Stay Mellow, Pocatello

Hello everyone!

This past week, I was in Pocatello, Idaho for Forest Protection Officer (FPO) training. The training gives me the ability to write citations and warnings to forest visitors that are violating federal regulations on Forest Service land. I will be spending a day a week with the river patrol for the Jackson Ranger District during the summer.

This week, I will be at Guard School to get my red card for wildland firefighting. I'm really excited for this opportunity. I hope that I can get out on a fire during the summer. For people unfamiliar with the Forest Service, fire management is a big part of the agency. Recently, there has been a devastating fire in Colorado (http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20826343/high-park-fire-may-be-12-000-acres). Many Forest Service employees with Bridger-Teton have told me that they think this will be a busy fire season in Wyoming.

With two weeks of training, it has been difficult for me to keep up with other work. Right now, I'm trying to become more familiar with Teton 10, our children's forest initiative (http://www.teton10.org/). Teddi, the program coordinator, has left for another position so I am covering some of her responsibilities for the summer.

I'm also helping in the development of a volunteer event for 8th graders visiting in August. Some ideas have been thrown around, including some work on Snake River. Now that I am back in Jackson, I can give more attention to the event. 

That's all I have for now. Check back for more updates in a week or two. Until then, stay mellow everyone.

Felipe