North Florida Land Trust has added a new land management specialist to its team. Mark Manning is now a part of the land stewardship department and will work closely with the director of land stewardship as well as independently to manage the thousands of acres in the nonprofit’s portfolio.
Manning will be responsible for many tasks including property monitoring and maintenance as well as habitat management. He will also handle fire planning and implementation, exotic invasive species control and timber management. He will monitor the effects of land management and restoration efforts, maintain preserve infrastructure and help identify volunteer opportunities.
Manning comes to NFLT after working with Florida State Parks for the last seven years. He honed his skills in resource management and increased his knowledge of the habitats and species in the area. Since 2015, he has assisted in the management of Florida’s pyric ecosystems and worked under some of the best prescription burners in the southeast.
Manning earned his associate degree in forestry from Sante Fe College and is a type-1 wildland firefighter. He is currently working towards his prescribed burn manager certification and has participated in more than 100 prescribed burns. He is also enrolled in the Florida Master Naturalist Program’s spring session.