Carolyn Upton has been named Forest Supervisor for the Lolo National Forest and is expected to begin work here in Missoula at the end of March. Carolyn is currently the deputy Forest Supervisor on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grasslands in Colorado.

“I am very excited to announce Carolyn Upton as the new Forest Supervisor for the Lolo National Forest,” said Regional Forester Leanne Marten. “Carolyn has a wealth of experience and a strong passion for working collaboratively with community members, other agencies, Tribes and local and state governments. Her outstanding resource conservation background will be a wonderful addition to the Lolo National Forest and Northern Region.”

Carolyn grew up in Buffalo, New York, has an undergraduate degree in economics from Vassar College and a Master of Science in Natural Resource Management from Colorado State University.

Carolyn has worked for the Forest Service for 29 years, developing skills and expertise in a wide range of programs across several regions and at many levels of the agency.  She started with the Forest Service as a cooperative education student while at Colorado State University.  Since that time she has worked on several forests and grasslands.

Prior to her duties on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grasslands Carolyn was the District Ranger on the Walker Ranger District on the Chippewa National Forest in north-central, Minnesota.  She spent much of the 2000s as the Ecosystem Staff Officer on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. She said she is looking forward to returning to the Forest Service Northern Region, headquartered here in Missoula, Montana.

“I’m looking forward to the challenges and opportunities in leading land management efforts and working with partners as the Forest Supervisor of the Lolo National Forest,” Carolyn said. “Local relationships are extremely important to me and building and fostering those relationships is a core principle of how I see successful work developed and implemented. Local relationships provide the foundation and forum for effective partnerships, to share expectations and to support communities,” she said.

Carolyn and her husband, Phillip, have two teenaged sons. “We all enjoy many outdoor activities and our boys are both looking forward to being involved in many sports in Missoula,” Carolyn said.