Arkansas State Forester Joe Fox was elected president of the National Association of State Foresters at the association’s annual meeting this week.
Fox directs the Forestry Division of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. He joined the Division in May of 2012. Prior to his appointment as state Forester, he was the director of conservation forestry for the Arkansas Field Office of The Nature Conservancy where he directed and promoted conservation forestry project development, conservation planning, and forest land acquisition throughout the state.
“I am honored to represent State Foresters and Arkansas as President of NASF,” Fox said in a news release. “Wise forest management and safe wildland fire operations are central to our collective work and dependent on our collective capacity. My greatest hope for this year is that we are able to build greater collaboration and communication within the forestry community. Together we can achieve so much more for our forested landscapes.”
Joe Fox
Fox is a native Arkansan who worked as a procurement forester in a family-owned lumber business in Pine Bluff and Sheridan for more than 20 years. He is a former president of the Arkansas Forestry Association and former chairman of the Arkansas Forestry Commission.
He previously served as the vice president of National Association of State Foresters and is the chair of its Forest Resource Management Committee. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from North Carolina State University in forestry and agricultural economics.
As his first order of business, Fox appointed the following National Association of State Foresters members to chair the association’s foundational committees:
• Forest Markets Committee
Scott Bissette, Assistant Agriculture Commissioner for the North Carolina Forest Service
• Forest Resources Management Committee
Forrest Boe, State Forester for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources-Division of Forestry
• Forest Science and Health Committee
Rob Davies, State Forester for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation-Division of Lands and Forests
• Urban and Community Forestry Committee
John Erixson, State Forester for the Nebraska Forest Service
• Wildland Fire Committee
George Geissler, State Forester for the Washington Department of Natural Resources
