails.

The program featured a presentation by retired biology teacher John Laskowski, the "Mothman". John is one of the foremost experts on moths and butterflies of Pennsylvania's forests. A fun part of the visit was a short hike across the center's bridge over the Wiconisco Creek to see a chainsaw sculpture of wildlife species carved from a white pine log. John also pointed the rare forest plant, minniebush (Menziesia pilosa), which grows by the banks of the creek.

Quiz Bowl at the Allegheny SAF Meeting

Penn State Mont Alto forestry students participated in the Quiz Bowl at the Allegheny SAF Winter meeting in State College on February 19.

Frank Grano, Eric Monger, and Mark Mizak

Watching the Quiz Bowl

Despite a valiant comeback Mont Alto lost to Allegheny College of Maryland, 50 to 85. Allegheny went on to win the event.

The theme of the meeting was Changing Forest Dimensions and included a wide variety of presentations about the changing nature of forestry in the Mid-Atlantic region. Follow this link to the Allegheny SAF web page.

View from the Grand Sierra

This is the view at sunrise from our rooms on the 24th floor of the Grand Sierra Resort Hotel.

View Larger Map

Check out the map of Reno. The city is in a basin surrounded by mountains. Lake Tahoe is to the west.

Mont Alto Foresters Meet Bennie the Horse

In what must be one of the most unusual items to appear in the silent auction for the Foresters Fund, Bennie was offered by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). Bennie is one of thousands of wild horses available for adoption from the BLM. By law the captured horses, who are not native to the American Plains and can cause a great deal of environmental damage, cannot be destroyed. They must be cared for by BLM until they can go to deserving homes. Don't worry, the auction winner must qualify as an owner and could donate Bennie back until a good home can be found.

Here we all are after meeting Bennie.

These horses, outside the hotel, don't ever actually go anywhere!

Mont Alto at the SAF Convention in Reno

Mike Wagaman, Martha King, Kevin Braun, and Eric Monger represented Mont Alto in the Quiz Bowl at the Society of American Foresters Convention in Reno on November 8.

In the first round Mont Alto beat Oregon State University by 35 points. We lost to Stephen F. Austin University by 5 points in a back and forth game in round 2.

The eventual winner was Utah State University. In addition to the trophy, they won prizes from the Geico Gecko. (Each member won a toaster that branded the Gecko on the toast!)

Keystone Chapter SAF Meeting Looks Up to Fire Towers

Twenty-six members of the Keystone Chapter of the Society of American Foresters (SAF), including eleven Penn State Mont Alto forestry students, met last Thursday evening at the Lighthouse Restaurant in Chambersburg.

Merl Waltz presented the History of Fire Towers in PA with a series of historical photos. The use of fire towers began at Mont Alto as the students were detailed to fight forest fires. At first they climbed prominent hills and even trees. Eventually makeshift towers were secured to tall trees. These eventually developed into manufactured steel towers placed strategically around the State. It became a source of community pride to have a functioning tower. Merle described the often tedious work of a fire tower observer and how the workers coped with the long hours and strenuous conditions.

Eventually fire towers gave way to aerial spotters. Today, with more people living in rural areas, the use of airplanes, and better communication (cell phones and radios) there is less need for towers. A few are still in use however. Others suffer from vandalism. Some may be preserved for their historical value.

Chapter chairman Mike Kusko (right) presents Ralph Heilig with his 50 year SAF Golden Membership Award.

Member Jason Hines describes his experiences at the recent SAF National Leadership Academy.

Keystone Chapter officers were elected at the meeting. From left to right: Merle Waltz (executive committee), Mike Kusko (Chairman), Scott Kurtzman (executive committee), and Craig Houghton (Secretary-Treasurer). Absent were Steve Wacker (vice-Chairman) and Rachel Billingham (Executive Committee).

Thanks to the Keystone Chapter members for generously sponsoring the students. It was greatly appreciated after a day of timber harvesting at summer camp!