Clemson University has named Wayne Phillips, a forester with 28 years of experience across all aspects of the forestry supply chain, as the new manager of the Clemson Experimental Forest.
Phillips takes over management of the forest after eight years as area marketing manager with Weyerhaeuser, a timber, land and forest products company that owns or manages 28 million acres of forestland.
Phillips is the seventh manager of the 18,000-acre forest since Clemson College began supervising the land in 1939 under an agreement with the federal government. Over nearly 100 years, careful management has transformed the land from depleted row crop farmland to a resource for teaching, research and outreach, as well as a valued community asset.
“The Clemson Experimental Forest is a unique blend of forest management, research, teaching and recreation. I am excited to have the opportunity to manage these three facets in tandem to maximize their impact,” Phillips said.
Before joining Weyerhaeuser, Phillips worked as recreational lease manager and senior resource forester with Plum Creek, and procurement forester with Georgia-Pacific. He earned a Bachelor of Science in forest resources from the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources in 1994.
“As we learn more about the astonishing biodiversity of the Experimental Forest, the continued careful management of its timber, recreation and research assets becomes essential. Wayne brings stability and expertise to our forest management, much in the tradition of our greatest forest managers,” said Rob Baldwin, director of the Clemson Experimental Forest.
Phillips’ hiring follows a vote by the Clemson University Board of Trustees on Oct. 18 to designate 3,265 acres of the forest as an ecologically sensitive zone.
The vote came after researchers at The Herbarium at Clemson University analyzed nearly 100 years of plant specimens collected from the forest. The data revealed that the forest’s biodiversity exceeds that of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an International Biosphere Reserve. The Clemson Experimental Forest is home to 44 rare species tracked by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and 17 species recommended for tracking.
Phillips will be joined by his wife, Elizabeth, and their three school-aged children, Alice, Cutler and Clint.
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