IFSA Students Connect in Quebec City

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SEFS students Salina Abraham, Rachel Yonemura, Miku Lenentine and Cleo Woodcock recently had the opportunity to attend the Canadian American Regional Meeting (CARM) as part of the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA). The conference was held in Quebèc City in Canada, just north of Maine, from February 9 to 14. As a student-run international nonprofit, IFSA engages students locally, regionally and internationally for broader understanding of forestry. CARM is the regional-level gathering that connects students from across the United States and Canada to network, learn and share current natural resource issues and management techniques.

Here’s what Salina and Rachel wrote about the experience this year!

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Three plane rides to our destination, special orders of fleece-lined jeans, and the preparatory Skype meetings could not have prepared us for the week we were about to experience. After being transported from the Pacific Northwest into the winter wonderland that is Quebec City, we successfully dragged our suitcases across the snow-covered campus of the Université Laval. In a few short hours, we were surrounded by many other students sharing our passion in environmental science—and confusion for what was to come. This year’s CARM, after all, went above and beyond the historical precedent of a two- to three-day weekend conference filled with various lectures, site visits and bonding activities.

In case the red glow doesn’t give it away, you’re looking at the foresters' Valentine’s Day party!
In case the red glow doesn’t give it away, you’re looking at the foresters’ Valentine’s Day party!

The Université Laval Organizing Committee ensured that the international attendees to this conference were integrated into all aspects of life in Quebec City. CARM students participated in a wide range of activities, from snowshoeing through Forêt Montmorency, the world’s largest teaching and research forest; learning about Université Laval’s wood engineering program; and a delicious and informative visit to a traditional “sugar shack” to uncover the secrets to maple syrup engineering. The conference workshops covered topics such as IFSA International structure and updates, regional obligations and opportunities, as well as ways to improve engagements with our community, and understanding our role as emerging young professionals in the forestry sector and world of environmental science. We also heard from a local hydrologist, the dean of Université Laval, Canadian professional organizations, and a number of graduate and undergraduate students presenting on their newest research.

Creating an inclusive, well-connected community was one of the major takeaways from this trip for all of the students. During our week we shared dorms, halls and conversations with the students in Quebec City. These conversations expanded our perspectives on forestry, and our eager expositions on the spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest surely expanded some perspectives as well. After a foresters’ Valentine’s Day party, where we found our ‘matches’ and a day full of forestry competitions and games, it was apt that we closed the conference in the apartments of U-Laval students. Gathered on the limited couch space or floor with musical instruments in hand, we sang songs in French and English and felt the warmth of an inclusive, open space. That’s the type of community our local committee of IFSA hopes to cultivate continually at SEFS.

One of the most essential pieces to CARM and regional meetings is that they serve to maintain the strength of IFSA as a nonprofit organization. Regional meetings are opportunities for IFSA international officials to meet with members and share the organization’s accomplishments and new opportunities, and enable local committee members to step up into leadership roles. As head of the International Processes Commission of IFSA, Salina wanted to take the opportunity to use CARM as a thermometer for youth attitudes on regional and international issues.

“As my commission is tasked with representing IFSA members globally on an international stage, it is imperative that we continually have these conversations with each other to fully understand what that means,” she says. “Through assistance from Professor Indroneil Ganguly, I was able to do an independent research project to dive into this topic through focus groups at CARM. Thanks to my commission and SEFS support, this method will be replicated at regional meetings across the globe—with Northern Europe and Southern Europe coming next. It is my hope that we, students, can be better represented through and informed about international environmental policy.” (Read more about Salina’s research.)

For those interested, do not worry, our conversations with our Canadian and American counterparts have not ended! Everyone is welcome to join us at our Northern America IFSA Coffee Hour held on the third Monday of every month at 8:30 a.m. through Google Hangouts (the next one is on April 18; email Miku for details at miku.ifsa@gmail.com). IFSA has a bunch of events lined up for Earth Week next week, as well, including publication and resume workshops, an alumni networking event and even a movie premiere. Also, U-Laval created a summary video of CARM if you wanted to check out some of the fun.

And as always, stay tuned for IFSA updates—new officers, new positions and new events!

Photos © UW IFSA.

CARM attendees in the middle of Forêt Montmorency, the world’s largest teaching and research forest.
CARM attendees in the middle of Forêt Montmorency, the world’s largest teaching and research forest.

Director’s Message: Spring 2016

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We are all highly aware of the extreme polarization across all aspects of the political sphere in the United States, especially during this presidential election. Front and center in this tense landscape are issues surrounding the environment and the appropriate management of our public lands—with the recent Malheur occupation in Oregon reflecting some of this friction, and only amplifying the divide.

However, in this age of changing climate and declining forest health, I believe there’s an enormous opportunity to find common ground through sustainable forest management and mass timber products—specifically, through the emergence of cross-laminated timber (CLT).

Gifford Pinchot, the founding head of the U.S. Forest Service, envisioned foresters as conservationists and frontline stewards of the land. But from the 1950s to the 1980s, the practice of forestry on federal lands strayed from its conservation roots to an economically driven model of harvesting and replanting. The goal became maximum production rather than sustainable management, and the health of the federal forest system quickly declined.

As the impacts of these practices became clearer, the public began to equate forestry with extractive industries, such as mining and oil exploration. This shift in public perception fueled demand for greater conservation of public lands, and also helped drive major policy changes to federal forest management. The result was an abrupt reduction in forest harvest on federal lands from the mid-1990s to today (timber harvest on U.S. Forest Service land in Washington is now at 5 percent of what it had been in the ‘60s), leaving what were once heavily managed forests in a state of unmanaged regeneration. The impetus for these changes—preserving our forests—was noble and necessary. Yet wholly unmanaged regeneration, without the purifying and stochastic influences of fire or wind-throw, end up creating overstocked forest stands that are neither appropriate as wildlife habitat nor productive as forests.

So the question is, “How can forestry, something that was deeply embroiled in polarization in the Pacific Northwest, and an engineered wood product simultaneously help address ecological and social divides?”

Constructed from cross-laminated timber panels from the first floor up, nine-story Murray Grove—designed by Waugh Thistleton Architects—was the world's tallest modern timber residential building at the time of its completion in 2009.
Constructed with cross-laminated timber panels from the first floor up, nine-story Murray Grove—designed by Waugh Thistleton Architects—was the world’s tallest modern timber residential building at the time of its completion in 2009.

In the last decade, we’ve observed a revolution in wood building products that began in Europe and eventually spread to Canada and Australia. That revolution is the generation of mass timber products—extremely strong panels and beams created from the glue lamination of smaller boards—that can be used as structural components in large buildings. These CLT panels can be up to 40 feet in length by 10 feet tall and eight inches wide, and they can be used partially in place of steel and concrete in the production of wood-based tall buildings—allowing wood construction 10 to 20 stories tall (and reducing the impact of steel and concrete as major sources of CO2 emissions in the region). They create buildings that are structurally sound and fire-resilient, and they use materials that are fully renewable and that can be produced sustainably.

Since CLT is built from smaller boards, as well, I believe it could increase the value of small-diameter trees taken via thinning and restoration harvests. Targeting those trees could help improve the health and resilience of previously overstocked stands, restore wildlife habitat and reduce fire severity, and facilitate carbon storage in preserved mature trees and in CLT panels. Finally, building tall with wood represents a smart approach to urban densification, reducing pressure on rural landscapes and changing the way our cities and towns grow in the next 50 years.

There’s still more to learn about CLT and how best to build an industry that upholds and respects the values of so many interests. But the potential is real, and clearly gaining momentum.

During the last year, along with a number of faculty and staff in SEFS, I have been working with a group of researchers, agency personnel, environmental organizations, architects and private industry who have come together to plot the future of CLT in the state of Washington—and to do it right on all fronts. We see CLT as a catalyst for change in the built environment that is holistically integrated with sustainable land management, and we have organized events and testified in senate and house hearings on the development of CLT. Coming up on April 21, a well, we—SEFS, Forterra, the Washington Department of Commerce, and the Washington Forest Protection Association—will host renowned architect Andrew Waugh for a guest lecture on green building with mass timber products in Europe (RSVP to join us at the talk!).

Long-term, I have great hope for CLT development in the state, in large part because of the diverse cross-section of stakeholders invested in its success. We represent what might be considered disparate interests, yet we share a strong desire for a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future. That’s a powerful roadmap for overcoming polarization and political gridlock, and I look forward to our role in advancing this movement.

Tom DeLuca
School of Environmental and Forest Sciences

Photo of Murray Grove © Waugh Thistleton Architects.

