SUNY-ESF Ranger School


The SUNY-ESF Ranger School, on the east branch of the Oswegatchie River near Wanakena, New York, offers A.A.S. degrees in forest and natural resources management. Established in 1912, the school is affiliated with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The Ranger School commemorated its centennial in 2012-13.

Location

The Ranger School is situated in the northwestern part of the Adirondack Park, on the east branch of the scenic Oswegatchie River, which flows into Cranberry Lake. The campus is about from Watertown, New York and from Tupper Lake.

History

The New York State Ranger School was founded in 1912, under the administration of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, to train forest rangers and other personnel for the still-young Adirondack Park. Eugene S. Whitmore, the Ranger School's first graduate, completed his studies the same year that school was founded, in 1912. More than 3000 students have completed their degrees at the Ranger School since it opened. The Ranger School celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2012-13.

Leadership

Today, the Ranger School is a unit of SUNY-ESF. Michael Bridgen, Professor of Forest and Natural Resources Management, is director.
After "spending a year at a college of their choice," students spend an academic year or summer at the residential school, studying forest technology, land surveying technology, or environmental and natural resources conservation, earning an Associate of Applied Science degree upon completion. Students can continue their studies at the main ESF campus, in Syracuse, to earn a bachelor's degree.
In addition to classrooms, offices, dormitory and kitchen facilities, the school's properties also include the, James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest.