Robert “Bob” Dunlap
Feb. 5, 1955 – Oct. 13, 2023
On Friday, October 13, 2023, our friend Robert “Bob” Dunlap died, a terrible loss to the Kentucky botanical community. Bob loved nature and his love for the natural world was evident in how he spent his time. Bob liked to say of himself that he was “an amateur naturalist living near Paducah who owns every Peterson Field Guide that was ever published”.
In 2005, Bob was awarded the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission Volunteer Steward of the Year. He was a longtime member of the Kentucky Native Plant Society. He wrote several articles on native plants that were published in scientific journals and the KNPS Lady Slipper newsletter (see a list of his Lady Slipper articles at the end of this memorial). Bob was a wonderful nature photographer and you can see some of his photographs at his iNaturalist Observations page. Bob was also a certified Master Naturalist. He loved to share his knowledge by giving presentations on native plants and leading nature walks in the area. He was a self-taught botanist who found new locations for rare plants and assisted in plant surveys (with state nature preserves botanists beginning over 20 years ago). Recently he was researching management strategies for a rare lily species, re-visiting the populations to determine whether light, competition or other factors are causing decline, to determine the best long term conservation strategy.
Continue reading Bob Dunlap (1955-2023)
