Mark Irwin Borchert

Born: March 30, 1945
Died: October 22, 2022
Age at Death: 77 years


Mark Irvin Borchert, retired ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service and 16-year resident of Fawnskin, CA, died of pulmonary fibrosis on October 22, 2022 at the age of 77. Mark was born in Ely, Nevada on March 30, 1945 to Jessie McClure of Ogden, UT and Irvin Emmett Borchert of Cherry Creek, NV. He had two brothers, Douglas and Stephen, both deceased, and lived in Sacramento for much of his childhood and adult life.

Mark graduated from C.K. McClatchy High School in 1963, Sacramento City College in 1965, and UC Davis with a BS in Biological Sciences in 1967. He went on to earn an MS in Biology at California State University Sacramento and a PhD in Ecology from UC Davis in 1978. He volunteered with the Peace Corps in Brazil from 1978 to 1980.

A passionate protector of wildlife and the natural world, Mark spent his entire career at the Forest Service-26 years in the Los Padres National Forest and 6 years in the San Bernardino National Forest-until he retired in 2011. His research interests were fire ecology, seed dispersal, and vegetation classification. He continued publishing his research into retirement, authoring or co-authoring a total of 45 peer-reviewed articles, which were cited 1,161 times in the work of other scientists.

Mark had a playful, disarming sense of humor and an uncanny ability to provoke laughter in anyone who crossed his path. His deep humility, unconditional openness to others, and curious, observant nature made him a lifelong friend and confidant to many.

Mark is survived by his wife, Dev, to whom he was married 16 years, and his sons, Ian Borchert of Santa Barbara and Adam Borchert of Los Angeles, CA.

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