LeAnn Colburn

The Shoshone National Forest has a new face at the helm of its natural resources, GIS and planning programs. On May 10, after eight years on the Ashley National Forest in northeastern Utah, LeAnn Colburn joined the Shoshone as its resources staff officer. Colburn said she’s honored and humbled to take on the role.

“My first visit to Cody was in the fall of 2014, and I knew at that time that Cody was a place I could call home,” she said.

Colburn started her Forest Service career as an environmental coordinator on the Ottawa National Forest in the upper peninsula of Michigan. After three and a half years, she moved west to the Ashley National Forest as the forest environmental coordinator. During her time in the forest — which runs from northeastern Utah into southwestern Wyoming — Colburn had the opportunity to take on a few short-term assignments. That included serving as a staff officer for natural resources and planning programs on the Colville National Forest in Washington state and, most recently, as an acting district ranger on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in northern California.

Prior to working for the Forest Service, Colburn was involved with natural resource management and planning by working for a private consulting company in lake and watershed management in Wisconsin and Michigan, as an environmental planner for a seven-county region in southeast Wisconsin, and as a field-going soil scientist for NRCS in northeast Illinois.

A native of Michigan, Coluburn is a graduate of Mississippi State University and holds a master’s degree in agronomy and soils. During her spare time, she enjoys fishing and boating, exploring backroads with her Jeep, spending time with her dogs, horses, and cross-country skiing.