September 29 – Maine State Forester Patty Cormier has been elected president of the National Association of State Foresters, a major milestone at a critical time for agencies that oversee forest resources in the United States.
Cormier has worked with the Maine Forest Service for more than two decades and has been Maine’s top forest ranger since 2019, the service said in a statement Friday.
She is the first Maine State Forester elected to national office since Austin Wilkins 59 years ago. She will serve a one-year term at a time when state forest managers are facing growing challenges related to climate change, invasive pests and wildfire management.
“This is a critical time for forest conservation,” Cormier said. “I look forward to working with state forest managers from across the country to raise their voices and work with partners to find answers to the challenges we all face.”
Cormier graduated from the University of Maine’s forest management program and worked as a landowner forester for the Georgia Pacific Corp. before joining the Maine Forest Service. She was a strong advocate of forest management and fire prevention and served on several forestry committees across the country.
“Patty’s contributions to forestry in Maine and nationally make her very well qualified to lead (the association) in the coming year,” said Amanda Beal, head of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Since its founding in 1920, the association has promoted the protection, conservation and sustainable management of state and private forests, which comprise two-thirds of the country’s forested areas.
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