Gordon Baskerville (1933 – 2013)
Gordon L. Baskerville was born in Emerson, Manitoba on February 20, 1933. He received his early education in various schools across Canada. His university program includes a BScF from UNB in 1955, with an MF and PhD at Yale in 1957 and 1964. He made his home in New Brunswick from 1950 until 1993.
Gordon worked for the Canadian Forestry Service in New Brunswick from 1955 to 1974, first as a research scientist and eventually as the program manager of resources research. In 1975 he took up a professional position in the faculty of forestry at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). In 1983, he was appointed assistant deputy minister of natural resources for the province of New Brunswick. During his time there he personally guided the province into a process that resulted in a radical shift to licensees and sub-licensees, through the forest Management Agreements and ultimately the Crown Lands and Forest Act. These changes established New Brunswick as the Canadian leader in the development and application of sound forest management. Gordon also saw the need early on for forest lands to be managed with a digital data base and during the time of his tenure with the provincial government New Brunswick began the process of digitizing its holdings and ultimately became the first province to have its crown land holdings digitized (ahead of schedule and below budget as well!). Following that appointment, Gordon became dean of forestry at UNB. He left UNB in 1993 and took a position as department chair of forest resource management at UBC. He retired in 1998. Gordon was awarded an Honorary Degree from UNB in 2008.
Gordon saw the forests for the trees: in his scholarly pursuits, research always went hand in hand with teaching and his thinking reached far beyond the academic community. His colleagues and his students will remember him as passionately committed to sustainable management policy that has had a lasting impact on Canadian forests. Few others, if any, have had greater influence on the development of forest policy and practice in New Brunswick or in Canada.
He was also a sailor and a skier and he taught all four of his children the wonders of both sports. In his later years, when struck by dementia, he continued to teach his family and friends patience, understanding, and acceptance.
Gordon passed away in Victoria, BC on February 2, 2013. Gordon was predeceased by his father, Wallace; mother, Marjorie, and sister Doris. He is survived by his wife, Laura; his children: David, Marjorie, Kristiane, and Michael; daughter-in-law, Katharine; son-in-laws, Ross and Michael; grandchildren, Madison, Lauren, and Meg; as well as his brother, Jack, and his nieces, Wendy, Shelley, and Patricia.
Gordon's family has requested that any memoriams be in the form of a donation to the Class of 1955 Forestry Alumni Scholarship at the University of New Brunswick in Gordon’s name. Donations may be mailed to Office of Development, Donor Relations, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, NB 3EB 5A3 or online.
