User:Caferato/Frank H. Wadsworth

Dr. Frank H. Wadsworth (1915) is a prominent American silviculturist known for his work in tropical forests. In Puerto Rico he is also well known for his contribution to the island Scouting movement.

Professional
Dr. Wadsworth earned his BS and MS in Forestry both in 1937 from the University of Michigan; his graduate work focused in Alaskan ecology. Thirteen years later, in 1950, he earned a PhD at the same university; this time his work was focused on tropical forest management in Puerto Rico.

Frank started his US Forest Service job in 1938 working at the Southwestern Forest and Range Experiment Station at Fort Vally, Arizona where he was engaged in ponderosa pine growth studies. In 1942 he moves to work at the Tropical Forest Experiment Station in Puerto Rico.

Was elected into Sigma Xi,The Scientific Research Society, membership in 1943.

In 1964 together with Elbert L. Little, they published in Washington the English Volume I of their book Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; for which Wadsworth was the junior author. Twenty years later, 1984, they completed the second volume of the book, and José Marrero was a third author for that volume. Both volumes were publish later in Spanish versions.

Serve as the director of the International Institute of Tropical Dasonomy (IITF)(Instituto Internacional de Dasonomía Tropical in Spanish). Since 1978 has served as editor of ISTF News the quarterly newsletter publication of the International Society of Tropical Foresters (ISTF).

His awards include the USDA Superior Service Award (twice), the Fernow International Forestry Award, and honorary degrees from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey (2005), the University of the Sacred Heart (2006) and an honorary doctorate from the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) established by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and 13 member countries––Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Venezuela. Frank Wadsworth is a Fellow of the Society of American Foresters.

Dr. Wadsworth is also a founding member (1960) of the Puerto Rico Natural History Society (or "Sociedad de Historia Natural de Puerto Rico" in Spanish).

Dr. Wadsworth recently published his Memoirs "A Forestry Assignment to Puerto Rico" 2014. Impresion: Impresos Emmanuelli, Inc. Puerto Rico.

Scouting Career
He began his scouting career in troop 389 in his native Chicago, where he achieve his Eagle Rank. He was president of Council Committee. Received the William T. Hornaday Gold Medal Award.
 * Scouting

As in his scouting life, Frank also joined the Order of the Arrow in his native Chicago. However, is in Puerto Rico as an adult brother where he really makes an outstanding contribution. In 1954 together with Luis Matias Ferrer and other fellow scouter he founded the Yokahu Lodge; the first and only Order of the Arrow Lodge serving the BSA Council in Puerto Rico. In 1961 his fellow bothers honor him with the Vigil Honor, the highest recognition in the Order. As a part of his Vigil Honor induction, he received the name of Agueybana after a local native Taino chief, becoming an exception to the traditional Lenni Lenape language based names. Then in 1965 he receives the Distinguished Service Award which makes him the first and only member of the Yokahu Lodge to earn such award. Later in 1998 the Lodge presented him with the Order of the Arrow Founder's Award.
 * Order of the Arrow

The Overseas Arrowman Association, an independent organization for members of the Order of the Arrow that have served in overseas BSA Councils and Lodges, has honor him by naming the Puerto Rico Chapter after his name.

Probably Frank's largest contribution to Camp Guajataka is the creation of the Nature Team patrol within the camp staff. When he founded the Nature Team in 1952 the group became the first specialized patrol between the generalized staff of the time; which opened the doors for the other future patrols (i.e., Sports Team, Aquatic Team, Administration Team, etc.). The Nature Team today is the staff group responsible for the ecology/conservation area of the camp program, and more than 200 scouts have been members of it. Since its beginnings Frank himself took the initiative of training the members of the group in his professional area, forestry, and finding other professional resources for the other areas in the domain of the patrol (i.e., astronomy, ornithology, geology, etc.). With time this type of trainings became the standard for all the staff patrol in the camp. He continued leading the Nature Team's training until the early part of the 2000's.
 * Camp Guajataka & Nature Team

Honors

 * In 1998 the International Institute of Tropical Dasonomy honored Frank by naming its library as the "Frank H. Wadsworth Library".
 * In November 2015 The Luis Muños Marin Foundation dedicated their "2da Fiesta del Arbol" in honor of Frank's 100th birthday.