Remembering Fred A. Huntress Jr.

It takes 80 to 100 years to grow a “Big Tree” in New England. Few people are fortunate enough to have and spend a lifetime caring for and managing trees for anywhere near that length of time. Fred Huntress was one, and truly a forester’s forester.

Fred Huntress

Born and raised in Lewiston, ME, his mother taught him about trees, birds and flowers, and his father about hunting and fishing. Fred attended University of Maine starting in 1951. During his summers, he worked in the woods, and spent a stint as a log scaler in Colorado. Graduating in 1955 with a B.S. in forestry, he jumped directly back into the northeastern woods working for Eastern Pulpwood Company in Calais until 1956. He married Shirley H. Sanders of New Brunswick, Canada, in December 1955, and then his start in forestry and family was paused for two years of service in the U.S. Army, when he was stationed in post-war South Korea until December 1957.

Upon his return, he was hired by NEFF Executive Director John Hemenway. In Fred’s words, “a true gentleman.” This was the start of a career and association that lasted five decades. Fred found his home and voice in consulting forestry, but expanded his skill set to include surveying and real estate brokerage. His influence and skills went far beyond those that generate income. As NEFF’s mission included and his resume stated, it was his job to, “Provide leadership in educating the public of the importance of forestry and of private landowners’ rights.”

As an ambassador of forest conservation and management, he maintained numerous professional and forestry organization memberships, serving often in leadership roles. He particularly valued activities in his community of Poland, ME, where he and Shirley settled with their two children in 1961. He served as a selectman, zoning board member, conservation commission member, President of the Stanton Bird Club, Poland historical society member, and a Director of the Pine Grove Cemetery, as well as Town Forester from 1964 until 2023.

Fred had hundreds of clients in the Androscoggin Center, and over a dozen NEFF forests under his stewardship. A number of those forests were donations from his clients who got his message about NEFF’s mission. Over years, practicing what he preached, he also acquired and tended his own forests that eventually totaled more than 1,000 acres.

While an unapologetic forest utilitarian, he was sensitive to the beauty and health of the landscape. He grew and sold many high-quality trees but did not hesitate to say to his colleagues, “you’ve got to leave some of the big ones; people like to see them.” He was an avid fan of blue birds and white oaks—which he said, he never cut a one of as a consultant. While respectful of nature, Fred was also considerate of the loggers and lumberman who worked with him, and it earned him a reputation as a reliable, honest broker that served his clients’ best interests.

In the last two decades of his career, Fred worked as a NEFCo forester managing the company with less senior peers. We learned he could be your harshest critic but also your best advocate. One thing was certain, Fred never lost sight of the original NEFF mission—to manage forests for the benefit of people and the forest itself.

Read Fred’s obituary in the Lewiston Sun Journal.