J. Mike Bird worked in forestry industry for several years as a field forester, harvesting engineer, and as a procurement and management forester before starting Bird Forestry Services, Inc. (BFS) in 1979. BFS began as a traditional forestry consulting firm, offering services to the forest industry and private non-industrial landowners in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.In 1989 Mike started Silva-Tech/South, Inc. (STS) a herbicide application, vegetation management and reforestation business. The vegetation management business was a response to the development and release of a selective herbicide in 1988 that revolutionized southern pine management. STS herbicide application business met needs specific to private forest landowners. STS has planted over 70 million pine and hardwood seedlings since its inception. In 1994, Mike, along with Terry Anderson, created Advanced Ecology, Ltd. (AEL), an environmental consulting firm. Because of their natural resource background, the AEL team has been able to solve environmental problems using a common sense approach that is cost effective for the client, enhanced the resource and benefits society.In 1998 AEL started permitting wetland Mitigation Banks. The first mitigation bank, Big Woods on the Trinity, was approved by the Corps of Engineers in 2002, since then AEL has permitted an additional 16 wetland and stream mitigation banks in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. These banks have restored or enhanced wetland and stream functions on well over 10,000 acres and 50+ miles of stream.In 2013 AEL purchased 2,960 acres in Oklahoma. This is the site of the first “American Burying Beetle” Conservation Bank in the United States. This site will be protected and managed in perpetuity to the benefit of this important endangered species.Today Mike is actively involved in Bird Forestry (now a division of AEL), Advanced Ecology, Ltd. and Silva-Tech South Ltd.