Forestry Leader Honored at Memorial Tree Planting

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Several of northern Colorado’s most recognized forestry-related organizations hosted a memorial tree planting April 22 in honor of American forestry leader Tom Borden.

“Tom practiced good forest management and planted trees wherever we lived,” said Rogene Borden, Borden’s wife of 58 years. “His whole life was dedicated to forest management education.”

The Colorado Forestry Association (CFA), Society of American Foresters (SAF), Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) and Colorado State University’s Warner College of Natural Resources (WCNR) organized the Tom Borden Memorial Tree Planting for the forester, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 82. As state forester for 25 years, Borden was the longest-running director of the CSFS, and was past president of the SAF and National Association of State Foresters. He also was responsible for renewing interest in the CFA in the early 1980s.

“Tom Borden was instrumental in reviving the Colorado Forestry Association, a citizens group concerned with sound forest management,” said CFA President Bill Gherardi.

CSFS Director and State Forester Jeff Jahnke, WCNR Dean Joyce Berry and SAF Colorado-Wyoming Chair Ron Cousineau joined SAF members at the memorial planting as part of the 2010 SAF Colorado-Wyoming Annual Meeting.

Unlike many Earth Day events on the CSU campus, the memorial planting was not cancelled or rescheduled despite stormy weather; however, much of the ceremony occurred out of the rain near the entrance to the adjacent Natural Resources Building.

CSFS foresters and CSU forestry students obtained the young Douglas-fir tree planted from the Borden Memorial Forest, a 70-acre private forest and certified Tree Farm west of Fort Collins that Borden owned and managed; he later donated the land to CSU to be used as a living classroom. The tree’s new home is in an area known affectionately to students and faculty as “Sherwood Forest.”

“This tree was chosen because there are so few Douglas-firs on campus,” said Lisa Mason, chair of the Long’s Peak Chapter of the SAF and outreach forester for the CSFS. “The tree we’ve planted will become a respected teaching tool for future forestry students who are learning about tree identification.”

Douglas-fir is a coniferous species native to Colorado, generally found on north-facing slopes between 6,000-8,000 feet in elevation.

CSU already has established the Tom Borden Tree Fund in honor of the well-known forester; the fund is used to replace or add trees to the university’s campuses.

Granddaughter of One of Colorado’s First District Foresters Wins Arbor Day Contest

The Colorado winner of the 2010 National Arbor Day Foundation Poster Contest, a fifth-grade student at Denver’s Dora Moore K-8 School, is the granddaughter of one of the first three district foresters for the Colorado State Forest Service.

Kimberly Gina Young, whose poster depicting the energy-saving benefits of trees was on display at the State Capitol from April 12-22, may have taken the first step to following in the footsteps of her grandfather, the late Don Young. He was a CSFS district forester in Cañon City half a century ago. At that time, his district included the entire southern Front Range.

His granddaughter’s poster was selected from more than 1,900 posters submitted for this year’s NADF Poster Contest by fifth-graders at 45 schools throughout Colorado. A panel of judges from the Colorado Tree Coalition (CTC) and the Front Range Urban Forestry Council chose Gina’s poster as the winner over the other state finalists.

“This poster contest is intended to engage students to learn about trees and their energy-saving benefits to rural and urban communities,” said contest coordinator Donna Davis, CSFS La Junta District forester. Davis co-chairs the poster contest committee of the CTC along with Doug Schoch, an inspector with the City of Denver Forestry Division. The significance of this year’s contest theme, Trees are Terrific… and Energy Wise!, was not lost on Gina, who drew a girl smiling in the shade of a large urban tree.

“The whole concept was about saving energy… I thought it would be hard to show a tree saving energy inside of a house, so I drew someone outside of the house,” she said.

When asked what she likes about trees, Gina said, “I think they’re good for decoration. They’re good to look at.” She said she learned in her science class that trees provide good hiding places and food for animals, which is important to her because she loves animals.

“And it’s really fun to read in the shade under a tree,” she added.

This is Gina’s first year attending English-speaking schools in the United States. She was raised and lived in Seoul, South Korea, until a year ago; her parents still teach English there. Gina's dad, Greg Young, is former District Forester Don Young’s son. Gina currently lives in Denver with her dad’s brother, Jerry Fitzgerald, and his wife, JoVonne.

Fitzgerald said his niece is catching on quickly in her studies. “She’s just a sponge, learning all about American culture. She’s continually drawing, and really has an interest in the arts.” He says that although Gina is mature for her age, she still got excited when she found out she won the contest. “It was really fun for her,” he said.

Gina’s Aunt JoVonne said she thinks the NADF Poster Contest her niece won serves an important purpose. “I think by doing a contest like this, the students will be more informed about conservation than we are now,” she said. “Our generation took trees for granted.”

Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, recognized Gina on April 19 in a presentation near the display of the state finalists’ posters in the Rotunda of the State Capitol. Rep. Lois Court, D-Denver, then introduced Gina in front of the House Assembly. In addition to the individuals already mentioned, several others attended the events, including CSFS Assistant Staff Forester Keith Wood; CTC President Scott Grimes; Dora Moore School Principal Joan Wamsley and visual arts teacher Julie Weir; Gina’s aunt, Donna Young (Don Young’s namesake), and uncle, Roger Ratcliff; and Gina’s cousin, Brian Fitzgerald.

Weir’s art students have placed in the top three spots for Denver-area school entrants in the NADF Poster Contest for the past three consecutive years – a testament to her involvement and guidance with students like Gina.

“I think it’s an important contest because it makes students more aware of the environment,” said Weir. “We spend a lot of time on it.”

As Colorado’s contest winner, Gina’s poster advanced to the national competition. The national winner was chosen through open online voting from March 29-April 2; the winner will be announced on National Arbor Day on April 30.

To view Gina’s winning poster, click here (2 MB PDF).