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RANGER SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

PO Box 48 Wanakena, NY 13695 (315) 848-2566 ext 112 rsaagail@esf.edu

WINTER NEWSLETTER

2014-2015

GREETINGS TO ALL FROM THE PRESIDENT

I will say first, congratulations to the class of 2014. You are now part of a proud and active group of alumni. I met many of you over the three days of graduation activities and I hope you go forward in life with the spirit of those who have gone before you.

This year the RSAA allowed the class of 2014 to have their graduation party at the Alumni campground. Bruce Williams 75’, John Adams 82’, and I were in attendance to chaperone the event. Fun was had by all. We feel this should become an annual event, it’s a great way to welcome the gradu-ate’s into the association and it’s one less concern that the Ranger School faculty has to deal with dur-ing that very busy time.

We had a fantastic work weekend as always, thanks to each and every one who gave their time and sweat to get things done. The spring meeting went well; we added two new members to the mem-bers at large position, Bob Brower and Charles Sher-man 02’. Recruitment committee is working on setting up a recruitment network to assist ESF with recruiting.

From now until reunion weekend it will be a busy time of preparation and planning. Please remember that this is an extremely busy time of year and any volunteers are welcome to help. You do not need to be a board member to volunteer or be on a com-mittee. Any help is appreciated.

As always if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas feel free to email (rs96phord@yahoo.com) or call me (315-804-4260). See you at reunion. Noah Herne ‘96 RSAA President

GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS FROM THE TREASURER:

If you are reading this, congratulations! You are a part of the weary many that have made it thru another astoundingly busy and fast paced year. Hope all went well and your health is keeping up with your activities.

As I contemplate what to include in this article, I stare out the window and see that the colorful leaves are laying on the ground in a thick confused mess, the geese are flying in circles trying to figure out which field have the most grain to land in, and a new “polar vortex” is dropping out of Canada. The good news is that most of the firewood is cut and stacked, the leaves are being blown into the neighbor’s yard, and the house is al-most sealed up.

More good news which would be more relevant to RSAA members is that we currently have enough checks and funds to cover the bills on hand and for the next few months. The stock market seems to be holding its own but for how long is any-one’s guess. This should provide a good year end interest gain for the RSAA accounts held there. John Adams and I are contin-uing an internal review of the income and expense records. This is a slow and tedious exercise which seems to be making my head hurt. In the end, this should help to streamline the records and help to make the annual report less confusing.

RSAA Pres. Herne has called for a winter BOD meeting, in Feb., to have committee work time. Hopefully there will be plans coming from this that will provide opportunities for non-BOD Alumni to participate in committee work via e-mail and with brief meeting times at the Reunion.

With that I leave you with Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Good Hanukkah (probably missed some others). Keep up your faithful and generous giving, as always. See you at the next Reunion. Ever Sincerely Yours,

Bruce Williams ’76 RSAA Treasurer

January 21-23rd

NYSAPLS Surveying Conference at Turning Stone, Oneida, NY

NYS SAF Conference in Syracuse, NY

Jan 21, 2015 Alumni/Surveyors Reception TBD

Jan 22, 2015

Alumni/SAF Reception Thurs. 6:30 – 8:30 Doubletree Hotel,

Carrier Circle.

February 20—21st RSAA Winter Board meeting

in Wanakena.

February 26-27th NYS Wildlife Conference

Syracuse, NY

February 28 – March 1st Clifton-Fine Winter Blast

Ranger School Winter Weekend.

March 14th RS Student—Alumni Hockey Tournament

12:30 –2:30 pm Tennity Ice Pavilion, Syracuse, NY

April 24th RSAA Spring Board meeting

Wanakena

April 25th RS Spring Open House

Wanakena

April 25-26th Alumni House Cleanup weekend

May 16th Class of 2015 Graduation

August 7 & 8th 81st Annual Alumni Reunion

2015 calendar

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New Ranger School faculty appointment

New Instructional Support Associate at the Ranger School

Mr. Joshua Harvey started his new job as an instructional sup-port associate for the Ranger School. Joshua graduated from the Ranger School ‘2013, and also finished his baccalaureate degree from ESF in 2014. He has previously worked as yard crew mem-ber for a lumber company, a conservation security officer and park supervisor for the NYS DEC (youngest park supervisor in New York State history).

