Past and Present

Welcome to FNR Past and Present

The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources has trained professional foresters for the last 100+ years. These graduates, whether their careers were in forestry or some other field, have made major contributions to the economy and society of Indiana, the United States, and the World. More recently we’ve trained professional wildlife and fisheries scientists who’ve made equally significant contributions. We’ve also made major contributions through forestry, wildlife and fisheries research. Since the start of our program in 1905 with only two courses, we have added an extension program, numerous courses that form our three majors which include Aquatic Sciences, Forestry and Wildlife, along with minors in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Forest Ecosystems, Furniture Design, Urban Forestry, Wildlife and Wood Products. Students continue to receive the opportunity to utilize new technologies in studies and research.

Our intent is to use this website for our alumni and friends to directly participant in the past and future of the Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources Department without time limits. We are very fortunate to have a departmental yearbook, the Purdue Log, to help bring back memories. These are still being scanned and posted to this website. Many of you will be interested in the History of Summer Camp. This page will have links to the Purdue Log summer camp stories. If you are a Lost Lake alumnus you will want to keep up-to-date on the Reunion at Lost Lake for future years. The Camp was completely remodeled in 2012, actually rebuilt. The History of the Department is an ongoing project.

Tell us your story: We’d like to know what’s been up in your life since graduation. Equally important we’d like your memories of your time with us, especially at summer camp. You can communicate with us by Facebook or by e-mail to fnrweb@purdue.edu​. If you do a Facebook posting we’ll assume it’s OK to post your stories on this website. If you communicate by e-mail please let us know if you don’t want your story posted.

  • Tell us what you've been up to since graduation.
  • Message us on Facebook about your story (we will assume you approve posting it to the website).
  • Email us at wendymayer@purdue.edu and let us know if you approve of it being posted.

What's Trending for FNR

Forest Point Cloud
AI helps find trees in a forest: Researchers achieve 3D forest reconstruction from remote sensing data

Existing algorithms can partially reconstruct the shape of a single tree from a clean point-cloud...

Read More
FNR alumni and career award winners: top line (left to right) - Dr. Ted Cable, Dr. Kristen Floress and Dr. Zach Feiner. Bottom row (left to right): Geriann Albers and Dean Zimmerman
FNR Names 2025 Alumni, Career Award Recipients

The Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources has named the recipients of its five...

Read More
Ty Hoskins takes measurements from a mesocosm; an FNR alumnus fights a wildfire; a doe stands in snow
FNR Shares Most Read Stories of 2025

2025 was a productive year for Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources across the three land grant...

Read More
Mountain Bluebird taking wing, a migratory species that ranges widely across the western North America.
Research uses radar to expose sky’s organized, living habitat

When people think about habitats on Earth, they likely picture forests, oceans or grasslands. Few...

Read More
A landscape view of Pfendler Hall, one of the three buildings that houses faculty and staff from Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources.
FNR Honors Four Individuals for Department Service in 2025

The Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources has honored four individuals for their...

Read More
Wildlife alumna Lauren Wetterau kneels next to a red squirrel midden in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; a red squirrel sits on downed tree
Alumna Lauren Wetterau's Research Featured on Animal Planet Show

2023 wildlife alumna Lauren Wetterau is coming to a television screen or streaming service near...

Read More