John Magruder is the Owner of Three Rivers Forestry and has been a consulting forester for 21 years. John earned his B.S. in Forest Science from Penn State University in 1986. Before going into private practice, John served at the Virginia Department of Forestry as the Area Forester in Essex County, for nearly 12 years. On today’s episode, John shares why it’s so important to be an involved member of the community and help educate your local representative about the importance of the work you do.
Key Takeaways:
[1:05] A message from Leadership Nature.
[1:45] A quick intro about John’s background.
[3:40] How did John get started in forestry?
[5:50] John wanted to be a chemical engineer at first, but after shadowing someone in the field, he decided he’d rather be a forester, instead.
[8:55] What was John’s first job in forestry like?
[12:10] When John was a junior in college, he and his team had to fight a forest fire for ten days.
[14:45] John highly recommends you join the forestry club at your school.
[16:15] Why did John switch from the Department of Forestry to his own consultancy firm?
[22:50] John is an active participant in political matters and has gotten involved in legislative issues related to forestry. The public needs to be educated in the importance of the work we do.
[28:25] What kinds of mentors has John had over the years?
[33:40] What types of challenges do new forestry consultants tend to face?
[41:40] John shares his thoughts about ACF and some of its benefits.
[48:15] Good leadership means you know you’re going to make mistakes, but you also know you’re going to be learning from them.
[48:45] What skills do people in the forestry profession need to be better at?
[53:50] What kinds of challenges has John personally run into as a forestry consultant?
[56:40] What leadership lessons has John learned over the years?
[1:00:40] If you’re a young forester, get involved! As older foresters retire, that knowledge will disappear.
[1:03:05] The toughest of challenges can be solved. You’ve just got to work with it.
Mentioned in This Episode: