Rookie of the Year
Chailenn Young, Off-Highway Vehicle Forestry Technician (Mountaintop Ranger District)
Since joining the forest in January 2019, Ms. Young hit the ground running with innovative ideas and ways to improve the OHV program, including working with 30 adopt-a-trail clubs that help maintain district motorized trails, coordinating an effort to inventory and maintain the OHV fleet and creating a standard operating procedure for the adopt-a-trail program on adopted motorized trails.
· Leading in a Business Environment:
Patrol Captain Sonny St. John, Law Enforcement and Investigations (based in San Bernardino, CA)
As a National Forest visited and surrounded by millions of people, a timely and effective emergency communications system is critical to ensure the safety of all area law enforcement, as well as the public and natural resources. Patrol Capt. St. John successfully improved the law enforcement radio system by executing a complex contract to tie in to San Bernardino County’s 800 MHz trunked radio system, allowing radio transitions to be encrypted and transmitted seamlessly across the County, as well as with any local municipalities that use the system. The encryption ensures privacy for the public in contact with Forest Service law enforcement, as well as security for officers engaged in operations, such as marijuana eradication.
· Leading in a Public Service Environment:
O’Dell Tucker, Public Services Officer (Supervisor’s Office)
Mr. Tucker oversees the largest and one of the most complex Lands Special Uses programs in the U.S. Forest Service. The 1,100 special use authorizations include 48 communications sites, 137 roads, 12 oil and gas lines, 95 water ditch/lines, 737 recreation residences, four ski resorts and much more. With limited staff capacity, Mr. Tucker created partnerships with multiple organizations to address a backlog of permit inspections, renewals and closeouts, including the collection of over a half million dollars owed to the U.S. Treasury.