Supervisor Chosen For Colville Forest

Thu., Feb. 10, 2000

From Staff

A 22-year Forest Service veteran will temporarily lead the Colville National Forest.

Rolando Ortegon most recently was recreation leader for the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service, based in Portland. The region includes the 19 national forests in Washington and Oregon.

Ortegon replaces Robert Vaught, who left the Colville to become forest supervisor in the Humboldt-Tioyabe National Forest in Nevada.

Ortegon likely will serve for three to six months until the Forest Service selects a permanent replacement for Vaught, said Rex Holloway, Forest Service spokesman for the Northwest.

The change comes at a critical time, as national forests nationwide struggle to implement President Clinton’s mandate to protect roadless areas.

“When we put people in these acting positions, they’re not just figureheads,” Holloway said. “They’re to jump in and make the decisions that need to be made to keep the forest going.

“Rolando is very much in tune with the issues facing the forest, especially national issues.”

Before moving to the Northwest, Ortegon worked in the Great Lakes, New England and Rocky Mountain regions for the Forest Service. An Indiana native, he was district ranger of the White Mountain National Forest in Maine from 1992 until 1995.

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