Kirsten Meyers grew up on the Colville National Forest. As a Colville, WA native, she enjoyed camping, hunting, snow skiing, and horseback riding all over the forest. By far, her favorite childhood pastime was picking huckleberries.
From 1995 to 1999 she worked each summer on the Colville. Meyers started in silviculture, the cultivation of trees. Over the years, she worked a variety of jobs in national forests in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. She worked fires on an engine. Went on patrols using all-terrain vehicles in recreational areas. She even did health monitoring and inventory analysis for the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon. When Meyers returned from the Sequoia National Forest to the Colville in 2017, she arrived as a Law Enforcement Officer.
"These positions shaped my career into a full-time permanent job in law enforcement," she said. "The decision to apply to the Forest Service has always been a passion of mine, because I wanted to take part in forest management, and improving the activities I enjoyed growing up with."
Few organizations offer such a diverse range of jobs under one roof. The Forest Service includes opportunities in recreation, fire, streams, soils, silviculture, timber, botany, archaeology, administration, and more. That's why Meyers recommends working for the Forest Service -- it's easy to discover what you love!
As a Law Enforcement Officer, Meyers is a steward of the forest, protecting forest resources and employees. Education is her strongest tool for informing visitors of forest rules and regulations. The most common encounters she has
with the public include campfires, food storage, and various illegal activities.
"Fire safety is critical in my position and helping the public to understand the importance of proper fire rules is required to protect the forest," she said. "Food storage is also a big issue in many campgrounds and dispersed sites because it attracts bears. Educating forest visitors about the importance of following rules is key to public safety."
Sometimes being a Law Enforcement Officer means dismantling one of the most dangerous illegal activities on the forest: marijuana cultivation.
"These marijuana gardens are extremely hazardous because they are usually occupied with people that have weapons. They also use lots of pesticides, herbicides, and rodenticides, where these chemicals leach into the watershed and contaminate our water supply," Meyers said. "Sadly, small animals consume the pesticides and rodenticides, which cause them to die. Larger animals then consume the smaller toxic animals, and the cycle continues."
During her time as a Law Enforcement Officer, Meyers has protected and served the public in many different ways off the forest, too, including hurricane recovery efforts and multiple large-scale fire assignments.
No matter where she is, her favorite part of the job is talking to members of the public and sharing information. "That includes great hiking trails, good fishing spots, and current edible forest products," she said. "I also love educating the next generation on keeping the forest clean and safe, plus giving out Smokey swag!" The Forest Service provides Smokey Bear stickers, comic books, and other promotional items to spread the word about fire safety.
What she wants for the public to understand most of all about her job is that Law Enforcement Officers are the protectors and managers of the forest now and for many generations to come. Being able to have a hand in protecting this cherished resource from her childhood gives her great satisfaction.
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