USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest employees recognized at 2023 Chief’s Honor Awards

(PORTLAND, OR)- The USDA Forest Service honored two groups of Pacific Northwest Regional employees for their contributions and accomplishments toward meeting strategic goals during the 2023 Chief’s Honor Awards held on March 13, 2024.

The Pacific Northwest Region’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscapes and the Office of Communication and Community Engagement Team received awards during the national event, according to a news release from the Forest Service. Award recipients were among 128 nominated across the agency, with only 37 final groups receiving awards. Nominees were considered based on five criteria: Mission, Outcomes, Work Environment and Culture, Initiative and Ingenuity, and Customer Experience.

“The outstanding achievements that were recognized during the Chief’s Honor Awards exemplify the commitment our employees make toward fulfilling our agency’s mission and living out our core values of service, interdependence, diversity, conservation and safety,” said Jacque Buchanan, Regional Forester for the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service. “Their accomplishments are inspirational examples of the incredible work occurring every day in this region.”

All Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS) Landscapes, including the five located within the Pacific Northwest Region, were awarded for their work in delivering the WCS through innovation. The Pacific Northwest Region WCS Priority Landscapes include the Central Washington Initiative (Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest), Central Oregon (Deschutes National Forest and Crooked River National Grassland), Mt. Hood Forest Health and Fire-Resilient Communities (Mt. Hood National Forest), Colville Northeast Vision (Colville National Forest) and the Klamath Basin Landscape (Fremont-Winema National Forest).

“Our teams continue to work diligently to reduce wildfire risk to communities and increase fire-resiliency across the landscape,” said Shasta Ferranto, Wildfire Crisis Team Lead for the Pacific Northwest Region. “Last year, our Wildfire Crisis teams accomplished more than 200,000 acres of hazardous fuels reduction work in the Pacific Northwest, in addition to our normal hazardous fuels work across the region. Their daily efforts and contributions are essential for the health of our national forests and safety of our communities.”

The WCS is a robust ten-year effort to address wildfire risk in places where they pose the most immediate threats to communities and infrastructure. The strategy combines historic levels of congressional funding with years of scientific research and planning to increase the scale of forest health treatments over the next decade.

The Pacific Northwest Region Office of Communication and Community Engagement (OCCE) Team was also awarded for their contributions toward developing tribal and equity-centered partnerships. The employees recognized included Heather Zissler, Sarah Callaghan, Rebecca Ciciretti, Sarah Kassel, Rachel LaMedica, Nikola Smith, and Leslie Garcia.

“The Regional Community Engagement Team's work truly encompasses what it means to apply an equity lens and values-based approach in everything that we do. These individuals have been agency forerunners in diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and justice programming that aligns with the agency’s Equity Action Plan," said Heather Zissler, Deputy Director for the OCCE. "I am honored to be part of this team and excited that their contributions were recognized through this award.”

In 2023, OCCE staff led several initiatives that implemented elements of the Forest Service’s Equity Action Plan. The team’s accomplishments included developing partnerships focused on inclusive and culturally relevant products, leading training and engagements, coordinating targeted efforts to attract and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce, sharing and promoting tools with National Forest staff that helped identify traditionally underserved communities, and reducing barriers to accessing and benefiting from public lands.

A program with names and photos of the award recipients, as well as descriptions of each, may be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/recognition/chiefs-awards.