Ssad day at "Cow College"

[Frank_Pender]

I was just informed that a forum scheduled for Oregon State Univ. on Urban Forestry was cancelled today due to lack of interest.   :'(  My first thought was, "What a sad comentary for a state known for its forests."  Then I said,  "Hold it fella!   There is more to life than a forum being cancelled."   I am still looking.  The city of Portland, has one of if not the largest urban forest in the country.  I would have believed that there would have been more than enough folks from that area to attend the conference.   Perhaps another day? :-/

[Ron Scott]

That's hard to believe. Urban forestry is a specialty. The urban foresters are always telling us we need more training in urban forestry back here.

[Tillaway]

You are right Frank, Forest Park in Portland is the largest city park in the nation.  It is just that, a Forest, it even has a herd of Elk last I heard.

A friend of mine has a degree from Wisconsin in Urban Forestry... he works as a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines now.  He could never find a decent Forestry job. :(

[Frank_Pender]

The sad part aout some of that Tillaway, is his services are needed but many do not want to here the truths of the matters they need help with.  Your friend is welcome to contact me any time he wishes.  He is also welcome to come to the Tree Farm at his convenience.  By the way, there have also been some Big cats found in that park as well as some bears on occassion.   The other thing is that, with many budget cuttings occuring throughout the timber industry here in the West, the position of a "forester" is getting to be more scarce.   A forester friend of mine had been working for Willamette and with the change in ownership and direction she decided to go into public teaching at the high school level.  Those kids are going to get a true education.   :P

[Tillaway]

Frank,
My friend still lives in Wisconsin, been with Northwest for many years.  

Another friend of mine (young kid) got a forestry degree from Humboldt State, he is now a stock broker working for E-Trade after trying to find a steady job for three years in forestry.  I can barely stay busy hopping from project to project working for the consulting firms down here.  Most of the owners would have closed up shop if the stock market didn't tank.  Now they are all in a lowball contest bidding on the few projects coming out.

[johncinquo]

Tillaway, did you start out in forestry or happen to stumble into it?  I dont  think anything is presented to kids in the way of outdoor work at school nowadays.  I recently purchased copies of a book on careers based on outdoor activites and wanted to give them to my local high schools.  I was basicly told thanks but no, they wanted to promote occupations that have a higher potential!  I like my job and it certainly pays the bills well, but the woulda/coulda/shoulda comes up on occasion and I think if I had known more about some other opportunites I might have looked into it further.

[Tillaway]

John,
Started out at the ripe old age of 17.  I have worked in the woods doing everything from fire fighting, timber falling, to cruising, inventory EIR and EIS preparation and Forest Engineering.  I mostly do inventory and timbersale / Timber Harvest Plan layout.  I took a few years off to get out of the woods and heal up so all together now I've been at it 20 years.

You are right, outdoor careers are not promoted.  Right now around here an outdoor career path is not encouraged and rightfully so I think.  Unemployment is high in the industry here so I believe the educators feel they are prudent not to encourage it.  I think that as enrollment has been decreasing every year in the forestry schools since most graduates wind up doing something else.  Most go into forestry thinking that they will be on a long nature hike every day.  After a few years of bad weather, bugs, brush and steep dangerous slopes with layoffs looming every month it seems that there are better, easier ways to make a living that are far more lucrative.  The recent Forestry grads find it a bit disconcerting that their best bud in college has a job in computers waiting for them when they graduate with a starting salary of $50,000.  They have to apply to numerous companies and if they are lucky they can get on at $20,000 and have no stock options or benefits.

Someday it might change, or so I've been telling myself.

[Bud Man]

Graduated with B.S. in 75 and found several opportunities to work but the best pay was less than half of what  I was making when I quit to go to school. I chose a sales career and never looked back and tripled the earnings I would have made in Forestry. Whats more in keeping in touch with my peers that took positions in Forestry almost all have since left after suffering dismal earnings, continuous moves and transfers and more political wrangling than they were prepared to contend with. A few have prospered by combing Forestry with consulting and real estate configerations that are far removed from the principals of Forestry.

[Frank_Pender]

It is a sad comentary, Bud Man.   I suppose I can say with much confidence that Ihave the the very best of several worlds over the last50 plust years.  I was fortunate to grow up on a lumber/timber family and been able to follow rather close in the same sort of footsteps that many of my preceding and present family members have followed.   The last 30 plus have been direct involvement in the industry with sidesteps of teaching in the public school system.  Over the last 3 years I have imersed myself in the Forest Products Industry with much passion and care.  Most has been to help those who have small tracts of timberlands, inhance and maintain that land for the betterment of their future and that of their children.   As another part of the secenario I have worked to help educate the remainder of the community in the value of maintaining and harvesting Forest Lands.  Stewardship is a term I use quite often, but not everyone of us has the sme definition.  Common ground becomes something almost aloof.  I had better get off this soapbox as it feels a bit slick.  

[Ron Scott]

Forestry has always assumed and accepted low pay. I guess for the opportunity to work "in the forest" with the idea to just hunt, fish, trap, and patrol.

Forestry is a complex science and professional foresters should receive higher pay for their skilled services and  knowledge of, ecology, soil, air, water, wildlife, timber, recreation, wilderness, fire prevention and suppression, insect & disease control, etc .

[rebocardo]

> largest forest

I know the city of Lynn MA has woods about 2300 acres. Though there are only deer there. Every few years someone wants to develop it to balance a budget and then everyone has to scream no and do the "save our woods" petition.

How large is Portland?

[Frank_Pender]

In the Portland metro area there over a million + people.  Even the 75 miles that it takes me to cover on the roadways is not far enough for me, most of the time. >:(  I have real issues of even driving the 6 miles to Dallas to get good to eat. :-/  

I just completd a two day Masterwoodlands Mini College athe the "Cow College" on Thursday and Friday.  We had an attendance of about 68 folks this year, out of a total of some 200+ who have gone through the progaram.  Of course some are not with us any longer.  About 15 have passed on since the inception of the program 20 years ago.  I have been in about 12 years or more.  Can't seem to subtact or add to figure that out.  I have just been having fun helping people .  

I had 15 here this afternoon needing some sort of help with something or other. :-/  I only got one 14' x 14" Fir log sawed. :'(  I fella needing the lumber out of the logs he had sent in was home helping his wife, which made me feel a bit less guilty not haveing himn look down my neck as he was before lunch.  ??? Oh, well.   :-[

One of the best part of the whole program is the fact that One of my past students is now in charge of much of the programming and scheduling, publications etc that the program has going.  What an honor for her and me.  I am a bit selfish that way about my students.