New Regional Director Selected to Guide Cooperative Forestry Programs for the USDA Forest Service, Southern Region
Tom Darden, a 30-year wildlife and natural resource management veteran, has been tapped to oversee the USDA Forest Service, Southern Region's, Cooperative Forestry Program, which assists private forest owners in 13 southern states.
Mr. Darden, who has headed the Region’s Biological and Physical Resources Unit for the last seven years, has been named Director for Cooperative Forestry. He replaces Jim Ehlers who now serves as the Regional Healthy Forest Restoration Act Specialist. The position is located in the Region’s Atlanta headquarters.
Darden is greatly anticipating his new assignment. “I am looking forward to using my experience from building partnerships and coalitions for national forest management to now address land conservation challenges facing southern private landowners,” said Darden. “Meshing management goals on both public and private lands is the best way to redeem our conservation mission in the South.”
More than 5.5 million private landowners oversee 89 percent of the South’s forested land base, he said. Working through the State Foresters, the Cooperative Forestry Programs assist landowners in achieving their resource objectives on their forestland.
Southern Regional Forester Bob Jacobs lauded the selection.
“Tom has amassed a wealth of experience in building and mobilizing effective relationships and partnerships to meet conservation goals that enhance natural resources and wildlife on national forests. We’re looking forward to him applying those leadership skills to our efforts to assist private landowners in achieving their land conservation goals.”
A Mississippi native, Darden’s Forest Service career has traversed the Southeast. He served 11 years on seven ranger districts on the National Forests in Mississippi. He later served as the Regional Program Manager for Wildlife at Southern Region Headquarters, Atlanta. He was later selected as a national Congressional Fellow and subsequently served as the Assistant Director for Wildlife Management at the Forest Service National Headquarters in Washington DC.
Darden earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry and a master’s degree in wildlife ecology at Mississippi State University. Recognized as a national leader in wildlife conservation, he maintains memberships in an array of regional and national conservation organizations, including the Wildlife Society and the Society of American Foresters.
Darden reports to his new post in mid December.
