Faye Krueger is the new regional forester for the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Region based in Missoula, USFS chief Tom Tidwell announced Friday.
Krueger replaces Leslie Weldon, who moved to the agency’s Washington office last year to take over the position as the deputy chief of the national forest system. Krueger was named the associate deputy chief in 2011. Before that she served as deputy regional forester for the USFS Southwestern Region since 2008.
“Faye’s experience and focus on collaboration make her an excellent leader for our northern regional office in Missoula,” Tidwell said in a statement. “As a lifelong forester and outdoors enthusiast, she’ll bring passion and common sense to our 25 million acres of northern forests and grasslands.”
A Forest Service employee since 1980, Krueger has held positions on the Payette National Forest in Idaho, the Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah, the Dakota Prairie Grasslands in Dickinson, N.D., the Gallatin National Forest, the Tongass National Forest in Thorne Bay, Alaska, and the Caribou National Forest in Idaho.
The Northern Region encompasses 25 million acres over five states, and includes 12 National Forests within the perimeter of northeastern Washington, northern Idaho and Montana. The region is home to 16 congressionally designated Wilderness areas, six National Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, and 2,539 miles of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, and much more.
Krueger holds a Bachelor of Science in forestry from the University of Montana and is married with two grown children and one grandchild.