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Madrono, Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 320-321, 2008 DEDICATION JOHN O. SAWYER, JR. TheCaliforniaBotanical Societydedicatesthisvolume accomplished with the clippers, field press, and plastic ofMadroiio to one ofCalifornia's most influential plant bag, the result being about 10,000 collection numbers. ecologists, John O. Sawyer, Jr., in recognition of his While a faculty member at Humboldt State, John distinguished accomplishments in research, in teaching, taught general ecology and developed upper division and in conservation. John was born in Chico, California coursesinplantecology, arcticand alpineecology, and a in 1939. As an undergraduate he attended California general education class in California natural history. He Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and wasalsoaprimemoverinaverypopularspringoffering, California State University, Chico (as they are now the desert field trip. Students always commented that his known), where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1961. courses were both intellectually and physically demand- He received his M. S. in ecology (1963) and Ph. D. in ing. One of John's former students, Andrea Pickart, plant ecology (1966) from Purdue University. While recalls that he was both demonstrating "critical think- pursuing his graduate degrees, John was an instructor at ing" and demanding it of his students long before it Chico, a graduate assistant at Purdue, and a field became an academic cliche. By physically demanding, I ecologist for a consulting firm with projects in Costa mean that John is not known for leading leisurely strolls Rica and Thailand. His work in those two countries acrossthecountryside. Ofcourseyouweregoingtogoto resulted in productive collaborations with A. A. Lindsey the top of that mountain; there might be interesting and A. W. Kiichlerand twomajorpublications. In 1966, manzanitas there. The lack of a well-defmed trail is a John joined the faculty of Humboldt State University trivial impediment. These days, John's field trips for the where he remained until his retirement in 2001. California Native Plant Society and his Jepson Work- Johnhaspublishedmorethanfortybooksandpapers, shops are very popular, with a number of return with more in preparation. While there were excursions participants. into such diverse topics as the biological formations of John served as the major professor for about 50 the eastern United States, the vegetation life zones of graduate students and was a committee member for a Costa Rica, and even a flora of a region in northern number of others. What is remarkable is how many of Thailand, John's passion has been the vegetation of themremainclosefriendsandcolleagues.Theynowhave California, particularly of the northwestern part of the important faculty, federal and state agency positions, state. Having gone into the field with him for almost and are successful consultants around the country. They forty years, I can attest to his boundless enthusiasm and constitute an extended family. "Once a Sawyer stu- incredible knowledge. You can see this so clearly in his dent..." latest book. Northwest California: a NaturalHistory. He is the co-author, along with Todd Keeler-Wolf, of A Manna! ofCalifornia Vegetation. It is recognized as the standard reference on the subject. A newedition is in the final stages of preparation. John has also contributed treatments of the montane and subalpine vegetation of the Klamath Mountains, the forests of northwestern California, and alpine vegetation in Terrestrial Vegeta- tionofCalifornia,editedbyMichael Barbour,etal. John, as his students would say, has this thing about woody plants, especially conifers. His Trees and Shrubs of Calif>rnia, co-authored by John Stuart, also at Hum- boldt State, has received excellent reviews. Sawyer's research was recognized by his faculty colleagues when hewasselectedasScholaroftheYearat Humboldt State University in 1997. Some plant ecologists have little interest in or knowledge of the flora itself Not so with Sawyer. He has been involved in documentingthe rangeextension of subalpine fir into California; authored a paper on the serpentine flora ofthe Lassies; authored or co-authored taxonomic innovations in Rhamnus and Frangula, four family treatmentsin TheJepson ManualofHigherPlants ofCalifornia, and the treatment ofRhaninaceae that will appear in the Flora ofNorth America North ofMexico. Five editions ofour Keys to the FamiliesandGenera and Vascular Plants in Northwestern California have been published; twenty-twoeditionsourchecklistoftheplants of that same region have appeared. John is also Photo by Michael Kauffmann, October 2008 2008] DEDICATION 321 John has also made significant contributions to the Had John been involved in drafting thisdedication, he study of our state's rare and endangered plants and its would have wanted to acknowledge the encouragement forests. He was an editor of the second edition of the that he has received from Dale Thornburgh, his long- California Native Plant Society's Inventory ofRare and time friend and colleague, and Jane Cole, his wife and Endangered Plants of California. He has held several intrepid companion in the field. Allow me to do that on importantpositionsinCNPS,includingthepresidencyof his behalf thesociety. It was underhis leadershipthat CNPS began its transformation into a truly statewide organization. James P. Smith, Jr. John remains active in the society, especially with the Professor ofBotany, Emeritus North Coast Chapter. In 2006, he became a Councilor Department of Biological Sciences for the Save the Redwoods League. Humboldt State University