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  • NEWSROOM: TEXAS SOCIETY DAR AND TEXAS A&M FOREST SERVICE DEDICATE W.G. JONES STATE FOREST CONSERVATION AREA

    April 24, 2023

    Texas Society DAR and Texas A&M Forest Service dedicate W.G. Jones State Forest Conservation Area

    CONROE, Texas — Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) held a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday at the W.G. Jones State Forest Conservation Area in Conroe.

    More than 100 people attended the event, which featured remarks from Texas Society DAR State Regent Marcy Carter-Lovick and Texas A&M Forest Service East Texas Operations Department Head Jake Donellan.

    The Texas Society DAR sponsored the 100-acre conservation area with funds generated from the 2022 sale of Jasper County forestland, which was acquired by the organization in 1929.

    During Sunday’s dedication ceremony, Carter-Lovick expressed her gratitude to Texas A&M Forest Service and the state of Texas for partnering with the Texas Society DAR to establish the conservation area on the 1,722-acre W.G. Jones State Forest.

    “It is an honor to support the preservation and conservation of our state's natural resources, and we are proud to sponsor this conservation area in the W.G. Jones State Forest,” Carter-Lovick said. “This is such a fitting step for the Texas Society in our continued efforts to promote conservation, and we look forward to what we can do here in Texas in partnership with Texas A&M Forest Service.”

    Donellan highlighted the importance of the conservation area for the red-cockaded woodpecker, a federally listed endangered species.

    “This conservation area will focus on improving the habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker, and we are proud to be partnering with Texas DAR in protecting this important species,” Donellan said.

    The W.G. Jones State Forest Conservation Area is owned by the state of Texas and maintained by Texas A&M Forest Service. The conservation area includes a wildlife viewing area and interpretive signs with information about the red-cockaded woodpecker and its habitat, as well as recovery efforts and ecosystem management practices.

    “To all who pause in this place, may this setting provide a moment of rest to contemplate the majesty and beauty of the forest around us,” Carter-Lovick said during the ceremony, “and the need to conserve our natural resources for the benefit of generations to come.”

    For more information about the W.G. Jones State Forest, visit https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/jones-state-forest.

    For a video about efforts to protect the red-cockaded woodpecker, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKY_0vlKZ5s.

    For photos of the dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAB2bF.

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    Contact:
    Jake Donellan, Texas A&M Forest Service East Texas Operations Department Head, jdonellan@tfs.tamu.edu, 936-875-4400
    Texas A&M Forest Service Communications Office, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu, 979-458-6606
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