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SFR ALUMNI GROUP NEWS

• President's Message
• SFR Alumni Group Board of Directors
  
• Electronic Newsletter Alternative
• E-mail Forwarding
• College of Agricultural Sciences Career Fair
• Recollections of Ferguson Building
• Candidates for SFR Alumni Group Board of Directors
• Ralph Brock Marker Dedication
• Friends of Penn State (FPS) Project
• SAF Fellows
• Bob Bauer Student Award Fund
  

President's Message

On this past October 31st, I traveled to University Park for a School of Forest Resources (SFR) Advisory Board meeting. The previous weekend, one of our children and his family were visiting for Sunday dinner. This son and his spouse are both Penn Staters. When I mentioned I was headed to Penn State that week, our daughter-inlaw commented that the fall colors in the mountains should be beautiful. As I left Clark’s Ferry near the confluence of the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers and headed into the mountains, I was eager to see the glorious fall color display. The hillsides were by and large brown, and many trees had dropped their foliage. After my initial disappointment, I began to notice trees and shrubs in more protected areas that were still displaying their fall glory of reds, yellows, oranges, and greens. As I reflected on the experience, I recalled some guidance from earlier in my life. Beauty and good exist everywhere. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder to find them!

Groundbreaking for the new Forest Resources building will probably be in April 2004 with completion projected 18 months later, around October 2005. At present, no date has been set for the dedication ceremony. We still need to raise about $2.5 million through donations. We would appreciate your support for this essential project. All gifts are welcome.

We will start offering this biannual newsletter electronically. Please give this medium serious consideration versus a printed copy. Each printed copy we can eliminate will save money that can be directed toward educational programs. (See related article on this page.)

Please also see the article on candidates for election to the SFR Alumni Group Board of Directors on page 19. It is gratifying to see both recent and more experienced alumni standing for election to our board.

Twice each year the College of Ag Sciences Alumni Society (CAAS) sponsors a graduation brunch for the new graduates and their family/friends. Beginning with the brunch held on December 20th, the SFR Alumni Group is giving a set of Woodland Notes to the SFR graduates who attend as a means of recognizing their accomplishment and introducing them to our group.

Our annual Alumni and Friends Banquet will be held on Friday, April 23, 2004, at the Toftrees Resort complex. We are most fortunate to have Dr. Graham Spanier, University President, and Dr. Robert Steele, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, as our guest speakers. At this gathering, we will honor our four new Outstanding Alumni (see announcement on page 26). As an ex officio member of the SFR Alumni Group Awards and Recognition Committee, I was privileged to review the nominations of the four alumni chosen for recognition as Outstanding Alumni. I think it is safe to say that the awardees have each made significant contributions to the profession of forestry, their respective communities, and beyond. Their collective accomplishments, on behalf of our natural world, exemplify the qualities of beauty and good that I made reference to at the beginning of this message. Please plan to join us at the banquet for what should be an enjoyable and memorable evening.

Regards,
Lowell T. Underhill ‘56
1002 Weldin Circle
Weldin Woods
Wilmington, DE 19803-3204
(302) 764-8759

Electronic Newsletter Alternative

The School of Forest Resources Alumni Group board of directors is pleased to present you with the opportunity to receive your RESOURCES newsletter electronically.

As mentioned in Lowell Underhill’s last President’s Message, publishing and mailing the RESOURCES newsletter to more than 4,500 alumni costs about $6,000 per issue. Since we publish two issues per year, that’s a $12,000 annual cost!

If you choose to receive your copy of RESOURCES electronically, you will not only help to reduce our publishing and mailing costs, but you will gain the advantages of electronic media. The electronic newsletter will have “live links” that will allow you, for example, to instantly send an e-mail to a classmate or to link to a related article. You will be able to “search” your electronic copy, and forward it to a friend. Ballots in the electronic newsletter will provide a more convenient and timely option for voting. The electronic version will also include a link to a “printer-friendly version” if you want to produce your own hard copy, and the electronic newsletters will be archived on the Web so that you can refer to or search previous issues if you wish.

This issue that you are currently reading will soon be available online at http://www.sfr.cas.psu.edu/Alumni/Newsletters. Please take the time to look at it and determine if our electronic newsletter meets your needs. If it does, contact our executive director Ellen Manno at exr2@psu.edu or 814-863-5831 (or check the appropriate box on the Response Form on page 27) and let her know that you no longer want a hard copy mailed to you. E-mail distribution will begin with our Summer 2004 newsletter, scheduled to be published in July.

This is essentially a “trial offer.” The time and effort required to create an electronic newsletter in addition to the published hard copy may not be cost-effective if we do not get enough requests for the electronic version. Also, anyone who prefers to receive a hard copy in regular mail will continue to do so unless we hear from you otherwise. Thanks, in advance, for considering the electronic newsletter alternative.

E-mail Forwarding

One of many benefits of membership in the Penn State Alumni Association (PSAA) is e-mail forwarding. It is a permanent address at the “psualum.com” domain that will forward e-mail messages to any designated e-mail account. This service can be particularly helpful if you choose to receive the electronic version of our newsletter (see related story on previous page).

To activate or edit the e-mail forwarding service, go to http://psualum.com/. More than 146,00 alumni, parents, students, and friends are PSAA members. For more information on e-mail forwarding or membership in the Penn State Alumni Association, call 1-800-548-LION.

College of Agricultural Sciences Career Fair

Each fall the College of Agricultural Sciences hosts a career fair during the month of October. The School of Forest Resources would like to see more internship and career opportunities for students in Forest Science, Wildlife and Fisheries Science, and Wood Products at this event. Exhibit space at this fair fills quickly. If you would like your company to receive announcements related to participating in this annual career fair, please contact Kathleen Zimmerman at klz2@psu.edu or 814-863-4456.

Recollections of Ferguson Building

As we look forward to our new building, we are also taking the time to reflect on Ferguson Building, the structure that has housed the forestry program since 1940. Do you have any special memories of the building, its surroundings, or some of its unique artifacts?

We would like your help in compiling “recollections of Ferguson Bulding” that will be published in a future issue of this newsletter. Any details, information, or memories you wish to share are most welcome. Here a few items to jog your memories:
(1) There were bears and a moosehead in 114/115 Ferguson, donated by an alum who hunted in Alaska. Know anything more about that?
(2) How about the oar that was displayed outside on the north wall of Ferguson Building? It was a relic of the last lumber raft to float down the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. How did it get to the School, and where is it now?
(3) What about the sassafras podium that still stands in the lobby of Ferguson Building today? Please send any tidbits of Ferguson Building history to Ellen Manno at 201 Ferguson Building, University Park, PA 16802 or exr2@psu.edu. If you are a member of the Penn State Alumni Association, you can log on to My Penn State Portal (http://psualum.com), go to the School of Forest Resources Discussion Group, and respond to the same query there.

Thank you for your help!

Candidates for SFR Alumni Group Board of Directors

The School of Forest Resources Alumni Group includes twelve at-large members who are elected to a three-year term and who may serve a second consecutive term if re-elected. The terms of four at-large board members expire in spring 2004; therefore, an election ballot is enclosed in this newsletter. Here are brief biosketches, in alphabetical order, of the candidates listed on the ballot. Incumbents are noted with an asterisk (*). Vote for no more than four candidates. Ballots must be postmarked by March 22, 2004.

William D. Harlon III (2002 FORSC)
“I was raised in rural Juniata County, Pennsylvania, graduated from Juniata High School in 1998, and attended Mont Alto from 1998-2000. I was not enrolled in the two-year program at Mont Alto, but did take forestry classes there. I changed campus locations to University Park and graduated in 2002 with a degree in Forest Science, Forest Management option.

“While at Mont Alto, I was a member of both the Forestry Club and the Timbersports Team (1998-2000). While at University Park, I was a member and chair of the Penn State Society of American Foresters Student Chapter (2000-2002), a member of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association’s board of directors, the chair and founder of the newly reinstated Penn State Woodsmen Team, a member of the School’s student liaison interview board for selecting both the director and Ibberson Chair, and chair of the selection committee for the School of Forest Resources Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award for 2000-01 and 2001-02. I have been a member of the SAF national chapter since 1999.

“I received numerous scholarships while in college, including the Stuck Foundation Scholarship, College of Ag scholarships, and School of Forest Resources scholarships. I won first place in the dendrology competition at the Tri-State Timbersports competition at Montgomery Community College, North Carolina (2000), was a member of the team that won first place in the SAF student quiz bowl in Hagerstown, Maryland (2002), and won the Association of Consulting Foresters PFIT travel assistantship to their national convention in San Antonio, Texas (2002).

“I’m currently certified as a wildland firefighter and as an American Tree Farm Inspector. I’ve had two publications, one in the Penn State Mont Alto Tree Species Monographs and the other in the Journal of Forestry.

