On Wednesday, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Commissioner David Salyers announced that Greer Tidwell Jr. has been appointed to serve as deputy commissioner for the department’s Bureau of Parks and Conservation. This is Greer’s second experience working at TDEC. He was general counsel for the department in 1995-1997, managing an office representing the state in environmental regulation and legal support for Tennessee State Parks.
Today we are thrilled to announce the appointment of Greer Tidwell Jr. as Deputy Commissioner for the department’s Bureau of Parks and Conservation. Read more here: https://t.co/JW5WIGsUuf pic.twitter.com/SrYmVdz2Lh
— TNEnvironment (@TNEnvironment) July 20, 2022
As deputy commissioner, Tidwell’s responsibilities in leading the bureau include: Tennessee State Parks, Tennessee Division of Archaeology, Division of Natural Areas, Recreation Resources Division, Facilities & Land Management, interpretive programs, strategic initiatives, and marketing.
Tidwell is known largely for his leadership as director of environmental management at tire manufacturer Bridgestone Americas. In this role, Tidwell was instrumental in developing conservation education programs at tire factories, including award-winning certified habitat conservation centers at company plants.
“We are fortunate to have someone with such a distinguished record of achievement to fill this important role for our state,” TDEC Commissioner David Salyers said in a statement. “Greer has been a leading voice for conservation in Tennessee. We look forward to leveraging his deep knowledge and experience to build on the success of our nationally renowned state parks system while taking our conservation efforts to new heights.”
According to a press release by TDEC, Tidwell has more than three decades of leadership experience in the public and private sectors, along with extensive involvement in conservation groups at the local, state and national levels. Tidwell’s record of leadership includes serving as a board member and president of Radnor Lake State Park, board member and treasurer of the National River Network, board member of the National Wildlife Federation, and chairman of the Tennessee Conservation League, which is now the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. He has also served as a contributing member of TN H20, a state initiative to secure the future of the state’s water resources, TDEC notes.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Greer Tidwell Jr.” by TNEnvironment. Background Photo “Chickasaw State Park – Chester County, Tennessee” by Thomas R. Machnitzki. CC BY 3.0.
