It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Douglas John Jager, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Forestry and Watershed Management, Humboldt State University.  Doug died on June 7, 2024, at his north Trinidad home with his loving family by his side.

Born in Oakland, California, on New Year’s Eve 1939, Doug boasted that he never had to go to school or to work on his birthday and that people across the nation celebrated his special day.

The middle child of Cornelius and Anne Jager, Doug grew up in east Oakland living next door to his Dutch immigrant Vermeer grandparents at a time when it was safe to ride his bicycle around the area.  One of his favorite childhood adventures was to ride horses with his friend all over the Oakland Hills.  An industrious lad, Doug had a paper route, helped an electrician, worked for a medical supply company, pumped gas in a service station, and set tile with his dad.

After graduating from Fremont High School in Oakland, Doug attended junior college and then transferred to Humboldt State College where he majored in forestry.  On campus, in the dining room of the Nelson Hall dorm, he met Nancy Foster, an elementary education major from Ukiah, California.  They were married on August 13, 1961, at the Ukiah Methodist Church and had sixty-two wonderful years together.

Doug loved teaching and the interactions with his students.  He began as a teaching assistant in forest engineering during his junior year at Humboldt State.  After earning a Bachelor of Science in Forestry, he continued to teach in both forestry and watershed management while earning his Master of Science in Forestry.  He then went on to teach forestry at the University of Nevada while completing his PhD in Wildland Hydrology.  Doug returned to Humboldt State in 1973 as a professor of Forestry and Watershed Management and retired as Emeritus faculty in 2000.  He was known as a hard teacher, earning the nickname of “clear cut.”  He was not sure if it was because of his short haircut or his forestry philosophy.

Doug and Nancy, a retired elementary school teacher, have two wonderful children.  Christopher, a retired commercial fisherman and fishing boat captain, was born in 1967 in Arcata.  Doug passed down his love of fishing and firewood cutting to Chris.  Sally was born in 1969 in Reno, Nevada, and is a retired elementary school teacher.  Sally inherited Doug’s passion for horses at an early age.  Chris and Sally both took excellent care of their dad during his senior years and final days.

Throughout the years Doug had many hobbies.  He enjoyed riding his bicycle and motorcycle, driving his sports car and tractor, sailing his catamaran at Big Lagoon with his family, canoeing the local rivers and lagoons, and boating at Lake Tahoe and Big Lagoon.  Doug also loved surf, bass, trout, and ocean fishing, horseback riding at the local beaches, Trinidad State Park, and Redwood National Park, growing and selling Redwood tree saplings to the locals and tourists of Humboldt County, and sitting around the backyard pool reading, visiting, napping, and enjoying the beautiful outdoor surroundings of his home of over fifty years.  During their later years, Doug and Nancy traveled the western states in their motorhome and enjoyed cruises to Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii with family.

In 1985 Doug started 4-H TRAIL, a Humboldt County 4-H program, to provide therapeutic horseback rides to individuals with special needs.  With the help of countless volunteers, the program took place in the backyard of his north Trinidad property, widely known as Camelot Stables.  Doug enjoyed sharing his love for horses with others.  Doug was a fearless horseman and had a lot of great trail rides on his favorite bold horse named Bert.  Participants and volunteers of 4-H TRAIL will remember Doug’s entertaining stories about the “Molagoona’s” unique nesting habits in the woodshed and about their sneaky shenanigans in the surrounding Redwood trees in the Trinidad area.  The 4-H TRAIL program is still ongoing under the direction of Doug’s daughter Sally.  Doug had received the Horseman of the Year award from the Northern California Horseman’s Association for his dedication to 4-H TRAIL and the horse community.  In 1980 Doug opened a retail horse tack and equipment store called Camelot Tack.  He was well known for catering his inventory to the English equestrian and providing excellent customer service.  Somehow, in a small storefront at the stable, Doug managed to stock everything a horse person may ever need.  Doug was a forty-year Humboldt County 4-H Project Leader.  In 2008 he received the League of Women Voter’s award for contributions to the community.  

Doug was a registered professional forester and had worked on Redwood tree and watershed research and projects in Southern Humboldt and Northern Mendocino counties including the Mattole and Bull Creek areas.  A conservationist, he belonged to numerous groups including The Society of American Foresters, the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club, and the Audubon Society.  He was a founding member of CHERT, a Humboldt County team of scientists reviewing and making recommendations on gravel extraction on the Mad, Van Duzen, Smith, and Eel rivers.  Doug previously served on the local Trinidad Volunteer Fire Department and was a past president of Rural Trinidad.

Doug was preceded in death by his parents Cornelius and Anne Jager, stepfather Victor Fogh, older brother Clifford Jager, daughter-in-law Colleen Jager, in-laws Alfred and Vivian Foster, brother-in-law Martin Davis, and sister-in-law Linda Foster.

Doug is greatly missed by Nancy, his devoted and loving wife of sixty-two years, son Christopher Jager (Greta Daniels), daughter Sally Friedley (Clifford), grandsons Travis Pederson (Candace), Aaron Friedley (Josephine Fodge), and Chris Friedley (Jasmine Collins), his younger brother William Jager (Sharon), sister-in-law Odette Jager (Clifford), Nancy’s siblings Susan Davis, Tom Foster, and Bonnie Snearly (Larry) as well as many adoring nieces, nephews, and cousins.

The family would like to express sincere thanks to the local medical community for many years of excellent care.  Special appreciation goes out to Sophia and her staff at Providence St. Joseph Home Health, as well as Dr. Larry Senffner, Dr. Steven Aussenberg, Dr. John Fjerstad, and Dr. Thomas Taylor and their staffs.

No services are planned.  A private family gathering will be held later.  In lieu of flowers, donations to honor Doug may be made to 4-H TRAIL, 349 Stagecoach Road, Trinidad, CA 95570, or to a charity of your choice.  Feel free to skip a rock across a stream or lake, listen to Andre Rieu orchestra music, play a game of solitaire, chop some wood and build a fire in the wood stove, eat a bowl of ice cream, or take a horseback ride in Doug’s memory.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Douglas’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.