Forrest Smith
Research Staff, South Texas Natives
Manager Collections & Evaluations

2003 to Present

Forrest was raised in Brownwood, Texas, where he developed a love for the outdoors. He received his B.S. in Range and Wildlife Management from Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2003. While an undergraduate, he began working with the South Texas Natives project as student worker. During 2003, Forrest joined the Institute full-time as a Research Associate and Collections and Evaluations Manager for South Texas Natives. His primary duties are to oversee native seed collection and evaluation of plant accessions throughout south Texas. Forrest works to collect data on these plants throughout the year, and to select the superior accessions for future release. Forrest is married to Patricia and has two children. His hobbies include hunting, fly fishing, nature photography, and native plant gardening and identification.