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 Blue Sky, 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 Know Before You Go!  

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 Washington Office.

Canyon Lakes District Ranger (Acting) Brian Sugg became the Acting District Ranger for Canyon Lakes Ranger District in November 2023, but has been working for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland as Special Projects Program Manager. Prior to that, Brian worked in Timber Sale Administration for the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland. Brian is an Air Force Veteran and a CSU Alumnus with a degree in Forest Management.

Clear Creek District Ranger Patsy McEntee joined the district in January 2024. Patsy comes to the USDA Forest Service with a background in landscape architecture, collaborative multi-jurisdictional planning, and over 25 years of experience in public land management at the federal and municipal levels.

Pawnee National Grassland District Ranger Curtis Youngman has been the District Ranger on the Pawnee National Grassland since 2014. Prior to that he was the Recreation, Lands and Minerals Specialist on the Black Kettle and McClelland Creek National Grasslands in Oklahoma and Texas and a Rangeland Management Specialist on the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico. He joined the Forest Service in 1979.

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.