District of Columbia State Forester Earns Prominent Leadership Posts in State Forestry Community

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Monica Lear, Ph.D., the Deputy Director of Urban Forestry for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the District of Columbia State Forester has been elected by her peers to serve as President of the Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters. Dr. Lear has also been appointed to the 2012-2013 Executive Committee of the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), and will serve as the NASF Urban and Community Forestry Chair.

“Dr. Lear is an expert in her field and has made a tremendous contribution to our Urban Forestry Administration (UFA),” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “We are fortunate to have her on staff and it is no surprise to see her excel and be elected to prominent leadership positions on a larger stage.”

Established in 1920, the National Association of State Foresters is a non-profit organization comprised of the directors of forestry agencies in the states, territories and the District of Columbia. State Foresters manage and protect state and private forests, which encompass two-thirds of the nation's forests.

Dr. Lear joined DDOT in February 2007 and has helped Associate Director and Chief Arborist John Thomas shape UFA into a highly respected and successful administration. With a staff that includes 19 certified urban foresters, municipal specialists or utility arborists, UFA cares for approximately 140,000 street trees in the District, handles more than 11,000 requests for service annually for tree removal, pruning and storm damage. UFA is on track to plant 6,400 street trees in the 2012-13 planting season, the most ever for a single planting season.

Prior to joining the District Department of Transportation, Dr. Lear served as an urban horticulture extension agent in Arlington County, VA for Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech. Earlier in her career, she served as the Assistant Director of Horticulture and Quarantine Programs at the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry in Baton Rouge and as a horticulture county agent for the Louisiana State University AgCenter in New Orleans.

For more information about the Urban Forestry Administration, visit ddot.dc.gov/trees.