Forest Management, Mill Closures and Our Economy
FIRE & FUELS EXPERT TO KEYNOTE TuCARE’S COMMUNITY FOREST FORUM
Thomas M. Bonnicksen, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Department of Forest Science, Texas A&M University
Research Scholar in Residence, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Visiting Scholar and Board Member, The Forest Foundation
Dr. Thomas Bonnicksen earned a B.S. in forestry (with minors in wildlife and range management), an M.S. in forest ecology, and Ph.D. in forest policy from the University of California-Berkeley. He is Professor Emeritus of forest science and a former Department Head at Texas A&M University and Research Scholar in Residence at California Polytechnic State University. He joined the faculty at Texas A&M University after working as a professor of forestry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work over more than 35 years emphasizes the history and restoration of North America’s forests.
Dr. Bonnicksen also is Visiting Scholar and board member of the Forest Foundation in California and Scientific Advisor to the Temperate Forest Foundation in Oregon. He is cofounder of the International Society for Ecological Restoration and a former member of its board of directors. He also held posts as president, chair, and vice-chair of several other organizations, including the Bay Area Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Southwest Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of American Foresters. Dr. Bonnicksen also is a U.S. Navy veteran and former U. S. National Park Service ranger.
Dr. Bonnicksen received many awards. The Bush Presidential Library Foundation honored him in 2002 with the Bush Excellence in Public Service Award. He is the first recipient. President George H. W. Bush personally presented him the award. Most recently, the California Forestry Association honored him as Citizen Conservationist of the Year in 2004.
Dr. Bonnicksen developed science-based strategies in 1994 and 1995 to deal with the wildfire threat in San Bernardino Mountain forests and San Diego County brushlands of California. These strategies, developed with the help of state and federal agencies, and community leaders, would have dramatically reduced the death and destruction caused by the fires of 2003 and 2007 in Southern California.
Most recently, Dr. Bonnicksen created the Forest Carbon and Emissions Model (FCEM), which is a Rapid Assessment Model (REM) that quickly estimates forest carbon and emissions using a minimum of input data for wildfires, insect infestations, and inventories of existing and sequestered carbon on forestlands and brushlands. FCEM is especially important for dealing with issues associated with global climate change.
Governor Reagan appointed Dr. Bonnicksen to serve four years as a member of the California State Park and Recreation Commission. While serving on the commission, he wrote the legislation for State Senator Anthony C. Beilenson (SB 271 & 272) that guides the classification and management of California’s state park system. Most recently, he developed the concept and drafted legislation to create a system of national historic forests. Congressman Mike Simpson (2nd District of Idaho) introduced the Act (H.R. 2119) and held Congressional hearings in June 2001.
Dr. Bonnicksen testified before U. S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate committees 13 times, as well as seven Congressional and Secretarial briefings. He also served on several Congressional fact-finding missions, including the Yellowstone fires of 1988 and the Southern California wildfires of 2003. In addition, he served on many Congressional and state advisory committees, most recently as a member of the U.S. Senate’s California Forest EIS Review Committee and the U. S. House of Representatives’ Forest Health Science Panel.
Dr. Bonnicksen published over 120 scientific and technical papers, articles, book chapters, and other publications, 8 computer programs, and 4 multimedia CDs. He also published a book with John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Copyright 2000, 594 pages), titled America’s Ancient Forests: from the Ice Age to the Age of Discovery. The book documents the 18,000-year history of North America’s native forests. It includes the role of Native Americans in the development of these forests and descriptions by explorers who saw them first.
Dr. Bonnicksen delivered over 100 presentations and keynote addresses worldwide, including the Cosmos Club in Washington DC, the Commonwealth Club and the Bohemian Club in California, the Western Governors Conference, the National Arbor Day Foundation, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Board, and others. He also helped produce and appeared in a one-hour PBS television special titled Forest Wars as well as educational videos.
