• Veronica Blissick uses an angle gauge to measure trees along the Tech Trails.

    Tech Forestry Student Encounters Fowl, Fungus and 80-year-old Bear Across Lower Michigan

    At Michigan Technological University, students in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science are known for getting their boots dirty as they study the natural world. Senior forestry student Veronica Blissick's boots trekked all over Michigan's Lower Peninsula this summer, gathering mud and experience with a variety of fungi, flora and fauna — including Smokey the Bear, who turned 80 this year. Blissick spent her summer as a forestry student assistant with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The internship started at the Baldwin DNR office, where she worked as part of an outreach team. Blissick got up close and personal with Smokey, educating the next generation of wildlife enthusiasts.