Janet Steele – Area Forestry and Wildlife Agent -Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, and Orangeburg Counites

March 9, 2021

Janet Steele is an area forestry and wildlife agent-based in Orangeburg. The Forestry and Natural Resources Team has had one agent retire, and another resign within the last four months.  This has resulted in a realignment of our county assignments due to where the new team members will be placed. In addition to Lexington, Calhoun, and Orangeburg Counties, Janet will now be covering Aiken, Bamberg, and Barnwell Counties.  She appreciates this opportunity to introduce herself and provide information on her background and experience.

Janet earned her B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Tech in 1989 and her M.S. in Forest Resources from Clemson University in 1992. Janet’s forestry career spans over 25 years. Focusing on forestry and landowner education, she began her career with the S.C. Forestry Commission (SCFC) in Orangeburg as a project forester. After completing her master’s degree, she returned to work with the SCFC in Newberry as a Forest Stewardship Program forester and later held the same position in Walterboro. Janet worked for 12 years with the Nation Ford Land Trust following a move to York County. Before coming to Clemson Extension in December 2018, she worked with the Forestry Association of South Carolina.

As a forestry and natural resources agent, Janet provides one-on-one assistance to forest landowners with recommendations for timber harvesting, reforestation, insects and disease, non-native invasive species, and wildlife habitat management. Janet also works with state Extension specialists and researchers to provide landowners with the most recent information on a range of topics related to forestland management. In addition to providing these services, she is interested in assisting landowners with developing a transition plan for their property so that, if desired, their acreage will remain a family forest. She coordinates a statewide Women Owning Woodlands program and four single or multi-county forest landowner association groups. Her interest in longleaf pine restoration and management continues to grow as she works with more and more landowners managing their property for this unique species. Janet’s favorite part of her job with Clemson Extension is that no two days are the same.

Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer