Archive Record
Metadata
Title |
An Interview with Brian R. Payne |
Catalog Number |
2021.074.157 |
Object Name |
Recording, Video |
Scope & Content |
An Interview with Brian R. Payne >>Oral history interview with Brian R. Payne, Fairfax, VA, October 24, 2024 INTERVIEW SUMMARY Brian Payne was born October 7, 1939, in Portland, Oregon, and grew up moving around as his father worked for the Forest Service. He chose forestry early, studied at UC Berkeley, took a master’s year at Duke, and returned to complete doctoral work at Berkeley. Payne began his career in Forest Service research at the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Station in Portland, working on topics such as reforestation costs, "in-advance" roading economics, and the Douglas-fir supply studies. He moved quickly from a summer GS-5 job to a permanent research appointment and became known for careful economic analyses that sometimes challenged engineering assumptions. A defining chapter came in 1968 when Payne accepted a two-year assignment at Tuskegee Institute to start a pre-forestry program and recruit Black students into forestry. He taught Introduction to Forestry, helped place students in summer jobs, partnered with the University of Michigan for coursework, and pushed to make the Forest Service a more diverse employer—work that led to published outreach (e.g., "Black Foresters Needed") and several students who moved on to forestry careers. After Tuskegee, he helped launch urban/environmental forestry research at UMass Amherst, working in a multidisciplinary team (with Jack Ward Thomas among others) on topics like the value of trees to residential property and urban wildlife studies. Payne’s career also included an international stint on loan to UNESCO in Paris (Man and the Biosphere Program), where he helped coordinate biosphere reserve work, scientific meetings, and tropical/urban ecosystem research—an experience he remembers fondly for the cultural exposure and the benefits it gave his family. Back in the Forest Service he continued in international forestry roles and research leadership, and throughout he valued the agency’s support (notably how it backed Tuskegee recruiting efforts). For Payne, the Tuskegee assignment stood out as especially meaningful, and his career weaves together rigorous research, cross-disciplinary projects, international service, and a strong commitment to diversifying the profession. COPY & PASTE LINK BELOW INTO BROWSER TO WATCH INTERVIEW https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a6IggjgJ92oU1jLIGtzCVw4Jn2KrXsGN/view?usp=sharing |
Year Range from |
2024 |
Year Range to |
2024 |
People |
Payne, Brian R. |
Search Terms |
Oral History International Forestry Wildlife African American Ecosystem Research Forestry Economics Ecology |
Catalog date |
2025-09-11 |
Collection |
Oral History |