Mike is the Minton Professor of Forestry in The Arthur Temple College of Forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Forestry in 1973. He has authored/edited eight books and manuals and has presented numerous papers and workshops on subjects ranging from Wilderness Management to Environmental Interpretation. He has been at SFA for 30 years teaching and doing research in the areas of Park and Wilderness Planning and Environmental Interpretation. For thirteen of those years he worked summers as a back country guide for American Wilderness Leadership School near Jackson WY. Dr. Legg is a Fellow in the National Association for Interpretation (NAI), Chair of the Recreation Working Group of the Society of American Foresters, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Texas Forestry Museum, and Co-State Director of the Texas State Envirothon. His interests include studying the historic uses and folklore of trees and the role of forests in world history.

He and his wife of 37 years, Hettie, live on a six acre woodlot with its own nature trail and water garden. When they are not at home they are either visiting the grandkids or traveling.

Research

1. A visitor/recreation marketing plan for the National Forest in Texas.
2. Redesign and interpretation of a self-guiding universally assessable nature trail for the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.
3. An environmental education program entitled“Life in the Forest” designed for middle school children in Texas.
4. Examining the characteristics recreation participation on National Forests by Hispanic Texans

Teaching

Selected Publications

Rideout, S., & Legg, M. H. (2000). Factors limiting minority participation in interpretive programming. Journal of Interpretation Research, 5(1), 53-58.

Civitarese, S. R., Legg, M. H., & Zuefle, D. M. (1997). More thoughts on the differences between environmental interpretation and environmental education. Legacy: The magazine of the National Association for Interpretation, 8(6), 28-29.

Burde, J., & Legg, M. H. (1997). Wilderness and natural areas in eastern North America. The International Journal of Wilderness, 3(1), 14-17.