JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Todd Stiles has been named District Ranger for Jackson on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The question is are congratulations or condolences in order?
Stiles had been acting distric ranger since June after acting district ranger Rob Hoelscher returned to his duties in Pinedale. All the shuffling put in motion when Mary Moore left for assignment in California.
Stiles has been the district ranger at Black Rock since 2015. Before that he was on the Gallatin NF in Montana and the Okanogan-Wenatchee in Washington.
Stiles said his wide array of assignments in the past makes him well-suited to tackle the unique and varied interests of forest users in the Jackson Hoe area.
“Being here in Jackson is pretty awesome,” Stiles told Jackson Hole Press. “The portion of the forest here has pretty much every program you can think of that the Forest Service manages. Diverse and passionate user groups. World-class habitat and wildlife. Add to all that a conservation ethic that Jackson Hole has as its historical core.”
Two ski resorts, tons of wildland-urban interface (think: fires and bear problems), pressure on front-country camping that’s partly affordable housing overflow. Stiles will have his hands full coming to hopping Jackson from sleepy Moran.
“It’s a busy place and it demands a lot of attention. So many engaged citizens. That’s a challenge I’m looking forward to. I like being busy,” Stiles says.
Stiles says he is keenly aware of increasing pressures on resources throughout the West and here on the Bridger-Teton. He says will rely on relationships already established with user groups like permitees, and stakeholders like the national parks and conservation groups. He will lean on what he says is a great staff, most of whom he is familiar with coming from just up the road.
“You’ve got to understand the nuances of this place. You’ve got to have patience and persistence. Relationship-building, leveraging resources, especially with NEPA projects…it’s an art, really, to managing all those moving parts. But that is the really gratifying part of being a district ranger,” Stiles says.
The move to Jackson will make his kids happy—a 17-year-old and 15-year-old that both go to Jackson Hole High School. The drive from Moran was likely getting very old.
For Stiles, there probably couldn’t be someone better suited to take on the complexities of being a Jackson District Ranger. He’s spent his whole life with the USFS. From starting as a packer and volunteer on the LoLo in Montana to managing permits on the Puget Sound, Stiles has a strong understanding of what it is people like to do in the forest.
“When I think about what a district ranger has to do, you have to be a generalist and have a broad understanding of people and the landscape, and how that interacts with where you are,” Stiles admits. “Although the world is pretty different than when the Forest Service first came into being, some of the challenges are the same. I always fall back on the guiding principle ‘the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time.’”
