Published: October 09, 2008 04:15 am         

OCCA to mark 40th anniversary

The Otsego County Conservation Association will commemorate its 40th anniversary at its 2008 annual dinner, to be held at The Otesaga in Cooperstown on Wednesday.

"We have been trying to contact as many people as we can who were associated with OCCA in its earlier days," said Teresa Winchester, OCCA assistant director, who is organizing the event.

In particular, Winchester said, OCCA would like to receive information on Frederick V. Mecklenburg, Irene Mozolewski and John New, all of whom made contributions to OCCA in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The deadline for receiving reservations is Friday. Reservations may be made by calling 547-4488.

At the dinner, OCCA will recognize Henry Kernan as its 2008 Conservationist of the Year. He is an international forestry consultant who has managed 1,200 acres of forest land on his South Worcester property since 1947. Kernan is being honored for his knowledge and love of trees and forestry, for his public education efforts, and especially for the annual tree give-aways he has held for the general public since the mid-1990s, presenters said. Over the years, more than 50,000 white spruce seedlings have been transplanted from the Kernan property to other locations in Otsego County and beyond. His tree give-away is always held the first Saturday in May, rain or shine, from dawn until dusk.

Kernan received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1938 before doing post-graduate work at the Yale School of Forestry. After purchasing land in South Worcester, he worked for what was then called the state Conservation Department. Later, his forestry expertise led to employment in Canada, South Carolina, Idaho and Bogota, Colombia. As an independent forestry consultant, Kernan also worked in Iran, Spain, Korea and Vietnam.

Kernan has published nearly 400 articles on trees and forestry and has written scholarly pieces and editorials.