Ed Komarek

In Memoriam

Ed Komarek

1909-1995

Edwin V. Komarek, Sr. (1909-1995) played a central role in the development of the Tall Timbers Research Station, which he helped found. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, where he was surrounded by prairies and forests. At a young age, Komarek was influenced by the fire exclusion movement, and he became a Boy Scout and helped with wildfire control. After Komarek graduated from high school, he joined the Chicago Academy of Science, which allowed him to study zoology at the University of Chicago. Komarek worked as a museum mammalogist and published several scientific papers, including papers describing new subspecies. 

Ed Komarek. Photo credit: Tall Timbers Research Station

He was in the southern US conducting a mammal survey when he met Herbert Stoddard, Sr. In 1934, Stoddard hired Komarek to be his assistant at the Cooperative Quail Study Association in Thomasville, Georgia. As he worked with Stoddard in southern pine forests, Komarek began to fully realize the importance of fire as a natural process. Among controversial debates over the use of prescribed fire, Komarek recognized the significant role fire plays in ecosystem processes. He managed a plantation until 1958, where he gained experience with prescribed fire and quail, timber, and agricultural management. His management of the plantation drew many university groups associated with resource management studies, and he lectured extensively to thousands of students. Komarek worked for the Georgia Game and Fish Commission and held roles at various agricultural organizations. In 1958, Komarek helped found the Tall Timbers Research Station. Henry Beadel, a conservationist, had purchased a plantation in 1919 and used it for quail hunting and initiating prescribed burns. Before Beadel passed away, he donated the property to become an ecological research station, which would later become Tall Timbers. In 1960, Komarek became the managing executive secretary of Tall Timbers Research Station and was responsible for the day-to-day operations. Komarek organized the first Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference in 1962 because he wanted to widely address the benefits of prescribed burning for natural resource management.

In 1971, Komarek received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Florida State University. Komarek authored over 80 papers and gave lectures in 14 countries and 24 US states. He was a key proponent of the ecological benefits of fire and left an influential legacy within the field of fire ecology.

Selected Papers and books

• “The Meteorological Basis for Fire Ecology” (1966)

• “Fire-and the Ecology of Man“ (1967)

• “Controlled Burning and Air Pollution: An Ecological Review” (1970)

• “Introduction to Lightning Ecology” (1973)

• “The Role of the Hunting Plantation in the Development of Game, Fire Ecology and Management” (1979)

Resources

The tribute above was written based on information found in the following sources. If you would like to include additional information, papers or books, personal quotes, or photos please email communications@fireecology.net.

• Information Resources - The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database (Tall Timbers Research Station)

• About E. V. Komarek (J. Larry Landers)

• Fire Ecology (Ed Komarek; 1st Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference)

• Fire-and the Ecology of Man (Ed Komarek; 6th Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference)

• National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - Dickey-Birdsong Plantation (NPS)