Skip to Main Content

FNR Field Reports: Garrett Pell

In this week’s Field Report, we have an update from May 2020 alumnus Garrett Pell.
Garret Pell First Image
Pell on Minerva Mountain trail near Ketchikan.

 

Pell accepted a seasonal position with the U.S. Forest Service on the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska following graduation. In this role, he acted as a forestry technician. He worked in the Ketchikan Misty Fjord Ranger District (KMRD) in Ketchikan, Alaska, which is home to the largest intact temperate rain forest in the world. Pell refers to the region as the Pacific North-Northwest and shares that the best way to imagine the area is to think of the Pacific Northwest “except far more rugged, far more wild and with far fewer people.”

While in the position, Pell aided in setting up a future timber sale on the west side of the Carroll Inlet on Revillagigedo Island. In this timber sale preparation role, he set up the boundaries of clear-cut units, measured out and flagged protective buffers on protected streams, determined the appropriate method of timber harvesting and flagged potential logging roads among other duties. This project was in virgin old growth timber, or timber that had never been harvested before. Some of the trees Pell and his colleague encountered were likely 500 years old or more.

Recently, Pell landed a permanent position as a forestry technician on the Shoshone National Forest in northwest Wyoming. In this field position in Cody, Wyoming, which he begins in August, he will be a crew leader, supervising seasonal workers, as well as assisting the silviculture, wildlife and fisheries crews on occasion.

The Shoshone National Forest shares its western border with Yellowstone National Park, and has the highest concentration of brown bears in the lower 48 states, along with a wide variety of megafauna that call the Yellowstone region home. The Shoshone National Forest was part of the original Yellowstone Timber Reserve, which was the first national forest established in the United States.

“I find it both humorous and humbling that my first two jobs out of college were on the nation’s largest national forest (Tongass) and then on the first national forest (Shoshone),” Pell said. “Needless to say, I did not plan it that way nor could I have dreamed that my career would start in such a manner. Suffice to say that my Purdue degree has not let me down.”

Pell was a forestry major and also had minors in wildlife sciences, urban forestry, and fisheries and aquatic sciences. During his time at Purdue, he learned about logging from Don Carlson, Brian Beheler and Ryan Hensley as well as a logging crew which spoke at the FNR Forestry Practicum. He was able to perform logging duties for an actual timber sale during the FNR Forestry Internship he participated during the summer of 2019.

In this week’s Field Report, we have an update from May 2020 alumnus Garrett Pell. Pell accepted a seasonal position with the U.S. Forest Service on the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska following graduation. In this role, he acted as a forestry technician. He worked in the Ketchikan Misty Fjord Ranger District (KMRD) in Ketchikan, Alaska, which is home to the largest intact temperate rain forest in the world. Pell refers to the region as the Pacific North-Northwest and shares that the best way to imagine the area is to think of the Pacific Northwest “except far more rugged, far more wild and with far fewer people.” While in the position, Pell aided in setting up a future timber sale on the west side of the Carroll Inlet on Revillagigedo Island. In this timber sale preparation role, he set up the boundaries of clear-cut units, measured out and flagged protective buffers on protected streams, determined the appropriate method of timber harvesting and flagged potential logging roads among other duties. This project was in virgin old growth timber, or timber that had never been harvested before. Some of the trees Pell and his colleague encountered were likely 500 years old or more. Recently, Pell landed a permanent position as a forestry technician on the Shoshone National Forest in northwest Wyoming. In this field position in Cody, Wyoming, which he begins in August, he will be a crew leader, supervising seasonal workers, as well as assisting the silviculture, wildlife and fisheries crews on occasion. The Shoshone National Forest shares its western border with Yellowstone National Park, and has the highest concentration of brown bears in the lower 48 states, along with a wide variety of megafauna that call the Yellowstone region home. The Shoshone National Forest was part of the original Yellowstone Timber Reserve, which was the first national forest established in the United States. “I find it both humorous and humbling that my first two jobs out of college were on the nation’s largest national forest (Tongass) and then on the first national forest (Shoshone),” Pell said. “Needless to say, I did not plan it that way nor could I have dreamed that my career would start in such a manner. Suffice to say that my Purdue degree has not let me down.” Pell was a forestry major and also had minors in wildlife sciences, urban forestry, and fisheries and aquatic sciences. During his time at Purdue, he learned about logging from Don Carlson, Brian Beheler and Ryan Hensley as well as a logging crew which spoke at the FNR Forestry Practicum. He was able to perform logging duties for an actual timber sale during the FNR Forestry Internship he participated during the summer of 2019.

Garret Pell Images

Garret Pell Second Image
A view from Shelter Cove of rain approaching down Carroll Inlet.
Garret Pell Third Image
One of the views near the top of Juno Mountain.
Garret Pell Fourth Image
Photo taken from the limited logging road system present on the island.

Featured Stories

Yunmei Huang: Purdue’s Esri student of the year
Yunmei Huang: Purdue’s Esri student of the year

What if? It’s a question that drives innovation, and one that inspires Yunmei Huang, a PhD...

Read More
Dairy cows
Milk and motorsports: dairy’s lasting legacy in the Indy 500

Sunday, Hoosiers and racing fans from across the country gathered to watch the iconic Indy 500...

Read More
group of awardees
2025 Department of Biochemistry Spring Awards

The following awards, scholarships, and recognitions are presented by the department each Spring.

Read More
Jim Forney portrait
Professor Jim Forney Retires After 36 Years

Professor Jim Forney retired in Fall 2024 after 36 years at Purdue. During that time, he has...

Read More
powder being poured into a beaker
2024-25 Department of Biochemistry Publications

Publications associated with Department of Biochemistry faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and...

Read More
Carlos Corvalan, associate professor of food science and the project’s supervisor works on screen in lab at Purdue.
From lab to table: Purdue Food Science research predicts texture with machine learning

The creaminess of custard. The fizz of foam. The slurpability of soup. Texture is just as...

Read More
To Top