He also holds an Affiliate Professor of Forest Ecology position in the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (SNRAS) at UAF, as well as research associate appointments with the Institute of Arctic Biology and the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

Elbert L. Little, Jr., died in 2004 after a distinguished career as senior scientist and chief dendrologist with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C. He was an authority on both North American and tropical trees. Among his more than twenty books on trees are the five-volume Atlas of United States Trees (1981) and the popular Audubon Field Guide to North American Trees. Dr. Little was coauthor of the 1950 edition of the Pocket Guide to Alaska Trees and made several extended field trips to Alaska during the preparation of Alaska Trees and Shrubs.

"A splendid introduction to one of Alaska's real treasures, its plant cover."
--Ecology

"The second updated edition of a definitive work on the woody plants of Alaska updates an edition that has been the standard on the topic for over three decades. Any collection specializing in Alaska botany must have this: it completely revises information and provides updates on habitat and taxonomy plus offers a centerfold of color photos in addition to the black and white drawings throughout. Descriptions of leaves, twigs, bark, wood appearance, flowers, habitat and distribution make for invaluable study and reference."
--The Midwest Book Review

"An excellent reference [that] belongs in the botanist's library or in the library of anyone interested in landscaping indigenous plants. It's also good for people who just want to tell one tree from another."
--Alaska Magazine

"A book of very high quality [that] should be a constant companion of both researchers and interested naturalists who enjoy the delightful offerings of western North American northlands."
--Arctic