Paul Gaberdiel stopped by the School while his son was attending orientation at Michigan Tech last August (2010). Paul graduated with a BS in Forest Management. He works for the Michigan DNR in Newberry where he is the Forest Fire Supervios for the MDNR Newberry management unit. He is also the incident commander for the eastern Upper Penninsula incident management team.
Lacey Mason was a fall visitor to the School while on vacation in the UP. She and her husband James have a one-year-old daughter, Caroline Lucille Mason.
Lacey graduated with an MS in Forestry and now works as a computer research specialist for the University of Michigan’s Institute of Fisheries Research in Ann Arbor.
Dave and Miriam Wellman visited the Copper Country in the fall of 2010, celebrating their 50th anniversary and touring the campus. Dave said, ” The Forestry Facilities are unvelievable. Thank you, Tech!” Dave is retired from the Michigan DNR and lives in Indian River, Michigan.
Larry “Tree Hugger” Jokinen, who was at Tech in 1979 and finished his Forestry degree in 1991, stopped by the school while visiting the Lake States for a Fall (2010) color tour. Larry commented, ” I miss the Copper Country in the Fall. ”
Regarding Gene Hesterberg, Norm Sloan and Bob Sajdak, he said, “I had these men as professor/instructors in college during the early 70’s. These men were all a great inspiration to me in college, especially Gene.
Larry is employed with the Idaho Transportation Department and lives in Stanley, Idaho.
Douglas H Jones (Forestry, 1980) has been named as the next district ranger of the Emigrant Creek Ranger District on the Malheur National Forest, Hines Oregon. Doug has 31 years experience with the Forest Service, beginning on the Fremont National Forest in southeast Oregon. Since then he has worked on six national forests across the United States. His most recent assignment was as district ranger of the Spanish Fork Ranger District in Utah.
Originally from Cadillac, Michigan, Doug has a bachelor’s degree in forestry and wildlife ecology from Michigan Technological University. His family includes two grown children and his spouse, Chris, who is an archaeologist with the Bureau of Reclamation in Bend.
Doug enjoys outdoor activities including hunting, hiking, fishing, camping and cross-country skiing. He is also an active member of Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and National Wild Turkey Federation.
January 11, 2011— This afternoon, Keith Creagh is running a minute or two late. “Just catching up with the head of the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board,” he says, by way of explanation.
Creagh (pronounced “kray”) is catching up with many people these days. The 1974 forestry graduate was tapped by Michigan’s then-governor-elect Rick Snyder to lead the newly named state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and he’s been busy laying the groundwork for what he hopes will be at least four years of collegial, effective policymaking.
The words “collegial” and “effective” do not immediately spring to mind in association with Michigan state politics, which has suffered from much the same partisan acrimony as the nation as a whole. Nevertheless, Creagh is unfazed.
“I am familiar with the waterfront,” he notes.
Indeed. Before leaving government for the private sector in 2007, Creagh spent 33 years with the state Department of Agriculture, including 12 years as chief deputy director. He served under eight directors and three governors of both political stripes: James Blanchard, John Engler, and Jennifer Granholm. And he is absolutely convinced that progress is not merely possible but practically inevitable if you follow three simple rules.
“First, get good information to good people: that’s how you get good decisions,” he says. “Second, do the right thing, and don’t worry about who gets credit. And third, make sure your policy is not exclusionary.”
In other words, welcome all the stakeholders to the table. “If I put a farmer, a retailer, a food processor, a food bank person and an environmental advocate in the room, at the end of the day, if they are all aligned, how can you not get good policy?”
The same is true, he says, for Republicans and Democrats. “There are great politicians on both sides of the aisle,” says Creagh. “You just need to find and leverage those relationships to develop policy.”
The new administration will reflect that collaborative modus operandi, he says. “There’s going to be some heavy lifting,” says Creagh. “Governor Rick Snyder is fostering a different operational format. He’s clustering thematic areas, so there’s strategic alignment.”
The Snyder administration is breaking apart the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to form the Departments of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Natural Resources (DNR). The new DNR and DEQ are grouped with Agriculture in a new Quality of Life cluster. Creagh’s former boss Dan Wyant, who headed the agriculture department for several years under Engler and Granholm, leads the DEQ and the Quality of Life cluster. Another former colleague, Rodney Stokes, is now the DNR director. “When I was given an opportunity to work with these two individuals, I couldn’t say no.” Creagh said.
“We all realize that natural resources, the environment and economic growth will benefit from a comprehensive and integrated policy approach. Governor Snyder is asking us to develop policies that are aligned with this vision and concept.”
Creagh, a member of the advisory board for the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, has close ties with Michigan Tech. “Fundamentally, it all started at Tech,” he says. “Everything in my life has been built upon that.”
The first in his family to go to college, he attended the University with Peg Gale, now dean of the School. “And [Michigan Tech president] Glenn Mroz was a classmate,” he says.
Former dean Gene Hesterberg got him his first job, “at a time when there were a lot of foresters, and competition was pretty keen.”
“He went out of his way to make a difference,” Creagh recalls. “When Glenn was dean, he did that, and Peg does too. They focus on what’s right for their students to provide a foundation for their future success.”
He hopes that over the next few years he can play some part in the success of the state. “I have four kids, and two of them are out of state,” says Creagh. “I want to give that generation an opportunity to live and work in Michigan just like I did.”
Michigan Technological University (mtu.edu) is a leading public research university developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; humanities; and social sciences
From Sam Gardner’s online journal:
“On January 1st of 2011, I will set out on a 12,500+ mile “All-In Trek” to establish a new record of unassisted ultra-light long-distance backpacking. It will be the first ever, attempt of the “All-In Trek”. This involves solo hiking the four longest hiking trails in the United States, back-to-back continuously without any time off. I hope to finish in one year but it is my ultimate goal to complete this trek continuously regardless of a time frame. The journey of the endeavor is most important to me.”
Read more on Sam’s journal http://www.theinitiativesite.com/
A story about 2004 graduate Josh Stein appeared on December 9, 2010 in the Outdoors section of the Detroit Free Press. Read the article “Move to U.P. helps hunter learn how to really ‘hunt’ for deer” online at freepress.com
I spent the first few days of deer season in the UP with Keith Montambo, (Forestry Class of 1955). We were DHH room-mates and first hunted together in the fall of 1951. Keith flew to New Jersey and we got together at my Camp in Pennsylvania in October for the early deer season. Then I flew into Iron Mountain for the Mich. hunt at his Camp.
While in Michigan, Keith showed me the attached photo of his Dad, Ray J. Montambo displaying his “Fast and Fancy” handgun expertise for what appears to be a Forestry Class. We have no idea where the photo was taken or the time frame. We can identify Bert, Gene, Hammer and Sloan, but that’s about it.
We enjoy your newsletter, keep up the good work.
Best regards,
John N. Kressbach
(Forestry, 1956)
Keith R. Montambo
(Forestry, 1955)
A quick note from Cherri Huelsberg Farren 2001.
Currently life is good, I recently got married to Simon James Farren on August 27, 2010 in Colchester UK and some pictures can be viewed at this link
, if anyone is interested. My immediate family and friends attended our wedding in the UK, where we sailed the Mersea shores in a classic barge.
I am teaching science full time at Tendring Technology College in Frinton-on-Sea UK. It is a great position and allows me lots of practical investigation work. I currently am working on integrating Ecology and Environmental Science programs into the College and working cooperatively with Cambridge University on STEM programs in the college. I completed my master’s degree in Secondary Education Science from WSU the spring of 2009.