Sisters has a new district ranger

Kristie Miller, currently the district ranger on the Cowlitz Ranger District of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington, will take the reins of the Sisters Ranger District in May.

"We are really thrilled to have someone with Kristie's depth of experience, both in land management and community engagement, join us on the Deschutes National Forest as the new district ranger at Sisters," said John Allen, forest supervisor of the Deschutes National Forest. "I believe she will be a great fit with the community of Sisters."

Miller is excited about the opportunity.

"Sisters is one of those places where everyone wants to go and work," she told The Nugget. "The Deschutes (National Forest) is a special place... I worked on the Deschutes for about a year back in 1997, and I always wanted to go back."

Miller, who has known retired Sisters Ranger Bill Anthony for many years, recognizes that she has a large pair of boots to fill in a district where Anthony and his staff have built important community partnerships. The atmosphere of collaborative effort is one of the attractions of the position for Miller.

"I love to do that," she said.

Cowlitz Ranger District has worked extensively with the Pinchot Partners, a group of forest stakeholders focused on ecosystem management with an eye toward forest health and community vibrancy.

"They have done some road decommissioning projects and some vegetation management projects, a lot of stewardship," Miller said. "They don't agree on everything, but what they do agree on, they go gangbusters."

That background is expected to be beneficial in maintaining and extending the relationship the Sisters Ranger District has developed with partners such as Friends of the Metolius.

Miller acknowledges that, coming from a "wet" forest, her fire experience is "definitely not as strong as Bill's." She has had some fire management experience and notes that "I've done some firefighting myself and I've done some overhead work."

She also noted that Central Oregon has a deep pool of experience and talent when it comes to managing fires - which have recurred on the Sisters Ranger District almost annually for the past 10 years.

The Ranger received her bachelor's degree in forest management from Oregon State University. While at school in Corvallis, Kristie met Richard Miller, who was also a student in forestry. They married before Kristie graduated and have been working hard at maintaining two forestry-related careers along with their marriage. Rich has a forestry/logging contract business that he has operated since the mid-1980s.

Miller and her husband enjoy hiking and camping, hunting, fishing and kayaking and have spent a fair amount of time in Corvallis as Beavers fans.

Miller will begin her work on the Sisters Ranger District on May 7. Until that time Rod Bonacker will continue to serve as the acting district ranger.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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