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.

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.

Class of 2009

P1050677
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.Congratulations to the Class of 2009 forest technology graduates at Penn State Mont Alto. It's been an unforgettable past two years! Good luck in your future endeavors.

And, lest we forget, here is the same group at freshman orientation in 2007.

End of the Year Picnic

This year's sophomore picnic was very wet! Fortunately, the pavilion at Mont Alto State Park kept everyone dry. And the food was good, too! We hope the newest alumni will keep us up to date with their adventures and come back to visit often.

Stihl Timbersports Collegiate

Kevin Braun represented Penn State Mont Alto in the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Mid-Atlantic Championship. He competed in the following events: Underhand chop, Stock saw, Standing block, and Single buck. Kevin came in third overall in a very strong field.


Congratulations to winner Matt Slingerland of Montgomery Community College, who will go on to the National Championship!

Mont Alto Woodsmen Win Mid-Atlantic

P1050546
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

The Penn State Mont Alto Woodsmen Team won the Mid-Atlantic meet help at Allegany College of Maryland against a strong field. If everyone looks sunburned in this picture, it's because they are! It was a beautiful, sunny day! All the members of the team made great contributions. Martha King was outstanding. As the team's only female competitor she won several of the women's events.

Watch this video composite of the events.

Mont Alto Students inducted into Honor Society

Three graduating Penn State Mont Alto Forest Technician students were inducted into the Council of Eastern Forest Technician Schools (CEFTS) Honor Society today. From left to right: Kevin Braun, Koby Cutchall, and Eric Monger. Eric also received a CEFTS scholarship. The Honor Society recognizes superior academic performance among forest technician students. CEFTS is comprised of colleges offering Associate degrees in forest technology in the United States and Canada.

More Forestry Students at the Academic Festival

P1050374
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Ethan Bradley mapped the extent of the Appalachian Trail and the 500 foot buffer strip in Pennsylvania.

Josiah Knopsnider conducted a forest inventory and developed a forest management plan for his family's property based on the crop tree release silvicultural system.

Koby Cutchall analyzed deer harvesting levels and distribution in recent years distributed by game management zones.

Mike Wagaman discusses emerald ash borer with Phil Bietch.

Bryan Cleveland illustrated contour planting patterns on his family's farm.

Hunter Stauffer partnered with Frank Grano on a study of the decline of true butternut trees in our area.

Forestry Students at the Academic Festival

P1050360
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Brandon Brantner studied the effects of gypsy moth on timber harvests in the Michaux State Forest.

Taylor Freeman mapped the watersheds in the Susquehannock State Forest Area.

Eric Monger analyzed the timber production that may be lost if a proposed mandatory buffer zone is legislated aroun streams. He used Potter County as an example.

Luke Parr mapped a major natural gas pipeline as it crosses Pennsylvania.

Mark Porambo analyzed the viewshed around a logging operation near campus in the Michaux State Forest.

Gabrielle Diakow studied water pollution in the lower Susquehenna River.

Forestry Category Winners

P1050378
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Mark Mizak and Alexander Lamoreaux won first place for their presentation on building and placing nesting boxes for saw whet owls in the Waynesboro Watershed.

Ricky Hutton earned second place for his poster of Dendrology Artwork.


Kevin Braun (pictured above) and Frank Grano came in third for their project Arboretum Anticipation Plantings, that mapped soil pH around plantings in the arboretum.

Academic Festival

P1050383
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Today was the fourth annual Academic Festival at Penn State Mont Alto. Many forest technology students entered projects.

Adam Runk and Dan Schrom examine Bryan's poster.

Dan Stouch and Taylor Freeman

Casey Johnson, Ethan Wall, and Severin Thierwechter listen to Mark Parambo (center)

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.

CCC boys from Pine Grove Furnace Camp, Pennsylvania, using tractor in road construction

CCC boys from Pine Grove Furnace Camp, Pennsylvania, using tractor in road construction
Originally uploaded by Oregon State University Archives.

Pine Grove Furnace is now a State Park. It is north of Mont Alto along Rte. 233. It is amazing how much good the CCC projects did in a time of great adversity. We owe these young men a debt of gratitude!

New GPS Model

Today we started using the new Garmin GPS model 60 receivers. These units have USB connections in addition to the serial ports, which is nice. They seem to work quicker than the older model 76 receivers that we have been using. They also have better graphics. And they have GPS related games! We will continue to use the older GPS units, but it is nice to have the new equipment, too.

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!)

Pennsylvania Forests Fire Museum Association Lease Signing

At yesterday's annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Forest Fire Museum Association in Fayetteville, President Steve Cummings signed the lease with the Commonwealth for the use of the old headquarters building at Caledonia State Park as a new Discovery Center.

The Discovery Center will show some of the Museum's holdings and displays and raise visibility until the permanent museum is open down the road. There is still a lot of work to be done before the Discovery Center is ready. PFFMA is targeting May 2009 as an opening date.

Forest Technology Kickoff

Forest technology freshmen and sophomores got together for a pizza party this afternoon in the Weistling Student Center. It was a chance for members of the two classes to get to know each other. This year's freshman class of 36 students is one of the largest at Mont Alto for many years!

Wildfire Maps

This year's fire season began with unusually fierce and intense fires, especially in Northern California. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has put together an interactive Google Map showing the status of active and contained fires and emergency services. The map can be seen here.

The US Forest Service Remote Sensing Application Center has put together a number of maps in its Modis Active Fire Mapping Program. The site includes a number of imaging products including interactive ArcIMS maps and Google Earth downloads. Complete data on the fires is also available.

With more people moving into rural areas, the increase in forest fuels, and the capricious climate the problem of widlfires will be with us for a long time. Fortunately, we have reliable real time sources of information with which to study the fires and come up with solutions.