Kevin J. Franke

Senior Associate, Director of Environmental Services


Kevin J. Franke, Senior Associate, Director of Environmental Service at The LA Group.

“My passion for environmental science comes from a simple place – Fish Camp. It’s there that the river rushes by you, but you don’t rush. You can sit in silence, watching and studying the hatch to tie the perfect fly so, someday, a friend can catch ‘the big one.”

— KEVIN FRANKE

Professional Experience

Kevin Franke has over 30 years of experience and oversees all resort projects including performing site development feasibility studies, conducting environmental impact analyses, preparing environmental impact statements, and obtaining necessary permits and approvals at the local, regional, state, and federal levels. Environmental impact assessments include wetlands and surface water resources, flora and fauna resources, visual impact assessments, as well as collaborating with Resort Studio design personnel in the areas of stormwater and site design. A turf management specialist, Kevin is an expert in the use of computer modeling programs for analyzing chemical applications typically used in golf course operations. He has written several integrated pest management plans for golf courses in a variety of climate types including an organic management plan for a golf course proposed in the sensitive New York City watershed.

Favorite Place

My favorite place is Fish Camp. Our home base is on the AuSable River in the Adirondacks but there are branch “offices” on the Delaware River, the West Branch of Canada Creek and the Upper Genesee River. It’s in these places that the river rushes by you, but you don’t rush. The river provides all-day, commercial-free background music for your listening pleasure. Sitting in the silence, you unconsciously see the little things that might otherwise go unnoticed – a hatching fly here, the swirl of a trout there. And, at the end of the day, sitting down to tie flies for friends to put on their fishing poles knowing that what you’ve crafted will help them eventually catch “the big one.” It may be tomorrow, possibly next year, but that fly will at least remind them of trips past.

Qualifications

Education, Registrations, and Certifications

  • MS, 1988 – SUNY Fredonia
  • BS, 1986 – SUNY ESF
  • Certified Wetlands Delineation, 1991 – Cook College of Rutgers University
  • Turfgrass Management, 1990 – Cornell University

Community Leadership

  • The American Fisheries Society
  • National Association of Underwater Instructors