American forester and conservationist (1915–2022)
Frank Howard Wadsworth (November 26, 1915 – January 5, 2022) was an American forester, conservationist and researcher. He made important scientific contributions to forestry, through his work in Puerto Rico where he lived from 1942 until his death.
Life and education.
Wadsworth was born on November 26, 1915, in Chicago, Illinois to Robert Wadsworth and Helen Celestia Woodman. From 1941, he was married to Margaret Pearson until her death in 1985; he was later married to Isabel Colorado Laguna until his death in 2022. Wadsworth studied forestry at the University of Michigan where he earned a bachelors and a masters degree in the field. In 1950, he received his PhD in Forestry, focusing on tropical forest and tropical rainforest management in Puerto Rico.
Work.
In 1938, Wadsworth worked at the Southwestern Forest and Range Experiment Station at Fort Valley, Arizona. In January 1942, he arrived in Puerto Rico to work at the Tropical Forest Experimental Station in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. In 1943, he was elected into Sigma Xi membership.
In the early 1940s, Wadsworth and assistants documented and described all of Puerto Rico's trees: 755 tree species were listed and then began a scientific method to reforest the barren lands of Puerto Rico. In an interview about his work in Puerto Rico, which he gave when he was in his 90s, Wadsworth stated (in perfect Spanish) that he spent the first ten years in Puerto Rico visiting all its forests, documenting species and their condition.
In 1949, he completed the "Multiple Use and Timber Management Plan" for the Caribbean National Forest now known as El Yunque National Forest. That same year, Wadsworth was directly involved with the conservation efforts of the Puerto Rican parrot and was successful in putting aside 3,200 acres for parrot habitat. The Puerto Rican parrot, which had once numbered in the millions, had dwindled to around 2,000 birds by 1949, and then to only 13 by 1975.
By the start of the 20th century, aggressive agricultural use had left Puerto Rico mostly barren of forests, and attempts to restore the tropical forests had all but failed. In the 1950's, along with agronomist José Marrero Torrado, Wadsworth performed comprehensive scientific research and experimentation which led to successful approaches for the reforestation of Puerto Rico. The lessons learned from these studies and efforts paved the way for reforestation efforts for tropical forests in Central and South America. During his 80 years of work, mostly in Puerto Rico, his research was published in more than a hundred books and scientific journals.
In 1956, he took a position with the United States Forest Service as the supervisor of the El Yunque National Forest and subsequently became the Director of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF).
In the 1960s, Wadsworth played a key role in the construction of the Yokahú Tower. In 1968, as member of the Governor's Advisory Council, he played a key role in the creation of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
When interviewed in his late 90s, Wadsworth said that agritourism goes a long way towards conservation of importance resources, surmising that "tourists make us aware of the value of our forests."
Contributions to Scouting.
In 1933 Wadsworth earned the rank of Eagle Scout and remained a member of the Boy Scouts of America for most of his life. He made numerous contributions in the conservancy of Guajataka Scout Reservation's forests, and offered numerous educational lectures to Scouts. In 1952, he founded the reservation's Nature Team, which is entrusted with maintaining the Scout camp's nature education programs. In 1954, he co-founded Yokahu Lodge of the Order of the Arrow and served as the Ordeal Master for the first Ordeal ceremony held in Puerto Rico. In 1965, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Order of the Arrow. In 2003, he published "Guía Para la Isla de la Mona", a Scout guidebook on Mona Island, on behalf of the Puerto Rico Council.
References.
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