He will assist the Ranger School faculty members as a field instructor, by helping to set up and conduct field labs, assisting and supervising indoor labs, and grading assignments, quizzes and exams. Josh is replacing Mr. Scott Sveiven who recently took a posi-

tion as a Biodiversity Research Presenter for “Operation Wallacea”, a network of academics from European and North American universities, who design and implement biodiversity and conservation management research programs.

From Ranger School Director Mike Bridgen

RS Hockey Club

As I write this I am looking out my office window at a couple of pairs of bufflehead diving for dinner. No ice yet. This hasn’t stopped the class of 2015 from taking up the time honored tradition of Ranger School hockey though. It was a record breaking year for equipment sign out; 32 in all. The class has been practicing at the Pavilion in Canton on Saturday nights, bound and determined to beat the alumni at the culminating game in Syracuse. A noble goal that has been embraced by all the RS Hockey Clubs before them; perhaps this is the year. I invite all alumni hockey players to come and participate in the annual alumni game which is scheduled for March 14th from 12:30 to 2:30 at the Tennity Ice Pavilion in Syracuse. Email me if you have any questions or want to join in the friendly competition. (gmvaverc@esf.edu )

— Greg Vaverchak, ’02 RSHC Commissioner

Alumni House and Campground

Work Weekend

SAVE THE DATES- April 25th and 26th.

The annual opening and spring cleanup of the alumni house and campground will once again be held Arbor Day weekend. There are many projects scheduled which will improve the experience of all who take ad-vantage of the beautiful property. For those of you who have not joined in this event in the past, I encour-age you to consider it. Not only is it a chance to lend your talents and skills to the RSAA, but it is an oppor-tunity to network and bond with others who share the same passions. I can say from past experience that the camaraderie produces an environment where the food is always warm, the refreshment is never flat, and the sun always shines. See you the last weekend in April. Greg Vaverchak, ‘02

The Ranger School was fortunate to fill a vacant faculty position this past fall se-mester. Shawn Cleveland was hired to teach courses in Wildlife Techniques, Wildlife Conservation, Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems, and other courses. Prior to moving to New York, he earned both B.S. and M.S. degrees in wild-life biology from the University of Montana. He has had extensive field technician experiences in Montana, Idaho, and worked with the NYS Department of Environ-mental Conservation as a GIS Analyst. He is actively involved with the Wildlife Socie-ty (former president of the Montana Chapter), has published numerous papers, given many professional presentations, and in his spare time referees for high school foot-ball. Shawn started work at the Ranger School on October 1, 2014.

$$$ Money is being collected for new furniture at the Alumni House.—to date we have collected $355.00.

The ugly green/brown sectional sofa has gone to the transfer station.

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German Park Rangers Return to Wanakena By Jamie Savage

A group of seven natural resource professionals from Germany and Austria recently visited the Adirondack Park. Arriving in late September, they visited several sites and facilities in the Park. The group was hosted by faculty at the SUNY-ESF Rang-er School in Wanakena, NY, with assistance from DEC and APA personnel, and various local/community leaders. This marks the fourth visit by such a group in ten years, and plans call for the informal, international exchange to continue.

Ten years ago, in the fall of 2004, a small group of national park rangers from Bavaria, Germany visited the Adirondack Park. It was their first visit to New York and for most, their first visit to the United States. During their nine-day visit, they stayed at the Ranger School and visited many places throughout the Park, including Tupper Lake, Blue Mt. Lake, and Lake Placid. As professionals, they came to learn about the Adirondack Park, an international model for wilderness protection, and in turn, how they might apply the lessons of the Adirondacks to their nascent efforts to protect wilderness and nature preserves back home. As tourists, they came for a change of scenery, a chance to broaden their physical and intellectual ho-rizons, a chance to make new friends, and the opportunity to have some fun.

