Terry Wentz was a Pennsylvania State Parks manager who served with the state for 34 years at four locations throughout South Central Pennsylvania including

Canoe Creek State Park Canoe Creek State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Frankstown Township in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is 12 miles east of Altoona, the nearest city. Canoe Lake, at , is the focus of recreation at the park and is open for fishing year- ...

Trough Creek State Park Trough Creek State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Cass, Penn and Todd Townships, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The majority of the park is in Todd Township along Pennsylvania Route 994, east of the unincorporat ...

, and Warriors Path State Park.Wentz, Daniel P. "Terry L. Wentz." AltoonaMirror.com - Altoona, PA , News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - The Altoona Mirror. ''Altoona Mirror'', 1 June 2010. Web. 08 August 2010. .Bubb, Frederick
"PA News"
''The PA Bugle''. Winter 2009. Web. 08 August 2010. He is most noted for his work in progressive management and

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

.Wentz, Daniel P. "Terry Wentz." Waxwing Associates - Pennsylvania Tourism At It's [sic] Best. Dan Wentz, 8 October 2008. Web. 08 August 2010. . He founded Waxwing Associates, an eco-tourism company that also provided wildlife management consulting and grant writing services. Wentz is noted for his work with the largest

little brown bat The little brown bat or little brown myotis (''Myotis lucifugus'') is an endangered species of mouse-eared microbat found in North America. It has a small body size and glossy brown fur. It is similar in appearance to several other mouse-ear ...

colony east of the Mississippi River, which is located in an abandoned church at

.Simon, Dan. "Flight of the Bat." GreenWorks.tv. 11 October 2002. Web. 08 August 2010. . His conservation efforts have also resulted in further protections for the endangered

Indiana bat The Indiana bat (''Myotis sodalis'') is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in Southern and Midwestern U.S. states and is listed as an endangered species. The Indiana bat is grey, black, or chestnut in colo ...

s which reside in Canoe Creek State Park in an abandoned mine. Wentz is noted as one of the founding members of Rails To Trails of Central Pennsylvania. His efforts in acquiring grants for land helped to establish the

Lower Trail The Lower Trail (/'laʊ.ər/, rhymes with "flower") is a rail trail that follows the Juniata River in West-Central Pennsylvania from Flowing Springs in Blair County to Alfarata in Huntingdon County. The Lower Trail is owned and maintained by Rai ...

. He also served time in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

as a dog handler for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. Wentz was also a past president of the Juniata Valley Audubon Society, and served on the Juniata Valley Audubon board for over a decade. He helped develop a benefit horse ride trail for Dreams Go On, an organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding sessions to adults and children who are physically challenged, receive mental health, behavioral health or family therapy services.Welcome to Dreams Go On. Web. 08 August 2010
"Dreams Go On Homepage"
"Lehman Engineers Trail Ride 2009 to Benefit Dreams Go On 2009." Lehman Engineers Trail Ride 2009 to Benefit Dreams Go On 2009. Web. 08 August 2010. <>

Dedications

On October 2, 2010, the Canoe Creek Environmental Center at

was named after Terry Wentz. On May 15, 2011, the first annual Terry Wentz Memorial Hike was held at Canoe Creek State Park.Kotala, Stan
"Moshannon Group News — Sierra Club"
Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter. Web. 6 September 2010.

Awards

The Bureau of State Parks honored Wentz's longstanding work with bluebirds with a posthumous Cavity Nesting Monitor of the Year award.Clegg, Amanda "Local man’s commitment honored" AltoonaMirror.com - Altoona, PA , News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - The Altoona Mirror. Altoona Mirror, 2 October 2010. Web. 2 October 2010. . Wentz also won the American Trails, Trail Worker of the Year award in November 2010."Terry Wentz National Trails Award Winner 2010." American Trails - Your National Resource for Trails and Greenways. Web. 29 November 2010. . The honor was awarded posthumously to his wife, Debbie.

References

External links

Terry Wentz Biography on Waxwing Associates

Centre Daily Times Obituary - Terry Wentz

The Alleghenies Birding Tips

The Pittsburgh Press - Conservation Day Scheduled

Late park manager to be honored at state park building dedication
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wentz, Terry 1947 births 2010 deaths