Section 9-3-5 State Forester.

It shall be the duty of the Alabama Forestry Commission to appoint with the advice and consent of the Governor a State Forester who shall serve as the executive secretary and administrative officer for the commission. The individual appointed as the State Forester must have earned a minimum of a bachelor of science degree in forestry and must be licensed and registered under the forestry laws of Alabama with considerable experience in the forestry field. The State Forester shall receive a salary as fixed by the commission and shall serve at the pleasure of the commission. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the State Forester shall earn and use annual and sick leave and receive reimbursement when traveling on official business of the commission, as if he or she were an employee in the classified or unclassified service of the state. The State Forester shall in no other way be subject to or receive benefits of the state Merit System. The State Forester shall devote his or her full time to the duties of the office. He or she shall be required to take the oath of office and give bond in the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).