It is with profound sadness that we share the news that Dr. Don Bragg; his wife, Hope; their oldest son, Kenny; and their daughter, Elizabeth, perished Dec. 30, 2023, in a house explosion in Michigan where they were visiting family over the holidays. His youngest son, Stephen, survived.

Don grew up in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and received his bachelor's and master's in Forestry from Michigan Technological University. He left Michigan for Utah, where he received his doctorate in Forest Ecology from Utah State University. After receiving his doctorate, Don began his 23-year career as a research forester with the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, spending his entire career in Monticello, Arkansas.

Don was an expert in the silviculture of southern pines and became the project leader of the longleaf pine and southern pine research work units in 2017. His most recent work was to identify and quantify old-growth conditions in southern pines. Passionate about history and archeology, Don spent a lot of his free time assisting on archeological digs throughout Arkansas. Don was grounded in science and rooted in communities, and he connected people to nature and one another. He cared for shared natural resources in ways that promoted lasting ecological vitality.

He was an active member of the Society of American Foresters and served as the editor of the Journal of Forestry from 2013 to 2017. We will dearly miss Don’s leadership and enthusiasm for forest history, forest ecology and active forest management.