A Legacy Rooted in Passion: Jim Scheff

It is with great love and appreciation that Kentucky Heartwood would like to announce the departure of Staff Ecologist Jim Scheff.  Jim’s legacy reshaped the dialogue about forests in Kentucky and transformed Kentucky Heartwood into a robust, science-based advocacy organization.  His unrelenting passion for protecting the biodiversity of Kentucky’s forests touched hundreds of people who had the opportunity to hear him talk or go on a hike with him.  Jim’s expansive knowledge, deep intuition, and love of forests made him a true forest whisperer as well an effective forest advocate.  

Jim’s tenure at Kentucky Heartwood began in 2008 and spanned 17 years.  For 12 of those years he served as Director alongside his wife, Tina Marie Camp Scheff who began as a volunteer and council member in 2005. Jim and Tina made a powerful partnership as they led Kentucky Heartwood to significant victories and important ecological discoveries.  Notable among his victories were stopping the Little Egypt timber sale at Climax Springs and assisting the Between the Rivers Coalition in stopping logging on the Land between the Lakes and developing a forest plan based on ecological principles.  

Jim and Tina made important discoveries of new populations of rare plants, old growth, new species, and champion trees, including the world’s largest red hickory (Carya ovalis) in an active timber sale in the Red Bird District in Clay County and the state northern red oak (Quercus rubra) champion in a proposed timber sale on Jellico Mountain in McCreary County. In addition, he and Tina expanded Kentucky Heartwood’s membership base, modernized organizational systems, and challenged hundreds of timber sales.  Jim helped build regional coalitions and advance the national dialogue about forest ecology and forest protection strategies.

Thank you, Jim, for your unparalleled advocacy.  Your legacy as a scientist, activist, and core leader of the organization will live on.  We wish you well in what comes next!

Kentucky Heartwood will be making an announcement about our new staff ecologist in the coming weeks.  We know that our advocacy is more important than ever, and we are dedicated to continuing our front-lines work to protect wild places.