Visitor from Montana

On September 24,  Penn State Mont Alto alum Robin Jenkins spoke to the forestry club about his long career with the Forest Service in Montana doing everything from public education to timber harvesting supervision. He told many interesting stories and encouraged today's foresters to try out the Forest Service!

Forestry at the Army Corps of Engineers

Penn State Mont Alto alum Will Harlon spoke to the freshman forest technician students on careers in the US Army Corps of Engineers. Will, who is a forester at the John H. Kerr Reservoir and Dam in the Wilmington District, described the history of the Corps and the natural resources parts of its current mission, which includes: flood damage prevention, hydropower generation, recreation, shoreline management, fish and wildlife management, southern pine bark beetle remediation, and timber management work on military bases.

Will gave the students information about career opportunities with the Corps and how best to prepare themselves for successful careers. Many thanks to Will and his family for visiting Mont Alto during their vacation!

Exploring Glaciers in Alaska

Mont Alto alumnus, Eric Straley, who works on forest inventory for the USDA Forest Service in Alaska, sent us this message with an accompanying video:

A few days ago I did a plot next to the Hole-in-the-Wall Glacier north of Juneau...it flows off the Taku. After Jon and I were done we went out on the ice and explored around for an hour or so before we called the helicopter. We found this sweet ice cave that went back into the glacier for 50 or so feet...it actually went further but we could only make it a little way.

Alumni Still Have the Touch for Woodsmen's Competition Events

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Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.Alumni at the Penn State Mont Alto Reunion tried out Woodsmen's Competition events during the reunion on June 21st.

Coach Craig Houghton looks on as Paul Shogren and Jerry Klancer do the crosscut.

More Crosscutting.

Ken Swisher doing the bolt split.

Forestry Faculty Return

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Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.Retired forestry faculty returned to Mont Alto to meet their old students at the Penn State Mont Alto Alumni Reunion on Saturday June 21.

Robert Douglas was a student at Mon Alto in 1952. He taught forestry courses from1963 to 1973.

Ken Swisher taught dendrology and other forestry courses from1964 to 1996.

Nick Hunter taught at Mont Alto from 1974 to 1985.
The faculty and alumni reminisced over numerous labs in the forests around Mont Alto.

Visit to the Watershed

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Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.During the Penn State Mont Alto Reunion and 45th Anniversary alumni visited the Waynesboro Watershed where forest technology students carry out many field labs.

Alumnus Dennis Braun tries out the skidder used in harvesting labs in the 1970's, which is still working today. Braun's son, Kevin, is a current forest technology student at Mont Alto.

Craig Houghton, forestry instructor and program coordinator, leads the discussion at the Waynesboro Reservoir.

A fabulous day at the Reservoir

Forest Inventory in Florida

Penn State Mont Alto forest technology alumnus Chris McGarvey (06) sends in this picture of himself working on a forest inventory plot in Florida. Chris writes:

"I was working with our state QA guy (Jay Frost with the USFS) who took the picture. We were chaining out to one of the subplots on an FIA permanent plot in western Washington county in the Florida panhandle. Plot center was about maybe 75 feet from a creek (tributary to the Choctahatchee Rvr) which has overspilled its banks onto the immediate floodplain (not sure why since it has been very dry state-wide here). We got about waist-deep in pretty quick moving water (was a warm day but the water was a bit chilly - photo was taken in mid March). A cottonmouth was sunning him/herself on one of our tally trees.....property was a bit remote (owned by the NW FLA water mgmt district) and required a mile or so hike to get to it. "

Thanks for the picture Chris. Be careful with the snakes!