MDC honors John Wylie as Missouri Master Conservationist

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Conservation Commission and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) awarded their Master Conservationist award posthumously to former MDC staff person John Wylie during the Commission’s open meeting in Jefferson City on July 12.Wylie is the 68th person to receive the award.

The Master Conservationist award was created in 1941 to honor living or deceased citizen conservationists, former MDC commissioners, and employees of conservation-related agencies, universities, or organizations who made substantial and lasting contributions to the fisheries, forestry, or wildlife resources of the state. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/about-us/awards-honors/master-conservationist-award-nomination.

Originally from Sweet Springs in Saline County and then Jefferson City before his death in January 2000, Wylie had a near 40-year career with MDC. Wylie was an avid outdoorsman since childhood who enjoyed hunting and fishing. 

He began his higher education in 1942 as a pre-forestry student at the University of Missouri prior to serving in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and enrolled in Oregon State University where he graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry. 

Wylie then joined MDC in 1949 as a forester in Eminence and then moved to Warrenton as a district forester. In 1957 he was promoted to MDC headquarters in Jefferson City where he served in the Farm Forestry Division, rising to assistant state forester. Following passage of the Design for Conservation sales tax in 1976, Wylie was appointed to be the first chief of the newly formed MDC Natural History Section. 

During his tenure at MDC, Wylie contributed to advances in forestry and farm management, wildlife awareness, and preserving and protecting the natural resources of Missouri. He started the Missouri State Champion tree program and surveyed many of the first champion tree records. 

Wylie began Eagle Days in the late 1970s along with Prairie Days. He also helped design and launch Missouri’s urban nature centers with Burr Oak Woods in Kansas City being the first one, opening in 1982.

Wylie was also a founder of the Missouri Native Plant Society as well as a founder of the Walnut Council, a national forest products organization. 

“Mr. Wylie helped shape the future of Missouri conservation. His contributions informed, impacted, and inspired countless people, including me,” said Deputy Director Aaron Jeffries, who was a childhood neighbor of Wylie after his retirement. “Mr. Wylie lived across the street and had one of the first red buckeye trees I had ever seen. I now have several red buckeyes planted in my yard.”

His many awards include the Professional Conservationist of the Year by the Conservation Federation of Missouri, the National Areas Association’s George B. Fell award, Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Grow Native! Native Plant Pioneer award, honorary director of The Audubon Society of Missouri, and the Missouri Society of American Foresters Karkhagne award. The Missouri Native Plant Society named its highest award the John E. Wylie award, which recognizes individuals who have provided exceptional service to the society.

“There is no doubt John Wylie’s contributions to conservation in Missouri have had broad and long-lasting impacts," said Commissioner Steve Harrison when presenting the award to Wylie’s family. "Due to his dedication and passion for conservation, Missouri is a better place.”