Anna Lowell is used to people calling her Smokey Bear or thinking she's a ranger. "No matter what you tell people, they will think of Smokey Bear," she said. But she doesn't fight fire and she's not a ranger. Lowell uses science, regulations, and communication to help manage logging on the Colville National Forest's 1.1 million acres of forest land.
As a Timber Sale Administrator, Lowell watches to make sure the purchaser and logging contractor meet contract requirements. She makes sure timber is only being harvested in the designated contract area. Lowell looks at the logs trucks are hauling to make sure they meet A.2 standards designated within the timber sale contract. She also makes sure loggers protect the soil and waterways as they work. It's a balance of communication, knowledge, and walking many miles in the woods. All of this is an effort to protect the resources on the Colville to meet the needs of present and future generations.
Lowell started working on the Colville National Forest in the summer of 2018. She'd previously spent 15 years working on other forests, including 5 years as a seasonal worker, in such forests as the Payette National Forest in Idaho, the Coconino National Forest in Arizona, and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, the largest National Forest in the lower 48 states.
When Anna Lowell was younger, she aspired to be a stock broker. "Then I realized I'd have to live in a big city forever. I jumped off that path and found myself pursuing a forestry degree. The Forest Service was a natural fit for my education."
Her proudest professional achievement was teaching herself how to captain a whitewater raft. That experience led Lowell to start a district river ranger program from scratch on the East Fork of the Carson River on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Her advice to those interested in working for the Forest Service: Be willing to move anywhere for an opportunity at the beginning of your career.
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