Houser promoted to Forest Service Wrangell District ranger

After filling the job in the past in a temporary capacity, Tory Houser officially accepted the position as U.S. Forest Service Wrangell District ranger on March 4. "It feels great, and a lot of responsibility," she said.

Houser has spent 21 years with the Forest Service, including eight years in Wrangell, mostly as recreation officer, although she has filled in before from time to time as acting district ranger.

She said that while those previous experiences prepared her in some ways, "I'll need to lean on my really great staff, partners and stakeholders, and tribal organizations. I can't do it on my own."

As district ranger, she will be the decision maker for various projects and other recommendations for the Wrangell District of the Tongass National Forest. In addition to continuing the work of her predecessors in building relationships with the tribe, she also wants to focus on the Anan Wildlife Observatory, "a tourism staple for Wrangell," to preserve it as a high-class experience for newcomers and residents alike.

"I want to keep going with all the things that Wrangell does well," she said.

It was difficult for Houser to leave her position as recreation officer, but she felt that her skills as a negotiator and working with people from different backgrounds would be beneficial to the Forest Service and community.

An internship in 2000 with the Student Conservation Association at the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont began her long Forest Service career. "I've always loved the great outdoors."

While Houser was in a work program in Vermont and New Hampshire in 2004, Chad VanOrmer, now the deputy regional forester for the Tongass, was transferring from Prince of Wales Island to a position in Vermont and suggested she try out for an Alaska job. She's been in Southeast Alaska ever since. "There's so much opportunity in Alaska," she said.

In the past, she has assisted with ongoing projects like the Alaska Youth Stewards in Kake, a work program on Tlingit land for youth from rural Southeast Alaska, a guided interpretive program at the Anan Wildlife Observatory which has been going on for 30 years, a wilderness education program for high school seniors, and a cruise ship partnership to provide tours of El Capitan Cave on Prince of Wales Island for passengers.

Clint Kolarich, who served as Wrangell's district ranger since June 2019, is now in Ketchikan and has been serving since September as one of the Tongass National Forest's two deputy forest supervisors.

District employee Austin O'Brien filled in as the interim replacement prior to Houser taking over the job.

While Houser admitted that she is somewhat nervous about the enormity of the job, she's also looking forward to the challenges and possibilities that it will bring. "I'm ready and excited for new projects, and I want to manage resources sustainably."