Three Students Honored with Dorwin Hamm Scholarship

Three SUNY Cobleskill students, Tom Koepf, Dan Stich and Richard Stanton, have received Dorwin Hamm Scholarship for their efforts in wildlife conservation. The scholarships were awarded by the Schoharie County Conservation Association (SCCA). Each student received $250 for their efforts.

The Dorwin Hamm Scholarship program was created to honor an active sportsman and SCCA member who was killed in a farm accident. Students apply for the scholarships based on field projects they are conducting as part of their studies. They must complete an application and interview with SUNY Cobleskill Fisheries and Wildlife Professor Kevin Berner and SCCA leaders and give a presentation about their project during an SCCA meeting.

Tom Koepf of Arcade conducted an independent project in Wildlife Management.  Koepf worked cooperatively with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry (ESF). He and three other students studied local deer populations on two five-mile transects along Schoharie County roads. Each night they went out and very slowly drove the transects spotlighting for deer. Using range finders to determine the distance to the deer, the students identified the age, sex and number of deer present. Koepf’s goal was to help DEC create a new technique for censusing deer. The deer density data is being incorporated by SUNY ESF into their local coyote research.

Dan Stich of Scotia studied the movements of walleyed pike in Otsego Lake by capturing and surgically implanting sonic devices in several of the fish. Over several months, he tracked the fish, sometimes following them for 24 hour periods. The sonic devices allowed him to record temperature and depth data from the fish, as well as location.

Richard Stanton of Yorkshire categorized the wildlife habitats on Cobleskill Stone Products property near the Cave House Museum of Mining and Geology into several broad types. He then visited several points in each of the habitats and recorded all the birds he could see or hear within a certain period of time. Repeating this several times throughout the fall, Stanton was able to analyze his data and predict the total number of bird species that would be expected to use the specific habitat sites in the fall.