“My work experience includes volunteering with the Pennsylvania DCNR and The Arboretum at Penn State. I was a procurement assistant for Erik Guiser of Kish Lumber (Belleville, Pennsylvania), an intern with the Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau of Forestry (District 3), an inventory assistant for L.L. Baumunk & Son Lumber and Pallets, a teaching assistant in Dr. Harry Wiant’s Forest Policy class, a teaching assistant in Dr. Donovan’s history class at Mont Alto, and a forest technician for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir. I am currently forester for the Corps at Kerr (in Boydton, Virginia), and sole-proprietor of a hobby consulting business—Dixie Forestry Consulting.

“I reside on a farm in beautiful Palmer Springs, Virginia, with my fiance Melissa, our baby daughter Daisy Mae, and black lab puppy Bonnie.”

David B. Lezzer (2000 FORSC)
“I am originally from a small town southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by the name of Newville. As a youngster, I always had a strong interest in the outdoors and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping. My sophomore year in high school, I took a job working at a local Christmas tree farm during the holidays and at that point, my interest in forestry was born.

“After graduation from high school in 1996, I enrolled in the forestry program at West Virginia University. After my first semester there, I decided to transfer to Penn State and continue my forestry studies. While at Penn State, I was involved in the student SAF program as well as Xi Sigma Pi.

“After completing a bachelor’s degree in Forest Science in spring 2000, I accepted a log procurement position with a veneer company in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where I spent roughly two years learning the business. While working in Williamsport, the industry took a serious nose-dive and I decided it was best to cut my losses and move on. From Williamsport, I moved to Jacksonville, Florida, and took a management position with a vegetative management company. My main duties there revolved around being a project supervisor for a nationwide railroad rightof- way contract, which took me throughout the Southeast. Although the job was going well, after a year and a half, I knew I was still a ‘Yankee’ at heart and wanted to return to the Northeast and reestablish a career in the log procurement/veneer industry.

“In August 2003, I moved back to Pennsylvania and currently reside in Grove City where I am a log buyer for a prominent veneer company which is based out of South Hill, Virginia.”

Brock G. Sanner (2003 FORSC)
“I am a recent graduate of the School, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Forest Science, Forest Management option, in May 2003. After graduation, I was employed by the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado as a forest technician/timber crew leader and since then I have moved back to Pennsylvania to pursue full-time employment. In my spare time I enjoy all that the outdoors has to offer in the way of hunting and fishing.

“While attending Penn State, I was active in the School’s academic and club sport organizations. I worked with my fellow students to re-establish the Penn State Woodsmen Team in 2002- 2003 and served as team captain. I was a member of the Penn State Fire Crew and spent two weeks in summer 2002 in Durango, Colorado, fighting fires with the Pennsylvania Specialized Fire Crew. I was also an active member of the Penn Society of American Foresters Student Chapter and was selected as the School’s Outstanding Senior in 2003.

“I am a certified Tree Farm inspector with the American Tree Farm System, a Qualified Timber Cruiser for the U.S. Forest Service, and a certified National Wildland Firefighter.

“My hometown is Spring Mills, Pennsylvania. I am a graduate of Penns Valley High School and the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology. In addition to my most recent employment in Colorado, I have worked as farm field laborer, a percolation tester/laborer, and a field forester for the Penn State Forestland Management Office.”

Aura L. Stauffer (1989 W L S and 1995g W F S)
“I graduated in 1989 with a B.S. in Wildlife Science and a minor in Marine Science. I returned to Penn State and completed an M.S. degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science in 1995. My graduate work was in wetlands and my adviser was Dr. Rob Brooks.

“My professional work experience began with an internship with the EPA Office of Wetlands in Washington, D.C., and a summer position as a marine biology instructor for the Audubon camp in Maine. For about 6 ½ years, I was an environmental consultant with Gannett Fleming Engineers in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. I also worked for 3 years as the county inventory coordinator with the Pennsylvania Science Office of The Nature Conservancy. Since December 2002 I have been a wildlife biologist with Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau of Forestry, Ecological Services. My area of interest is nongame species and species of Special Concern.

“My volunteer experience includes serving as an aquarist and exhibit guide at the National Aquarium in Baltimore; I did this for about 2 ½ years, but am no longer an active volunteer. I have been a saw-whet owl bander at the King’s Gap State Park banding station for about 4 years, and a Rehabitat-a-Raptor rehabilitator in York County, where I help with educational programs.”

Benjamin G. Tresselt, Jr.* (1963 FOR)
“Lifelong Pennsylvanian and graduate of the School of Forestry in 1963 (Class of ’62), it has been my privilege to have engaged in a wide variety of forestry activities including multiple land use forest management, sawmill machinery design and operation, logging and lumbering, wood waste utilization, wildlife habitat management, electric utility division forester, forensic investigator, and professional witness in tree matters.

