January 11 – 1887 – Aldo Leopold is born on this day in 1887. Considered by many to be the father of wildlife ecology and the United States’ wilderness system, Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast. Among his best know ideas is the “land ethic,” which calls for an ethical, caring relationship between people and nature. Leopold’s collection of essays, A Sand County Almanac, sold more than two million copies and has become one of the most respected books about the environment ever published.
February 7 – 1958 – On this day in 1958, Tall Timbers Research Center is established near Tallahassee, Florida. Now called the Tall Timbers Land Conservancy (TTLC), it is a widely regarded information resource for fire ecology, game bird management, vertebrate ecology and forestry. The Research Station is recognized as the home of the study of fire ecology and is an advocate to protect the right to use prescribed fire for land management. The Land Conservancy is recognized as one of the nation’s leading land trusts, and protects traditional land uses in north Florida and south Georgia by conserving more than 128,000 acres in this region through conservation easements. (Ref – http://talltimbers.org/welcome-to-tall-timbers)
February 24 – 1889 – Herbert L. Stoddard is born on this day in 1889. Stoddard was one of the most important southern conservationists of the twentieth century. He developed a method of forest management in the longleaf–wiregrass region of Georgia that is still widely practiced today. Known as an authority on the bobwhite quail, Stoddard advocated the reintroduction of fire as a land management tool to improve habitat, at a time when scientists and officials were trying to eradicate fire from forests. Along with his friend and colleague Aldo Leopold, Stoddard also helped establish the wildlife management as a profession. Stoddard was among the first to advocate an ecological perspective to land management. (Ref – http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/herbert-l-stoddard-1889-1970)
June 12 – 1941 – The first official tree farm is dedicated in Montesano, Washington on this day in 1941. Washington Governor Arthur B. Langlie delivers the dedicatory address. Owned by the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, the 120,000-acre Clemons Tree Farm was established to demonstrate fire control and reforestation practices.
October 8 – 1871 – The most devastating fire in United States history is ignited in Wisconsin on this day in 1871. Over the course of the next day, 1,200 people lost their lives and 2 billion trees were consumed by flames. Despite the massive scale of the blaze, it was overshadowed by the Great Chicago Fire, which began the next day about 250 miles away. ( http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/massive-fire-burns-in-wisconsin)
October 24 – 1947 – On this day in 1947 Virginia certifies its first twelve tree farm units. Governor William Tuck presents the first certificates at a meeting of Virginia Forests, Inc., in Richmond. The first certificate is awarded to M.M. Jones of Purdy.