Forestry

By RICHARD F. BELISLE Staff Writer, Waynesboro MONT ALTO, Pa. - So few women work in America's forestry industry that there isn't even a glass ceiling to stall their careers, said Beth Brantley, who teaches the subject at Penn State's Mont Alto Campus. Brantley's class has 76 students, six of which are women. "I'm a woman in a traditional all-male profession. " Brantley said. In 1988 Brantley, 29, was the only woman on a 20-man crew fighting the fires at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writer BOONSBORO - Boonsboro Fire Chief Oley Griffith stared at his newest piece of equipment Sunday afternoon and recalled a day he wished he had it. It was during the massive blizzard in the winter of 1996 and a fire engine struggled up a steep hill before getting stuck in a mound of snow. Griffith said a handful of firefighters was forced to trudge through snow that was nearly waist-high to reach a home on Boonsboro Mountain Road. "We ended up walking a mile and a half, carrying fire extinguishers, carrying ladders," he said.

On Thursday, March 14, at the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association meeting, Sharon Coons and Nathan Fite, foresters with the Pennsylvania bureau of forestry, will talk about diseases and insect pests threatening Pennsylvania forests. Information for woodland owners on identification and methods for controlling forest insect pests such as Gypsy Moth, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, Emerald Ash Borer, Tent Caterpillars, Scale Insects, and Weevils will be presented. The meeting will be at 7 p.m., at the Penn State Extension office, 181 Franklin Farm Lane in Chambersburg.

Registrations are being accepted for the fall semester of the General Forestry Correspondence Course through the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension. The course runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 15. Work from the comfort of your home, using your own woodlot, a friend's or a public forest while learning the basics of forestry, forest ecology and forest health in this non-credit course. Find out how to protect your trees from insects, diseases and fire. Step-by-step procedures walk you through a forest inventory and stand analysis.

MONT ALTO, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania State Forest Academy opened more than 100 years ago. Now known as Penn State Mont Alto, the campus still is embracing its forestry roots. Mont Alto held Fall Fest & Forestry Day on Saturday, bringing a mix of woodsmen, families and young adults -- though some fell into all three groups -- to the campus to help raise funds for student organizations. "Fall Fest is a tradition that goes way back -- I don't know how many years," said Kim Hoover, interim associate director of student affairs.

MONT ALTO, PA. -- A Mont Alto dummy will return to the classroom today thanks to area fire, rescue, forestry, nursing and emergency medical personnel who worked for nearly two hours Wednesday to save his fake life. IStan, of Penn State Mont Alto, was in stable condition Wednesday after nearly dying in a simulated forestry accident. Students in the Penn State Mont Alto Forest Technology program found iStan just off Pa. 233 in the Michaux State Forest bleeding from head and leg wounds.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - Most motorists driving along Corner Road south of Mercersburg probably pass through the broad farm country without ever knowing they are passing Pennsylvania's biggest tree. The giant, four-trunk sycamore stands off the road behind Lester and Florence Risser's stone farmhouse. Its canopy spreads out far above the two-story house, but the tree hardly seems unique from the road since several tall, but less imposing, sycamores keep it company. The four trunks rising from the base of the giant tree measure 31 feet, 1 inch around.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has issued a ban on all outdoor burning in the eight counties in the state's Eastern Panhandle, including Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties, according to a press release from the West Virginia Division of Forestry. The ban will take effect Tuesday at 8 a.m. and will remain in effect until Manchin rescinds the order, according to the release. The ban includes fires built for camping, the burning of debris or for warming purposes, according to the release.

On Thursday, March 14, at the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association meeting, Sharon Coons and Nathan Fite, foresters with the Pennsylvania bureau of forestry, will talk about diseases and insect pests threatening Pennsylvania forests. Information for woodland owners on identification and methods for controlling forest insect pests such as Gypsy Moth, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, Emerald Ash Borer, Tent Caterpillars, Scale Insects, and Weevils will be presented. The meeting will be at 7 p.m., at the Penn State Extension office, 181 Franklin Farm Lane in Chambersburg.

