Forest ecologist Jerry Franklin has made a career of straddling two sometimes very different worldviews — that of the ecologist and the forester.

The two professions historically didn’t see eye to eye, but Franklin, in his current role as a UW professor of environmental and forest sciences and previously as a forester with the U.S. Forest Service, has in his 60-year career found a way to integrate ecological and economic values into forestry. He is now a world-renowned leader in sustainable forest management.

The Washington, D.C.-based Pinchot Institute for Conservation recently awarded Franklin its Pinchot Medallion, which honors “an individual who has made extraordinary and valuable contributions to science or practice in environmental conservation and sustainable natural resources management.” The award is named for Gifford Pinchot, the first leader of the U.S. Forest Service and an advocate for conservation.

With the award, Franklin was invited to give a distinguished lecture to members of the Cosmos Club, a private club in D.C. whose members include political and scientific leaders. Among the many awards he has collected, this one is particularly significant, he said.