INSIDENSIDE EE SS FF Winter 1997 - esf.edu

The magazine of the SUNY

COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & FORESTRY

INSIDE E◆S◆FINSIDE E◆S◆FWinter 1997Winter 1997

In This IssueINSIDE ESF is published fourtimes each year foralumni and friends of theSUNY College ofEnvironmental Scienceand Forestry.

SUNY College of EnvironmentalScience and Forestry

1 Forestry DriveSyracuse, NY 13210-2778

President: Ross S. Whaley

Vice President for Student Affairsand Institutional Advancement:James M. Heffernan

Editor: Jeri Lynn Smith, Director of

News and Publications

Contributor: Claire B. Dunn

Additional Assistance: Kathleen A.

Ciereck, Geraldine C. Trendell,

Timothy R. Larson ‘99

Photo credits: page 3, 1996 Empire

Forester; page 5, Niagara Mohawk

Power Corp.; page 7, Alexandria

Seaport Foundation; page 8,

Cheryl Piazza ‘95; page 10, John P.

Hassett; page 11, Donald J.

Leopold; page 12, Jeri Lynn Smith;

page 13, Jamie Savage; page 15,

Leta Evaskus SU ’97

Office of News & Publications122 Bray Hall315-470-6644

Campus Update 4U.S. Energy Secretary VisitsForestry Research Center AnniversaryTwo Earn Chancellor’s AwardsNew Vice President NamedHeiberg Forest Named Tree FarmASLA Cites ESF-based ProgramDecember ConvocationNew Director for ESPRI

Heiberg Timbers ‘Hoist Sails’ 7Culls from a Forestry class logging exercisefind new life on the ‘Potomac’

ESF’s Interdisciplinary Approach to Water 8Public issues, continuing research interests,and challenging careers for students drive thenew Water Resources Management Option inthe Faculty of Forestry

Campus Profile: Jamie Savage 1 3Surrounded by Adirondack and ESF ties,Ranger School Assistant Professor Jamie Savageclimbs one of the really ‘high peaks’

On the CoverKathy Roberts of ESF’s Forest Properties unit, showsoff the College’s Heiberg Forest in winter

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science andForestry offers a diverse range of accredited programs and degree options inenvironmental and forest biology, environmental studies, chemistry, environ-mental resources and forest engineering, forest technology, landscape archi-tecture, paper science and engineering, resources management, and con-struction management and wood products engineering.

The College’s mission is to be a world leader in instruction, research andpublic service related to: understanding the structure and function of theworld’s ecosystems; developing, managing and use of renewable naturalresources, improving outdoor environments ranging from wilderness, tomanaged forests, to urban landscapes; and maintaining and enhancingbiological diversity, environmental quality and resource options. As such, ESFhas maintained its unique status within SUNY’s 64-school system as only oneof four specialized colleges and one of only eight doctoral granting institutions.

ESF takes affirmative action to provide equal opportunity for all people andto build a campus community that reflects a wealth of diversity.Printed on recycled paper.

1997 Winter INSIDE ESF 3

Campus Views

Pathways To The Futureby James M. Heffernan

One of my favorite quotations these days is “Seek Simplicity.Distrust It.” These four simple words of Alfred North Whiteheadare good advice—strive to reduce complexity, but know thatyou’ll always miss something. With that in mind, I venture toshare a few observations about life at ESF these days, chas-tened to not overdo the details, chagrined to leave out muchworth telling.Students and Campus LifeStudents and Campus LifeStudents and Campus LifeStudents and Campus LifeStudents and Campus Life

We’ve admitted our largest freshman class in years—116.They are a bright group. Their SAT scores (1165), their highschool averages (89), and their class rank (24 percent in the top10 percent of their class) put them in the top 10 percent of allcollege freshmen in the US this year. From past experience weknow that these new students are quick-starters. “Point me inthe right direction and let me at it” appears to be their motto.

Director of Admissions Dennis Stratton notes that freshmanadmissions is as competitive as some Ivy League schools andmajor research universities—about one applicant in seven isenrolled. We will expand our freshman class to 160 next yearto bring more of these “best and brightest” to campus. Startingnext fall, all programs in the College will admit freshmen,including Environmental Studies and the newly renamedConstruction Management and Wood Products Engineeringfaculties.

Transfer students still predominate among our enteringstudents. About 300 or so are admitted per year. More,however, are coming in as sophomores each year, and nowroughly equal junior transfers in number.

These are also strong students; they bring an average GPAof 2.99 from their previous colleges. We have seen somedecline in transfer applications related to declines in enroll-ments at the SUNY institutions from which our transfers come.SUNY’s new efforts as a system to recruit students, and ourAdmissions Office’s expanded efforts to reach more out-of-statestudents, however, should have good effects on the size of thetransfer pool.

ESF students are as enthusiastic toward campus activities asever. Director of Student Activities Julie Rawls notes that theStudent Council has 33 members, the most ever; clubs like theForestry Club, Papyrus Club, The Wildlife Society and HonorSociety have substantially increased their activities and events.We find our students a delight to work with. Collaboration andfellow support, rather than competition and isolation, typifythe ESF student culture. Incidents of academic dishonesty orpersonal misconduct are uncommon.

Of increasing concern at ESF is the rising cost of attendingcollege. Room, board, tuition, books and expenses were about

$2,800 in 1972 and$8,700 in 1990. Thatfigure is now$12,300—a 41 per-cent increase in justsix years. Students areworking at morepart-time jobs, arecarrying greater debtloads of college loansafter graduation. Fi-nancial Aid DirectorJohn View reportsthat in 1990 he pro-cessed $1.1 millionin college loans for340 students. This year, 1,100 students—of 1,200 enrolled—borrowed a total of $5.4 million. Many students are leaving ESFwith a “negative dowry” of $15,000.

When they leave us, where do they go? Tom Slocum,Director of Career and Counseling Services, notes that ESFgrads are working or continuing their education at higher ratesthan other college graduates. Seventy-six percent took jobs byDecember, and 17 percent went to graduate school.

