Tim Eldridge, Missoula, Montana; Smokejumper Base.
Until a knee injury ended his active jumping career, Tim Eldridge served the Forest Service as a smokejumper at the Missoula base. Eldridge now manages the Smokejumper Visitor Center, which receives approximately 20,000 visitors each summer. In addition to arranging tours for schools, tour groups, and Congressional and foreign delegations, Eldridge is also responsible for the Center's displays, exhibits, and commercial operations.

Kelly Esterbrook, Bend, Oregon; Smokejumper Base.
In 1980, Kelly Esterbrook was one of the first six women hired to the Prospect Ranger District's hotshot crew—a group of highly skilled firefighters who tackle tough wildfires. In 1986, she became a smokejumper and for ten years enjoyed the camaraderie and adventure of parachuting out of airplanes to fight wildfires. After retiring from smokejumping, Esterbrook began working in the Willamette National Forest's fire management office.

The Fiddlin' Foresters; Sounds of the Forest.
The Fiddlin' Foresters are the "official old-time string band of the USDA Forest Service." Consisting of Forest Service employees from the Rocky Mountain Region, the group has been playing together since 1994. The Foresters dress in vintage 1907 uniforms, and sing about the importance of resource conservation and public land stewardship. Their programs feature traditional songs from the southern Appalachians and the American West. The Fiddlin' Foresters have played at events such as the 2002 Olympic Games and the National Western Stock Show. The group recently received the Forest Service Chief's Award for its interpretive musical program. Its members include Jane Leche (guitar), Tom McFarland (guitar), Jim Maxwell (banjo), and Lynn Young (fiddle).

Bill Glass, Wilmington, Illinois; Forest Landscapes.
Bill Glass is an ecologist at the new Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. The tallgrass prairie is one of the rarest natural ecosystems in the United States, and home to several nationally endangered plants. The challenge of restoring the Prairie to its original condition is difficult because the local ecosystem has been drastically altered, first by pioneers who converted the native prairie to farmland, and later by the presence of a U.S. Army munitions plant.

Gordon Grant, Corvallis, Oregon; Protecting Forests and Wildlife Habitats.
Gordon Grant has always been interested in how rivers work and the role watersheds play in people's lives. He spent 12 years working as a white-water river guide before returning to school for his doctorate in hydrology and fluvial geomorphology. As a Research Hydrologist, he studies the effects of land use, dams, geology, and floods on river processes. At the Festival, Grant uses an experimental river, complete with live vegetation and floods, to give visitors a dynamic display of river processes.

Ed Gross, Brookings, Oregon; Interactive Forest.
Until retiring from the Forest Service in 1997, Ed Gross worked as a soil scientist at the Siskiyou National Forest. When the Forest Service developed the Siskiyou Forest Plan in the 1980s, Gross realized the important role played by dead organic matter in a forest's regenerative cycle. It was because of his efforts that the eventual Forest Plan included recommendations to leave "large woody material" on the forest floor.

Tony Guinn, Mountain View, Arkansas; Water, Woods, and Mountains.
Tony Guinn is the Visitor Information Specialist at the Blanchard Springs Caverns, one of the few caves in the Forest Service system that offer tours to the public. Guinn arranges tours for the Caverns' 90,000 annual visitors. She is also responsible for producing educational programs about the caves, their history, and the bats and endangered species that live there.

Jim Hammer, Winthrop, Washington; Call of the Wild.
Jim Hammer has spent his entire 40-year Forest Service career on the Methow Valley Ranger District in the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests, where he now serves as Wilderness and Trails Coordinator. Before moving into an office position, Hammer was an expert animal packer who built, maintained, and upgraded trails in the wilderness.

Elizabeth Hawke, Milford, Pennsylvania; Interactive Forest.
Elizabeth Hawke began her career at Grey Towers National Historic Site as a summer intern. Now, as the horticulturist of Gifford Pinchot's ancestral home, Hawke nurtures the historic gardens and landscape, a moat, and the Fingerbowl, the Pinchots' distinctive outdoor dining table. She also takes care of the grounds of the 102-acre estate, including the trees that were planted by Gifford and his wife Cornelia, large sloping lawns, forests, trails, paths, and roadways.  

