Deputy Regional Forester Ken Arney Named Acting Regional Forester in the Southern Region
Atlanta August 31, 2017 - Tony Tooke, who recently stepped down honorably from his position of Regional Forester in the Southern Region to take up the mantle of Forest Service Chief, announced today that the current Deputy Regional Forester for State and Private Forestry and a former Tennessee State Forester Ken Arney will be the Acting Regional Forester in the Southern Region. He will serve as Acting Regional Forester until a permanent replacement is named. We are pleased to congratulate Acting Regional Forester Arney on this honor, and we look forward to working with him in this new role!
Ken Arney has served 45 years with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Department of Agriculture – Division of Forestry, and U.S. Forest Service. He has been Deputy Regional Forester for State and Private Forestry since 2001. He supervises nine Forest service units including Cooperative Forestry, National Tree Seed Laboratory, Fire and Aviation, including the Southern Area Coordination Center, Forest Health Protection Unit, Forest Health Alexandria Field Office, Forest Health Asheville Field Office and State and Private Forestry Planning and Budget Unit.
He has played key roles in the redesign of State and Private Forestry programs of the Forest Service so they are more responsive to forest threats and are more effective in conserving forests. He has also been a champion of large-scale protection and forest restoration efforts like America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative, Shortleaf Pine Restoration Initiative, and Keeping Forests as Forests. Ken has a very thoughtful leadership approach and expansive experience that will serve well with the wide-range of challenges facing the Forest Service, state foresters, private landowners, forest industry, and conservation organizations interested in forests.
Ken received a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1971 and is a member of the Society of American Foresters.