In our first appearance in its national rankings, Barron’spublication, Best Buys in College Education, describes ESF toprospective students:

“For students who don’t only love the environmentbut are committed to learning how to preserve itthrough a highly-specialized and challenging cur-riculum with plenty of hands-on experience, theanswer may be SUNY-ESF. The ingredients for suc-cess, students say, are a heart devoted to environ-mental issues, a head committed to studying difficultscience-based courses, and hands and feet willing todo the work.”

A pretty accurate picture, we’d say.

Institutional AdvancementInstitutional AdvancementInstitutional AdvancementInstitutional AdvancementInstitutional AdvancementStudents of high quality and high enthusiasm are not news

at ESF. And their enthusiasm doesn’t wane after they leave us.One area where alumni do us proud is in their financialcontributions. Last year ESF alumni ranked first in SUNY foralumni giving per student, and, perhaps even more impres-sively, second in total giving—behind only the University atBuffalo. Annual Fund, class gifts, special bequests and deferredgiving are among the most popular means for making contri-butions to the College.

continued on next page

James M. Heffernan


Campus Update

Energy Secretary’s VisitBoosts Biomass EnergyProject

U.S. Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Learyannounced a multiyear, $13.8 million grantto foster renewable energy research on afall visit to ESF’s Genetics Field Station.

The Department of Energy BiomassPower for Rural Development grant wasmade to the Niagara Mohawk Power Cor-poration for commercialization by the SalixConsortium of willow biomass as an en-ergy crop of farmlands in the Northeast.Members of the Salix Consortium are ESF,NiMo, New York State Electric & Gas Corpo-ration (NYSEG), and the New York StateEnergy Research and Development Au-thority (NYSERDA). The campus-based shareof the grant totals $4.1 million.

The work is a result of more than 15years of research on biomass crops con-ducted by Dr. Edwin H. White, dean ofResearch, and Dr. Lawrence P. Abrahamsonof the Faculty of Forestry, who demon-strated fast-growing hybrid willow planta-tions produce plant matter suitable for feedstock in the production of energy andchemicals. The work gained national promi-nence in 1994 when it was featured in afront-page Wall Street Journal article.

NY Forestry ResearchCenter Celebrated

Kevin King, executive director of theEmpire State Forest Products Association,New York State Senator John DeFrancisco,and ESF Dean of Research Edwin Whitechronicled the accomplishments of the NewYork State Center for Forestry Research andDevelopment September 13 during a briefprogram in the Rotunda of ESF’s Bray Hall.

The Center, established in 1994, is aprogram of the state Legislature designedto assist the state’s forest products industry.

DeFrancisco, King and White discussedthe Center’s role in enhancing communi-cations between and by forest-based in-dustry in the state, promoting research andtechnology transfer on critical issues, andthe commitment by the Legislature andstate government to aid New York busi-nesses in this important area.

Hannu Makkonen IsNew ESPRI Director

Dr. Hannu P. Makkonen was appointeddirector of ESF’s Empire State Paper Re-search Institute.

Makkonen, who holds a Ph.D.from the University of Washing-ton in Seattle, joined ESPRI as asenior research associate in 1993.He previously held positions withthe Finnish Pulp and Paper Re-search Institute (KCL) at Espoo,Finland, and with Kajaani Oy atKajaani, Finland, as research di-rector. He also was the founderand president of the companiesKajaani Inc. Automation,Sensodec Inc., and Tapio Tech-nologies Inc., in North America.

Membership includes compa-nies from 11 different countries.

Abrahamson AndWestbrook Earn 1996Chancellor’s Awards

Dr. Lawrence P. Abrahamson, seniorresearch associate, and Christopher L.Westbrook, director of the Ranger School,received 1996 Chancellor’s Awards for Ex-cellence in professional service and teach-ing, respectively.

A specialist in the ecology and the bio-logical chemical control of forest insectpests, Abrahamson also serves as theCollege’s extension officer. In addition toteaching and research, he carries out asignificant number of public and commu-nity service efforts annually for ESF.

He joined the College faculty in 1977following employment with the U.S. ForestService, and worked initially with ESF’sApplied Forestry Research Institute (AFRI).He now holds a joint appointment in theFaculty of Forestry and Faculty of Environ-mental and Forest Biology, and directs theNortheast Petroleum-Forest Resources Co-operative.

Westbrook, a 1973 Ranger School alum-nus, was a surveyor in Idaho and WestVirginia and an assistant professor of landsurveying at Glenville (W.Va.) State Col-lege, before returning to the Ranger School


U.S. Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary andESF’s Edwin White, right, tour the Genet-ics Field Station in Tully with Congress-man James Walsh.

Christopher L.Westbrook

6 INSIDE ESF Winter 1997

in 1989. He developed the new electivesurveying concentration that has helpedspur enrollment in the 85-year-old foresttechnology program.

Each Chancellor’s Awards recipient re-ceives an inscribed certificate and a castbronze medallion. Abrahamson andWestbrook received theirs at ESF’s Fall Con-vocation in September.

ASLA, Planning Assoc.Cite ‘Your Town’Program

An ESF program that helps rural townsplan their futures received a 1996 Commu-nications Award from the American Societyof Landscape Architects (ASLA). It also wonthe 1997 Public Education Award of theAmerican Planning Association.

Established in 1990, “Your Town: De-signing Its Future,” has ESF professors andstudents work with elected and appointedofficials and civic leaders in communitiesaround the country, helping them deviseways to protect the character of their townswhile allowing for development.

ESF is the home the Northeast RegionalCenter, one of five ‘Your Town’ centers inthe U.S. and the effort here is directed by S.Scott Shannon, associate professor of Land-scape Architecture. Richard S. Hawks, chairof the Faculty, is the national Your Townco-director with Shelley Mastran, directorof the Rural Heritage Program at the Na-tional Trust for Historic Preservation.

