Overlooking the town of , 10 brave FRR students went looking for knowledge.

From left Kael Beebe, Andy Austill, Jerrin Robbins, Sarah Hagler, James Anderson, Heather Hartman (front), JW Cleveland, Ken Jacobsen, Taylor Fielder, Jim Perkins, Fernanda Pegas (TA), and Mark Reed (instructor)

This year’s Field School group went to the Deschutes National Forest near Bend, Oregon. We wanted to get an inside look at the management of recreation resources. We also wanted to talk with professionals in our field of study to find out how they came to be managers in the recreation field. We were able to make good contacts and find out about potential job opportunities.

The following is the outline of events and adventures that were to take place:

Sunday – arrive at Tumalo around 5pm.

Monday – meet the Bend Fort Rock Ranger District staff, take a tour of Todd Lake

Tuesday – Leave No Trace discussion, go to Lava Lands Visitor Center (archeological dig), explore Lava River Cave, visit the Lava Butte fire lookout

Wednesday – split into groups – group A goes with the trail crew leaders, group B goes with the field rangers

Thursday – split into groups – group A goes with the field rangers, group B goes with the trail crew leaders

Friday – split into groups – group A goes with the field rangers, group B goes with the trail crew leaders; everyone meets back at the ranger station for final wrap-up; Head back to Corvallis

During the week, we camped at Tumalo State Park outside of Bend. Camp Pictures

However, without the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forest personnel, this trip would not have been possible, so we’d like to thank:

Leslie Weldon, Forest Supervisor, Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests; Mark Christiansen, Recreation Program Manager, Deschutes NF; and Laurel Skelton, Recreation Program Manager, Ochoco NF. THANK YOU all so much for the time and energy you put into making our field school experience possible.