“I have experienced more than 41 years in all phases of forest management: management planning, timber stand improvement, tree planting, gypsy moth suppression, damage appraisals, timber trespass and/or theft, forensic investigator, expert witness.

“I am a member of Society of American Foresters – 40+ years; a Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Plan writer; a trained and experienced arborist – 36+ years; a diagnostician and company representative with F. A. Bartlett Tree Expert Co. – 22 years and Arborist Enterprises, Inc. – 3 years.

“I am a specialist in urban forestry including diagnosis and prescription, management plans, plant health care, structural tree evaluation, hazard tree determination, construction damage prevention planning and remediation, forensic investigation, and expert witness.

“I am a Pennsylvania Restricted Use Pesticide Applicator; a member of the International Society of Arboriculture – 32+ years; I.S.A. Certified Arborist No. PD0069; president of the Pennsylvania Urban and Community Forestry Council – 4+ years; and president of the Woodland Owners of the Southern Alleghenies.

“I have served one term as a director on the School of Forest Resources Alumni Group (SFRAG) board and am chair of the Urban Forestry Committee of the SFRAG board.”

Thomas H. Yorke (1964 FOR and 1967g FOR)
“I am a private consultant and specialize in providing hydrological services to federal, state, and regional agencies and organizations involved in surface-water management issues. I have extensive experience in streamflow monitoring networks, flood hydrology and hydraulics, water quality and sediment monitoring, and streamflow and sedimentation analysis techniques.

“Prior to entering private practice, I was the senior science advisor for surface water and chief of the Office of Surface Water of the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division. The Office of Surface Water supported a national network of streamflow, reservoir, sediment, and precipitation monitoring stations, and was responsible for assuring the quality of all river stage, water discharge, and sediment data collected by the USGS. I represented the United States in the development and review of national and international standards related to the collection and analysis of surface-water and sediment-transport data. I also administered programs that supported the development of watershed, hydraulic, and statistical models and other technology for effectively managing the nation’s water resources.

“During my 35-year career with the USGS, I held management and research positions in Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Maryland. Research positions included projects in suburban Washington, D.C., studying the effects of urban development on streamflow and sediment transport and the effectiveness of sediment controls used during urban construction. I was the leader of the River Quality Assessment of the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania, which was a forerunner of other national programs to analyze the occurrence, transport, and fate of trace metals and organic substances in major river systems. I also worked with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service team that was responsible for developing methods and procedures for assessing the impact of water resource development projects on the biota and habitat of rivers and their floodplains.

“I graduated from Penn State with a B.S. degree in Forestry in 1964 and earned an M.S. degree in Forest Hydrology in 1967. I am a member of Xi Sigma Pi, Phi Epsilon Phi, Tau Phi Delta Fraternity, the Nittany Lion Club, and a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association. I am also a member of the American Geophysical Union, American Water Resources Association, and American Institute of Hydrology. My wife Jeannie (PSU ’65) and I have two daughters and three grandchildren.”

Ralph Brock Marker Dedication

Six men comprised the first graduating class of the State Forestry Academy at Mont Alto in 1906, including the nation’s first African American forester, Ralph Elwood Brock. After graduation, Brock worked at the Mont Alto state nursery until 1911 and then had a successful career as a consultant for private and public landscapes and gardens in Philadelphia and New York City.

A Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission marker in Brock’s honor was dedicated at Penn State Mont Alto on October 24, 2003. More than 100 people attended the event.

“We are justifiably proud of our staff of more than 200 dedicated foresters in our Bureau of Forestry, but it was pioneers like Mr. Brock and his five classmates who sparked those early landmark efforts that led to national recognition for sound stewardship and an emphasis on renewable resources,” said Dr. James Grace, Pennsylvania State Forester. “Professionally, academically, and socially, Mr. Brock was a true path-maker.”

State representative Stephen Maitland spoke for the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. Others who participated in the marker unveiling were Theodore Jackson, president of the Black Student Union at Penn State Mont Alto; Demetrice Evans, graduate student in Wood Products at University Park; Tracey Coulter, graduate student in Forest Resources at University Park, and James Kauffman, forest technician with the Michaux State Forest District.

An article about Ralph E. Brock, written by Ellen Manno, Dr. Kim Steiner, and Alex Day can be found on the Forest History Society’s Web site

October 2003 dedication of a Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission (PHMC) marker in honor of Ralph E. Brock '06. Left to right: Dr. David Gnage, Penn State Mont Alto, CEO; Theodore Jackson, undergraduate student in business administration at Mont Alto and president of the Black Student Union at Penn State Mont Alto; Tracey Coulter '03, graduate student in forest resources at University Park who researched and prepared the successful application to PHMC with Alex Day '67; and James Kauffman, forest technician and a gradnson of the James Kauffman who was a member of the first graduating class of the Forest Academy.

