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<br />nplified and rigidh' imerpreted by
<br />youngsters. \<,'ithouI allm...ance for
<br />neliaal compromist.'.
<br />The all-pen.'ading philosophy of
<br />oresser Wagar's [ca('hing ..,;as to
<br />'velop profc:'lsionals who \..ne"'"
<br />ow to manage and protect forest
<br />lds "for the greatest good . ....
<br />'Ople who would be safe 10 turn
<br />[)se in the woods hecause thev
<br />mid understand the impacts 3n;'
<br />nefils of their aCllons. .....hate..t'T
<br />pry might be. While doubtless t~ pi-
<br />I of much rorestr~' education in
<br />os.e years. this philosophy dIffers
<br />eatly from the current I"'rnphasis
<br />I "scien[i~lS" and "spcciali5ls"-
<br />ople who 3rt." Langht lO know in
<br />'pIh about zoology and wildlife. or
<br />vies and timber management, or
<br />assland ecology and range man-
<br />;emenl. or hydrolog>' and
<br />uershed management; but deti-
<br />tely nm about the iOlegralioll of all
<br />these di~ciplines into rounded
<br />rest ecolo!;\' and a balanced pro.
<br />am ofjortJl mana!o:ement. III many
<br />ses,these students don't c\"cfllearn
<br />communicate with people in rc.
<br />:ed disciplines-and certainl}' not
<br />th "dirt" foresu"rs or the public
<br />This situation is epitomi.!ed by the
<br />!Trent title of the long. respected
<br />lllege of Forestry at S~'racuse, :-:ew
<br />uk, no..... caU(,d the Colleg-e of En-
<br />ronmental Sc'icf'cC and Forcstr\'.
<br />ith spnial t:"mpbasis on socnc~,
<br />c forestn' curricula ha\lc 1m' stat.
<br />'e in the College; and now. instead
<br />bt-ing tllf forcstry college in the
<br />lte, it is only one of man}" institu-
<br />>ns that. pursuing tile current
<br />,gue. have c1imbt-d on the bandwa-
<br />,n of "the en\ironment."
<br />To further highlight the change..
<br />educational philosoph\', let\ look
<br />!le'.:eral examples, scattered o\'cr
<br />e inten'ening }ears. First tt) feel
<br />e impact (in my expcrieuu') ofthc
<br />-ofcssion.ll timber nlJ.nager was a
<br />re and lo\'ch gmup of hu~e red.
<br />ndstone rolo.-les on a roundt:"d hill-
<br />p, ",'here Francis R.J.\mnnd and I
<br />metimes took our girl-frit'nds on
<br />cnics; half hiddt"n in a stand uf
<br />'cat old oran!,:"c-b,Hked pon.
<br />:rosas, "-ith a Oo<)r of thi<.'k bro"'n
<br />Jff and the ,'i\'id Coloradu sk\' fill'
<br />eir ceiling. On our return a deCide
<br />more lalt'r, the f()(:ks slOud naked
<br />
<br />~
<br />-
<br />
<br />and u~ly under that lovely sky: all of
<br />the pi-nes had been taken out in a
<br />"Ranger sale:' bec;lUse they were
<br />O\'ermature and still merchantable.
<br />After another decade no reproduc-
<br />tion had come in on that dry, ex.
<br />pnsed site where the original stand
<br />had required centuries to gro...... The
<br />duff and humus "'ere gone, and the
<br />, , '" ...
<br />Slope was eroul'U III IUII!o;. 1111'.
<br />,\nother episode illustrates the
<br />problems of O\-cnpecialization and
<br />la...1.:. of communication bet""een spe.
<br />nal disciplines. For a number of
<br />years the Syracuse College of Fores-
<br />tT}' has operated an outstanding re-
<br />search area, the HUlltington Wildlife
<br />Research Forest. "'ithin the Adiron-
<br />dack Park and surrounded b~' the
<br />Forest Presene. Under the Hun-
<br />tingtons' bt.-quest, the faculty under-
<br />stood that their research should be
<br />done on Iv under "natural" condi.
<br />tions. without timber har\"Csting or
<br />hUllting, Theseconditions .....ere (and
<br />still are, in the Forest Preserve itself)
<br />those of an old, generally e\'en-a~ed
<br />hardwood stand which grew up after
<br />decades of logging and tire 60-100
<br />years ago. The habitat fur deer and
<br />grOll>;C in such a forest is pour; the
<br />dense oventory inhibits the growth
<br />of shrubs, herbs, and forest repro.