New HampshireForester FetesDecember Graduates

Jane A. Difley, president of the Societyfor the Protection of New Hampshire For-ests, was the keynote speaker at ESF’sDecember Convocation on December 6.

Ninety-nine students received bachelorof science or bachelor of landscape archi-tecture degrees. Sixteen students receivedmaster’s degrees in science, landscape ar-

chitecture, or professional studies, and 11students received doctor of philosophydegrees.

ESF’s mid-year Convocation was estab-lished in 1985 to recognize the growingnumber of students who complete theirdegree requirements and leave campus towork or pursue further education, whichmakes it impossible for them to return forMay commencement ceremonies.

Alumni Elect NewOfficers; Nancy Mayer‘71, President

Nancy A. Mayer ‘71, a manufacturingconsultant with Donald J. Mayer & Associ-ates of Jamesville, NY, was elected presi-dent of the ESF Alumni Association at theassociation’s annual meeting this fall.

Connie S. WebbNamed Vice Presidentof Administration

ESF President Ross S. Whaley namedConnie Steward Webb vice presidentfor Administration effective August 19,1996.

Webb, manager of laboratory op-erations for Lockheed Martin’s Electron-ics Laboratory, replaced Nick J.Paradiso, Jr., who retired in July.

In her position at Lockheed Martin(formerly GE Aerospace), Webb plannedand executed annual budgets of $5million and was responsible for some150,000 square feet of building andlaboratory space, including mainte-nance, facilities planning and construc-tion, environmental health and safety,information resources and personnel.

She received the Jefferson Cup Awardfor outstanding leadership and personalcontributions toward improvingcompliance and ethics performance atthe Laboratories, which was presentedby Lockheed Martin CEO NormAugustine in June 1994; the Technology

Outstanding Achievement Award fromMartin Marietta Corp., also in 1994; theOutstanding Alumni Award fromSyracuse University’s School ofInformation Studies in 1992; and theGE Management Award for innovativeand inspirational leadership in 1990.

As ESF’s vice president for Adminis-tration, Webb oversees the College’sbusiness and finance, environmentalhealth and safety, forest properties man-agement, information technologies, in-stitutional planning, personnel and af-firmative action, physical plant, andpublic safety operations. Additionally,she serves as the College’s representa-tive to several State University of NewYork, Syracuse University, and publicand private community agencies andgroups.

Webb received both her baccalaure-ate and master’s degrees from SyracuseUniversity and has been an adjunctfaculty member in SU’s School of Infor-mation Studies. Additionally, she hasserved as a member (1984-1989) andpresident (1988-1989) of the board ofdirectors of the Regional Learning Ser-vice Career Center.

Campus Update,continued

Also elected to positions on the AlumniAssociation Board of Directors were RobertSand ‘50 of Odessa, NY, first vice president,a retired forester with Cotton-Hanlon, Inc.;C. Alan Baker ‘53 of Baldwinsville, NY,second vice president, retired vice presi-dent and news director for the BrownNewspapers; and Mary W. Clements ‘82 ofSyracuse, NY, secretary-treasurer, a land-scape architect with the state Departmentof Transportation.

Also serving on the Board ExecutiveCommittee is Stuart Hosler ‘52 ofBaldwinsville, immediate past president,retired owner of the Hosler Agency, Inc.

Alumni Association members alsoelected class group directors and directors-at-large to serve on the board. Board ofDirectors members serve a two-year term.


by Claire B. Dunn

Sixty-six years ago, a Civilian Conserva-tion Corps crew worked on a ridge in Tully,NY, planting evergreen trees to help pre-vent soil from washing into the valley.

Today, four of those trees bear theweight of sails that help propel a 42-footsailboat on the Potomac River.

The trees, which grew in ESF’s HeibergForest, were donated by the College to theAlexandria Seaport Foundation of Virginia.The foundation used the four Norwayspruce trees to make the masts and boomsfor a replica of a Potomac River dory boat,the traditional workboat that was used onthe river for a century.

Dubbed the Potomac, the vessel will beused as a floating classroom where chil-dren can study marine science firsthand.

Richard A. Schwab, director of forestproperties at ESF, said the trees were partof a plantation established by the CCC in1931. They became ESF’s property in 1948,when the College acquired Heiberg Forest.

The trees’ move to the Potomac Rivercame about after the Seaport Foundation’schairman, William H. Hunley, learnedthrough a relative on the College staff that

ESF has forests thatserve as outdoorlaboratories for itsstudents. Schwabinvited Hunley toHeiberg in October1994, when some ofDr. Joel R. Howard’sstudents in the For-estry Faculty wereconducting a thin-ning exercise.

Hunley came toHeiberg and lookedover the trees. He se-lected five Norwayspruce trees thatHow-ard’s studentshad marked for re-moval. Two of thetrees were for masts,two for booms, and one was a spare.

“They grew up very straight and clean,no crooks in them and very few knots,”Hunley said.

Such trees are hard to find. Trees inVirginia tended to be too heavy for thePotomac’s masts.

Hunley wanted spruce trees that hadgrown in a thick stand because they wouldbe straight and springy. They wouldn’tsnap under pressure. And they would bestrong enough to support their own weight.On a dory boat, there are no cables to holdup the mast.

“It stands alone, just like it does in theforest,” Hunley said.

The Seaport Foundation got the trees toVirginia with the help of another donation.An assistant boatbuilder has a relative whois a contractor in upstate New York. Thecontractor had a project in Washingtonand hauled the trees south during a trip tothe worksite.

In Alexandria, the trees were honedinto two masts that measure 44 feet and 39feet, and two booms that measure 23 feet9 inches and 17 feet one inch.

The trees and the transportation wereamong the last in a series of donations thatallowed the Potomac to be constructed by

Heiberg Timbers ‘Hoist’ Sails

the foundation, a non-profit organizationthat promotes awareness of Alexandria’smaritime heritage.

Hunley drew up plans for the boat in1944. Foundation members figured theycould build it if they raised $100,000.When a fund drive brought in $2,000, theyreconsidered their strategy. Donationsturned out to be key.

