USDA Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth today announced Dr. Bov Eav as the director of the Pacific Northwest Research Station (Portland, Ore.) and Dr. Jim Reaves as associate deputy chief of research and development for the national headquarters. Eav currently serves as associate deputy chief of research and development here at the national headquarters. He replaces Thomas Quigley, who recently retired. The Pacific Northwest Research Station, with more than 500 employees and a budget of $43 million, is one of eight Forest Service research facilities. It is organized into seven research programs conducted at 10 laboratories and research centers in Alaska, Oregon and Washington as well as experimental forests in the three states.
"Bov will be an excellent leader for PNW, especially for the unique research challenges the station presents for our scientists in the Northwest," said Bosworth. "He has outstanding credentials in collaborative science and technology applications, which he demonstrated in his previous positions as director of the Northeastern Research Station and the Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team."
In 1985, Eav began his career in the Forest Service as an operations research analyst with the Method Applications Group (MAG) in Fort Collins, Colo. He later served concurrently as associate director of MAG and head of its quantitative techniques program. In 1994, he was named director of the National Center for Forest Health Management (NCFHM) in Morgantown, W.Va.
In 1995, NCFHM and MAG evolved into the Forest Health Technology Enterprise
Team and Eav served as its first director. In 1998, he became the director of the Northeastern Research Station in Newtown Square, Pa., until 2001, when he moved to his current position.
Prior to joining the Forest Service, Eav was a principal scientist with Lockheed in Houston, Texas, where he worked under contract with the Forest Service's National Forest Application Program. He later served as a mission support manager of scientific payloads for NASA's space shuttle program.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to lead an organization with a superior reputation for quality, and making science relevant and useful for land managers and the public at large," said Eav. "I look forward to the exciting tasks ahead."
Eav holds degrees in forestry with specialization in forest engineering, biometrics and remote sensing. He earned his bachelor's from the University of Agronomic Science in Cambodia and his master's and doctorate from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, N.Y. He is a member of the Society of
American Foresters and the Senior Executives Association. He is also a member of the government's senior executive service.
Reaves currently serves as director of the vegetation management and protection research staff here and replaces Eav.
The national research and development program oversees four staffs: resource valuation and use research; science policy, planning, inventory and information; vegetation management and protection research; and wildlife, fish, water and air research. It also works in concert with the agency's more than 500 scientists, located in 77 locations across 45 states.
"Jim brings a wealth of experience to his new position," said Bosworth. "His participation and oversight of the agency's research activities for the National Fire Plan, Joint Fire Sciences Program, and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act will serve him well in this assignment."
During his 24-year tenure with the Forest Service, Reaves has served as: a research plant pathologist in the Pacific Northwest Station; an assistant station director, project leader and research scientist in the Southern Research Station; a research and development budget coordinator in the national headquarters; and a USDA agricultural liaison officer at Alabama A&M University in Normal, Ala.
"Forest Service R&D is an exciting organization to be in at this time," said Reaves. "As its next associate deputy chief, I look forward to working with the deputy chief, an excellent cadre of staff directors, station directors, national program leaders, scientists and support staff to provide relevant and high quality research products to our
stakeholders."
Reaves earned a bachelor's in biology in from Voorhees College in Denmark, S.C., and a masters and doctorate, both in biology/plant pathology, from Atlanta University in Georgia. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters, the American Phytopathological Society NAACP, and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He is also a member of the government's senior executive service.