Karen Louise Ripley was the Forest Health Monitoring and Invasive Insects coordinator for the Forest Health Protection group within the Pacific Northwest Region State, Private, and Tribal Forestry Program. She passed away on Aug. 6.  

Karen graduated from Whitman College in 1986 with a degree in biological science, and then spent three years in Xi’an, China, teaching English at the university and working for Holiday Inn.

In 1993, she graduated from the University of Washington with a master’s degree in Forest Science. She began her natural resource career as an insect trapper for the Washington Department of Agriculture before the Washington Department of Natural Resources hired her as an entomologist. Karen’s career with the Washington Department of Natural Resources spanned 22 years, culminating with her service as the state’s Forest Health Protection Program coordinator. She played a pivotal role in the development of the Washington State Forest Health Strategy.  

As a Forest Service employee, Karen served as the West Coast Forest Health Monitoring coordinator. She partnered with federal, state and university groups and collaborated with the other national coordinators to develop a consistent forest health monitoring data collection system and to identify new forest health monitoring technologies. Karen valued the coordinators’ network, frequently offering to assist her peers and support national level forest health reporting.  

Karen leaves behind a legacy of strong cross-boundary collaboration to suppress insect threats. For instance, she coordinated with the Washington State Department of Agriculture on their Asian spongy moth suppression project. She helped coordinate the Oregon emerald ash borer task force and was instrumental in the development of the Oregon emerald ash borer strategy. She was the first person to identify the presence of the non-native invasive Mediterranean oak borer in Oregon and worked closely with the Forest Service and Oregon Department of Forestry to develop a trapping program for that insect.  

Years after teaching English in China, Karen was able to return to Asia—this time as an entomologist. As part of Forest Service International Programs, she traveled to Mongolia to assist their forestry program with managing forest insects there.  

Beyond her skills and experience as an entomologist, Karen also lent her communications expertise to wildfire suppression efforts, serving as a public information officer on one of the Northwest’s Type Two incident management teams. She served in this role during her tenure with both the State of Washington and with the Forest Service.

Throughout her life, Karen remained fascinated with insects and all things in nature. Although not an avid birder, she had an innate ability to spot and identify birds. She is remembered by her family, friends and colleagues for her kindness, graciousness, curiosity and willingness to help, as well as her professional entomology and forestry skills.  

She is survived by her husband Mark, daughter Anna and son TJ. No formal memorial services are planned. Condolences and memories can be sent to the family: Mark Ripley; 3906 N. Massachusetts Ave.; Portland, OR 97227.