The Virginia Department of Forestry has shifted from a county-based to a multi-county area-based agency under a reorganization plan that went into effect earlier this month.

Under this new plan, Gloucester resident Ken Sterner, forester for Middlesex, is now also responsible for Mathews, Gloucester and York counties, as well as the cities of Newport News and Hampton.

Sterner, 36, is a 2006 forestry graduate from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He has been the forester for Middlesex and lower King and Queen County since 2008. Prior to that, he worked in North Carolina for a timber procurement firm.

Sterner will move his primary location from Middlesex to Gloucester in the coming months so that he will be more centrally-located. Area forester Jeff Darr and forestry technician Nelson Jarvis will also remain in the Gloucester office.

Under the “Going Mobile” concept, the state agency will further embrace new and emerging technology to enable employees to work in a mobile environment instead of a physical office.

Sterner said the public will not see much difference once the new plan is in place and said there will be more opportunity for educational programs throughout the area. Sterner said such programs may include educating the public on the purpose behind timber cutting, why forestry has to be managed, why foresters need to manage forestry streams for water quality and more.

“Under the new reorganization, we will be able to give more time to those areas and definitely address the changing forestry issues that affect us,” Sterner said.

VDOF devised the reorganization plan to capitalize on efficiencies found in mobile technologies while, at the same time, reducing the need for general fund expenditures in support of agency operations during a time of decreasing state spending, according to a VDOF release.

“The county-based protection and service model served us fairly well for most of our 98-year history,” said State Forester Carl Garrison. “But with worldwide economic conditions being what they are for the past four years, this model was simply unsustainable. The citizens of Virginia need to know that we are here to protect them from the ravages of wildfire; ensure the quality of the state’s rivers and streams through proper forestry practices, and to meet their needs with regards to landowner services.”

Newly appointed Deputy State Forester Rob Farrell, who will oversee implementation of the reorganization, said that “by assigning a team of five to eight full-time VDOF employees to service areas comprised of three to seven counties, each jurisdiction will have better coverage and enhanced service. And, with the addition of the mobile technology, VDOF employees will be able to ‘take the office’ directly to the landowners who need assistance.”

The teams will each be led by one of 23 senior area foresters. These managers will be in the field working side by side with their team members to provide all-hazard response capabilities, fight wildfires, provide forest management assistance and ensure timber harvests do not pollute waterways, the release stated.

Full implementation of the Going Mobile plan will take several years. In the interim, residents will experience a “hybrid” system as several county offices are consolidated into one office per service area and the smartphone and laptop computer technology is launched.

“The complexity of these changes will likely mean that we will encounter some unanticipated issues along the way,” said Farrell. “We will do our best to minimize these issues, and we very much appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to protect and serve the citizens of the commonwealth.”

Sterner said he will be visiting local county administrators and boards of supervisors soon to introduce himself and provide more information about the reorganization plan.