Forrest Cobb

Forrest Cobb currently holds the position of Natural Infrastructure Coordinator within the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (ODASD) for Environmental Management and Restoration (EMR) on an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment. In this capacity, Forrest works within the Department of Defense (DoD) Environmental Planning and Conservation program where he develops ecosystem-services-based management strategies to support military installation resilience and mission sustainment. He also serves as the first DoD liaison to the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) where he spearheads collaborative opportunities between ODASD EMR and NCTC.

Before his current position within the DoD, Forrest served as a project coordinator at the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI), where he was responsible for the development and management of various natural resources research and applied management projects conducted in support of NRI's Working Lands and Military Lands programs.

Since joining the institute in 2015, Forrest has led numerous projects on military installations, including invasive species control, endangered plant species conservation, grassland and wetland restoration, Bird-Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) mitigation, Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) development, as well as wildlife habitat conservation. Work on state and private lands included studying the effects of energy development on grassland systems and research on land management strategies for enhancing carbon sequestration in semi-arid grasslands.

Forrest earned a bachelor's degree in Biology from Texas A&M-San Antonio and a Master's degree in Natural Resources from Texas A&M University.