Charles Hillary, Madison, Wisconsin; Forest Products.
Charles Hillary is a Physical Science Technician at the Forest Products Laboratory. In his position, Hillary implements new technology and computers for the Lab. He also conducts research in the pulp and paper division for the Postal Service recycling project, working on ways to remove inks, toners and glues from the paper to conform to standards for Postal Service suppliers. At the Festival, Hillary demonstrates simple ways for children and adults to make their own paper.

Jack Holcomb, Lawrenceville, Georgia; Arts & Crafts.
Jack Holcomb's professional career is with the Forest Service, but his passion is constructing guitars by hand, spending at least 250 hours on each guitar. Holcomb has worked with the Forest Service for 26 years and is currently the Regional Hydrologist for the Forest Service Southern Region in Atlanta. At the Festival, Holcomb displays one of his classical guitars and gives an in-depth presentation on the methods and materials he uses to craft his guitars.

Saul Irvin, Seville, Florida; Camp Foodways/Fire Camp.
Saul Irvin has been working with the Florida Division of Forestry for 25 years, serving as a combination firefighter and ranger, or "franger" (in his own words). As a child he learned to hunt, fish, and find his way around the woods, and now he applies those early lessons to his work as a forest ranger. He also has become an experienced cook, particularly for several varieties of catfish.

Dorica Jackson, Ketchikan, Alaska; Arts & Crafts.
Dorica Jackson began her professional weaving career in the early 1970s, combining her training in textile design with her newly acquired knowledge and respect for Northwest Coast Indian Art. Her Chilkat weaving can now be seen in various museums around the globe. In addition, she shares her knowledge by teaching apprentices and students at the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Nathan Jackson, Ketchikan, Alaska; Arts & Crafts.
Nathan Jackson was born into the Sockeye Clan on the Raven side of the Chilkoot-Tlingit tribe, and specializes in woodcarving, jewelry, and design. Many museums exhibit his work, including a 20-foot cedar totem pole at the National Museum of the American Indian. In 1995, he received the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. At the Festival, Jackson demonstrates his elaborate techniques of carving a totem pole.

Patrick Michael Karnahan, Sonora, California; Sounds of the Forest.
During his 15-year tenure with the Forest Service, Patrick Michael Karnahan worked in six California forests, including the Stanislaus National Forest, where he still volunteers. Karnahan is a skilled painter; several of his canvases have appeared on the cover of Wildfire Magazine, and one of his paintings was selected for a postage stamp by the U.S. Postal Service. He has released 14 CDs with his Black Irish Band, and covers a broad repertoire of traditional American, Irish, and Italian folk music.

Robert Karrfalt, Lafayette, Indiana; Tree Doctors.
Robert Karrfalt is the Director of the National Tree Seed Laboratory. The lab's three major functions are to test seed quality, provide technical assistance to governments and individual growers, and maintain an international seed bank. One key component of seed and seedling testing is to certify that seeds or seedlings are suitably adapted for the planting area. Since 1972 the Seed Bank has shipped over 150 seed species to 95 countries in an effort to promote global reforestation.

Nova Kim and Leslie Hook, Albany, Vermont; Camp Foodways.
Nova Kim and Leslie Hook are self-described wildcrafters, which they define as "accepting from the woods or field what is offered, and utilizing it." Kim and Hook collect wild edibles like mushrooms, which they then sell to restaurants and stores. Their previous business ventures have included a successful ginseng tea business and wildcrafting nursery plants from national forests. See www.wildorganicfoods.com

Beth King, Layton, Utah; Camp Foodways.
Beth King works in the Intermountain Region's Engineering Cartographics Department, and is also the caretaker of the Forest Service History Archives at Weber State University. Recently, King's archival work has focused on chronicling the history of outdoor cooking in the Forest Service, resulting in a cookbook, Camp Cooking: 100 Years, 1905-2005, published by the National Museum of Forest Service History.  

Samuel Larry, Atlanta, Georgia; Forest Service History.
Since 1968, the Tuskegee Forestry Program has played a major role in training African-American foresters and natural-resource professionals. Samuel Larry enrolled at Tuskegee University to study forestry in 1976 and later became the Forest Service's liaison to Tuskegee. Currently he leads cooperative fire management activities for the Forest Service's Southern Region.

Pat Lynch, Encampment, Wyoming; Forest Service History.
Though retired from the Forest Service, Pat Lynch maintains a "guard station" where he lodges Forest Service employees traveling through the area. Lynch is an expert on Forest Service history, and his guard station is furnished with an extensive collection of memorabilia, including uniforms, badges, and correspondence between Gifford Pinchot and William Kreutzer, the Forest Service's first Chief and first forest ranger, respectively.

Wally McRae, Forsyth, Montana; Community Stage.
Wally McRae manages a cattle ranch in eastern Montana, where his family has lived since 1885. Intrigued by the traditional poetry of working cowboys and ranchers, McRae has written more than 100 poems and four books of poetry, and was the first cowboy poet to be awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. From 1996 to 1998, he served as a member of the National Council on the Arts.

Nanette Madden, Fall River, California; Fire Camp.
One of the first female firefighters to work for the USDA Forest Service, Nanette Madden currently works as Division Chief for Protection and Prevention on the Modoc National Forest, and as a technical specialist on a National Fire Prevention Team.
Madden has received the Silver Smokey Bear Award for her work in wildland fire prevention.

Karen Malis-Clark, Flagstaff, Arizona; Family Activities.
Karen Malis-Clark works as an Assistant Public Affairs Officer in the Coconino National Forest Supervisor's office. A favorite part of her job is giving talks and demonstrations at schools, adult education classes, environmental seminars, and meetings with Forest Service partners. In 2003 she received the Southwestern Region Conservation Educator and Interpreter of the Year award.

Kristen Martine, Flagstaff, Arizona; Forest Landscapes.
Kristen Martine is the District Archaeologist for the Mogollon Rim Ranger District on the Coconino National Forest. She often works with Native American groups that use the forest or have a connection to its archaeological sites. Martine is also involved in protecting traditional cultural properties, as well as sites that may have religious significance. Her husband, Andy Coriell, is also a Festival participant.

Karen Martinson, Madison, Wisconsin; Sustainable Resource House.
Karen Martinson is the Housing Program Specialist at the Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory, where she facilitates research coordination and partnerships with universities, industry, and other government agencies. She also played a significant role in the creation and development of the Lab's Advanced Housing Research Center and the Research Demonstration House. At the Festival, Martinson will staff and provide information on the Sustainable Resource House.

Kirby Matthew, Deer Lodge, Montana; Woodlands Heritage.
Kirby Matthew is the Program Manager of the Historic Building Preservation Team for the Northern Region. Matthew's introduction to historic building preservation came when he worked as a seasonal archaeologist at the Lolo National Forest from 1981 to 1986. He was subsequently certified by the National Park Service as a master preservation carpenter. As many early 20th-century buildings age, Matthew's proficiency in traditional building techniques helps preserve the history of America's forests.

Joe Meade, Anchorage, Alaska; Water, Woods, and Mountains.
Joe Meade is the Forest Supervisor at the Chugach National Forest. Meade is visually disabled, and works with the help of a talking computer and his guide dog, Navarro. He began working with the Forest Service in 1977, and was later instrumental in ensuring that the Forest Service become a leader in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Throughout his career, Meade has helped ensure that national forests and public facilities are accessible for everyone's enjoyment.

Bill Meadows, Washington, D.C.; Community Stage.
Bill Meadows serves as president of The Wilderness Society, overseeing a staff of 150 located in Washington, D.C., and nine regional offices. More than 2.5 million acres have been added to the National Wilderness Preservation System since Meadows became president of the organization in 1996. Previously he served as director of the Sierra Club's Centennial Campaign.

Rick Meinzer, Corvallis, Oregon; Canopy Crane.
Rick Meinzer is an accomplished scientist, specializing in plant physiology. He has worked all over the world and is currently working with the Wind River Canopy Crane in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Meinzer is interested in learning about the route water takes in a tree from the roots to the uppermost leaves, to help understand better the life of a tree.

Warren Miller, Peck, Idaho; Woodlands Heritage.
Warren Miller is nationally recognized as an expert in the use of the crosscut saw. While employed with the Forest Service, Miller worked as a wilderness ranger at the Nez Perce National Forest. Although he retired several years ago, he continues to teach several crosscut saw classes for the agency every year. 

