Darrell Freeman
Land Management Ecologist
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Darrell Freeman is a Land Management Ecologist at Pandion. Darrell has 16 years experience in public land management and ecological consulting. He has practical on-the-ground expertise in protected species, prescribed fire, habitat restoration, invasive exotics, hydrologic data collection and monitoring, GPS data collection, and GIS mapping. Darrell’s ecological background is rounded out with experience in the social and economic aspects of nature-based recreation as well as natural history interpretation and trail design.

Darrell holds a MS in Forest Resources and Conservation (GIS) from the University of Florida and a BS in Wildlife Fisheries Science from Texas A&M University. He is currently a PhD candidate with the University of Wyoming Department of Renewable Resources. He is also a certified prescribed burn manager (Florida).

Darrell’s project experience reflects his expertise in Florida’s unique ecology and protected species, including gopher tortoises and Scrub-jays. As a Land Manager for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Darrell wrote and implemented land management plans and annual burn plans. He responded to wildfires on District lands and coordinated firefighting activities with state wildfire officers. He also conducted pre-burn fuel load assessments and post-burn evaluations. Darrell’s land management projects included wildlife monitoring, gopher tortoise survey and relocation, and habitat restoration for Florida Scrub-jays, and GIS mapping to assist in fire planning operations and resource monitoring.

While working with a consulting company in Sarasota, Florida, Darrell designed nature trails, assisted with park conceptual master plans, and conducted habitat assessments and mapping. He also delineated jurisdictional wetlands in both freshwater and marine habitats. He assisted with permitting, conducted surveys of listed plant species, and monitored re-vegetation success of estuarine and Gulf beach mitigation and restoration projects on public and private developments.

Darrell’s other interests include hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, landscaping with native and edible plants, and exercising with his wife Trish and their Whippet dog Sophie.