ASHEVILLE, N.C.—At their annual meeting today, the nation’s state and territorial foresters elected a new slate of officers to the National Association of State Foresters’ governing executive committee.
Greg Josten, state forester of South Dakota, will lead NASF as president in 2020. As the director of the South Dakota Department of Agriculture Resource Conservation and Forestry Division, Josten is responsible for the statewide delivery of all technical and financial forestry assistance programs on both public and private lands.
“It’s an honor and privilege to serve my colleagues as president of NASF as we begin our centennial year as an organization,” Josten said. “For the last 100 years, this partnership of state foresters has worked to ensure the future of America’s forests. During the next year, we will continue our work to enhance the social, economic, and environmental benefits of trees and forests.”
Josten, a certified forester, began his career as a forestry contractor with the Wyoming Division of Forestry. After a few years, he moved to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture where he worked as fire manager, Forest Stewardship program coordinator, and supervisor of the state’s rural forestry, urban and community forestry, and forest health programs. Josten has been state forester of South Dakota since 2014 and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in forest resource management and a Master of Science degree in forest science, both from the University of Montana.
NASF also elected Joe Fox, state forester of Arkansas, as the association’s new vice president and Chris Martin, state forester of Connecticut, as its new treasurer. Each will serve a twelve-month term.
Media Contact: Whitney Forman-Cook at wforman-cook@stateforesters.org or 202-624-5417