James M. Guldin Named Society of American Foresters Fellow
July 28, 2020
Asheville, NC — USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station scientist James M. Guldin was selected as a 2020 Fellow in the Society of American Foresters (SAF). A member since 1974, Guldin was chosen for long-standing service to forestry at the local, state, and national levels.
SAF awards the fellowship to members who are forestry ambassadors. With more than 160 research publications and 200 presentations, 20 of which were keynotes addresses, Guldin has contributed significant scientific work to the field of forestry.
Guldin has held many leadership positions within SAF, including co-Program Chair of the 2013 National SAF Convention, Chair of the D2 Silviculture Working Group from 2010-2012, and Associate Editor (Growth and Yield) of SAF's Southern Journal of Applied Forestry from 1990-1997. He also planned the Technical Post-Conference Field Tour in Longleaf Pine after the 2015 National SAF Convention in Baton Rouge.
"The award validates the work I've been doing for my entire career in trying to spread the gospel of forestry," says Guldin. "I think it is an acknowledgment of that."
One of Guldin's proudest accomplishments is the nearly 200 'forestry in action' field tours he helped to organize and lead. The tours highlighted active silvicultural practices for the restoration and management of southern forest ecosystems. "The value of forestry can best be seen standing in the woods with boots on the ground," says Guldin, "while discussing the effects of management on habitat for fauna and flora with colleagues on the tours."
Guldin joins his brother, Richard Guldin (USFS R&D-retired), in the ranks of a fellow. SAF believes that the Guldin brothers are the only siblings to date ever to receive the position. Guldin and the other 2020 Fellows will be recognized during the National SAF Convention to be held virtually in October. They will also be honored at the annual Ouachita SAF meeting (consisting of the combined Arkansas and Oklahoma state societies) in November.