Our Mission
To promote and encourage management of the Apalachicola National Forest in a manner that preserves and protects natural habitats and native plants and animals, particularly those that are threatened or endangered.
Our Officers
Helen Roth
In 2008, Helen purchased a 100-acre parcel of land in Gadsden County and set about learning everything she could about the property and what she needed to do to properly manage it. She started taking classes, reading books, and volunteering with organizations such as the Florida Native Plant Society and the Friends of Apalachicola National Forest. She quickly discovered that the property’s steephead ravines and sandhill uplands had a lot of rare plants and old growth longleaf pines but that the property was suffering from a long period of fire exclusion. With the assistance of multiple agencies and friends, Helen has been working to restore the property’s uplands to a sustainable longleaf pine and wiregrass ecosystem through the use of fire and brush management. Helen was named the 2015 Florida Land Steward Landowner of the Year and she worked with Tall Timbers to place a conservation easement on her Spring Canyon property in 2020.
Jean Huffman
Jean Huffman is a tree-ring scientist at Tall Timbers Research Station, where she studies the fire history of Southeastern forests through dendrochronology. She has worked in the pine savannas of Florida and Georgia since the 1980s, focusing on restoration, prescribed fire, and land management. Jean has also served as a biologist at Myakka River State Park and as manager of the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Florida and a PhD from Louisiana State University. A lifelong admirer of fire-dependent ecosystems, Jean brings both her scientific expertise and her personal passion to her role with the Friends, where she is dedicated to protecting and sustaining the Apalachicola National Forest.
Todd Engstrom
Todd Engstrom is a retired ecologist after working for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Tall Timbers Research Station, The Nature Conservancy, and Florida State University. His research focused on Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, the bird community of the longleaf pine ecosystem, birds and fire, and ecological land management. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, where he has worked with the Friends of the Apalachicola National Forest for nearly 30 years.
Lilly Anderson-Messec
Lilly Anderson-Messec is a botanist and ecologist currently employed as the Director of North Florida Programs for the Florida Native Plant Society, and Project Manager of the TorreyaKeepers Project. She is inspired by sharing her passion and knowledge of Florida's diverse native plants and ecosystems with anyone who will listen, hoping that increasing public appreciation and familiarity with our flora will aid in improving conservation efforts. Lilly is a thrid generation Floridian, born in Tallahassee, FL, where she currently resides.
Tom Greene
Tom Greene is a semi-retired botanist/ecologist. He worked for Leon County (Florida) Growth and Environmental Management, and then as an environmental consultant. He is currently working on restoration of wet prairies. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, where he has been part of the Friends of the Apalachicola National Forest for 19 years.
