Bruce S. Kershner (April 17, 1950 – February 16, 2007) was an environmentalist, author, high school biology teacher and forest ecologist. As a child he resided in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. Bruce Kershner obtained degrees from

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

and the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. He most recently resided in

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

with his wife Helene. He taught high school biology at John F. Kennedy High School in

Cheektowaga, NY Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...

until 2005 where he established the Environmental Club, exposing many of his students to the old grown forests he cared so much about. He was a renowned

old growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

authority, and has rediscovered almost 300 old growth forests in Eastern North America previously assumed lost. These include the second tallest

hardwood forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These for ...

in Eastern North America, outside of the southern Appalachians, New York State's oldest forest, and the largest assemblage of old growth (the Niagara River corridor). Kershner has published a dozen books including the ''Sierra Club Guide to Ancient Forests of the Northeast

and ''Secret Places: Scenic Treasures of Western New York and Southern Ontario''. Bruce Kershner has won numerous awards for his environmental activism. These include 'Environmentalist of the Year' in 1987 and 1988 from the Sierra Club, Sierra Club (Niagara Group) and the

Adirondack Mountain Club The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1922. It has approximately 30,000 members. The ADK is dedicated to the protection and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, parks, wild l ...

, and 'Environmentalist of the Year in New York State' in 1996 from Environmental Advocates of New Yor

Bruce Kershner was serving as the Conservation Chair for the Buffalo, New York, Buffalo

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

. Bruce Kershner led numerous ecological studies. These have included studies of the

Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve is located near the city of Buffalo in the Town of Cheektowaga in Erie County, New York, USA. Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve is a forested complex that also includes wetlands and ponds, located within a developed ...

Zoar Valley Zoar Valley is an area of deep gorges along the Main and South branches of Cattaraugus Creek in western New York, United States. The valley is located along the border of Erie County and Cattaraugus County, roughly between the villages of Gowanda ...

, Staten Island,

Allegany State Park Allegany State Park is a state park in western New York State, located in Cattaraugus County just north of the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. The park is divided into two sections: The Red House Area and the Quaker Run Area. It lie ...

, and the

Niagara Gorge Niagara Gorge is an long canyon carved by the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border, between the U.S. state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at the base of Niagara Falls and ends downriver at the ed ...

. He was working on a research study for legal proceedings associated with the Kortright Hills Community Association in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

, Ontario. Kershner died in February 2007, after battling

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

for a year and a half. Effective September 4, 2008,

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

Governor David Patterson signed into law the Bruce S. Kershner Old-growth Forest Preservation and Protection Act,2008 New York State Senate Bill S-4637-C, Assembly Bill A-8145-C an amendment to existing environmental law that establishes a first in the nation definition of an Old Growth Forest, compels indefinite protection on state land and encourages acquisition by the state where the definition is satisfied on private land. Since at least 2009, the Niagara Group of the Sierra Clu

has presented the annual Bruce Kershner Award to an individual or individuals for their environmental activism. The award was "designed to honor a person who has continued to fight tirelessly on behalf of an environmental issue in the way that Kershner fought for old growth forests.

Recipients have included: *2016—Paul Dyster, Thomas DeSantis, and Bob Baxter for "their work on the restoration of the magnificent Niagara Gorge and the removal of the Robert Moses Parkway.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180511043144/https://wnymedia.net/2016/10/president-of-national-sierra-club-will-speak-at-local-sierra-club-awards-dinner

*2015—Charley Bowman for "Leadership in working with many climate change issues and his concerns for justice and peace being central to the mission of

climate justice Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change. "Justice", "fairness", and "equity" ar ...

.

*2014—Jay Burney for "Leadership in preserving the natural heritage of our region especially for his work on Times Beach Nature Preserve.

*2013—Dr. David Kowalski for "his ongoing and evidence-based critique of the proposed deep horizontal hydrofracking

and for "creat ngRe-energize Buffalo a website dedicated to the viability of renewable energy, a clean environment, and preserving public health

*2012—Walter & Nan Simpson for their work in supporting renewable and clean energ

*2011—Bill Nowak for "promoting green jobs and renewable energy and for his service to New York as former legislative aide

*2010—Margaret Wooster for her work as an "author and sformer Executive Director of Great Lakes United

*2009—Daniel Ward for his service on the Town of Amherst Boar

Bibliography (selected)

*Buffalo's Backyard Wilderness: An Ecological Study of the Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods State Nature Preserve (1993

*Secret Places of Western New York (1994

*Secret Places of Staten Island (1998

*Cascades, Cataracts, and Chasms: A Guide to the Waterfalls of Western New York and Nearby Ontario (1998) *Guide to the Ancient Forests of Zoar Valley Canyon (2000

*The Sierra Club Guide to the Ancient Forests of the Northeast (2004

https://www.amazon.com/Sierra-Guide-Ancient-Forests-Northeast/dp/1578050669]

References

*Obituary, Buffalo News, 18 Feb 07. ;Specific

External links

Bio from Alfred University Seminar SeriesBuffalo Audubon Society
* https://web.archive.org/web/20081127135620/http://newyork.sierraclub.org/niagara/brucekershner.html
Newsday ' 'Enthusiasm Rarely Seen In This Neck Of The Woods – LI Moment Column''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kershner, Bruce 1950 births 2007 deaths American environmentalists American information and reference writers American non-fiction environmental writers People from Staten Island Deaths from esophageal cancer Binghamton University alumni Activists from New York (state)