“People gave us just about everything ittook to build a boat,” Hunley said. “In theend, we had built a $100,000 boat for lessthan $15,000.”

Two years after Hunley selected thetrees, the Potomac was commissioned onOct. 12, 1996, at Waterfront Park inAlexandria.

One bit of work remained. Schwab saidthat in exchange for the trees, ESF had onerequest for the Seaport Foundation: TheCollege asked that a plaque be placed ona mast, bearing ESF’s name and notingthat the College had donated the trees.

Hunley said it will be done.He had this to say about ESF’s role in the

creation of the Potomac: “They aren’t re-sponsible for putting it in the water, butthey’re certainly responsible for making itsail.’’

The Potomac in full sail.

Volunteers help raise the mast.


Water—that quicksilver gift of nature—has been calledthe single most crucial ingredient making life on earthpossible. Water is so pervasive in our environment—occur-ring in many forms and in many places—that we take it forgranted. Poets and scientists have described and quantifiedwater. Yet the principles and ramifications of water re-sources management remain as elusive to most Americansas a handful of rain—except when there is a drought or aflood. Only then are we of a single mind toward water.Most of the time we give little thought to water. Althoughwe do treasure it, we also pollute it. We conserve it andwaste it; we treat it and mistreat it. And while most of us canappreciate a cooling summer shower, or even the beautyof a winter snowfall, both are disdained by weekendweather forecasters.

In the water-rich Northeast, as long as our householdtaps do not run dry, we use water freely without realizingits true value. In the arid West, water disputes are a way oflife. In all regions of the United States, however, ourstandard of living depends heavily upon having plenty ofinexpensive, clean water available, and an inexpensive,safe, way to dispose of it after use. To produce a ham-burger, french fries, and a soft drink, for example, takesabout 1,500 gallons of water—enough to fill a swimmingpool. To grow the cotton in a pair of jeans requires about1,800 gallons of water. To produce the finished steel in an

automobile requires about 32,000 gallons of water. Now,recycling techniques are reducing that amount. House-holds and industry both use vast amounts of water. Syra-cuse learned a lesson during the summer of 1995 when,in the midst of the worst drought in 30 years, waterdemand by customers of the Onondaga County WaterAuthority grew to 64.5 million gallons a day. Voluntaryrestraints requested by local officials dropped the daily useto 43.6 million gallons, a more normal level.

Although there is plenty of water on earth, it is notalways at the right place, at the right time, or of the rightquality. According to the Universities Council on WaterResources, we face record consumption today, uncertainsupplies, and the continuing need for protection fromflooding and pollution. “The health and economic effectsof a shortage of clean water are matters of great concern,”the Council stated in a recent publication. “By the year2000, it has been estimated that 17 out of 21 waterresources regions of the United States will suffer frominadequate surface and underground (groundwater) wa-ter supplies, flooding, erosion and sedimentation prob-lems, as well as pollution of both surface water andgroundwater.”

Realizing the crucial importance of these trends, ESFfaculty members have traditionally offered courses dealingwith water management and ecology, carried out innu-

ESF’s Interdisciplinary Approach To

WA T E RBy Rod Cochran


merable research projects, and conducted an active publicservice outreach program dealing with these problems. Allof these programs are being refocused and emphasized,frequently across classic disciplinary lines, in response tocontinental (and some cases, international) water manage-ment and pollution control problems.

Water Resources Management, Hydrology:Students Attracted ToStudents Attracted ToStudents Attracted ToStudents Attracted ToStudents Attracted ToChallenging CareersChallenging CareersChallenging CareersChallenging CareersChallenging Careers

As water needs become more pressing, the interest inwater resources management as a profession has grown,according to Dr. Peter E. Black, professor in the Faculty ofForestry. The result is a new Water Resources ManagementOption first offered last fall for undergraduate students.“The Water Option builds on the existing Forest ResourcesManagement Curriculum providing a wildland manage-ment base with emphasis on the manipulation of naturalresources for the development of high quality water sources,”Black explained. Nine students were registered in the newoption this fall. For the first two years they will follow theResources Management Curriculum, devoting one electiveto geology. Students then may choose an emphasis in soils,geology, ecology, mathematics, or chemistry, and will havethe opportunity to take general water courses.

“ESF faculty members offer a tremendous breadth anddepth of interest and expertise dealing with many aspectsof water,” Black said. “This interdisciplinary approach allow-ing students to follow their interests is one of the greatstrengths of the College.”

The Water Option features, for example, the protection,rehabilitation, maintenance, and enhancement of the landsproducing water for domestic and industrial uses, irriga-tion, navigation, recreation, and hydropower production.An understanding of water in natural and disturbed envi-ronments is fundamental to the new Water ResourcesOption offered to ESF students.

Courses in watershed hydrology, hydrologic processes,and related topics are available. Within the Option, buildingon the basic sciences and hydrologic background, studentselect courses in computer applications, forest influences,geographic information systems, global modeling andchange, hydrology, limnology, non-point source pollutioncontrol, soils, water resources administration, or wetlandsecology and hydrology.

Increasing numbers of graduate students at ESF pursuemaster’s degrees in Watershed Management and Hydrol-ogy, which develops an understanding of technical, social,and institutional aspects of water resources management.Individual students may emphasize scientific or social sub-ject areas, but all study in both areas. Scientific aspectsinclude the basic physical, chemical, and biological interac-tions occurring in water resources systems. The socialaspects are concerned with planning, regulation, law and

institutions, and management of water resources. Waterserves as a focus for graduate study in related land re-sources management, and water pollution and waterquality control.

Wetland ecosystem studies offer additional opportuni-ties for graduate students interested in the physical, chemi-cal, biological, and social management processes appliedto wetlands. In general terms, wetlands are areas wheresaturation with water is the dominant factor determiningthe nature of soil development and the types of plant andanimal communities living in the soil and in its surface.“Wetland studies are integrative because they draw on atleast six of the eight ESF faculties,” explained Dr. Richard C.Smardon, professor and chair of the Faculty of Environmen-tal Studies.