“I took them to see an active logging job in the Tupper Lake area,” explains Jamie Savage, a Professor at the Ranger School. “Of course we started our day at The Lumberjack Diner, which they loved! They helped me understand that the for-ests of Bavaria (a state in SE Germany) are actually similar to ours in many ways. They have maple and beech, spruce and fir trees, but not the exact same species. And they have a few species we don’t have. The wildlife is different”, Savage contin-ues. “They don’t have bear or bobcats, but lynx are fairly common. Everything I said had to be translated into German by the group leader, Arthur Reinelt. Then I would wait while they chatted in German and for Arthur to eventually give me a sum-mary of their discussion in English. It didn’t take long to realize that these folks were much like us, and that they shared simi-lar realities and challenges when it came to managing nature parks.”

The German park rangers met with DEC Forest Rangers, and learned how their jobs were similar, but different in many ways. They toured the Adirondack Museum, The Paul Smith’s VIC, met with APA officials and local government leaders, and dined at the Ranger School and local restaurants. By all accounts, it was a successful visit, and it marked the beginning of an international exchange program that continues today.

In 2007, four ESF/Ranger School professors (J. Savage, M. Webb, W. Allen and E. Bevilacqua), two DEC Forest Rangers based in Wanakena (W. Benzel’97 and B. Siskavich’71), along with Hilda Webb (RS ’74) and Judy Benzel, accepted the invita-tion of Arthur and his colleagues to visit Bavaria. “We were treated like royalty,” Jamie remembers. “We toured two National Parks in Bavaria, and one in the neighboring Czech Republic. We explored their beautiful visitor centers, a unique wilderness summer camp, and we hiked two of their biggest mountains. On our last night in Germany, they organized a boar roast in our honor, and nearly every employee of the Bavarian Forest National Park was there!”

Arthur Reinelt, Head of Geoinformation for the Bavarian Forest National Park, is eager to continue the American-German exchange. Fol-lowing his first visit in 2004, he has returned in 2009, 2012 and 2014, each time with a different, increasingly diverse group of colleagues. The most recent group to visit included three park rangers from Germany, one park ranger from Austria, one environmental educator from northern Germany, and one “hunter” (read deer-control expert) from Austria.

During their recent visit, the group hiked to Cat Mt., camped out in the Five Ponds Wilder-ness Area, toured the James F. Dubuar Forest in Wanakena and the Huntington Wildlife Forest in Newcomb, met with APA staff in Ray Brook, ex-plored the Wild Center in Tupper Lake and the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mt. Lake, and dis-cussed tourism with local officials in Lake Placid. Arthur plans to return with yet another group of adventurous colleagues in two or three years.

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Blue Ox News

On 27 September 2014 the Blue Ox Woodsmen team hit the ground run-ning by putting on a demonstration for Parent’s Weekend. The team only had two short weeks to prepare but the beautiful weather and tremendous turn out of family and friends provided a perfect start to the 2014-2015 season. The pace only quickened as they attended competitions on 4 October 2014 in Canandaigua, New York and 11 October 2014 in Tully, New York. These com-petitions were hosted by Finger Lakes Community College and the College of Environmental Science and Forestry respectively. With a little more time to maneuver, new teams were established and preparations began for the team’s final competition in Paul Smiths, New York on 25 October 2014. Their hard work and determination was evident. As both teams (Jack & Jill and Men’s 1) showed dramatic improvement and are eager for competitions to begin in the spring. Looking ahead to next semester, here is what their calen-dar looks like.

The Woodsmen Team will be doing another demonstration for White-Out Weekend on 28 February 2015. This is a local event and supported by the

Clifton-Fine Economic Development Corporation. On 7 March 2015 the team will head to Cobleskill, New York for their first completion. The team then travels to Alfred, New York on 7 April 2015. The final competition is in Hanover, New Hampshire. The 69th Annual Spring Meet is a two day event (17&18 April 2015, unofficial) and is hosted by Dartmouth College. It’s sponsored by Stihl and coincides with the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Northeast Qualifier. The group would also like to host a scrimmage with E.S.F. if time allows. I’d like to thank the Thomas family for providing the team with a place to stay the night before the Finger Lakes meet. They also had pizza and soda waiting for us upon our arrival and sent us off with a hot cup a coffee the following morning.

