author
Wilbur R. (Wilbur Reed) Mattoon
1875–1941
Best known as a pioneering American forester, he wrote practical, easy-to-use guides that helped readers identify trees and understand how Southern forests could be managed and restored. His books grew out of decades of fieldwork, education, and public service.
2 Audiobooks
Forest Trees of Texas: How to Know Them
by Wilbur R. (Wilbur Reed) Mattoon, C. B. (Cyril Bertram) Webster
Forest Trees of Illinois: How to Know Them
by George D. (George Damon) Fuller, Wilbur R. (Wilbur Reed) Mattoon, Robert B. (Robert Barclay) Miller, E. E. Nuuttila
About the author
Wilbur Reed Mattoon was an American forester and writer born in 1875 and active in the U.S. Forest Service for nearly four decades. Reliable library and Forest Service records connect him with a long career as an inspector, administrator, researcher, extension agent, and educator, and Yale sources identify him as a member of the Yale Forest School class of 1904.
Much of his work focused on the forests of the American South. He became known for promoting farm forestry and reforestation, and he published practical manuals and bulletins on tree identification, woodland management, and important species such as cypress and shortleaf pine. Many of his books were written to be directly useful to landowners, students, and general readers rather than specialists alone.
Mattoon died in 1941, but his writing still offers a clear window into early twentieth-century American forestry. Readers interested in trees, conservation history, or hands-on natural history will find an author who cared deeply about making forest knowledge usable in everyday life.