A deputy district ranger from Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest has taken over the reins of ranger for the Cheoah Ranger District of the Nantahala National Forest.

R.E. Vann, a 23-year Forest Service veteran, comes from the Chattahoochee National Forest’s Toccoa Ranger District, which is near Blue Ridge, Ga. As deputy district ranger for the Toccoa district for the past three years, Vann performed many of the day-to-day duties of a ranger. In addition, he served as a silviculturist and timber management administrator for the 147,000-acre district.

“I look forward to caring for the land and serving the people of the Cheoah district,” said the native of Owens Crossroads, Ala. “This district is known for its abundance of natural resources, and I’ll also enjoy the small town rural setting and the people that live there.”

The new ranger’s goals: continue to carry out the forest plan that directs how national forest land is managed; provide high-quality recreation to the increasing number of visitors; and maintain the traditional multiple uses such as hunting, fishing, watershed protection and timber management.

According to Vann, one of his most memorable accomplishments was successfully working with special interest groups with opposing viewpoints.

“We had mountain bikers and horseback riders who wanted to use the same trails,” Vann said, “and we worked out an agreement that accommodated both of them.”

Vann, 44, started his Forest Service career with the Southern Forest Experiment Station, where he served 6 years as a forester collecting field data and a forest analyst. He moved to the Talledaga National Forest in Alabama to serve as a trainee forester for two years and then worked for two years as a silviculturist for the Ouachita National Forest. For the past 13 years he has served on the Chattahoochee National Forest as a silviculturist, timber management administrator, National Environ-mental Policy Act planner, and a deputy district ranger.

Vann replaces Glenn McConnell, who retired in July after 33 years with the Forest Service. McConnell served as Cheoah district ranger for the past 11 years. Vann’s family includes his wife, Gay, and two sons, Hutson, 16, and Hunter, 19.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News