Bellbrook grad plants career roots in forest management

Joe Kallas completes stint at Shawnee State Forest with federal funds.

Joe Kallas, originally of Bellbrook, plants a tree at Shawnee State Forest as part of his training with the Ohio Woodlands Job Corps. Contributed photo

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Joe Kallas, originally of Bellbrook, plants a tree at Shawnee State Forest as part of his training with the Ohio Woodlands Job Corps. Contributed photo

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By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer Updated 9:06 PM Friday, March 19, 2010

After spending a few years working construction and landscaping jobs after college, Bellbrook native Joe Kallas is getting his start in a career with a far larger landscape — as a forest manager.

The 25-year-old is wrapping up a stint at Shawnee State Forest with the Ohio Woodlands Job Corps, funded with stimulus money from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The program is now taking applications for a second round of conservation skills training and service. The first round began last fall and wraps up this month.

Kallas, a Bellbrook High School grad who went on to graduate from Hocking College in 2007 with a major in forestry management, said he’s happy for the opportunity to work with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at Shawnee.

“It’s been a lot of on the job training,” Kallas said Friday, March 19. He’s trained in firefighting, woodland cultivation, and invasive species management. “I see myself being in the forestry field my whole life.”

As part of one project, Kallas helped reforest 25 acres at Shawnee. The planting, sponsored by American Municipal Power, Inc., is intended to reduce or “offset” carbon dioxide emissions.

The next round of training begins June 21 and will employ at least 70 who aim for careers in Ohio’s $15 billion wood industry, or as conservation workers for parks, national forests or nonprofit land management organizations, ODNR director Sean Logan said.

Corps members work 1,000 hours at one of nine state forests. While receiving training and earning technical certifications, the corps members are paid $13.43 per hour. As an affiliate of AmeriCorps, corps members are eligible to receive up to $2,300 towards their college education.

“The response to the Ohio Woodlands Job Corps from the wood industry, forest landowners and current corpsmembers has been extremely positive,” said Logan. “The benefits derived from these efforts will last long beyond the training period of each corps member.”