Forest Service Names Buscaino to Head Urban and Community Forestry Program

USDA Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth today announced the selection of Mark Buscaino, as the agency’s first director for its Urban and Community Forestry program.

“This new position adds a new voice to Forest Service leadership and demonstrates our commitment to caring for the land and serving people in urban and rural areas, and underserved communities,” said Bosworth.  “With his broad experience in urban and community forestry, I am confident that Mark will reinvigorate the program in the Forest Service.”

Prior to his current position as chief forester, District of Columbia, Buscaino was an urban forester for Fairfax County, Va. and city forester and parks supervisor for Takoma Park, Md.  Before that, he was deputy project manager of the Urban Forest and Education Program for the New York City Parks Foundation.

He served three years as a forestry program volunteer with the Peace Corps in Benin, West Africa.

“I am excited about joining the Forest Service and the opportunity to make positive contributions to urban, rural, and underserved communities across the country, ” said Buscaino.

Buscaino, a native of New Jersey, holds a master’s in forest resources management and silviculture from the State University of New York College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, Syracuse, N.Y., and a bachelor’s in marketing from the University of Maine, Orono, Maine.

Buscaino and his wife, Renuka, have a young daughter and reside in Silver Spring, Md. Buscaino reports Dec. 16.