About the Forest Home Page

The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland is located in north central Colorado. The forests and grassland encompasses 1.5 million acres and extends north to the Wyoming border, south of Interstate 70 to Mount Evans, west across the Continental Divide to the Williams Fork area and includes short grass prairie east of I-25. Headquarters are located in  Fort Collins, Colorado, and the Forests and Grassland is divided into five ranger districts: Boulder, Canyon Lakes, Clear Creek, Sulphur, and Pawnee.

Recreational opportunities are available on the plains of the Pawnee National Grassland east of Interstate 25 in Weld County to the northern Front Range in Larimer, Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek and Jefferson counties to the other side of the Continental Divide in Grand County. Be sure to check out all these opportunities in our recreation section and always make sure to #KnowBeforeYouGo! 

If you don't find what you are looking for on this site, please feel free to email us or visit our contact us page. 

Meet the Leadership

Forest Supervisor Monte Williams has served in this position since October 2015. He previously served as a Legislative Affairs Specialist in Washington, D.C., where he worked with Congress on issues critical to the Forest Service mission. Prior to his time in Washington, he was the Ocoee District Ranger on the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. His career started on the Ashley National Forest in Utah working seasonally in recreation, then later worked on the Boise National Forest in Idaho in timber management and silviculture. He was later employed as the district hydrologist of the Idaho City Ranger District and also worked as zone hydrologist on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Then as the forest hydrologist on the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota.

Deputy Forest Supervisor Jason Sieg brings a depth of experience in forest management and leadership to this position he filled in April 2023. He started with the Forest Service in 2005, working in a variety of positions across the west, from a seasonal wildlife crewmember in Arizona, to a wildland firefighter in Montana, to a forester in Alaska. Sieg has deep roots in northern Colorado, growing up in Fort Collins and spending time as a seasonal employee on the Forest early in his career. 

Boulder District Ranger Kevin McLaughlin joined the district in May 2022. He started his Forest Service career in 2004 as a seasonal employee on the Arapaho National Forest’s Sulphur Ranger District. Over the next few years, he held many positions on the Forest, including district timber program manager, certified silviculturist, and forest timber program manager, as well as experience on other national forests and the Forest Service's Washingtong Office. 

Canyon Lakes District Ranger Dennis Kuhnel returned to the Forest Service as the Canyon Lakes District Ranger in June 2022, after most recently working for the Bureau of Land Management. Throughout his career he has worked in academia and for the federal government in cultural resources, education and interpretation, recreation and as the Middle Fork District Ranger on the Salmon-Challis National Forests. 

Clear Creek District Ranger (Acting) Richard Stumpf became acting ranger in June 2023 and typically serves as the Forest's Timber Program Manager. He started his Forest Service career by working seasonally as a trail crew member here on the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests. 

Pawnee National Grassland District Ranger (Acting) Cody Peel became acting ranger in July 2023. He typically serves as the Forests and Grassland's Fire Management Staff Officer. 

Sulphur District Ranger Eric Freels joined the district in May 2022. He was previously the deputy district ranger on the North River and Lee Ranger Districts of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Prior to this position, he worked in wildlife on the Grand Valley Ranger District of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests.  Eric started his Forest Service career in Steamboat Springs on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests as a wildlife technician in 2001.

Forest History

The Arapaho National Forest was established by Theodore Roosevelt on July 1, 1908. The Roosevelt National Forest, originally part of the Medicine Bow Forest Reserve, was first named the Colorado National Forest in 1910 and was renamed by President Herbert Hoover to honor President Theodore Roosevelt in 1932. The Pawnee National Grassland was transferred to the Forest Service from the Soil Conservation Service in 1954. It was designated a national grassland in 1960.