This summer was notable because of drought conditions in June and July, and searing heat in July, but that won't limit the beauty of Pennsylvania's fall foliage. Instead, it's the next few weeks' weather that will be determinant, according to a forest expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. And long-term weather forecasts point to mild weather -- 60- to 70-degree days and nights in the mid-40s -- through the end of October, with no frosts. For fall foliage lovers, that's not good.

A senior Forest Science major in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences won the STIHL Collegiate Timbersports Championship, held June 1-3 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. This year marked the third consecutive year that Tim Benedict, of Pittsfield, Pa., competed in the national finals against five other regional qualifiers in four events: the chainsaw competition, the single buck event, the underhand chop and the standing block chop.

A consortium of universities including Penn State recently received a national award for research that scientists hope will result in a blight-resistant American chestnut tree being reintroduced into U.S. forests. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities recognized the project, "Biological Improvement of Chestnut through Technologies that Address Management of the Species, its Pathogens, and Pests," by bestowing it with the Excellence in Multistate Research Award.

Wildlife students at Penn State DuBois are helping to establish a forest where there was once just barren land devastated by strip mining. Students are now planting trees on a 3.5-acre portion of reclaimed strip mine near Coal Glenn, Jefferson County. Two core goals of this study are to find out what methods of planting will allow trees to prosper at reclaimed mine sites, and to try growing American chestnut trees at such sites. Successful growth could mean a rebirth of the chestnut, a species virtually wiped from the face of the earth by an invasive fungus in the early 20th century.

Penn State Mont Alto forestry students got a taste of Hollywood life on Wednesday (Nov. 12) when they volunteered on the landscaping crew for ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The Emmy award winning show, which airs on Sundays on ABC, chose to demolish and rebuild the Drumm family home, located approximately 15 minutes from the Penn State Mont Alto campus. Dan Ryan Builders is the main contractor for the house and numerous area subcontractors and community volunteers are lending their hands and supplies to complete the 2,500-square-foot home in just 106 hours.