Herbert L. Stoddard
Herbert Lee Stoddard (February 24, 1889 – November 15, 1970)[1] was an American naturalist, conservationist, forester, wildlife biologist, ecologist, ornithologist, taxidermist, and author.
[6] Stoddard was also a friend and colleague of Aldo Leopold[1] and helped establish wildlife management as a profession while encouraging America to reject industrialized agriculture in favor of ecological preservation.
[3] The U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey hired Stoddard to study the habitat and life history of Red Hills quail, ensuring its sustainability in the region.
[8] He thereafter received the Silver Star and Letter of Commendation from Admiral Nimitz Herb for his actions during World War II.
With his patience for formal education in short supply, Stoddard dropped out just before high school and moved to Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin to work on the Herman Wagner farm in Sauk County.
Realizing that museum work would likely keep him indoors for more time than he fancied, Stoddard began thinking about a career shift that focused more on being a field naturalist, with an emphasis on birds, rather than taxidermy.
[14] In conjunction with Stoddard's wildlife management work, forestry played a central role in his conservation of some of the most ecologically preserved longleaf pine savannas remaining.
[16] Management of the understory is principally controlled by the use of prescribed fire and harvest selection takes into account many factors including sustained yield and aesthetics.
The open park-like structure that results from this management largely fits the description of early explorers to the region, including William Bartram who wrote, "...a forest of the great long-leaved pine, the earth covered with grass, interspersed with an infinite variety of herbaceous plants, and embellished with extensive savannas."
[17] Almost daily for 28 years, Stoddard, his assistant Robert A. Norris, and others visited the cleared area below the tower to pick up bird carcasses, primarily songbirds, and record data.
[18] Many valuable insights were gained from his study including the documentation of several rare species migrating through the area that were previously unknown, as well as the factors that affect the rate at which birds incur mortality.
[19][20] Stoddard made his entry into wildlife management on a landscape known as the Red Hills Region of southern Georgia and north Florida.
The Red Hills became a refuge for northerners seeking warming climes during the winter months and purported health benefits of breathing the air of the piney woods.
This new conservation culture in the region is playing an important role in a landscape-level preservation strategy for some of last remnants of the longleaf pine ecosystem.
One of his observational experiments studying the effects of fire frequency, which is still running to this day,[22] was set up in a near-block design allowing for the control of potential nuisance variables.
Stoddard's intuition was recognized early in his career, which led to his recruitment for the study of bobwhite quail as part of the U. S. Biological Survey.
A large reason for this was the misconception that fires, which were often set annually by African American sharecroppers, were perceived as destroying bobwhite quail habitat that was prized by wealthy landowners.
