A Champion of Black Ash and the Forest Community: Celebrating the Career and Legacy of Les Benedict 

Written by Rachel Swanwick, Amanda Farris, Tyler Everett, Dr. Tony D’Amato  

We celebrate the remarkable career and legacy of Leslie (Les) Benedict, who has provided visionary leadership and dedicated service to the stewardship of forests, championing the preservation of the ecological and culturally important black ash. Benedict, a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in Akwesasne, north of the Adirondacks in upstate New York, recently retired after serving as the Assistant Director of the Tribe’s Environment Division for over 35 years.   

His work with black ash began in 1991 through the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment, in response to community concerns about the health and future of black ash. This work was pivotal in building an understanding of the silvics of this species, whose survival, just years later, was proven functionally threatened by the emerald ash borer, an introduced forest pest. Black ash is an important cultural material, most notably used for crafting baskets as an art form and for use in ceremonies, trade, traps, and storage1. As Benedict shared, basket making “is a cultural practice that is part of our cultural identity” that has been passed down through Indigenous communities for thousands of years.  

Benedict co-authored the “Handbook for Black Ash Preservation, Reforestation, and Regeneration” in 2000 with Richard David, a foundational work on black ash taxonomy, seed collection, propagation, and out-planting. This handbook was truly visionary in developing and sharing the knowledge necessary to sustain black ash for future generations. It has become a central resource in guiding contemporary seed collection and reforestation strategies for preserving black ash across Tribal Nations and resource management agencies.  

Benedict also understood that to catalyze meaningful action in the realm of ash preservation, his teachings could not be confined to written literature. Working alongside David, he brought these teachings directly to Tribal Nation communities across the range of black ash. Together, they shared their knowledge in black ash seed collection and propagation protocols through hands-on, experiential learning. This approach not only equipped Tribal Nations with the skills to carry out this work independently, but also fostered a strong, enduring community of practice dedicated to protecting black ash. One story from Bendict and David’s travels recounts, 

“While out moving from one Tribal Nation or First Nation community to another sharing seed collection knowledge, they made the most of their time by collecting seed all along the way. This had them staying in hotels and motels across the range of black ash. One night they made it into their room late after a strenuous day of seed collection in black ash wetlands. They threw their seed down in the room and quickly fell asleep. In the morning it was not just the two of them in the room, they had been joined by hundreds of insects that emerged from the collected seed and clung to the ceiling of their motel room!”

Alongside their adventures, the ash preservation community has continued to grow, strengthened by a rising sense of urgency to protect black ash as emerald ash borer advances across its range. This early work in building a strong, connected foundation has directly inspired the development of a Tribal-led research agenda through the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Waponahkik (APCAW) at the University of Maine in Orono. Led by Benedict’s close friend and colleague, Dr. John Daigle (Penobscot Nation), this lab group has worked closely with Benedict to carry his work forward and support new generations of dedicated researchers and forest caretakers who continue the hands-on, experiential approach to ash preservation that Benedict and David first brought to this community. PhD Candidate and APCAW lab member Tyler Everett shares,

“As a young indigenous scholar getting into the field of forestry and working in the arena of black ash preservation. I quickly became familiar with Les and the great work that he’s done. It made meeting him in person kind of daunting. But, with every interaction I’ve had with Les I’ve felt so invited in this space. He has a way of listening that strips away any imposter syndrome symptoms someone might have, and makes their contributions, however small, feel impactful and meaningful.”  

Through the years, Benedict has tirelessly given his time, energy, and wisdom to support black ash conservation through partnership with students, Tribal Nations, government agencies, universities, and non-profit organizations across the region. In 2022, he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the USDA Forest Service Eastern Region for his longstanding collaborative forest health work. In 2023, he co-authored companion articles in the Journal of  Forestry  that helped advance multi-stakeholder approaches  to  ash preservation and identify preservation values to guide stewardship. Benedict is also an active partner in the Guild’s Sustaining Ash Partners Network, and his contributions have helped foster collaboration to elevate the cultural significance of ash. Dr. Tony D’Amato, one of the many professionals who has benefited from Benedict’s leadership writes,  

“Les is an amazing teacher who is always willing to share his wisdom and perspective with anyone who cares about forests and their stewardship. I feel privileged to have been able to learn from Les and look at the forest and my role in its stewardship so differently thanks to his teachings. Our forest community has been so lucky to have such a giving and selfless mentor, teacher, and steward.”   

Like tree roots stretching in all directions, the people Benedict influenced have carried his stories forward, and the community sustaining black ash has grown stronger. In his retirement and between hunting and fishing trips, he plans to more deeply study the Mohawk language and continue to collaborate with partners like the Haudensaunee Environmental Task Force and the Abenaki Fist Nations Peoples in Odanak and WÔlinak on ash preservation. Benedict says that black ash brings us all together. By reaching so many people, his lifetime legacy of building community around black ash stands as a beacon of hope for future generations to carry forward a shared passion for preserving ash.   

References:   

1. Benedict, L. & David, R. (2000). Handbook for Black Ash Preservation, Reforestation/regeneration. Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Department of Environment.  
2. USDA Forest Service. (2022, April 27). Tribal partner recognized for lengthy support of forest health projects. U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/recognition/tribal-partner-recognized-lengthy-support-forest-health-projects  
3. Anthony W D’Amato, David A Orwig, Nathan W Siegert, Amanda Mahaffey, Les Benedict, Tyler Everett, John Daigle, Logan Johnson, Paul Catanzaro, Caitlin Cusack, Towards Tree Species Preservation: Protecting Ash Amidst the Emerald Ash Borer Invasion in the Northeast, Journal of Forestry, Volume 121, Issue 5-6, September/November 2023, Pages 480–487, https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvad025  
4. Anthony W D’Amato, David A Orwig, Nathan W Siegert, Amanda Mahaffey, Les Benedict, Tyler Everett, John Daigle, Logan Johnson, Paul Catanzaro, Caitlin Cusack, Species Preservation in the Face of Novel Threats: Cultural, Ecological, and Operational Considerations for Preserving Tree Species in the Context of Non-Indigenous Insects and Pathogens, Journal of Forestry, Volume 121, Issue 5-6, September/November 2023, Pages 470–479, https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvad024