Inventory of the Richard H. D. Boerker Papers, 1910 - 1957

Descriptive Summary

Abstract:	Richard Hans Douai Boerker (born 1887) was a forester with the U.S. Forest Service in California (1911-1914), Wyoming (1916), and Colorado (1917), and later a science teacher in Kingston, New York (beginning in 1921). Boerker was the author of numerous technical and popular articles on forestry that were published in prominent journals and various state conservation periodicals.
	The collection consists of files and note cards produced and collected by Richard H. D. Boerker in the course of research. The records contain information on many aspects of forestry, on biology and related fields of study, and on landscape management.
Title:	Richard H. D. Boerker Papers, 1910 - 1957
Creator:	Boerker, Richard H. D. (Richard Hans Douai), b. 1887
Repository:	Forest History Society Library and Archives
Call Number:	3244
Language of Material:	Material in English
Extent:	3 linear feet (2 record cartons)

Biographical Note

Richard Hans Douai Boerker (born 1887) was a forester with the U.S. Forest Service in California (1911-1914), Wyoming (1916), and Colorado (1917), and later a science teacher in Kingston, New York (beginning in 1921).

Boerker spent his youth in New York State. When he was a teenager, he worked during his summer vacations as an assistant book keeper for various New York businesses. Boerker gained experience in landscape gardening by helping to maintain the grounds of his family's three homes in Brooklyn, New York; Bradley Beach, New Jersey; and the Catskill Mountains. He explored much of New England during his youth by taking bicycle and hiking trips throughout the northeastern United States, all the while developing a great appreciation of nature and the outdoors.

From 1906 to 1909 Boerker attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Although his goal upon entering college was to become a teacher of German, his father urged him to become a forester, so he altered the course of his studies accordingly. His summer employment allowed him to continue to explore his native New England while gaining valuable experience in the forestry profession. In the fall of 1908 he was a special student in Forestry at Yale University, and in 1909 he was granted a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth.

From 1909 to 1911 Boerker attended the University of Michigan as a graduate student in Forestry. There, he studied under such well respected educators in Forestry as Dr. Filibert "Daddy" Roth and Dr. Mulford. During his years as a graduate student, Boerker explored much of the Midwest while doing reconnaissance work for the Edison Electric Company, and he visited the far west for the first time in 1910 while working for the U.S. Forest Service in Battlement National Forest, Colorado. In 1911 he received a Master of Science degree in Forestry from the University of Michigan.

From 1911 to 1914, Richard Boerker worked as a Forest Assistant for the United States Forest Service in California. For much of that time, he did timber reconnaissance work in the Lassen National Forest, collecting information on such tree species as the Yellow Pine, White Fir, Red Fir, Sugar Pine, and Lodgepole Pine. In 1914 he went to Nebraska, where he worked as a forester for a time before beginning post-graduate work in Botany and Silviculture at the University of Nebraska. Upon receiving a Ph.D. degree in 1915, Boerker worked as a forester in Wyoming (1916) and in Colorado (1917). He was employed as an arboriculturist for the Department of Parks in New York City for a year before accepting what would become a long-term post as a teacher of Biology in the Kingston, New York, High School. Boerker sometimes supplemented his teaching work by serving as a consultant to numerous public and private organizations at various times.

Boerker was the author of numerous technical and popular articles on forestry that were published in such prominent journals as The Land and Rural New Yorker and in various state conservation periodicals. His most successful publications include "A Historical Study of Forest Ecology: Its Development in the Fields of Botany and Forestry" (Forestry Quarterly 14 {September 1916}: 380-432); Our National Forests: A Short Popular Account of the Work of the United States Forest Service on the National Forests (1919); and Behold Our Green Mansions (1945). [These three works can be found in the Forest History Society Library.]

