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Michigan Tech Alumni Association

Development

Where are do our alumni live?

Nick is an assistant professor in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He enjoys his heavy teaching responsibilities, but also spends much time researching issues related to the Physiological Ecology of Urban Systems with an emphasis on Urban Trees and Urban Soil. Nick also engages in many outreach and service activities, including traveling around the Midwest to promote the study of environmental science, as well as a soil fertility consultant for forest nurseries around the Midwest.

Nick says he still missed the UP and has very fond memories of his time at Tech. He is just amazed at how time has flown, so it was especially great to see old friends again. He was also just amazed at the wonderful addition to the forestry building and was thrilled how the department has grown and how the addition did such a wonderful job of blending old with new.

Janet is also a tech alum (M.S. and PhD) of the forestry department. She is an associate professor also at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and just loves the UP as well. Janet also balances teaching with research in Landscape Ecology and how culture shapes the ecological world. In addition, she maintains a practice in environmental design consulting.

The Balsters were visiting because Janet is involved in a project with Dean Gale and Maclay Architects, on concepts for greening the SFRES campus and designs for an arboretum.

But, the best thing about visiting Tech again was that they got to share their memories (Janet and Nick met while grad students at Tech) with their son, Pace (9 years old), and their new daughter, Edie Lou Li (1.5 years old) who they just adopted from China last year. Pace’s most memorable comment from the trip (as his dad told me) was, “Dad, please don’t tell me another story about when you and Mom lived here!”. Needless to say, the Balsters enjoyed their stay.

Hi Carrie,

After reading your column in the recent newsletter, I wrote up a little story of an experience I had. I hope you enjoy it and maybe you'll be able to use it in the next newsletter.

Thanks for your great work putting the newsletter together -- it's always enjoyable to see all the news.

While I was working on my doctoral research back in the nineties, I was trying to track down a comparative collection of animal skulls for the moose skulls I was studying on the Isle Royale.  I had long read the work of Olaus and Ade Murie, naturalists in the early part of the century who meticulously studied, recorded, and collected animal specimens from around the country.  Although the Muries’ work in Wyoming and Alaska is well-known, many people are unaware that Ade Murie conducted a biological survey in the thirties on Isle Royale, and his notes have been invaluable to me in my research.

I wrote a letter to Mardy Murie, the wife of Olaus, who had become the symbol of the wilderness movement after Olaus died.  When she received my letter, written on Michigan Tech University letterhead, she commented to the person sitting with her, “This is one letter I must respond to!”  And when the man sitting beside Mardy saw the Michigan Tech letterhead, he decided to contact me as well.  That man was Bob Krear.

Bob Krear had known Olaus and Mardy Murie since he was in the 10th mountain division and later was a mountaineering ranger in Grand Teton National Park next to the Murie Homestead.  He became like a son to the Muries and his outdoor skills and strength made it possible for Olaus Murie to go on his final expedition to the Sheenjek although his health was failing.  That expedition of 1956 played a major role in establishing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska in 1980. Bob participated in other expeditions, completed a doctorate in animal behavior and ecology, and later became a college professor, with one of his appointments being at Michigan Tech from 1973 to 1984.

From that first letter, I was honored to become good friends with Mardy Murie, visiting her many times at the Murie Ranch while studying Olaus and Ade’s extensive collection and presenting wilderness and wildlife programs at the Murie Center until her death in 2001.  And I have also valued my long friendship with Bob Krear, visiting him in Estes Park where, although now 85, he takes me hiking up in Rocky Mountain National Park where he was the backcountry ranger in the fifties.

I have enclosed a picture of Bob Krear and me in front of Jackson Lake in the Tetons where we met to celebrate Mardy’s 96th birthday.  At that time, Bob told me another remarkable story concerning the Michigan Tech logo.  While at the Murie Ranch, he was hiking on the “Around the World Trail” which parallels the Snake River in one stretch.  The river was at high level in the spring and while standing on the bank he watched a duffle bag with the Michigan Tech logo on it float by, out of his reach.  He figured some Michigan Tech alum probably lost it while white water rafting on the Snake.  Maybe someone out there will recognize this story.

For anyone who would like to read more about Bob Krear and his interesting experiences in the wilds of the north, he has just written a new book called Four Seasons North: Explorations and Research in the Arctic and Subarctic by H. Robert Krear, 2006, Vantage Press.

Mary Hindelang, PhD
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Wildlife Ecology
School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

An email to Dean Peg Gale

Peg:

I read with great pleasure your recent "Message from the Dean" in the Summer 2005 newsletter, it brought back many memories. As a means of introduction, I am Fred J. Krueger, Public Service Staff, Plumas National Forest, Quincy, CA) class of 1971. I provide leadership for recreation, lands, minerals, and engineering for the forest.

