Category: Oral History Project Videos

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1NptimsL34]

Index to Interview Questions:
0:15 – How did you choose forestry as a career?

0:51 – Was there a defining event 
which inspired you?

1:46 – Tell us about your time at 
University of Michigan.

4:08 – What is a forest geneticist?

5:25 – What are your thoughts about 
genetic modification?

7:13 – Give us a few highlights or challenges 
from your career.

9:12 – What was your Ph.D thesis subject?

10:14 – How do you conduct studies of trees 
considering the long times required
 for traits to become apparent?

13:04 – What are some of the positive aspects
 of being a forester?

14:14 – Talk about your involvement with SAF.

15:03 – What are your thoughts about 
diversity – stability?

19:10 – What are your thoughts about 
the SAF mission, its past, and
 relevance in the future?

20:13 – What do you see as 
the future of forestry?

23:44 – What advice would you give someone 
considering a career in forestry
 or natural resource management?

25:14 – In a perfect world, what is your 
vision of an ideal forest?

27:51 – Lignochemicals?

29:12 – What are your concerns for 
the future?

30:11 – Explain the idea of 
assisted migration?

33:48 – What are your thoughts on 
climate change and species adaptation ?

37:16 – Tell us about your work with the 
Save the Redwoods League.

38:42 – What are your perspectives on 
global forestry?

-END-

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G77_KVe60Q]

Index to Interview Questions:

0:15 – Please share your background and how
 you became interested in forestry as a career.

0:59 – Although you were born in Lorimor, Iowa you consider two other Iowa communities your home towns.
 Tell us a little about those communities.

1:31 – You identified forestry 
as your ambition at a relatively young age.
 How did your military and family obligations 
blend with your ambition?

3:22 – What motivated you to work
 for the US Forest Service in California after 
graduation from Iowa State University in 1961?

4:41 – Tell us about the person 
who mentored you during your
seasonal work on the Syvanite Ranger District, 
Kootenia NF in Montana.

8:03 – What is grubbing ribes?

9:15 – What were your initial impressions of California?

10:31 – Tell us about some of the different places
 you have worked as a USFS forester.

12:25 – What were some of the highlights and challenges 
working in the various places you were assigned?

24:25 – Would you share some anecdotes, adventures 
and unique episodes from your career?

31:39 – Talk about the shift from generalist to 
specialist in forestry careers.

35:31 – What changes have you seen in fire teams and
 fire management over your career?

36:41 – Does clear cutting still have a place 
in contemporary forest management?

38:20 – Please describe the
 Mt. Lolo/Disney controversy.
(Sierraville Ranger District, Tahoe National Forest)

41:59 – What are some of your observations regarding impacts 
from increased scrutiny of national forest management 
over time from outside entities?

45:21 – How was your day to day work as a forester 
affected by the changes in technology over time?

46:56 – What advice would you give someone 
considering a career
 in forestry and resource management?

48:28 – What are your thoughts on the future of 
forestry and resource management,
 especially in California?

50:46 – Tell us a little about 
Society of American Foresters
over your career.

53:07 – If you were “in charge” how would you
 craft overall forest management policy?

54:50 – In a perfect world, what would be 
your vision of an ideal forest?

-END-

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLFFJP3CU4g]

Index to Interview Questions:

0:20 – Tell us a little about your personal background and path to a forestry career.

4:44 – USFS Region Office assignment and fire management projects.

5:04 – Fire assessment projects: Focus, NFMAS

10:43 – Was there improvement in fire funding funding allocation subsequent to the FOCUS and NFMAS projects?

11:29 – Do you see a correlation between funding and the current Southern California catastrophic fire pattern?

16:41 – What are some issues with LMP (Land Management Planning)?

20:13 – In your experience, is there a relationship between climate change and fire management and suppression?

21:38 – How did you progress from fire line to fire management? What was the origin of the Incident Command System?

26:28 – How did you become interested in forestry as a career?

29:46 – Did you have any mentors?

32:06 – Tell us about your affiliation with the Society of American Foresters.

35:42 – What kind of issues did you address when you were with the SAF Council (now Board)?

42:20 – How have public perceptions about SAF and the role of foresters changed?

44:53 – What are your thoughts about the SAF Mission, its past and its relevance into the future?

49:35 – Tell us about the forestry visit from a Russian contingent.

55:56 – Please briefly discuss the change in retirement age for fire personnel.

57:08 – How did you learn to deal with conflict resolution?

1:07:21 – What would you tell a young person who is considering forestry or resource management as a career?

1:10:23 – Can you give us an example of the complexity which can occur when managing wild lands in California?

1:15:26 – What advice would you have for people who believe there are no implications to a decision not to manage?

1:19:19 – In a perfect world, what would your vision of an ideal forest be?

1:23:05 – Tell us about your interest in the NorCal SAF education project Forestry Institute for Teachers.

-END-

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyPKXWW97Gc]

Index to Interview Questions:

0:18 – Please tell us a little about your background and how you became interested in forestry as a career.

4:12 – Please tell us a little about your forestry education.

5:25 – What was your career path after college?

15:41 – Please talk about the reforestation work you did on the Mt. Shasta brush fields.

25:31 – Tell us about fire camps, Safety First Teams and “The Militia”

32:37 – What was your experience with the first multiple use planning efforts, and how did National Forest forest planning progress, or digress, over time?

40:07 – Can you address the Forest Service approach to protecting Giant Sequoias and the need to thin whitewoods from the groves?

