College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Forestry

MSU Forestry has an impact not just on the forestry profession but on people and families as well. No one knows this more than the Baumgartner brothers, Bud, Dick and David. Many fond memories and life-changing experiences took place right here at MSU.

Bud

Bud Baumgartner first began at MSU in 1947 at 17 years old, fresh out of high school. It was a unique time for MSU (then Michigan State College) as around 80 percent of Bud’s fellow students were World War II veterans and around 22 to 25 years old. This resulted in Bud often assisting his peers in their classwork, as his study habits from high school were still fresh. This also resulted in Bud being the designated driver for many Friday nights with the forestry group, being the only one who could not partake in a few rounds of beers. Bud received his BS in Forestry in 1951 and his MS in Forestry in 1954. Bud went on to work in forest management in the Willamette National Forest in western Oregon for 35 years. Bud was particularly proud of his work and the people he worked with, noting that he enjoyed being able to put income from timber sales back into the community for things like school systems, roads and planting new trees.

Dick

Dick also attended MSU, but switched to education a few credits short of his forestry degree, eventually attaining two education masters degrees at the University of Oregon. Dick taught school in Eugene, Oregon and maintained his passion for forestry. He was a smokejumper for eight years, four years of that for the Forest Service out of Missoula and four years for the Park Service at West Yellowstone, Montana. He was also a very accomplished tree farmer on several hundred acres he acquired and managed in western Oregon. Sadly, Dick is no longer with us.

David

David, the youngest of the three brothers, received a BS, MS and PhD in forestry at MSU finishing in 1969. He recalls fondly his experience as a newly married graduate student teaching logging at MSU’s 10-week forestry summer camp. Though at first he felt he had bitten off more than he could chew, he is forever grateful for that job and often reflects he can’t remember how many times he has said, “thank you for the experience.” After camp ended that year, David and his wife stayed, helping with inventory plots and tree measurements on genetics studies for Dr. Johnathon Wright, world class, leading forest geneticist. As a graduate teaching assistant, in addition to logging, David co-taught Dendrology and helped with Silviculture, Forest Measurements, Forest Management, Forest Economics, Forest Soils, and Forest Genetics among others. Though now retired, David went on to become the Extension Forester and Extension Natural Resources Program Director at Washington State University.

A fundamental part of MSU Forestry’s mission is to provide a great place for students to get a high quality education regardless of where they are from and to share meaningful experiences with peers. We are proud that we have more than 2,500 living alumni and our hope is that we have helped people live richer lives.