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Re Arnold Davis

Lee -- Thanks so much for providing the info on Arnold Davis. I hope 
I speak for all of us who didn't know him in saying I wish I had. -- 
James T.

On 14 Jan 01, at 20:06, Lee Stone wrote:

> In response to an inquiry regarding the posting of the death of Arnold
> Davis, I am posting two things:  my own comment to our Texas
> listserve, and an email that Arnold himself wrote to introduce himself
> to that listserve.
> 
> lee
> 
> From Lee Stone:
> I heard today from James Alderson at the State offices of the Natural
> Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that Arnold Davis has passed
> away.  He did not have any details.
> 
> Arnold was a true friend of the prairies.  He worked closely with Dr.
> Geoffrey Stanford, the founder of the Native Prairies Association of
> Texas, and was a founding member, and one of the four signers of our
> state charter. Arnold was largely responsible for the Proceedings of
> the Tenth North American Prairie Conference held here in Texas.  He
> was our President, as well as serving on the board for a number of
> years.  He was the person who recruited me onto the board.  Arnold was
> a passionate and sweet man, and my prairie mentor.
> 
> Some of you will remember Arnold's thoughtful and helpful e-mails to
> the NPSOT-NPAT listserve.  He was an experienced native
> grasses/wildflowers person with much experience in restoration. 
> Arnold was the first manager of the first Plant Materials Center in
> Texas.  The Plant Materials Centers are under the NRCS and have been
> responsible for providing for commercial production many of the native
> plants used in restorations today, including side-oats grama,
> indiangrass, switchgrass, partridge pea, purple and white prairie
> clover, and many others.
> 
> by Arnold Davis:
> We get caught up in the electronic whizzez and forget we are in fact
> real people. It is quite refreshing to be able to attach a background
> and interests resume to a name. My personal introduction follows.
> 
> To fill in a bit of my hysterical background I am now over 70 years
> old, and as you can guess I have kicked a lot of clods. I wish I could
> say all of my career in the Soil Conservation Service (34 yrs) was
> spent in working with the natives. 
> 
> Not So! Three years was spent at the National Plant Materials Center
> at Beltsville, Maryland where I worked with plant introductions from
> all over the world. I established them in small plots, recorded notes
> on performance and determined potential value for solving a recognized
> problem someplace in the US. Now I have admitted to the black side of
> my career, the deep dark secret. This phase did introduce me to many
> plants, and it reinforced my belief and dedication to the natives.
> 
> It might be frowned upon now but I introduced the midwest warm season
> grasses to the Northeast US for warm season pasture in a cool season
> climate. This practice has caught on and gained momentum and as I
> understand it now it is a common part of grazing systems. Can you
> imagine big bluestem becoming an invasive species in an area where it
> once grew and is no longer found, it is hard for me to worry about
> this even if it does happen.
> 
> Then we transferred to Knox City, Texas where I founded the SCS Plant
> Materials Center. This was the glory time in my career. I concentrated
> on the natives, primarily grasses and studied genotypes of the main
> species collected in the wild from all over Texas and Oklahoma. What a
> revelation. The differences were astounding, the selections for the
> commercial market were successful and the contribution to grazing,
> wildlife, erosion control has been a source of pride.
> 
> Then I coordinated the field testing program of the native candidates
> in Texas and later out of the Regional office over the 12 southeastern
> states and sub-tropics. We made the first assembly of indiangrass in
> Alabama and Georgia and found the same magnificant variations in in
> all plant characters.
> 
> I did not want to brag about this, it is only that I get all enthused
> and hopped up about the practical use of the native plants. If you can
> help some old boy make a better living off of his land and protect the
> native ecosystem in the process you have helped all of us. And this
> feels good.
> 
> I have many ideas churning around in my head, some of them in the
> computer in various stages of completion. I must complete them and
> distribute the paper, if only as a challenge for debate. Hope to get
> this done someday.
> 
> Please tolerate my long winded rambling dissertation. I love to write
> and when I find a willing ear I tend to overdo it. Thank you for your
> tolerance, lets get together sometime.
> 
> With Warmest Regards
> Arnold G. Davis
> 
> 
> 

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