On April 17 and 18, a group of Hagerstown Lions Club members met at E. Russell Hicks Middle School and with the help of the Maryland Forest Service, staff at E. Russell Hicks and more than 230 students, planted 78 trees on the school grounds. The project cost $2,250, which was funded by the Hagerstown Lions Club, mainly through member sponsorships of the trees. The forest service was able to purchase the trees through its Maryland Treemendous program. After the forest service determined the best location for the trees in a water drainage area, the facilities department from Washington County Public Schools dug the holes.

“Help, I'm hurt,” screamed Jason Owings, who laid in the woods reeling in pain from a wound to his left arm. The scene looked and sounded real, but it wasn't. It was part of trauma-scenario training on Friday at Penn State Mont Alto. Now in its third year, the drill gives Penn State nursing and forestry students a chance to team with local agencies to put into practice what they learn in the classroom. Campus coordinator for nursing programs Carranda Barkdoll said this year's event added a little more to the activity by having two injured forestry students instead of one. “These guys (forestry students)

The Mason-Dixon Council of the Boy Scouts of America was on the hot seat Tuesday night as more than 100 people filled two rooms at Hagerstown Community College to air their concerns about a draft forest-management plan for Camp Sinoquipe in Fulton County, Pa. When the council hired Certified Forester Tom O'Neal to prepare a forest-management plan for the 500-acre camp, a group called Concerned Friends of Camp Sinoquipe started an online petition...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has issued a ban on all outdoor burning in the eight counties in the state's Eastern Panhandle, including Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties, according to a press release from the West Virginia Division of Forestry. The ban will take effect Tuesday at 8 a.m. and will remain in effect until Manchin rescinds the order, according to the release. The ban includes fires built for camping, the burning of debris or for warming purposes, according to the release.

MONT ALTO, PA. -- A Mont Alto dummy will return to the classroom today thanks to area fire, rescue, forestry, nursing and emergency medical personnel who worked for nearly two hours Wednesday to save his fake life. IStan, of Penn State Mont Alto, was in stable condition Wednesday after nearly dying in a simulated forestry accident. Students in the Penn State Mont Alto Forest Technology program found iStan just off Pa. 233 in the Michaux State Forest bleeding from head and leg wounds.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Arson has been eliminated as a potential cause of a fire that burned about 48 acres Monday in Berkeley County, a state wild land fire control expert said Wednesday. Jim Guerrin of the West Virginia Division of Forestry said the blaze was not connected to any of five fires reported last weekend. The West Virginia State Fire Marshal's office and the Berkeley County fire investigation team have been investigating those incidents. The 1 p.m. fire Monday destroyed a mobile home and damaged another residence and three shelters for horses, Guerrin said.

Members of the Clear Spring FFA Chapter were among 38 teams participating in the 2008 National FFA Forestry Career Development Event (CDE). The team members were J.D. Repp, Kerrington Gray, Stefanie Turner and Allison Moore. Participants in the event were asked to answer questions on tree and equipment identification, take a general knowledge exam and complete interactive forestry applications such as timber cruising, timber stand improvement, and orienteering. Allison Moore was a gold medalist, finishing fifth in the event.

MONT ALTO, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania State Forest Academy opened more than 100 years ago. Now known as Penn State Mont Alto, the campus still is embracing its forestry roots. Mont Alto held Fall Fest & Forestry Day on Saturday, bringing a mix of woodsmen, families and young adults -- though some fell into all three groups -- to the campus to help raise funds for student organizations. "Fall Fest is a tradition that goes way back -- I don't know how many years," said Kim Hoover, interim associate director of student affairs.

MONT ALTO, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania State Forest Academy opened more than 100 years ago. Now known as Penn State Mont Alto, the campus still is embracing its forestry roots. Mont Alto held Fall Fest & Forestry Day on Saturday, bringing a mix of woodsmen, families and young adults -- though some fell into all three groups -- to the campus to help raise funds for student organizations. "Fall Fest is a tradition that goes way back -- I don't know how many years," said Kim Hoover, interim associate director of student affairs.