New careers in water resources management and hy-drology develop all the time to meet the increasing demandfor clean water and pollution control. The UniversitiesCouncil on Water Resources has identified more than twodozen interesting and challenging career areas including:

• water supplies and waste management systems de-velopment for industries;

• well drilling and testing;• resource development for large firms such as oil and

gas companies;• water supply development for electric power utilities;• consulting for industry;• analytical laboratories specializing in water chemistry;• nonprofit research organizations;• college and university instruction and research;• many federal agencies such as the Army Corps of

Engineers, Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Land Management,Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Protection Agency,Forest Service, Geological Survey, Peace Corps, and NaturalResources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conserva-tion Service);

• a variety of state and local government agencies withresponsibilities for public health, water and sewage man-agement, highway and land drainage, fish and wildlife,irrigation districts, environmental protection, and conserva-tion districts.

Water Problems Old And New:Searching For AnswersSearching For AnswersSearching For AnswersSearching For AnswersSearching For Answers

In a recent message to readers of the New York StateConservationist, former Commissioner of EnvironmentalConservation Michael D. Zagata wrote of the beautiful butecologically fragile Adirondack Mountains. “Some of thelakes of the Adirondacks are in trouble, threatened bypollutants that rain down from the sky,” stated Zagata. “...Adecade ago, New York State adopted a landmark law tolimit the amount of pollutants released through the burningof fossil fuels within New York’s borders. ...And yet, the acidrain continues to fall upon the Adirondacks and other parts


of the Northeast, borne on westerly winds that carry theresidue of smokestacks to us. Just as New York was in theforefront among the states to control its own sources of acidrain, the Empire State now takes the lead in urging federalstandards to limit sulfur and nitrogen emissions from distantpoints that continue to rain down upon our land, forests,and lakes.”

The knotty problem of atmospheric deposition is typicalof the complex ecological puzzles facing water researchers.The search for new knowledge and solutions goes on, eventhough it is rather like peeling the layers of an onion—thereis always another problem lying underneath. Although ESFfaculty members were among the first in the country tocarry out landmark atmospheric deposition research, simi-lar work continues today with no end in sight. Drs. DudleyJ. Raynal and Donald J. Leopold, for example, are engagedin a project in the Catskill Mountains to assess the role ofvegetation in processing and sequestering nitrogen, bothfrom man-made and natural origins. The four-year study,on the U.S. Geological Survey research site on the WestBranch of the Neversink River, is of great interest to NewYork City officials because nitrogen-rich Catskill waters donot meet EPA drinking water standards.

The variety of water and wetlands projects being carriedout by ESF researchers is truly mind-boggling. A briefsampling:

• A two-year study of Onondaga Lake by Dr. John P.Hassett discovered organic chemical contaminants neverbefore described from the natural environment, napthaleneand diphenylethane. He deduced they came from a by-product from industrial operations around the turn of thecentury. The contaminants make up the major part of theso-called tar beds found in the lake.

• An on-going project looks at how sunlight regulatesthe emission of dimethyl sulfide into the atmosphere fromsea water. “Dimethyl sulfide produced by algae is the majororganic sulfur compound released from oceans,” explainsresearcher Dr. David J. Kieber. “This is significant becausepart of the gas is converted to sulfuric acid in the atmo-sphere, which contributes to rainwater acidity, and to theformation of clouds thereby affecting climate. The remain-ing gas is converted to non-acidic chemicals.”

• Several graduate students under the direction ofEnvironmental and Forest Biology’s Leopold collaboratedon a study to determine if wetlands (mucklands) can berestored after being cleared for agriculture and then aban-doned. The Great Lakes states have lost 67 percent of theiroriginal wetland base, mainly as a result of conversion toagriculture. A computer model that will assist restorationefforts will be based on the ESF researchers’ results.

• A graduate student working with Dr. James M. Hassettis carrying out a study with the National Weather Serviceoffice in Binghamton to examine the performance of theWSR-88D Doppler radar for tracking regions of localizedsnowfall. The information is vital because accurate snowaccumulation and snow water equivalent data are neededfor short-term hydropower scheduling decisions, interme-diate-term flooding forecasts, and seasonal water resourcemanagement decisions.

• Dr. Neil H. Ringler is the director of the EnvironmentalMonitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) at ESF, a four-year project to monitor a sampling of some 11,000 lakes ineight northeastern states in an effort to predict land usechanges. Up to 25 student interns are trained each summerat Huntington Forest in sampling protocols, including fish,benthic animals, water quality, and habitat. Teams ofinterns then collect data on 100 lakes each season. Theproject is a joint venture among EPA, U.S. Fish and WildlifeService, and ESF.

• John Hassett recently developed and patented twowater contaminant samplers during his studies of Onon-daga Lake. One is anchored in place to accumulate dataover time, and the other is used from a moving boat.

• Recent graduates Suzanne Wechsler and HannahGreen carried out a project with the New York City Depart-ment of Environmental Protection to evaluate the effective-ness of the best management practices (known as BMP) incontrolling urban non-point source pollution. The first

A graduate student for John P. Hassett, Chemistry,samples Onondaga Lake.


phase is monitoring water qualityand quantity entering and exitingdetention basins—ponds built to ac-commodate run-off required in newsubdivisions. Modeling their findingswill conclude the study.

• Graduate student DeanBrammer, working with his majorprofessor Dr. Jeffrey J. McDonnell,traveled to New Zealand to partici-pate in a study of the Maimai water-shed. His project involved the use ofchemical and isotope tracers to de-termine the subsurface flow path-ways on a forested hillside.

• Amy Titus, with McDonnell andBlack, is working with the U.S. Geo-logical Survey in the Sleeper RiverWatershed in Vermont. During snowmelt season she recordedhydrometeorologic characteristicssuch as air temperature, wind speedand direction, and radiation balance—all factors influenc-ing snow melt rate.

