Wednesday, June 26, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Allen retires as Deschutes National Forest Supervisor
By Jim Cornelius
Correspondent
John Allen wanted a job
where he could work outside
4 and he wanted to make
change. For the past four
decades, he9s had both of
those desires fulfilled beyond
his expectations. This month,
the long-time Deschutes
National Forest Service
Supervisor is retiring.
Allen has been a signifi-
cant presence in Sisters, as the
area has grappled with growth
and changes in forest use 4
and a series of massive wild-
fires that have had a major
impact on local communities.
<Sisters had been at the tip
of the spear for the past 15
years when it comes to wild-
fires,= Allen told The Nugget
earlier this month.
Under his leadership, the
Forest Service has under-
taken a major effort to rein-
troduce healthy fire into the
landscape through prescribed
burning and to protect outly-
ing communities from the
threat of wildfire. The proj-
ects in Sisters Country have
had an impact. Allen noted
that the work helped keep the
2017 Milli Fire out of forest
subdivisions like Crossroads
and the Edgington Road area.
<I9m not saying that our
prescribed burning saved
those subdivisions, but they
sure gave us the chance to
knock that fire down and keep
it from burning into those
subdivisions,= Allen said.
He noted that the commu-
nity of Sisters has, over the
years, become more and more
supportive of Forest Service
efforts. That9s a reflection of
the values that Allen brought
to his work. For him, col-
laboration and the building of
trust among staff and affected
communities was always par-
amount. Building trust was
key.
<I think Bill Anthony, the
(former) Ranger in Sisters,
did a great job of that,= Allen
said.
He boiled down his own
style of leadership to a simple
premise 4 and an African
proverb.
<I think I9ve tried to be an
individual with a vision of
what is possible,= he said.
How you achieve what is
possible is where the African
proverb comes in: <If you
want to go fast, go alone,=
Allen said. <If you want to go
far, go together.=
Allen notes that there are
many people to <go together=
with across Central Oregon.
Allen contributed to
the development of the
Deschutes Collaborative
Forest Project and Deschutes
Trails Coalition where mem-
bers of diverse interests work
together to provide input
to the management of the
Deschutes National Forest.
Allen is known for his focus
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not only on the management
of national forest lands but
also for his belief in the power
of relationships, partnerships
and collaboration.
Many of those relation-
ships are found here in Sisters.
The Deschutes National
Forest is under tremendous
pressure as more and more
people flood in to enjoy
its beauty and recreational
opportunities. Balancing eco-
logical health and the public9s
wants and needs has occupied
much of Allen9s thinking and
planning for the past several
years.
<My goal is to keep the
quality of the experience as
high as possible,= he told The
Nugget.
That is the purpose behind
a controversial permitting
system that will soon go into
place, restricting access to
sensitive 4and highly traf-
ficked, wilderness areas.
Allen cited the Peterson
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John Allen had a significant impact on the forests of Sisters Country.
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