Anthony to step down as District Ranger

Sisters District Ranger Bill Anthony announced to Forest Service staff on Wednesday that December 31 will be his last day as Sisters District Ranger. 

Anthony has led the local district for the past 14 years.

In a brief interview with The Nugget as he headed out for a trip, Anthony said, "To me, it just feels like it's time for me to spend more quality time with my wife, my family and my friends and do some of the things I've dreamed about that I've been unable to do while I'm District Ranger."

The decision does not reflect on his feelings about his work.

"I am passionate about the Forest Service mission and I care deeply about the people I (we) work with to accomplish that mission," Anthony wrote in an email announcing his retirement. "I have gone to bed tired almost every night and I still wake up charged and motivated every day. What a blessing it has been to do what I have done for a living. I wish everyone could feel as passionate about their careers as I have about mine."

He told The Nugget that the decision has to do with moving on to new things and "figuring out who Bill Anthony is when he's no longer District Ranger."

Sisters District Ecologist Maret Pajutee told The Nugget that the Sisters Ranger District staff is "sad to lose him."

"He's been a good ranger and we've had a long, peaceful, prosperous time during his time here," Pajutee said. (The district has done) many creative projects that have gotten us a lot of recognition across the region."

The Sisters Ranger District was a pioneer in the use of stewardship contracts, where private contractors thin sections of forest with the emphasis on forest health and reduction of wildfire danger. The district has also developed unique partnerships with groups that have often been at odds with the Forest Service to design forest health-related thinning projects like the Glaze Project near Black Butte Ranch. During Anthony's tenure, the Forest Service has also significantly stepped up watershed restoration efforts along the Metolius River and Whychus Creek.

Anthony said he's not sure what shape his post-District Ranger activities will take.

"The list is so long it's hard for me to define what that is," he said.

It's unlikely that he'll spend much time on the couch, though.

"I'm going to be busy," he said. "I'm not the kind to sit around."