 

Institute of Forest Resources Announces Four Research Grant Winners

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This March, the Institute of Forest Resources awarded four grants through the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research program, totaling $374,877 in funding. After final approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these projects will begin during the 2016 Fall Quarter and last two years, wrapping up by September 30, 2018.

Read more about the funded projects below!

Awarded Projects

1. Sustainable Development of Nanosorbents by Catalytic Graphitization of Woody Biomass for Water Remediation

PI: Professor Anthony Dichiara, SEFS
Co-PI: Professor Renata Bura, SEFS

The present research proposes the development of a simple, sustainable and scalable method to produce high-value carbon nanomaterials from woody biomass. As-prepared carbon products will be employed as adsorbents of large capacity and high binding affinity to remove pesticides from hydrological environments. This project will (i) help mitigate forest fires by limiting the accumulation of dry residues in forest lands, (ii) create new market opportunities to transform the wood manufacturing industry and reinvigorate rural communities, and (iii) minimize potential exposure to hazardous contaminants.

Award total: $109,869

2. Trophic Relationships of Reintroduced Fishers in the South Cascades

PI: Professor Laura Prugh, SEFS

In 2015, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) began reintroducing fishers (Pekania pennanti) to the South Cascades. The west coast fisher population has been proposed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (decision due by April 2016), and fisher recovery is thus a high priority in Washington. Fisher habitat use has been studied with respect to denning and rest site characteristics, but effects of forest management and stand characteristics on establishment success of reintroduced fishers remains unknown. In collaboration with agency partners, we propose to study how forest structure and management impact prey availability, competitor abundance and fisher establishment in the South Cascades.

Award total: $99,679

3. High-value Chemicals and Gasoline Additives from Pyrolysis and Upgrade of Beetle-killed Trees

PI: Professor Fernando Resende, SEFS
Co-PI: Professor Anthony Dichiara, SEFS

In this project, we will convert beetle-killed lodgepole pine into fuel additives and valuable chemicals (hydrocarbons) using a technique called ablative pyrolysis combined with an upgrading step. We developed a novel and unique system for pyrolysis of wood that has the capability of converting entire wood chips into bio-oil. This characteristic is important for mobile pyrolysis units, because it eliminates the need of grinding wood chips prior to pyrolysis.

Award total: $109,861

4. Bigleaf Maple Decline in Western Washington

PI: Professor Patrick Tobin, SEFS
Co-PI: Professor Greg Ettl, SEFS

We propose to investigate the extent and severity of a recently reported decline in bigleaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, in the urban and suburban forests of Western Washington, and to differentiate between possible abiotic and biotic drivers of the decline. Specifically, we propose to (1) survey the spatial extent of bigleaf maple decline (BLMD) and record associated environmental, anthropogenic, and weather conditions that are associated with BLMD presence and absence; (2) use dendrochronological techniques to analyze and compare growth rates of healthy and symptomatic trees to further differentiate the potential roles of abiotic and biotic drivers of the decline; and (3) to link the data collected under Objectives 1 and 2 with previous  records of BLMD collected by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to ascertain the spatial-temporal pattern associated with BLMD in Western Washington.

Award total: $55,468

NSF Grant to Explore Coastal Temperate Rainforests

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This February, Professor David Butman was part of a research team awarded a $500,000, four-year grant through the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network. The goal of the grant is to develop a research collaborative, organized as the Coastal Rainforest Margins Research Network, to study the flux of materials from coastal watersheds to nearshore marine ecosystems in Pacific coastal temperate rainforests (PCTR).

2016_03_Butman1
One of the exciting possibilities of this grant, says Butman, is the potential to create foundations for larger projects in the future, including with the Olympic Natural Resources Center and Olympic Experimental State Forest.

Butman is a co-PI on the grant with two researchers from the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau. Through a series of workshops and other collaborations, they will be working to quantify what’s happening now in coastal temperate rainforest ecosystems, identify critical areas of future research—especially related to a changing climate—and build an international community of scientists in similar zones around the world, including in Patagonia and New Zealand.

It’s a higher-level project, says Butman, designed to figure out what still needs to be done—data and concepts at the cusp of current science—to understand the connectivity between land, freshwater and coastal systems.

