UW-Stevens Point emeritus professor, conservationist to be honored

STEVENS POINT – A University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point emeritus biology professor and founding member of a local conservation organization was honored July 17 for his lifelong environment work.

Professor Emeritus Robert Freckmann was presented the 2024 Harold “Bud” Jordahl Lifetime Achievement Award by the North Central Conservancy Trust and Gathering Waters, Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts. The ceremony was held July 17 at Schmeeckle Reserve in Stevens Point.

Freckmann taught plant taxonomy and agrostology at UW-Stevens Point for 32 years before his retirement in 2001. He and Professor Frank Bowers began a herbarium collection of plant and grass specimens in 1969, which was named the Robert W. Freckman Herbarium upon his retirement. It includes a quarter of a million specimen records and is the second largest herbarium in Wisconsin.

He was a founding member of the NCCT, which has protected more than 5,000 acres in eight counties, creating conservation easements that are protected from development. Freckmann and his late wife, Sally, created a protected easement on their property that served as an outdoor classroom for his biology students. He continues to serve on the NCCT Properties Committee and conduct botany surveys for landowners interested in conservation easements.

“Bob has dedicated his life to conservation and contributed to the scientific body of knowledge and he is still curating today,” said Chris Radford, NCCT executive director. The lifetime achievement award shows the organization’s gratitude towards Freckmann for his decades of service leading interpretive hikes for the public, identifying native plant species and sharing resources, he said.

Source: UW-Stevens Point