About Leo Drey '34

The late Leo Drey '34 was best known in the state of Missouri as an environmentalist landowner. He established the nearly 160,000-acre Pioneer Forest to demonstrate that Ozark forests could produce a continuous supply of timber and still maintain a range of environmental values. When he purchased his first tract of land in 1951, clear-cutting methods had left the landscape sparse and scraggly. Mr. Drey adopted a philosophy of sustainable land management—that is, selectively cutting trees as they reach maturity and maximum value. The theory, which has proven true, was that a lighter touch to logging could produce a profit while retaining the natural beauty of the forest, reducing soil erosion and preserving wildlife habitats. Mr. Drey also bought and turned over for public use thousands of acres of the state’s most pristine natural areas.Several years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Drey relinquished their title as the state’s largest landowners by donating nearly all of the Pioneer Forest to a foundation, which will care for Mr. Drey’s forest in perpetuity.