Herster Barres
Mystic — Herster Barres, an internationally-renowned forestry expert who pioneered programs to combat climate change and diversify crops for small farmers, died March 7, 2024, at Yale New Haven Hospital after a short illness. He was 90.
Dr. Barres founded and directed the nonprofit organization, Reforest The Tropics (RTT), which today manages more than 1,480 acres of research forests on 17 farms in Costa Rica. More than 100 U.S. forest sponsors rely on over 500,000 trees planted on these farms (over the past 25 years) to offset their carbon emissions.
“He single-handedly conceived of an improved reforestation model that solved many of the historical challenges to long-term forestry projects on private farms,” said Greg Powell, who took over as RTT director when Dr. Barres retired in 2019. Powell credited Dr. Barres with developing systems and management techniques that were considered radical at the time and are now widely copied.
“Dr. Barres possessed a unique vision, a conviction in his beliefs among a sea of doubters, and the perseverance to prove his theories over a lifetime of scientific pursuit,” Powell added.
A 1997 article in The New York Times describes how Dr. Barres introduced the klinkii tree, a fast-growing conifer native to Papua, New Guinea, to Costa Rica in 1968, as part of his research. He experimented for 27 years before determining that it was ideal for offsetting carbon emissions that contribute to global warming.
“Clearly, we have to work principally on reducing emissions; fixing carbon through forestry is only a partial solution. But if we started 40 years ago, we’d be far ahead,’’ Barres told The Times.
President Bill Clinton’s Climate Change Action Plan chose Dr. Barres’ project as one of the most promising to help combat global warming, coordinating United States interests with those of farmers in Costa Rica.
In addition, Barres believed in educating young people on climate change and possible solutions, including reforestation. “Dr. Klinkii,” as students called him, made frequent presentations at local schools. Cutler Middle School in Mystic, Fitch Middle School and Noank Elementary School in Groton, Pine Point School in Stonington and Westerly Middle School incorporated the project into their curriculum.
He was born in Greenwich, Feb. 14, 1934, son of the Rev. Herster Barres Sr. and Dorothy Marshall. After graduating from Yale University and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, he earned a doctorate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. While in Switzerland, he met
Miranda Carlesso, a native of Treviso, Italy. The couple married in Martinique in 1961, and lived in Puerto Rico for several years during his first assignment as a tropical forester with the United Nations.
After Puerto Rico, Dr. Barres was assigned to the Center for Higher Education and Agricultural Research (CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica, as an FAO Forestry officer. It was there he taught and undertook research in testing tree species for wood production on farms. He founded the Latin American Tree Seed Bank in CATIE, and planted trees on farms in the Turrialba Valley.
His next project, Diversificación Agrícola de Turrialba, developed and provided technical support for alternative crops for small farmers. These included macadamia nuts for export, a fast-growing eucalyptus tree for the production of utility poles, a tropical pine for the production of paper pulp, aquaculture of tilapia fish and honeybees.
After retiring from his career with the United Nations, he moved back to his home state of Connecticut and founded Reforest The Tropics. His body of research became the foundation for a mixed-species forestry model used by Reforest The Tropics today. The design maximizes profits for farmers, as well as biomass accumulation that forest sponsors can use to offset greenhouse gas emissions.
A true renaissance man, Dr. Barres spoke five languages, was an amateur cellist, a pilot who restored World War II airplanes, antique gun collector, motorcycle enthusiast and avid tennis player. Former Day columnist Steven Slosberg regularly played with him. “Herster was perhaps the most interesting, as well as confounding tennis doubles partner. Well into his years, he would regale us on the court with tales of Costa Rican farmers and adventures with his cello and at the same time hit spinning drop shots from the baseline with abandon. He was delighted if those shots landed in and close to the net, which they did on occasion, and just as delighted if they didn’t. He was a man who took much obvious and audible joy in his pursuits,” Slosberg said.
Besides his wife, Dr. Barres is survived by his children, Marco Barres of Jewett City, Spyros Barres of Mystic, and Fiorenza Mendoza of Mystic, and spouses; along with grandchildren: Erik Reilley, Trevor Reilley and Allison Reilley. He is also survived by his siblings, Peter Barres, Linda Keller and Dana Baggett; and predeceased by his siblings, Carol Abbott and Jonathan Barres.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Reforest the Tropics: (https://reforestthetropics.org/donate/). A carbon-offsetting forest will be planted in his honor in Costa Rica.