Saw-whet owl banding

Yesterday evening we braved the cold to go to King's Gap Environmental Center to observe the saw-whet owl banding operation. During the owl migration volunteers at several locations in PA participate in trapping birds in mist nets, taking measurements, banding unbanded birds, and then releasing them back in the wild.

Return to Oak Road

From Oak Road Cleanup

The Forestry Club worked on the Oak Road cleanup again this fall (9/16). With the large freshman class there were more than enough people to help out. The work was followed with pizza at Arturo's.

Photos by Taylor Freeman

Snow Tubing (At Last!)

The third time was the charm (after ice storms forced us to cancel two previous dates) last Thursday (2/28) as the forestry club finally went snow tubing at White Tail Resort It was cold enough, but not too cold, as eleven forestry club students braved the slope. The tubing area seemed more crowded this year with several school groups there for the first hour. They added an inflatable barrier at the bottom of the hill this year so that there was no need to slow down at the bottom! Will Darren Krebs ever get his hat back?

Tubing is a great way to let off steam after all the labs and tests of the forestry courses. Thanks to White Tail for the free passes for the members of the Woodsmen's Team. We can't wait to come back next year.

Mont Alto Students at the Allegheny SAF meeting

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Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Fifteen forest technology students from Penn State Mont Alto attended the Winter meeting of the Allegheny SAF in Carlisle on Thursday.

The quiz bowl team of Frank Grano, Chance Yeckley, and Eric Monger won the Quiz Bowl after an exciting match agains Penn State University Park.



John Schwartzer (Mont Alto alum and UP forestry senior) leads a student discussion on issues in forestry education.





Among the issues discussed at the meeting were bio-energy from forests in PA, carbon markets, wood pellet systems for heating school buildings, forestry education in the Allegheny region, and advances in biological controls of invasive plants.

Burn Pile Service Project

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Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

Penn State Mont Alto forestry students are lighting the burn pile on the nursery field. Volunteers will work shifts all weekend to guard the fire. Much of this material came from the ice storm last December that cut power to campus over a whole weekend. Bring on the hot dogs!

Find more of the pictures on Facebook or Flickr.

Spring 2008

The forestry club's first meeting of the semester was gavelled in to order by President Tiffany Roddy last Thursday evening. Twelve students and club advisor Dr. Linehan were there. On the agenda was getting ready for the Allegheny Society of American Foresters winter meeting in Carlisle on Feb. 14-15. The Mont Alto quiz bowl team will consist of Eric Monger, Kevin Braun, Frank Grano, and Chance Yeckley.

The forestry club will go tubing at White Tail Ski Resort next Thursday, weather permitting. The club will also volunteer to help Waynesboro High School's Envirothon Team prepare for the forestry part of the competition.

The meeting ended with a short video on the Tillamook firest in Oregon during the 1930's and 40's. Legacy of Fire: The Story of the Tillamook Burn had some fabulous images of the catastrophic fires with first hand accounts from some of the people who lived through the fires and fought to suppress them. More inspiring was the story of how the forest was successfully replanted with the help of thousands of school children. For more information see: http://www.tillamookforestcenter.org