Conservationist Leo Drey dies at 98

It is with great sadness that we say farewell and pay tribute to Leo Drey, husband of our longtime board member, Kay Drey. Leo passed away on May 26 at the age of 98. He was beautifully, and appropriately, dubbed "The Lorax of the Ozarks" in an obituary featured in The Daily Beast, due to his enormous contribution to the sustainable preservation of forested land in that region. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, his answer machine message was: “I’m out planting a forest. Please leave your name and number and I’ll try to get back to you before it matures.” Leo developed a gentle and sustainable logging practice with other forestry experts known as "individual-tree selection." As explained in the Post-Dispach article, "Trees scattered through a plot are selectively cut, like thinning a garden. The remaining trees grow taller and bigger — and the forest still looks like a forest." In 2004, Leo donated what was known as the Pioneer Forest — 146,000 acres — to a charity that will continue his mission of sustainable forestry. His contribution to conservation and his deep appreciation of nature will be missed. All of us at Beyond Nuclear convey our condolences to Kay and her family.