Earl W. Hower

Earl W. Hower earned an A. S. in Forest Technology at Penn State in 1976. He attended the Mont Alto campus where he was honored as "an outstanding Commonwealth Campus student" with the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award. He continued his Penn State education working towards a bachelor's degree in general agriculture but left the university in 1982 to being a career with the National Rifle Association of America, headquartered in Washington, DC.

As a college student at Mont Alto, Earl worked briefly in establishing community conservation projects with the Lebanon County Conservation District. While at University Park, he was employed seasonally, and later full-time, by the State College Borough's Street Tree Division as an urban forestry dendrician.

In 1980, the Pennsylvania State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation recognized Earl with the Roger A. Latham Outstanding Volunteer Award for his innovative habitat training workshops. In 1996 he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Turkey Hunter's Hall of Fame for his lifetime contribution to safe hunter education, hunting, and wildlife conservation.

Employed by the National Rifle Association's Hunter Services from 1982 to 1996, Earl worked as a staffer in support of the association's Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Advisory Committee. He developed the award-winning Advanced Hunter Skills Training program, organized the Youth Hunter Challenge program, and served on the National Turkey Hunter Safety Task Force.

Since 1996, Earl has been employed by the Izaak Walton League of America as director of chapter relations. He trains volunteer leaders to conduct viable local conservation projects and advocacy.

He has served on the Boy Scout of America National Conservation/Environment and Dr. William T. Hornaday Conservation Award Committees for the past decade.

Since 1995 Earl has also been a member of the Leesburg (Virginia) Town Tree Commission. As commission chair, he implemented--with Town Council's approval--the Urban Forest Management Plan that aims to protect, preserve, and reclaim the community's tree canopy.

Earl authored Wild Turkey Hunting--more than 250,000 copies sold--and is an outdoor writer published in many regional, state, and local publications including Insights, Pennsylvania Sportsmen, American Hunter, and Outdoor America.

Earl is a member of Tau Phi Delta Fraternity and has served as Penn State Alpha Chapter's student vice president, as a member of the fraternity's alumni board of directors, as assistant editor of the fraternity's alumni newsletter, The Taproot, as secretary of the Grand National Chapter, and as editor of The Cones of Tau Phi Delta.

During the School of Forest Resources Centennial Celebration in 2007, Earl assisted with fundraising and the silent auction, proceeds of which benefited the School's student clubs and organizations. He is a Penn State Alumni Association life member and an annual contributing member of the Nittany Lion Club.

Earl's other life memberships include the Izaak Walton League and the National Rifle Association. He is a supporting member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the National Wildlife Turkey Federation, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association, and the Virginia Urban Forest Council and Arbor Day Foundation, and a charter member of the Twin Valley Hunting Club in Potter County, Pennsylvania.