AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) has announced that Rex Turner is the director of planning and acquisitions, responsible for land acquisition, land management planning, policy/program development and conservation easement monitoring.

Turner has served as BPL’s outdoor recreation planner since 2008. In that position, Turner led the Maine State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), qualifying Maine to receive federal Land and Water Conservation funds and satisfying state legislative requirements associated with monitoring trends in outdoor recreation. He also provided guidance for BPL’s outdoor recreation management efforts, served as a liaison to nonprofit and federal trail managers and augmented BPL’s public information efforts, according to a news release from the department.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, he serves as a board member with the Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals, a nationwide organization providing leadership for the outdoor recreation profession through skill development, networking and technical guidance. He also volunteers extensively with several youth sports organizations in the Augusta area. Turner has previously worked as a professional Maine Guide, an educator and an outdoor writer. He earned a master’s degree in forestry and a bachelor’s degree in recreation and parks management from the University of Maine’s School of Forest Resources.