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We're tasked by the state with responding to wildfires. We study weather patterns, drought cycles and the status of vegetation across the state to predict when and where dangerous fire conditions may occur. Should a wildfire ignite, we maintain a statewide network of strategically-placed teams of firefighters and equipment so that we're able to respond quickly when the call comes.
Rural fire departments respond to 80 percent of wildfires in Texas - and they do it with shoestring budgets and almost entirely with volunteers. We help fire departments pay for needed training and equipment and help Texans learn how to prevent, prepare for and protect against wildfire.
With roughly 94 percent of forestland in Texas privately owned, the trees, forests—and the benefits they provide - rests in the hands of thousands of Texans. While keeping the entire state's forested landscape in mind, we inform and educate landowners on sustainable land management practices.
We work with communities to plant, care for and conserve trees. We empower local volunteers to make a positive impact in their communities. We are here to assist when disaster strikes with damage assessments, information, technical assistance and long-term recovery.
We analyze and monitor forests, landscapes and communities for susceptibility to health and wildfire risks. We take action with education, information, diagnosis and treatment. We know that any information we have is more powerful when we give it to you.
We can help quench your thirst for learning. Explore links to identify trees using their leaves and branches, create your own tree trails and experience Texas history from the perspective of a witness tree. Share activities in the classroom to open up a world of conservation for new generations.
Rural fire departments respond to 80 percent of the wildfires in Texas - and they do it with shoestring budgets and a staff often made up almost entirely of volunteers. Sometimes they need a little help. Our programs help fire departments pay for needed training and equipment. We also help communities and property owners learn to prevent, prepare for and protect against wildfire.
We work with communities to plant, care for and conserve trees where people live, work and play. We foster appreciation and stewardship of urban forests empowering local volunteers to make a positive impact in their communities. We are here to assist when disaster strikes. From damage assessment, to information and technical assistance, to long-term recovery - we help property owners and communities thrive.
Our experts research, analyze and carefully monitor forests, landscapes and communities for susceptibility to health and wildfire risks. We take action with education, information, diagnosis and treatment. We know that any information or knowledge we have is more powerful when we give it to you. As a state agency, our responsibility is share what we know.
If you have an unquenchable thirst for learning, we offer programs and information that you may either explore independently or share with a group. Learn about trees, forests, the benefits they provide and the challenges they face. Read stories about trees that are living witness to Texas history. Locate champion trees across the state. And bring activities into the classroom to open a world of conservation to a new generation.
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Texas A&M AgriLife awards TFS forester for public service
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M AgriLife has awarded Andrew Crocker, Staff Forester for Texas A&M Forest Service, the 2017 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Public Service in Forestry.
The award was presented Jan. 9 at the AgriLife Conference on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.
Crocker is one of 15 foresters in Texas responsible for conducting data collection for the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, a census for trees, upon which many forest management programs and decisions are made across the nation.
FIA relies on technical precision and verifiable accountability. Both are strong traits that Crocker demonstrates on a daily basis and has done so for Texas A&M Forest Service for the past eight years, holding the highest accuracy rate in the state at 99 percent.
“Throughout Drew’s tenure with the agency, he has consistently delivered FIA and other agency programs with the highest degree of professionalism and service oriented work ethic expected of a TFS forester,” said Texas A&M Forest Service FIA Program Leader Chris Brown.
The work of FIA is almost as much about people as it is about science. Stationed at the state agency’s office in Kerrville, Texas, Crocker has used both his technical and people skills as he traversed Central and West Texas establishing and measuring FIA plots. With approximately 94 percent of the state being owned by private landowners, accessing plots is a task that takes the ability to communicate and relate to others, gaining their trust and giving respect.
“I would send Drew out to represent TFS to any audience. His demeanor, competence and pleasant personality does the agency’s positive image well,” said Texas A&M Forest Service Department Head for Sustainable Forestry and Economic Development Burl Carraway.
Being experienced in rural FIA work, Crocker was assigned to the team that pioneered FIA in urban areas in 2014. Crocker helped install plots in the Austin, Texas, the first city in the nation to complete an Urban FIA survey. Information gathered through this program helps provide a depiction of forests spanning from a community’s urban core to far rural areas, vital to urban planning and forest management.
With 29,000 FIA plots spanning the Lone Star State, there is no shortage of work to constantly re-measure plots showing change in both our rural and urban forests over time. According to his Texas A&M Forest Service colleague David Shannon, Crocker is up for the task, “he loves his job and is very respectful of what it represents as stewards of this great state’s natural resources.”
Carraway agrees, “Drew is very deserving of this award.”
The Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence were established in 1980 to recognize the commitment and outstanding contributions of faculty and staff across Texas A&M AgriLife and provide opportunity to celebrate the achievements of those honored. Learn more at https://agrilifeawards.tamu.edu.
Left to right: Texas A&M Agrilife Vice Chancellor Dr. Mark Hussey, Texas A&M Forest Service Staff Forester Andrew Crocker, Texas A&M Forest Service Director Tom Boggus.
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Contacts
Chris Brown, Texas A&M Forest Service FIA Program Leader, 979-458-6650, cbrown@tfs.tamu.edu
Texas A&M Forest Service Communications, 979-458-6606, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu
Come to the 2019 Tax Workshop!
In addition to fighting wildfires, Texas A&M Forest Service is called upon to assist during all-hazard emergencies such as natural and man-made disasters and domestic situations. Follow @AllHazardsTFS on Twitter for the latest updated on incidents across the state.
The Bastrop Lost Pines Recovery AggieREPLANT will take place on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. Over the past five years, 2,000 students have planted 43,000 loblolly pine seedlings over 50 acres of parkland.
Texas A&M Forest Service launches online tools to assist Texas landowners Texas A&M Forest Service launched the Learn Plan Act Texas website in partnership with the Southern Group of State Foresters and the Texas Forestry Association to educate Texans on land stewardship practices. The agency also redesigned its My Land Management Connector application in an effort to make stewardship easier than ever before.
Texas A&M AgriLife awards TFS forester for public service Texas A&M AgriLife has awarded Andrew Crocker, Staff Forester for Texas A&M Forest Service, the 2017 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Pubic Service in Forestry.
Texas A&M AgriLife awards forester for public service Texas A&M AgriLife has awarded Joel Hambright, Regional Forester for Texas A&M Forest Service, the 2018 Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Public Service in Forestry.