Biography

Jim is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the 2003 Society of American Foresters National Journalism Award, for his work on “The New Pioneers,” a special Evergreen report profiling entrepreneurial solutions to the Southwest’s forest health crisis. 

Among Jim’s other awards: Best Forestry Public Relations Program in the Nation, American Forest & Paper Association, 1991; Whistle Punk of the Year, Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association, 1994; National Public Service Award, Association of Consulting Foresters, 1996; Outstanding Contributions to Forestry Education, Northeastern Loggers Association, 1999; Outstanding Forestry Activist in the Western United States, Forest Resources Association, 2000; Woodpecker of the Year Award, Hoo-Hoo International, 2002 and Communicator of the Year Award, Montana Wood Products Association, 2004, for his leadership in the national forest health debate and, in particular, his role in congressional ratification of the Bush Administration’s Healthy Forests Restoration Act. 

Jim is the author of five books: Flying Finns, the history of Columbia Helicopters, an Oregon-based company that pioneered helicopter logging, Can’t Never Could Do Anything, is the remarkable and uplifting story of Oregon lumberman Milt Herbert, founder of the Umpqua Bank.. Running the Gauntlet traces the life and times of pioneer Washington logger, L.T. Murray and his heirs. Santiam Song chronicles the life and times of pioneer Oregon lumberman, T.G. Freres. Jim also recently contributed a lengthy essay to the Society of American Foresters book, “193 Million Acres: Toward a Healthier and More Resilient U.S. Forest Service. 

Jim’s fifth book, First, Put out the Fire!,  traces the origins of the West’s wildfire pandemic and offers a science-based path to safety, resiliency and sustainability.

He is currently putting the finishing touches on My Father’s Ashes, a memoir he plans to publish in 2026. Research for yet another book concerning Mass Panel Plywood  [MPP] is already underway. MPP is revolutionizing the commercial building market. Several office building in the 18-story range are under construction and several architects are contemplating MPP-framed skyscrapers. MPP is manufactured from small diameter trees, laid up as laminated veneer layers.

He and his wife, Julia, recently completed an in-depth Evergreen report featuring the New Jersey Pine Barrens and adjacent Atlantic White Cedar swamps. Although New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation, its Barrens and swamps hold cultural, historical and silvicultural histories that date from the formation of the United States.

Jim and his wife, Julia, are also heavily involved in a grizzly habitat research project in Northwest Montana’s Bull River Valley. The research phase of the project is funded by a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station [RMRS] in Missoula, Montana. The end result will be a peer-reviewed white paper authored by RMRS biologists.

Jim is also updating a series of essays tracing the history of the conservation movement from the Civil War era to present day. Felt Necessities began as a series of lectures he delivered to forestry students at the University of Idaho. The essays can be reviewed on the Foundation’s website. 

Jim grew up in Kellogg, Idaho. He graduated from Kellogg High School in 1962. His family roots are in logging, sawmilling, cattle ranching and mining. He is a graduate of the University of Idaho, where he majored in journalism and broadcasting. He was a newspaper reporter and editor for several years before founding his own public relations firm in 1973. 

He has been a working journalist and author for 61 years. He is an accomplished photographer and a much-sought-after public speaker. Some of his photography and most of his speeches are posted on the Evergreen website. 

Some say Petersen possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the histories of forestry and wood products manufacturing in the western United States. Now 81, he humorously refers to himself as “the last man standing.” And, indeed, he knew most of the West’s post-World War II lumbermen and forest scientists who were active from the 1940s until their deaths.