• Several Empire State Paper Research Institute research-ers explore the reduction, reuse, and cleanup of wastewater from paper mills. The resulting technologies may beused to recover valuable products such as lignin andpigments in addition to water, increase the efficiency of therecovery boiler, and reduce the load on the conventionalwaste water treatment plant.

• An Atlantic salmon restoration study is being carriedout by graduate students Christopher Millard and RichardMcDonald in the Oswego River basin. Supported by NiagaraMohawk Power Corp., the project aims to determine theability of streams to support Atlantic salmon after the fishhave been absent for more than a century. Results from thefirst three years indicate that they survive and grow very wellfrom sac fry to the migratory stage.

• Leopold found wide fluctuations in annual floweringand fruiting success of the small white ladyslipper, anendangered plant that grows in wetlands. Flowering suc-cess was determined by the amount of sunlight received,while the amount of rainfall had no effect.

• Postdoctoral research associate Kyong-ha Kim studiedthe macropore flow at the U.S. Geological Survey researchsite at Panola Mountain, GA. He uses grid networks consist-ing of tensiometers and piezometers to assess the nature ofsubsurface flow.

• A group of Ringler’s graduate students studies theeffects of littoral zone modification on fish communities inOnondaga Lake. They built artificial spawning sites andplanted aquatic vegetation. The next step is to build anobservation jetty to monitor restoration results. The stu-dents also are looking at why there are so few zebra mussels

in the lake when the Seneca River harbors incrediblenumbers.

• A detailed vegetation study of the portion of CiceroSwamp burned by a fire 94 years ago was completed bygraduate student Cheryl M. LeBlanc. The old burn area isthe preferred habitat of the endangered Massasauga rattle-snake.

Lifelong Learning And TechnologicalTransfer:Communicating With TheCommunicating With TheCommunicating With TheCommunicating With TheCommunicating With ThePublic And Policy MakersPublic And Policy MakersPublic And Policy MakersPublic And Policy MakersPublic And Policy Makers

A shower of recent headlines reveal the critical nature ofwater management policy debates in this country. A ran-dom sampling included:

• Hurricane Fran Floods Eastern States• H.R.961 Would Make Major Changes In Clean Water Act• Superfund Hearings Focus On State Assumption Of

Responsibility• Worst Forest Fire Season In 40 Years Hits West• Questions Of Risk, Standard Setting Hold Up Introduction

Of Safe Drinking Water Act Bill In Senate• Federal Agencies Propose Wetlands Initiatives• Toll Climbs As Rains Fall.

Many more water issues clamored for attention, and awater headline appears nearly every week in metropolitannewspapers. The publicity is another sign that water man-agement policy decisions affect our livelihoods as well asour daily lives. Communicating knowledge to the public isan ESF tradition of long standing, and programs dealingwith water are extensive. A few highlights of public serviceoutreach activities:

This branch of the Neversink watershed in the Catskills is under study by Donald J.Leopold.


• The Office of Continuing Education has offered avariety of short courses in recent months, ranging fromWetland Plant Identification to Wetland Delineation courses,from Identification of Freshwater Fish Larvae to Environ-mental Forums, according to Dean Robert C. Koepper.

• Forestry’s Black originated the proposal and contin-ues to assist with planning for “The Water Center,” aresearch and education facility to be constructed in theHarborfront area of Onondaga Lake. A freshwater ecosys-tem aquarium is to be incorporated into the plan. Otherexhibits: The Nature of Water—to explore the physics anddynamics of water in all its states; The Water of Nature—agallery exploring ways in which water and watery habitatsform and influence plants, animals, and geology of theworld’s waters; and, Water Use Issues—a display providinginformation and activities about the use of water in society.

• An illustrated article by ESF graduate stu-dent Janice McIntosh appeared in the Spring1995 issue of Clearwaters, titled “Students Con-duct Research in Water Resources at SUNY-ESF.”

• The Great Lakes Research Consortium, acollaborative effort by 10 educational institu-tions to understand and improve the GreatLakes ecosystem, is headquartered at ESF. Pri-mary goals are to facilitate research and scholar-ship, educate students on topics related to theGreat Lakes ecosystem, and the disseminationof information gathered through consortium-sponsored research, according to Jack Manno,senior staff associate.

• Environmental Studies’ Smardon serveson the Council of the Great Lakes ProtectionFund, which has been granted $12 million inNew York State, and supports five or six publicservice and research projects a year for a total ofabout $250,000. He also prepared a guidebookfor communities, titled Protecting FloodplainResources, that will be used nationally by the

Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Emer-gency Management Administration.

• ESF hosted the prestigious Annual Symposium,sponsored by the American Water Resources Associationthis past summer. Black was general chairperson for thefour-day session; McDonnell served as technical programchair. The theme was Watershed Management Restoration.Black and McDonnell serve numerous professional waterorganizations; they, for example, are associate editors of theWater Resources Bulletin and Water Resources Research,respectively.

Rod Cochran, ESF assistant to the president and professoremeritus, is a noted free-lance writer focusing on outdoortopics.

Peter E. Black, Faculty of Forestry, developed the water resources curriculum.


Campus Profile

JamieSavage: OnTop Of The

World

by Claire B. Dunn

On a mountaintop that towers 17,500feet in the Himalayas, there is no evidencethat any human being has ever stoodthere. No flag, no T-shirt, no hand-writtensign.

But at 4 p.m. November 5, with the sunthreatening to slip behind the mountainsto the west, an assistant professor fromESF’s Ranger School and a native Sherpacompanion scaled the peak in Nepal andsavored the view. They dug into a bag ofM&M’s, shared some bread and handedthe camera back and forth, snapping pic-tures. They screamed and waved in thedirection of their companions at their basecamp, a mile away and 3,500 feet down

the mountain. Their friends couldn’t possi-bly see or hear the pair at the summit.

Then the ESF forester, Jamie Savage,and his friend, Kili Sherpa, ran out of timeto celebrate. As Savage puts it, there wasno time for profound thoughts.

