A newsletter of the School of Forestry and Natural Resources at Paul Smith’s College
after a five-year process that culminated in a three-day site visit by SAF representatives in April 2010. Representatives from Paul Smith’s, in turn, went to Albuquerque in October to participate in a final review before the SAF. Accreditation signifies that our programs meet minimum quality standards set forth by the SAF. Additionally, our graduates benefit from a streamlined process when they seek designation as certified foresters from the SAF.
Field notes
2
Seal of approval 4
/ Nine fisheries and wildlife sciences students volunteered at a moose-check station for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department during hunting season. They weighed and measured more than 100 moose and removed ovaries from females while on duty. First-year student Project leader Jenna Daub is a Cedric Alexander gung-ho volunteer at a Vermont moose said “the students check station. from Paul Smith’s were very hard working, enthusiastic, pleasant company, and overall a tremendous help.”
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a landscape-scale management plan for Partridge Park, a 1,400-acre estate outside Paul Smiths owned by hospitality-industry executive Paul Avery. This project offered many unique learning opportunities including working with a local landowner with diverse objectives, incorporating the science of silviculture in a practical situation, and synthesizing skills from multiple disciplines. The management plan resulted in the property receiving certification under the American Tree Farm System.
Faculty updates 2
taught aerial photo, GPS, and remote sensing courses at Paul Smith’s College for five years — but the last eight months have given me my closest look yet at the exciting work that’s done here every day. Last summer, I stepped into the role of interim dean of the School of Forestry and Natural Resources when Andy Egan left to take another challenge at New Mexico Highlands University. Since then, I’ve seen how many of our projects and programs make us truly special. As the enrollment at many forestry schools declines and some schools are ending their forestry programs, our
enrollment is not only strong but steadily increasing. It is clear that the experiential brand of hands-on forestry we teach here is in high demand. One of the biggest developments of the past semester has been accreditation from the Society of American Foresters (SAF) — a designation that can only further strengthen our program. You can read more about that, and other news from our faculty and students, in this newsletter. A nationwide search is ongoing to find a permanent dean, and we hope to have the position filled by July. In the meantime, though, please feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear
Jeff Walton
what you are doing and how your Paul Smith’s education is serving you.
Jeff Walton jwalton@paulsmiths.edu
School of Forestry & Natural Resources
sciences students participated in the fall field meeting of the New York chapter of The Wildlife Society at Ft. Drum. The theme of the meeting was “A Wetland Primer for Wildlifers” and was designed for both wildlife students and professionals. Morning lectures by wildlife professionals who specialize in wetlands were followed with a working lunch, during which time professionals gave career advice to students, and afternoon visits to field sites on Ft. Drum.
/ Students in Prof. Brett McLeod’s Advanced Silviculture course created
Letter From the Interim Dean I’ve
In this issue:
? Eleven junior fisheries and wildlife
FNRR Field notes continued from page 3
knockout
Change Service Requested
In
December 2010, four of our forestry B.S. programs were awarded accreditation by the Society of American Foresters (SAF). This is a major milestone for us: It puts those programs on an even footing with our closest competitors and the nation’s top forestry programs, and is especially important when we tell our story to prospective students and their parents. The designation was awarded
Fall/Winter 2010-11
P.O. Box 265, Paul Smiths, NY 12970-0265
Seal of approval SAF accredits forestry programs
BRANCHING OUT
SFNR Faculty updates
FNRR Field notes
Peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, books and other accomplishments
? Nine students and Profs. Sally
? In March, Prof. Brett McLeod ’03 visited the Dominican Republic to plan a joint eco-tourism initiative with Escuela Nacional Forestal (ESNAFOR), the country’s national forestry school. ESNAFOR, which has been described as being similar to Paul Smith’s 50 years ago, recently started a forest technology program. / In July 2010, McLeod helped launch the
Adirondack Woodsmen’s School. Prof. Joe Orefice and students Rosie Santerre ’10 and Tyler Rothe were also instructors. Students at the school earned college credit for learning traditional skills of the Adirondack woodsman, such as chopping, birling and fire building. Through campfire lectures they learned the history and lore known by every well-rounded Adirondack lumberjack (or jill). Last summer’s program featured a pair of week-long sessions; this summer, a third week will be added for students interested in competitive lumberjack sports and advanced outdoor skills. The school was featured in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and Northern Woodlands magazine, to name a few. For more information: www.paulsmiths.edu/woodsmenschool.
