Edward Smith

Forest Program Manager (joined TNC 1996)

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• M.S., 1997, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University
• B.A., 1983, Biology, University of California at San Diego

Edward leads forest habitat conservation, restoration, and climate change adaptation efforts for the Arizona chapter of The Nature Conservancy, working at statewide, landscape, and project level efforts to design and prioritize conservation action. Current and recent efforts include development of regional scale ecological vegetation models that are being used to set goals for National Forest planning efforts across 11 national forests in Arizona and New Mexico. He also co-designed and is helping implement the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI), a collaborative effort to restore 2.4 million acres of ponderosa pine forest, grasslands, and other ecosystems across the Mogollon Rim. Ed recently contributed to a west-wide effort to protect private working forests with development of a comprehensive strategy through the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition, and helped develop a statewide assessment and strategy for forest restoration with the Arizona State Forestry Department.

Trained as a forest ecologist and soil scientist, Edward has studied the response of rare understory plants to forest management and soil nutrient cycling in intact and disturbed forests of the SW, and the role of spatial soil nutrient distribution in greenhouse gas production. He has also worked for Northern Arizona University in the use of effluent in tree farms, and as an arborist in the San Francisco Bay area.