Heather Slayton
Heather Slayton
State Forester, Assistant Commissioner - Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Division of Forestry
Considerations in managing mature and old growth forests on non-federal lands in the United States
October 31, 2024 - 12:00 PM
Forest lands in the United States are owned primarily by private forest landowners who have a wide variety of forest management objectives and reasons for owning forests. Mature and old growth forests can be rare in the parts of the nation, yet some private landowners may wish to manage for this forest type. In this talk, Heather will discuss several considerations in managing for mature and old growth forests on non-federally owned forest land and their implications for the forest industry, climate resilience, and overall forest health.
Speaker Biography
Heather Slayton is the 10th State Forester/Assistant Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Division of Forestry (TDA-DF). She is responsible for directing the activities of the Division of Forestry in state forest management, wildfire prevention and suppression, reforestation, landowner assistance programs, forest health initiatives, urban forestry programs and forest inventory.
Heather is originally from Danville VA and has a bachelor’s degree in forestry from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in forestry from University of Tennessee. She enjoys educating people on the values of active forest management and working on her hobby farm in Rutherford County, TN.