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The Payette National Forest Supervisor, Linda Jackson, and Deputy Forest Supervisor Kevin Knesek lead a team of six staff officers and four district rangers. The Forest Supervisor’s Office, located in McCall, houses the Forest Supervisor and five program areas: the Fire and Aviation Group, Natural Resources, Planning, Administration and the REALM Group. The Forest Supervisor’s staff includes an Executive Assistant, the Public Affairs Officer and the Safety Officer.
The Natural Resources Group is led by Paul Klasner and includes Hydrology, Timber, Wildlife, Botany, and Fisheries.
The Administration/Planning Group is led by Ronda Bishop and includes fleet, budget, FOIA, Purchasing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Ecology, Planning, Appeals and Litigation.
The Fire and Aviation Group is led by Dave Vining and includes Fire Management, Aviation, Fuels, and Fire Planning. This staff area includes the McCall Smokejumper Base, Dispatch, and the McCall Tanker Base.
The REALM Group is led by Sarah Lau and includes Recreation, Facilities, Heritage, Engineering, Lands, and Minerals.
The Forest Public Affairs Officer is Brian Harris and the Forest Safety Officer is Jess Asmussen.
The Payette National Forest is managed on the ground by five Ranger Districts:
District Ranger Jeff Jones leads the Council and Weiser Ranger Districts headquartered in Council and Weiser, Idaho. The Council Ranger District surrounds the community of Council and includes the areas east and northeast of Council such as Hornet Creek, Lafferty Flats, Cuprum and Bear. The Weiser Ranger District is north of Weiser and includes Mann Creek, the Sturgill and Brownlee areas. The District includes National Forest lands within Adams and Washington Counties.
District Ranger Dana Harris leads the New Meadows Ranger District headquartered in New Meadows. The District includes the areas west, north and northeast of New Meadows such as Price Valley, Lost Creek, Boulder Creek, Pollock Mountain, Goose and Hazard Lakes, and the Brundage Mountain Ski Area. The District includes National Forest lands within portions of Adams and Idaho Counties and hosts the Price Valley Heli-Rappellers.
District Ranger Jenni Blake leads the McCall Ranger District headquartered in McCall. The District includes the area immediately surrounding McCall, but also north, east and southeast of McCall such as Upper Payette Lake and Granite Lake, Burgdorf, Secesh Meadows, Warren, Loon Lake, Lake Fork Creek and Paddy Flat. The District is in portions of Valley and Idaho Counties.
District Ranger Dave Hogan leads the Krassel Ranger District headquartered in McCall, and operates the Krassel Work Center along the South Fork of the Salmon River. The District is east of McCall and includes the South Fork of the Salmon River, the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River, Lick Creek Summit, Yellowpine, Stibnite, Big Creek and the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The District hosts the Krassel Helitack crew stationed next to the Smokejumper Base and is within portions of Idaho and Valley Counties.
Our employees work closely with the Rocky Mountain Research Station, the Idaho Department of Lands, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.