Jordan Herrin, former Hudson district forester at Texas A&M Forest Service, was promoted to regional forester for East Texas Operations Department’s central region, which provides crucial forest resource development and protection needed to keep the Texas Pineywoods region safe and productive.
“My goal is to continue to push our agency’s mission and adapt to landowner’s needs,” said Herrin. “I also want to help us meet the increasing demands we have as responders to the state—whether that’s wildfires or hurricanes.”
Herrin replaced Jacob Donellan, who was promoted to department head of East Texas Operations. As one of three regional foresters, Herrin is in charge of over 40 personnel and 17 counties in the six-district central region.
Herrin joined Texas A&M Forest Service in 2006 while in college, first working with the tree improvement program and then serving on the fuel crew. In 2011, he was hired full-time as a training forester before assuming the district forester role in Huntsville and later in the Hudson district.
In his new role, Herrin plans to help shepherd necessary changes within the East Texas Operations Department to meet the shifting needs of the Texas landowner.
“We know the landowners are changing,” said Herrin. “Granted, they’ve always been changing, and they’re going to keep changing. We know that land is fragmenting, and we just have to stay with them. We can’t get too far ahead or too far behind them to meet the mission of Texas A&M Forest Service.”
According to Herrin, the key to meeting the landowner’s needs is relationship-building and remaining flexible.
“What people may not know is that we’re a very flexible organization,” Herrin said. “We offer what the landowner needs. We can easily go from working with a landowner one-on-one on their land to putting out wildfires and responding to hurricanes. As long as we keep a pulse check with the landowners and with the Texans we serve, then we’ll keep providing a valuable service to the state.”
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