Chuck Milner, Cheyenne, Oklahoma; Sounds of the Forest.
As a range specialist at the Black Kettle National Grasslands, Chuck Milner oversees the area's cattle-grazing program. But his other career is as a cowboy singer, poet, and storyteller, using his songs, poems, and stories to connect the Forest Service and the Oklahoma ranching community. In 2001, Milner's original composition, "Doan's Crossing," received the Will Rogers Award for Western Music Song of the Year from the Academy of Western Artists.

Heather Murphy, Leavenworth, Washington; Protecting Forests and Wildlife Habitats.
Heather Murphy is a wildlife biologist who surveys bird, mammal, amphibian, and mollusk populations for the Wenatchee River Ranger District on the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests. She keeps records of the tracks, feathers, fur, scat, bones, nests, plants, and organisms that she observes. On the side, she uses watercolors to illustrate her field notes. At the Festival, she shares her techniques for keeping nature journals.

Lezlie Murray, Girdwood, Alaska; Call of the Wild.
Lezlie Murray currently serves as the Director of the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center at the Chugach National Forest, the second largest national forest in the country. She and her team offer a diverse range of programs for visitors to Prince William Sound. It's hard to describe a typical "day at the office" for Murray. She does everything from teaching how to hike safely around bears to leading ice-worm safaris on the Byron Glacier Trail.

Hank Nelson, Wasilla, Alaska; Community Stage.
Hank Nelson grew up in a logging camp near Coos Bay, Oregon, and worked as a timber faller for more than 30 years in the Northwest, including Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. He now works part-time as a bus driver, raconteur, and guide for cruise ship passengers. Although Nelson considers himself more of a singer and songwriter than a poet, he also writes and recites logger poetry.

Kelly Pearson, Jonesboro, Illinois; Call of the Wild.
Kelly Pearson is responsible for the maintenance and operation of several developed recreation areas at the Lusk Creek Wilderness. Because most visitors arrive on horseback, the trails are under constant stress, and require frequent maintenance. Pearson's work days include correcting erosion problems, hardening and draining trails, and shaping them to provide an environmentally sound and enjoyable experience for riders.

Leona Pooyouma, Flagstaff, Arizona; Arts & Crafts.
Leona Pooyouma is a human resource assistant in the Coconino National Forest, helping those who are seeking work with the Forest Service. In addition to her professional work, Pooyouma is a skilled Hopi wicker basket weaver. Using native plants and bushes found on the Hopi reservation, she weaves in the Third Mesa wicker style, transforming rabbit brush and sumac plants into works of art.   

Marvin Pooyouma, Flagstaff, Arizona; Arts & Crafts.
Marvin Pooyouma began his career with the Forest Service in 1972 as a member of the Coconino Hotshots, a firefighting crew. During the off seasons Pooyouma spent much time learning about Hopi teachings and traditions; now he is highly skilled in the art of textile weaving, which he learned from his grandfather and is currently passing down to his son.

Steve Reed, Victor, Montana; Smokejumper Base.
Steve Reed is a smokejumper squad leader, or spotter, at the Missoula Smokejumper Base. Spotters are responsible for jumper and plane safety, for delivering firefighting equipment, and for determining when and where jumpers will land. Reed also helps recruit and prepare new trainees for the challenging six-week basic training regimen required of all new smokejumpers.

Rodney Richard, Sr., Rangeley, Maine; Community Arts and Crafts.
Rodney Richard worked for many years as an independent logger in the woods of western Maine before retiring in the late 1980s. He learned to carve wood from his father and other family members, and has likewise taught his son how to carve with both chainsaw and jackknife. "The chainsaw is just like a jackknife, only a really powerful one," he explains.   

Riders in the Dirt; Sounds of the Forest.
The Riders in the Dirt are a traditional bluegrass quartet from Oregon. All four of the band's members are women and Forest Service professionals. Gayle Hunt, who plays guitar, banjo, and mandolin for the Riders, says that the group would never have started if not for the tireless enthusiasm of rhythm guitarist and fellow Ochoco National Forest employee, Judy Haigler. Rounding out the Riders are fiddler Jo Booser, silviculturist for the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests, who also plays musical saws and flutes; and lead singer and bassist Anne Alford, a wildlife biologist at the Crooked River National Grassland.

Michael Ritter, Madison, Wisconsin; Sustainable Resource House.
Michael Ritter serves as Assistant Director at the Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory and leads their Advanced Housing Research Center. The AHRC conducts research into many aspects of wood-frame housing with an emphasis on maximizing durability and energy efficiency while enhancing the sustainability of our nation's forests. At the Festival, Ritter will staff and provide information on the Sustainable Resource House.

