Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Monday, July 30, 2018
(BEDFORD) - Several new employees have joined the Hoosier National Forest team recently. Managing over 200,000 acres of public land requires a diversity of skills. Recent hires include an archaeologist technician, a civil engineering technician and a public affairs specialist.
Ann Koscielniak is working as an Archaeologist Technician for the summer season. She will be assisting with archaeological surveys for cultural resources- both prehistoric and historic, public outreach, and other forest projects concerning cultural resource management. Most recently Ann was an archaeologist at the Klamath National Forest in northern California, where she was involved in post-wildfire archaeological survey. She has also been stationed in Alaska performing remote, backcountry archaeological survey in the Tongass National Forest on Prince of Wales Island, and Denali National Park.
Ann is a Michigan native, and studied anthropology at Western Michigan University and geology at Eastern Michigan University. She has a background in horticulture as a professional gardener and wholesale nursery manager. In her spare time, she enjoys traditional archery, hunting, fishing, mushrooming, foraging, reading about natural history, and is looking forward to resuming her passion for caving.
Gerald Gammon, Jr. is the new Civil Engineering Technician on the Hoosier National Forest. Gerry supports the senior engineer in developing the annual plans and budget for the facilities, road operation and maintenance programs. He comes to the Hoosier from the Department of Defense at Crane Army Ammunition Activity, in Crane, Indiana, where he worked for the maintenance department.
Gammon has lived in Martin County, Indiana, for most of his life. He attended Shoals Community Schools, North Lawrence A/V Tech Center, Central Texas College, and Ivy Tech Community College, where he earned an associate degree in electrical engineering technology. He joined the U.S. Army in 1985 and completed 7 years of active duty. Gammon is currently the Commander of the Martin County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) Reserve Deputy Unit, a member of the MCSO Critical Response Unit, a member of the American Legion, Legion Riders, and the Indiana SWAT Officers' Association. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, trapping, shooting, travel, riding his motorcycle and farming.
The new Public Affairs Specialist for the Hoosier is Marion Mason. Marion will work to promote the forest to visitors, and increase awareness of forest issues to local residents. She has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry (Wildlife Management) from Virginia Tech. Marion has worked in the fields of conservation education and interpretation for county, state and federal agencies, as well as non-profits, and run her own businesses in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Texas. Most recently she served for eight years as a Visitor Services Park Ranger with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in south Texas. An avid hiker, kayaker, birder, bicyclist and camper, she looks forward to exploring the 200,000+ acres of Hoosier National Forest with her husband. She is residing in Odon, Indiana in an 1890's farmhouse with her small herd of equines.
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