Joseph E. Ibberson papers

Joseph Ibberson graduated from Penn State (B.S., forestry, 1947) and Yale (M.F., 1948) after which he joined the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, Bureau of Forestry, to develop management plans for the two million acres of Pennsylvania state forestland. Ibberson initiated the Division of Forest Advisory Services to further expand the management plans and target the preservation of endangered species and wetlands. He was responsible for innovative programs in forest inventory, pest control, tree improvement, nurseries, and service to private forest landowners. He started the first program to control damaging insects and pests, which grew to become the Division of Forest Pest Management. He also started the first meaningful service forester program, which has grown to include a service forester in almost every county. He retired in 1977 as the Chief of Forest Advisory Services, and operated a successful forestry consulting business. Ibberson was an active member of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association and established an endowment to foster the conservation of all forestland in Pennsylvania. In 1998 he donated a 350 acre forest tract to the state for restricted outdoor use by the public, and it became the first conservation area in the Bureau of State Parks. Ibberson endowed three faculty chairs at Penn State, a chair in forest resources management (1998), one in urban and community forestry (2003), and a third in silviculture research (2008). He died April 23, 2011.