FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2020
Jonathan Motsinger named new Central
Texas Operations Department Head at Texas A&M Forest Service
AUSTIN, Texas—Jonathan Motsinger, former West
Texas Nursery program leader at Texas A&M Forest Service, was promoted to Central
Texas Operations Department Head.
The Central Texas Operations Department
provides crucial forest resource protection. It serves the largest portion of
the state, covering both Central and West Texas, home to over 22 million
Texans. Central Texas foresters monitor forest health, work with local
communities on urban forestry, teach conservation education in schools, provide
technical guidance to landowners and help with restoration projects.
During his 14-year career with Texas A&M
Forest Service, Motsinger has served in multiple roles, giving him a broad
perspective of the agency.
Motsinger started with the agency in 2006 as a
Forest Inventory & Analysis forester in Corpus Christi. In 2009, he
transferred to the West Texas Nursery in Idalou, where he served as a regional
forester and then as the program leader for the next 11 years.
As the department head, Motsinger will drive
the mitigation efforts for wildfire, oak wilt, and invasive plants by building
on the department’s conservation initiative that incorporates components of
stewardship, oak wilt management, watershed protection and restoration and
wildfire prevention and mitigation. At the heart of these efforts is the landowner.
“Our mission as an agency is to serve
landowners and protect the forest resource,” said Motsinger. “And that’s what
we’re doing with our oak wilt mitigation efforts and general stewardship and
technical assistance that we offer in Central Texas.”
Motsinger faces adapting to a changing
landscape in Central Texas as the population increases and many residents leave
suburban areas in favor of rural life on subdivided “ranchettes,” increasing
the need for wildfire mitigation and prevention efforts.
“My primary goal is meeting the
needs of the landowners that we’re here to serve,” said Motsinger. “There are a
lot of new rural landowners or ranchette owners that don’t know what to do,
don’t know how to manage it, don’t know who to ask. That’s what we do.”
Monitoring forest health is one of the main
components of the Central Texas mission.
Oak wilt, one of the most destructive tree
diseases in the United States, is killing oak trees in Central Texas at
epidemic proportions. Central Texas foresters work with landowners and cities
to diagnose oak wilt and slow its spread.
“Oak wilt mitigation is what drives Central
Texas Operations,” said Motsinger.
Regions in Central Texas are also dealing with
an invasive tree pest, the emerald ash borer (EAB), that boasts a 99% ash tree
mortality rate. So far, the tree pest has been found in Harrison, Marion, Cass
and Tarrant Counties. Central Texas foresters set traps each spring to track EAB’s
spread. This year, EAB was also detected in Denton and Bowie Counties.
Having served as the program leader for the
West Texas Nursery, Motsinger is excited about continuing to be part of Central
Texas’ restoration efforts.
The Central Texas Restoration &
Recovery Program supports reforestation programs by providing landowners with
seedlings that will grow well in Central Texas. Each year, seed is collected
from native trees throughout Central Texas and grown at West Texas Nursery. These native seedlings are
ideal for landowners who have been affected by drought, wildfire,
flooding or diseases.
“Central Texas makes the agency better with
the work we’re doing. We’re here to provide technical assistance and advice for
Texans,” said Motsinger. “We’re who they call.”
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For
information about oak wilt, visit https://texasoakwilt.org/.
For
information about the emerald ash borer, visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/eab/.
For
information about the Central Texas Restoration & Recovery Program, visit https://bit.ly/3lBqUx6.
Photo Attached: Jonathan Motsinger, Texas A&M
Forest Service Central Texas Department Head
Contacts:
Jonathan Motsinger, Central Texas Department
Head, 512-339-6548,jmotsinger@tfs.tamu.edu Texas
A&M Forest Service Communications Office, 979-458-6606, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu