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Featured Alumni: Les Monostory
Les Monostory ’65 came to ESF from Cleveland, Ohio, inspired by childhood summers at Chautauqua Lake and attracted to the College’s connection with Syracuse University athletics. Majoring in wildlife management, he quickly distinguished himself as a varsity fencer, becoming a two‑time North Atlantic Foil Team champion and serving as vice president of his senior class.
After earning a master’s degree in water resources at Michigan State University and serving with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Les returned to Syracuse for doctoral studies before beginning a long career in environmental planning with Onondaga County. His work intersected with efforts to restore Onondaga Lake, and in 1986 he helped petition NYSDEC to reopen the lake to catch‑and‑release fishing.
Les later organized Project Watershed, a volunteer stream monitoring program that expanded to 17 high schools across Central New York. The program documented severe glycol pollution in Beartrap Creek, prompting NYSDEC to require Hancock Airport to install a treatment system, which led to the return of minnows, crayfish, and other aquatic life. Project Watershed’s scientific rigor helped secure a $130,000 EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant, supporting six years of stream restoration in Beartrap Creek, Ley Creek, and Nine Mile Creek.
His leadership has earned major honors, including induction into the NYS Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame, the Field & Stream Heroes of Conservation Award, the Izaak Walton League’s Stanford M. Adams Memorial Award, and the League’s highest national honor, the 54 Founders Award. In 2020, he was inducted into the ESF Athletic Hall of Fame for his achievements as a Syracuse varsity fencer and coach.
Les lives in Central New York and continues to serve as secretary of the Onondaga County Fishery Advisory Board, vice president of the CNY Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, and a member of statewide conservation education committees. His ESF education, rooted in fieldwork, scientific rigor, and environmental stewardship, remains the foundation of his lifelong commitment to restoring waterways and advancing citizen science across the region.
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