Barte Starker

Born March 12, 1950, Barte Starker grew up in Corvallis and graduated from Corvallis High School. In 1972 he graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor’s degree in forest management and followed his older brother, Bond, by going to work for Starker Forests, the timber company founded by their grandfather T.J. Starker. Both brothers were thrust into management roles earlier than expected in 1975 when their father, Bruce Starker, who by then was running the company, was killed in a plane crash. Together, the brothers grew the family business into one of the most respected private timberland owners in the state. Headquartered in Philomath, Starker Forests today has 22 employees and about 86,000 acres of standing timber in Benton, Linn, Lincoln, Lane and Polk counties. He served on the boards of the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, Oregon Natural Resources Education Fund, Keep Oregon Green, World Forestry Center and Western Forestry and Conservation Association (serving as president in 2005). Starker leaves a wife, Patricia; twin daughters, Wendy Starker Little and Sally Starker; and three grandsons, Simon Starker, Jack Little and Caleb Little.