James L. Swiderski was a wildlife biologist who died while trying to help control the Mack Lake Fire after the U.S. Forest Service started it as a prescribed burn to create nesting habitat for the Kirtland's warbler. The fire then ravaged 25,000 acres of the Huron National Forest. He was a wildlife enthusiast who was personally involved with and dedicated to the Kirtland's warbler management and recovery effort.