Established as a result of the organization of the Texas Forest Association in 1914 and the forestry law passed by the Texas legislature in 1915 the Texas Forest Service is directed by a state forester appointed by the board of directors of Texas A&M College. When it was founded, the objectives of the Texas Forest Service were to persuade and aid private owners of forest land in practicing forestry and converting submarginal agricultural lands to productive forests; to protect private forest lands against forest wildfires, insects, and disease; to inform the public of the contribution that forests, a renewable natural resource, make to the economy of the state; to educate Texans in uses and abuses of forest products; and to assist forest products industries in developing new products and improving production techniques. Currently, the Texas Forest Service's mission focuses on providing statewide leadership to assure the state's trees, forests and related natural resources are protected and sustained for the benefit of all.