Richard M. Brett (September 3, 1903 – September 7, 1989) was an American conservationist and author.

Biography

Early life

Brett was born in

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under , it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast. Situated on the Long Island ...

and spent most of his life in

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Cha ...

, and

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...

. Brett was a graduate of the

Taft School The Taft School is a private coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It enrolls approximately 600 students in grades 9–12. Overview History The school was founded in 1890 as Mr. Taft's School (renamed t ...

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

, and the Yale School of Forestry.

Career

Brett served as treasurer (appointed 1926) and general manager of

Macmillan Publishing Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

. After serving in World War II, Brett was the business manager of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

from 1947 until 1953.

Conservationist

After retirement in 1953, Brett moved to Vermont, where he set up a tree farm with habitats for wildlife at Hawk's Hill in East Barnard. He served as a trustee of the Vermont Natural Resources Council. Brett later donated his Hawk's Hill tree farm to the New England Forestry Foundation.

Military service

Brett served in the Army Air Corps 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 ...

Bibliography

* Country Journal Woodlot Primer: The Right Way to Manage Your Woodland by Richard M. Brett (1983) * Primer on Aging by Richard M. Brett (1988) * An inquiry into flood plains by Richard M Brett (1973)

References

American conservationists 1903 births 1989 deaths United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Writers from Fairfield, Connecticut Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies alumni Williams College alumni {{environmentalist-stub