At last week’s CEFTS annual meeting in Dover, New Hampshire, three forest technician alumni received the Graduate Forest Technician Award.

John Bird is a 1995 graduate of Glenville State College in Forest Technology and Criminal Justice. He is a well-known expert in the use of bloodhounds in wildland fire investigations who has worked in West Virginia and other states and has given many presentations and written many articles on this topic.

John Zipfel is a 1980 graduate in Forest Technology from Allegany College of Maryland. He has worked as a Forest Ranger for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Over the years he has made many contributions to the success of the Forest Technology program at Allegany College including a grant to assist in forestry textbook purchases and endowing scholarships.

Chris Huston graduated from the University of Maine at Fort Kent in 2007 with an A.S. in Forest Technology and in 2009 with a B.S. in Environmental Studies. He is employed by Irving Woodlands as their lead GIS analyst. He has helped the Forest Technology program at UMFK by providing map data for lab exercises and by giving numerous guest presentations to students.

CEFTS awards up to five Graduate Forest Technician Awards annually to forest technicians who have given outstanding to forest or to Forest Technology education. To see the full list of past recipients click here.