I remember fondly the "great times" at Tech. Some with those "wild" profs. I remember my first day of summer camp summer 70 with Professors (Norm) Sloan and Vern (Johnson). In keeping with Vietnam and everything else that was going on (peace protests, Kent State, etc.), most of us thought it would be patriotic to paint an American Flag on out Hard Hats, which was unheard of in those days! Wow! (Not everyone was impressed.) I thought I was going to get kicked out of summer school. I just wish I could have known how profitable it would be to put a flag on everything as we still see to this date. I still have that hard hat and the great memory.

On the way home from the field one late afternoon of compass and pace class, the two profs in each bus thought it would be great to race the buses to campus. (It was a) one and only occurrence as (Department Head Gene) Hesterburg had a visit with those 2 profs the next day. Note: I cannot remember the "Wild" Profs’ names on this adventure, however the foresters shouted, yelled loud, and greatly encouraged each prof who was driving whenever each bus passed the other as we came down the hill into Houghton, past what is now the K-Mart/Pamida Mall, it was all single lane then. Bet you are glad you were not Dean then! Ha! (Editor’s note: Fred is referring to M-26 south. K-Mart and Pamida are no longer in business in Houghton – they have been replaced by other businesses. M-26 is now 5 lanes.)

Also from the many memories, I fondly remember the overnight field trip to the pulp mill in Escanaba. Well, thank goodness the bus broke down on the way home as it allowed the young forester who had met a lady in

Escanaba the night before and had missed the morning departure, a chance to hitchhike and catch up to the bus and get back on board with out being missed. (Tech was short in those days one women to ten men) The profs never did figure out what we were laughing so hard about.

I think often of the quality education I received at Tech, and the great days at Summer Camp.

Fred J. Krueger
1971

Greetings Carrie:

I have to respond to you concerns in your Summer 2004 "Greetings".

My opinion is that you should not let go of the print version of your newsletter. Electronic distribution may very well be a welcomed alternative delivery media… but it should not be the only source.

The smiles on my face don't come from looking at yet another e-mail… they come from me looking over on my desk an seeing the newsletter… sitting there waiting for me to read another bit of information. The smile on my face comes from knowing how far this quality piece of communication has come. It makes me proud to have graduated with a Forestry degree. Although I have made my living as an Engineer I am never far from nature. Just having the reminder sitting on my desk is worth more than I can express with words. My delete function works very well… but pitching the newsletter in the trash can is far more difficult.

As I find e-mail a great tool… a phone call or a personal visit are so much more effective. Frequently I hear from colleagues their thanks for my intervention and problem solutions. When they say they've made numerous e-mails and had no response… I'll make a phone call. Sometimes… when possible I take a walk or get on a airplane for a visit. When you have billions of dollars at stake and people counting on you… you do these kinds of things. All day, everyday. E-mail is nice… but I would rather get on an airplane for a visit to the Copper Country to say "thank you" for your hard work. Somehow I don't think the DoD would allow that expense. Go figger!

Keep that newsletter in print… and I'll keep smiling every time I just glance at the paper… open or not!

Cheers,
//s//
Jan '77

After leaving Michigan Tech, I worked for US EPA (Region 2) for a year and then entered UMASS Amherst for a Masters. Marty had recommended UMASS to diversify my education. Before Michigan Tech, I was at the NYS Ranger School. As such, my educational background before UMASS were rather Techie dry. UMASS provided me culture and very good traditional Plant and Soils training. I had the great privilege to study Soil Physics with Daniel Hillel. I was in Forestry as a MS student, but did mostly Plant and Soils course work. My thesis was studying Robinia sp. and forest floor decomposition. Actually, I spent a year in the Plant and Soils Program as a PhD student working in Microbial Ecology (Integrated Pest Control and root systems.

John

John Robert Hirschfeld
CT DEP-Remediation
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106
860 424 3893
John.hirschfeld@po.state.ct.us

We could use some of these 'Kindergarten Bests' in our Universities and in the world of Forest Management. The teamwork I see in school is probably the best application of Kindergarten Bests of all. The 'Capstone' program brings a group of students from all interests together to solve a complicated and involved problem. Teamwork exercises should continue to be priority in Forestry curricula. There are very few problems or projects in the world that get solved efficiently by a lone ranger.

Lab work should probably be almost exclusively team oriented - it would make for more efficient use of lab equipment and space. Six computers for a class of twenty would be cheaper to purchase and maintain than twenty separate machines. The same would go for microscopes, increment borers, clinometers and the other expensive field equipment. Data collection is always done best by a team. Stands can be covered more thoroughly. Safety is maximized. Fatigue is minimized. Objective observations can be shared at the end of the field day. I learned at an early age never to give up a chance to work with a team.

