He received his Ph.D. in botany in 1971 from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse. His dissertation, on the history of Catskill forests, was the beginning of a lifelong study. It was later expanded and published in book form as The Catskill Forest: A History.
He earned his Ph.D. in botany from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse in 1971. His groundbreaking research on the history of Catskill forests laid the foundation for a lifelong exploration, which was later developed into a comprehensive book titled The Catskill Forest: A History.