Robert S. Seymour, Ph.D.

Research

Project Details

Seymour received a Pew Fellowship with Dr. Malcolm (Mac) Hunter as a collaborative team. Their project developed and promoted methods for maintaining biodiversity in forest ecosystems, specifically strategies to encourage landowners, especially private forest owners, to make their land management practices more consistent with conservation of biodiversity.

Their efforts resulted in two books, one global in scope and one focusing on privately owned forests in Northeastern North America. Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems is an edited volume of chapters written by 32 experts in forest ecology from 11 countries, including 1991 Pew Fellow Connie Millar. Practicing Ecological Forestry: Sustaining Biological Diversity and Wood Production in the Northeast, translates many of the broad principles of sustainable forestry to applications on the ground using northeastern North America as a case study.

Seymour and Hunter utilized their research and writing to support sound conservation management by participating in regional policy initiatives on sustainable forest management, including the Maine Forest Biodiversity Project and a sustainable forestry round table in New Hampshire. These projects provide a forum for members of the region's forest industry, environmental community, academics and state agencies to help formulate voluntary and regulatory policies for implementing sustainable forest practices.

Biography

Robert Seymour's current research interests include the modeling of forest canopy structure and stemwood growth as well as silvicultural systems for northeast species, and the growth and development of mixed-species stands. He has a strong desire to improve the way forestry is practiced, and he attempts to bridge the large gap between traditional advocates of "old forestry" and environmentalists to effect a "win-win" outcome. He also devotes time to the "green certification" movement within forestry, based on both ecological and socio-economic principles.

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EDUCATION

Ph.D., Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
1980: Silviculture, Connecticut, USA

Master of Forestry, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
1976: Forest Management, Connecticut, USA

Bachelor of Science, Ohio State University
1974: Forestry, Ohio, USA

KEY LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

Audubon Society, Maine Chapter, Industrial-Environmental Forum
Member

Baxter Park Scientific Forest Management Area, Advisory Committee
Member

Society of American Foresters, Maine Division, Task Force on Forest Practices
Chair

Forest Science
Associate Editor

New Forests
Editorial Board

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry
Associate Editor

KEY AWARDS & HONORS

Marine Fellow
1995: Pew Fellows Program in Conservation and the Environment

ASSOCIATIONS

The Nature Conservancy
Conservator and Volunteer Consultant

SELECT PUBLICATIONS

• Hunter,M.L. and R.S. Seymour. 2000 (in press). Practicing Ecological Forestry: Sustaining Biological Diversity and Wood Production in the Northeast. Island Press, Washington, DC
• Hunter, M.L. and R.S. Seymour. 1999. Maintaining biodiversity in forest ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England. (695 pp)
• Seymour,R.S. and L.S. Kenefic. 1998. Balance and sustainability in multi-aged stands: A northern Conifer case study. Journal of Forestry 96(7): 12
• Gilmore,D.W. and R.S. Seymour. 1997. Crown architecture of Abies balsamea from four canopy positions. Tree Physiology 17(2): 71
• Gilmore,D.W., R.S. Seymour and D.A. Maguire. 1996. Foliage-sapwood area relationships for Abies balsamea in central Maine, U.S.A. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 26(12)
• Seymour,R.S., R.J. Hrubes and D. Hammel. 1995. Certifying sustainable forestry: The evaluator's perspective. Journal of Forestry 93(4): 26
• O'Hara,K.L., R.S. Seymour and S.D. Tesch. 1994. Silviculture and our changing profession: Leadership for shifting paradigms. Journal of Forestry 92(1): 8
• Seymour,R.S. 1994. Why Maine needs a new forestry. In: The Triad Concept for Maine's Future Forest: A Model for Harmony or Discord? (D.B. Field ed.). Proc. 2nd Annual Munsungan Conference, Orono, ME, p. 12-14
• Seymour,R.S., S.M. Rees and J. Staromlynska. 1994. Design considerations for a liquid crystal tuned Lyot filter for laser bathmetry. Optical Engineering 33(3): 915
• Seymour, R.S. 1993. Plantations or natural stands? Options and tradeoffs for high-yield silviculture. In: Nurturing the Northeastern forest (R.D. Briggs and W.B. Krohn eds.). Proc. New England Soc. Amer. Forestry, Portland, ME