Partner Profile
Teagan O’Brien, Central Region Watershed Stewardship Specialist with the Virginia Department of Forestry
Image Credit: Teagan O’Brien
Favorite riparian plant: Right now I really love Swamp White Oak (pictured), specifically this one in a local park
How does your work support healthy streamside ecosystems in the James River watershed?
I help implement the Riparian Forests for Landowners (RFFL) Program which gives every landowner the opportunity to install riparian buffers or enhance existing ones on their property. Additionally, I help provide technical assistance to our partner agencies and our field staff with a variety of other buffer/afforestation programs and invasive species control efforts. Throughout our Central Region I also help facilitate DOF’s Riparian Buffer Tax Credit Program which encourages landowners to leave riparian buffers in tact during timber harvests. Most importantly, we collaborate with other agencies and non-profits to combine our resources, knowledge, and skillsets to continue our efforts to improve streamside ecosystems.
What do you love most about your work?
I love the variety, the people, the partnerships, and the simple but rewarding nature of planting trees (and also shrubs). Ultimately, I’ve really just grown to love trees (shrubs are good too) and how much good they can bring not just to the health of our environment but my own mental health as well.
What was your journey/career path that led you to the work you do now?
Out of high school I really didn’t know what I wanted to do so I ended up studying Environmental Science in college which is pretty broad but felt like an important field to me. After college I did a 10 month AmeriCorps service in Virginia State Parks where we worked on trails, treated invasives, planted trees, did prescribed burns, and a number of other natural resource related field work. This program was a great experience for me and ultimately helped me get in with the Department of Forestry. With DOF, I started out part-time with our forest health team before transitioning to a Riparian Forest Buffer Specialist full time. I stayed in that role for about 4 years before transitioning to our Office of Working Lands where I worked on new easement acquisitions for just under a year before coming back to our Watershed Team in March of this year.
What do you value most about the Consortium? How has it positively impacted your work?
I really value the opportunity to work with our partners on shared goals. There’s always something new to learn from each other and it has consistently helped forge new ideas for me. Without the help of Consortium partners we wouldn’t have been able to have the same on the ground impact that we’ve been able to have over the years.
About Teagan O'Brien
Organization: Virginia Department of Forestry
Title: Central Region Watershed Stewardship Specialist