William Rosanelli, Montague, New Jersey; Forest Service History.
When school is in session, William Rosanelli teaches theology at a Catholic high school in New Jersey. However, during the summer Rosanelli is the Lead Interpretive Tour Guide at Grey Towers National Historic Site, once the home of Gifford Pinchot, the former governor of Pennsylvania and first Chief of the Forest Service. Rosanelli is very knowledgeable about Pinchot, Pinchot's family, and Forest Service history.

Michelle Ryan, Dillon, Montana; Forest Service History.
Michelle Ryan comes from a Forest Service family: her father, an uncle, her husband and son have all been employed by the Forest Service at some point. Recently, Ryan's quilt design was one of two chosen to commemorate the Forest Service's centennial. Conceived in the traditional scrap-quilt style, Ryan's quilt features a top pieced by 100 individuals employed by, or otherwise connected to, the Forest Service.

Catherine "Cat" Sampson, Camp Verde, Arizona; Law Enforcement.
Cat Sampson, originally from France, is Assistant Operations Manager on the Red Rock District in the Coconino National Forest. The Great American Horse Race, staged in 1976 to celebrate America's Bicentennial, brought Sampson to the United States. She rode from Frankfurt, N.Y., to Sacramento, Calif., and fell in love with the West. She has been with the Forest Service for 10 years and wishes she had found it sooner.

Nathan Schiff, Stoneville, Mississippi; Tree Doctors.
Nathan Schiff is an entomologist at the Center for Bottomland Hardwood Research who researches how insects spread fungal and bacterial diseases. His work has brought him to 43 countries, where he has worked with forestry groups and various non-governmental organizations to address the problem of insects killing trees. Schiff takes pride in an enormous collection that includes brilliantly colored butterflies and beetles the size of a human fist.

Herb Schroeder, Evanston, Illinois; Forest Landscapes.
Herb Schroeder is recognized as an expert in environmental psychology, a branch of psychology concerned with understanding people's relationship with the environment. Working for the Forest Service's North Central Research Station, Schroeder conducts research in order to help land managers and planners better appreciate how human beings experience and value different environments.

Dave Shaw, Carson, Washington; Canopy Crane.
Dave Shaw's fascination with biology and natural history began when he was a young boy living in Singapore and Malaysia, where his father was a rubber buyer for an American tire company. Today he is a research scientist at the Wind River Canopy Crane, with a particular interest in forest protection and the natural history of forest organisms, including birds, epiphytes, and mistletoe.

The Shawnee Forest New Century Children's Choir, Southern Illinois: Sounds of the Forest.
The Shawnee Forest New Century Children's Choir comprises children, ages 6 to 14, who love nature and singing. The choir members come from many different backgrounds, schools, and towns in southern Illinois. Singing is a way for them to share their harmonious voices with others, and a way also to share the message of conservation in the new century. 

Jane Smith, Corvallis, Oregon; Tree Doctors.
Jane Smith is a research botanist and mycologist at the Pacific Northwest Research Station who studies the role of fungi in the forest ecosystem. Fungi are best known to humans in their edible mushroom forms, but mycologists know that the symbiotic relationship between fungi and trees is indispensable to a forest's survival.

Stacey Smith, McKenzie Bridge, Oregon; Call of the Wild.
Stacey Smith was raised on a ranch where she first learned to love the outdoors, and where she and her four sisters were expected to do most of the household and barnyard chores. Now she works for the Forest Service as a "Leave No Trace" Educator, frequently interacting with hiking groups to teach and promote responsible use of the wilderness.

Henrietta Snype, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina; Arts & Crafts.
Henrietta Snype coils baskets out of materials such as sweet grass, palmetto leaves and pine needles that grow wild in her hometown of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (just outside of Charleston). Snype learned this coiling technique from her mother and grandmother, who learned from their mothers and grandmothers. The tradition dates back to some of the earliest slaves to arrive in South Carolina.

Bill Stafford, Lake Montezuma, Arizona; Camp Foodways.
Bill Stafford is the Recreation Staff Officer for the Red Rock District of the Coconino National Forest, which welcomes more than four million visitors annually and is home to Arizona's most popular recreation area, Oak Creek Canyon. Stafford's personal career has been just as busy. He has been chased by bears and rattlesnakes, has helped fight the biggest forest fire in the Coconino's history, and has rescued flood victims.

