College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Forestry

In 1975, while attending Michigan State University, Lois Kaufman had an opportunity to join a U.S. Forest Service fire crew as a student referral from MSU Forestry professor Dr. Kielbaso. She jumped at the opportunity, put her name on a ride board, and headed across the country in a Chevy Vega with two people she didn’t know and a shedding Britney spaniel to begin a forestry career of a lifetime. Kaufman graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry in 1976 and again worked in a seasonal position of the fire crew.

In 1977, to gain experience in timber, she applied for a job with W.M. Beaty & Associates marking salvage after the massive Scarface Fire in remote Modoc County. The owner’s son, Don Beaty, offered her a job, but when his father found out he said that wouldn’t work; women don’t belong in the woods. However, with the main office being 100 miles away, Don offered if she didn’t mind, she could be “Louis” to his dad and everyone in the office. So, she was Louis. Although the secret got out by the end of the project, she kept her position. Eventually, after jumping around to various jobs, including a Forestry Aide at Latour Demonstration State Forest, W.M. Beaty hired her as the Assistance Manager of the Susanville properties they managed.

She moved to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (now CalFire) and spent 15 years as a Forest Practice Inspector in the Redwood Region before going to the Sierra Cascade Region. During her time at CalFire, Kaufman was well respected for her skills in supervision and mentorship. She held many titles, including Public Officer, Incident Management Team Finance Chief, and Public Information Officer, ending her CalFire career in 2007 as the Deputy Chief of Resource Management overseeing the Forest Practice Program for the Shasta Trinity Unit and Latour Demonstration State Forest where she was once a seasonal aide.

“It wasn’t a career of a lifetime, but
for a lifetime, and I’m not finished.”

Retirement, however, was short lived; Kaufman continued her tireless work in forestry becoming the Executive Director of the California Tree Farm Program of the American Tree Farm System (ATFS). She and her husband are tree farmers themselves and it was a natural fit to give back to the landowners and the profession of forestry that gave her so much. She has since helped develop numerous important contributions to the community including public education videos and a new landowner assistance program. She also visits legislators to advocate for forest landowners in California.

This past year, after a lifetime of noteworthy achievements and a proven record of defying stereotypes, Kaufman was awarded the prestigious Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Francis H. Raymond Award. This award is given to an individual, organization, agency or company who has contributed the most to California’s natural resources over the past five years. The award is named in honor of Francis H. Raymond, former State Forester and father of the Professional Foresters Licensing Act.

In a moving acceptance speech, Kaufman ended with “I came to California hoping to begin a career of a lifetime in forestry; but I was wrong. It wasn’t a career of a lifetime but for a lifetime, and I’m not finished.”