Milk time may not be something to offer in a Forestry curriculum (unless the school is perhaps, in Wisconsin); but a section on good nutrition and fitness is a prerequisite for employers; at least it is for me during my interviews.

I need entry field foresters who know how to eat and take care of their bodies. I don't need them sick half the winter, hung over every other night and in such poor shape that they can't walk, snow-shoe or ski a full day. I need their knees, ankles and backs as much as their minds. In fact, I need their bodies for at least fifteen years. By then, they will have gained enough bush- knowledge to really be an asset to the forest I'm trying to manage

Fast foods, too much fat in the summer and soft drinks are not fuels to burn in the woods. I need a forester who knows how to eat before, during and after a week in the field. Fire fighting diets are even more crucial to the health and safety of field people. College life jams too much into a day. Students usually relegate their diet to one of their last priorities. Forestry teams should possibly live together, with eating, exercise and rest being a core function of their learning experience

Exercise and rest should probably be written 'exerciseandrest'. Both must be done in relation to the other. There will never be a Forestry Exercise or a Forestry Rest class; but the absolute importance of being in shape and having enough rest must be impressed on our graduating field and research foresters. Most forestry students would not miss a nap class; but I bet it will be hard to get them to attend even an hour a semester on these topics. Bringing in prospective employers who will talk about what it takes to be a productive forester may fill up a lecture hall for a few hours. A returning graduate, one closer to the age of the undergrads, who has spent a few years in the industry, conducting a seminar on the more subtle aspects of applying the forestry degree, may be even more effective.

Though most people of undergraduate age are masters at ignoring those of us from another generation, our life experiences might be of interest and significance to them in their approaching careers. Undergraduate and graduate seminars where field and research foresters are invited to 'tell their story' may be an excellent opportunity for students to learn what's going on out there

Experiences of other foresters in the search for jobs, interviews, and interaction with workers in the industry after four or more years of study would save many a graduate from reinventing the wheel. Supervisors, lead workers and administrators could spend an hour each month discussing what they're looking for in an entry-level forester

The forest I manage, like other forests in the lake states snow-belt, requires some skills and experiences that are unique. Students may like to know that we're looking for field foresters with experience on snow-shoes. I specifically look for people who know how to use skis in the backcountry. Many areas in the U.P. and Northern Wisconsin have significant iron deposits and require the knowledge and application of the solar compass. I need a person who is in shape, has good balance, and knows how to dress to spend a field day in 80 degree - as well as 10 degree - weather. I've heard of graduate foresters who won't go into swamps. I can't use them. I need a person who will mark timber just as well in mid June, while the bugs are out, as he/she will in October.

With all that field expertise and motivation, I need a forester who can return to the office and map (with pen and ink or GIS), analyze data, apply basic statistics, write simple reports, handle requests from the public and interact with the rest of the crew; both men and women. The inter-gender relationship continues to be a problem that needs work.

Students on the verge of graduating from a Forestry curriculum should hear that they have chosen a challenging and wonderful career. The demands we supervisors will put on them will be diametrically opposed. In the same day we will expect them to cruise or mark timber in much the same way their grandfathers did; and then we will expect them to use cutting edge technology to understand, report or display their work. There aren't many vocations today with that type of challenge. We take it for granted. The student might not.

There is one more thing; it may be a little on the 'flaky' side; but the undergraduate student should hear this early in his/her career. The new field forester will be placed in a rural environment, by definition. There are some exceptions to that rule, but for the most part, foresters, with their advanced training and professional degree will find they are living with people who didn't have or take the opportunity to enjoy higher learning. After a few field seasons, the forester's experience in the woods will go well beyond even the oldest, most experienced local deer hunter. The local forester becomes a fountain of knowledge in terms of the woods, advanced thought and technology. That makes them a marked person in their community. They will have to act accordingly, and that, now that I think about it, brings me back to kindergarten.

At the age of five or six, we began that long, endless process of earning respect and learning to respect others. A good forester will gain the respect of his/her community after a certain number of years. He/she must understand that the respect is precious, and must choose a lifestyle that protects that respect. He/she must live his/her life as an example. Local people, especially young people will constantly watch the forester and judge themselves against the forester's actions.

Foresters are expected by their community to serve in additional capacities after hours. They are constantly asked to volunteer their time towards school programs, trail development projects, youth organizations (Scouts, FFA, 4H), races and other outdoor events. It is a large responsibility. Returning graduates could save many an undergrad from having to discover all this by 'story-telling' at an undergraduate seminar on applied forestry curriculum.

