Mike Kane has been wearing a lot of hats over the years. Often, he’s worn them at the same time. These dual experiences began early in his career as a graduate student, taking classes at North Carolina State University while working for the school’s Forest Fertilization Cooperative. The experience gave him a taste of two worlds, balancing the needs of the private sector while working in academia. The next few decades took him to the private sector and then back into the academic realm, all the while aligning research with the needs of businesses. Now, after 15 years at Warnell, Kane is hanging up his hats. “It’s been very enjoyable at Warnell to work in the culture that exists here—high-quality people who enjoy doing what they’re doing,” says Kane, who retired Dec. 31. “It’s a very diverse group of disciplines and personalities that bring a lot of strength and make it a very interesting place to work.” Kane’s bread and butter is silviculture. He’s taught graduate and undergraduate students since starting at Warnell. In recent years he’s taught Senior Project and an introductory class on natural resource conservation, but that’s only since he handed the reins of the Plantation Management Research Cooperative (PMRC) over to professors Bronson Bullock and Cristian Montes. Kane managed the PMRC for about a decade prior to that, drawing from his experience with other university forestry research cooperatives and the private sector. After leaving N.C. State, Kane worked with integrated forest products companies such as International Paper. During this time, companies managed large tracts of land and Kane’s positions entailed many collaborations with forestry research cooperatives, including the PMRC, to research plantation productivity. When these companies sold off their land, Kane found working with Georgia’s PMRC was a natural fit. “I always had a lot of knowledge about and contact with these cooperatives, and how these university-private sector cooperatives work. When (International Paper) sold their land, I learned that this Warnell job was open—and a big part was being the director of this co-op,” says Kane. “And it worked well. I really enjoyed serving as the director of the co-op and continuing to work with a lot of large tree growers throughout the South.” During his time at Warnell, Kane was a bridge between university research and private sector partners. He also participated in several large grant-funded research projects; one focused on the effects of climate change on productivity and another investigated pine plantation management for biofuel feedstock production. This work and more helped keep the PMRC as a leader in biometrics and silvicultural research. “So, we use PMRC’s large platform of research sites throughout the Southeast and associated data on pine plantation performance to improve our knowledge and management tools.” As much as he values his connections with forest landowners across the South and across the country, Kane says he’s just as grateful to the students who challenged him in the classroom. He chuckles when he recalls his first class—he had experience conducting professional training, but setting a curriculum and teaching students was new. “I just have to thank the students I had—they were kind and patient with me,” he says. “But, you know, you learn from it. And hopefully, the students over time, they have learned quite a bit.” Now with more time on his hands, Kane has resolved to slow down. His grown children live within driving distance, and he and his wife, Lida, are enjoying a new pace. Who knows—Kane might find a new hat to wear in the coming years. He’s spotted a few bumper stickers around town that read “Wander North Georgia.” That’s not such a bad idea, he says. “I saw one of these bumper stickers and I thought: Wander,” he says. “I can keep busy just wandering around the house or the yard. Or you can wander around the world—that phrase implies a freedom of time. So, that caught my attention.”