<br />duction. ~Iuch better habitats are'
<br />found on IOKRed-o\'er areas of pri-
<br />v~lle land in the P~l"k, whcT(' there is
<br />ample bro.....se. On the Slate lands of
<br />Ill(' Forest Presene, the d<-'cr slan-e
<br />in great numbers during sen're .....in.
<br />ters,
<br />With the Huntington Forest
<br />under m} general aegis while 1 was
<br />Associate Dcan for Biological
<br />Sciences in the I 950s. the facult,. and
<br />I studied the bequest, checkl-d' with
<br />the Huntill~ton family, and con-
<br />dueled thai ,,-ildlift' research \.Ooould
<br />nenefit from careful1}' planned
<br />timber remmal under the direction
<br />of Ihe sih-icuhllre and wildlife de-
<br />partmt'ms work.ing in coc1per:uiun.
<br />In a number of compartments was
<br />eS(;J.hhshed a scrie_s nf clllting treat-
<br />mcnLS rangil1~from Iighl selection w
<br />patch c1earculling, along with uncut
<br />comp.Htments. The purpose of
<br />the...c cu!t1n~.. was not so much rt'-
<br />search on sih'icuhure as to deter.
<br />mine desirable technique>; fonl'ildlift
<br />habitflt impro:'(mt1ll. (:"ote this
<br />
<br />..--....
<br />"=""~
<br />~
<br />
<br />phrase: it became an effective
<br />qUdsi.polilical weapon for manage-
<br />ment of the Forest Presen-e itself.)
<br />To me, an equall)' importam pur.
<br />pose .....as to establish mutual under-
<br />standing and cooperation among the
<br />professional specialists concerned,
<br />As a result. the Huntington Forest
<br />was transformed from a locale for
<br />
<br />....:...d.::mk ...Hdl:f;: :;:...dies,~:J;: [;e~!c:-
<br />
<br />of cnoper,ni\e and public interest
<br />for deer habitat management.
<br />r 0 lilY real reg reI. this situation
<br />has regressed. Under (he present
<br />College administration, the depart.
<br />ment faculties no longer cooperate
<br />in the design and conduct of forest
<br />and wildlife research. In 1966 "com-
<br />pletion reports" were prepared on
<br />this research; and the Forest is now
<br />being managed by a Forest .\tanager
<br />who is responsible to ,he College's
<br />Vice. President for Administration.
<br />The interplay of forces in the
<br />Adirondack Forest Preserve during
<br />the P;)st fifteen )'ean provides a
<br />striking example ofho"' furestry .and
<br />wildlife interests can .....ork togt"ther
<br />-and be nulliti(.'d b~' another uni-
<br />lateral interest. Because the general
<br />situation in the Adirundat ks has
<br />been well potlrayed by other
<br />authors and mpelf in A~l[RtCA~
<br />FORf.STSIOnober 19i3), I shall focus
<br />on the genesis and growth of hahi.
<br />tat-impro\'ement propo'ials. Ever
<br />since the decadt"s of furest devasta-
<br />tion and ensuing public reaction,
<br />tenn~ such as ~logging.~ -timbcringM,
<br />and even "forestry" ha\-e been ana-
<br />thema to :-':e\>,' York consenatiunists.
<br />The la5t has apparently bel'n be.
<br />cause "foresters bdie\ie in chopping
<br />down trees and therefore are in
<br />league ""ith the log~ers,"
<br />AsCommissioncrofthlo' :-:ew York
<br />Stale Department of Corht:T\'ation
<br />during the 1960s I urged tIl~ profes.
<br />sional people-both foresters and
<br />,,'ildlife mangers-to cease public
<br />use of all ofthe_se terms and imtc:ad.
<br />for valid ecological and social
<br />reasons, to ('CN.:U,; di~ussi()n and at.
<br />tent ion upon wildlife habitat im.
<br />pro\'emenL Emphasizing this
<br />theme, Gur pcrsonnel g;ne much
<br />public exposure to {ht. rdrk. of food
<br />for grouse and dlo:t'r on stale lands in
<br />the F~lfest Preserve unrler contem-
<br />poraneous el1\;rol1l11cnt:l1 condi-
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