This grant targets PCTR ecosystems from coastal Oregon and Washington up through southwest Alaska. These ecosystems encompass the largest coastal temperate rainforests in the world, and they include the most extensive remaining old-growth forests in North America. They also experience tremendous freshwater flux and run-off, so understanding how carbon moves through these dynamic coastal margins is a huge part of this research—and a primary focus of Butman’s role on the grant.

“This region gets more water and rain per unit area than anywhere else,” he says. “Essentially from the Olympic Peninsula up through southwest Alaska, the area sees more than six times the annual output of the Yukon River, or three times the Mississippi. So much material moves from the land to the ocean here, so it’s an exciting opportunity.”

2016_03_Butman2
An important component of this research includes studying how warming temperatures and changing weather patterns will impact the long-term health of these dynamic coastal temperate rainforests.

The grant includes funding for four workshops, and Butman will be organizing the first this coming fall. It will focus on biogeochemical cycling, and he is currently reaching out to potential stakeholders and participants, from native communities to other scientists and natural resource managers.

Other major research questions the network will be addressing include: What are current freshwater and carbon fluxes in the PCTR, and how will these be affected by future changes in climate? How do forest communities, distribution and disturbance regimes drive current land-to-ocean biogeochemical fluxes across the PCTR, and how will climate-driven changes affect this flux? What is the relative importance of terrestrially derived materials transport for regulating marine ecosystem processes in the PCTR, and how will marine ecosystems respond to altered terrestrial biogeochemical fluxes? Is the PCTR a future source or sink of carbon under a changing climate, and can the insights gained about ecosystem processes in the PCTR translate to other coastal temperate rainforests? And what is the current and future contribution of coastal temperate rainforests to continental or global estimates of carbon sequestration and material fluxes across the terrestrial/marine interface?

Previous studies have explored some of these questions in parts or certain places, but the key with this broad collaborative is to organize a concerted effort to address information gaps and connect the dots—and to use this region as a model for understanding ecological processes in similar ecosystems around the world.

Photos © David Butman.

A Shakespearean Twist

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Doctoral candidate Ben Dittbrenner, who taught ESRM 426: Wildland Hydrology this winter, used the new SEFS buses for eight field trips throughout the quarter. Three different drivers helped shuttle the class to field sites, and one in particular, GregRobin Smith, really engaged with the students.

Ben had heard from another driver that GregRobin was also the president of the Washington Shakespeare Festival, so he asked him about it one day. They quickly struck up a conversation, and over the course of multiple field trips GregRobin became integrated into the class.

“He was cool from the start,” says Ben. “At the end of each class, we would have a round-up and get in circle to talk about what we observed out in the field. GregRobin would always hang out with us, and at some point we started talking about incorporating Shakespeare into the course.”

GregRobin eventually brought up an apt hydrology lesson from Shakespeare’s Henry V. In the play, the seriously outnumbered English face a decisive battle against the French, who on the day before the clash parade their horses around the battleground in a show of force. It had been raining for weeks, and the horses churned up the soil into a soggy mess. When the French charged the following day, they got bogged down in the muck, and the English archers picked them apart and ultimately won the battle.

“We had just finished talking about how water affects soils, and this was just a perfect real-world example,” says Ben. “So we made it into an extra credit question on the midterm, and the students were really into it.”

For the last field trip, in fact, the class decided to give GregRobin an award for being such a great contributor to the course experience. One of the students brought in a wood cookie, which she had sanded down, and they all voted on what it should read—“Certificate of Excellence in Shakespearean Hydrology”—before signing it.

In return, GregRobin awarded Ben a new title as the “Official Wildland Hydrology Advisor for the Washington Shakespeare Festival.”

Photo © Ben Dittbrenner.

2016_03_Bus Driver Honored
GregRobin, left, with Ben at the end of the quarter.

In the News … in 1915

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John Tylczak, who has loaned us photography exhibitions in the Forest Club Room the past two years, recently sent us a clipping from an October 15, 2015, issue of an old trade publication, the West Coast Lumberman.

At the time, the paper had decided to feature a section once a month with news and updates from the College of Forestry. This issue hosted the introductory story, which included an overview of the College and the Forest Club, as well as short blurbs about where recent graduates had found work—such as E.J. Hanzlik, Class of 1911, who was working as a forest examiner in the Olympic National Forest, or Lewis A. Treen, also Class of 1911, who was the deputy supervisor of Snoqualmie National Forest, or W.S. Cahill, Class of 1913, a timber inspector with the Port of Seattle, and a few dozen others.

