HARRISBURG — Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s office on Friday released an e-mail exchange that it says led to the forced resignation this week of a member of his Cabinet.

The May 3 exchange was between former Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Richard Allan and his wife, Patricia Allan, who at the time worked for the Department of Environmental Protection.

It apparently involved problems Patricia Allan was having with a female co-worker in making plans for her department’s annual falcon-banding event, in which biologists place metal identification bands on young falcons that nest on a ledge near the Capitol so they can be monitored after they leave the nest.

In one e-mail, Patricia Allan wrote that the co-worker, who is black, was showing her “true colors.” Richard Allan responded with one word, “COLORS,” in all capital letters and followed by exclamation points.

The employee learned about the e-mail between the Allans, who are white, and filed a complaint.

Richard Allan, a Camp Hill resident who had led the natural resources department since shortly after Corbett took office in early 2011, did not respond Friday to an e-mail request for comment.

The department manages the state parks and forests and recently has faced public opposition over potential drilling for natural gas in the 100,000-acre Loyalsock State Forest, although the governor’s office said his departure did not involve state policy.

Patricia Allan is switching to a job in the Department of State beginning June 21, agency spokesman Ron Ruman said Friday.