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  • NEWSROOM: LONGTIME FORESTER JACOB DONELLAN NAMED NEW EAST TEXAS OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT HEAD FOR TEXAS A&M FOREST SERVICE

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    July 20, 2020

    LUFKIN, Texas—Jacob Donellan, former regional forester at Texas A&M Forest Service, was promoted to East Texas Operations Department Head at Texas A&M Forest Service. The East Texas Operations Department provides the crucial forest resource development and protection needed to keep the Texas pineywoods region safe and productive.

    Donellan replaced Wes Moorehead who was promoted to Assistant Director of Forest Resource Protection. As East Texas Operations Department Head, Donellan commands East Texas Operations and will drive the agency’s forestry and firefighting efforts in the region.

    “The job of the East Texas Department Head is to ensure that we’re meeting the agency’s two primary missions: to conserve and protect the natural resources for the state,” said Donellan. “East Texas Operations is the agency’s single source for both missions, and that’s what I love about it.”

    Fulfilling that mission requires the personnel in East Texas Operations—which covers 54 counties and 12 million forested acres—to provide technical guidance to landowners, teach conservation education in schools, monitor forest health, work with local communities on urban forestry and respond to wildfires and other all-hazard emergencies in East Texas and across the state.

    Donellan’s 20-year career with the agency has prepared him for the expansiveness of his department’s mission. East Texas Operations is divided into three regions—north, central and south—and Donellan has lived and worked in all three.

    Donellan started with the agency in 2000 as the Best Management Practices (BMPs) forester in Linden, Texas before moving into the district forester role for Huntsville. He most recently served as the regional forester for East Texas Operations’ central region.

    As one of three regional foresters, Donellan was in charge of over 40 personnel in a six-district area—or about one-third of East Texas. His new leadership role is a much broader position that includes driving the direction of East Texas Operations.

    “We’ve been doing East Texas Operations for over 100 years, so it has been sharpened to a very fine point in terms of program delivery,” said Donellan. “What I’m interested in and what my goals are for East Texas are to continue to deliver the highest quality programs in the agency and also continue to be innovative when we can.”

    Donellan is taking up the mantle at the cusp of a new generation of landowner, and he’s ready to meet them where they are.

    “We’ll still conduct the person-to-person site visits but will leverage technology to start those conversations as opposed to landowners walking in the door, which is traditionally how those conversations are initiated,” said Donellan.

    Current initiatives underway include the buildout of a one-stop land management application and development of digital management plans. The agency recently launched a web application, “My Land Management Connector,” that connects landowners with quality land management service providers as well as neighboring landowners to save on the cost of land management services.

    “We’re meeting the next generation of landowners where they are,” said Donellan. “And that may shift the way we do business, but that won’t shift the business that we do.”

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    Note: Former East Texas Operations Department Head, Wes Moorehead, was promoted to Assistant Director of Forest Resource Protection. In this role, Moorehead will shadow the current Associate Director of Forest Resource Protection and Texas Fire Chief, Mark Stanford, to ensure a smooth transition in the coming years.

    Contacts:
    Jacob Donellan, East Texas Department Head, (936) 546-1383, jdonellan@tfs.tamu.edu
    Texas A&M Forest Service Communications Office, 979-458-6606, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu
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