 United
States Department of Agriculture -
Forest Service |
 Southern Research Station200 W.T. Weaver Boulevard Asheville, NC 28804 |
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 Dr. Jim Reaves |
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New leadership at Forest Service research facility
Asheville,NC -- The Forest Service has made a change in leadership at the Southern Research Station. Dr. Peter J. Roussopoulos retired on January 3 after 15 years as station director and 40 years of federal service. Replacing him is Dr. Jim Reaves, who returns to the South after nearly a decade in the AgencyÂs national research office, where he served as budget director, staff director for vegetation management research, and associate deputy chief A research pathologist by training, Reaves earned a B.S. from Voorhees College and a Ph.D. from the former Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). He started the southern part of his career on the campus of Alabama A&M University, where he held two positions, as a project leader for the Southern Station and as USDA liaison to Alabama A&M. He was later promoted to assistant station director for planning and applications at Station headquarters in Asheville before being tapped for the assignment at the national office. The Southern Station serves the 13 Southern States and beyond as part of the Agency's Research & Development program- the leading organization for research on natural resource management and sustainability in the United States. Organized into research work units with supporting technical, professional, and administrative personnel, the StationÂs 130 doctorate-level scientists work at federal laboratories, universities, and experimental forests throughout the region in disciplines ranging from genetics to hydrology to social sciences. At an introductory meeting with Station employees, Reaves stressed that he is returning to a landscape greatly changed from the one he left. Early in the decade, a Station-led assessment of forest resources raised concerns about increasing urbanization and fragmentation of forest land. Since then, the natural resources community has been less concerned with questions of harvesting and more concerned about keeping forest land under forest cover. To that end the Station is embarking on a futuring project in partnership with the Southern Group of State Foresters, southern universities, the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, and other Forest Service organizations in the South. Like the original assessment, the futuring effort will engage experts and interested citizens - this time in developing a range of possible futures for each of the major ecoregions of the South, and then defining a range of approaches and tools for addressing the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities inherent in each scenario. Leading the Station and its partners in the futuring effort will be one of Reaves' biggest challenges for the remainder of this decade. "I am elated to be selected as the director of the Southern Research Station. I look forward to returning to the Southern Station and working with such an esteemed group of world-class scientists and dedicated and talented administrative and support staff. I believe that the Southern Station is well-positioned to conduct innovative research that will provide the science to address the complex natural resources issues facing the southeast and the entire nation." Reaves reported to his new position on January 14.
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