Acting ranger's time is up in Sisters

For the past four months, the Sisters Ranger District has been under the temporary leadership of fire specialist Craig Letz. At the end of this week, however, Letz will be returning to his permanent post as Deputy Interagency Fire Management Officer for the Central Oregon Fire Management Service (COFMS) in Prineville.

"It's been fun," Letz said, summarizing his tour in Sisters. "There have been a lot of interesting things going on. Some of the things I was really glad to be a part of were the community meetings in Sisters and Camp Sherman and the changes we've made to the program as the result of the Wizard Fire. For me to be a part of that was a really neat experience."

Letz sees his service as Acting District Ranger as good career development.

"The whole idea was to broaden my perspective within the agency and have a leadership challenge, and I've certainly experienced that," he said. "In this job, I got to do things we can be proud of. What I get to walk out with is the experience of working with some really good folks who are really good at what they do."

Another somewhat unusual experience Letz dealt with during his tenure was an official visit from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden.

"It wasn't quite like a presidential visit," Letz said, "but we definitely put in some work with planning and to make sure his time was spent well. And I know he submitted some new forestry legislation right after that visit."

Wyden visited a forest-thinning project south of town that was funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"There was a lot of extra work we did to compete for that funding," Letz said. "So it was great to get some of that and put people to work here in Sisters."

Burn piles visible on the west side of Highway 20 south of Sisters are the result of that project. Letz said that those piles will be aged before being burned, and the remaining ground vegetation is also slated to be mowed.

Prescribed burning is also continuing around Sisters.

"We're on schedule, and we've been going quite cautiously. We're working through some new processes, and we're making sure those are working well for us before we proceed," Letz said.

The project as a whole is called the Sisters Area Fuel Reduction project (SAFR, pronounced "safer"), and is one of the area's key wildfire prevention measures in the wildland interface with populated areas.

Even though his time as Acting District Ranger has come to an end, Letz said, "I'll probably continue to be involved with things going on in Sisters, but just in a different capacity. There are some forest planning issues that I'll continue to be involved with."

District Ranger Bill Anthony will be taking back the reins now that Letz is headed home to Prineville. Anthony has been on his own career-broadening temporary assignment, as Deputy Forest Supervisor in the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests.

"Bill's doing great," Letz said. "I know he's been enjoying the country and the people up there, but I know he's looking forward to coming back."

Letz is already looking ahead to returning to his regular job at COFMS and his work coordinating interagency fire management on BLM lands and in the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests.

"We're in that part of the year where we're getting ready for fire season," he said. "I will be transitioning with the folks who came in behind me and getting ready for fire season in Central Oregon."