Glenn L. Bowers (posthumous award)

Glenn L. Bowers first enrolled at Penn State College in 1939. He was a member of the Blue Band, Symphony, and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. In early 1941 he entered Penn State's Civilian Pilot Training Program, soloing later that year and receiving his Private Pilot License.

Following Pearl Harbor, Glenn enlisted in the Navy as an aviation cadet and began active duty in May 1942. Upon completing his training at Corpus Christi, Texas, he was awarded the wings of a naval aviator and commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps in April 1943. In October 1943, he was assigned to the Black Sheep Squadron, VMF 214. He flew 28 combat missions with the Black Sheep Squadron before it was pulled from combat in January 1944, having lost their leader, "Pappy" Boyington, in combat on January 3.

Glenn flew 58 combat missions with two other fighter squadrons during the 13 months he was in the South Pacific. The Black Sheep Squadron was recognized with the Presidential Unit Citation and Glenn was awarded eleven air medals and three Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Following WW II, Glenn returned to Penn State, completing a B.S. in Zoology and Entomology in 1946, and then post graduate work embracing the population dynamics of the state bird, the ruffed grouse. He earned an M.S. in Zoology and Entomology, under the guidance of Drs. Logan J. Bennett and Ward M. Sharp, both of whom held joint appointments with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Penn State College of Agriculture. Bowers was co-inventor of the mirror trap used in the capture of grouse at drumming sites.

In 1948, Glenn began his career with the Pennsylvania Game Commission as a wildlife biologist working on population studies of ruffed grouse. His research was expanded to similar analyses of cottontail rabbits, including the development of habitat management plans for many of Pennsylvania's beagle clubs and those within adjacent states. As a wildlife researcher, Glenn introduced new instrumentation and standards to his science.

In 1957, he was promoted to Chief of Research (Wildlife Management) and to Deputy Executive Director in 1959. He advanced to Executive Director in 1965 and retired in 1982. Numerous innovations, such as the spring turkey season, were put in place during his 17-year tenure as Executive Director. He was also credited with the completion of the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area and the Scotia Shooting Range on SGL 176 in Centre County. Glenn will be remembered for his analysis of wildlife policies, his professional integrity, and his persistence toward purpose.

Among Glenn's auxiliary professional interests was his long-term ties with the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, covering some 37 years. During this period, Glenn served as president in 1979 and as a senior advisor from 1983-95. He was honored with the association's top recognition, the Seth Gordon Award, in 1982 and later with the Distinguished Service Award and honorary life membership.

Glenn was also honored in 1982 by the National Wildlife Federation as the National Wildlife Conservationist of the Year.

Glenn became a charter member of the Ruffed Grouse Society in 1961 and was one of its oldest members. He was a member of the York Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America for more than 60 years and The Wildlife Society for a similar period.

Glenn was a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association. He was also a member of several regional sportsmen's clubs in south-central Pennsylvania and a member of the Conservation Officers of Pennsylvania.

Glenn was an avid bird hunter, enjoying the pursuit of Hungarian partridge in Ontario, plus sharptail and sage grouse in Montana, and woodcock, grouse, and dove in central Pennsylvania. In the late 1950s, he established a bloodline of Brittany Spaniels imported from France. Several of these dogs found their way to central Pennsylvania and central Idaho under the ownerships of School of Forest Resources faculty and alumni.

Glenn's love for turkey hunting took him all over Pennsylvania during spring and fall seasons. He bagged a Merriam's gobbler in Montana using a flintlock rifle that his son Toby had built for him.

Glenn continued as a scholar of Big Game animals and was an official measurer of big game trophies for Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young for more than 20 years.

Glenn died on June 25, 2010.

A new bridge on US Route 15, spanning the Yellow Breeches Creek, was dedicated in 2016 to honor Glenn’s military career.

March 2025