Jean Szymanski, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Family Activities.
Jean Szymanski is the Conservation Education Specialist for the Forest Service's Southwestern Region, and one of the lead coordinators of curriculum development for the New Mexico Forestry Camp. The camp was initiated in 1990 to help New Mexico youth better understand the management and uses of New Mexican forests, teaching them about trees, streams, archaeology, insects, wildfire, grazing, and wildlife.

Sidne Teske, Tuscarora, Nevada; Arts & Crafts.
Sidne Teske's award-winning plein-air pastel paintings have been inspired by 30 years of living amongst the mountains and forests of Nevada. Teske follows her instincts as she paints, using vibrant colors to capture the light and scenery in the area around the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. At the Festival, Teske demonstrates her use of color and provides a window to the real landscapes of the West.

Donna Thatcher, Farmington, New Mexico; Camp Foodways.
Donna Thatcher is a naturalist who currently serves as the director of the Nature Center at the Farmington Museum. At the Festival, she demonstrates her extensive knowledge of Southwestern native plants and how they have been used in traditional ways—as dyes, food, arts, and household products—by Hispanic and Native American cultures.

Walt Thies, Corvallis, Oregon; Arts & Crafts.
Walt Thies's fascination with wood is not limited to his professional career as a research plant pathologist at the Pacific Northwest Research Station. The wood of the Pacific Northwest has inspired him to become a skilled wood turner of bowls, ornaments, and toys. At the Festival Thies discusses the natural characteristics and science of wood as he rapidly transforms blocks of wood into finished, shaped pieces.

Charmaine Thompson, Provo, Utah; Forest Landscapes.
Charmaine Thompson is an archaeologist and heritage specialist at the Uinta National Forest. In addition to fieldwork responsibilities that include finding, exploring, and mapping sites of significance, Thompson ensures that all archaeological work in the Forest conforms to federal regulations. In her presentations to Forest visitors, Thompson teaches about the delicate balance between use and preservation.

Lee Thornhill, Lakeside, Arizona; Fire Camp.
Lee Thornhill is a deputy district ranger at the Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests. In addition to his regular duties, Thornhill is part of an Incident Management team that responds to natural disasters like forest fires. The job is stressful and chaotic, and often requires long absences from his family and home. Still, Thornhill would never give up this extra work; he says he was hooked the moment he first smelled smoke.

Trails Unlimited, Monrovia, California; Interactive Forest.
Trails Unlimited is an Enterprise Unit within the USDA Forest Service that has constructed more than 100 miles of trails and provided training on trail management throughout the United States. Led by Cam Lockwood, Trails Unlimited constructed the Interactive Forest at the Folklife Festival.

Teresa Trulock, Pinedale, Wyoming; Forest Service History.
Teresa Trulock works as a Resource Specialist for the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Recently, Trulock's design for a king-sized quilt was one of two selected to commemorate the Forest Service's centennial. The quilt features 12 sections that are each associated with a theme from the Forest Service's 100 years. The quilt's individual blocks were sewn by volunteer quilters from across the United States.

Gail Tunberg, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Water, Woods, and Mountains.
As Wildlife Program Manager for the Southwestern Region, Gail Tunberg is responsible for implementing the "Be Bear Aware" program. Created in response to increasing interaction between humans and wildlife, "Be Bear Aware" educates visitors on ways to minimize the possibility of confronting a bear. These include maintaining a clean camp, avoiding products that attract bears, and cooking in ways that don't invite bears.

Francisco Valenzuela, Golden, Colorado; Water, Woods, and Mountains.
Currently the Regional Recreation Planner for the Rocky Mountain Region, Francisco Valenzuela has also worked as a landscape architect, regional planner, and interpreter. Valenzuela's first day of work at the Mt. St. Helens Ranger District was also the day the volcano erupted. For the past 25 years, Francisco has documented the natural processes of the volcano and its surrounding environment.

Ramiro Villalvazo, Washington, D.C.; Community Stage.
Ramiro Villalvazo is the National Forest Systems' Chief Landscape Architect. Villalvazo was born in Mexico and moved to downtown San Diego with his family at an early age.  His interest in nature and conservation were influenced by the waterfront and urban park experiences of his youth. Villalvazo has spent much of his professional career working on urban forests in California, Puerto Rico, and Florida.

