The 2019 Tennessee Forestry Association (TFA) Annual Meeting was held this week in Knoxville, Tennessee.  TFA and the Tennessee Tree Farm Program asked Austin Carroll to speak on behalf of Southern Forestry Consultants (SFC) and Wiregrass Ecological Associates (WEA) regarding ongoing landscape management planning efforts in the Southeast and implications for the upcoming Tennessee plan. Mr. Carroll, a Registered Forester who led the development of the initial American Tree Farm System (ATFS) Landscape Management Plan (LMP), has led the creation of state-wide LMPs in Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida.   SFC and WEA will continue to lead the creation of these plans during 2020 in Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia.

LMPs are currently being developed and utilized in numerous states as a tool to help navigate one of the biggest barriers to landowner forest certification, the management plan itself. The SFC/WEA team are developing this innovative tool to meet standards for both ATFS and the Forest Stewardship Program.  Additionally, these LMPs are designed to strengthen the critical bond between a landowner and their natural resource professional, which research indicates leads to active forest management. Mr. Carroll presented on lessons learned during the development of LMPs throughout the Southeast and how those lessons will help in the development of Tennessee’s LMP.

 

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The Tennessee Forestry Association (TFA) serves as “The Voice of Forestry” in Tennessee. TFA is a private, non-profit organization primarily funded through membership dues. It began more than 50 years ago under the name of “Keep Tennessee Green” and was organized to assist in reducing the tremendous toll taken by forest fires each year throughout the state. TFA continues to work with state and national government agencies to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the forests of Tennessee through a diversity of public relations, government, and educational programs.

Wiregrass Ecological Associates (WEA) Mississippi Area Manager Alex Harvey was recently selected as a member of the 2019-2020 cohort of the Mississippi Black Leadership Institute (MBLI) which is held annually by One Voice, a civic engagement, non profit organization working to democratize public policy.  MBLI is an invitational institute for emerging leaders from various disciplines across the state of Mississippi, who participate in a nine-month curriculum of civic engagement, public policy and governance, state history, and relationship development.  It is an effort to prepare and produce a cadre of informed, socially conscious transformative leaders and public servants.   Graduates of MBLI will help to advance, advocate and articulate an agenda of equity in their respective communities.

The opening session for Mr. Harvey’s MBLI cohort was held August 8th to 11th in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus’ Mississippi Policy Conference in Tunica, Mississippi. The Tunica Policy Conference which celebrated its 20th year is a national event which brings elected officials and civic leaders from all over the country to the Mississippi Delta.  The Conference also included the Bennie G. Thompson Sporting Clays Challenge an annual event hosted in partnership with Ducks Unlimited.

Alex, a graduate of Mississippi State University’s College of Forest Resources, is also a Forester with Southern Forestry Consultants and owns Legacy Land Management, LLC (LLM). LLM is a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) in Mississippi and Louisiana and Certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) with the Mississippi Development Authority. Alex is also a 2017 alum of the Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership Mississippi development program.

 

Wiregrass Ecological Associates (WEA) staff presented as invited faculty at the 33rd Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School in Marco Island, Florida. The event, put on by the Florida Environmental Network, attracts more than 850 attorneys, consultants, officials, and landowners and is an excellent opportunity for professionals in a variety of fields to increase their knowledge on rules, regulations and ongoing projects in the environmental and ecological fields.

Austin D. Carroll and George Fullerton authored a presentation about the effects of Hurricane Michael on threatened and endangered species.  Mr. Fullerton presented these findings during the “Successful Applications of Imperiled Species Management Practices” session. Hurricane Michael caused widespread damage throughout northwest Florida in 2018.  This includes significant impacts to populations and/or habitat for gopher tortoises, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and flatwoods salamanders. Through early action and continued management, natural resource professionals have sought to mitigate damages caused by this storm and develop strategies for recovery.  This presentation documented findings from public and private land managers across the impacted areas and how these lessons can help improve resiliency in the future. 

If you were unable to attend the conference or missed our presentation, please feel free to contact us at corporate@wiregrasseco.com with any questions or to request a copy.

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Mr. Carroll is the President of WEA and has served on the Environmental Permitting Summer School faculty for the last 10 years. He has extensive experience with imperiled species management and conservation across the Southeast.  He currently serves as Program Manager for the Apalachicola National Forest Gopher Tortoise Research and Recipient Site.

Mr. Fullerton is a Wildlife Biologist who holds a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries from the University of Georgia and a MS in Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture from Auburn University.  At WEA he works extensively with threatened and endangered species projects across the Southeast, dealing primarily with red-cockaded woodpeckers and gopher tortoises.

The Society of American Foresters (SAF) President John W. McMulty has appointed Austin D. Carroll to serve as a member of the SAF Committee on Forest Policy (CFP).  Founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot, the SAF is the national scientific and educational orgnization representing the forestry profession in the United States.  SAF has a 12,000-member community that has held true to its original objective to bring forestry and natural resources professionals together and keep them informed about the latest advances in forest science and management.  The CFP is an advisory group tasked with developing and revising SAF’s national position statements, and advising the Society’s Government Affairs and External Relations Team on legislative and administrative proposals. CFP members are selected based on their professional background and expertise from diverse and representative geographic areas and work in positions throughout the broad field of forestry.

Mr. Carroll, a partner at Southern Forestry Consultants and Vice-President of its environmental subsidiary, Wiregrass Ecological Associates, has been a member of SAF since 2001.  He holds a BS and MS from Mississippi State University in Forestry and Wildlife and Fisheries Science, respectively. He earned his MBA from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida.  Mr. Carroll has spent his career identifying and resolving natural and water resources management and policy issues, especially those in forestry and forested ecosystems.  Mr. Carroll’s appointment to the SAF CFP will run through December 31, 2021.

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The mission of the Society of American Foresters is to advance sustainable management of forest resources through science, education, and technology; to enhance the competency of its members; to establish professional excellence; and to use our knowledge, skills, and conservation ethic to ensure the continued health, integrity, and use of forests to benefit society in perpetuity. – www.eforester.org