Cochran, GA
For Gabe Outlaw, a forester in middle Georgia, there’s no such thing as an ordinary day, as everyday is different. Some days, he’s out burning off someone’s land, and others, like today, he’s working on this landowner’s management plan to get this property back to productivity. Whatever the day is though, you can count on him to take the role he plays in it very seriously.
“It’s a forty-billion-dollar industry in the state. Personally, I think my job at the local level is very important at the local level and hopefully even to a wider extent, regional, or hopefully a state level, but we interact with primarily landowners, but we work with them through tree planting. We give advice on tree planting, on harvesting, so, we have interactions with all sorts of contractors, loggers, tree planters, consulting foresters, county extension agents, and local federal partners. I really think we do make a tremendous difference. We certainly strive to help landowners do any and everything we possibly can to help them meet their goals,” says Outlaw, a forester with the Georgia Forestry Commission.
According to Outlaw, the work he does can be challenging at times, but says it’s extremely rewarding when he gets to see all of the work he does come to fruition.
“Probably, the most rewarding is to meet a landowner, have communications with them, give them advice, and then you know, we may write a stewardship plan for them, a ten-year plan. We may help them sign up for cost share programs, or do a prescribed burn for them, or get the county units involved to do fire breaks,” says Outlaw. “So, having that first contact with them, giving them advice, and following them throughout it, and just seeing the change of their property for the better, and even building a relationship with them that lasts for years, but just seeing your advice put into action by the landowners, you know, it’s a very rewarding feeling, knowing that they listen to you and that they take you seriously, and that your advice is being taken and ran with, and just seeing their property change, and hopefully educating them on things that they may not know, and helping them find the resources they need, and just watching their property continue to grow and be a manageable property they enjoy.”
As you can tell, Outlaw certainly has a dedicated passion for what he does. So much so that it’s helped him earn the title of Georgia Forester of the Year – an honor he says means the world to him that his hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.
“I’m very appreciative that the hard work we do, and I do, is noticed and appreciated. Last year and even this year, it’s been very, very busy. Just to see that work recognized, I was totally, totally surprised by that, but I’m just humbled. I’m appreciative. I enjoy my job, I enjoy the people I work with, and certainly, to me, it’s about helping the landowners and always finding a solution. So, just to see that add up and culminate at the end of year and result in the award of Forester of the Year, that’s certainly something I’m very proud of,” says Outlaw.
By: John Holcomb