James C. Finley Becomes First Allegheny SAF Foresters Hall of Fame Inductee

The award honors foresters who made outstanding and significant contributions to the profession throughout the course of their career. The ASAF includes the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Selection to the ASAF Foresters Hall of Fame requires a record of outstanding contributions in the broad field of forestry. 

After a long career at Penn State, Jim retired as Professor Emeritus of Private Forest Management and Human Dimensions and Natural Resources in 2017. In 2011, Jim co-founded the Center for Private Forests at Penn State, serving as its inaugural director and following retirement, serving as the Center's Council Chair until the time of his death. He was also the Pennsylvania State Extension Forester and dedicated his life to working at the intersection of people and forests. For decades, Jim shared his knowledge and deep understanding of the woods with peer volunteers attending forest stewardship training programs. Jim suddenly and tragically lost his life on October 2, 2021. His legacy will live on, as will his decades of work which helped shape the forestry community's understanding of forests and the people who own them. 

Dr. Kim Steiner, a longtime Penn State colleague of Jim’s, presented the award to Jim’s wife Linda during the February 17 Awards Banquet at the 2022 Allegheny SAF Winter Training in Clarion, PA. In accepting the award on behalf of Jim, Linda shared the following comments from Jim’s heart and soul as a forester. 

“Thank you for inviting me to join you. Jim would be so very honored to receive this recognition. His membership in SAF was important to him and he always encouraged others, especially students, to become SAF members. 

“Jim always said from the time he was very young, the only thing he ever wanted to be was a forester. His early vision of being a forester was to work in the woods every day and have his lunch by a stream. Although his childhood vision faded, and his career took a different path from being in the woods every day, he was always very proud to say he was a forester. 

“Jim was, and you are, part of an honorable profession. You deserve the highest respect. Being a forester can take many different paths, and every path is so important. What you do is special and essential. You are stewards and caretakers of the natural resources that are vital to the well-being of all humanity. Thank you for what you do and be very proud to say you are a forester.” 

Jim touched innumerable lives with his passion for the woods. This profound loss will echo through personal and professional relationships. His induction into the ASAF Foresters Hall of Fame will help his legacy to live on.