Don Gardner Despain (December 21, 1940 – May 23, 2022) was an American

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, plant

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

and fire behavior specialist, who specialized in the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, and how wildfires affected natural ecology. He spent over 20 years carefully investigating the effects of the

Yellowstone fires of 1988 The Yellowstone fires of 1988 collectively formed the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Starting as many smaller individual fires, the flames quickly spread out of control due to drought ...

and how trees such as

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

s were affected.

Biography

Despain was born in 1940 in

Lovell, Wyoming Lovell is the largest town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,360 at the 2010 census. History Lovell was named for Henry Lovell, a local rancher. Built in 1925, the EJZ Bridge over Shoshone River is listed on th ...

, the oldest of five children to Daniel Gordon Despain and Lillian Gardner. He attended

Lovell High School Lovell High School is a public high school in Lovell, Wyoming, United States. The campus serves students in grades nine through twelve and is part of Big Horn County School District #2. Their mascot is the Bulldog The Bulldog is a British ...

and then studied at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

, receiving a B.S. in Botany in 1965. He did graduate work at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, receiving an M.S. in plant ecology in 1967, and then a PhD in Plant Ecology from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta, Canada in 1972. His post-doctoral work was done on

Devon Island Devon Island ( iu, ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᑦ, ) is an island in Canada and the largest uninhabited island (no permanent residents) in the world. It is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the largest members of the Ar ...

in the Arctic. In the mid 1980s, he was the President of the Wyoming Native Plant Society, and Vice-president for the Biological Section at the Montana Academy of Science. From 1998 to 1999, he was vice-president of the scientific research society

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

from 1998 to 1999, and President from 1999 to 2001. From 1971 to 2006, he was a research

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

with the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

in Yellowstone National Park, and was instrumental in generating the fire management plans in use by the park since 1972. He generated a vegetation map of the park and did extensive research in fire behavior, fire effects and landscape factors in fire spread, especially how the

affected the regrowth of

aspens Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, ...

over the next decades. He also worked as an ecologist with the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

, testing the utility of remote sensing systems for vegetation and fuels appraisal. Despain retired in 2006 to

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

, but continued to stay active in research during his retirement. He died after a long illness on May 23, 2022, in Billings.

Selected writing

Despain wrote extensively on ecology in a variety of academic publications. A few are included below.

As D.G. Despain

*''Field key to the flora of Yellowstone National Park, WY''. 1975, Yellowstone National Park: Yellowstone Library and Museum Association. * ''Fire as an ecological force in Yellowstone ecosystems'' (Information paper / Yellowstone National Park) *''Yellowstone vegetation: consequences of environment and history in a natural setting'', 1990. Boulder, CO: Roberts Rinehart, Inc. *''Plants and their environments: Proceedings of the first biennial scientific conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem'', 1994. Denver, CO: National Park Service.

With co-authors

*Mayo, J. M.; Hartgerink, A. P.; Despain, D. G.; Thompson, R. G.; van Zinderen-Bakker, E. M. Jr.; Nelson, S. D. 1977. ''Gas exchange studies of Carex and Dryas, Truelove Lowland, Devon Island''. InIn: Bliss, L. C. Truelove Lowland, Devon Island, Canada: a High Arctic Ecosystem. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: University of Alberta Press; p265-280. *Despain, D. G.; Houston, D.; Meagher, M.; Schullery, P. 1986. ''Wildlife in transition, man and nature on Yellowstone's northern range''. Boulder, CO: Roberts Rinehart, Inc. *Despain, D.; Greenlee, J.; J. Parminter, T.; Sholly T. 1994. ''A bibliography and directory of the Yellowstone Fires of 1988''. Fairfield, Wash: International Association of Wildland Fire. *Despain, DG; Romme, WH. ''Historical perspective on the Yellowstone fires of 1988''. 1989,

BioScience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–19 ...

*Romme, WH; Despain, DG.
The Yellowstone Fires
,

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

, 1989

References

* Rocky Barker, ''Scorched Earth : How the Fires of Yellowstone Changed America'', 2005, Shearwater Books

External links

Sigma Xi biography

USGS biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Despain, Don G. 1940 births 2022 deaths People from Lovell, Wyoming American ecologists 21st-century American botanists Yellowstone National Park University of Alberta alumni Writers from Bozeman, Montana United States Geological Survey personnel Plant ecologists University of Wyoming alumni University of Arizona alumni American expatriates in Canada Latter Day Saints from Wyoming Latter Day Saints from Montana