Becking, Rudolf Willem, 1922-

Biographical Information

Rudolf Willem Becking was born in 1922 in Dutch-occupied Indonesia to a Dutch family. He had an early interest in the natural sciences that he shared with his brother and father. During World War II, Becking was captured as a Prisoner of War by the Japanese. He received two forestry degrees from Wageningen University in The Netherlands in 1952. Becking married H. Louise Sheltema, and they moved together to Seattle, WA, where he received his PhD from the University of Washington in 1954. He had brief employment with the Dutch Forest Service and universities in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Alabama before being hired at Humboldt State University in 1960. He retired from HSU in 1983, but remained an active professor emeritus, teaching classes and sponsoring graduate students for many years after. Both Becking and his wife died in 2009 and were survived by all three of their children.

Becking lived the majority of his life in the United States, but had significant international influences from being raised in Indonesia, attending college in The Netherlands, and traveling extensively throughout his life. Thus, Becking’s approach to forestry and botany were unique amongst his American colleagues. For example, Becking was a strong advocate of Plenturung, an all-aged sustainable harvest model, at a time when even-aged harvest (clear cutting) was central to American forestry. In addition, Becking practiced Phytosociology, a technique of plant community analysis that had international support but very few American proponents. Throughout his career in the United States, Becking corresponded with a vast network of international colleagues.

Although primarily identified as a forester, Becking’s work was interdisciplinary. In addition to forest growth and yield, he did research on plant and forest community ecology, taxonomy, and plant biology. He was a specialist in dipterocarps and redwoods, and did significant work with serpentine endemics, the lichen Usnea longissima, and forest/plant communities of the Great Smoky Mountains. Soil analysis was essential to his forest and plant research. Becking also did substantial research in ornithology (though he considered himself an amateur), primarily focused on the old-growth-forest-dependent Marbled Murrelet. Becking was a skilled illustrator and used his artistic ability as a tool in his scientific work.

Becking was a citizen activist who focused on environmental management issues. During his long-term residence in Arcata, California, he engaged with the City of Arcata’s management of municipal transportation, waste, and forests. Becking was elected onto the Arcata City Council in 1972. Through letter writing, speaking, community organizing and other campaigning, Becking also worked for ancient forest conservation and improved forest policy. He was involved in many regional issues including the establishment and expansion of Redwood National Park, stopping the building of the Gasquet-Orleans Road (G-O Road), and the critique of numerous proposed timber sales on public lands. Becking worked on environmental protection of Humboldt Bay, proposed (with Deane B. Mather) the development of a regional recreation area he called the “Tri-Lake Plan”, and advocated against the proposed Butler Valley Dam.

As a teacher, Becking left a lasting impression on his students who have described him as challenging, approachable, empowering and inspiring. He formed mentorships with students that often became lasting friendships. He was known for engaging his students in scientific studies that involved real-world field, lab and data analysis work. He integrated his own research interests and projects with his forestry and natural resources curricula.

Becking attended the Humboldt Unitarian Fellowship and occasionally gave talks there that provided a view of how his work as a scientist and activist intersected with his spirituality.

For more biographical information, see BEN Botanical Electronic News ISSN 1188-603X No. 421 February 4, 2009, written by Adolf Ceska (with help from the Becking family).

From the guide to the Rudolf W. Becking Collection, Bulk, 1940-2005, 1850-2010, (Humboldt State University)