Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Welcomes New Deputy Forest Supervisor

Wenatchee -  New Deputy Forest Supervisor Erick Walker reported for duty at the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest headquarters on May 28..

“Erick has hit the ground running, so to speak with his first month being full of regional and forest leadership meetings, employee training sessions, and meetings with collaborators and partners,” said Forest Supervisor Mike Williams. “We are excited to welcome Erick to the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Leadership team. He brings a solid breadth of experience to our forest and region, and I know he’s looking forward to visiting ranger districts this summer,” Williams said.

Walker is a 27-year veteran of the Forest Service, first working on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit as a seasonal range technician while earning his degree in Natural Resource Management with an emphasis on Rangeland Ecology from the University of Nevada-Reno. In 1998 he was hired as a permanent Rangeland Management Specialist on the Almanor Ranger District of the Lassen National Forest. He then worked on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest as the district Natural Resources Officer and also Recreation, Heritage, Lands and Minerals Officer.

Walker also served on the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest as the Deputy District Ranger on the Manchester Ranger District for three years. For the past seven years, Walker was the Sandpoint District Ranger on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Walker also had one temporary Acting Deputy Forest Supervisor assignment for the Coconino National Forest in 2016. 

“First off, I would like to say I’m very excited about coming to the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest,” Walker said. “I have heard many great things about the forest, community, and collaborative efforts, and am honored to be joining all of you. I was born and raised outside of Los Angeles in Monrovia, California. I grew up with the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles National Forest in my backyard and played there quite a bit growing up,” he added.

Walker and his wife Kate, a Botanist/Ecologist, are excited about moving to Wenatchee and becoming members of the community. “We look forward to pursuing our interests in downhill and back-country skiing, hiking, biking, gardening, kayaking, and listening to live music,” Walker said.