Douglas DeWitt McCreary

Doug McCreary a UC Cooperative Extension Natural Resources Specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management in the College of Natural Resources from 1986 through 2011, died on February 15, 2018.

Doug was born in San Mateo, California on June 11, 1945, and raised in Berkeley, where he enjoyed exploring, building forts, and golfing at Tilden Park. Upon his graduation from El Cerrito High School in 1963, he went to UC Riverside and majored in economics. After graduating from UCR, Doug studied at the London School of Economics for one year before taking an extended break from academics, travelling throughout Europe.

In 1972, Doug moved to Corvallis to study at Oregon State University, where he received his masters and Ph.D. in forestry, specializing in forest regeneration. At a meditation workshop in Corvallis, Doug met Roxanne Priestly, whom he married in 1976. They had two children, Tyson and Megan.

He worked as a staff scientist at OSU’s College of Forestry until 1986. Tim White (emeritus professor and former director of the University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation) and Mary Duryea (former associate vice president of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and emeritus professor) shared these thoughts about Doug’s work in Oregon:

When Doug was serving as a staff scientist for Dr. Denny Lavender at Oregon State University in the late 1970s, he helped both of us with our Ph.D. research projects. For example, every summer for three years we visited 40 sites in southern Oregon, taking measurements of plant moisture stress with pressure bombs. We would begin at midnight and end at dawn; this continued for several nights in a row in each of the summer months. The odd hours, long nights, forest roads and unpredictable events (e.g. flat tires), made for many adventures. His advice, fun-loving nature and dedicated work ethic provided a great role model for us and many OSU graduate students. We became life-long friends with Doug. Many years later, he took his sabbatical with us at the University of Florida and we again shared both science and friendship. 

In 1986, Doug moved his family to California to accept his position as Cooperative Extension specialist, as part of the systemwide Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program, which he later directed. This program was designed to address issues of conservation and sustainable management of California’s oak woodlands through a research and extension program led by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR). Doug quickly established an international reputation with his work on regeneration of native California oak species. His research and extension work revolutionized oak regeneration in the state. Doug was the epitome of what a CE specialist should be - a world-renowned researcher, a first-rate teacher, and an attitude that could bring people from diverse backgrounds and philosophies together. Prior to Doug's work, oak planting on rangelands was a costly and low-success enterprise. Natural oak regeneration of white oaks was lacking in many areas, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of oak woodlands. Doug developed low-cost, practical techniques for planting oaks, predominantly blue and valley oaks, on rangeland sites. This approach was widely adopted throughout the state.

Doug introduced the use of tree shelters from Europe and found that they increased survival of oak seedlings in California's mediterranean climate. He also developed the timing for successfully gathering acorns for regeneration. After the 49er Fire, which started near Highway 49 in Nevada County in 1988, he organized Project Acorn, a county-wide effort with dozens of volunteers who collected and planted acorns in areas devastated by the fire. In 1990, he was honored for Project Acorn with the Take Pride in America Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC.

Doug was based at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center between Marysville and Grass Valley in the Sierra Nevada foothills, right in the middle of California’s oak woodlands. He worked closely with state, federal, and private nurseries to produce high-vigor bare root and containerized seedlings. He also developed silvicultural techniques to encourage natural seedlings to recruit into larger size trees. Mel George, Cooperative Extension range specialist at UC Davis, a long-time colleague of McCreary’s, shared these thoughts: 

The UC ANR publication, “Regenerating Rangeland Oaks,” which McCreary wrote in 2001 and updated in 2009, is considered the bible for oak restoration and provides a practical guide for all parts of the regeneration cycle for landowners and professionals (https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/21601e.pdf).

McCreary retired to Grass Valley in 2011, where he lived until his death on February 15, 2018. He was preceded in death by his father, James; his mother, Harriet; and his brother, Richard. He is survived by his partner, Therese Hukill-DeRock; his ex-wife, Roxanne Fitzsimmons, with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship; his children, Tyson McCreary and Megan Cielatka; and his grandchildren, Hazel, Sybil, Ian and Isaac.

A celebration of Doug McCreary's life was held on June 10, 2018 in Grass Valley.

Richard Standiford
2020