As always I’d like to thank the Ranger School, Ranger School Alumni Association and all of the families and friends for their continued support. Special thanks go to Julie and Allan Chrysler. Their generous donation in honor of their son Matthew (2014 graduate of the Ranger School) will go towards a new crosscut saw, possibly in time for Spring Meet. —Rob Fleming ‘96

Sportsmen’s Club

As the Warden of the Ranger School Sportsmen’s Club, I would like to highlight what the group has been up to. In early August a dozen students expressed an interest in archery, so our first effort was to re-establish a shooting range that was destroyed by bears and weather. Next we concentrated our efforts on nui-sance beaver management. The Sportsmen’s Club worked in relation with the DEC, forest properties and physical plant to minimize some of the impacts of hu-man-beaver conflict on the Dubuar forest.

On November 8th, we travelled to Pulaski, NY to meet up with ESF’s TroutBums for their fall fishing trip. Though the fishing was challenging, fun was had by all. Now, we are waiting for ice. There has been a lot of interest expressed in the pursuit of pike through the ice. I have no doubt, this will be our most successful ice fishing season yet.

As for spring, the group looks forward to a fishing trip in the eastern Adirondacks, a stream cleanup/restoration project and perhaps a spring turkey hunt. — Greg Vaverchak ‘02

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HAROLD L. SPAULDING MEMORIAL ALUMNI HOUSE It was another successful year at the alumni house. The house was booked almost all season, especially busy from the time school is out in June through October. We thank all who help make the house so comfortable and well-maintained. Some of the furniture has seen better days, and were castoffs. A fund has been started to buy new furniture for the down-stairs. Feel free to send donations to help defray costs. Don’t forget the Spring cleanup April 25 & 26th. We have a good time and get a lot done! If you are interested in the lottery for the 2015 season, you will find the form below.

Reservations for the Spaulding Alumni House 2015 season can be made beginning

Sunday February 1 through Saturday February 28 in writing. Donation Schedule: $60.00/person/night $80.00/family*/night

*Family is defined as immediate family only. *Extended families qualify as a group- groups of 4 or more get group rate

$250/Group rate*/night Guidelines for Reservations

Maximum 1 Weekend per stay Additional days may be added to any weekend for a maximum of 7 night stay Arrival time is after noon on first night of stay Departure time is 11:00 AM following last night stay

1) Reservations for the lottery shall be made in writing using the bottom of this page. When making reservation re-quests please include a self addressed stamped envelope for notification of lottery results. No E-mail or Phone Calls for Alumni House Lottery Reservations.

2) Return reservation forms between February 1, 2015 and February 28, 2015. Lottery Drawing will be held on March 10, 2015. Reservation notifications will be mailed out between March 16 and March 20, 2015.You may con-tact the Alumni Office after March 20, 2015 for any remaining dates available.

Reservation Types: (WK) Week Stay: check in on Friday at noon through checkout the following Friday at 11:00am (WD) Weekend Stay: check in on Friday at noon through check out on Sunday at 11:00am (AD) Additional day (s), if available (HD) Holiday Weekend Stay: Check in at noon Friday through check out Tuesday at 11:00am

Name: _____________________________________________________________Class:______________ Are your 2015 dues paid? _____________________

City: __________________________________________________________________________________ State: __________ Zip: _______________________

Telephone: _______________________________________________ EMAIL: ______________________________________________________________

Number of people staying? ____________Which rate? Individual________ Family __________ Group _______________

1st. Choice

Reservation type: WK ( ) WD ( ) HD ( ) AD ( )

Dates Requested: Arrive after noon: ___________________ Depart 11:00am ____________________________

2nd. Choice

Reservation type: WK ( ) WD ( ) HD ( ) AD ( )

Dates Requested: Arrive after noon: ___________________ Depart 11:00am ____________________________

3rd. Choice

Reservation type: WK ( ) WD ( ) HD ( ) AD ( )

Dates Requested: Arrive after noon: ___________________ Depart 11:00am ____________________________

Mail completed form before February 28, 2015 to: RSAA, PO Box 48, Wanakena, NY 13695

During the 2015 Alumni Reunion, Thurs. August 6 - Sunday Aug. 9, 2015, the Alumni House is unavailable.

