Dr. Pettengill was as an outdoor recreation planner at Grand Canyon National Park. Employed by the National Park Service, he served as a subject matter expert on human dimensions of backcountry and wilderness planning. This involved analyzing environmental impacts based on visitor use levels and patterns in backcountry and wilderness settings. His analysis helped inform documents required by the National Environmental Policy Act, such as environmental impact statements.
In addition to his academic background, he has worked for the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management and has conducted fieldwork in Acadia, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Zion national parks. Dr. Pettengill published articles in a number of scholarly journals, but his proudest work to date is co-authoring the 2ndedition of Managing Outdoor Recreation: Case Studies in the National Parks.
After applying his skills as a practitioner, he chose to return to academia. In 2015, he accepted a position as an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at St. Lawrence University. Since his arrival at SLU, Dr. Pettengill has developed and taught multiple courses including Introduction to Environmental Studies, Contemporary Issues in Outdoor Recreation and Public Land, Recreation Policy and Planning, and Recreation Research. He has found passing on his knowledge of park and recreation management to the next generation of public land stewards incredibly rewarding.
Dr. Pettengill believes parks serve as proxies for larger societal issues and that they exemplify our desired relationship with nature. He looks forward to continuing to explore the Adirondacks personally and professionally for years to come. Dr. Pettengill resides in Canton, NY.