David Martyn Smith
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David Martyn Smith (March 10, 1921 – March 7, 2009), a United States forester and educator, was a founder of the field of forest stand dynamics. He was the Morris K. Jesup Professor of
Silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...
at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, the manager of the university’s forest holdings, and an author of a widely used forest management text.


Early life and education

He was born in
Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city in and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of C ...
and grew up in
Kingston, Rhode Island Kingston is a village and a census-designated place within the New England town, town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the mai ...
. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree from the
University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...
in 1941. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he trained at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
in meteorology and served as a meteorologist for the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
in Europe and North Africa. In 1946 he earned a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Forestry, writing his thesis on the impact of the
Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great Long Island - New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike the United States. The storm formed near th ...
on New England forests. He earned his Ph.D. degree at Yale in 1950, writing on how small “microsite” variations affect white pine seedlings.


Professional career

Smith joined the faculty at Yale in 1947 as an instructor, after earning his master's degree. He was named an assistant professor in 1951, associate professor in 1957, and full professor in 1963. He assumed the Morris K. Jesup chair of silviculture in 1967. He served as an assistant dean of the School of Forestry from 1953 to 1958. In 1949 the faculty asked him to manage the degraded
Yale-Myers forest The Yale-Myers Forest is a 7,840-acre (32 km2) forest in Northeastern Connecticut owned by Yale University and administered by the Yale School of the Environment. Located in the towns of Union, Ashford, Eastford, and Woodstock, the fo ...
. Yale appointed him the Director of School Forests in 1954. Smith advanced the idea of analyzing a forest through reconstruction of its history, coupled with projection of its likely future. This study became known as forest stand dynamics. In his field trips and teaching, Smith showed students how a practical knowledge of botany, ecology, and geology could allow a forester to look at a stand of trees, pick out clues, and make deductions about the forces shaping the forest. His skills in this area led some students to dub him a
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
of the forest. He also championed the practice of managing multi-species forests. He argued that the monocultures often seen in plantation forestry were not always economically ideal. He observed that the canopies of multi-species forests often develop into layers consisting of different species, even if the trees are all the same age. Careful management can take advantage of this layering and increase the quality and quantity of resources that the forest can produce. Smith’s mentor at the Yale School of Forestry, Professor Ralph Chipman Hawley, had written a text, ''The Practice of Silviculture,'' first published in 1921. Smith assisted Hawley in updating the text for the sixth edition in 1954 and became its junior author. He was the sole author of the seventh (1961) and eighth (1986) editions. Following Hawley’s example, Smith took on junior authors for the ninth edition (1997). At the time of Smith's death, the Yale University public affairs office called the book the most widely used forestry text in the world.


Public Service

Smith served as Director or President of the
Connecticut Forest and Park Association The Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA), established in 1895, is the oldest private, nonprofit conservation organization in Connecticut. The organization is credited as an important early pioneer of the national land conservation move ...
; the Hamden Land Conservation Trust; and Connwood Foresters Inc., the nation's oldest forest landowners' cooperative. In the 1960s he served on the Connecticut Pesticide Investigating Committee. He also advised the
US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...
and forestry agencies in Australia and British Columbia. He was a member of the Connecticut Forest Practices Advisory Board during the 1990s. In the early 1970s he was consultant to the President's Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment.


Honors

He was a Fellow of the
Society of American Foresters The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a professional organization representing the forestry industry in the United States. Its mission statement declares that it seeks to "advance the science, education, and practice of forestry; to enhance t ...
and received the Distinguished Service Award of its New England section in 1969 and 1993, the only person to receive this award twice.
American Forests American Forests is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, established in 1875, and dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Activities The mission of America ...
gave him its Distinguished Service Award in 1990. He received honorary doctorates from the
University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...
(1993) and
Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...
(1986).


Retirement and End of Life

Smith retired from teaching at Yale in 1990. He died in
Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant (Connecticut), Sleeping Giant". The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecti ...
in 2009.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, David Martyn 1921 births 2009 deaths History of forestry education American foresters Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies alumni Yale University faculty University of Rhode Island alumni