AUBURN, Ala. – School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Research Fellow John Kush was named the 2017 inductee to the Alabama Foresters’ Hall of Fame at the Southeastern Society of American Foresters Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet held in Miramar Beach, Florida.
As an Alabama resident and Auburn forestry graduate, Kush was considered for the Hall of Fame due to his outstanding contributions to forestry in Alabama over the course of his 40-year career.
A native of Illinois, Kush graduated with high honors in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in forest science from the University of Illinois/Urbana Champaign and then worked briefly as an urban forester in the city of Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. In 1981, Kush came to Auburn University as a graduate research assistant in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, or SFWS, where he first began to work with southern forest ecosystems.
After graduating with his master’s degree in forestry he transitioned to a research associate position within the school where he would eventually become the data collection and analysis team lead for the USDA Forest Service’s Regional Longleaf Pine Growth Study, activities he would continue to oversee for more than 30 years.
Later, after earning his doctorate in forest ecology from Auburn in 2002, Kush became a research fellow, where he has continued his work with longleaf pine, fire and other aspects of southern forest management.
Among his many achievements, Kush has published four book chapters, produced over 30 referred journal articles and provided countless abstracts, presentations and posters.
“Dr. Kush has begun to reach beyond his work with longleaf pine to focus on shortleaf pine and oak systems, and restoration ecology,” noted John McGuire, a former colleague and senior project manager with Westervelt Ecological Services.
To be inducted into the Alabama Foresters’ Hall of Fame, a nominee must receive unanimous approval of the Alabama Foresters’ Hall of Fame Award sub-committee members.
