The History of the Cradle of Forestry in America
Join us at noon for this brown bag lunch talk at the Bent Creek Training Center. Please register to attend. Space is limited to 50 participants.
Robert Beanblossom, the caretaker at the Cradle of Forestry, will give a presentation on the history of forestry in America. North Carolina is well known for being "First in Flight" and some also consider it the "First in Forestry." In 1892, George Vanderbilt hired the first European-trained American forester to manage his estate. His property thus was the first to be placed under western scientific forest management. When that forester left three years later, Vanderbilt replaced him with a German forester who opened the first school of forestry in the nation on September 1, 1898. The presentation will focus on how these events shaped future efforts to protect, restore and manage America's valuable forest lands.
Beanblossom is originally from West Virginia. He is a graduate of West Virginia University and had a long and prosperous career at the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources for many years managing state forests and parks. He has been a very active member of the Society of American Foresters, holding many leadership positions over the years. Since his retirement from the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, he has become the volunteer caretaker at the USDA Forest Service Cradle of Forestry in America located on Pisgah National Forest, and he has been in that position for nearly a decade now. He has acquired a wealth of knowledge about the history of the Cradle of Forestry and the birth of forestry in the United States.