Collection Overview

The collection consists of files and note cards produced and collected by Richard H. D. Boerker in the course of research. The records contain information on many aspects of forestry, on biology and related fields of study, and on landscape management. The inclusive dates of the collection are 1910-1957; however, much of the material is undated. The materials are arranged (chronologically whenever possible) in seven series:

The Biographical Materials series consists of a single file which holds various papers that reveal biographical information about Richard Boerker. The Correpsondence series is broken into General and Personal subseries; thus, Boerker's correspondence with his family is separate from his correspondence with business associates. The MAnuscript Materials series is the largest in the collection. Drafts of various articles Boerker wrote are arranged by general subject in eleven subseries. Many files contain accompanying research notes and/or correspondence with prospective publishers. The subject of the manuscript in each file is enclosed in quotes. The Teaching Materials series consists of ten files that contain information on Biology, Botany, and related fields of study. The Research Notes series consists of one card-file box and six files. The card-file box contains note cards, on which is recorded bibliographical information on a variety of subjects, among which forestry is the most prevalent. The files in this series contain miscellaneous notes on forestry subjects and several bound volumes in which Boerker recorded notes from various works on forestry. The Published Materials series contains five files holding newspaper articles, journal and magazine articles, and pamphlets and newsletters that Boerker collected. The final series is entitled Miscellaneous Materials, and it consists of files of records pertaining to such topics as forestry management and landscape management.

Collection Arrangement

1. Biographical Materials, undated

2. Correspondence, 1910-1951

3. Manuscript Materials, 1917-1957

3.1. Botany

3.2. Forest Conservation

3.3. Forest Ecology

3.4. Forest Fires

3.5. Forest Management

3.6. Forest Regions and Tree Species

3.7. Forset Restoration

3.8. Forests and Their Uses

3.9. Forests and Wildlife

3.10. Silviculture

3.11. Miscellaneous

4. Teaching Materials, 1868-1915

4.1. Botany

4.2. Biology

5. Research Notes, undated

6. Published Materials, 1923-1956

7. Miscellaneous Materials, 1946

Subject Headings

• Botany
• Conservation of natural resources
• Boerker, Richard H. D. (Richard Hans Douai), b. 1887
• Environmental protection
• Forest conservation
• Forest ecology -- West (U.S.)
• Forest management -- West (U.S.)
• Forest reserves -- United States
• Foresters -- California
• Foresters -- Wyoming
• Foresters -- Colorado
• Forests and forestry -- West (U.S.)
• Forests and forestry -- California
• Forests and forestry -- Colorado
• Forests and forestry -- Wyoming
• Lassen National Forest (Calif.)
• National parks and reserves
• Science teachers -- New York (State) -- Kingston
• United States. Forest Service.

Detailed Description of the Collection

   Folder 1    Folder 2    Folder 3   Folder 4    Folder 5    Folder 6   Folder 7   Folder 8   Folder 9   Folder 10   Folder 11   Folder 12   Folder 13   Folder 14    Folder 15   Folder 16   Folder 17-19    Folder 20   Folder 21   Folder 22    Folder 23   Folder 24    Folder 25   Folder 26    Folder 27    Folder 28    Folder 29   Folder 30    Folder 31   Folder 32    Folder 33    Folder 34   Folder 35   Folder 36    Folder 37   Folder 38   Folder 39   Folder 40   Folder 41   Folder 42   Folder 43   Folder 44   Folder 45   Folder 46   Folder 47    Folder 48   Folder 49    Folder 50    Folder 51   Folder 52    Folder 53    Folder 54    Folder 55    Folder 56    Folder 57   Folder 58    Folder 59    Folder 60    Folder 61    Folder 62    Folder 63 Box Card File    Folder 64    Folder 65   Folder 66   Folder 67   Folder 68   Folder 69    Folder 70    Folder 71    Folder 72    Folder 73    Folder 74    Folder 75   Folder 76   Folder 77   Folder 78

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

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The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Richard H. D. Boerker Papers, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.

Processing Information

Processed by Michele Justice and Amanda Ross, March 1991

Encoded by Amanda Ross, September 2008

Funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission supported the encoding of this finding aid. Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.