District Ranger returns from four-month assignment

After four months as Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Sisters District Ranger, Bill Anthony, is back in the saddle in Sisters.

Temporary assignments, such as the one Anthony just returned from, are one of the ways the Forest Service provides career-enhancing opportunities for its employees.

"I really enjoyed my experience in Central Washington," said Anthony, "but there are a lot of other career, family and personal factors to consider in making decisions to move on. And the fact of the matter is, I still enjoy being the District Ranger in Sisters; and the area is a good fit for my wife and son - at least when he comes home from college. I feel fortunate to do what I do for a living, and I am attached to the people and places in Central Oregon."

Anthony's temporary assignment was in Wenatchee, Washington.

"I've worked with the Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest Supervisor Becky Heath before and have a great deal of respect for her as a leader. So, when she invited me to come up and fill that position for four months, I decided it would be a good opportunity to apply my skills in a totally new setting, learn and grow as a leader, and do some introspective work as well. I also found the temporary change in scene somewhat rejuvenating, and I loved exploring another one of our jewels in the National Forest system."

One of the many tasks Anthony had while serving as Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor was to assist in the selection process for the person who would fill that position permanently. He also helped choose a new District Ranger for the Methow Valley Ranger District.

Like many states, the State of Washington has severe budget problems and is laying off many skilled employees in their Department of Natural Resources, State Parks, and Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"One the of the things I took an active lead in was to coordinate between the state agencies and the other National Forests and National Parks in the State of Washington to see if we could pick up some of their soon-to-be-laid-off employees in order to fill some of our vacant positions," Anthony said. "When I look back on my journal it is pretty amazing how many different things I had an opportunity to influence."

One of the reasons Anthony has been resistant to leaving his work as a District Ranger is because he is worried that he'll have less opportunity to actually spend time in the forest. Looking tanned and fit, however, he didn't exactly look like he'd been cooped up in an office the whole time.

"Yeah, I was able to get out quite a bit - though mostly on the weekends," he said. "Springtime in Central Washington is beautiful."

As much as he enjoyed the tour, he still doesn't have any plans to leave Sisters.

"The opportunity did provide me with the chance to do some introspection and think about some of the options for me and my family," he said.

"Yeah, I like the leadership work at that level, but it would take a set of unique circumstances to lead me to pursue an opportunity like that, and I don't see anything like that out there right now. Moving up is not always an improvement when all things are considered. So, it's quite possible that I will be here for a while."

Now that he's back, he's already fully immersed in his "real" job.

"We've shut down our spring burning operations," he said, "and I closely watched - although from a distance - how we re-engaged igniting our spring burns. I also took the lessons we learned from our recent escaped fire and shared them on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. They also actively use prescribed fire to reduce fuels and restore forest health."

On the issue of smoke from the burning program, he said, "I am very aware of this social issue, but we're going to get smoke one way or another, and the question is whether we do it more on our terms or Mother Nature's terms. We've accomplished over 500 acres of prescribed burning this year. Our goal was about 800 acres, but we purposely slowed down a bit in order to start to rebuild public understanding and support. Still, the smoke issue will continue to be a challenge to manage."

Now, he said, the district is gearing up for both the summer wildfire and recreation season. He knows that people are anxious to head out into the forest as the warmer weather approaches. On the subject of trails, he said, "Insects and fires have left us with an enormous amount of downed trees. With the reduced recreation budgets we have experienced over the last five to 10 years, we have a hard time keeping up with maintaining all of the trails and meeting the public's needs."

He cited last week's "Trail College" at Allingham Guard Station and said, "A large part of our strategy for the future is working with volunteers and trying to leverage the interest of partners and the Central Oregon tourism businesses who have an interest in helping to provide quality recreation experiences on our public's National Forests."

For him personally, though, he's glad to be back.

"What a great place to come home to," he said.