Skip to Main Content

Alumni Fischer, Schuerman Honored with Datena Distinguished Forester Award

Three foresters with exemplary careers, including two Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources alumni, were recognized with the John F. Datena Distinguished Forester Award at the recent Indiana Forestry & Woodland Owners Association annual conference.

Ken Day and Burney Fischer of Bloomington and Joe Schuerman Jr. of Versailles were recognized for their leadership in forestry and support for Indiana woodland owners. The award was named after former state forester John F. Datena to honor his commitment to Indiana forestry.Ken Day with his John F. Datena Distinguished Forester Award

Ken Day retired after nearly 40 years working with the USDA Forest Service, with 17 years as the Hoosier National Forest supervisor. He served in various national, regional and state leadership positions, with a focus on using science to improve our forests. Day has won many awards for his efforts, including a Distinguished Hoosier Award by former governor Mitch Daniels.

Fischer, who earned his bachelor’s in forestry (1969), master’s (1971) and PhD (1974) at Purdue, spent 15 years as a forestry professor and extension forester at his alma mater before being called to serve as the state forester in the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry. He finished his career as the first forester atBurney Fischer with his John F. Datena Distinguished Forester Award Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Fischer’s passion is urban forestry, where helped create and lead the Indiana Urban Forest Council and established urban forestry classes at IU. Fischer has earned national awards for his forest policy and urban efforts.

After a 17-year career with the Indiana DNR Division of Forestry, 1970 forestry alum Joe Schuerman Jr. pivoted to a private consulting forestry business, providing assistance to private woodland owners in 20 counties. In his career, Schuerman has planted over 1 million tree seedlings. He hosts an annual regional Timber Industry Appreciation dinner and was instrumental in republishing Charles Deam’s “Trees of Indiana and “Shrubs of Indiana.”Joe Schuerman Jr. with his John F. Datena Distinguished Forester Award

“These three honorees have devoted decades of work to the betterment of Indiana forestry, and we can’t thank them enough for their commitment,” IFWOA executive director Liz Jackson said summing up the conservation ethic of the awardees. “Our woodlands are better off due to their efforts.”

The awardees were selected by the Indiana Hardwoods Lumbermen’s Association, Indiana Association of Consulting Foresters, Indiana Society of American Foresters, and Indiana Forestry & Woodland Owners Association.

Featured Stories

Eastern hellbender salamanders feeding on bloodworms in their raceway at the Purdue Hellbender the Hellbender lab.
Metazoa Beer to Benefit Help the Hellbender Lab

Metazoa Brewing Company and the Indiana Lakes Management Society have teamed up to collaborate on...

Read More
Sonling Fei in front of digital trees
Digital forestry can help mitigate and prevent wildfires

The National Interagency Fire Center reports that, as of this writing, 19,444 fires have burned...

Read More
tomas hook next to boat
What you can do this summer to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species

In 2020, an alligator was captured in a lagoon of Chicago’s Humbolt Park. The reptile out...

Read More
A landscape photo of a water body and boats in Oslo, Norway.
FNR Field Reports: Mallory Wagner Offers Week 3 Update from Sweden Study Abroad Trip

Throughout the 2024 Sustainable Natural Resources study abroad course in Sweden, FNR students...

Read More
Brood X Cicadas
Researchers Investigate Effects of 2021 Cicada Emergence

When the 17-year cicada emergence event occurred in 2021, researchers wondered how this sudden...

Read More
Bryan Pijanoski with sound equipment
The sound of the world

It’s summer, but Bryan Pijanowski is as busy as ever. He’s working on several grant...

Read More
To Top