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From the Archives: Ranger School Weather Data

Kathy Greenwald ‘79

This 1930s photograph of Ranger School students at a weather station brings back a memory of Kerm Remele taking me and a few classmates - after breakfast on a cold, wintry morning - to collect data from a weather station once located at the top of the embankment between the back of the School and the duplex faculty house. Weather data has been collected at the Ranger School since the 1920s and, at one point, there were at least seven weather stations located on the property.

Early editions of the Ranger School Alumni News books included annual weather statistics reported in the “Other News of Interest” section which included newsy blurbs on a range of items from the previous year such as the number of deer and bear killed in the vicinity; Ranger School facility improvements and enrollment, graduation, and athletic competition results; and, the accomplishments and demise of School faculty and staff, Wanakena resi-dents, and local industries.

The 1931 Alumni News noted that the Ranger School had begun providing the U.S. Weather Bureau and the State Conservation Department in Albany with a daily telegraphic report on weather conditions (i.e., wind velocity, temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity) at the School’s central weather station.

The 1944 issue of the Alumni News reported that, based on the results of a comprehensive survey of sub-freezing conditions throughout the world and on the recommendation of the U.S. Weather Bureau in Albany, the Frost Pocket on the Ranger School property was chosen by the Signal Corps Laboratory of the Army Service Forces at Fort Monmouth, N.J., as the perfect site to conduct tests of various types of generator sets under arctic-like con-ditions.

The lowest winter temperatures typically occurred at the Frost Pocket station ranging from a low of 49 degrees below zero in the winter of 1942-1943 to 26 degrees below zero during the “easy winter” of 1952-1953. In addi-tion, an average annual snowfall of 140 inches and the highest one-year snow total of 245.4 inches in the winter of 1925-1926 were gleaned from weather records spanning 50 years. In addition to annual weather statistics, damage to the School forest from the “big blow” of November 25, 1950 was noted in the 1950 Alumni News. Later issues of the Alumni News reported only major weather events such as a record-setting May 18 - 19, 1976 snow storm and the massive microburst storm that struck the Wanakena area on July 15, 1995 and flattened an estimated 30,000 trees in the Dubuar Forest.

The Ranger School Centennial Room has early editions of the Alumni News with historic weather statistics and “Other News of Interest” in the archive collection. Current weather conditions at the School are collected by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation using satellite technology and are updated hourly. The data is available at: http://mesowest.utah.edu/cgibin/droman/meso_base.cgi?stn=WNKN6&product=&time=LOCAL.

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2015 ALUMNI NEWS BOOK

This is the beginning of the 2015 ALUMNI NEWS. Please feel free to contribute articles, stories, artwork, photos, poetry, news etc. that are informative, entertaining and interesting to other alumni. These articles may not necessarily be the views or opinions of the RSAA Board of Directors, or the editor, but this is YOUR book.

The cost of publishing the book is over $6000. Boosters are again available. This helps defray the costs of publishing and it is a good place to advertise. Wouldn’t you or your company like to be included?

If interested fill out the order form below and send it back with your donation.

Attach how you would like your ad listed and enclose the check payable to: “RSAA”

The rates are:

__________ Whole page @ $75 __________ 1/2 page @$40 __________ 1/4 page @ $25 __________ one line listing @ $15

Name:__________________________________________________________________________Class: ______________________

Address:___________________________________________________________________________________________________

City:_________________________________________ State: _______ Zip: ______________Phone:_________________________

Please take a minute to fill in your nominations and reasons for choices for both these awards on the back of the information sheet.

Philip J. Haddock Award for Excellence

“The person selected does not have to be (or have been) an officer of the RSAA or a member of the Executive Committee, but

neither should such persons be excluded. The person selected should be one who has made an outstanding contribution of

some kind (not monetary). This contribution may be in the nature of a single, noteworthy act or a lower-keyed, but long-term

commitment to the School and/or the RSAA or for alumni in general.”

