This week, we're highlighting Chuck Black in our Forester Spotlight series. Chuck is an Outreach Forester with the Family Forest Carbon Program. He collaborates with landowners to steward healthy, native ecosystems and forests. His passion for the outdoors drives him to work with American forest stewards.

Chuck Black grew up on a lake in northern New Jersey where fishing, swimming, boating and ice hockey were his passions. 

“My mother was the driving force for my love of nature,” says Chuck. “The ideal vacation for Mom was going camping. We spent time camping in the Poconos, in New Jersey state parks, and in the White mountains of New Hampshire.” 

Chuck learned to fly fish on the Gale River in Franconia Notch, NH. He has fond memories from his youth of hiking the trail to the flume to see the reflection of the Old Man in the Mountain in Profile Lake.  

Chuck was fortunate enough to spend summers in the Pennsylvania Endless Mountains at a rustic boy’s overnight camp for two months. His experiences at this camp cemented his love for the outdoors. He also remembers canoeing in the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers, hiking in the Adirondack Mountains and backpacking in the woods of Pennsylvania. 

Chuck’s love for the Adirondack Mountains inspired him to hike the 138-mile Northville Lake Placid trail at age 15 with a friend in only seven days. His experience on the trail taught him self-reliance as they dealt with extreme weather conditions, exhaustion and fear of the unknown.   

“All these experiences influenced my career choice,” Chuck explained. “Ecology was my first choice of study, so I attended Idaho State University. The Rocky Mountains and the Snake River were areas I frequently visited. And, after two years, my focus changed to wanting to pursue a degree in forestry.” 

Chuck earned his forestry degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in the Piney Woods of East Texas. The area was a change of pace from the Rocky Mountains, but there were still plenty of amazing places to hike and canoe.   

Upon graduation, Chuck started a new adventure in Florida fighting wildfires for the Division of Forestry. He transitioned from managing wildfires to working for several organizations including PRIDE of Florida, Gulf and Coastal Lumber, Kerr-McGee and Koppers, and now for the American Forest Foundation as a forester in the Southern Appalachian region. 

Tennessee has been Chuck’s home for over 25 years.  He and his wife Michelle have raised four children and have seven grandchildren.  In their spare time, if they are not with family, they are exploring the great outdoors of the United States by canoe, hiking or kayaking.

For more information on how Family Forest Carbon Program foresters help landowners like you, see https://familyforestcarbon.org/. 

If you are a forester, you can join us by becoming an FFCP consulting forester.