Forestry Management Specialist Preston Payne manages 10,000 acres of university-owned wooded lands spread across 27 sites throughout Alabama.

Like all the world’s forests, the 10,000 acres of wooded lands managed by Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment provide invaluable services: They generate income, ensure natural biodiversity and help purify water and air.

But as living laboratories and classrooms, those 10,000 acres spread across 27 sites throughout Alabama do even more.

As Preston Payne, the person responsible for managing these forestlands, explained, “These properties are important because they provide research and educational opportunities for professors, students and others.”

In addition to the value these forests provide to the Auburn community, researchers use these diverse sites to develop science-based solutions to challenges facing the forest industry and the environment. Forestry and wildlife professionals stay up to date on the latest best practices, landowners learn more about the best ways to manage their properties and Auburn students get hands-on experience that they’ll come to rely on as professionals and leaders.