Alumni Career Feature
Eric Easton
We feature alumni with interesting careers from a variety of career areas. To find out more about the alumnus profession contact them via the e-mail provided. Or if you are interested in being featured, e-mail us at alumni@pct.edu.
Eric Easton
- A.A.S., Forest Technology, 2001
- Carey Forestry Planning
- ericeaston102@msn.com
Eric started off by earning a degree in biology from Millersville University and began his post-college career as a biology teacher. He realized this wasn’t for him. He decided to go back to school for his first love, forestry. Since graduating from Penn College in 2001, he has worked in South Dakota for the USDA Forest Service as a silvicultural technician. After a year in South Dakota, he decided to work on his master’s degree in Forest Resource Management from State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF). While at SUNY-ESF, he had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects in his field.
In his first summer at SUNY-ESF, he worked in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Division on their reservation in Hogansburg, NY. Their work included assessing the reservations’ forested areas. By using aerial photographs from the USDAForest Service, Eric helped determine what type of forest the reservation had relating to the species, sizes, density, and cover type. Eric also helped to plant a Black Ash plantation for the Mohawks near Massena, New York. This plantation is the first Black Ash plantation in the world. The Mohawks use Black Ash in their basket making, which is a $1 million a year industry. Eric helped them plant a combination of 6,000 trees (4,000 Black Ash and the remaining 2,000 were a combination of silver maple, red maple, and yellow birch).
The following summer, he returned to the reservation to continue his work. Eric began an in-depth inventory of the reservation’s forest. He began by identifying inventory plots with the aid of aerial photos, and then determined the height, diameter (dbh), and species of the trees at each plot. He inputted this information into SILVAH, which is a computer system that helps to determine the characteristics of the forest. This process gave the Bureau of Indian Affairs tangible data, which was compiled into a Forestry Inventory Analysis Report (FIAR). He also returned to the Black Ash plantation he had helped plant the previous summer. He studied the Black Ash seedlings by determining their photosynthesis rates and conducting a hydraulic conductivity test, which determines how a plant conducts water through their roots and stems. These studies will help the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe know how to continue to grow Black Ash for their basket making.
The experiences with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs helped Eric in writing his thesis, which discusses the ecophysiology and silviculture of Black Ash. His research gave him an understanding of where Black Ash grows the best and how different variables affect the functions of the trees. His conclusions showed the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe the most viable sites on the reservation on which to grow Black Ash. Eric has completed his thesis and will be defending it in the near future.
Eric recently moved back to Pennsylvania and is living in his hometown of Montoursville. He is currently working for Carey Forest Planning as a forester. There he has the opportunity to learn a variety of aspects concerning the forestry business. He gains experience in buying timber, assessing land, and working with the landowners. Eric hopes to someday own his own forestry business and maybe even be a forestry professor.
