author
Joseph E. Ibberson
b. 1917
Drawn to forests from an early age, this Pennsylvania forester built a career around caring for public lands and making them better understood and better managed. His legacy still shows in the state’s forests and in the conservation area that bears his name.
1 Audiobook
Common trees of Pennsylvania
by Joseph E. Ibberson, J. E. Aughenbaugh, A. B. Mickalitis, C. L. Morris
About the author
Raised in Pennsylvania and born in 1917, Joseph E. Ibberson devoted his life to forestry and conservation. Penn State notes that he earned a B.S. in Forestry in 1947, followed by a forestry degree from Yale in 1948, after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.
After Yale, he joined Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Forestry, where he helped create the first management plans for the state’s roughly two million acres of state forest land. Penn State and Pennsylvania conservation materials also credit him with major work in forest planning, pest management, and the protection of sensitive natural areas.
Ibberson is remembered not only as a forester but also as a generous supporter of forestry education and conservation. He died in 2011, and the Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area in Dauphin County reflects the lasting respect he earned for his work in Pennsylvania’s woods.