Emmett B. Hurst
(1899-1980)
Inducted September 26, 1987
Plaque Engraving:
Emmett B. Hurst one of the first industrial foresters in the Lake States area. His 50-year career with Consolidated Papers included the establishment of one of the first industrial tree nurseries in the region and the gradual acquisition of 230,000 acres of forest land to be managed for sustained yield.
He was dedicated to the rebuilding of Wisconsin’s forest lands and was active in Trees-for-Tomorrow, serving on its board of directors and as president for 20 years. An early advocate of forestry research, he supervised the establishment of Consolidated Papers’ Gagen Forest Unit, a management area for the application of forest research to actual forest management practice.
For his effort to improve the skills and efficiency of Wisconsin’s small loggers through mechanization, he was awarded and honorary life membership in the Wisconsin- Michigan Timber Producers Association.
More about Emmett B. Hurst:
Emmett Hurst, one of the first industrial foresters in the Midwest, was a 1923 graduate of New York College of Forestry, Syracuse University. His career with Consolidated Papers, Inc., began in 1930 following a chance conversation with Stanton Mead at an American Forestry Association meeting in Minneapolis.
Emmett Hurst as a leader in reforestation efforts in Wisconsin, started one of the first tree nurseries in the region. He started Consolidated’s Biron Nursery in 1930 raising seedlings for reforestation of burned over land. Under Hurst’s direction, Consolidated acquired 230,000 acres of forest land in Wisconsin, and during his 37 years with the company 13 million tree seedlings were planted on those lands. In 1968, he saw the first commercial harvesting of trees he had planted.
In 1959, Hurst, a longtime director, was awarded a citation and honorary life membership in Michigan-Wisconsin Timber Producers Association and in 1978, at age 79, he was honored on the occasion of 50 years membership in the Society of American Foresters.
