District Ranger selected for the Sandpoint Ranger District

By Reader Staff

The Sandpoint Ranger District will have a new District Ranger starting Sept. 4.

Jessie Berner was selected to take over for former District Ranger Erick Walker. Berner comes to the Idaho Panhandle National Forests from the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest where she has served as District Ranger for the past eight years.

Berner grew up in a small town in rural Tennessee and worked as a seasonal firefighter on the Lolo National Forest while attending college. Including a bachelor’s degree in natural resource management from the University of Tennessee, Berner brings a great deal of expertise and experience to the Sandpoint Ranger District. She has held a variety of positions throughout the northwest including district recreation staff on the Winema National Forest, forest recreation staff officer on the Modoc National Forest, Recreation Heritage and Lands staff officer on the Siuslaw National Forest. Berner is passionate about fire management and has spent several years serving on a Pacific Northwest Interagency Type I Incident Management Team. She is a recipient of the Secretary of Agriculture Group Award for the Team’s leadership of the recovery efforts during the World Trade Center Incident.

“I have three grown children, ages 22, 30 and 32. I enjoy spending time with my five grandchildren ranging in age from 8 years to 2 weeks,” Berner said. “My favorite activities include spending time in the wilderness, fishing, horseback riding, snowmobiling and playing my acoustic guitar. I am excited to meet the district employees, work with community partners ensuring their voice, concerns and issues are the centerpiece of an all hands approach to Forest management.”