42:30 – What are your thoughts on current forest management challenges such as the drought and bark beetle infestation?

46:56 – Do you have a strategy for working withgroups having conflicting interests?

48:39 – What would you tell a young person who is considering forestry or natural resources management as a career?

50:28 – Why did you join SAF and why do you think membership is important?

54:32 – In a perfect world, what would be your vision of an ideal forest?

-END-

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZstZkkNgI2E]

Richard Standiford, UC Cooperative Extension introduces the CA SAF Oral History Project and 4 interview clips. [Dr. Bill Libby, UC Berkeley] [Robert Solari, USFS retired] [Dr. Bill McKillop, UC Berkeley] [Dr. John Helms, Past President Society of American Foresters & UC Berkeley]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCwJIkcTejg]

Index to Interview Questions:

00:24 – Provide some background about your upbringing and how you became interested in forestry as a career.

01:52 – Where did you attend forestry school?

03:12 – Tell us about your experiences at forestry camp.

03:49 – 1958 was a very eventful year for you. Besides graduating from Berkeley, tell us about some of the other events during that time.

06:07 – Tell us about your career path with the USFS.

09:54 – Any memorable events or anecdotes from the various forests where you worked?

11:47 – Tell us about your first national forest job on the El Dorado.

12:45 – What national forest assignment was your favorite?

14:10 – What type of conflicts did you encounter while assigned to various national forests?
How did you work to resolve these conflicts?

17:21 – What differences did you observe in managing
forests in Idaho vs California?

18:15 – What advice would you give a young person considering a forestry or natural resource
management career?

18:54 – In your 30+ year career in forestry, what sort of changes did you observe, primarily in fire management?

21:51 – What sort of changes have you seen in fire management?

23:18 – What are your thoughts on the current condition of the forests?

26:30 – What are your thoughts about the decline in the number of sawmills
in California?

27:56 – Why have you maintained your membership in Society of American Foresters and why do you consider it to be important?

29:41 – In a perfect world, what would be your vision of an ideal forest?

31:47 – Did you continue to practice forestry after you retired?

33:51 – Are there any final thoughts you would like to share?

-END-

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA0ibquPV3o]

Index to Interview Questions:

0:05 – Introduction

0:58 – “Tell us more about your background and how you got started as a seasonal fire fighter for the US Forest Service “on a bet”.”

6:04 – “Was it a big change moving from Southern California to Humboldt as John started college there?”

6:49 – “What did you observe as a significant change in firefighting and fire management during your career?”

8:40 – “Tell us about your involvement with the Forest Service’s California Job Corps program.”

17:28 – “Tell us about your time on the Plumas National Forest after Job Corps.”

19:43 – “As Greenville District Ranger, tell us about having the first helicopter logging show and a little about small town politics.”

26:24 – “Tell us about working at the USFS Operations Coordination Center in Riverside in 1979.”

28:03 – “Tell us about developing ICS (Incident Command System).”

29:42 – “Was there any resistance to the adoption of the ICS (Incident Command System)?

30:39 – “Do any particular places stand out in your memory as unique for ICS work?”

33:29 – “Tell us a little about your post-retirement Hurricane Katrina FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) assignment through the Forest Service.”

34:43 – “Tell us about your time as the leader of the Urban Forest Ecosystem Institute at Cal Poly in 1995. Did you conduct any ancillary teaching at U. San Luis Obispo?”

39:02 – “What advice would you give a young person considering forestry or resource management as a career?”

41:38 – “Who do you think of as a mentor? Did anyone at that time encourage you to join the Society of American Foresters?”

42:37 – “What are some of the benefits of your membership in SAF?” [Society of American Foresters]

43:33 – “Is it important for employers to support their employees in a professional organization like Society of American Foresters?”

-END-

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqNpjIqGWoc]

Richard Standiford, UC Cooperative Extension briefly introduces the California Society of American Foresters Oral History Project.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC6ACqGh38w?&showinfo=0]

Index to Interview Questions:

 

00:29 – Tell us a little about your background.

11:49 –  When you returned from WWII, how did you transition into forestry employment?

15:23 –  Did you have to choose between public and private sector forestry for your early jobs?

21:55 – Tell us about learning to fly while you were working for Graeagle.

26:55 – Tell us about your job change from Graeagle Lumber to Echo Chalet on Echo Lake.

29:02 –  What international adventures lured you away from Echo Chalet?  European and Swiss Adventures

33:55 –  Tell us about restarting your forestry career on the Rubicon and the emergence of American Forest Products in 1949.

37:16 –  Pickering Lumber Company and the Sugar Pine Railroad

45:12 – Did you live in logging camps in the Sierra?

48:37 – Tell us about the impact of enviromental politics on the forestry profession during your career.

51:42 –  Please tell us about some of the other saw mills in the area and log procurement.

57:39 – Did the advent of the professional foresters licensing law change your activities or practices?

59:34 – Tell us about your involvement with the Society of American Foresters and other forestry collaborations.

1:05:51 –  Was it necessary for you  to be involved in politics?

1:07:05 –  How did you perceive the “winding down” of  high volume harvest in the South Sierras?

1:11:30 –  Did post WWII advances in equipment and practices alter forest management? What changes are affecting forest land management?

1:16:10 – Tell us about some of the trekking you have done in the High Sierra.

1:20:02 – Do you have a favorite spot in the High Sierra?