Rich Jaynes’ academic training includes a B.S. in Range Science (Botany minor) from BYU and a M.S. in Watershed Science from Utah State University. He has worked as a range technician for the U.S. Forest Service, consulting hydrologist, manager of a cartographic lab, and has taught college courses in rangeland field surveys and plant biology. He took a 20-year detour from his original career path to serve in the U.S. Army as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps, ending with a seven-year assignment practicing environmental law as he assisted Army installations with regulatory enforcement actions and other environmental legal challenges. He worked the past 13 years as an environmental scientist for the engineering and architectural firm Halff Associates, focusing on assisting state agencies in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act and other media-specific environmental laws and regulations. His professional work has also included preparing natural resources analyses in master plans for nature preserves such as Southwest Nature Preserve in Arlington and JF. Burke Nature Preserve in Farmers Branch. He also worked for the Native Prairies Association of Texas in surveying Ellis County for native prairie remnants.
He has been volunteering as a Texas Master Naturalist since 2008, and enjoys leading groups in exploring the wonders of plant life in local landscapes, and in engaging in prairie restoration efforts in the DFW area.