COEUR d'ALENE - John Schwandt is a forest pathologist.

What's that?

That means, basically, he spends his time studying sick, dying or dead trees. If they can be saved, he'll know.

If not ...

"I tell people about doing autopsies in the woods, but not on people, on trees," the Coeur d'Alene man said.

Over his 40-year career, Schwandt has written hundreds of professional and scientific papers and taught hundreds of foresters and woodland owners about the impacts and proper management of forest diseases.

Much is at stake.

"We lose a tremendous amount of volume, timber wise and ecologically," he said.

And this is where the Forest Service man steps in.

"If we can determine what's causing it, or what we can do to minimize those losses, I feel like we can make a big dent in the health of our forests," he said.

Others have noticed the 65-year-old's efforts.

Schwandt received the Outstanding Forest Pathologist Award at the annual Western International Forestry Work Conference held recently.

It recognizes his lifetime of dedication and achievements in forest pathology.

He accepted the plaque with pride and humility, as it is awarded annually by an international group of peers that include pathologists from Mexico and Canada as well as all the western U.S.

Presenters said "the award is the most prestigious that a professional forest pathologist can receive and is based on lifetime achievements in this important field of forestry."

You can win it just once.

"I was really fortunate to receive the award this year," Schwandt said. "It's really nice to be recognized by your peers."

"To have that kind of recognition is really flattering and humbling."

Schwandt, who grew up in Decatur, Ill., said North Idaho is blessed with a large variety of tree species that includes several types of fir, ponderosa pine and some larch.

"Unfortunately, the ones we have the most of now are not the ones that were here historically," he said.

Some 50 years ago western white pine was dominant, but today it's a small component in the forests.

The replacements are "much more susceptible to insect disease issues," he said.

North Idaho also has a problem with root disease, which pathologists like Schwandt refer to as "the hidden menace."

"You don't see it because trees don't die on a hillside all at once," he said, such as with a bark beetle outbreak or a fire.

"Over the last 10 years, we've lost more trees to root disease than we have insects or fire," he said.

Schwandt turns detective when called to investigate sick, dying or dead trees.

Sometimes, he'll know as soon at first glance whether the culprit is the bark beetle, blister rust, fungus or root disease.

Other cases are not clear cut.

If need be, he'll collect samples, head back to the lab and peer through a microscope.

Overall, North Idaho's forests are pretty healthy.

"Actually, around Coeur d'Alene it's pretty good," he said. "We call us the Teflon forest."

The area's variety of tree species give it the strength to withstand attacks of bark beetles or diseases, which tend to attack one species at a time.

"So if we have mix, one species goes out, the others fill in. You hardly notice it," he said.

Schwandt spent the first 15 years of his career as an Idaho forest pathologist and the past 27 years as a forest health specialist with the Forest Service in Coeur d'Alene.

During the past seven years, he has been the program coordinator for the Forest Health Protection Whitebark Pine Restoration Program.

"This program has provided partial funding for nearly 200 projects that have spent over $5 million in restoration of this critical high-elevation species," according to a press release.

During his work with the Idaho Department of Lands, he was the urban forestry coordinator and assisted Idaho communities in developing street tree inventories and becoming recognized for "Tree City USA" awards.

He has been a volunteer for nearly 40 years on the Coeur d'Alene Urban Forestry commission helping to evaluate potential hazard trees and develop management guidelines for the urban forest as well as Tubbs Hill.

Today, Schwandt resides in the Lake City with his wife of 44 years. His "backyard arboretum" with more than 200 species of trees and shrubs has been on the garden tour twice.

As he nears retirement, he looks back on his career knowing he treasured his time among with trees.

"Somebody once told me a wise saying, 'If you really like what you do, you never work a day in your life.' That's kind of how I feel about it."