Michael Kudish
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Michael Kudish is an author, railroad historian, forest historian, botanist, and retired emeritus professor. He received his Ph.D. in botany in 1971 from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse. His dissertation, on the history of Catskill forests, was the beginning of a lifelong study. It was later expanded and published in book form as The Catskill Forest: A History.[1] His previous degrees included a B.S. from the City College of New York, and an M.S. from Cornell University (1968).
As a professor in the Division of Forestry at Paul Smith's College, he has written three books on the flora of the Adirondacks, including Adirondack Upland Flora, as well as a vast number of articles on forest history of both the Catskills and Adirondacks.[2][3][4] As a railroad historian, he wrote Where Did The Tracks Go?, an initial description of railroads in the Adirondacks, followed by Railroads of the Adirondacks, for a long time considered the definitive work on the subject.[5][6] He has since retired from Paul Smith's College, moved to the Catskills, and has completed a four-volume set on the Mountain Railroads of New York State. It updates Railroads of the Adirondacks in the first three volumes, and adds a fourth volume covering the Catskills (with a separate Addendum volume of 55 pages).[7][8][9][10][11]
The Michael Kudish Natural History Preserve in Stamford, New York is named for him.
Dr. Kudish's Catskill notes are archived at UVM
References
[edit]- ^ Kudish, Michael, The Catskill Forest: A History, Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, 217 pp., 2000. Reprinted 2015.
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Adirondack Upland Flora, The Chauncy Press, Saranac, NY, 320 pp., 1992.
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Paul Smiths Flora II: additional vascular plants, bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), soils and vegetation, local forest history, Paul Smith’s College, Paul Smiths, NY, 176 pp., 1981.
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Paul Smiths Flora I: A preliminary vascular flora of the Paul Smiths-Saranac Lake area, the Adirondacks, New York, with notes on the climate, geology, and soils, Paul Smith’s College, Paul Smiths, NY, 136 pp., 1975
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Where Did the Tracks Go: Following Railroad Grades in the Adirondacks, The Chauncy Press, Saranac, NY, 148 pp., 1985
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Railroads of the Adirondacks: A History, Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, 496 pp., 1996
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Mountain Railroads of New York State, Vol. 1: Where Did the Tracks Go in the Western Adirondacks?, Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, 263 pp., 2005. ISBN 1-930098-65-0, 2005
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Mountain Railroads of New York State, Vol. II: Where Did the Tracks Go in the Central Adirondacks?, Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, pp. 271-565, 2007 ISBN 1-930098-81-2
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Mountain Railroads of New York State, Volume III: Where Did the Tracks Go in the Eastern Adirondacks?, Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, pp. 573-900, 2009
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Mountain Railroads of New York State, Volume IV: Where did the Tracks Go in the Catskills, Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, 2011
- ^ Kudish, Michael, Mountain Railroads of New York State, Volume IV: Where Did the Tracks Go in the Catskills? Addendum to Volume 4, Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, 55 pp., 2017