The pages include a photo of Dean Hugo Winkenwerder, and also an advertisement for wire rope for logging, available through the A. Leschen & Sons Rope Company. For all the historical details, though, it’s clear that some things about our school are just as true today: “Few situations could be more advantageous for the location of a forest school than the Puget Sound region.”

Thanks for sending the clipping, John!

2016_03_West Coast Lumberman

2016 Sustaining Our World Lecture: Lynda V. Mapes

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For our annual Sustaining Our World Lecture coming up on Thursday, April 21, the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences is extremely pleased to welcome Lynda V. Mapes, author and environmental reporter for the Seattle Times: “Witness Tree: My year with a single, 100-year old oak.”

2016_03_MapesThe lecture is open to the public and will be held on Thursday, April 21, from 6 to 7 p.m. in Johnson Hall 102. Event registration is free, but we encourage you to RSVP as soon as possible to make sure we have enough seating for everyone!

About the Lecture
What can one tree tell us about our changing world? Lynda will show slides from her year exploring the human and natural history of a single, 100-year old red oak tree at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass., and read from her book Witness Tree, forthcoming from Bloomsbury Publishing.

About the Speaker
Lynda Mapes is a staff writer at the Seattle Times, where she specializes in covering native cultures, natural history and environmental topics. Over the course of her career, she has won numerous national and regional awards, most recently a 2012 award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest professional science association. She has written three previous books, most recently Elwha, a River Reborn (The Mountaineers Books, 2012), about the largest dam removal project ever in history and the effort to restore a wilderness watershed in Washington’s Olympic National Park, and its once legendary salmon runs. Now in its second printing, the book also was the inspiration for a major exhibition at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle from September 2013 to March 2014, and is now touring across the country for three years.

2016_03_Mapes2In 2013-14, Lynda was awarded a prestigious nine-month Knight fellowship in Science Journalism at MIT. While there, she focused her study on how seasons and species are affected by climate change. Her research trips to the Harvard Forest for this work earned her the honor of an appointment as a fellow and science writer in residence at the Harvard Forest.

As her work with scientists at the forest unfolded, she discovered the idea for her new book project, Witness Tree, an intimate look at what one tree in the forest tells us about climate change, now under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. In March 2014, Lynda was awarded another prestigious fellowship, this time from Harvard University. Her 12-month Bullard Fellowship in Forest Research began in September 2014, enabling her to take up residence at Harvard to continue her work and write Witness Tree.

A birder, gardener, hiker and close observer of the natural world, Lynda lives in Seattle with her husband, Doug MacDonald.

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We hope you can join us. Register today!

Alumni Spotlight: Ben Harrison

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In the fall of 1966, the Forest Club, one of the oldest and longest-running clubs at the University of Washington, realized it was nearly broke and didn’t have enough funds for some of its activities, including Garb Day. Ben Harrison, who was working on the final quarter of his forest management degree, came up with an idea to raise some money for the group and spread a little holiday cheer on campus: a Christmas tree sale.

The Seattle Times story from December 8, 1966.

The Forest Club had about a dozen members at the time, and Harrison managed to get permission from the Forest Service for them to cut some Pacific silver firs from a plantation in the Hansen Creek area near Snoqualmie Pass. They succeeded in selling all the trees—including unloading a few extras to local banks—and rescuing the group’s finances. They also brought back one especially large fir to place on Red Square right in front of the old Administration Building (now Gerberding Hall).

President William Gerberding came out to light the 30-foot tree, which freshman and sophomores had decorated, and the Husky Band played to a lively crowd of students. The Seattle Times even covered the occasion in an article on December 8, 1966, “Tree Caps Collegiate Career,” referring to Harrison as a “spirited forestry student.”

Harrison turned 90 earlier this fall and now lives in Issaquah with his wife Dorie. He was a slightly older student while at UW, where he met Dorie, and his career covered multiple chapters before and after his time at school. Harrison twice served in the Navy, first enrolling at age 16 for submarine service during World War II (his older brother signed his papers). He later served as an electrician and medic during the Korean War, and after graduating from college he went to work as a forester for Weyerhaeuser—and then eventually as a contract forester with private landowners. Along the way, he staffed a Society of American Foresters booth at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, traveled to every continent except Antarctica, and received the Honored Alumnus Award from our school in 1992.

