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. The East Texas Operations Department provides the 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 a six-district area—or about one-third of East Texas.
Herrin joined TFS in 2006 while in college, first working with the tree improvement program and then serving on the TFS fuel crew. In 2011, Herrin was hired full-time as a training forester before assuming the district forester role in Huntsville. Most recently, he worked as the Hudson district forester before his promotion to regional forester in Nacogdoches.
In this 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 that the landowners are changing,” said Herrin. “We know that land is fragmenting. Granted, they’ve always been changing, and they’re going to keep changing. We just have to stay with them. We can’t get too far ahead or too far behind them to meet the mission of TFS.”
According to Herrin, the key to meeting the landowner’s needs is relationship building and remaining flexible.
“We offer what the landowner needs,” said Herrin. “What people forget is that we’re a very flexible organization. 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.”