“It’s four o’clock, the sun’s going to gobehind those peaks,” Savage said. “Onceyou get the pictures out of the way, youstart thinking about getting down.”

So they gathered everything they hadbrought to the top and took it back to theirtemporary camp, some 1,500 feet downthe mountain. Although Savage’s climbwas the first documented ascent of thepeak, he felt no need to leave behind anyego-boosting evidence of his feat. On an-other peak, he had seen a sign advertisinga trekking company and it struck him as atacky intrusion on the scenery.

“We found nothing. We left nothing,”he said. “It was a conscious decision. Iwould like to have had an ESF banner tohold up for a picture, but I wouldn’t haveleft it there.”

Savage’s climb that day—Election Day’96 for the folks at home—was the highpoint of a seven-week trip to Nepal. Hemade the trip with six other Americans,including Bill Widrig, a 1986 graduate ofESF’s Paper Science and Engineering pro-gram, and Tad Welch, whose father, thelate Fay Welch, was a long-time ESF lec-turer. With two Sherpa friends and severalSherpa guides, the group trekked 75 milesthrough the Nepalese countryside, scaleda handful of peaks and helped Kili Sherpaestablish a climbing school in his village.

Kili had a special relationship with hisAmerican companions. He recently spentsome summers working in the Adirondacksat Tanager Lodge, a children’s camp estab-lished in 1925 by Fay Welch. Welch taughtforest recreation at ESF for 40 years beforeretiring in 1971. He died in 1984.

The camp on Chateaugay Lake is stillrun by Welch’s family. Savage spent sum-mers there as a child and credits the pro-gram and the Welch family with instillinghis love of climbing and his desire for acareer that would get him outdoors.

Savage, 33, spent his childhood in theFayetteville-Manlius area and graduatedfrom Paul Smith’s College in 1984. He gothis bachelor’s degree in forest resourcesmanagement from ESF in 1986 and hismaster’s degree in silviculture in 1990.

Several of his companions on the Nepaltrip, including Widrig, were also formerTanager campers. With so many connec-tions to the lodge, the group dubbed itself“Team Tanager.”

Widrig, who works for Hollingsworth &Vose paper company in Greenwich, nearAlbany, said the 20-year ties among thetrekkers made the trip run smoothly. Theytrusted each other’s ability to handle what-ever difficulties they might encounter.

“The best part was having the opportu-nity to see and experience that culture, tosee the mountains, and to share it withfriends. I could have gone on a packagetour but that would have been a totallymiserable experience for me,” Widrig said.

Jamie Savage and KiliSherpa on Claire Joan Go.


Dunn, a veteran newspaper reporterand editor, joined the College staffin December.


During two years of planning that pre-ceded the trip, Savage researched the area.Through a review of information compiledby the American Alpine Club and recordskept by Climbing magazine, he concludedthat the last major, documented climbingexpedition into the Rowaling Valley was in1955, when a group of British climbersexplored the terrain. Savage found noevidence any members of the British grouphad climbed the unnamed peak that in-trigued him.

In Nepal, they tried a less formal, but noless effective, method of investigating thepeak’s history. Their Sherpa companionsasked natives in the nearest village if any-one had ever climbed to the summit. Theanswer was no.

Savage decided to try it.It took him three attempts to get to the

top. The first time, he was alone as hestruggled a mile across a snow field, thenturned back when he faced the prospect ofdoing technical rock climbing that requiresthe use of ropes and other equipment. Itwouldn’t have been safe alone. He re-turned to base camp in good spirits, notparticularly troubled by his inability to reachthe summit.

“I didn’t really think too much about it.It was still beautiful. I had some greatviews,” he said.

Two days later he was back with twocompanions. But in the deep snow, theirpace was unusually slow and they had toturn back before they ran out of daylight.That time, he was disappointed becausehe thought he had picked a good route tothe top.

The next day, he and Kili Sherpa madeit. Savage’s reaction to being the first hu-man being to stand on a peak in theworld’s highest mountain range is, per-haps, a bit understated: “We got to thesummit and we were just really happy.There was a real sense of accomplishmentbecause it was my third time.”

When he got to the top, Savage pulledout a picture of his wife of a few months

and named the peak in her honor: ClaireJoan Go. Go is the Tibetan word for summit.

Although Savage chose to leave noth-ing at the summit, Claire Joan Go doesbear some evidence of human presence.On their descent, he and Kili Sherpa wereforced to leave behind nylon-webbed slingsas they rappelled off the summit. There isno way for a mountain climber to go backand retrieve the slings.

“So if somebody goes up there, they’llknow someone was at the summit, or darnclose, at least,” he said.

The Himalayas had long been a goal forSavage, who started climbing at age 13.“It’s the roof of the world. They’re thehighest mountains in the world. I think atsome point, every climber wants to getthere and see those mountains.”

As a forester, Savage also found plentyto see. The landscape, from hot and humidKatmandu to the snow-capped mountaintops, is tremendously varied. And whenyou travel by foot, you get a close look at it.

“You go from the tropics to the Arctic.You see the associated changes in climateand ecosystems as you go, and you justdon’t see that anyplace else.”

Savage returned to Wanakena with twoposters that depict the trees and insectsnative to Nepal. He plans to hang them ina second-floor laboratory at the RangerSchool, where the courses he teaches in-clude dendrology and entomology. A bookhe bought in Katmandu, Forests and For-estry in Nepal, is destined for the RangerSchool library.

Savage also came back with a newperspective on the Third World’s use ofnatural resources. He teaches a course inrecreational forestry and he took note of amajor difference in the way the U.S. andNepal approach their national parks.

In the Nepalese national park in theMount Everest region, people have homesand farms. They operate sawmills. Ratherthan learning about wilderness preserva-tion, a visitor is more likely to learn aboutthe way the natives live and use the forest.

“You experience the culture of Nepal asyou experience the wilderness of Nepal.That doesn’t happen here. You don’t gohiking in the Five Ponds Wilderness toexperience the culture of New York, or theculture of the Adirondacks,” Savage said.

