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The Chippewa National Forest will welcome a new Forest Supervisor by February 2011. Darla Lenz will become the 19th Forest Supervisor of the Chippewa National Forest since its establishment in1908. Lenz replaces Rob Harper, who transferred to the Forest Service Washington DC office in August 2010.

Darla Lenz began her career as a botanist and ecologist both for The Nature Conservancy and state government. Within the Forest Service, she worked as a botany program manager on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands in Region 1, as a district ranger, recreation and engineering team supervisor on the Ottawa National Forest in Region 9. She was acting deputy forest supervisor on the Chugach National Forest in Region 10, and acting grasslands supervisor on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands.[[In-content Ad]]

"I fully appreciate and believe in the multiple use mission of the Forest Service. My roots are in the Midwest where I was raised on a farm in Iowa" Ms Lenz noted. "This upbringing and my background have provided me with some pragmatic skills for communicating our mission and working internally and with our partners in Forest Service communities and beyond. I value working with a wide variety of external groups as I believe we manage the important resources of our National Forests best by fully engaging the public."

Lenz is married and has a daughter and son. "Our family loves to spend our winters on skis and our summers on the lake." Carolyn Upton, Walker District Ranger, will serve as Acting Forest Supervisor until Ms. Lenz arrives.

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