It is a real honor to be meeting you here, virtually. I am excited to be joining the Georgia Forestry Commission team and I look forward to the time we can again freely congregate, shake hands and meet in person.

With one of the most challenging years of my career I can recall now behind us, my focus remains optimistic and hopeful – confident that brighter days are ahead. I am grateful to Governor Brian Kemp, GFC Chairman Larry Spillers and the Board of Directors for giving me the opportunity to serve as State Forester and Director of the Georgia Forestry Commission. Thank you also to the GFC employees who served during the search process, and to all of the employees who kept the agency functioning with efficiency and determination through the unforeseen challenges of 2020. Your service and leadership are hallmarks of this agency. To serve as Director, to lead the more than 550 dedicated men and women who work to ensure Georgia’s forests are protected and healthy, is a calling I am honored and eager to answer.

Stepping into my new role is a lot like “coming home” for me. I served the GFC as a field forester many years ago, after graduating from the University of Georgia with a forestry degree. In the years that followed, I’ve held various positions in private industry and public service, each of which have contributed to my passion for forestry and for servant leadership.

This is an especially notable time to be transitioning from one year to the next. Twenty-twenty-one marks an important milestone for our agency. We are celebrating 100 years of serving the state. During this centennial year we will be proudly reminiscing about the formidable events and individuals who have shaped the agency’s first century. And we’ll be stepping toward the future, by embracing new technology, methods and efficiencies, as we build on the expertise and experience gained in the past.

Protecting and conserving Georgia’s forest resources through leadership, service and education are the core principles upon which the agency has achieved great success in years gone by, and for which it must always stand. These are the principles to which I will be devoted as Director and State Forester. I’m convinced our best days are ahead. Together, let’s do all we can every day to protect and manage Georgia’s greatest natural resource – its forests!

Tim Lowrimore

Director & State Forester

January 19, 2021

4 thoughts on “Meet GFC’s Director: Tim Lowrimore

  1. Tim, I was excited to see you get the job of Director. You will do an excellent job because you started with them and know the workings of the organization. Good luck, God speed and well wishes to you.

  2. I was raised in the northwoods of Michigan and I know the value of trees. We live in Gainesville near Lula and we drive out the back way on Cagle Mill Rd to Hwy 52. We go by a fairly large tree near the mailbox at 4900 Cagle Mill Rd, I think it may be in the road right of way. However, it has a medium size chain with a lock around it about five feet up and I can see the chain cutting into the tree, I have cut down thousands of trees in my lifetime but I think this is likened to cruelty, when the bark is broken and the cambium layer is disturbed the tree is subject to disease and starvation possibly. As a tree lover, what is my job in this matter? I await your answer. Thank you and congratulations on your post.

  3. Tim,
    This is Bill Consoletti. I am proud you are the new State Forester. I am sure you will do a great job. I have moved to Florida to be closer to my daughter who lives in Orlando. I live in Groveland. Besides wishing you well, I wanted to get your input on a wood products project I am working on. Columbus is in the process of building a new government center. I do not know the timeframe of demolishing the existing one and building the new one but it is being talked about. I want the Columbus consolidated government to consider using CLT as a building material. I have contacted Mayor Skip Henderson about it since January of 2019 and have not gotten very far. I am going to reach out to Andres Villegas of the GFA and see if he would be a supporter of the project. I plan to find out who is on the construction design team the Mayor keeps referring my messages to which never get returned. I thought if I approach them directly and try to arrange a demonstration of CLT with WoodWorks, as well as a professor from Auburn, Brian Via, who is Director of the Wood Products Research group, I might make some headway in getting CLT at least looked at. What do you think about how I should go about getting a city government to consider a new sustainable wood product.

  4. Dear Director Lowrimore. I contracted and worked with Carnell Bryant on a controlled burn out of your Chattooga County office back in January 2021. I found Carnell to be a professional before, during and after his work was completed. He worked very hard, supervised the men on his crew and went the extra mile. Carnell did his job above my expectations and I would not hesitate to recommend and use him again.
    Always nice to see our government working with the same fervor and professionalism as the private sector.
    Parks Brown
    Chattooga LLC

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