Ever the forester, Savage trekkedthrough the countryside wondering howthe vegetation compares to what grows inthe United States.

“A lot of it is similar. I was surprised. I sawplants that reminded me of those you seein the Adirondacks,” he said.

“Their pine is much like our white pinebut it’s called blue pine. It’s just like you’dsee out here,” he said, glancing out hisoffice window in snowy Wanakena.

Nepalese pine, spruce, juniper, maple,and birch don’t vary much from whatgrows in the U.S., he said. Neither does therhododendron, with a couple of notableexceptions. In Nepal, it’s wild and growsinto trees to fill the forest with blossoms.

“I know of one rhododendron inWanakena. Somebody planted it and itseems to be surviving,” he said.

Savage is working on a slide show topresent to ESF faculty and staff members.He hopes to do one for students, too. Thepresentations are scheduled for noon and7 p.m. March 5 in the Alumni Lounge,Marshall Hall.

He has three trays of slides and lots ofthoughts to organize.

Many of his experiences will be sharedthrough the slide shows. Other informa-tion will work its way directly into theclassroom as he teaches Ranger Schoolstudents about forestry.

And some of what he learned will subtlyaffect his teaching and his own work in theforest. He just doesn’t know how yet. Afterseven weeks in a Third World nation, wherepeople own little more than a cabin, a setof clothes and some yaks to herd, heknows he was affected in ways he has notyet realized.

“It takes a while to digest it all, whatyou’ve just been through,” he said. “It’s sodifferent.”

Profile: Jamie SavageProfile: Jamie SavageProfile: Jamie SavageProfile: Jamie SavageProfile: Jamie Savage continuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinuedcontinued

TThe $22 million Edwin C. Jahn Laboratory will be available for use inthe fall of 1997. SUNY funding will cover most, but not all, of JahnLab construction, furnishings, and equipment.

A total of $1.1 million is needed to secure a full complement of research instru-mentation and special laboratories. Funds are also needed for challenge grants toobtain major equipment and for equipment endowment.

Opportunities for donors are numerous. Specifically, ESF seeks “naming gifts”for any of the following:

• Teaching labs: The large organic chemistry lab; two smaller labs for polymerand analytical chemistry, and for biochemistry and environmental chemistry.

• Research labs: Twenty-four special purpose research labs, and faculty/studentspace.

• Instrument labs and Support Service rooms: Thirty-four rooms for massspectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, spectrometry, microscopy, computerstations, and controlled environment rooms.

• Meeting and conference rooms, 24 faculty offices, and public areas.Additional monies are needed to endow fellowships that will increase the

number of graduate students ready for the expanded research capacity of the newfacility. Endowments also are needed to replace equipment in future years.

Readers are encouraged to contact the Office of Development regarding contri-butions to the Jahn Lab for “naming gifts,” endowment or equipment purchases.Options for individuals and corporations will be described further in a fundingappeal this spring.

I t ’s Nearly Complete!It ’s Nearly Complete!

Your helpYour helpwi l l f in ishwi l l f in ishthe jobthe job

On Campus

N O N - P R O F I T O R G .

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I N S I D E E ◆ S ◆ FOffice of News &

Publications1 Forestry DriveSyracuse, New York13210-2778

A D D R E S S C O R R E C T I O N R E Q U E S T E D

Campus Reading

New BooksAdams, Kim B., Allen, Douglas C.,

Manion, Paul D., Abrahamson,Lawrence P.,The Stewardship ofNorthern Hardwoods: A ForestOwner’s Handbook.* Research Foun-dation of SUNY/SUNY College of Envi-ronmental Science and Forestry, Syra-cuse, NY. 1996. 84 pp.

Black, Peter E., Watershed Hydrology.Second Edition. Ann Arbor Press,Chelsea, MI. 1996. 449 pp.

Lassoie, James P., Valerie A. Luzadis,and Deborah W. Grover. Forest Treesof the Northeast. Cornell UniversityPress, Ithaca, NY. 1997. 227 pp.

Nyland, Ralph D., Silviculture: ConceptsAnd Applications. McGraw-Hill BookCo., New York, NY. 1996. 576 pp.

Palmer, James F., Modeling Spacious-ness in the Dutch Landscape. Report119. Agricultural Research Depart-ment, Winan Staring Centre.Wageningen, The Netherlands. 1996.92 pp.

Smardon, Richard C., John P.Felleman, Susan L. Senecah, Eliza-beth Myers MS'94 and Kevin L.Olvany MS'97. Protecting FloodplainResources: A Guidebook for Commu-nities. Second edition. Federal Inter-agency Floodplain Management TaskForce, US Gov. Print. Off./FEMA 268/Sept. 1995, 41 pp. (second printing1996)

*Available from the SUNY-ESF Office of News andPublications.

March 4-6 Undergraduate Student Association Elections

March 10-14 Spring Break, Syracuse Campus.

March 14 Meeting of the SUNY Librarians’ Association Delegate Council.

March 20 Eugene C. Farnsworth Lecture, Illick Hall Auditorium, 3:30 pm.

March 22 Spring Awards Banquet, Drumlins, 6 p.m.

March 28 Easter Break.

March 29-April 6 Spring Break, Ranger School.

April 14-18 Earth Week.

April 26-27 Spring Work Weekend, Spaulding Alumni House, RangerSchool.

April 30-May 1 Reading Days.

May 2-9 Exams.

May 10 Convocation.

May 11 Commencement.

May 19-20 Adirondack Research Consortium Fourth Annual Confer-ence. Additional information: Dr. Chad Dawson, Faculty ofForestry.

June 11-13 Meeting of the International Union of Forestry ResearchOrganizations (IUFRO) Working Party 7.02.04, “Phytoplasmaand Virus Diseases of Forest Trees.” Sponsor: Environmentaland Forest Biology. Additional information: Continuing Edu-cation, 470-6891.

INSIDENSIDE EE SS FF Winter 1997 - esf.edu

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