Bogdanovitch and Joe Orefice attended the New York Society of American Foresters (SAF) conference held in Syracuse in January. Orefice presented about Paul Smith’s forestry program. An alumni reception held at the conference drew 16 past graduates. ? Stirling Tomkins, a long-time
supporter of Paul Smith’s College and our forestry programs, recently contributed an additional $100,000 to the international travel endowment that he established in 2005. Tomkins is a fervent advocate of students participating in study abroad and cross-cultural enrichment opportunities. ? John Dillon Park’s wheelchairaccessible lean-tos were mentioned in a December 2010 article in Conservationist, the magazine of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Dillon Park, operated by Paul Smith’s and managed by Stephen Ellis ’07, provides wilderness camping experiences for people with disabilities. It is named for Dillon, a class of 1958 graduate and former chairman and CEO of International Paper. ? Prof. David Patrick taught a group
? Prof. Robert Kraatz attended the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors (NYSAPLS) Annual Conference in Verona, N.Y., in January. Several alumni attended a collegesponsored reception at the conference. ? Prof. Joe Dadey received his Ph.D. from
SUNY-ESF in December 2010. His dissertation is titled “Perspective-Taking and its Implications for Best Practices in Collaborative Governance: The Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan Process.”
research capstone course in fall 2010 that incorporated his amphibian research. Students collected data as part of a study involving 20 heated, 1,000-gallon cattle tanks. Various temperature scenarios were used to test the survival ability of mink frogs to terrestrial and aquatic habitat change. Working together, the students wrote up the results, which will be submitted to a scientific journal. ? Alexander Smith, an arboriculture
and forestry student, recently won a nationally competitive scholarship from Davey Tree Expert Company for $1,000. ? In October, students in the Paul Smith’s SAF Student Chapter attended a joint New England-New York student
conclave in Petersham, Mass. Attendees met other students from the region and discussed ways to improve their own chapters. The conclave was featured in the March issue of The Forestry Source, SAF’s newsletter. The 2011 conclave will be held at Paul Smith’s. ? A group of fisheries and wildlife sciences students were trained to age deer by DEC biologist Ed Reed. They then collected data for their future capstone projects at a check station they voluntarily started at the intersection of Routes 86 and 30 across from the entrance to campus. ? Nicole Bellerose and Heather
Mason (fisheries and wildlife sciences) attended the Women in Wildlife networking event at SUNY-
/ In November, a dozen fisheries and
wildlife sciences students volunteered at the DEC’s Adirondack fish hatchery in Lake Clear, N.Y. They helped collect eggs from fish that will be grown into the next generation of the hatchery’s stock.
SFNR Faculty updates ? Twelve recreation, adventure travel, and eco-tourism (RATE) students joined Profs. Joe Dadey and Jeff Walton on a 24-day expedition to Guatemala and Belize in January. Activities included climbing a 13,000-foot volcano, a four-day hike in the Guatemalan highlands, surfing in the Pacific Ocean, whitewater rafting, cave exploration, and snorkeling along Belize’s barrier reef.
Cobleskill in October. They toured the fish and wildlife facilities on campus including the specimen holdings (pickled fish and amphibians as well as an entire room devoted to taxidermied waterfowl) and the live hatcheries. Bellerose and Mason met with a group of female wildlife biologists and Cobleskill students. They were impressed with the range of duties and responsibilities represented by the wildlife professionals who attended, including the director of fish, wildlife and marine resources for the DEC and representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the New York State Department of Transportation.
? Jon Preston ’10 (fisheries and wildlife sciences-wildlife) took the silver medal at the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Championship in Salem, Ore., in August 2010. In addition to his silver medal, Jon also left Oregon with the collegiate stock saw title. ? In an agreement with the USDA Forest Service, historic records from the Paul Smith’s Experimental Forest were sent to the National Archives in September to be digitized. The records, including original maps and forest inventory data, will soon be available to Forest Service scientists and the Paul Smith’s community through the Joan Weill Adirondack Library’s website. Continued on page 4
> Zak Saulsgiver (forest technology) achieved first place at the 2010 Game of Logging National Competition in Ohio on October 2. Saulsgiver, from Westport, N.Y., received a $1,000 prize, a new chainsaw, and protective gear. He beat his father, a professional arborist, who came in 5th at the annual skills competition.
? Andrew Egan, former professor and dean, co-authored a paper published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Forestry:“Challenges to Sawmill Businesses in New England and New York State: A Survey of Wood Procurement Managers.”
. Orefice and Prof. Hans Michielen reported that 81 face cords of firewood were delivered to local needy families through the Brighton Food Pantry—double the amount donated last year. The wood originates as standing timber and is cut and processed as part of the Timber Harvesting and Advanced Silviculture courses. ? Prof. Jorie Favreau brought students to
several conferences and workshops, including a meeting of the New York State chapter of The Wildlife Society and The Women in Wildlife networking event at SUNY-Cobleskill. ? Instructor Brendan Jackson ’08 (recreation
resource management), who is currently instructing our Introduction to Forestry and Silviculture courses, completed an internship with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in summer 2010. As a stewardship intern, Jackson was part of a crew that worked on a variety of trail projects, such as erosion prevention and the improvement of waterside campsites, portage trails, and access to launches along the 740-mile recreational waterway. He also led waterway work trips in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. (Source: northernforestcanoetrail.org) ? Adjunct instructor Tim Chick has given pre-
sentations about right-of-way management and pesticide application to statewide workshops, and participated in the New York State Urban and Community Forest Council. He also published an article in the December 2010 Arborist News:“Allelopathy as a Biological Control for Integrated Vegetation Management.”