Since our creation in 1993, the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund has overseen the Fund's endowment, currently just over $30,000. We have made many awards to projects that enhance the safety, professionalism, and communication of our forestry community. Here are descriptions of several of our projects to date:

Roach Bauer Forestry Forum Committee - 2017
Funds were provided to reimburse the Committee for a grant to support provision of lunch for the first meeting of the Allegheny Forest Health Collaborative, attended by many folks interested in sharing information related to forest health across our region.

Watershed Education division of Penn State Cooperative Extension - 2015
Money was provided to support an educational workshop.

Pennsylvania Chapter of The Nature Conservancy - 2012
The Pennsylvania Chapter of The Nature Conservancy was funded to support lunch at a meeting to launch an interagency Hemlock Conservation Strategy for the High Allegheny Plateau ecoregion of southwest NY and northwest Pennsylvania. The sponsors of this strategy – The Nature Conservancy and the Allegheny National Forest – hosted about 60 attendees at the meeting. The agenda included a review of the importance of hemlock culturally and ecologically, an overview of the proposed strategy, and brainstorming about ways to share data and resources to accomplish the goal. The Allegheny High Plateau Ecoregion had not yet been affected by the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, so that strategy hoped to be a very important means of sustaining the best examples of this resource on an important forested landscape. It's also nice, from a Sandy Cochran Fund point of view, that the area of concern crosses state lines.

Warren County Conservation District, Penn State Cooperative Extension, St Marys Middle School - 2009
The Warren County Conservation District in Warren, PA provided transportation for a day of environmental education and tree planting to students at the Warren County, PA Career Center using funds reimbursed by the Sandy Cochran Fund. Money was provided to the Warren County, PA 4-H after school program to assist with program needs, and funding was provided to the St Marys, PA Middle School Forest Resources Program.

AHUG Earth Day Essay Contest……………………………………………………April 2000
The Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group (AHUG) offered all eighth graders in Warren, Forest, McKean, and Elk counties the opportunity to participate in an essay contest to answer the question, "What does forest stewardship mean to you and your community?" Then AHUG invited each school's winner to attend a conference filled with up-to-date information and learning activities related to forest management. With the help of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund and a local State Senator, eighth graders across the region received the message of good forest stewardship.

Pfeiffer Nature Center, Portville, NY Forest Management Demonstration…….. Summer 1999
On ten acres of second growth hardwoods in southwestern Cattaraugus county, NY, the Pfeiffer Nature Center developed a forest management demonstration area. With the help of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund, five parcels of two acres each were treated to represent a thinning from above, thinning from below, high-grading, clearcut, and control treatment. Each treatment included a 15-foot square deer exclosure. Landowners and interested citizens can learn more about forest management from this area.

Copper Lumber Homes of our Own Education Project…………………………………...School Year 99-00
Lawrence County Builders' Association sponsored local delivery of an elementary education program called Homes of our Own. The program offers children a chance to think, learn, and discover through interactions with Builders' Association members. They study the idea of home as human habitat, and follow Tommy Tree from seedling to home and on to replenishment of the harvested forest. With the help of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund , even more children participated in this program and carried home reinforcing materials, including a tree seedling.

Penn State Extension Educational Displays: Deer Management, Forest Management, Chain Saw Safety
With the help of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund, extension educators from Penn State developed table-top displays on many topics that reflected the interests of Sandy Cochran. Over the years, these displays have been used at countless events for foresters, loggers, and landowners.

Penn State Extension From the Woods Series: Forest Stewardship, White-Tailed Deer
The Cooperative Extension Youth Programs faculty has developed a wonderful series of 4-page color brochures on forestry-related issues, complete with lesson plans and other teacher resources. The Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund contributed to the development of two publications in this series, which are still available and relevant and can be found on the web at http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu/FromWoods/Stewardship.html, and http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu/FromWoods/Deer.html.

Northwest Region Forest Landowners Conference………………………………January 1997
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and Penn State Cooperative Extension launched an annual meeting for forest landowners in January of 1997. The program included a full day of speakers on topics of interest to landowners, and the sessions have continued and grown ever since, with the 11th held in February 2007, and many imitators around the commonwealth. The Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund helped defray the costs of the first session so that landowner registration could be held to $10.

Kane Area Loggers and Sawmillers Safety Committee Annual Meeting March, 1996
The Kane Area Loggers and Sawmillers Safety Committee sponsored another annual meeting in 1996. This event is even more important than it was when initially funded, in light of the changes in workers' compensation in Pennsylvania. With the help of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund, loggers and sawmillers had the chance to get together, to learn accurate and up-to-date information, and to improve their safety awareness.

Allegheny National Forest Little Drummer Historical Pathway Brochures
The Little Drummer Historical Pathway Interpretive Trail is a public resource on the Marienville District of the Allegheny National Forest. At some 40 points along a total trail of 3.1 miles, visitors learn about different types of wildlife habitat and about the history of the forests of the Allegheny Region. The guide to the trail is a beautiful 40 page, full-color brochure. With the help of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund, the Allegheny was able to reprint the brochure and continue this wonderful interpretative program.

 

 

 

The First Allegheny National Forest Forum May, 1995
"The goal of this first forum is to bring together those who have an interest in the management of the ANF and provide a constructive forum to define and discuss key issues of the Forest Management Plan." About 100 people attended the first Forum, and reports from attendees emphasized the positive and cooperative attitude of all participants. The Sandy Cochran Fund helped make this happen!

Warren County Conservation District Youth Conservation Camp . August, 1995

In 1995, for the first time, the Warren County Conservation District Youth Conservation Camp had a Forest Stewardship theme. With the help of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund, the Conservation District was able to acquire Project Learning Tree materials that they will be able to use again and again to keep Forest Stewardship in the Conservation Camp Program.

 

 

 

The Warren County Loggers and Sawmillers Safety Competitions August 1994
The chief objective of this event is to "promote all aspects of safety (safe work habits and procedures, safety equipment, and a safety-minded attitude) among the loggers and sawmillers of our region the work procedures and habits which are judged in safety competitions are often carried over to the work place." The Warren County event is the last such activity in Pennsylvania, and the Sandy Cochran Fund helped it survive and thrive.