Former IUFRO Vice-President J Cayford Passed Away

James H. Cayford, R.P.F., B.Sc.F., M.F.

Canada's forestry community lost one its most dedicated and stalwart members on November 17, 2011 with the passing of James (Jim) Harry Cayford.  Jim had not been ill but was felled suddenly while attending a community concert on the University of Guelph campus near his home at Village by the Arboretum in Guelph, Ontario.

Born in Montreal in 1929, Jim attended the University of New Brunswick, receiving his B.Sc.F. in 1952, and then received his M.F. from Yale in 1956.  His first job was with the Industrial Forest Service in Prince George, B.C. followed by a short stint with the Manitoba Forest Service.  In 1954, he began a 35-year career with the federal government's Canadian Forestry Service (CFS), serving 12 years in Manitoba until he was appointed in 1965 as Assistant Program Co-ordinator, Silviculture at departmental headquarters in Ottawa.  After holding several senior line and staff positions in Ottawa, Jim was named Director General of the Great Lakes Forest Research Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in the fall of 1974.  As Director-General, he was responsible for the Ontario region forest research program as well as for the implementation of many of the federal government's new direct delivery programs to the forest sector.  Desiring to be the complete professional, Jim immediately studied to be, and became, a Registered Professional Forester of the Ontario Professional Foresters Association, the licensing body for professional forestry practice in the province.  During his time in the Sault, Jim was co-chair of the Canada-Ontario Joint Forest Research Committee, a multi-lateral federal-provincial group that lead the planning and development of forest research in the province.  He was Chairman of the Canada-USSR Working Group on Forestry, a bi-lateral international group that worked to foster cooperation in forestry matters between the two countries.  He contributed to the programs of two World Forestry Congresses and was head of the Canadian delegation at the Eighth World Forestry Congress (1978) in Indonesia.

Jim retired from Canadian federal service in 1987 and left Sault Ste. Marie for Ottawa.  There he accepted a 3-year appointment as Executive Director of the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) where he put in many hours to revitalize that organization after a number of troubled years.  He worked thereafter for some 15 years as a forestry consultant on a part-time basis and held contracts with a variety of organizations including the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), for whom he monitored programs in ten southern African countries, and the Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board (CFAB) in the 1990s, for which he was Executive Director.

Jim devoted much volunteer time to a range of organizations serving, among others, as a member of the Board of the Eastern Ontario Model Forest (EOMF) as well as Chair of that organization's Forest Science Committee.  He made further contribution to the CIF as, successively, Vice-President, President (1985) and Past-President and, later, as Editor of The Forestry Chronicle.  He was an active member and officer of both the Canadian Forestry Association and the Ontario Forestry Association.  Not content with his contributions to forestry, he served in public life as a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Advisory Board and of the city's Manpower Assessment and Planning Committee.  After moving to Guelph, he became a member of the Wellington County Stewardship Council.

Jim's enthusiasm for international travel and his numerous trips abroad are legendary and he shared this enthusiasm with his wife, Burla.  It was when he became active in the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) in the early 1970s as Deputy Project Leader of Project Group P2.02 Production of High-yielding Trees, that his drive to see the world blossomed.  Their travel opportunities were much enhanced when, in 1981, Jim was appointed to the IUFRO Executive Board.  During this time, the Board met on a regular basis in many locations around the world.  Although much of Jim's travel was for business and professional reasons, the Cayfords weren't to be deterred after retirement and made many subsequent trips as, simply, tourists.  Jim's global travels took him to almost 100 countries over the course of better than 35 years.

Some of Jim's greatest career achievements occurred in the international sphere.  As a member of the IUFRO Executive Board, he took a leadership role not only speaking for Canada but also adopting a global perspective striving to strengthen forestry research in the broader international community.  From 1991 to 1995 he served as IUFRO Vice-President, Administration.  His tenure on the Board came to an end with his retirement from the Canadian Forest Service but not his involvement with the organization.  His advice was sought regularly thereafter.  When IUFRO saw a need to reorganize, Jim was called upon to undertake the task.  His review was thorough and his recommendations were implemented much as he had prepared them.

Over his career, Jim received a number of prestigious awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the CIF International Forestry Achievement Award, the Eastern Ontario Model Forest's Ross Silversides Forestry Award and the American Forestry Association's Bernhard Eduard Fernow Award.  Other recognitions of Jim's service included being named a Fellow of the Institute (CIF) and an Honorary Member of IUFRO, designations in recognition of particularly important and outstanding services to the respective organizations.  In a special recognition, the Eastern Ontario Model Forest will establish an ongoing award in Jim's name, a tribute to the incredible career of one of Canada's premier forestry professionals of the past half century.

Jim is survived by Burla, his wife of 57 years, daughters Carol and Diane, son Alan, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.  His presence and contributions will be sorely missed.

Lorne F. Riley and Jack H. Smyth

Picture: James H. Cayford