Dennis Vroman, Grants Pass, Oregon; Protecting Forests and Wildlife Habitats.
Dennis Vroman is a bird bander at the Siskiyou National Forest. Although he retired from the Forest Service in 1996, he continues to maintain three MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) stations on the Siskiyou. These stations are vital to efforts monitoring the health of local songbird populations. Over his lifetime, Vroman estimates that he has banded more than 30,000 birds.

Linda Wadleigh, Flagstaff, Arizona; Camp Foodways/Fire Camp/Tree Doctors.
As the Regional Fire Ecologist in the Southwest, Linda Wadleigh works on all the national forests in Arizona and New Mexico. Although wildfires are commonly associated with destruction, fire ecologists like Wadleigh understand the beneficial effect that fire can have on a local ecosystem. In fact, regular fires are essential to a forest's regenerative cycle. Her husband, John Anhold, is also a Festival participant.

Lee Webb, Grants Pass, Oregon; Protecting Forests and Wildlife Habitats.
Until retiring in 2004, Lee Webb was the Wildlife Biologist at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Webb spent 29 years with the Forest Service, and helped develop the Land and Resource Management Plan for the Siskiyou, which resulted in the creation of over 10,000 wildlife sites and 19 botanical areas. Webb has always been especially interested in the Spotted Owl, and discusses the owl at the Festival.  

Neil Weintraub, Williams, Arizona; Forest Landscapes.
Neil Weintraub is the District Archaeologist on the Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts in the Kaibab National Forest, charged with protecting, managing, and interpreting a broad range of artifacts and resources. Many of the artifacts he has uncovered near the Grand Canyon date back at least 4,000 years. Weintraub has also been heavily involved in efforts to discourage once-rampant looting near archaeological sites.

Chuck Williams, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Forest Service History.
Chuck Williams has a personal connection to two of the Forest Service's most recognizable icons. From 1968 to 1970, Williams served as technical advisor to the television show, Lassie. Whenever Forest Service rangers and Lassie were filmed, the show's producers relied on Williams to help shape dialogue and plot. Williams later created a public service spot, "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute," that introduced Woodsy Owl, who has since become America's official environmental icon.

Marta Witt, Wilmington, Illinois; Forest Landscapes.
Marta Witt is the Public Service Team Leader at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, which sits on land previously occupied by the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, once the Army's largest supplier of TNT. Efforts to restore the native ecosystem have been complicated by the presence of contaminants and by the dominance of non-native plant species. The Prairie opened its first 5,000 acres to the public in 2003.

Keith Wolferman, Missoula, Montana; Smokejumper Base.
Keith Wolferman works as a squad leader at the Missoula Smokejumper Base. When a forest fire breaks out, squad leaders like Wolferman plan the aerial attack against the fire. They determine jump spots and release points based on calculations of wind speed and direction, and are responsible for plane and jumper safety.

Pat York, Jonesboro, Illinois; Community Stage/Water, Woods, and Mountains.
As Recreation Program Manager on the Shawnee National Forest, Pat York aims to connect individuals and communities to their forests. She has facilitated community projects to establish National Scenic Byways; and has also worked at the Hoosier National Forest, where she teamed with local arts councils to obtain grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for multicultural performances. York is a songwriter, performer, and conductor of a children's choir and a cappella women's ensemble.

Pete Zavalla, Solvang, California; Community Stage.
Pete Zavalla is the Tribal Liaison for the Los Padres National Forest, helping Native American groups obtain special use permits to interact with the forest in traditional ways. Zavalla became involved with the Forest Service in 1990, while thinking of ways to combat high youth unemployment on his Chumash reservation. He subsequently helped initiate a work program at the forest for teenagers from the reservation.

Tony Zavalla, Santa Barbara, California; Fire Camp.
Tony Zavalla is a fire engine operator at the Los Padres National Forest, where his father and brother also work. Zavalla began his career as a firefighter and was soon transferred to the Los Padres Hotshots, an elite group of firefighters called upon to battle the toughest blazes. Before he became a truck operator, Zavalla had the opportunity to spend one season on the same smokejumping team as his brother.