Steve Ellis, currently the district manager for the Lakeview District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), has been selected as the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest supervisor. As the new forest supervisor, Ellis will be responsible for managing the 2.3 million acre Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, headquartered in Baker, Oregon.

“Steve brings to the position a strong blend of leadership skills, interagency cooperation and seasoned career experience,” commented Linda Goodman, Regional Forester, Pacific Northwest Region.

In accepting the position, Ellis said, “I look forward to the new opportunities and challenges of this position. I am honored to be selected as the new Wallowa-Whitman Forest Supervisor and will work hard for the employees and communities served by the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.”

Ellis, a native of Illinois, holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University and a master’s degree in soil and atmospheric sciences from Northern Illinois University.

He began his federal career as a BLM forester in Idaho and worked as a soil scientist both with the BLM and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

In 1986, Steve became the BLM’s Area Manager in Shoshone, Idaho. In 1992, Ellis began a tour of duty in Washington, D.C. where he worked in the Bureau’s budget division. During that time, he served for more than a year in the Congressional Legislative Fellow Program. Steve became the Acting Associate District Manager on the BLM’s Las Vegas District in 1996.

Ellis’s career also has extensive leadership experience in fire fighting, having served both as an Incident Commander and Coordinator of the Pacific Northwest Multi-agency Coordination Group.

He and his wife, Linda, a nurse practitioner, have three children.

The former Walllowa-Whitman National Forest Supervisor Karyn Wood, eft in July to become the Fire and Aviation Management Director for the Pacific Northwest Region of the USDA-Forest Service.