'All I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten' is not just a catchy title for a self-help book. Cooperation, nutrition, health, and observing other's experiences are fundamental requirements for all young people entering the working world; but especially for foresters.

An essay to meet the requirements of Forest Economics and Finance (FW4080)

Ann (Peterson) Best (1979)
Menominee, MI

Carl Kriigel
BS Forestry Michigan Tech 1981

Carl Kriigel
BS Forestry 1981

Lynn Osika
Adult Services Librarian
Brookings Public Library
515 3rd Street
Brookings SD 57006
605-692-9407
605-692-9386 fax

In 1981 we adopted the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) that was sponsored by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG). The NIIMS ICS standardized training, publications, standards, terminology, etc. It also put into effect the Red Card system. By adopting the NIIMS ICS, we were no longer by choice putting foresters with purchase order books as finance chiefs. We started training people for positions, and in 20+ years we are much closer to having all our people trained to do the job they are assigned. Maybe less so with the Plans and Logistics Sections but very true in Operations. When we send people out on any federal fire assignments, it is always true.

My career has spanned these changes and many times I had the training after the experience. Ultimately I have worked in Finance and Logistics, then trained in Plans and Operations and have since 1996 been the Incident Commander on the Green Team, one of four DOF Interagency Incident Management Teams in Florida.

The Green Team has about 33 people on the roster and we have had many unique assignments over the years. We have responded to hurricanes, tornados, floods, grasshopper and mice infestations, citrus canker outbreaks, and oh yes, some fires as well. The best part about ICS is that it can be and has been used for any event, and that opportunities abound when you are trained and red carded to a "team level" position.

The largest Florida fire I have been on was the 2001 Mallory Swamp fire near Perry Florida. The fire was in two counties (Dixie and Lafayette), covered 90 square miles and took about 1.5 hours to fly the fire perimeter in the helicopter. We had activated the Southeast Compact and had fire crews from North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and a collection of agencies from Florida - structure fire departments, Florida Division of Emergency Management, The Nature Conservancy, Game Commission, Water Management Districts, Florida National Guard and volunteer fire departments from four counties.

If I ever write a book on fire, the title will be - "It is never the fire!" My time as Incident Commander had very little to do with running the fire. My issues were the politics that any and all groups brought to bear on the incident from local vendors not getting enough work, church groups supplying food to the troops which we had no idea how it was cared for, the governors visit, the timber companies, the volunteer fire departments that could have put the fire out if they had…….

In 2000, the DOF sent our teams out of state for the first time. The Gold Team went to Montana and I took the Green Team to Texas. Our Florida experience in different complex incidents made it easy for our teams to get involved right down to the community level and we started getting a national reputation for getting things done and being customer oriented.

In 2002, the Green Team went to the Hayman fire in Colorado, a very large fire allegedly started by a US Forest Service employee. We were the seventh team in, and the locals were ready for the fire to be over and get things back to normal. Our mission was to complete the largest rehab project in Forest Service history (till the Biscuit fire two months later). Our fire was declared "controlled" the day we arrived which made us a low priority for resources and made it a real challenge getting our orders filled. There were still several new hot spots showing up daily on the wilderness boundary perimeter where there was barely a fireline scratched from scree pile to scree pile. The Hayman fire was challenging in several ways. It was the first time I had worked totally in the federal system, our first time managing a rehab incident and competing with all the other large western fires for scarce resources, dealing with water rights issues for suppressing fires on a controlled fire, and being concerned about getting rain. In Florida, a quarter inch of rain is a non-event. On the Hayman fire, we pulled people out of the woods when rain approached. As little as a third of an inch caused massive erosion, washing out roads as well as all the seed we had put out to control next years erosion via snow melt and rain events.

When I got my degree in forestry, the only exposure I had to fire was Ros Miller's Fire Control course in 1975. I vividly remember when he declared the 1975 fire season over because we had accumulated an inch of snow. I never thought I would be interested in fire, but being in the south where prescribed fire is a necessity and fire is a part of the ecosystem I suppose it was inevitable. I also never thought I would be an Incident Commander, being responsible for as many as 800-900 people. The best way to describe my path was taking training courses, as they were available, volunteering for assignments, and stepping up to the challenge. However, a good part of what I feel has been valuable to being an IC has been my day to day activities as a District Manager - overseeing our open burning authorizations, state forest, CFA program, and the fire prevention and suppression in my district.

Once bitten by the firebug, it's hard to describe the adrenaline rush much less the satisfaction from the sense of accomplishment you get with a complex fire. The best is working with a good team where there is no blur to your purpose, everyone has one objective and there is a level of motivation that is surreal. The sense of team and camaraderie you experience is one you will never see in a "normal" job.

Johh Koehler (1976)
koehlej@doacs.state.fl.us