It’s impossible to pick one legacy from such a life and career, but one of his most enduring contributions to our school was organizing that first tree sale. Though he never imagined it at the time, he kicked off a tradition that has now continued for 49 years, drawing together students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members across Seattle.

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the sale, and maybe we can convince Harrison to head out with the Forest Club when they harvest the next batch of trees!

Photo of Ben and Dorie Harrison © Karl Wirsing/SEFS.

2015_15_Ben Harrison

Grad Student Spotlight: Korena Mafune

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Korena Mafune, who earned her master’s last spring working with Professors Dan and Kristiina Vogt, has continued on at SEFS this year with her doctoral studies. Her project involves researching plant-fungal relationships in Washington’s temperate old-growth rain forests, with a specific focus on canopy soils and host tree fungal interactions. Her main goal is to learn which fungal species are associating with the host plant’s adventitious roots in canopy soils, and also to collect any fruiting mushrooms.

Korena Mafune 'hanging out' in the canopy.
Korena Mafune ‘hanging out’ in the canopy.

“The temperate old-growth rain forests we work in are rare and unique,” she says. “If we disregard the interactions going on in the canopies, we have an incomplete understanding of how these ecosystems function.”

The results from her master’s thesis laid a strong foundation for additional exploration, and Korena just received two grants to support her doctoral research—one for $9,300 from the Daniel E. Stuntz Memorial Foundation, and the other for $1,900 from the Puget Sound Mycological Society.

“With the support of these grants, we are ready to hit the ground running!”

Nice work, Korena, and good luck!

Photo © Korena Mafune.

Richard D. Taber: 1920-2016

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We were incredibly sad to learn that Professor Emeritus Richard “Dick” Taber, a long-time faculty member at SEFS, passed away on January 25, 2016, in Missoula, Mont. He was 95 years old.

Dick Taber was a California native who studied zoology as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his bachelor’s in 1942, and at the outbreak of World War II he joined the Marine Corps and served with distinction in the Pacific as an officer in artillery. Among other deployments, he commanded a detachment of Marines to get the Japanese to the surrender on the USS. Missouri on September 2, 1945. He also served briefly in the occupation forces in Japan. Following his discharge, he applied to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin and was eventually accepted by Aldo Leopold as a master’s student. Following Leopold’s passing, Dr. Joseph Hickey assumed responsibility for advising Dick through his thesis research.

2016_01_Dick TaberAfter completing his master’s, Dick entered a doctoral program at Berkeley, where he worked under the guidance of A. Starker Leopold, Aldo Leopold’s son. His doctoral work resulted in a classic study on the black-tailed deer of the chaparral, and Dick later joined the faculty at the University of Montana in 1955. When he came to the University of Washington in 1968, he was instrumental in helping develop the original undergraduate and graduate programs in wildlife science at the College of Forest Resources (now SEFS). His primary research interests were in ungulate ecology, though he advised graduate students in a variety of vertebrate ecology and conservation areas.

Dick was known for his inquisitive nature and quick wit, and he was an excellent writer. He was also a strong believer in interdisciplinary approaches to science, and he encouraged the formation of a group of faculty from the College of Forest Resources and the College of Fisheries to form a committee to develop the first wildlife curriculum.

During his time on the SEFS faculty from 1968 to 1985, he advised 23 master’s and 16 doctoral students. He often asked penetrating questions at oral exams and usually asked more questions of guest speakers than anyone else present. He made a lasting contribution to not only the wildlife program, but also to the College of Forest Resources, and he received numerous awards throughout his career—including in 2008, when The Wildlife Society presented Dick with its highest honor, the Aldo Leopold Award.

He was well-respected by all of his colleagues, and his valuable lessons live on through his many graduate students—and now their graduate students, as well. Some of his former students, in fact, went on to become his professional colleagues at SEFS years later, including Professor Emeritus Dave Manuwal, who earned his master’s with Dick at the University of Montana, and Ken Raedeke, who earned his Ph.D. with Dick at SEFS.

If you wish to make a donation in his memory, you can make a gift to the Richard D. Taber Wildlife Student Award Fund, which was established to provide annual awards to meritorious SEFS students who are involved in the study and research of wildlife science.