Twenty-seven years ago, Gina Owens began her Forest Service career as a seasonal worker on the Packwood Ranger District.
On July 6, she returns to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest as supervisor of the 1.3 million acres of backcountry straddling the Cascade Mountains between the Columbia River and Mount Rainier National Park.
Owens, deputy supervisor of the Umpqua National Forest in Roseburg, Ore., will replace retiring Gifford Pinchot supervisor Janine Clayton, who has been in the position since 2008.
Jim Pena, regional forester for Washington and Oregon, announced Owens’ appointment this week.
She has worked in four Forest Service regions and in Washington, D.C.
Owens has a bachelor’s degree in wildland recreation management from Washington State University.
