SHELBURNE — Shelburne native and 1969 graduate of Mohawk Trail Regional School, Russell Richardson, has been inducted into the West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame for his 28 years of advocacy in West Virginia on forest health issues. He is the son of the late Don Richardson and the brother of Donna Fitzpatrick.
Induction in this Hall of Fame is reserved for people, businesses, and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the advancement and improvement of the agriculture, forestry and family life of West Virginia and the nation.
Richardson set up a consulting forestry business in 1989 in West Virginia, where he owned and managed at least 1,000 acres of prime woodland, according to the Hall of Fame website. He has been “an outspoken advocate for sustainable forest stewardship,” according to that organization, and he introduced new ideas for the forestry industry. He was also involved in the discovery and research of an invasive pathogenic Bipolaris fungus that impacts eastern U.S. forestland. He also opens his farm for educational use and assists other property owners on forestry and timber sales.
Richardson has spent 45 years in forestry, starting in 1973, after college.
He plans to retire soon and return to Shelburne, where he will continue to write and spend time with family.