Friends of Penn State (FPS) Project

A new digital account system known as Friends of Penn State (FPS) has been developed to help provide a variety of University services to potential students, alumni, and e-commerce customers via the Web.

Already boasting more than 110,000 users, the FPS account management system has been designed by Information Technology Services (ITS) to enable the development of Web-based information resources to serve individuals outside the University in a more efficient, streamlined way. FPS is also part of the University’s initiative to create a long-term relationship with the many individuals who use Penn State services such as library technologies, e-stores, World Campus, the Registrar’s Office, and Undergraduate Admissions.

According to Steven Kellogg, director of Advanced Information Technologies within ITS, “The shared vision is that a high school student will be able to sign up for one of the summer sports camps as a Friend of Penn State and later use the account to learn whether he or she wants to attend the University. If the same person eventually becomes a Penn State student, the University automatically will convert the FPS account to a Penn State Access Account. Upon the student’s graduation, the account will revert to FPS, allowing the individual to take continuing education classes and access a variety of other services.”

At this time, anyone who does not have a Penn State Access Account, but who wants to electronically visit World Campus, the e-Golf store, Undergraduate Admissions, the Registrar’s Office and many more University Web locations has (or soon will have) the option to acquire the Friends of Penn State status.

Planners also believe the concept of Friends of Penn State will make it easier for the University to develop a seamless information management infrastructure that can be tailored to the specific needs of the FPS community.

To learn more about the Friends of Penn State Project, visit the Web at http://aset.its.psu.edu/fpsproject.

SAF Fellows

Among the 53 Society of American Foresters (SAF) members who were elected SAF Fellow in 2003 are alumni Bruce B. Brenneman (1960 FOR), James C. Finley (1970 FORSC and 1975g FOR R), Michael G. Messina (1979 FORSC), and Walter R. Rossman (1950 FOR).

Fellows are SAF professional members who have been identified by their peers as having rendered outstanding service to forestry and the Society. SAF Fellows are elected by the voting members of the state, intrastate, or multistate society from which they are nominated.

Bob Bauer Student Award Fund

We are extremely pleased to report that contributions to the Bob Bauer Student Award fund have reached the required goal of $20,000! The fund was initiated to honor the memory of Robert W. “Bob” Bauer ’69 who died in a tragic farming accident on New Year’s Eve 2002.

Guidelines for the award, formally titled the “Robert W. Bauer Student Memorial Award in the School of Forest Resources,” are being finalized. The purpose of the award shall be to honor and recognize outstanding achievement of an undergraduate student who has completed an associate degree in a forest technician program and has enrolled in the Forest Science baccalaureate degree program at University Park. Recipients of the award shall be selected by the College of Agricultural Sciences Scholarship Committee upon the recommendation of the director of the School of Forest Resources. It is expected that the award will be available for the 2004-05 academic year.

Additional contributions to the Bauer Student Memorial Award fund may be made any time by interested persons or organizations. Contributions are to be made payable to “Penn State” and mailed to Dr. Charles Strauss, Director, School of Forest Resources, 113 Ferguson Building, University Park, PA 16802.

Thank you to all who have made this award possible.

SFR Alumni Group Board of Directors

Elected at-large members (terms expire Spring 2004):
Terry P. Harrison (‘77 FORSC)
Stanley R. Rapp (‘52 FOR)
Benjamin G. Tresselt, Jr. (‘63 FOR)
Gary C. Wakefield (‘67 FOR T, ‘69g W L M)

Elected at-large members (terms expire Spring 2005):
Joseph E. Barnard (’60 FOR, ‘63g FOR)
J. Theodore Jensen (’50 FOR), vice president
Gregory M. Schrum (’67 FOR T, ’69g FOR R)
Lowell T. Underhill (’56 FOR), president

Elected at-large members (terms expire Spring 2006):
David J. Babyak (‘71 FORSC)
Nelson S. Loftus (‘58 and ’62g FOR)
E.L. “Dick” Shafer (‘56 and ’57g FOR)
Mark R. Webb (’73 FORSC)

Immediate Past President:
Stanley R. Rapp (‘52 FOR)

Director, School of Forest Resources (SFR):
Charles H. Strauss (’58 FOR)

President, College of Ag Sciences Alumni Society,
ex officio:
Leslie N. Firth

SFR Faculty Member:
Henry D. Gerhold (‘52 FOR and ‘54g M FOR)

Executive Director:
Ellen A. Manno (‘86g FOR R)

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