Bleckley County Tree Farmer and Georgia Forestry Association member Earl Barrs has been nominated to serve on the Agriculture Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB).
According to the EPA, the committee will provide advice to the chartered SAB on matters referred to the board that EPA and the board, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, determine will have a significant direct impact on farming and agriculture-related industries. In addition to Barrs, University of Georgia researcher Dr. Stanley Culpepper and Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) Plant Industry Division Director Tommy Gray were also nominated to serve on the committee.
Barrs, a native of Cochran, has more than 35 years of experience in wildlife and land conservation projects, timber management and land acquisitions, and he has committed years of leadership in the forest sector both public and private. As a professional forester, real estate broker and certified appraiser, Earl currently owns and manages several companies focusing on forestry and real estate investments in the Southeast. He and his wife Wanda also own and manage Gully Branch Tree Farm in Cochran, GA.
The EPA is accepting comments on candidates for the committee. Comments should be submitted to Stephanie Sanzone, Designated Federal Officer, no later than Sept. 8 at sanzone.stephanie@epa.gov.