Previous P. J. HADDOCK AWARD WINNERS:

1980 Clyde Powell ‘16

1981 Lucian Plumley ‘31

1982 C. Eugene Farnsworth

1983 J. Wayne Morrow ‘33

1984 F.B. “Dinty” Moore ‘32

1985 Orrin L. Latham

1986 Barry D. Nehr ‘60

1987 Arthur E. Kopp ‘31

1988 Michael Salato ‘29

1989 Daniel Castagnozzi ‘50

1990 Mary Ann Remele ‘53

1991 David G. Anderson ‘50

1992 Francis M. LaDuc ‘47

1993 James E. Coufal ‘57

1994 Kermit E. Remele ‘43

1995 Gordon T. Hughes ‘56

1996 Richard W. Miller ‘53

1997 Hal Bush ‘27

1998 John Peck ‘43

1999 Lawrence Rathman ‘72

2000 Gail Simmons

2001 Thomas D. Martin ‘76

2002 Chris Westbrook ‘73

2003 Stephen Coulthart ‘53

2004 Dick Thomas ‘54

2005 Ken Myers ‘52

2006 Lawrence Hill ’50

2007 Charles Hartnett ‘51

2008 Lee Berry ‘68

2009 Bruce Williams ‘76

2010 Gerald L. Kniskern ‘50

2011 Wayne G. Allen ‘79

2012 Bob Simmons

2013 Jerry Holbrook ‘56

2014 Tom Hodges ‘53

KERMIT E. REMELE AWARD OF MERITORIOUS SERVICE

This award is presented by the Ranger School Alumni Association in honor of Kermit E. Remele ‘43.

One of his greatest strengths was his ability to mobilize and motivate people to work for the betterment of the Ranger School.

The intent of this award is therefore to recognize groups of people whose combined efforts have gone beyond the norm to have a positive lasting influence on the Ranger School.

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The Alumni Memorial (Legacy) Scholarship:

As mentioned in previous newsletters, an Alumni Memorial Scholarship (Legacy) has been created with funds left to us, and in memory of alumni and friends of the RS that have passed on. This scholarship will be endowed when the fund reaches the necessary level. The amount collected so far has grown substantially, and hopefully it will soon be endowed. Please consider donating to this fund, the sooner we can endow this scholarship, the sooner we will be able to financially support a worthwhile student

Checks may be sent to the RSAA Office at any time. Please make checks payable to the RSAA and note on the check that it is for the Alumni/Legacy Scholarship. Thank you in advance for your consideration and generosity.

Ranger School and the Military

Mr. Haddock kept excellent records while he was Secretary of the RSAA. Over the years, much of the information was not noted in the ALUMNI NEWS books. We would like to record all alumni that have served in the mili-tary. If you have knowledge of alumni that served, please note it on your information sheet, or on a separate paper.

Donations have been coming in to the Wanakena His-

torical Association to help with the bridge rebuild. With

our fundraising, Summer Bridge Day, donation jugs, and

donations mailed in, we have over $60,000 collected.

As we go to press with this newsletter, we received the

following news from the Wanakena Historical Association:

“GREAT NEWS!! The Wanakena Historical Association is ecstatic to

learn of receiving a $125,000 grant to rebuild the foot bridge which was

announced as part of the 2014 Regional Economic Development Councils

awards on December 11. AGAIN many thanks to our Grant Writing Com-

mittee who worked diligently this summer to apply for this grant.

Once the paperwork is received by The Town of Fine, this grant should

allow us to move forward with developing firm plans and to contract de-

signers and craftsman to reconstruct our 171- foot historic Wanakena

suspension footbridge that was damaged by an ice flow in January 2014.

All of the wooden elements will be replaced - north and south towers and

their corresponding concrete abutments, pedestrian walkway decking

and side rails. Money that has so generously been donated, certainly

helped in the decision to award this this grant to our community.

Once we know what actual cost to rebuild, we will continue to work dili-

gently to plan additional events and fundraisers to cover the cost of re-

building.”

**ONE LAST NOTE **

A small note, but with BIG wishes:

The Ranger School Alumni Association and the Ranger School community would like to wish Larry Rathman ’72 the very best on his retirement.

As you read this newsletter, Larry and Beth will be sitting by the pool at their new home in Sebastian, FL. - the Treasure Coast. So fitting, as Larry has been a treasure to the Ranger School and the college for approximately 40 years. We will miss him but know he will be back!

GOOD LUCK

&

THANKS FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR US!

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RANGER SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

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Happy

Holidays

Thank you to our Veterans

& to our Military for Serving!